Why did affranchis face discrimination in Saint-Domingue?

In the French colony of Saint-Domingue, affranchis—who were free people of color, mostly of mixed African and European descent—faced systemic discrimination within a society deeply fragmented by skin color, class, and gender.12

Although many affranchis were wealthy, educated, and sometimes even slave owners themselves, they were marginalized by the white European colonists, who included elite merchants, landowners, and laborers. The white population maintained a rigid social hierarchy and generally discriminated against the affranchis to preserve their own status and power.132

This discrimination was rooted in a racist social structure that denied affranchis the full economic and social equality they aspired to achieve. These frustrations, coupled with the broader revolutionary ideals of the era, became a primary catalyst for the Haitian Revolution, as affranchis fought to secure their rights and citizenship against a colonial establishment that frequently refused to recognize them.435