DECREE of the Conseil de la Martinique, concerning Canoes and Longboats, and the carrying off of them by the Enslaved

SEVERAL enslaved people having been accused and convicted of having taken and carried off a Longboat from aboard a Ship lying in the roads, and of having used it to escape from the Island; they were sentenced, namely, the nègres to have the left leg cut off, the négresses to have the nose cut off, and then to be branded with a burning fleur-de-lys on the forehead; the Conseil declares that it used indulgence toward the said accused, and orders that in the future a like crime shall be punished by the ultimate penalty; and to prevent like carrying off, it orders all Captains and ship’s masters of Ships and Barks, and also all Settlers to watch carefully over their Boats, Longboats and Canoes, and not to leave in them the sails, oars and other gear during the night, on pain of being answerable in their own private names for escapes that may be made in the said Boats, Longboats and Canoes; and in particular, it orders the said Settlers, as was previously ordered, to have their Canoes drawn up in front of the Guardhouses, or to have them chained in secure places.