Most of the Frenchmen who came to the island were, you know, men, and they frequently fathered children with slave women. These fathers would often free their children. Wasn't that generous of them. So by 1789 there were 24,800 free people of color, along with about 30,000 white people in the colony. The free people of color contributed a lot to the island's stability. They served in the militia and in the local constabulary, and many of the wealthier ones eventually owned plantations and slaves of their own. And then below them on the social ladder were the poor whites, or the petite Blancs, who worked as artisans and laborers.