I am reading the book The Black Count by Tom Reiss, which details some of society in the french colonies of San Domingue/Jeremie/Hispaniola in the 1700s. According to this book, there were free black men and women / mulattos (language in the book) that were able to acquire education, wealth, and status, and who mingled in white society.

To what extent is this true? Is there additional reading that I could consume on this topic? (Slavery & black society... in the French colonies, elsewhere, etc, etc)

Here are two sample passages from the book for example, referring to the town of Jeremie:

"While distancing themselves as much as possible from enslaved blacks and poor whites, free people of color learned to dance, ride, and fence like white colonists, whom they often surpassed in sophistication and snobbishness. As the coffee town boomed, the fashion-conscious femmes de couleur and filles de couleur copied the Paris styles... ... and would change gowns multiple times during the course of an evening."

"Births, weddings, and the birthdays of King Louis and Marie-Antoineete were all cause for lavish mixed-race balls.... Fashion wars broke out between white and black hostesses to see who could throw more impressive balls. The femmes de couleur nearly always won, Moreau reported. They strove to acquire as much education as possible, and to appreciate the opera."