1792-Oct.: The ship’s captain Jean Pousson conducted business in Cap Français during a period of intense revolutionary agitation

1792-Oct.: The ship’s captain Jean Pousson conducted business in Cap Français during a period of intense revolutionary agitation. His presence in the French colonial port allowed him to transport letters and revolutionary intelligence between Saint-Domingue and New Orleans. Pousson was one of many widely traveled mariners who bypassed imperial restrictions to facilitate a French takeover of Louisiana. These voyages provided secret enemies of the Spanish crown with leaflets that supported risings of the enslaved and criticized colonial rule. His activities highlighted the central role of mobile, masterless seamen in the dissemination of radical political principles across the Gulf of Mexico.