The Chassagne Brothers

Antoine Chassagne and his twin brother Amaury were born into a wealthy landowning family on Saint-Domingue. While their upbringing was steeped in the traditions of the French colonial elite, neither boy nor their mother ever felt at ease with the brutal realities of slavery. Bound by the laws of the time, the Chassagnes could not legally free all of the people they enslaved. But where they couldn’t act openly, they found other ways.

When Antoine inherited the plantation, he began quietly building a system of support—granting freedom to the elderly and injured, and creating a stipend for each enslaved person upon their emancipation. It was a radical act in a place where such compassion could be seen as sedition.

His twin, Amaury Chassagne, took a different path, joining the French Navy. Renowned for his brilliance and steady leadership, Amaury rose through the ranks to become an admiral. While he couldn’t openly rebel, he used his position to ensure that captains who helped Antoine smuggle slaves to freedom did not sell the freed slaves in their care.

Though he delayed marriage until his 40s, Antoine eventually wed a kind, delicate woman who had battled illness her entire life. They shared a brief but loving marriage and welcomed a son, Lucien. Tragically, Antoine’s wife passed away shortly after giving birth. Heartbroken, Antoine devoted himself to raising Lucien with joy, while keeping his rebel work in the shadows—so his son would be protected should the worst happen.

Due to being an associate of Sabine's father Antoine met and forged a lifelong relationship with Mambo Abena. It was through this circle that Antoine met Adélaïde—Sabine’s mother and his eventual co-conspirator. Their bond would become one of mutual trust and shared purpose in the fight for freedom.

The Chassagne brothers stood on opposite ends of the empire—one in the fields of Saint-Domingue, the other on the decks of French ships. Yet together, they proved that even in a corrupt world, nobility could still mean honor, courage, and quiet rebellion.