Slavery

The Coffee Planter of Saint Domingo (London, 1798)

Here Pierre Joseph Laborie provides the perspective of the planter. He gives a detailed description of the organization of enslaved labor in the production of coffee.

The Slaves from Africa

The African born enslaved people brought with them to Haiti their African rituals and customs, but the white planters also tried to get them to accept French manners and mores.

The Maroons

In this passage, Moreau de Saint–Méry explains that runaways in Haiti, known as Maroons, are and have always been a persistent problem and details the tremendous efforts put into retrieving the runaways. Despite this effort, some Maroons survived and thereby regained their freedom.

SAINT DOMINGUE: THE FREEDMEN

As many as two–thirds of the enslaved people in Saint Domingue (now Haiti) in 1789 had been born in Africa, but by that time a significant number of Africans or children of Africans had become free. Here Moreau de Saint–Méry details the origins of this pivotal group.

Saint Domingue: Some Geography

Here Moreau de Saint–Méry describes the topography and peoples of the French part of the island of Haiti, providing some important basic knowledge which he expands upon in subsequent passages

THE CODE NOIR (THE BLACK CODE)

The Code noir initially took shape in Louis XIV’s edict of 1685. Although subsequent decrees modified a few of the code’s provisions, this first document established the main lines for the policing of slavery right up to 1789.

Advertisement for Sale of Newly Arrived Africans

This image is of an advertisement for a nearly equal number of adults and children from Sierra Leone at a Charleston Auction.

African American Women Writers of the 19th Century

Laws and Regulations Respecting Slaves at the Colony the Cape of Good Hope

Although marriage was not forbidden between Europeans and slaves or other non-Europeans, it was quite rare and entailed a drop in social status for the European. Nevertheless, sexual relationships occurred—sometimes coerced, sometimes by mutual agreement.

Slave Women and Children

Although marriage was not forbidden between Europeans and slaves or other non-Europeans, it was quite rare and entailed a drop in social status for the European. Nevertheless, sexual relationships occurred—sometimes coerced, sometimes by mutual agreement.