1 NCFS, October 2014 MAROONING HUMAN RIGHTS AND SCIENCE IN COLONIAL HAITI 1 Kieran M. Murphy Introduction In the 1820s, Balzac’s go-to mesmerist, Doctor Chapelain, published records from the Socièté Magnétique du Cap-François that, I will argue, provide an overlooked yet critical perspective on one of the most important incidents leading to the Haitian Revolution. The records include a list of members of the Society, descriptions of mesmeric treatments performed on the island, and a speech on Mesmer’s doctrine of “animal magnetism” delivered in 1784 at various receptions. As we will see, this speech is an ardent support of black self-emancipation and radical anti-slavery that should figure prominently in the history of human rights as a crucial event occurring between the 1781 publication of Condorcet’s Réflexions sur l’esclavage des nègres and the 1788 creation of the Société des Amis des Noirs. Less than seven years before the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), colonial authorities perceived Mesmer’s doctrine and the spread of its “magnetic” practices among the slave population as a major source of civil unrest. In this paper I will show how they proceeded to defeat the threat of mesmerism on scientific grounds, and how their rational provides a critical case study to examine the complex relationship between colonialism, human rights, and modern science. The French colony of Saint Domingue stood as one of the leading scientific outposts of the New World when, in 1784, Mesmer’s controversial hypnotic therapy known as “animal magnetism” made its official debut on the island. 2 Due to the alleged success of its cures, its practice quickly spread to all levels of colonial society. Colonial authorities considered animal magnetism as a threat because it became a source of distraction and empowerment for slaves. The introduction of animal magnetism in Saint