Moreover, he demonstrated excellence as a fencer , an athlete and an accomplished dancer. His historical significance lies partly in his distinctive background as a biracial free man of color. Born in the French colony of Guadeloupe , his father, Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges, was a wealthy, white plantation owner , while his mother was one of the Creole people Georges kept enslaved.
As a young man he won a fencing contest leading to his appointment as a " gendarme de la garde du roi " by king Louis XVI. In , Saint-Georges began conducting the Paris Opera. However, this prospect was thwarted by opposition from certain performers who resisted the idea of being led by an individual of color. In , he joined a new orchestra Le Concert de la Loge Olympique. Saint-Georges, a contemporary of Mozart , has at times been called the "Black Mozart. Chevalier de Saint-Georges, also known as Joseph Bologne was born on 25 December in Baillif , Basse-Terre , the illegitimate son of a settler and planter Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges and Nanon, a year-old African slave who served within the family household.
In , Georges Bologne was accused of murder and fled to France. The next year he was visited by his wife, Nanon, and his son. After two years he was granted a royal pardon and returned to Guadeloupe. The couple accompanied by Nanon returned to Guadeloupe.
His father rewarded Joseph with a horse and buggy. His father, called "de Saint-Georges" after one of his plantations in Guadeloupe, was a commoner until , when he acquired the title of Gentilhomme ordinaire de la chambre du roi Gentleman of the King's Chamber. After defeating Picard in or on graduating from the academy in , Bologne was made a Gendarme du roi officer of the king's bodyguard in Versailles and a chevalier.
In , his father returned to Guadeloupe, which had been occupied by the British during the Seven Years' War, to look after his sugar plantations. The following year, he made a last will and testament where he left Joseph an annuity of 8, francs and an adequate pension to Nanon, who remained with their son in Paris. The younger Saint-Georges was ineligible under French law for titles of nobility due to his illegitimate status. Long before her death, Saint-George's mother recorded a testamentary deed dated 17 June , in which she bequeathed all her belongings to her son as her universal legatee.
