Timeline
2,039 entries · 1492 — 1790
1492: Upon his first voyage to the Caribbean, Christopher Columbus initiated the early practice of Amerindian enslavement by shipping approximately 500 indigenous people back to Spain. This act was part…
1492-December-06: Christopher Columbus reached the western end of the island during his first voyage and named the entire landmass Hispaniola. Rayford W. Logan notes that the specific geography and climate of…
1492: The Tainos used the word "taino," meaning "good" or "noble," to identify themselves to Columbus during his first voyage. This term served to differentiate their peaceful agricultural society from…
1492-Aug.-03: Christopher Columbus began his first voyage of conquest by sailing a flotilla of three small ships from Palos, Spain. He first traveled to the Canary Islands to take on…
1492-Oct.-12: Columbus made landfall on an island in the Bahamian Archipelago that the local Tainos called Guanahaní. He took possession of the island in the name of the Spanish crown…
1492-Oct.-28: The expedition arrived in Cuba, landing at Bariay near the present-day town of Gibara. Columbus sent emissaries inland to investigate reports of a cacique possessing gold, mistakenly believing he…
1492-Dec.-05: Christopher Columbus lands on the northern coast of the island and names it La Isla Española. He encountered a thriving indigenous society that would soon face the devastating effects…
1492-Dec.-05: Christopher Columbus lands on the northern coast of the island and names it La Isla Española. This event initiated the permanent European presence on the island that would eventually…
1492-Dec.-24: The flagship Santa María foundered on a reef near Cap-Haïtien on the northern coast of the island. This disaster forced Columbus to prepare for a return to Spain in the…
1492-Dec.-25: The Santa Maria runs aground near modern-day Cap-Haïtien, leading to the construction of La Navidad. This settlement was built using salvaged timber from the ship and housed the first…
1492-Dec.-25: The Santa Maria runs aground on a reef near what is now Cap-Haïtien, providing materials for the first settlement. Columbus left behind a small contingent of men to maintain…
1492–1550: The Amerindian population of the West Indies is reduced by 90 percent due to massacres, disease, and overwork. This demographic collapse paved the way for the large-scale deportation of…
1492: The En Bas Saline site has been identified by many researchers, including Kathleen Deagan, as the probable location of the village of Guacanagarí and the site of La Navidad,…
c. AD 1492 – 1600: The early colonial Caribbean is increasingly studied as a "stage of encounters," where migration, mobility, and interaction reshaped the social landscape of the islands. Research…
1492–1788: (The Foundational Centuries of Saint-Domingue): The first chapter, "A Very Great Island," provides the broad historical context for the nearly 300 years preceding the revolution. It begins with the…
1492–1788: (The Foundational Era of the Great Island): The opening chapter of the history, titled "A Very Great Island," establishes the colonial groundwork of the territory from the late 15th…
1492–1995: (The Visual Record of the Haitian People): The book features a comprehensive list of illustrations that provide a visual history of the nation from the first European contact to…
1492–2005: (The Geography and Mapping of the Island): The text includes detailed maps of Haiti and the Greater Antilles to orient the reader within the Caribbean landscape. A specific map of…
1492–1995: (The Portraiture of Haitian Power and Revolution): The provided list of illustrations serves as a pictorial record of Haiti's most significant historical figures. Key portraits included in the volume…
1492–1788: (Colonial Mapping and Early Sketches): The historical record begins with a map of Haiti's north coast specifically drawn by Christopher Columbus in 1492. This early geographic documentation is followed…
1492–2005: (Geography as a Fortress of Marronage): The physical environment of Haiti is described as a serrated fortress of rugged mountains and hidden valleys that historically served as barriers to…
1492–1994: (The Sovereignty of Information and Lost Archives): The documentation of the Haitian experience is hampered by the systematic destruction of internal records through fire, explosion, and colonial pilferage. From…
1492–1788: (The Territorial Erasure and Resistance of Ayiti): The narrative acknowledges the island as a "Very Great Island," tracing its shift from an indigenous space to the wealthiest extractive colony…
1492, December 6: (The Genesis of Colonial Intrusion): The era of European expansion into Ayiti officially began on December 6, 1492, when Christopher Columbus first landed on the island's north…
1492: (The Colonial Encounter and Indigenous Displacement): The decolonized narrative of Ayiti begins by recognizing the island as an indigenous space before it was reimagined by European cartography. Christopher Columbus’s…
1492–1788: (Institutional Divergence on the Island): Throughout the early colonial period, the island was split between two fundamentally different civilizational projects: the Hispanic East and the revolutionary West. The dominant…
1492: (The Cartographic Erasure of Indigenous Space): The colonization of the island was codified through European mapping, starting with the north coast map drawn by Columbus in 1492. This act…
1492–1995: (The Physical and Metaphorical Fortress of the Terrain): Haiti’s geography is characterized by rugged mountain ranges, such as Morne la Selle which reaches 8,793 feet, that have historically protected…
1492–1994: (The Resilience of Vodou and the Private National Tongue): Vodou is described as an "amalgam" of West African animist cults and Catholic ritual that is practiced by nearly 100…
1492, December 5–6: (The Imposition of Colonial Names and Cartography): Christopher Columbus first identified the north coast of Ayiti from the Santa Maria on December 5, 1492, characterizing it as…
1492, December–1550: (Genocide and the Destruction of Native Life): Upon encountering the Taino people, Columbus described them as "lovable," "completely defenseless," and "fit to be ordered about" for labor. On…
1492-00-00: (Cacique, the Title for Taíno Chiefs Who Governed the Five Chiefdoms of Ayiti at the Time of Columbus's Arrival, a Matrilineal System in Which Succession Passed Through the Eldest…
1492-00-00: (Haiti's Environment, From the Lush Forests That Covered the Island When Columbus Arrived to the Less Than Two Percent Forest Cover That Remains Today, a Catastrophe Driven by Charcoal Dependence,…
1492-00-00: (Hispaniola, the Second-Largest Island in the Caribbean, Divided Between Haiti in the Western Third and the Dominican Republic in the Eastern Two-Thirds, Named by Columbus "the Spanish Island" in…
1492-00-00: (Jaragua, One of Five Taíno Chiefdoms on Ayiti at the Time of Columbus's Arrival, Located in the Southwestern Sector With Its Capital at Yaguana, Present-Day Léogâne, the Epicenter of the…
1492-00-00: (Taíno, the Indigenous People of Ayiti at the Time of Columbus's Arrival, Numbering Roughly 500,000, Organized Into Five Chiefdoms, Rapidly Decimated by Spanish Disease and Violence, Their Destruction Creating the…
1492-12-00: (Marien, the Northwestern Taíno Chiefdom Whose Cacique Guacanagaric Allied With Columbus in December 1492, Providing Land and Labor for La Navidad, the First Spanish Settlement on the Island): Marien…
1492-12-05: (Columbus Claims Ayiti for Spain, the Moment That Begins the European Colonization of the Island and the Destruction of Its Indigenous Taíno Civilization): On December 5, 1492, Christopher Columbus…
1492-12-15: (Tortuga, the Small Turtle-Shaped Island Off Haiti's Northwestern Coast Where Columbus Landed in 1492, Later Colonized by France in 1625 and Used as a Pirate Refuge Throughout the Seventeenth…
1492-12-24: (The Santa Maria Runs Aground on Christmas Eve, Stranding Columbus on the Island and Forcing the Construction of La Navidad From the Wreckage): On December 24, 1492, Columbus's flagship, the…
1492-12-05: (Christopher Columbus Arrives at Ayiti and Claims the Island for Spain, the Moment That Begins the European Colonization of the Territory That Would Become Haiti): On December 5, 1492,…
On 30 April 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella gave him a commission by which he was named admiral and viceroy of the islands and of the mainland he should discover. On…
After discovering several islands, he landed on 6 December at the western point of a land that the islanders of Cuba called Haïti (mountainous land) or Quiesqueia (great land). He…
After discovering several islands, he landed on 6 December at the western point of a land that the islanders of Cuba called Haïti (mountainous land) or Quiesqueia (great land). He…
To give order and haste to finishing the building of the fortress, and to the people who were to stay in it, the Admiral went ashore, and it seemed to…
He stayed at anchor off that beach this day because there was no wind, and also because the cacique had said that he was to bring gold, not because the…
Columbus sailed from the port of Palos with three ships and 90 men on Friday 3 August 1492 and returned there on 15 March 1493, after 225 days.
It is known that Columbus, when he set foot on American soil on 12 October 1492, believed, according to the cosmographic ideas of the time, that he had arrived at…
History. The Antilles, thrown in a long chain in front of the American continent, were the first lands recognized at the discovery of America; it was on one of the…
The first land Columbus reached, on 12 October 1492: a small bean-shaped island of the Lucayos its people called Guanahaní, which the chart painters of Las Casas's day called Triango.
All this night he lay to off Cabo Lindo, where night had overtaken him, to see the land that ran to the east, and at sunrise he saw another cape…
... The said Indians told him other very marvelous things by signs: but the Admiral, so he says, did not believe them, only that the people of that island Bohío…
... past that one he saw that the coast turned south and took in some of the southwest, and he then saw a very beautiful and high cape on the…
... afterward he went 10 miles an hour; and so he would have gone 88 miles, which are 22 leagues, by sunset; all to the southeast. And because night was…
The island of Haiti was discovered by the Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus on 6 December 1492, after he had discovered the Lucayes Islands and that of Cuba. The first point…
When, on 6 December 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of Haïti, he planted there the cross of Jesus Christ. A vast field then opened to the Catholic apostolate…
Christopher Columbus entered the Mole St. Nicolas for the first time on 6 December 1492; he named this port Saint Nicolas, after the saint, patron of that day and patron…
When day broke he found himself 4 leagues from the harbor; he named it Puerto María, and he saw a beautiful cape to the south by southwest, which he named…
... That large island seemed very high land, unenclosed by mountains, level like beautiful plains, and it seems all tilled or a great part of it, and the sown fields…
... Another land appeared to him like a not large island to the east, and he would be 40 miles from it. There remained to him another very beautiful and…
At the change of the dawn watch he set sail and left that Puerto de San Nicolás, and sailed with the wind southwest to the northeast 2 leagues, as far…
... The bight that he mentioned above reaches, so he says, as close to the Puerto de San Nicolás as a lombard shot, so that if that space were cut…
Christopher Columbus, after reaching the bay of the Môle Saint-Nicolas, went there on 8 December 1492. He managed to communicate with the inhabitants of the island by means of a…
There in that harbor it rained heavily on them, with a very strong north wind: the harbor is safe from all winds except the north, although even that cannot do…
This day it rained and was winter weather, as in Castile in October. He had seen no village, only one very beautiful house in the Puerto de San Nicolás, and…
The northeast blew hard and made the anchors drag half a cable's length, at which the Admiral marveled, and he put it down to the anchors being set too close…
... He says he wanted to see that passage between these two islands, to see the Isla Española, which is the most beautiful thing in the world, and because, according…
... after that its coast runs south. He says he wanted to see that passage between these two islands, to see the Isla Española, which is the most beautiful thing…
He did not leave this day, for the same cause of the contrary wind already stated. He set up a great cross at the entrance of the harbor, on the…
... The Admiral had her clothed, and gave her glass beads and hawks' bells and brass rings, and sent her back ashore very honorably, according to his custom: he sent…
... These went to the village, which was 4 leagues and a half to the southeast, which they found in a very great valley, and empty, because as soon as…
... but the Admiral says he does not know how they can be of better disposition than the others, giving to understand that all those they had found in the…
The three men whom the Admiral had sent with the woman came back at three hours into the night, and they had not gone with her as far as the…
He left that Puerto de la Concepción with a land breeze, and soon after it fell calm, and he found it so every day he was there. Afterward a Levante…
He left the Puerto de la Concepción again to go on his way, but on leaving the harbor a strong east wind blew, contrary to him, and he stood across…
... he entered it with the boats to reach the villages that those he had sent the day before yesterday had seen, and he had the towline run ashore, and…
... The Admiral sent him a present, which, so he says, he received with great state, and that he would be a youth of about 21 years, and that he…
... This king and all the others went naked as their mothers bore them, and the women likewise, without any shame, and they are the most handsome men and women…
... in mid gulf he found a canoa with one Indian alone in it, at which the Admiral marveled, how he could keep himself above the water with the wind…
... In all Castile there is no land that can be compared to it in beauty and goodness. All this island and that of Tortuga are all tilled like the…
... And the trees there, he says, were so lush that the leaves ceased to be green and were dark with greenness. It was a thing of wonder to see…
... “Let Your Highnesses believe that these lands are good and fertile in such quantity, and especially these of this Isla Española, that there is no one who could tell…
... There that cacique showed much that he took the Admiral's side. The canoe left at once, and after it had gone they told the Admiral that on Tortuga there…
... In the evening a canoe came there from the Isla de la Tortuga with a good 40 men, and as it reached the beach all the people of the…
That night the wind blew hard, east northeast; the sea did not rise much because the Isla de la Tortuga, which lies opposite, hinders and shields it and makes a…
... After eating, a squire brought a belt, which is just like those of Castile in its make, except that it is of other work, which he took and gave…
... This man came to the ship after the king, and the Admiral gave him some things of the said trade goods, and there the Admiral learned that they called…
... He saw there four capes of land and a great bay and river, and from there he saw a very large cove, and it had a village, and behind…
... The whole circuit of that island has marvelous capes and harbors, as he judged from the sea. Before the island, on the west side, there is a cape which…
... The ship can lie moored with any rope at all against whatever winds there may be. At the entrance of this harbor, so he says, there was a cañal,…
Today at sunset he entered a harbor which lay between the island of Santo Tomás and the cabo de Caribata, and anchored. This harbor is most beautiful, and such that…
History. Christopher Columbus entered the bay of the Acul on 21 December 1492, which caused it to be given the name of Port of Saint-Thomas. Time has not respected this…
... Then they came nearer the sea, and the Admiral nearer the land, and after they had wholly lost their fear, so many came that they covered the land, giving…
... and it is an easy thing to know (says the Admiral) when a thing is given with a heart very desirous to give.” These are his words: “These people…
... No less, so he says, did the women do in the other places before they hid themselves, and the Admiral ordered everywhere that all his men be on guard…
... that is to say, that all the praises he has spoken of the past harbors are true, and that this one being much better than all is likewise true.…
... From the entrance to the head there will be five leagues. He saw some lands much tilled, although all are so, and he ordered two men out of the…
... The Admiral left there for the ships, and the Indians cried out, men as well as women and children, that they should not go and that the Christians should…
... So this harbor is very good for all the winds that may blow, enclosed and deep, and all peopled with very good and gentle people, without arms good or…
... He determined to set out for it on Sunday, although he was not accustomed to leave port on a Sunday, only out of his devotion and not from any…
At daybreak he set sail to go on his way to seek the islands which the Indians told him had much gold, and some of which had more gold than…
He could not set out with the ships for the land of that lord who had sent to beg and invite him, for lack of wind; but he sent the…
... At night the boats arrived and said that it was a long way to where they came from, and that at the mountain of Caribatan they found many canoes…
... And he held it certain that if he could spend that feast of Christmas in that harbor, all the people of that island would come, which he now reckoned…
... he did not know whether they said it for nobleman or governor or judge. Finally, the Cacique came to them, and the whole town gathered in the square, which…
... May our Lord in his mercy direct me to find this gold, I mean its mine, for I have many here who say that they know it: these are…
Before the sun was up he weighed anchor with the land breeze. Among the many Indians who had come to the ship the day before, who had given them signs…
Whoever has to enter the Mar de Santo Tomé should stand in a good league off the mouth of the entrance, over a flat islet that lies in the middle,…
... "Let Your Highnesses believe that in all the world there can be no better people, nor gentler: Your Highnesses should take great joy, for soon they will make them…
Whoever has to enter the Mar de Santo Tomé should stand in a good league off the mouth of the entrance, over a flat islet that lies in the middle,…
... and as the waters still went on falling it could not be remedied, and she heeled over toward the cross sea, although the sea was little or nothing, and…
... When he learned of it, they say, he wept, and he sent all the people of his town with very large canoes, and many of them, to unload everything…
... These, although it was night, made a sound that could be heard and seen a long league off, and she went onto it so gently that it was hardly…
... After they finished eating he took the Admiral to the beach, and the Admiral sent for a Turkish bow and a sheaf of arrows, and the Admiral had a…
... for a lace tip they gave pieces that would be worth more than two castellanos, and that this was nothing then compared with what it would be a month…
... Nor would I have left people here on this voyage; nor, even if I had wished to leave them, could I have given them such good fitting out, nor…
Today at sunrise the king of that land, who was in that place, came to the caravel Niña, where the Admiral was, and almost weeping told him not to grieve,…
... "so faithful (says the Admiral) are they, and without greed for what belongs to others, and that virtuous king above all". While the Admiral was talking with him, another…
... The Admiral told him by signs that the Sovereigns of Castile would order the Caribs destroyed, and would have them all brought with their hands tied. The Admiral ordered…
... But it is right that this tower be built, and that things be kept as they ought to be kept, being so far from Your Highnesses; and so that…
... because the ship, so he says, was very heavy and not fit for the work of discovery; and bringing such a ship, so he says, was the doing of…
At sunrise the king of that land came to the caravel and told the Admiral that he had sent for gold, and that he wished to cover him all over…
At sunrise a nephew of the king came to the caravel, very young, and of good understanding and good spirit (as the Admiral says); and as he was always working…
... and he sent for some colored buskins, which he had him put on, and put on his finger a large silver ring, because they had said that they had…
The Admiral went ashore to eat, and arrived at the moment when five kings subject to this one, who was called Guacanagarí, had come, all with their crowns, presenting a…
This day he was busy having water and wood taken on for the departure to Spain, in order to give the Sovereigns news quickly so that they might send ships…
1493: The destruction of the first European settlement, la Navidad, occurs less than twelve months after Columbus's arrival. Local Taino groups destroyed the fort in response to the predatory behavior…
1493: Columbus returns with seventeen ships and twelve hundred men to establish the colony of Isabella. This massive fleet represented a shift from exploration to full-scale colonization and settlement.
1493-Jan.-16: Columbus and Martín Alonzo Pinzón departed from Samaná Bay in the northeast of the island to begin the return trip to Spain. They left behind the Ciguayo Tainos, who were the…
1493-Mar.-15: Both surviving ships of the first voyage arrived back at the port of Palos on the same day. Columbus presented six Taino passengers to the Spanish court, where they…
1493-Sept.-25: The second voyage departed from Cádiz with a fleet of seventeen ships and approximately 1,500 men. The mission was instructed to establish gold mines, install permanent settlers, and convert…
1493-Nov.-03: The fleet arrived off the island of Dominica at the northern end of the Windward Islands. Columbus then turned northwest toward Ayiti, stopping briefly in Guadeloupe where his men…
1493-Nov.-03: Columbus arrives off Dominica, identifying the most efficient sailing route from Europe to the West Indies. His navigation of the trade winds established a maritime highway that would be…
1493-November-22: Columbus returned to the island during his second voyage to find that the small group of Spaniards he had left behind on the first trip had entirely disappeared. In response…
1493-Nov.-28: Columbus returned to the northern coast of Haiti and found the fort of La Navidad in ruins and his men dead. Chief Guacanagarí blamed the massacre on Caonabo, the…
1493-01-02: (Columbus Departs for Spain, Leaving 39 Men at La Navidad Near Present-Day Cap-Haïtien, the First European Garrison on the Island): On January 2, 1493, Columbus departed the island for Spain, leaving…
1493-11-28: (Columbus Returns to Find La Navidad Burned and All 39 Men Dead, the Taíno Response to European Aggression Making Clear That Colonization Would Not Go Unchallenged): On November 28,…
1493-12-08: (Columbus Builds a New Fort Called La Isabella on the Eastern Side of the Island, Establishing the Second European Settlement on the Island): On December 8, 1493, Columbus established a…
After having the Indians he had brought with him publicly baptized in the presence of the royal family, C. Columbus went to Cádiz to join a fleet of seventeen vessels.…
... He also had a skirmish staged with the people of the ships under arms, telling the cacique not to be afraid of the Caribs even if they came. All…
At midnight he dispatched the boat to go to the islet Amiga to bring the rhubarb. It came back at vespers with a frail basket of it; they brought no…
In the morning he went ashore to take leave of King Guacanagarí and to depart in the name of the Lord, and he gave him a shirt of his own,…
He left in that Isla Española, which the Indians, so he says, called Bohío, 39 men with the fortress, and, so he says, great friends of that king Guacanagarí; and…
He did not sail today because last night, so he says, three of the Indians he was bringing from the islands, who had stayed behind, came and told him that…
... it has the shape of a very beautiful tent, and he named it Monte-Cristi; it lies due east of Cabo Santo, and it will be some 18 leagues. That…
At sunrise he weighed anchor with little wind, with the boat ahead, on a course to the northwest to get outside the reef, by another channel wider than the one…
... He found four sand islets, very low, with a reef that ran far out to the northwest and stretched far to the southeast. Inside there is a great gulf…
... and these two run from northwest to southeast, for those reefs were great, and run from Cabo Santo to Cabo de Sierpe, which is more than 6 leagues, and…
... He held his course so until he entered between the mount and the islet, where he found three and a half fathoms of depth at low water, a most…
... afterward the wind blew from the east, and he saw that on the south southeast side of Monte-Cristi, between it and an islet, there seemed to be a good…
... but it should be by day, sounding first with the boat. From the said mount east toward Cabo del Becerro the 4 leagues are all beach and very low…
... but the Admiral says that they were all false, and that with great arrogance and greed he had broken away that night when he parted from him, and that…
... and the Martín Alonso took half, and the other half was shared out among the people. The Admiral adds, saying to the Sovereigns: "So, my lords and Princes, I…
... It is true that within them there are good harbors and good entrances by their channels. After midday the wind blew hard from the east, and he ordered a…
... But the Admiral chose to linger and coast the island Juana and the Española, since it was all one course to the east. After Martín Alonso went to the…
This day he had a leak that the caravel was making stopped and had her caulked, and the sailors went ashore to bring firewood, and they found, so he says,…
Because of the east and southeast wind, which blew hard, he did not sail this day, and for this reason he ordered the caravel supplied with water and firewood and…
... all of which the Admiral had suffered and kept silent about in order to bring his voyage to a good end; so that, to get out of such bad…
... The Admiral believed that, coming down that river, it was ground fine along the way, although he says that in a small space he found many grains as large…
... These lands from Monte-Cristi to where he anchored are high, level lands and very lovely open country, and behind them very beautiful mountains that run from east to west,…
... These lands from Monte-Cristi to where he anchored are high, level lands and very lovely open country, and behind them very beautiful mountains that run from east to west,…
... he came to a point that he named Punta Roja, which lies due east of Monte-Cristi 60 miles, and in its lee he anchored in the afternoon, which would…
... it lies 3 leagues on the southeast side; he anchored at the mouth, which is a good anchorage, on the east side. To get inside there is a bar…
At midnight he left the Río de Gracia with the land breeze and sailed east to a cape that he named Belprado, 4 leagues; and from there to the southeast…
... and at the foot of the mountain there is a very good harbor, and at the entrance it has 14 fathoms, and this mountain is very high and beautiful,…
... From there, from the cape of Belprado, east by south, lies the cape that he called del Ángel, and it is 18 leagues; and from this cape to the…
... and from there to the southeast lies the mountain that he named Monte de Plata, and he says it is 8 leagues. From there, from the cape of Belprado,…
... From there he saw land to the south, and went toward it, and he would be 48 miles from it, and he says that, keeping the ship at a…
... but because it was very early in the morning, and so as not to lose way, because for most of the time easterlies blow there and he then had…
... but because it was very early in the morning, and so as not to lose way, because for most of the time easterlies blow there and he then had…
... he had his face all blackened with charcoal, although everywhere they are accustomed to dye themselves with various colors. He wore all his hair very long, gathered up and…
... and the Indian told him that in it there was very much gold, pointing to the poop of the caravel, which was quite large, and that there were pieces…
... The Christians, so he says, would have killed many of them if the pilot who went as their captain had not prevented it. The Christians then went back to…
... and that they must be a daring people, since they go about all these islands and eat the people they can get. He says that he understood some words,…
... and they afterward came up to the boat, and the people of the boat went ashore and began to buy the bows and arrows and the other weapons from…
... The Admiral says further that the caravels were taking in much water at the keel, and he complains greatly of the caulkers who caulked them very badly in Palos,…
... and they do not shoot as in other parts, except in a certain manner by which they cannot do much harm. There was very much cotton there, and very…
... After they had traded it all, there came, so he says, four young men to the caravel, and they seemed to the Admiral to give so good an account…
... He says also that today he has learned that all the strength of the gold was in the district of the town of La Navidad of Their Highnesses, and…
... The Indians told him that by that way he would find the island of Matinino, which, so he says, was peopled by women without men, which the Admiral would…
Three hours before day he departed from the gulf that he named the Golfo de las Flechas, with a land wind, then with a west wind, heading east by north…
Columbus reached Lisbon in a great storm on 4 March 1493 on his return.
... he ordered the ships steered southwest, on the way to the Canary islands, and the following Wednesday, which was counted as the 2nd of October, he came to anchor…
... then he saw another island on the right hand of la Dominica, then they saw another, and many began to appear. All giving infinite thanks to God, they sing…
He departed from there the next day, Monday, and saw another large island, and to this he gave the name Guadalupe, and they approached it; and finding a port, they…
On Thursday, the 14th of November, he anchored at another island that he called Sancta Cruz; he ordered people to go ashore there and to take some persons to obtain…
On Friday, the 22nd of the same month of November, the Admiral made the first land of the island of la Española, which is on the North side, and some…
... they were answered that they should come aboard, for he was there, and they would not until the Admiral stood at the side of the ship, and when they…
... seeing no person to ask, the Admiral, with certain boats, went up a river that was near there, and left orders to clean out a well he had left…
... and with this decision, on Saturday, the 7th day of December, he left the port of la Navidad with all his fleet, and went to anchor that evening near…
1494-06-07: (The Treaty of Tordesillas, in Which Spain and Portugal Divided the Non-Christian World Between Themselves With No Consultation of the People Whose Lands Were Being Partitioned): On June 7,…
After having the Indians he had brought with him publicly baptized in the presence of the royal family, C. Columbus went to Cádiz to join a fleet of seventeen vessels.…
At this news all, as I said, felt a mixed joy, but the Admiral was the one who savored it most, and he resolved, once the ships were dispatched to…
Antonio de Torres arrived in Castile with his 12 ships, with a very good and short voyage, because he left the port of la Isabela on 2 February and reached…
The Spaniards left by Christopher Columbus in the fort of la Nativité, in 1492, had given themselves up to all sorts of excesses against the Indian natives, had penetrated into…
To return to the matter: once he had put the five ships in safe keeping, and left the charge of the government to don Diego, his brother, with persons to…
... To put fear in the land, and to show that if the Indians attempted anything the Christians were powerful enough to hurt and harm them, at the departure from…
They then went down the mountain, which lasts much longer than the ascent, with great rejoicing and gladness, and crossed the most fortunate vega, which is five leagues wide at…
So on the next day, Thursday, the 14th of March, having crossed the Yaquí with canoes and rafts, people and baggage, and the horses at a deep ford, though not…
Having crossed this river, according to the Admiral's account, with much difficulty, because it certainly must have been running very high with the floods, as I myself have sometimes seen…
He left that town and came to another beautiful river, so fresh that he named it the Rio Verde, the Green River. Its bed and bank were of smooth pebbles,…
He left that town and came to another beautiful river, so fresh that he named it the Rio Verde, the Green River. Its bed and bank were of smooth pebbles,…
... rather it is generally very dry, except in the low ground of the rivers, though it abounds in countless pines, very rare and scattered and very tall, which bear…
He left as captain and warden a gentleman of Aragon, and commander, who was called don Pedro Margarite, a person of much esteem, and with him 52 men. Afterwards he…
On Saturday, the 29th day of March, the Admiral arrived at la Isabela, where he found all the people very worn down, because few escaped being either dead or sick,…
On Wednesday, the 9th of April of the same year 1494, Alonso de Ojeda left la Isabela with the people, who numbered more than 400 men, and, on arriving at…
... to these five he entrusted the whole government, and to Mosen Pedro Margarite he entrusted that with the people he had, who were, as I said, 400 men, he…
... The next day he went to the port of la Navidad, where he had left the 39 Christians, in the land of king Guacanagarí, who had shown him so…
... who, in fear, lest perhaps he might come to do him harm for the death of the Christians, of which he was blameless, as was said above, hid himself,…
Columbus entered it on 29 April 1494, four days before the discovery of Jamaica. Until 1793, it served only as a place of call for ships going from the North…
With these dangers and continual afflictions he reached the Cape that he had at first named cabo de Cruz, on the 18th of July, where the Indians gave him a…
... He saw a very beautiful bay with seven small islets on the seashore, and that the island had very high land, which seemed to him to exceed the middle…
On Saturday, the 23rd of August, a lord or cacique of that land came to the ships, calling «Admiral, Admiral,» and other words, from which the Admiral gathered that the…
... its head, and the part of it that was outside, was so misshapen that it was little less in size than a cask or a butt, the tail like…
... That night the Admiral saw an eclipse of the moon, and he affirms that there was a difference from there to Cádiz of five hours and twenty-three minutes, for…
The Admiral says in a letter that he wrote to the Sovereigns that on this voyage it was his purpose to go to the islands of the cannibals to destroy…
Columbus enters the Môle-Saint-Nicolas a second time, four days before his discovery of Jamaica.
In these days the Admiral sent to make war on the cacique or king Guatigana, because he had ordered the 10 Christians killed, and among his people the Christians made…
Having, then, the people prepared and the rest necessary for war, the Admiral, taking with him don Bartolomé Colon, his brother, and King Guacanagarí (I was not able to learn…
Christopher Columbus, before returning to Spain, after the discovery of Haiti, had established a fort at Caracol. During the admiral's absence, the garrison he had left there having drawn upon…
It was from there that those daring Castilians set out on 27 March 1495, commanded by Alphonse Ojeda, who seized by ruse the valiant Caonabo and the unfortunate Guarionex, caciques…
1496-00-00: (Santo Domingo Established by Spanish Settlers, the First Permanent European City in the Americas, Built on the Eastern Side of the Island): In 1496, Spanish settlers established Santo Domingo on…
Xaragua, in the west of the island the Taino called Ayiti, was the richest and most populous of its five chiefdoms, and its capital Yaguana stood where Leogane stands today.…
The two caravels that the Admiral had ordered built being finished, and fitted out with provisions and water and the other necessary things, as far as these could be provided,…
... They found two streams of very good water, but the Adelantado, they said, denied that there was water, so that the settlement of Sancto Domingo should not be hindered;…
... They found two streams of very good water, but the Adelantado, they said, denied that there was water, so that the settlement of Sancto Domingo should not be hindered;…
The Admiral believed that these women must have the customs that are told of the Amazons, from things he says he saw and learned there, having questioned the Indian women;…
... they could not have been able to reach it, I believe; finally, it pleased God to give them land, the pilots having held different opinions as to where they…
1498–1525 : African captives potentially arrived in the Americas as early as 1498 during Christopher Columbus's third voyage, marking an extremely early presence. For the first quarter-century of the trade,…
... and so he ordered the course steered to the north, a quarter northeast, and went along that way until midday, but as his divine Majesty, he says, has always…
... For, according to the anxiety that the Admiral had that the Sovereigns should have profit, so that they might repay the expenses they had made, and not feel those…
... and that afterwards they would sail, if it pleased Our Lord, to the west, and from there he would pass to this Española, on which way he would see…
... rather, on seeing the playing and dancing, they took it as a sign of war, and as if it were a challenge to them; they all dropped their oars…
... Both were very, very glad to see each other; asked about the state of the land, the Adelantado gave him an account of how Francisco Roldan was risen with…
... because they were there by force, against their will, and no license was given them, lest the island be left alone and the Indians kill the few who would…
... When the warden Ballester and Alonso Sanchez de Carvajal reached the Bonao, Carvajal spoke to them all very eloquently, and with such effect that he moved Francisco Roldan and…
... nor could they gild or color in any way the cause they alleged for not coming to agreement and terms, that the raid be given to them. Having taken…
The five ships set sail on the 18th day of the month of October of that year of 498, in which my father went from this island to Castile, and…
... and that it should be so, I said, as soon as I arrived here, that I assured everyone that each might come to me and say what he pleased,…
... Whereas between the Adelantado, my brother, and the Alcalde Francisco Roldan and his company there have been certain differences in my absence, while I was in Castile, and to…
... They were adored by all the Indians, out of most violent fear, and the Indians trembled before them as before demons, and woe to those who fled, or, as…
He gave him also other plantings that had been made by the Indians in a land or district in which he had made an estancia, which in Castile I believe…
... and in future cases, should they occur, he promised that justice would deal with them humanely and mercifully, and he gave leave to those who wished to go to…
... Carvajal went to la Concepción, where they already were and were trying to take the fortress by besieging the Alcaide, for which they say they had cut off his…
In what, then, did he offend, and whom of the Spaniards who were there, and the Sovereigns, did he disserve, after he left here until he returned, and in the…
These safe-conducts having been dispatched to Francisco Roldan, so that Roldan might come the sooner to the agreement, and the business so desired and so necessary for the peace and…
History. Christopher Columbus anchored in the port of Aquin in 1494: the natives of the country called this place Yaquimo. Alfonse Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci also came there on 5…
While this was going on, news came to the Admiral that Alonso de Hojeda had arrived with certain ships at the port of Yaquimo, which is down the coast, 80…
... and this picture and report the Admiral sent to the Sovereigns in that same year 98, on the 18th of October, when the said ships departed, and they arrived…
Returning, then, to continue the first voyage of Ojeda, with whom Américo went, by the straight way, and not by the twisted or interpolated and confused road, as Américo writes…
On the 28th day of September of that year 1499, the provision of the settlement that the Admiral had made with Roldan and with them was proclaimed; it was said…
... whereupon the Admiral ordered two or three caravels made ready, and sent Francisco Roldán with people to forbid Ojeda to cut brazilwood, suspecting that he would load his ships…
... The news of the gold, which I said I would give, is that, on Christmas Day, being very afflicted, warred upon by the bad Christians and by Indians, on…
1500-1820: Throughout this three-century span, African captives constituted approximately 80 percent of all people who embarked for the Americas. This overwhelming majority highlights the central role of forced African migration…
1500 Aug 23-fall: Francisco de Bobadilla arrived as the new royal administrator and shipped the Columbus brothers back to Spain in chains. This intervention terminated the crown's grant of the…
1500–1518: (The Transatlantic Pivot to African Bondage): African presence in Ayiti began as early as 1500, with the first official group of captives sent by King Ferdinand in 1510 to…
1500s–2000s CE: (The Persistence of the Lie: The Horrific Rationalizations of Slavers and Enslavers Living on as Unexamined Assumptions in the Minds of Far Too Many, the Failure to…
1–1500 CE: (Throwing Knives as a Second Product of Advanced Iron-Forging Technology: Complex Weapons Composed of Several Forged Blades Welded Together, Possibly Originating in the Darfur Region of Sudan,…
1500-00-00: (The Atlantic Slave Trade, the Forced Transportation of Roughly Twelve Million Africans Across the Atlantic Over Four Centuries, With Approximately Fifteen Percent Sent to the French Caribbean and Mostly…
... who, having taken the road of the Canaries, and from there to those of Cabo Verde, and having left that of Santiago, which is one of them, on the…
While the Admiral was in these thoughts, and in the Vega, or la Concepcion de la Vega, which was the fortress, or in Guaricano, which was half a league away,…
They arrived, then, in their canoe, the three, and asking who came in the caravels, and whether Don Diego came, the commander Bobadilla appeared, who came in the caravel Gorda,…
... those who held themselves aggrieved by the Admiral and his brothers, and all the involuntary, especially those who earned the King's wages, because they were not paid, and suffered…
The commander would not go ashore that day, until the next day, Monday, 24 August, when he ordered all the people he brought with him to disembark, and with them…
Once the said royal patent letter was notified, the commander Bobadilla said at once, as pesquisidor, that, since the Admiral was not there, he required the said Don Diego, his…
... The commander answered that since they had no power for anything, it was not necessary to give them a copy, and that he denied it to them; and when…
... and so, that Tuesday at the hour of vespers, he went with all the people to the fortress, and ordered and required the warden to open the doors to…
... they felt great sorrow that he came a prisoner and ill treated, and ordered at once that he be released, and, as I heard said, they ordered him provided…
1501-1641: During this early era of the trade, Iberian ports in Spain and Portugal were responsible for organizing 97 percent of all slaving voyages departing from Europe. The first ships…
1501–1830: Demographic data shows that by 1750, the Caribbean had received nine times more African captives than the North American mainland. Despite this massive difference in inflows, by 1830, the…
1501-1867: The transatlantic slave trade persisted for over 360 years and resulted in the forced deportation of an estimated 12.5 million Africans. This massive oceanic migration ranks as one of…
1501-1867: An analysis of nearly 35,000 documented slave voyages reveals that 93 percent of all transatlantic traffic was organized in just twenty major ports. While the database records departures from…
1501: The trade in African captives to the Americas began in the Greater Antilles. The vessels did not come directly from the African coast. They arrived from Spain. These early forced…
1501: Spanish vessels begin the trade in enslaved Africans from Europe to the Americas with sales in the Greater Antilles. This early phase of the trade involved Africans who…
... They ordered the Commander of Lares to restore to the Admiral and to his brothers all the gold and jewels, and the property in livestock and provisions of bread…
1502: Governor Nicolás de Ovando arrived on the island with 2,500 colonists, including the first European families to settle in the Americas. He implemented a policy of eliminating independent chiefs to…
1502: Governor Nicolás de Ovando arrives with 2,500 settlers to formalize Spanish control. His administration established the bureaucratic foundation for the colonial exploitation of the island's resources.
1502: Bartolomé de Las Casas arrives on the island as a young settler, later becoming a leading critic of Spanish brutality. He witnessed the devastating impact of the encomienda system on…
1502-spring: Columbus was released from prison and allowed to make a final voyage of exploration, though he was prohibited from landing at Santo Domingo. He explored the Central American coast…
«The King and the Queen: don Cristóbal Colón, our Admiral of the islands and mainland that are in the Ocean Sea in the part of the Indies. We saw your…
... we learned that they remained eight days shut away, without any man seeing or speaking to them. At last it pleased God that, after great perils and labors, they…
... The Captain held the visit and offer in great favor, and sent to visit him and give him thanks, with some gentlemen who were with him, some of whom…
... They had very prosperous weather, so that without touching the sails they sighted the island that we call, and the Indians call, Matininó, the last long one, on the…
He arrived at this port of Sancto Domingo on the 29th of June, and, when near, sent in a boat from one ship the Captain of it, called Pedro de…
Let us leave this island in the state that we have described, and let us take up again the history of the voyage of the Admiral, which we left. In…
... with this great storm, and struggling against wind and current, as the ships received from the sea and the winds great blows and assaults, they all opened their seams;…
1503: The Taino queen Anacaona is captured and hanged by Spanish soldiers during a deceptive parley. Her execution became a symbol of the tragic fate of the indigenous leadership under…
1503: Governor Ovando issues the first official colonial report identifying the marronage of enslaved black people as a significant threat to the island. This document highlighted the early and persistent…
1503-fall: Ovando executed eighty district chiefs in Xaraguá by burning them alive inside a house and publicly hanged Queen Anacaona. This brutal action destroyed the last independent chiefdoms on the island…
... commanding each Cacique to have charge of a certain number of the Indians, that he make them go to work wherever need be, and that, on feast days and…
... by which I command you, our said Governor, that, from the day you see this my Letter henceforward, you compel and press the said Indians to deal and converse…
1504-fall: Columbus was finally rescued from northern Jamaica, where he had been marooned for a year following the loss of his ships. He returned to Spain seriously ill and died…
1504-00-00: (Navassa Island, a Small Uninhabited Island Off Haiti's Southwest Coast Claimed by the United States in 1857 Under the Guano Islands Act, Disputed by Haiti Since 1804, Now a…
... he wrote it, and they granted it, and this liberty was granted by a chapter of a royal Letter to the Governor. Another time the Sovereigns were petitioned that,…
... The Admiral and all the rest embarked, and set sail on the 28th of June of 1504; they sailed with much hardship because the winds and currents that come…
He says that Diego de Salcedo, his servant, had an uneasy heart, because he saw that he could not remove or kill the suspicion that was still held of the…
... all the other people stayed on this island, and from here some passed to that of Sant Juan, when they went to settle it, or, better said, to destroy…
1505-00-00: (Sugarcane Cultivation Introduced to the Island, Beginning the Crop Cycle That Would Transform It Into the Engine of Caribbean Slavery): In 1505, sugarcane cultivation was introduced to the island, a…
1505-00-00: (Sugarcane Cultivation Introduced to the Island, the Crop That Would Transform It Into the Most Profitable Colony in the World and the Most Brutal Slave System in the Americas): In…
Queen Isabella was dead. Ferdinand, who had turned against him, took from him his office of viceroy. He died of grief, in poverty, at Valladolid on 20 May 1506, at…
It was in this Cathedral that the remains of Christopher Columbus were interred, after their translation from Seville, where they had been carried from Valladolid; that great man having died…
After his brother the Adelantado had been dispatched to go and kiss the hands of the new Sovereigns, the gout of the Admiral grew worse by the hour, from the…
1508: Rouse mentions the first Spanish census of Puerto Rico, marking the formal counting of the Taíno for labor purposes.
1508: The Spanish crown authorized Juan Ponce de León to settle Puerto Rico after he discovered gold during a previous exploration across the Mona Passage. He established the first permanent…
Bonaventure or Buenaventura. Village founded by Nicolas Ovando on the banks of the river Jayna for the working of the gold of that river. The commune comes under the province…
The King: «Our officers of the House of Trade of the Indies, who reside in the city of Seville, you know already how I have provided the admiral don Diego…
1509: Diego Columbus was appointed viceroy of the Indies and presided over the final stages of Taino population decline. He commissioned Juan de Esquivel to conquer Jamaica, which was primarily…
1509-1513: Spanish raiders removed more than forty thousand Lucayan Tainos from the Bahamian Archipelago to work in the mines of the island of Haiti. This intensive slave raiding resulted in the complete…
1510-00-00: (First Enslaved Africans Deported to the Island, Replacing the Rapidly Dying Taíno Population as Forced Labor for Spanish Colonial Operations): In 1510, the first enslaved Africans were deported to the…
1510-00-00: (The First Enslaved Africans Deported to the Island, the Beginning of a Forced Migration That Would Transport Over Half a Million People Across the Atlantic Over the Next Three…
1511: Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar undertook the conquest of Cuba, capturing and executing the Hispaniolan refugee chief Hatuéy at the stake. Modern Cubans regard Hatuéy as a national hero for…
1511: Fray Antón de Montesinos delivers a landmark sermon in Santo Domingo condemning the mistreatment of the Taino. His moral challenge to the Spanish authorities sparked the first debates over…
... Likewise, that the bishops take no tithes of gold and silver, pearls, or precious stones, but of the other things, in conformity with the bull of the Pope, and…
There was another law that carried with it clear injustice and tyrannical iniquity, which was almost the end of all the others, and to which all the others were ordered,…
... Of whom I was always sure that they did not add this last pretending any gain, but that those who did pretend it, informed and persuaded, perhaps with good…
1514: The formal census/distribution that signaled the collapse of the chiefdoms. He cites the Repartimiento of 1514, a specific administrative event where the remaining Taínos on the island were "distributed" among…
1514: A colonial census recorded only 22,726 Indians able to work in the encomiendas, a massive decline from the early days of contact. The report also found that 40 percent…
1514: The indigenous population of the island is recorded as having fallen to only 29,000 survivors from an original population of several hundred thousand. This catastrophic decline was primarily driven by…
... by the present I entrust to you, Nuño de Guzmán, settler of the town of Puerto Plata, the cacique Andrés Guaybona with one of his Nitaynos, who is called…
... whom I entrust to you that you may serve yourself of them in your estates, and mines, and enterprises, as and according to what Their Highnesses command, in conformity…
1515: Sugar cane was introduced to the West Indies from the Canary Islands as the goldfields began to show signs of exhaustion. This shift toward industrial agriculture created an increased…
1515–1790: During the first phase of the Cuban slave trade, West Central Africa was the primary regional source, accounting for more than 40 percent of the total captives. The trade…
1517-August-18: Following the rapid decline of the indigenous labor force, Bartholomew de las Casas, often called the "Apostle of the Indians," sought a way to protect the remaining native people.…
1517–1801: (Ottoman Egypt: Mameluke Province Turned Autonomous Power Base, the Advance into the Red Sea and Nubia, Mameluke Beys Regaining Prominence, Pashas Establishing Independent Dynasties, and Napoleon's Invasion of…
1518: The first Asiento (contract) is granted by the Spanish Crown, authorizing the direct transport of captives from Africa to the Americas, bypassing Europe (Eltis & Richardson, 41).
1519: A devastating smallpox epidemic decimated the surviving Taino population across the Greater Antilles. During this same year, a cacique named Enriquillo led his encomienda into the interior mountains to…
1519: The indigenous Arawak population of Hayti is recorded as having been reduced to 100,000 survivors, down from approximately one million in 1492. The speed of this demographic collapse underscored…
1519–1533: The Taino leader Enriquillo leads a successful guerrilla rebellion against Spanish rule. His sustained resistance in the mountains forced the Spanish to sign a peace treaty and recognize his…
1520–1810: For nearly three centuries, the Spanish Caribbean mainland relied heavily on West Central Africa for its supply of enslaved labor. Early in the trade, Portuguese and Spanish vessels managed…
Francisco Alvares, a Portuguese priest who spent six years in Ethiopia in the 1520s, wrote down two reports about the country to the west. A travelling Syrian named John told…
Then bishop of Burgos sent to summon the cleric Casas, and the Bishop gathered to himself Hernando de Vega, and the licentiate Zapata, and Francisco de los Cobos, secretary, and…
1522: The first recorded armed plot of the enslaved occurs on the island during the period of exclusive Spanish rule. This event marked the beginning of a long tradition of organized…
Enslaved people of Don Diégo Colomb and of a licentiate took the road to Azua to join the cacique Henri; they were pursued and defeated after resisting a party of…
1524: The date by which Taíno culture is considered archaeologically "extinct." Rouse notes that by this year, the Taíno had ceased to exist as a separate, organized cultural entity in…
1524: The Taino people had almost completely been replaced by deported captives by the end of Diego Columbus's term as viceroy. Small, isolated communities of Taino descent continued to…
1524: The Taino people cease to exist as a separate, distinct population group on the island. While their biological and cultural traits survived through mixed ancestry, their formal societal structure…
1525: The first slave ship sailed directly from the African coast to the Americas, marking a significant transition in the organization of the transatlantic traffic. This direct route bypassed European…
1526-1641: During the initial phases of the trade in West Central Africa, captives were primarily funneled from the Kingdom of Kongo and the Ndongo Kingdom, often referred to as Ngolas.…
1526-1867: The Spanish and Portuguese empires maintained their involvement in the transatlantic slave trade throughout these centuries. Maps from this period trace the distribution of captives across their vast colonial…
1526-1867: West Central Africa was characterized by significant state formations, making its political landscape more complex than other regions of western Africa. Enslaved individuals from this vast area were often…
1527–1842: The slave trade to Puerto Rico spanned over three centuries, with early arrivals managed by Spanish and Portuguese traders and later voyages dominated by French and British merchants. West…
1530s: The Spanish begin establishing the first sugar plantations and mills on the island. These early industrial agricultural operations created the demand for a permanent, enslaved workforce.
1530s: The decade when Iberian merchants fully established the Triangular Trade route (Europe → Africa → Americas), which served as the blueprint for all future colonial powers Iberian ports began…
1534–1700: An analysis of early slaving voyages shows that shipboard mortality and travel times varied significantly between different arrival regions in the Caribbean. For instance, voyages to the Dutch Caribbean…
1534-1862: The Congo River served as a vital maritime artery for the slave trade, though the primary embarkation points were often concentrated just north and south of the river estuary.…
1534–1867: An analysis of total arrivals across the Americas reveals that over 10.7 million captives survived the Middle Passage to disembark in the Americas. Brazil was the largest recipient…
Spain enacted a law on enfranchisement, the first of three Spanish laws that Ardouin names as the source of the liberal provisions of the Code noir.
1544: Official Spanish censors report that the indigenous population has effectively vanished. This report highlighted the extreme speed at which the Taino society collapsed following European arrival.
1550: By the middle of the sixteenth century, the population of Lisbon had been significantly altered by the early slave trade, with black Africans constituting 10 percent of the city's…
1556: King Henry II issues an edict enfranchising all serfs in the Dauphiné region, a precedent for the "freedom principle." This legal development in France provided an early intellectual foundation…
1560: Steady and systematic slave trading from the African coast to Brazil began during this year, initiating a centuries-long commercial link. Brazil would eventually become the geographic center of the…
1560-1642: Although the earliest slave-trading voyages to Brazil may have originated in Portugal, the organizational base for the trade shifted rapidly to the South American colony. Merchants in Brazilian ports…
1560-1807: The slave trade out of Recife, the chief port of Pernambuco, was the first Brazil-based traffic to commence operations. It later served as the primary operational base for the…
1560–1851: Pernambuco in northeast Brazil was the first region in the Americas to develop a massive sugar plantation economy, eventually receiving over 700,000 enslaved Africans. The trade was almost entirely…
1560–1851: Salvador da Bahia emerged as one of the most significant slaving ports in the South Atlantic, receiving nearly 1.4 million captives over the history of the trade. The region…
1560s: The sugar plantation system was successfully introduced into northeastern Brazil. For the following century, this region served as the primary destination for the majority of the transatlantic slave trade.
1561–1790: As Brazil rose to become the premier global source of sugar in the late sixteenth century, the ports of Recife, Salvador da Bahia, and Rio de Janeiro became the…
1561–1851: Pernambuco, being the American sugar-producing region geographically closest to Africa, was the first Brazilian territory to draw heavily from the slave trade. The regional capital of Recife maintained a…
1561–1856: Total captive flows between Africa and South America were heavily influenced by the prevailing winds and ocean currents of the South Atlantic. While West Central Africa was the major…
1562: Master John Hawkins organized his first English slaving expedition after gathering intelligence from residents of the Canary Islands regarding the high demand for captives in Hispaniola. He secured financial…
1562-1571: Sir John Hawkins led a series of English slaving ventures to the Sierra Leone region in a bold attempt to challenge the established Iberian monopoly on the transatlantic traffic.…
1563-1810: British slave traders eventually rose to dominate the northern segment of the Atlantic slave-trading system, acting as the primary international carriers after the decline of the Dutch in the…
Spain enacted the second of the three laws on enfranchisement that Ardouin names as models for the Code noir.
On a slaving voyage that ended at New Spain in 1565, the people aboard the Santo Antonio rose against the crew. They had been taken at Portuguese Guinea. The record…
1566-1865: Resistance was a persistent feature of the slave trade, with documented revolts occurring on approximately 10 percent of all slaving voyages. Most of these uprisings took place while vessels…
1566–1865: Documented resistance patterns show that slaving vessels departing from Upper Guinea were significantly more likely to experience insurrections of the captives than ships from other regions. Although this broad…
1566–1865: Analysis of the timing of rebellions reveals that the majority, approximately 62.8 percent, occurred while vessels were still anchored on the African coast taking more captives aboard. Another 12.8…
1567-1568: During his third and "unfortunate" voyage, John Hawkins led an armed assault on a town in Guinea that was reportedly home to 8,000 inhabitants. Aided by a local rival…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Hispaniola in 1567, the people aboard the Madalena went over the side, or were recorded missing. They had been taken at Cape Verde…
1571: The Parlement of Guyenne declares that "France, mother of liberty, does not permit any slaves." This declaration became a core component of French legal identity, even as slavery expanded…
1576: Jean Bodin publishes Six Books of a Commonwealth, warning that absolute power creates "domestic enemies." His political theory argued that the existence of slavery inherently threatened the stability of…
1580-1640: During the period when Portugal and Spain were ruled by a single monarch, over 75 percent of all captives forced across the Atlantic were carried in Portuguese ships. Most…
1581–1856: Rio de Janeiro functioned as the premier destination for the seaborne traffic in captives in the world, with almost all captives entering Southeast Brazil passing through its port until…
1581–1851: Salvador da Bahia emerged as a uniquely distinct hub within the Brazilian slave trade, drawing the majority of its captives from the Bight of Benin. This specific regional…
1582-1850: Luanda, established by the Portuguese in 1575, became the single most productive embarkation point in sub-Saharan Africa, supplying more captives to the Americas than any other location after 1620.…
1582–1851: Rio de Janeiro eventually surpassed all other ports in the Americas to become the single largest entry point for enslaved Africans in history. Over 1.5 million people were forcibly…
1586: Sir Francis Drake successfully pillaged the town of St. Domingo during a high-profile raid on Spanish West Indian possessions. The attack demonstrated the growing vulnerability of the Spanish empire…
1586–1629: (The Erosion of Spanish Hegemony and the Rise of Contraband): The decline of Spanish power on the island became evident in 1586 when Francis Drake pillaged Santo Domingo. In…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cartagena in 1588, the people aboard the S Pedro rose against the crew. They had been taken at Portuguese Guinea. The record gives…
1600–1780: The historical trajectory of the British East India Company was detailed in the colonial press, tracing its evolution from its original 1600 charter to its unified form under Queen…
1600–1749: Economic statistics cited in a memoir on commerce illustrated the rapid growth of England's national wealth over a century and a half. In 1600, the country's total value in…
1605: Spanish authorities forcibly relocate settlers from the western part of the island to the east. This "devastation" left the western coast open to occupation by French and English pirates…
1606–1833: The islands of Trinidad and Tobago received approximately 44,000 enslaved Africans directly from the coast, with the vast majority arriving in the final decades of the trade. British vessels…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Venezuela in 1612, the people aboard the Jesus María rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cacheu. The record gives the…
1615: King Louis XIII approves an edict for enslavement on the condition that it serves Christian conversion. This law attempted to justify the slave trade by linking it to the…
1616-1863: The Gold Coast and the Bight of Benin collectively supplied approximately one-quarter of all captives transported in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. While the Gold Coast was initially focused on…
1619–1775: Over 95 percent of the enslaved people who arrived in the Chesapeake Bay area directly from Africa were transported on ships outfitted in the major British ports of London,…
1620–1835: The Río de la Plata region served as an early and persistent destination for the transatlantic slave trade, with merchants in Buenos Aires seeking captives from Angola as early…
1622-1807: Old Calabar, situated near the modern border of Nigeria and Cameroon, established itself as a premier port in the Bight of Biafra by the middle of the seventeenth century.…
A Jesuit report of January 1622 on a Kongo rebellion uses the word sangamento, dancing a war dance, as the ordinary expression for going to war. Seventeenth century writers in…
1625: French and English buccaneers begin using Tortuga as a permanent base. From this stronghold, they raided Spanish shipping lanes and established a presence that would lead to French Saint-Domingue.
1625: European nations including Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands began to challenge Spanish control by settling depopulated islands in the Caribbean. Spain eventually lost Jamaica to Britain and the…
1625-00-00: (France Establishes a Colony on Tortuga, the Foothold That Would Eventually Lead to French Control of the West of the Larger Island and the Creation of Saint-Domingue): In 1625, France…
1625-00-00: (France Establishes a Colony on the Island of Tortuga, the Buccaneers' Base That Would Become the Foothold for French Colonization of the West of the Larger Island): In 1625, France…
1627: A contemporary description of a slave ship highlighted the horrific and disgusting conditions endured by captives, who were often crowded together under the deck in chains. The account detailed…
1629: A Spanish armament expelled a body of French and English planters from the island of St. Christopher with circumstances of outrageous barbarity. These exiles fled in open boats and…
1629: A Spanish force attacked the settlement at Tortuga while the ablest defenders were away hunting on the larger island. The invaders captured and indiscriminately massacred the women, children, and…
1629–1667: (The Birth of the Brethren of the Coast and Buccaneer Culture): Following their expulsion from St. Kitts, French and English refugees settled on the island of Tortuga, which they…
1630: The Dutch successfully conquered the Pernambuco region of Brazil, including the vital port hinterland of Recife. Following this victory, Dutch slaving operations in South America were largely organized from…
1630s–1816: Throughout Brazil, enslaved Africans served as both the primary producers of export commodities and visible symbols of their enslavers' social status. Wealthy Portuguese families utilized "strong slaves" to…
1638–1775: The early slave trade to Brazil exhibited mortality rates that were substantially lower than those recorded on vessels sailing to the Caribbean during the same period. Interestingly, the survival…
1638–1775: Voyages from West Africa to Brazil were considerably shorter in duration compared to those destined for the Caribbean islands. This geographic proximity contributed to lower shipboard mortality rates for…
1640: The organizational center of gravity for the African slave trade underwent a sharp northward shift following this date. Dominance passed from Iberian ports to northern European centers such as…
1640: The Iberian Union, which had united the monarchies of Spain and Portugal under a single crown for sixty years, officially came to an end. This political shift had immediate…
1640s: Barbados underwent a revolutionary economic transfer by shifting its primary agricultural focus from tobacco to sugarcane cultivation. This transition was largely facilitated by the availability of enslaved African labor…
1640s: Sugarcane cultivation was introduced to Barbados, the most easterly of the Caribbean islands. This shift initiated a revolutionary transfer of labor and capital that transformed the economic landscape of…
1640-Dec.-31: A meticulous public sale record from Brazil documented the sale of captives from Guinea, Ardra, and Calabar carried on the ship Wapen van Delf. The ledger identifies…
HISTORY. It was from Port-Margot that Levasseur set out to drive the Englishman Willis from Tortuga on 31 August 1640. Rouzier tells this under the entry PORT MARGOT (le).
1641: Export levels of sugar from the eastern Caribbean became significant during this year, signaling the start of the "sugar revolution" in the region. This economic transformation was characterized by…
1641–1863: The Dutch West Indies, including Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, functioned primarily as a major regional re-export hub for the transatlantic slave trade. While some captives remained on the islands,…
1641-00-00: (French Buccaneers Establish Settlements in the Northwest of the Island, Expanding From Tortuga Onto the Mainland and Beginning the Process of French Territorial Claim): In 1641, French buccaneers began establishing…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Pernambuco in 1641, the people aboard the Zwarte Arend rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the…
Spain enacted the third of the laws on enfranchisement that Ardouin names as models for the Code noir.
1642-1794: Merchants from Amsterdam and the northern Netherlands typically organized their slaving voyages from the sheltered anchorage of Texel. It was at this location that ships received their final…
1642-1806: Copenhagen served as the primary organizational center for the trafficking of captives among countries bordering the Baltic Sea and was the home port for the Danish West Indies Company.…
1642-1807: Approximately 46 percent of all transatlantic slave voyages were organized within the Americas, with slaving ventures setting out from nearly every major Atlantic port in the hemisphere.…
1642-1807: The slave trade out of Recife, the chief port of Pernambuco, was the first Brazil-based traffic to commence and served as a major base for Dutch slaving operations during…
1642-1807: Salvador da Bahia organized more slaving voyages than any other Atlantic port for the majority of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The port maintained a uniquely robust commercial link…
1642-1807: Rio de Janeiro emerged as the premier outfitting center in the Americas for slave voyages, particularly as the trade reached its nineteenth-century peak. Unlike many northern European voyages, the…
1642-1807: British Caribbean colonies were the only islands in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to outfit significant numbers of their own slaving voyages. Barbados, in particular, served as the second-largest…
1642-1807: The slave trade out of Lisbon experienced a period of decline after 1641 following the separation of the Portuguese and Spanish monarchies. This political shift closed the previously accessible…
1642-1807: The slave trade from West Central Africa underwent a massive sevenfold expansion during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the global demand for labor intensified. While Luanda remained a…
1642-1807: Merchants operating from ports in Rhode Island, including Newport, Bristol, and Providence, outfitted approximately half of all slaving voyages originating from the North American mainland. These ventures typically employed…
1642-1807: Although considered minor slave traders relative to the major powers, merchants in Scandinavia and the Hanse towns of northern Germany carried off more than 100,000 captives from Africa. This…
1642-1810: London emerged as a premier organizational hub for the slave trade, drawing its prominence from its status as a global commercial center. As the largest city in Europe, it…
1643-1793: La Rochelle stood as the second most important slaving port in France, utilizing its favorable Atlantic location to organize efficient triangular voyages. Its merchants drew heavily from the African…
1643-1831: France emerged as the third largest national slave-trading group, with its traffic largely driven by the extreme economic importance of the St.-Domingue colony in the eighteenth century. To support…
1644–1807: The slave trade to the Guianas, including British, French, and Dutch territories, was a complex multi-national enterprise that received over 500,000 captives. West Central Africa and the Bight of…
In February 1644 a group of enslaved Africans in New Amsterdam petitioned the Dutch authorities for their freedom. They had served the Dutch West India Company for eighteen years, they…
1645-1860: The slave trade organized in mainland North American colonies grew rapidly after 1730 but faced a sharp decline during the American Revolution as individual states began implementing bans. However,…
On a slaving voyage that ended at São Tomé in 1647, the people aboard the Eendracht rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the…
This Ordinance expressly enjoins the settlers to plant and cultivate food crops to ensure the feeding of their enslaved people; and it orders the Officers of the Milices to see…
1650-1850: Political boundaries and ethnolinguistic identities along the Gold Coast and Bight of Benin underwent significant shifts as the slave trade reached its historical peak. The Asante confederacy rose to…
1652–1700: The early era of the transatlantic slave trade was defined by exceptionally long voyages and devastatingly high mortality rates for both captives and crews. Enslaved individuals departing from the…
1652-1851: Lagos emerged as a critical slaving venue between 1815 and 1850, a period when much of the trans-Atlantic slave trade was conducted illegally. The port's unique location on a…
1652-1851: New Calabar served as the leading embarkation center for captives in the Bight of Biafra slaving region throughout the late seventeenth century. Although it was later eclipsed by the…
1653-1808: Cape Coast Castle was originally constructed by the Swedes before being seized by the Danes in 1663 and finally by the British a year later. It served as the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1654, the people aboard an unnamed British ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives…
1655-May-10: As early as the mid-seventeenth century, Great Britain began seeking ways to challenge Spanish dominance by attempting to capture the island of Haiti. This military ambition was part of a…
1655–1775: Enslaved Africans first arrived in the Middle Colonies during the period of Dutch control before 1667, primarily landing in what would become New York. About 90 percent of the…
1655–1775: Jamaica emerged as the premier destination for enslaved Africans in the British Empire, receiving over 600,000 captives during the century preceding the American Revolution. The Bight of Biafra and…
1655: The Spanish inhabitants of Jamaica were described by contemporary observers as a "debased and degenerate race" during the English conquest of the island. This characterization was later applied by…
1658–1825: Suriname served as the primary settlement within the Dutch Guianas, functioning as the epicenter for the rapid expansion of sugar cultivation and the subsequent demand for enslaved labor. Until…
1658-1838: Cameroon was the smallest of the major embarkation points in the Bight of Biafra and was the last to engage in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in a significant way.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Buenos Aires in 1658, the S Pieter had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at New Calabar.…
1659-1726: Ouidah (Whidah) became the major slave-trading port in West Africa by the conclusion of the seventeenth century, located in what is now modern Benin. Merchants from various European nations…
1659-1807: Bonny and New Calabar were two key ports in the British slave trade that were geographically close in the eastern Niger Delta but remained politically independent of one another.…
1659: The French established St.-Louis as a fortified trading post at the mouth of the Sénégal River to command the region's commerce and the embarkation of captives. While the French…
1660: The English began a century and a half of dominance over the northern system of the transatlantic slave trade. This system linked European ports with West Africa and the…
1660-1690: Offra served as a primary trading venue for the English and Dutch chartered companies, acting as the maritime outlet for the African kingdom of Allada. Located in what is…
1660-1807: The Gambia River served as the steadiest source of enslaved people from the Upper Guinea region, remaining navigable for small oceangoing vessels up to 125 miles inland. British slave…
1660s-1807: Loango emerged as a major slaving port under the control of Vili traders, who acted as professional brokers between European ship captains and the internal suppliers of captives. The…
1660-1807: Malembo, located north of the Congo River in modern Angola, served as the primary Atlantic outlet for the Kongo Kingdom throughout the duration of the slave trade. The port…
1663–1860: Slave voyages destined for mainland North America generally lasted longer and experienced higher shipboard mortality rates than those going to other regions of the Americas. These extended travel…
1664: Bertrand d'Ogeron is appointed governor of Tortuga and the western coast. He is credited with bringing order to the buccaneer settlements and promoting agricultural development.
1664: A royal governor is named to oversee the French settlements on Tortuga and the coast. This appointment marked the formal assertion of French sovereignty over the territory that would…
1664–1829: French Guiana experienced a relatively modest and erratic inflow of enslaved Africans compared to other Caribbean colonies, with most arrivals managed by merchants from Nantes and Le Havre. For…
1664-00-00: (France Claims the West of the Island, Asserting Sovereignty Over Territory That Would Become the Colony of Saint-Domingue): In 1664, France formally claimed the west of the island, asserting sovereign authority over a…
1665–1676: (The Rule of Bertrand d'Ogeron and the Plantation Pivot): Bertrand d'Ogeron arrived at Tortuga in February 1665 as the first effective governor, tasked with transforming lawless hunters and pirates…
1665-00-00: (France Establishes Port-de-Paix on Haiti's Northwestern Coast, One of the Earliest Permanent French Settlements on the Mainland of the Island): In 1665, France established Port-de-Paix on the northwestern coast of…
The Island finding itself laid waste by enslaved fugitives, the Conseil resolved to negotiate with the man named Francisque, nègre of sieur Fabulet, and Chief of a large band. The…
This Decree is the oldest authority we know that orders the reimbursement of the price of nègres put to death to their enslavers. It is just that the safety which…
1668–1803: Saint-Domingue became the most productive colony in the eighteenth-century world, a success built upon the labor of nearly 800,000 enslaved Africans. West Central Africa provided the largest share of…
1669–1808: Enslaved people were deported to Grenada irregularly under French rule, but it transformed into a major disembarkation hub following the British acquisition of the island in 1763. The…
1670s: Large-scale planters in Virginia began to turn significantly toward enslaved African labor as the supply of white British indentured servants started to decline. In the late 1670s, white servants…
1670: French boucaniers begin transitioning from subsistence farming to tobacco exploitation. This shift toward cash crops laid the foundation for the plantation-oriented economy of Saint-Domingue.
1670-1802: Le Havre distinguished itself as the first significant slave-trading port in France and remained active in the traffic until near its final years. Remarkably, nearly 40 percent of the…
1670–1682: (The Expansion of Settlements and First Insurrection of the Enslaved): Under Ogeron and his successor, de Pouancey, French settlements spread across the North, West, and South, eventually making the…
After Ambuila the Portuguese moved to crush Soyo, the coastal province that had grown rich on direct trade through the port of Pinda and had been drifting away from the…
THE KING, recognizing with some satisfaction that the care he continues to take, and the protection he gives to his subjects, spur them on every day to take up sea…
This Decree dismisses a Lieutenant of the Militias, because he abused his Wife and mutilated his nègres. We thought we should cite this Decree, which shows how a Tribunal whose…
BY this Ordinance, which concerns the debts contracted by the settlers toward the Merchants and the Company, M. de Baas orders, in conformity with the Regulation of M. de Tracy…
BY this Ordinance, to encourage the settlers to set up indigo works and to devise new manufactures in the islands, M. de Baas orders that all those who wish to…
Whereas it was represented by the Procureur-Général du Roi that he had been ordered by Monseigneur de Baas to inquire into the excesses committed by Charles Brocard against Anne, négresse,…
UPON the Remonstrance of the Procureur Général, that there were a great number of nègres marrons who committed many disorders and acts of violence, taking cattle, pulling up provisions, and…
1672 - 1752: The English Royal African Company was founded, eventually growing into the largest single slave-trading business in the history of transatlantic traffic. Granted a crown-sanctioned monopoly on English…
1672. 1977: Michel-Rolph Trouillot publishes Ti dife boule sou istwa Ayiti, the first nonfiction book written entirely in Kreyòl. The text challenged hero-driven historical narratives and centered the role of…
1674: The French Naval Ministry assumes jurisdiction over the Caribbean colonies. This administrative shift centralized the management of colonial affairs under royal authority in Versailles.
1674: The Dutch West Indies Company underwent a major reorganization, positioning it to become a primary actor in the international slaving business. This restructured enterprise focused on supplying labor to…
1674–1806: The arrival of captives in Nevis surged around 1680 due to the local sugar revolution, but the traffic eventually entered a long-term period of fluctuating decline. London-based vessels were…
On a slaving voyage in 1674, the people aboard the Vergulde Arend (a) rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 150…
1676-1802: New England ports outfitted numerous slave voyages that carried captives from various African coastal regions. These maritime links integrated the northern colonies into the broader Atlantic Slave System.
1676–1802: Relatively few enslaved Africans, approximately 10,000 individuals, reached New England ports directly from the African coast during the colonial era. Most of these captives originated from regions west of…
1677–1820: Antigua supported a significant slave trade that reached its peak in the mid-1750s and late 1760s, with annual arrivals sometimes exceeding 5,000 individuals. While London and Liverpool merchants dominated…
Enslaved Thieves. ART. I. Nègres convicted of stealing poultry, pigs or sheep, not exceeding the value of 100 livres of sugar, shall be punished by their enslavers; and if the…
1678: Portugal and the Netherlands signed a treaty that permitted Dutch monitoring of Portuguese slave ships sailing along the Gold Coast. This agreement followed the Luso-Dutch conflicts and shaped maritime…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Bahia in 1678, the Santissimo Sacramento had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Bight of Benin.…
1679: The France ship (Voyage 33733), commanded by Moisse, La, arrives at Saint-Domingue with 241 captives. This arrival documented the continuing expansion of the enslaved population during the colony's formative…
1679-Feb.: The France ship (Voyage 33528), commanded by Lescuyer, Jean, arrives at Port-de-Paix with 92 captives. These individuals were primarily brought from Senegambia and offshore Atlantic regions to begin working…
1679–1704: Four distinct armed plots of the enslaved are planned across French Saint Domingue. These early plots aimed at the total annihilation of the white enslavers and demonstrated persistent resistance.
1679–1819: Saint-Domingue emerged as the premier disembarkation center for enslaved Africans in the Caribbean until its plantation regime was destroyed by the Haitian Revolution. The colony drew the vast majority…
1679–1860: Montserrat developed a robust sugar-producing sector that was entirely dependent on sustained arrivals of captives between 1689 and 1730, primarily managed by merchants from London and Bristol. Interestingly,…
SEEN by the King in his Conseil, the Treaty made by the Directors of the Commerce of the West Indies with Maître Jean Oudiette, Fermier-Général of the Domaine d'Occident, on…
THE KING, continuing to give his attention to everything that can strengthen the Commerce of his Subjects established in the French Islands of America, and wishing to give them the…
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…
1680–1807: The Danish West India Company, based in Copenhagen, served as the primary carrier for enslaved people destined for the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix. Most of these…
1680-1830: The price paid for captives in the Senegambia region rose tenfold as the transatlantic slave trade reached its most devastating peak of impact on African societies. This sharp economic…
1680-1867: Regular trafficking of captives from the Sierra Leone estuary began in the late seventeenth century, though the vast majority of captives were embarked during the peak period between…
1680: The European population in French settlements reaches 4,000 residents. This growth in settlement indicated the increasing value France placed on its foothold in the western Caribbean.
1680-1867: Regular trafficking of captives from the Sierra Leone estuary began in the late seventeenth century, though the vast majority of captives were embarked during the peak period between…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1680, the people aboard the Convert rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
The winds that prevail at the Cap are winds from the east, north and southwest. The north winds bring cold and dampness from October until March. The west winds are…
Several hurricanes wrought havoc in the town: those of 14 August 1680, 21 September 1751, 17 September 1754, 20 September 1756, 4 August 1772, 27 August 1775, 5 September 1781,…
1681: Saint-Domingue’s population is 6,648, consisting of 65% white residents and 31% enslaved people. These early figures show a society where white settlers still outnumbered the enslaved workforce before the…
1681-1807: Cabinda became a significant embarkation center for enslaved Africans in the eighteenth century as British and French traders sought new sources of labor outside traditional ports. Acting as the…
1681–1791: (The Human Toll and Diversity of African Lineage): The documented slave trade in Saint-Domingue expanded from a census of 10,000 in May 1681 to an official figure of 500,000…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Newcastle in 1681, the people aboard the Alexander rose against the crew. They had been taken at Ardra. The record gives the numbers…
THE KING, being informed that the nègres, who make up the principal wealth of the settlers of the French Islands of America because they employ them in Agriculture and other…
1683–1691: (Inter-Imperial Warfare and the Death of de Cussy): Governor Pierre-Paul Tarin de Cussy took office in 1683, facing constant pressure to domesticate "vagabond" colonists and defend against Spanish incursions.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Thomas in 1683, the people aboard the Trompeuse rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1684, the people aboard the Koning Salomon rose against the crew. They had been taken at Congo North. The record gives…
Isabel Pacheco, a widow of mixed African descent taken at Veracruz, was being held at Petit-Goave with her two children, aged twelve and fourteen, in November 1684. Earlier that year…
THE KING having had presented to him in his Conseil the Contract made on 21 March 1679 between the sieurs Bellinzani and Mesnager, Directors of the Domaine d'Occident, and the…
1685-Mar.: The French Crown promulgates the Black Code (Code Noir). This comprehensive legal document was intended to regulate relations between enslavers and the enslaved and ensure the conversion of
1685: Article 59 of the Code Noir granted full citizenship and rights to all manumitted people, known as the affranchis. This legal provision was intended to integrate formerly enslaved…
1685, March: (The Code Noir and the Institutionalization of Abuse): To regulate the labor force in his island possessions, Louis XIV issued the Code Noir in March 1685, which nominally…
1685-00-00: (France Enacts the Code Noir, the Legal Framework Governing Slavery Across All French Colonies, a Document That Simultaneously Regulated and Legitimized the Enslavement of Human Beings): In 1685, France…
1685-00-00: (Code Noir, the Black Code Enacted Under Louis XIV That Defined the Legal Conditions of Slavery in French Colonies, Mandating Catholic Baptism of the Enslaved, Prohibiting Torture in Theory…
1685-00-00: (France Enacts the Code Noir, the Legal Framework That Regulated Slavery in French Colonies, Defining Enslaved People as Movable Property While Theoretically Granting Them Minimal Protections That Were Never…
On a slaving voyage in 1685, the people aboard the Charlton rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers as: 100 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1685, the people aboard the Ann rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 179 people were…
1686-June-15: Early commercial and maritime contacts between the English colonies in North America and the island of Saint-Domingue began to take shape during this year. William Phips, who would later…
1686-1804: The majority of the slave trade organized in Bordeaux occurred after 1750, by which time other European hubs had already established control over major West African outlets. To find…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1686, the people aboard the Expedition rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1686, the Good Fellowship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Ardra. The record gives the…
HIS MAJESTY being informed that what has contributed most to the growth of the Colony of the Coast of Saint-Domingue is the great number of indentured servants who have gone…
SEEN by the King, in his Conseil, the Remonstrances made to His Majesty by the officers of the Conseil Souverain of the Island of Martinique, on the seventh and thirtieth…
1687-May-06: The Sovereign Council of Saint-Domingue officially registers the Code Noir. This act formalized the legal framework for slavery within the colony’s administrative and judicial systems.
The San Antonio made port at Veracruz on 24 May 1687 with 580 enslaved Africans in its hold. Margarita de Robles, Paula Matias and Maria de Pares came ashore quietly…
The present edict read, published and registered, the King's procurator-general being heard and so requiring, to be executed according to its form and tenor; and copies of it shall be…
ON what has been represented to the King, in his Conseil, that the execution of the forty-fourth Article of the Declaration made by His Majesty, concerning the Enslaved of the…
On a slaving voyage in 1688, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers as: 251…
Juana Tomasa, a mestiza from Maracaibo in Venezuela, was kidnapped when she was barely twelve and spent a decade at Petit-Goave. Questioned at Veracruz in December 1688 by the judge…
Eleven people on Andre Gomes de Medina's plantation in Bahia, and more in the neighbourhood around it, had died over the course of a year from illnesses nobody could name.…
UPON the remonstrance made by the Procureur-Général du Roi that the launches and canoes of the hunter settlers and other persons of the country have very often aided the nègres…
1690s: Enslaved Black people in Virginia began to outnumber white indentured servants by a ratio of four to one. This reversal of the labor ratio signaled the complete entrenchment…
1691: An armed insurrection of the enslaved breaks out at Port-de-Paix. This early insurrection demonstrated the constant threat of violent resistance within the growing
1691–1703: (The Era of Jean-Baptiste du Casse and the Treaty of Ryswick): Jean-Baptiste du Casse assumed leadership in 1691, using his military energy to reconstruct the colony and move the…
At Sabana Real de la Limonade, in what is now Haiti's North, a Spanish force out of Santo Domingo broke the army of French Saint-Domingue on this day. It was…
On a slaving voyage in 1691, the people aboard the Charles rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 179 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1691, the people aboard the Hester and Mary rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record…
I have reported to the King what you write me on the dispute between the Shipowners who went to carry off the nègres left at Saint-Christophe and the persons to…
We, the Chevalier de la Boulais, Lieutenant for the King on the Island of La Tortue and Coast of Saint-Domingue, having assembled all the Officers and held the Conseil de…
By this Order of M. de la Boulais, Lieutenant de Roi at Le Cap, all nègres are enjoined to conduct themselves respectfully toward Whites; and the latter are authorized to…
The conduct of the sieur Desragny toward the Shipowners of the Bark that went to take from Saint-Christophe the nègres of the French who had left there was pleasing to…
1692: The economic center of gravity in the Americas shifted from Central America to the sugar-producing regions of the Caribbean and coastal Brazil. This transition was driven by the massive…
1692: A massive earthquake destroyed Port Royal, Jamaica, which had long served as a primary outpost for pirates and masterless people from across the region. This event marked a physical…
UPON the submission made by the Procureur-Général, who has learned that several settlers daily sell wine and other drinks on the plantations to Whites and to the enslaved, and receive…
1693-Aug.-25: Captain Thomas Phillips of the Hannibal departed from St. Thomas to begin a passage to Barbados that would last over two months. During this voyage, a devastating outbreak of…
1693–1846: Amazonia, which produced cotton, cacao, and rice, relied on a specialized slave trade route that utilized the northern Atlantic wind and current systems. Ships supplying Pará and Maranhão typically…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1693, the people aboard the America rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Thomas in 1693, the people aboard the Fredrik Wilhelm rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives…
His MAJESTY having been informed that the Captains of the Vessels that go to the islands of America do not take the necessary precautions to prevent nègres belonging to the…
1695: The discovery of gold in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil triggered a massive new demand for enslaved African labor to work the extensive riverine goldfields. Thousands of workers…
1696-1810: By the mid-eighteenth century, Liverpool had ascended to become the largest slaving port in Europe as the transatlantic traffic reached its absolute peak. Its pre-eminence was driven by its…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1696, the people aboard the Adventure rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
1697: France officially obtained the western portion of the island, known as St.-Domingue, through the Treaty of Ryswick which ended the Nine Years' War. This diplomatic acquisition laid the groundwork for…
1697-September-20: Under the Treaty of Ryswick, Spain officially recognized French sovereignty over the vaguely defined western third of the island. This area had gradually become dominated by French buccaneers who…
1697-1803: Nantes rapidly became the premier port for the organization of French slaving voyages following the early eighteenth century, a position it held until the outbreak of war in 1793.…
1697-09-20: (The Treaty of Ryswick Grants France the Western Third of the Island, Formalizing What Buccaneers and Settlers Had Already Established on the Ground and Creating the Colony That Would Become…
1697-09-20: (Treaty of Ryswick, the 1697 Agreement Between France and the Grand Alliance That Ended Their War and Redistributed Colonial Territory, With France Receiving the Western Third of the Island as…
1697-09-20: (The Treaty of Ryswick, by Which Spain Formally Cedes the Western Third of the Island to France, Creating the Colony of Saint-Domingue That Would Become the Wealthiest and Most Brutal…
The Procureur-Général du Roi represented to the Council that various Persons indiscriminately buy from the enslaved Indigos, Horses, Clothing and other Merchandise, without troubling themselves about where the said enslaved…
STATEMENT of the settlers of the District of Port-de-Paix, and other places dependent on it, who have enslaved people, as appears below, the nègres, négresses and négrillons named. First. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Danish West Indies, colony unspecified in 1698, the people aboard the Københavns Børs rose against the crew. They had been taken at Little…
BEFORE the Notaires at Paris undersigned, were present, etc. All Directors and Interested Parties in the Royal Company of Senegal and the Coasts of Africa, as much for themselves as…
I have reported to the King on the Memorandum you sent me concerning the nègres. His Majesty orders me to explain to you that all those who are brought from…
1699: The earliest documented "boat people" fleeing Jamaica for Cuba appear in historical records when twenty enslaved people arrived by canoe. Upon their arrival, these fugitives were granted religious asylum…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1699, the people aboard the Albion Frigate rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bight of Biafra and Gulf…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1699, the people aboard the Rachel rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
HAVING SEEN the Remonstrance of the Procureur-Général, and ruling on it, the Council makes very express prohibitions and prohibits all enslaved nègres from having any Horses, and for this purpose…
HAVING SEEN the Remonstrance of the Procureur-Général, and ruling on it, the Council makes very express prohibitions to all enslaved nègres against keeping any offensive or defensive Arms, or big…
BETWEEN François Quesnel and Associates, etc., and Antoine Fizet, Receveur of the Nègres of the Compagnie Royale de Sénégal. Having seen the statements and declarations of the Parties, and the…
THE KING is willing that the nègres who took part in the Expedition to Carthagene, and who returned after having been taken by the Enemies, or who passed back through…
1700-1800: "State-Sponsored" Slave Trade: The eighteenth-century French slave trade was fundamentally driven by the enormous economic output and labor requirements of the St.-Domingue colony. To support this industry, the French…
1700: The Psychology of the Middle Passage: Maritime explorer Jean Barbot provided a vivid description of the security measures and horrific conditions found on slaving vessels, where captives were crowded…
1700s–Late 18th Century: (The Expansion of Northern Ngoni Chiefdoms: Maize, Population Growth, the Struggle to Control Ivory Export Routes, Age-Sets Transformed into Standing Armies, and the Three Dominant Chiefdoms…
On a slaving voyage in 1700, the people aboard the Concord rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the numbers as: 251 people were…
By this Ordinance the nègres seized in Spanish territory are sentenced to have the hamstring cut. M. de Galiffet was the first to set the example of carrying out this…
This Ordinance forbids every hunting nègre, enslaved, to go beyond the Lookouts placed at the Boundary between the French part and the Spanish part, under penalty of being arrested and…
1701–1775: While the average length of voyages to the Caribbean did not significantly change in the mid-eighteenth century, shipboard mortality rates began a noticeable decline. Regional differences in survival remained…
1701–1775: The eighteenth-century slave trade to the French Caribbean was characterized by slightly longer maritime passages compared to other colonial regions. This trend was largely driven by the heavy dependence…
1701–1807: During the eighteenth century, the demographic composition of the transatlantic slave trade shifted as the male-to-female ratio gradually increased. This period saw the ratio approach two males for every…
1701: Père Labat records that enslaved people frequently commit suicide as economic sabotage. This extreme form of resistance was a desperate protest against the inhumane conditions of the plantation system.
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1701, the people aboard the Betty rose against the crew. They had been taken at Southeast Africa and Indian Ocean islands.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1701, the people aboard the Vergulde Zon rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1701, the people aboard the Don Carlos rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cabinda. The record gives the…
Seen by the King, being in his Conseil, the Petition presented to His Majesty by the Shipowners of the Island of Saint-Domingue, who took part in the Expedition of Carthagene,…
THE KING having been informed that the Compagnie de Guinée, established by the Edict of the month of February 1685, has not satisfied, until now, the conditions on which His…
1702 Sept : Planter M. de Gallifet observes that slaves resort to theft due to inadequate feeding and starvation. His reports highlighted the failure of masters to provide the basic…
1702–1786: (Marronage and the Eighty-Three Year Insurgency of Bahoruco): Marronage evolved from simple flight into a sophisticated form of guerrilla warfare, with bands of mawon establishing entrenched camps protected by…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1703, the people aboard the Urban Frigott rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1703, the people aboard the Vergulde Zon rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Newcastle in 1703, the people aboard the Martha rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
THE KING does not wish, Monsieur, that the Lettres de Noblesse of the sieurs....... be examined or received, since they have married mulâtresses, nor that you permit any Judgment to…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Virginia in 1704, the people aboard the Postillion rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1704, the people aboard the Tiger rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Virginia in 1704, the people aboard the Eagle Gally rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the…
Be it made known that there are marrons at the Guardhouse at the Cap; and as they are not branded, and it is not known to whom they belong, those…
Having seen by the Conseil the declaration made at the Greffe of the Amirauté of this place, on June 27 last, by the sieur le Roux, Commanding the Ship la…
1705: The Upper Council of Léogane publishes a report on organized maroon bands. These communities in the mountains represented a persistent and growing challenge to the colony's security.
July 5, 1705: The Maroon Threat: The Upper Council of Léogane publishes its report on organized maroon bands Significance: This marks the shift from individual flight to organized insurgency. The…
1705-00-00: (France Begins Extensive Sugarcane Cultivation in Saint-Domingue, Scaling Up the Plantation System That Would Make the Colony the Wealthiest in the Caribbean and Demand an Ever-Increasing Supply of Enslaved…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1705, the people aboard the Marlborough rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cartagena in 1705, the people aboard the Badine rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
The Conseil, upon the Petition presented to it by the Procureur-Général du Roi, stating that whatever orders it has pleased His Majesty to grant to his subjects of America to…
Upon the Petition made in Court before us by Maître Jean-Baptiste Fossier, Procureur of Marin Buttet, Procureur at Le Mans; and Magdeleine Yvon his Wife, for themselves and for their…
1706-January-01: During the War of the Spanish Succession, the British governor of Jamaica received formal instructions to encourage the inhabitants of Santo Domingo to drive the French out of Saint-Domingue.…
1706-May-03: Council of Léogane orders inhabitants to plant subsistence crops to prevent theft by the enslaved. This administrative action was an attempt to reduce the hunger that drove many enslaved…
Kimpa Mvita, a Kongo woman who said the spirit of Saint Anthony spoke through her, was burned alive on 2 July 1706, in her twenty third year. Oral tradition places…
Upon what was represented to the Conseil by the Procureur-Général: that whatever order there has been previously to oblige the settlers to have the necessary provisions, both for the subsistence…
BETWEEN the sieur Clauzel, Appellant, appearing in person. Against the sieur Costard, Chevalier, sieur de Chatenoye, in the capacity in which he proceeds, Respondent, appearing in person, of the other…
SEEN by the Conseil the Remonstrance of the Procureur-Général, THE CONSEIL, ruling accordingly, forbids all enslaved nègres to mistreat the said André Sénégal, Executioner of his district, under penalty of…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1707, the people aboard the Sherbrow rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the Petition of Maître Noel Camusat, Greffier and Notaire of the Jurisdiction of the Cap, stating that on his arrival he found a Custom that…
mo o THE INTENTION of His Majesty is that nègres who have been brought into the Kingdom by Settlers of the Islands and who refuse to return there may not…
Having seen by the Conseil the Remonstrance above, the Conseil orders that a levy of 12000 liv. shall be made throughout the extent of the Jurisdiction of this Conseil, which…
It is one of the first establishments of the plain of the Cap Haïtien. Its first church, built of wood in the bourg, was dedicated to Saint Anne on 26…
The sieur Deslandes, etc. On the Notice we have had that several Settlers and free nègres of the Quarters of Léogane, Petit-Goave, Grand-Goave and Acul of Petit-Goave seek to sell,…
BETWEEN Pascale Renaude, free mulâtresse of Vera-Crux, claiming to be free and the wife of the man named François le Maréchal, of the one part. And M. de Puligny, Curator…
1708-Nov 27.: Arrival of France: The France ship (Voyage 33889) arrives at Cayes (Les) with 241 captives. These individuals were transported from the Bight of Benin to provide labor for…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1708, the people aboard the Dorothy rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1708, the people aboard the Pindar Gally rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1708, the people aboard the Mary rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cape Coast Castle in 1708, the people aboard the Whidah Merchant rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle.…
Having seen by the Conseil the Remonstrance of the Procureur-Général du Roi, THE CONSEIL forbids all Settlers and Officers of whatever rank they may be to make and manufacture Guildives…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the Representation made by the Procureur-Général du Roi concerning the man named Sénégal, who had been condemned to death, and concerning the necessity of an…
THE CONSEIL orders that henceforth all nègres who are executed, and who have been heretofore, and who remain to be paid for to their enslavers, shall be replaced from the…
Having seen by the Conseil the Extract of the Letter written by M. le Comte de Choiseul, Gouverneur of the Isle la Tortue and Coast of Saint-Domingue, presented by M.…
THE Procureur-Général du Roi having entered the Conseil, remonstrated that, on a Petition which he presented to said Conseil, it pleased it to render its Decree on 16 March 1705,…
The Procureur-Général came into the Conseil and stated and submitted that the number of enslaved people who have become marrons over several years, and particularly during the War, is excessive.…
1710–1775: After 1710, the volume of enslaved Africans arriving at mainland North American ports grew significantly as more entry points were established along the coast. The proportion of captives arriving…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Portobelo in 1710, the people aboard the Fredericus Quartus (a) Frederick IV rose against the crew. They had been taken at Christiansborg. The…
ON the verbal Remonstrance of the Procureur-Général, THE CONSEIL, ruling on it, orders that an apportionment shall be made on all the nègres in general, of the Jurisdiction of this…
ON the Remonstrance made by the Procureur-Général du Roi, that he had received word that, despite the Ordinance of 1685, Articles XVIII and XIX, the enslaved sell, both publicly and…
M. de Vaucresson has informed me that the little attention paid for some time at the Islands to holding general Hunts for nègres marrons has made them so insolent that…
ON the Remonstrance made to the Conseil by the Procureur-Général du Roi, that he had received word that several Goldsmiths, established within the Jurisdiction of this Conseil, publicly buy from…
1711-00-00: (Cap-Haïtien Established, the Northern City That Would Become the Cultural and Economic Capital of Colonial Saint-Domingue and Later the Site of Key Events in the Revolution and Independence): In…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1711, the people aboard the Joseph Gally rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives…
HIS MAJESTY having been informed that the Officers of the Conseil Supérieur of Léogane have, by Decree of 1 July 1709, ordered that the enslaved nègres belonging to the Settlers…
HIS MAJESTY having, by his Ordinance of the month of March 1685, concerning the enslaved of America, Article XXXII, ordered that all corporal penalties pronounced by the ordinary Juges against…
HIS MAJESTY having, by his Ordinance of the month of March 1685, concerning the enslaved of the Islands of America, Article LIV, ordered that Noble Guardians and Bourgeois Usufructuaries, Lessees…
The Conseil has granted Record to the Procureur-Général du Roi of his Remonstrance and of the content of the said aforedated Memorandum; in consequence, and in view of the considerable…
Having seen by the Conseil the Petition presented to it, etc. THE CONSEIL, ruling on the said Petition, has ordered and orders that the said two nègres named Houx and…
The Procureur du Roi represents to you that, having been informed that there was a nègre in the dungeons of the Petite Rivière for a very long time without anyone…
1712: A royal ordinance forbids the torture of enslaved people with pepper or quicklime. This law was passed because such extreme cruelty was causing the enslaved to flee into the…
Patron saint's feast: 20 July, on Saint Marguerite's Day. There was a provision of $ 1,000 in the Budget of 1887 88 for the reestablishment of the church of Port…
D'Ogeron died in Paris in 1676. He was succeeded by Monsieur de Pouancey, who fortified the town of Cap-français. He died in 1681. Monsieur Franquesney, lieutenant of the king, replaced…
ON the Remonstrance of the Procureur-Général du Roi, that the man named Geoffroi had given liberty to several nègres by his Will of 31 July 1706, which is very prejudicial…
1713: The British planter class in the English West Indies reached a significant demographic milestone following a century of expansion. By this time, the enslaved population had grown to approximately…
On a slaving voyage in 1713, the people aboard the Victorious Anne rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers as: 367 people…
BETWEEN the sieur Perrier and the dame Blattour, Appellants, of the one part. Against the sieur Trévant, Guardian of the Minors Poule, of the other part. The Parties having been…
HIS MAJESTY having, by his Ordinance of the month of March 1685 concerning the enslaved people of the islands of America, Article LV, ordered that enslavers might emancipate their enslaved…
HIS MAJESTY having been informed that the Officers of the Conseil Supérieur du Cap François of the Isle of Saint-Domingue, by Decree of 29 August of last year 1712, declared…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Portugal in 1714, the people aboard the Abraham and Isaac rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1714, the people aboard the Africain rose against the crew. They had been taken at Jacquin. The record gives the numbers…
The Directors of the Compagnie du Sénégal have complained to me that, when one of their ships arrived at the Cap, the sieur Dupaty Mercier demanded on your behalf ten…
Having seen by the Conseil the Criminal Trial extraordinarily conducted at the request of the Substitut of the Procureur-Général du Roi against the nègre Songo, enslaved by M. le Febvre,…
Having seen by the Conseil the Regulation of Duvaumartin, Captain of Militia of the Cul-de-Sac, setting forth that one of his nègres, named Dastion, having been killed during his marronage…
I AM satisfied with the assurance you give me that the Ordinance of 1689 concerning the Right of the Majors over the Arms of Officers at their death is observed…
1715-Apr 16.: France ship (Voyage 30056) arrives at Cap Français; an insurrection of the captives occurs. The resistance on board demonstrated the continuous struggle for freedom that captives waged even…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1715, the people aboard the Société rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1715, the people aboard the Affriquaine rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Essequibo in 1715, the people aboard the Agatha rose against the crew. They had been taken at Accra. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1715, the people aboard the Prudent rose against the crew. They had been taken at Jacquin. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1715, the people aboard the Zonnestein rose against the crew. They had been taken at Elmina. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1715, the people aboard an unnamed American ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 124…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1715, the people aboard the Affriquain rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bight of Benin. The record…
HAVING seen by the Conseil the criminal trial extraordinarily conducted and instructed against the man named Jacques, enslaved nègre of the sieur de Loye, prisoner held in the prisons of…
YOU have been informed of the complaints that the Merchants of the Kingdom have made for some time on the subject of the select nègres that the Gouverneurs-Généraux, the Intendants,…
The Comte de Blénac, etc. Jean-Jacques Mithon, etc. The French and Spanish nègres marrons who are taken at the Béate shall be paid for to the French and Spanish troop…
On a slaving voyage in 1716, the people aboard the Ann and Priscilla rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 100…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1716, the people aboard the Sylvia Galley rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1716, the people aboard the Sophia rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 169 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayenne in 1716, the people aboard the Gracieuse rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the numbers…
Having seen the representation of the Procureur-Général du Roi that the sieur Froment, Husband of the dame Fournier, and the Dame la Thuillerye, refused to send their nègres at the…
THE Procureur-Général du Roi today represented to the Conseil that he has received word that the man named Martin, an enslaved nègre belonging to M. de Brach, Lieutenant de Roi…
Louis, etc. GREETINGS. The late King, our most honored Lord and Great-Grandfather, having permitted, since the month of November 1713, Merchants to go, by virtue of the Passports issued to…
1717: The Demographic Collapse of the Spanish Colony: A Spanish census of the island recorded a total population of only 18,410 inhabitants of all ages and conditions under the Spanish dominion. This…
1717-January-01: The commercial interdependence between the North American colonies and Saint-Domingue was formally recognized when the French government authorized a specific trade agreement. This policy allowed for the exchange of…
1717-Summer: The Governor of Jamaica reported that a recent experiment to transport bonded convict laborers as indentured servants had backfired as the new arrivals chose piracy over plantation labor. Many…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1717, the people aboard the Union rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Montserrat in 1717, the people aboard the Anne Gally rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1717, the people aboard the Agatha rose against the crew. They had been taken at Elmina. The record gives the numbers…
THE undertaking you have carried out against the fugitive nègres established on the side of the Béate, and the success it had, will perhaps serve to make desertion of the…
1718: The Jamaican Assembly passed Act 66, which established early regulations concerning the detention and return of people who had escaped slavery and were found on the island. This…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1718, the people aboard the Société rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1718, the people aboard the Samuel rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
HIS MAJESTY being informed that the Captains of the Vessels that carry Black people to the Islands of America have communication with the settlers of the said Colonies, and allow…
Tariff for the Prévôt. FOR a marron taken in the plain and banlieue of the Cap, 15 livres. In the first mountains. . . 30 livres. In the double mountains…
1719–1770: The Gulf Coast region, primarily under French control during this era, received the majority of its enslaved population from the Senegambia region. Unlike the British colonies, the French maritime…
1719-Mar.–July 13: A detailed surgeon's account from the ship Elizabeth in 1719 recorded a diverse array of causes for captive mortality during the Middle Passage. The log listed deaths resulting…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1719, the people aboard the Elizabeth rose against the crew. They had been taken at Madagascar. The record gives the numbers…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the criminal trial conducted by extraordinary procedure at the request of the Substitut of the Procureur-Général du Roi, against the nègre Guillaume Bily, enslaved by…
1720-1807: A small number of ports in Rhode Island, specifically Newport, Bristol, and Providence, accounted for about half of all slaving voyages from the North American mainland. These merchants typically…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1720, the people aboard the Don de Dieu rose against the crew. They had been taken at Formosa. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1720, the people aboard the Whidah rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1720, the people aboard the Aimable Renaute rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives…
THE KING, having had presented to him in his Conseil his Letters Patent of January 1716, by which His Majesty had permitted all the Merchants of his Kingdom to carry…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1721, the people aboard the Robert rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
THE Marquis de Sorel, etc. The Employment of Major of the Company of free nègres of the dependency of the Cap having been vacant for a long time, and it…
THE CONSEIL, ruling on the requisition of the Procureur-Général, makes most express prohibitions and prohibits all Settlers, of whatever quality and condition, under penalty of a fine of 500 livres,…
THE CONSEIL, ruling on the remonstrance of the Procureur-Général du Roi, after deliberating on it, has ordered and does order that in future all Merchants and other individuals who sell…
Jean-Baptiste Duclos, etc. Being satisfied with the services of our nègre named Paté, and upon the representations made to us by Madame Duclos, that he always served her late husband…
1722–1758: (The Spiritual Engine of Vodou and the Legend of Makandal): As early as 1722, records describe the enslaved secretly commingling African beliefs with Christian liturgy, marking the first precise…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1722, the people aboard the Ferrers (a) Farres rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The…
On a slaving voyage in 1722, the people aboard the Marie Galère rose against the crew. They had been taken at Benin. The record gives the numbers as: 175 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1722, the Levrette was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1722, the people aboard the Marie rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1722, the people aboard the Excellent rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1722, the people aboard the Henry rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1722, the people aboard the Elizabeth rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
From 1720 to 1724 the colony was gravely agitated by disturbances set off by the exclusive privilege that the Company of the Indies held over the slave trade. The habitans…
Having seen the Petition of the sieur Dominique de Vezien, stating that one of his négresses, named Marthe, cut her throat while returning from marronage, according to the declaration the…
History. Here is how Ovando, governor of the island, succeeded in massacring the Indians of Léogane: In 1506 he set out from Sto Domingo with 300 arquebusiers and 200 Spanish…
1723-Nov 17.: The Women's Protest in Le Cap: A crowd of one hundred women led by Sagona attacks the Maison de l'Afrique in Le Cap. This protest targeted the exclusive…
On a slaving voyage that ended at La Balise in 1723, the people aboard the Courrier de Bourbon rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1723, the people aboard the Amériquain rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
M. Gérard Carbon, Counselor of the King in this Conseil, acting as Procureur-Général du Roi, entered, and said: that there was in the prisons the nègre named Colas Jambes Coupées,…
SEEN by the Conseil, the Requisition and Remonstrance presented in it today, by the Procureur-Général du Roi; THE CONSEIL, after deliberating on the five articles mentioned in the said Remonstrance,…
1724-00-00: (First Newspaper Published in Haiti, Marking the Beginning of a Print Culture in the Colony That Would Remain Primarily French-Language and Elite-Oriented for Centuries): In 1724, the first newspaper…
1724-00-00: (The First Newspaper Published in Haiti, the Beginning of a Print Culture That Would Remain Confined to the French-Speaking Elite for Over Two Centuries): In 1724, the first newspaper…
On a slaving voyage in 1724, the people aboard the Squirrel rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 53 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1724, the people aboard the Ruby rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1724, the people aboard the Dauphin rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
The village is situated 4 lieues from the town of Jacmel. Several hurricanes wrought damage there, notably those of 24 July 1724, 21 September 1751, 16 September 1754, 5 September…
BY THE KING. HIS MAJESTY having had presented to him the Ordinance made by him on 3 April 1718, by which prohibition is made to all Captains of Vessels who…
The PROCUREUR GÉNÉRAL du Roi came into the Chamber of this Conseil, and represented to the Court that he had received a Letter from Messieurs the Chevalier de la Rochalard…
WE, Chevalier of the Military Order of Saint-Louis, Gouverneur of the Island of Sainte-Croix, and Commandant at Cap-François and dependencies. To remedy the license, insubordination and disorder of the free…
The Procureur-Général du Roi came into this Conseil, and said that there is a Decree of the Conseil d'État of the King, which orders that a general inventory shall be…
Having seen by Our Conseil Supérieur of Petit Goave, the Trial conducted by extraordinary procedure at the request of the Substitut of Our Procureur-Général at the Royal Court of Léogane,…
Louis, etc. To our beloved and faithful Conseillers, the People holding our Chambre des Comptes at Paris: Greeting. The former Directors of the Compagnie Royale du Sénégal and coast of…
1725-1750: The Rise of Bristol: Bristol became the largest slave-trading port in Europe during the second quarter of the eighteenth century. Its merchants supplied the majority of captives sent to…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1725, the people aboard the Anne rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1725, the people aboard the Martha rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
TODAY, the eleventh of May 1725, the Procureur-Général entered and said: that upon the examination he has made of the number of the enslaved who have been executed within the…
1726-00-00: (Coffee Cultivation Introduced to Haiti, Adding a Second Major Export Crop to the Colony's Economy That Would Become Especially Important in the Mountainous Interior Where Sugarcane Could Not Grow):…
1726-00-00: (Coffee Cultivation Introduced to Haiti, the Crop That Would Replace Sugar as the Primary Export After Independence and Sustain the Haitian Economy Through Two Centuries of Political Upheaval): In…
UPON what was represented by the Procureur-Général du Roi, that he had received word that on the 20th of last month the nègres of the sieur Lagrange came to the…
LOUIS, &c. The late King, our most honored Lord and Great-Grandfather, had, by his Letters Patent in the form of an Edict, of March 1685, established a law and fixed…
THE CONSEIL enjoins the Juge of Saint-Louis to attach henceforth to the proceedings that are brought against the nègres marrons who relapse, the Sentence that condemns them to have their…
The Procureur-Général du Roi entered and said: that he has noticed that there is being introduced into the jurisdiction of the Conseil a usury all the more dreadful because it…
BETWEEN the Substitut of the Procureur-Général du Roi at the Siège Royal of this Town, Plaintiff and Accuser, Appellant from the Sentence rendered at the said Siège on the eleventh…
THE KING being informed that a Decree was issued by the Conseil Supérieur of Petit Goave, of the 6th of last May, at the request, pursuit and diligence of the…
As to the question M. le Chevalier de la Rochalard has asked, whether enslaved people would be received in the Galleys, I will tell you that although such people are…
UPON what was represented by the Procureur-Général du Roi, that he has been informed that Barthélemi Loppes, mulâtre, Guardian of the Minors Dubreuil, for lack of capacity, and through too…
1727-1863: Following the incorporation of Ouidah into the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1727, the number of captives dispatched from the port began to diminish compared to its period of independence.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Buenos Aires in 1727, the people aboard the Saint Michael rose against the crew. They had been taken at Madagascar. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1727, the people aboard the George rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1727, the people aboard the Hester and Jane rose against the crew. They had been taken at West Central Africa and St. Helena. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1727, the people aboard the Elizabeth rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1727, the people aboard the César rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
A Memorandum from Saint-Domingue has been addressed to me, stating that there are settlers who, on suspicions that come to them that they have nègres who are sorcerers, give themselves…
I approve that the Curial duties and the funds for the executed nègres continue to be imposed and levied in the customary manner, that the Receveurs continue to be named…
On a slaving voyage in 1728, the people aboard the Restoration rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the numbers as: 148 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1728, the people aboard the Aurore rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1728, the people aboard the Saint Nicolas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1728, the people aboard the Loyal George rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1728, the people aboard the Queen Caroline rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives the numbers as:…
The Agent of the Compagnie des Indes has informed it that two ships have been fitted out in this island for the coast of Guinea, on permissions given by M.…
THE CONSEIL being assembled as usual, M. Duclos, President of the said Conseil, said that there was owing to the sieur le Jeune a sum of 22,850 [?] livres for…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Paramaribo in 1729, the people aboard the Leusden rose against the crew. They had been taken at Jacquin. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1729, the people aboard the Annibal rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1729, the people aboard the Industry rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1729, the people aboard the Clare Gally rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1729, the people aboard the Amitié rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1729, the people aboard the Union rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1729, the people aboard the Marie Magdelaine rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives…
1730s: A "dangerous spirit of liberty" was identified by colonial officials as risings of the enslaved flared across several islands in the British West Indies. These uprisings were often led by…
1730: Regular participation in the transatlantic slave trade by merchants based in North American ports began to grow significantly. This development integrated the northern colonial economies more deeply into the…
1730-Jun.-01: The Laurence Frigate departed from Holland after being outfitted for a slave-trading voyage to West Central Africa. This vessel was one of many employed by the English South Sea…
1730-Aug.-14: The Laurence Frigate arrived at the Loango Factory to begin the purchase and embarkation of African captives. This location served as a primary embarkation point for the southern slave-trading…
November 17, 1730: Departs for the Atlantic crossing. Significance: This voyage is a textbook example of the South Sea Company’s role in the Asiento (supplying Spanish colonies). The "figure-eight" route…
1730-Sept.-30: London merchant Humphry Morice provided detailed instructions to Captain Thomas Hill of the Anne Gally regarding the trafficking of captives on the African coast. Morice urged his captain…
1730-Nov.-17: The Laurence Frigate departed the African coast with the captives forced aboard to begin the transatlantic Middle Passage. The voyage followed a figure-eight route dictated by the prevailing…
On a slaving voyage in 1730, the people aboard the William rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives the numbers as: 95…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1730, the people aboard the Scipio rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1730, the people aboard an unnamed American ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage in 1730, the people aboard the Antonia rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives the numbers as: 140…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Petit-Goâve in 1730, the people aboard the Aimable Renaute rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1730, the people aboard the Neptune rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1730, the people aboard the Charming Lydia rose against the crew. They had been taken at Jacquin. The record gives the numbers as: 240 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayenne in 1730, the people aboard the Angélique rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1730, the people aboard the Little George rose against the crew. They had been taken at Banana Islands. The record gives the numbers as: 96…
SEEN by the Conseil, the Petition of Paul Montresor, Sergeant of the Swiss Troops of the garrison of the Cap; and the Procureur-Général of the King having been heard: THE…
1731: First lieutenant Robert Durand recorded the daily operations and deaths aboard the French slaving ship Diligent in a detailed personal journal. His methods of recordkeeping visually distinguished between the…
1731: Governor Robert Hunter complained about the "lazy useless" white recruits introduced to Jamaica under the Deficiency Laws, particularly targeting the many Irish Catholics among them. These annual laws mandated…
1731: Enslaved workers in the state-run copper mines near Santiago de Cuba launched a mass revolt and established mountain settlements near El Cobre. This uprising coincided with the start of…
1731-Jan.-20: The Laurence Frigate arrived at Buenos Aires to deliver the captives it held to the Spanish American markets. The successful arrival marked the completion of the second leg of…
1731-Jul.-02: The Laurence Frigate began its return voyage to Europe after trafficking its captives in the Río de la Plata region. This final leg of the journey was necessary to…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1731, the John and Ann had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1731, the people aboard the Hare rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Americas in 1731, the Dolphin was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1731, the people aboard the Maddox rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage in 1731, the Ruby was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the numbers as: 172 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Paramaribo in 1731, the people aboard the Leusden rose against the crew. They had been taken at Jacquin. The record gives the numbers…
SEEN by the Conseil, the Petition of Julien Bornat, Receveur of fines, strays and confiscations of the district of Bayaha, stating that it has been an established practice at the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1732, the people aboard the Kings Fisher rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1732, the people aboard the Hare rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1732, the people aboard the Vrijheid rose against the crew. They had been taken at Elmina. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1732, the Dove was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 169 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1732, the people aboard the Robert rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1732, the people aboard the Parfaite rose against the crew. They had been taken at Costa da Mina. The record gives the numbers as: 367…
On a slaving voyage in 1732, the people aboard an unnamed American ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not name. The…
On a slaving voyage in 1732, the Gambia was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 95 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1732, the people aboard an unnamed Portuguese or Brazilian ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cacheu. The record gives the numbers…
1733: Governor de Fayet states that the colony's security depends on the military service of the mulatto affranchis. He believed these men were uniquely capable of destroying the maroon communities…
1733-May-17: The British Parliament passed the Molasses Act in an attempt to protect British West Indian planters from French competition. The law sought to levy high duties on molasses imported…
On a slaving voyage in 1733, the people aboard an unnamed American ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 149…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Lower James River in 1733, the Bumper was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1733, the people aboard the Hof van Zeeland rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cabinda. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Lisbon in 1733, the Finch was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1733, the people aboard the Concorde rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
THE Marquis de Fayet, &c. Jean-Baptiste Duclos, &c. The disorders of the marrons, which increase every day and cause the Settlers great harm, and the establishments they make in the…
THE Marquis de Fayet, &c. Jean-Baptiste Duclos, &c. Upon the frequent complaints brought to Us from the different districts that the nègres marrons, or those seized for debt, remained in…
THE Marquis de Fayet, &c. Jean-Baptiste Duclos, &c. Upon what has been represented to Us, that there is in this Colony a great number of settlers who have several tracts…
THE Order of the King, Sir, is that no settler of mixed blood may hold any office in the Judicature or in the Militias; I also wish that no settler…
1734–1790: (The Disenfranchisement and Repression of the Gens de Couleur): Between 1715 and 1790, the population of affranchis (people of color) grew from 1,500 to 28,000, eventually owning about a…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1734, the people aboard the Renommée rose against the crew. They had been taken at Jacquin. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1734, the people aboard the Scipio rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1734, the people aboard the Reine de France rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1734, the people aboard the Aventurier rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1734, the people aboard the Dromadaire rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1734, the people aboard the Juba rose against the crew. They had been taken at Benin. The record gives the numbers as: 367 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1734, the people aboard the Dolphin Snow rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 196 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Petit-Goâve in 1734, the people aboard the Saint Dominique rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward + Ivory + Gold…
William Amo, an Nzima from the Gold Coast, was carried to Europe as a boy by the Dutch and in 1707 handed over as a present to the Duke of…
UPON what was represented by the Procureur-Général du Roi, that an abuse is creeping in within the Jurisdictions dependent on this Conseil, on the part of the Curators of vacant…
Fires of the Cap: 1691. 1695. 1723, the church burns from firecrackers on the day of the Fête-Dieu; 20 September 1734; 10 May 1773; 9 January 1774; 27 November 1851.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Petit-Goâve in 1735, the people aboard the Valeur rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1735, the people aboard the Hoop rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 309 people were…
In 1722 the second Duke of Montagu tried to plant British colonists on St Vincent. John Brathwaite, the captain who handled the talks with the Caribs, reported seeing at least…
In 1735 an enslaved man named Kees told the Suriname criminal court what had happened before he reached it. His overseer had smelled something bad in the water and suspected…
SEEN by the Conseil, the Petition of Gilles Nautel, etc.; and M. Samson, Councillor, performing the functions of Procureur-Général du Roi, heard: THE CONSEIL, having regard to the Petition, orders…
1736-Jun.-22: An ordinance is issued to address the dangerous tavern culture spawning "disorderly" gatherings. Authorities feared these unsupervised meetings provided space for the enslaved to coordinate clandestine
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1736, the people aboard the Mary rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cabinda. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1736, the people aboard the Badine rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at York River in 1736, the Prince of Orange had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Calabar.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Upper James River in 1736, the people aboard the Stannage rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives…
Having seen by the Conseil the Petition presented to it by the merchants and traders of the Cap, tending to have prohibitions made against all Merchants men and women, etc.;…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Kitts in 1737, the people aboard the Prince of Orange rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bonny. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1737, the people aboard the Phénix rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1737, the people aboard the Manchester rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage in 1737, the people aboard the Phénix rose against the crew. They had been taken at Badagry. The record gives the numbers as: 480 people were…
Built on alluvial soil where stone is lacking, the town ought to be provided with gutters, which are indispensable to its sanitation. A fountain is a matter of absolute necessity.…
In the affair that arose on the occasion of the burial of a négresse put to death, carried out with a sort of solemnity by Father Boutin, Jesuit, the conduct…
1738: Marronage and shantying practices in the West Indies were identified as critical elements of a distinct maritime culture among enslaved and free people of color. Sailors and dockworkers developed…
1738–1805: Venture Smith, born Broteer Furor in Africa, was enslaved as a child and deported from Anomabu on the Gold Coast to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1738. After being held by…
On a slaving voyage in 1738, the people aboard the Galathée rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the numbers as: 196 people…
THE KING having had laid before him in his Conseil article 30 of the Ordinance of the month of March 1685, concerning the enslaved of the French Islands of America,…
LOUIS, &c. Having seen in our Conseil Supérieur of Petit-Goave, sitting at Léogane, the lawsuit conducted and prepared by extraordinary procedure at the request of the Substitut of the Procureur-Général…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the criminal Lawsuit conducted by extraordinary procedure, &c. and ruling on the conclusions of the Procureur-Général du Roi, forbids the enslaved nègres to carry any…
LOUIS, &c. Greeting. The report that We had made to Us after our accession to the Crown, of the state of our Colonies, having made known to Us the wisdom…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1739, the people aboard the Henriette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at a port the record does not name in 1739, the people aboard the Princess Carolina rose against the crew. They had been taken…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1739, the people aboard the Affriquain rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1739, the people aboard the Jeune Christophe rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1739, the people aboard the Gloire rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the numbers…
On a Sunday in September 1739 some twenty enslaved men, called Angolans by the colonists and led by a man named Jemmy, broke open a store of firearms near the…
Having seen by the Conseil the remonstrance made to it by the Procureur Général du Roi, containing that the various establishments of Maréchaussées made up to now within the jurisdiction…
HIS MAJESTY being informed that there are private persons who make false declarations at the Bureaux of the Domaine in the Windward Islands of nègres that they pretend to embark…
On a slaving voyage in 1740, the Lambert was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Banana Islands. The record gives the numbers as: 271 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Eustatius in 1740, the Patience was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1740, the people aboard the Néréide rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1740, the people aboard the Expedition rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
ON what was remonstrated by the Procureur-Général du Roi, &c. the matter put to deliberation: THE CONSEIL, having seen articles 23 and 29 of the said Regulation of the Maréchaussée,…
THE KING having been informed that several Receveurs of the different duties collected for the profit of His Majesty in His island of Saint-Domingue have found themselves, upon the closing…
I reported to the King on the dispute between the sieurs Rance and Binau over the duty of one half percent on the nègres brought in at Léogane during the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1741, the people aboard the Africaanse Galei rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1741, the people aboard the Jonge Rombout rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1741, the people aboard the Barclay rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1741, the people aboard the Marie rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1741, the people aboard the Notre Dame de Bonne Garde rose against the crew. They had been taken at Epe.…
THE CONSEIL, acting on the remonstrance of the Procureur Général du Roi; having heard the report of M. Branda, sitting Conseiller, and having had the Greffier of the Court read…
Monsieur the Marquis de Larnage and Monsieur Maillart: I have had a report made to me of the proposal you made to commute the penalty of the Galleys pronounced against…
BETWEEN the sieur de Meynard, Executor of the will of the late Chateau, Appellant, of the one part; and the Procureur-Général du Roi, taking up the cause of his Substitut…
More than once complaints had reached me of ill treatment inflicted by the Settlers of Saint-Domingue on their enslaved people. But besides the fact that these complaints had always seemed…
CHARLES Brunier, Marquis de Larnage, etc. Simon-Pierre Maillart, etc. His Majesty having, by his orders dated 14 March last, given us the power to suspend the execution of all judgments…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1742, the people aboard the Flore rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1742, the people aboard the Grand Chasseur rose against the crew. They had been taken at Little Popo. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1742, the people aboard the Sainte Hélène rose against the crew. They had been taken at Epe. The record gives the numbers as: 360 people…
On a slaving voyage in 1742, the people aboard the Mary rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 331 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1742, the people aboard the Nassau rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
Over the summer of 1742, after torture, an enslaved man named Baron confessed to causing the death of the woman who claimed to own him. He said he had bought…
1743-May-20: Toussaint Louverture was born on the Bréda plantation. He would grow up to become the most iconic and capable leader of the Haitian Revolution. Significance: Born on the Bréda…
1743-05-20: (Toussaint Louverture, Born Enslaved on the Bréda Plantation, Who Rose to Become the Leader of the Haitian Revolution, Defeated the Armies of Spain, Britain, and France, Promulgated a Constitution…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Newport in 1743, the Jolly Batchelor was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Sierra Leone. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1743, the people aboard the Notre Dame de Bonne Garde rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu,…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cul-de-Sac in 1743, the people aboard the Maure rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1743, the people aboard the Père de Famille rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1743, the people aboard the Badine rose against the crew. They had been taken at Epe. The record gives the…
LOUIS, &c. Greeting. The discipline of the enslaved nègres that Our Subjects of the French Colonies of America are obliged to keep for the working of their plantations is one…
BETWEEN the sieur Bechade, Merchant in this Town, pursuing the recoveries of the cargo of the Ship the Jason, Captain Tessier, Appellant from a Sentence of the Lieutenant-Général of the…
Bréda. Habitation in the rural section of the Haut-du-Cap, commune of the Cap-haïtien, on which Toussaint-Louverture was born on 20 May 1743, that nègre of genius whom politics and extraordinary…
BY THE KING'S COMMAND. HIS MAJESTY, being informed that the Officers of the Companies of nègres and free mulâtres established at Saint-Domingue have enjoyed, in consideration of the services they…
1744: Kingston police authorities attempted to address the sheltering of people who had escaped by restricting huts in outlying areas to a single door. Regulations mandated that any compound containing…
On a slaving voyage in 1744, the people aboard the Duc de Bretagne rose against the crew. They had been taken at Little Popo. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1744, the people aboard the Jeannette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Epe. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1744, the Badin was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Benin. The record gives the numbers as: 367 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1744, the people aboard the Mercure rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Essequibo in 1744, the people aboard the Baskensburg rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cabinda. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1745, the people aboard the Prudent rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the numbers as: 380 people were…
THE KING has been informed that three nègres and one négresse, enslaved people from the English Island of Antigue, having escaped to Guadeloupe, difficulties arose over the question to whom…
On a slaving voyage in 1746, the people aboard an unnamed American ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record gives the numbers…
LOUIS, etc. On what has been represented to Us, that notwithstanding the provisions We have made for the punishment of the crimes committed by vénéfice and poison, there were found…
Pierre Pinchinat was born at Saint-Marc.
On a slaving voyage in 1747, the people aboard the Vine rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the numbers as: 196 people…
1748-March-01: British forces launched a direct military attempt to gain a foothold in Saint-Domingue by capturing St. Louis on the southern coast. This was one of the few large-scale military…
On 22 March 1748 a British squadron under Admiral Charles Knowles attacked Saint-Louis-du-Sud on the southern coast of Saint-Domingue. Nine ships of the line and two sloops came against a…
On a slaving voyage in 1748, the people aboard the Emelia rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1748, the people aboard the Groot Prooijen rose against the crew. They had been taken at Boary. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1748, the people aboard the Thomas and Ellinor (a) Thomas and Ellen rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record…
For most of the eighteenth century a person of colour in Saint-Domingue was free if the neighbours treated her as free. By the 1770s officials wanted a document instead, and…
1749: The Rise of Port-au-Prince: Port-au-Prince is officially established as the new capital. It replaced Le Cap as the administrative center to better govern the growing West and South provinces.…
1749: The powerful Masonic lodge Saint Jean de Jérusalem Ecossaise was founded in Port-au-Prince during the early colonial era. This institution served as a primary site for the social and…
1749: The established current price for a male captive at the Danish fort of Christiansborg on the Gold Coast was set at 6 ounces of gold or 96 rixdaler. Payments…
1749: Enslaved people in Caracas organized a rising after seizing upon a rumor of impending freedom following a popular uprising of coastal traders. The agitation centered around Juan de…
1749–1783: (The Rise of the Capital and the Mirage of Colonial Wealth): Following the anchoring of the ship Prince in 1706, a former pirate nest was developed into the new…
1749-00-00: (Port-au-Prince Established, the City That Would Become Haiti's Capital, Built on a Seismic Fault Line in a Location Chosen for Colonial Administrative Convenience, Without Regard to Safety): In 1749,…
On a slaving voyage in 1749, the people aboard the Scipio rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cabinda. The record gives the numbers as: 331 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1749, the people aboard the Lamb rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1749, the people aboard the Noé rose against the crew. They had been taken at Accra. The record gives the numbers as: 150 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1749, the people aboard the Auguste rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1749, the people aboard the Brownlow rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1749, the people aboard the Cheval Marin rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cabinda. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1749, the people aboard the Prince d'Orange rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives…
In October 1749 several residents of a Salvador neighbourhood complained to the Inquisition about deaths they blamed on Paulo Gomes and Ignacia, a well known free couple of African descent…
1750-1754: John Newton, who would later become a prominent abolitionist and the author of "Amazing Grace," served as a captain on several slaving voyages during this period. In his personal…
1750-1804: The majority of the slave trade organized in Bordeaux occurred in the latter half of the eighteenth century, after other European ports had established themselves at major African outlets.…
1750-1807: Bance (Bunce) Island, located roughly twenty miles from the Atlantic coast, served as the primary fortified trading site for the slave trade in the Sierra Leone estuary. This strategic…
1750–1851: The Amazonia region of Brazil, including the ports of Pará and Maranhão, received approximately 140,000 enslaved Africans to support its emerging agricultural exports. The traffic was initially promoted by…
1750: By the middle of the eighteenth century, Liverpool had ascended to become the most significant slaving port in Europe. This growth coincided with the peak of the Atlantic slave…
1750-00-00: (Vincent Ogé, Born in Dondon, Wealthy Mulatto Merchant and Enslaver Whose Failed Revolt in 1790 Sought Political Rights for Free Men of Color Without Challenging Slavery Itself, Executed in…
On a slaving voyage in 1750, the people aboard the Ann rose against the crew. They had been taken at West Central Africa and St. Helena. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1750, the people aboard the Cerf rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives the numbers as: 273…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Americas in 1750, the people aboard the Diligente rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1750, the Floramell had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1750, the Earl of Radnor was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers as: 276…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1750, the people aboard the Sultane rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1750, the people aboard the Espérance rose against the crew. They had been taken at Grand Popo. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1750, the people aboard the Jamaica Packet rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1750, the Chard was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the numbers as: 276 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Kitts in 1750, the people aboard the King David rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives…
Oostindie records that a hundred enslaved people rose on Curaçao in 1750 and were crushed the same day. The casualty pattern is what makes the episode strange: the rebels killed…
Having seen in the Conseil the Ordinance of MM. de Conflans and Maillart, given at Léogane on the o of May last, signed by Vaudreuil, because of the illness of…
The Church was burned on 16 August 1750. Rouzier tells this under the entry JÉRÉMIE.
Doctor Vicente Antonio de Faura is born at Santo-Domingo.
1751: A passage is cut across mountain ranges to facilitate travel between provinces. This infrastructure project aimed to integrate the colony's disparate regions more effectively for trade and defense.
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1751, the people aboard the Surinaamse Welvaart rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward + Ivory + Gold…
On a slaving voyage that ended at New York in 1751, the people aboard the Wolf rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1751, the people aboard the Samuel Marie rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1751, the Marguerite was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Sherbro. The record gives the numbers as: 90 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1751, the people aboard the Henriette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1751, the people aboard the Hector rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1751, the people aboard the Louise Marguerite rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Tortola in 1751, the people aboard the Adlington rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1751, the people aboard the Duke of Argyle planned a rising that the crew discovered before it broke. They had…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Berbice in 1751, the people aboard the Middelburgs Welvaren rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward + Ivory + Gold…
Antoine Pellet and Antoine Paropet, free nègres, Portuguese by nation, most humbly represent to your Grandeurs that for about seven or eight years they have been languishing in the Prisons…
Two famous hurricanes have wrought ravages there: those of 6 July 1751 and of 20 September 1751. Rouzier tells this under the entry Cul-de-Sac (le).
ROCHE. Position lying between Mirebalais, rural section of Génipailler, and the bourg of the Petite Rivière on the right bank of the Artibonite. There is a sulfurous thermal spring in…
The church and part of the village were burned on 10 September 1751. Rouzier tells this under the entry MIREBALAIS (le).
Two famous hurricanes have wrought ravages there: those of 6 July 1751 and of 20 September 1751. Rouzier tells this under the entry Cul-de-Sac (le).
Several hurricanes wrought havoc in the town: those of 14 August 1680, 21 September 1751, 17 September 1754, 20 September 1756, 4 August 1772, 27 August 1775, 5 September 1781,…
The village is situated 4 lieues from the town of Jacmel. Several hurricanes wrought damage there, notably those of 24 July 1724, 21 September 1751, 16 September 1754, 5 September…
Azua de Compostela. This city, situated on the right bank of the Via in the Dominican Republic, on the road from Saint-Jean and that from Neybe to Santo-Domingo, nearly two…
VIAJAMA (la). Mountain, a spur of Monte Tina with the central Cibao, situated in the environs of Azua. Springs of mineral waters are found there, which flow into the Yaque…
1752-Oct.-13: The Spanish government processed an "expediente" regarding a group of enslaved people who had escaped from the French colony of Guadeloupe to Puerto Rico. The French ambassador in Madrid…
1752-Oct. Revolts and Maritime Agency: A violent insurrection occurred on the ship Marlborough of Bristol just three days after it sailed from the bar of Bonny on the African coast.…
On a slaving voyage in 1752, the people aboard the Marlborough rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the numbers as: 420 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1752, the people aboard the Parfaite rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1752, the people aboard the Thomas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Berbice in 1752, the people aboard the Granadier rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1752, the people aboard the Sirène rose against the crew. They had been taken at Badagry. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1752, the people aboard the Heureux rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1752, the people aboard the Adventure rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sherbro. The record gives the numbers as: 226 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1752, the people aboard the Two Friends rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1752, the people aboard the Sauveur rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
Between the sieur Bonchamps, &c. The Conseil orders that mention shall be made, in adjudications of nègres, of the hour of the adjudication, and that the Adjudicataires shall be required…
BETWEEN the sieur Lange Jousserand, &c... of the one part, and the sieur de Belleville, of the other part. Having seen, &c... ruling on the request of the Procureur Général,…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the criminal trial conducted and prosecuted by extraordinary procedure by the Lieutenant Criminel of Fort Dauphin, at the request of the Substitut of the Procureur…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1753, the people aboard the Adlington rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bassa. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1753, the Race Horse was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Little Junk. The record gives the numbers as: 230…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Danish West Indies, colony unspecified in 1753, the people aboard the Patientia rose against the crew. They had been taken at Christiansborg. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Kitts in 1753, the people aboard the African rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1753, the people aboard the Jubilee rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives the numbers as: 250…
On a slaving voyage in 1753, the people aboard the Maréchal de Saxe rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bight of Benin. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1753, the people aboard the Saint Philippe rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1753, the people aboard the Juba rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives…
The Syndics of the Riviere Blanche humbly petition, saying that it pleased you, My Lords, to establish on this river Inspectors and Guards to prevent damage to the basins, and…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1754, the people aboard the Elizabeth rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Montserrat in 1754, the people aboard the Thomas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Montserrat in 1754, the people aboard the Thomas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1754, the Greyhound had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at New York in 1754, the people aboard the York rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1754, the people aboard the Swallow rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1754, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the numbers as: 169…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1754, the Young Prince George had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The…
On a slaving voyage in 1754, the Prince George was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the numbers as: 149 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Domingue in 1754, the people aboard the Finette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cacheu. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1754, the people aboard the Levrette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the numbers as: 145 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1754, the people aboard the Middelburgs Welvaren planned a rising that the crew discovered before it broke. They had been taken…
On a slaving voyage in 1754, the people aboard the Saint Joseph rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1754, the people aboard the Matilda rose against the crew. They had been taken at New Calabar. The record gives the…
The village is situated 4 lieues from the town of Jacmel. Several hurricanes wrought damage there, notably those of 24 July 1724, 21 September 1751, 16 September 1754, 5 September…
Several hurricanes wrought havoc in the town: those of 14 August 1680, 21 September 1751, 17 September 1754, 20 September 1756, 4 August 1772, 27 August 1775, 5 September 1781,…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Americas in 1755, the people aboard the Printemps rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1755, the people aboard the Philadelphia rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Benin in 1755, the Belle Judith was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Benin. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1755, the people aboard the Jeune Mars rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1755, the Cavendish was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1755, the people aboard the Charming Jenny (a) Charming Elizabeth rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port…
Cases heard by the Conseil Superieur of Martinique in 1755 and again in 1767 describe the same procedure. Enslaved people were lined up and touched with a branch of the…
UPON what had been observed to the Court, that since the 6th of the current month, an order had been sent to the Settlers that they were to furnish, by…
1756: The Seven Years' War broke out among the major European powers, a conflict that transformed the political map of the colonial Americas. As the principal victor, Great Britain…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1756, the people aboard the Drie Gezusters rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1756, the people aboard the Jane rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1756, the people aboard the Alice rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 149 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1756, the people aboard the Hannah rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 149 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1756, the people aboard the Mary rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
Aquin gave birth to Hugues Montbrun, whose name fills the first pages of the history of Haiti. He was born on 12 June 1756 on an habitation near Aquin. He…
Several hurricanes wrought havoc in the town: those of 14 August 1680, 21 September 1751, 17 September 1754, 20 September 1756, 4 August 1772, 27 August 1775, 5 September 1781,…
1757: A company was established at Barcelona with exclusive privileges to oversee the re-establishment of agriculture and commerce in the Spanish part of St. Domingo. The success of this endeavor…
1757: The Makandal conspiracy emerges as an organized plot to destroy the enslavers. This secret movement utilized poison and was intended to coordinate a massive uprising across the North. Nuance:…
1757-00-00: (Mackandal Initiates a Poisoning Revolt Against the French Planters, the First Organized Slave Resistance Campaign in Saint-Domingue, a Generation Before the Revolution): In 1757, Mackandal launched a coordinated poisoning…
1757-12-19: (Philippe Guerrier, Born Into Slavery, Revolutionary War Veteran, the First Black President of a Unified Haiti Since Dessalines, Brought to Power by the Piquets Revolt of 1844, Whose Attempts…
On a slaving voyage in 1757, the Phoenix was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the numbers as: 352 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1757, the Willy was cut off, and the record does not say by whom or how. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The…
On a slaving voyage in 1757, the people aboard the Penelope rose against the crew. They had been taken at West Central Africa and St. Helena. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Montserrat in 1757, the people aboard the Thomas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Berbice in 1757, the people aboard the Philadelphia rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1757, the people aboard the Black Prince rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1757, the people aboard the Vliegende Faam rose against the crew. They had been taken at Little Popo. The record gives…
Etienne-Elie Gérin, nicknamed Côtes-de-fer (Iron Ribs) by the soldiers because of his bravery in combat, was born in the Cayes on 19 December 1757. He received a certain education from…
1758: The Jamaican ports of Montego Bay and Port Antonio were officially designated as ports of entry alongside Kingston and Savanna-la-Mar. This administrative status provided them with proper courts and…
1758-Jan.-20: The Execution of Makandal: Maroon leader François Makandal is burned at the stake. His capture followed a terrifying campaign of mass poisoning that united the northern enslaved population in…
1758-00-00: (Mackandal Executed by Burning at the Stake in Cap-Haïtien, His Death Generating a Founding Myth of Haitian Resistance in Which He Transforms Into a Mosquito and Escapes the Flames):…
1758-01-20: (Mackandal, Enslaved African and Probable Houngan Who Organized the First Major Poisoning Revolt Against French Planters in 1757, a Maroon Leader Whose Spiritual Authority and Knowledge of Herbs Terrified…
1758-09-20: (Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Born Enslaved, Who Rose From Plantation Foreman to Supreme Commander of the Revolution, Proclaimed Haitian Independence on January 1, 1804, Crowned Himself Emperor, Ordered the Killing of…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1758, the people aboard the William rose against the crew. They had been taken at New Calabar. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1758, the people aboard the Rainbow rose against the crew. They had been taken at Benin. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1758, the people aboard the Mears rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Eustatius in 1758, the people aboard the Drie Gezusters rose against the crew. They had been taken at Boary. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1758, the people aboard the Two Sisters rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Virginia in 1758, the Ann and Betty was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast. The record…
It was discovered that he had conceived the gigantic plan of exterminating the Whites and proclaiming the Liberty and Independence of the Black Race in Saint-Domingue. He was tried and…
HAVING SEEN the Remonstrance of the Procureur Général du Roi, setting out that it could happen that reimbursement for one and the same executed nègre, or one killed in the…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the criminal trial conducted by extraordinary procedure and prepared by continuation of proceedings by the Lieutenant Criminel of the Cap, at the request of the…
On 20 January 1758 Makandal, an African captive, was burned alive on the square of the Cap, in the midst of an immense crowd that he still terrified, although chained…
UPON what was represented to the Conseil by the Procureur Général du Roi: that from the declarations made by several Accused of supposed magical practices and poisonings, it clearly followed…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the Remonstrance made to it by the Procureur Général du Roi, stating that the policing of the enslaved was one of the most important matters…
1759-1807: The Îles de Los (Loos) became a significant site for the embarkation of captives, with the trade almost entirely dominated by British and French merchants. Liverpool merchants managed the…
1759-Feb.-01: Captain David Mulders of the ship Vrouw Johanna Cores recorded a specific transaction at Malemba involving the purchase of three male captives from a merchant named Banse. The purchase…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1759, the people aboard the Shark rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Freetown in 1759, the people aboard the Perfect rose against the crew. They had been taken at Mano. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Antigua in 1759, the Racehorse had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1759, the people aboard the Middelburgs Welvaren rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1759, the people aboard the Rebecca planned a rising that the crew discovered before it broke. They had been taken at…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Annapolis in 1759, the people aboard the Upton planned a rising that the crew discovered before it broke. They had been taken at…
History. Terrier Rouge is the birthplace of General Martial Besse, who was born there on 15 September 1759. He was educated and a member of the Council of State of…
1760s–1770s: Olaudah Equiano, an enslaved man who would eventually work his way to freedom, became a sailor during this period. He felt that his mobile occupation placed him on a…
1760-1814: The port of Bissau became a major embarkation point for captives destined for the Americas, with the vast majority of vessels owned and operated by merchants in Lisbon. This…
1760-1850: Porto-Novo emerged as a significant embarkation point for captives primarily during the last third of the eighteenth century, competing with Ouidah and Lagos for regional dominance. The vast majority…
1760-00-00: (France Begins Extensive Coffee Cultivation in Haiti, Expanding the Plantation Economy Into the Mountainous Interior and Deepening the Colony's Dependence on Enslaved Labor): In 1760, France expanded coffee cultivation…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1760, the people aboard the Nanny rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1760, the people aboard the Nanny rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the numbers as: 90 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1760, the Hope was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Benin. The record gives the numbers as: 367 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1760, the people aboard the Ross rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the Petition of Marie Guerineau, wife of the sieur Cottin, stating that for more than twenty years she has practiced the profession of Midwife, to…
1761–1784: Phillis Wheatley was forcibly taken as a child from the Gambia region to Boston in 1761 on the slave ship Phillis, from which she derived her name. While serving…
1761–1837: Dominica emerged as a significant center for British slaving activity after its conquest from France in 1761, reaching high points of arrivals in 1771 and 1785. Liverpool-based merchants dominated…
1761-01-17: (André Rigaud, Mulatto Revolutionary Leader of Southern Haiti, Educated in France, Veteran of the Siege of Savannah, Whose Rivalry With Louverture and Dessalines Exposed the Caste Fracture at the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1761, the people aboard the Philadelphia went over the side, or were recorded missing. They had been taken at Cape Lahou.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Boston in 1761, the people aboard the Thomas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1761, the people aboard the Mary rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 169 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at French Caribbean, colony unspecified in 1761, the people aboard the Agnes rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The…
On a slaving voyage in 1761, the Catherine was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1761, the people aboard the Vrouw Johanna Cores rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1761, the Dove was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 230 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1761, the people aboard the Middelburgs Welvaren rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record gives the…
Having seen by the Conseil the Remonstrance made to it by the Procureur Général, stating that, in contempt of the King's Ordinance of 23 July 1720 concerning the bearing of…
Having seen by the Conseil the Remonstrance made to it by the Procureur Général du Roi, stating that the gatherings of nègres, which concern both the maintenance of Police and…
UPON what was represented to the Court by the Procureur Général du Roi, that an abuse prejudicial to the Colony, and worthy of drawing the attention of the Court, is…
JEAN-Etienne-Bernard de Clugny, &c. By our Ordonnance of 8 May last, we ordered that two special registers, numbered and initialed by us, should be kept at the Contrôle, one of…
General Jean-Pierre Dartiguenave was born there on 29 December 1761. Rouzier tells this under the entry SAINT LOUIS DU SUD.
1762 June 13 : A carpenter from Saint-Domingue achieved a rare legal victory by successfully suing for his and his family's freedom in the New York vice-admiralty court. This case…
On 25 March 1762 a boy was born at Jeremie in Saint-Domingue to Marie-Cessette Dumas, a Black woman held in bondage, and the Marquis Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie. The…
On a slaving voyage in 1762, the people aboard an unnamed American ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the numbers as: 60…
On a slaving voyage in 1762, the Three Friends was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the numbers as: 169 people…
On a slaving voyage in 1762, the people aboard the Phoenix rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record gives the numbers as: 332…
On a slaving voyage in 1762, the people aboard the Ann Gally rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1762, the Young James was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Popo. The record gives the numbers as: 83 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Eustatius in 1762, the people aboard the Prins Willem de Vijfde planned a rising that the crew discovered before it broke. They…
Gabriel de Bory, &c. Upon the representations made to us by M. the Vicomte de Belsunce, Maréchal des Camps et Armées of the King, Commandant Général under our orders of…
The carrying of arms is one of those singular privileges that our Kings have granted only to certain privileged classes, destined by their station to bear them, or to those…
GABRIEL de Bory, etc. Jean-Etienne-Bernard de Clugny, etc. The necessity of ensuring the prompt execution of the various works that we have been obliged to order, both for the defense…
1763: The province of Louisiana passed from French to Spanish control following the conclusion of the Seven Years' War. This transfer mirrored the geopolitical shifting of "ceded islands" like Dominica,…
1763: A detailed architectural plan of a large sugar plantation in Cayenne, French Guiana, was published to illustrate the complex physical and labor requirements of the industry. The design featured…
1763: A rising of the enslaved in Dutch Surinam prompts calls for softening the discipline imposed on them. The events in Surinam served as a warning to French administrators about the…
1763-1792: The slaving interest in French Atlantic ports reached its peak as merchants and shipowners maximized the deportation of Africans to Saint-Domingue. During these three decades, the colony's dependence on…
1763–1808: Following its transition to British control in 1763, the island of St. Vincent rapidly became a primary destination for British slaving vessels. Arrivals are estimated to have reached their…
1763-00-00: (Jesuits Expelled From Haiti, Part of the Broader Bourbon Campaign Against Jesuit Influence Across the French Empire): In 1763, the Jesuits were expelled from Haiti, part of the broader…
1763-03-17: (Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, the French Commissioner Who Proclaimed the End of Slavery in Haiti in August 1793 Before Paris Authorized It, a Radical Lawyer Whose Hatred of Aristocrats Led Him to…
A royal ordinance of 21 July 1763 was followed by the definitive ruling of the Conseil Supérieur du Cap-Français on 24 November, expelling every Jesuit from Saint-Domingue. They were accused…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1763, the people aboard the Vrouw Johanna Cores rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Marc in 1763, the people aboard the Frère et la Soeur rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1763, the Hope was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 169 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1763, the people aboard the Black Prince rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Kitts in 1763, the Snapper had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary.…
On a slaving voyage in 1763, the Pocock had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Cacheu. The record gives the numbers as: 190…
On a slaving voyage in 1763, the people aboard the NS de Guadalupe e Sr Bom Jesus dos Navegantes rose against the crew. They had been taken at Benguela. The…
HAVING SEEN the Remonstrance of the Procureur du Roi, and ruling on it, we forbid each and every one of the Settlers of this Town to have their nègres or…
Having seen by the Conseil the Petition of Jean Baberdeau and his wife, the conclusions of M. Lohier de la Charmeraye, Substitut for the Procureur-Général, and having heard the report…
You are informed, Gentlemen, of the reasons that led the King to permit the settlers of the Colonies to bring or send their enslaved people to France, and to leave…
Monsieur de Belzunce, governor of St-Domingue, died in the parish of Trou on 4 August 1763. Rouzier tells this under the entry TROU (le).
MESSIEURS the Vicomte de Belsunce and de Clugny, I previously granted to my Gouverneur-Lieutenant Général and Intendant of my Colony of Saint-Domingue the permission to commute the penalty of the…
1764: Governor de Fénelon explains in a letter how social pressure from whites forced him to abandon his humanitarian views. This correspondence illustrates how the local planter class successfully neutralized…
1764: Denmark declared that the Caribbean islands of St. John and St. Thomas were open to the ships of all nations. This policy established these territories as vital neutral hubs…
1764: The newly founded Gazette de Saint Domingue printed its earliest runaway notices, revealing that enslaved people in the northern parishes preferred seeking refuge in Cap Français. Fugitives sensed a…
1764-00-00: (Jesuits Expelled From Haiti, a Duplicate Chronological Entry Reflecting the Contested Dates of the Expulsion Process Across the Colony): In 1764, the Jesuits were expelled from Haiti, a date…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1764, the Johnson had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Loango. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1764, the people aboard the Fontette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1764, the people aboard the Pink rose against the crew. They had been taken at Grand Mesurado. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1764, the people aboard the Entreprenante rose against the crew. They had been taken at Little Popo. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1764, the people aboard the Croissant rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast, Fr. definition. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Marc in 1764, the people aboard the Comte d'Azémar rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Domingue in 1764, the people aboard the Phénix rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bissau. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Grenada in 1764, the people aboard the Gallem rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Puerto Rico in 1764, the people aboard the Hope rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Havana in 1764, the Pocock had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The…
On a slaving voyage in 1764, the people aboard the Jolly Prince rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Mount (Cape Grand Mount). The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1764, the people aboard the Philadelphia rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1764, the people aboard the Enigheid rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1764, the people aboard the Adventure rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bance Island (Ben's Island). The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage in 1764, the people aboard the Couéda rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the numbers as: 276 people were…
I HAVE consented, Messieurs, to the establishment of a Gazette in this Town, because I thought it could only be advantageous to the Colony. I do not wish to leave…
CHARLES Théodat, Comte d'Estaing, &c. Trade having represented to me that article 19 of the Regulatory Decree of the two Conseils contained a provision absolutely contrary to its interests, I…
On a slaving voyage in 1765, the people aboard the Trimmer rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the numbers as: 348 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Antigua in 1765, the people aboard the Sally rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage in 1765, the Minerve was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gold Coast, Fr. definition. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage that ended at New York in 1765, the people aboard the Success rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1765, the people aboard the Othello rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1765, the people aboard the Henriette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bissau. The record gives the numbers as: 25 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1765, the people aboard the Africa rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1765, the people aboard the Haast U Langzaam rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1765, the people aboard the Vrouw Johanna Cores rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Grenada in 1765, the people aboard the Galam rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Dominica in 1765, the people aboard the Sisters rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bassa. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1765, the Fanny was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Bight of Benin. The record gives…
SEEN by the Conseil the Remonstrance of the Procureur Général du Roi in the Court, stating that the mob and the nègres who follow the Criminals led to punishment, and…
The winds that prevail at the Cap are winds from the east, north and southwest. The north winds bring cold and dampness from October until March. The west winds are…
1766: The marché des nègres is formally situated at Place Clugny in Cap Français. This market became a central point for economic and social life among the colony's non-white population.
1766: The establishment of the Free Port system in the British West Indies represented a significant shift in imperial commercial policy. This act authorized specific ports to conduct trade with…
1766-Spring: Mount Hecla in Iceland began erupting again, spewing smoke and fire for the first time since its last major activity in 1693. Reports from arriving vessels confirmed that the…
1766-Jun.-24: A formal convention was signed in Vienna between King Louis XV and the Empress-Queen of Hungary and Bohemia to abolish the "Droit d'Aubaine" (right of escheat) in their respective…
1766-Aug.-05: A conspiracy against the Dey of Algiers was discovered, with the execution of the participants scheduled for the following day. Ten of the principal leaders lost their lives as…
1766-Aug.-20: The French Actors in Paris gave the first performance of "Artaxerces," a new tragedy by M. le Mierre that had been anticipated for a long time. Although the play…
1766-Aug.-29: The Opera in Paris began presenting "Les Fêtes Lyriques," a new heroic ballet in three acts featuring contributions from various authors. The production included the segment "Lindor & Ismene,"…
1766-Sept.: The French frigate La Modeste, armed with 24 cannons and carrying 70 men, was destroyed at sea after being struck by lightning. Captain Jules Gayet survived for four horrific…
1766-Sep.-26: Private letters reported that King Louis XV narrowly escaped a life-threatening accident while hunting boar in the Forest of Compiègne. A furious boar suddenly charged and disemboweled the King's…
1766-Sep.-29: Queen Charlotte of Great Britain successfully gave birth to a princess, an event that was formally announced to the public. News of the royal birth traveled from London across…
1766-Sep.-30: Marie-Victoire-Sophie de Noailles, the Countess of Toulouse, passed away at the age of 77 after a long period of declining health. Following her death, the French Court entered into…
1766-Oct.: Two tragic suicides occurred in Paris involving foreigners driven to absolute despair by a total lack of financial resources. A Dutchman living in a furnished room on Rue du…
1766-Oct.: Six merchant ships were outfitted in Nantes specifically for the "Coast of Guinea" to engage in the transatlantic slave trade. These vessels, which included L'Eole and Le Zéphyr, were…
1766-Oct.-02: The North American indigenous leaders who had arrived in London on August 2nd to seek justice against European colonists departed for New York from Gravesend. Accompanied by their wives,…
1766-Nov.-01: A new act passed during the last session of the British Parliament officially went into effect, introducing revised regulations for Atlantic trade. This legislative update was part of a…
1766-Nov.-01: The British Parliament’s Free Ports Act officially went into effect, strictly prohibiting the import of foreign manufactured goods into Dominica and Jamaica. Any vessel found carrying such merchandise faced…
1766-Nov.-01: A critical clause in the new British trade act forbade the import of major colonial staples, such as sugar, coffee, and indigo, into British islands from foreign colonies. The…
1766-Nov.-01: Under the provisions of the Free Ports Act, enslaved people deported to Dominica and Jamaica on British ships could be legally trafficked onward on single-deck foreign vessels. This specific…
1766-Nov.-01: British regulations prohibited the export of colonial merchandise from Dominica to any part of Europe located north of Cape Finisterre, except to Great Britain. Conversely, sugar imported into Dominica…
1766-Nov.-01: New export duties were implemented for enslaved people leaving Jamaica on foreign vessels, set at a rate of 1 pound 10 shillings per person. Similar taxes were imposed on…
1766-Nov.-02: The Count of Rochford, serving as the Extraordinary Ambassador and Plenipotentiary of King George III, was granted his first official audience with the French King. This high-level diplomatic meeting…
1766-Dec.-12: A weak earthquake shock was felt in Martinique around five o'clock in the morning, lasting approximately three seconds. Reports indicated that the ground in the sister colony did not…
1766-Dec.-18: The vessel La Frefette, originating from Bayonne and under the command of Captain Lafargue, arrived at the port of Les Cayes after sailing from Bordeaux. This arrival was part…
1766-Dec.-20: Commodity prices from Guadeloupe were published in the gazette, showing that top-quality sugar was valued between 54 and 55 livres. Secondary grades of sugar sold for 48 to 53…
1766-Dec.-24: The slave ship La Médée, led by Captain Goffe, anchored at Léogane carrying 573 African captives deported from the coast of Angola. This large arrival represents the significant and…
1766-Dec.-27: The merchant vessel Le Maréchal-de-Luxembourg, out of Nantes and led by Captain Tanquerel, docked at Saint-Marc after a stop in Port-au-Prince. The ship was expected to remain in the…
1766-Dec.-28: M. Dufloft, an Writer for the Navy acting as a Sub-Commissioner, passed away in the southern port of Les Cayes. He held a significant administrative position responsible for managing…
1766-Dec.-29: The Bordeaux vessel L'Aurore, under the command of Captain Gaujau, arrived at the port of Les Cayes after sailing from Martinique. This inter-island maritime link was a common feature…
1766-Dec.-29: A devastating fire broke out in Bridge-Town, Barbados, consuming 180 houses that had been spared by a previous conflagration earlier in the year. Despite immediate attempts to provide relief…
1766-Dec.-30: Madame Lafory, a prominent resident of the Grande-Colline district near Fort-Dauphin, passed away on her plantation. Her death was documented in the colonial record to inform her peers and…
1766-Dec.-30: The Pensionnat du Cap held its first formal assembly to examine student progress under the direction of the town's public educator, Sieur Alquié. This educational institution instituted quarterly examinations…
1766-Dec.-31: The Bordeaux ship Le Triton, under Captain Coudin, reached the port of Cap-Français after completing a voyage from the Gold Coast of Africa. Cap-Français was the economic capital of…
1766–1858: The slave trade to Georgia was characterized by a diverse range of African origins, with Senegambia and Sierra Leone providing over half of the documented captives. While merchants from…
1766-06-27: (Pierre Toussaint Born Into Slavery in Haiti, the Enslaved House Worker Who Would Become One of the Wealthiest and Most Philanthropic Black Men in Nineteenth-Century New York, Declared…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1766, the Standvastigheid had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Cape Lahou. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Antigua in 1766, the people aboard the Elizabeth rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not…
On a slaving voyage in 1766, the people aboard the Mary rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1766, the Venus was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Congo River. The record gives the numbers as: 83 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1766, the people aboard the Adelaïde de Puysegor rose against the crew. They had been taken at West Central Africa and…
On a slaving voyage that ended at British Caribbean, colony unspecified in 1766, the people aboard an unnamed American ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Port-au-Prince in 1766, the people aboard the Jeune Catherine rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The…
In August 1766 the Suriname court sentenced a woman named Bettie, along with Sara and Januarij, to burn for allegedly poisoning other enslaved people. Bettie then obtained at least a…
ON the Petition presented to us by the Procureur du Roi of this Siège, stating that the illnesses now prevailing in this Town may have as their cause at once…
1767: Sir James Steuart published an inquiry into political economy arguing that slavery was a necessary historical stage to compel mankind to labor beyond their immediate wants. He claimed that…
1767-Jan.-06: The slave ship Le Saint-Jean-Baptiste, out of Nantes and under the command of Captain Chevalier Houet, arrived at the port of Léogane. The vessel completed its journey from the…
1767-Jan.-06: Students from the Pensionnat du Cap visited the city's principal authorities to demonstrate their social and intellectual accomplishments. During the ceremony, M. Labat acted as the spokesperson, earning admiration…
1767-Jan.-07: Market prices for French metropolitan imports, such as wine, flour, and soap, were published to coordinate trade across the various ports of Saint-Domingue. In Les Cayes, old wine was…
1767-Jan.-02: The ship La Pauline, sailing from Le Havre under the command of Captain Rabier, arrived at the harbor of Cap-Français. Le Havre was a major French gateway for colonial…
1767-Jan.-03: Captain Viviat, commanding the Bordeaux ship Le Solide, arrived at Saint-Marc after departing France in November of the previous year. The relatively short transit time reflects the efficiency of…
1767-Jan.-07: A violent duel occurred in the Bois de Boulogne between two members of the King's Bodyguards, sparking a significant legal case in France. One guard attacked his opponent with…
1767-Jan.-07: An editorial reflection in the colonial gazette discussed the pessimistic historical outlook of the time, setting the "iron age" of the present era against a "golden age." The…
1767-Jan.-07: A report was published detailing the arrival of German settlers in Pensacola and the massive recruitment of Scottish Highlanders for a new project in East Florida. A British baronet…
1767-Jan.-07: Extensive renovations were carried out at the Palace of Versailles to repair and enhance the royal residence while the court stayed at Compiegne. A heavy dome that had previously…
1767-Jan.-07: The colonial market values for export commodities like sugar, indigo, and coffee were published, showing fluctuations across the island’s major ports. In Cap-Français, white sugar reached prices as high…
1767-Jan.-07: The colonial gazette published a list of people who had escaped captivity, including Jacques, a Congo man from the Mageau estate, and Martin, a Tiamba man branded…
1767-Jan.-07: A summary of freight rates for transporting goods to France was issued, with costs ranging from 12 deniers for sugar to 50 deniers for cotton. Shippers in Les Cayes…
1767-Jan.-07: An economic analysis in the Affiches Américaines argued that the Southern (West Indies) colonies reached their current state of prosperity faster than northern colonies due to their climate. The…
1767-Jan.-07: Jacques, an enslaved man of the Congo nation, was reported as a runaway in the district of Fort-Dauphin. He identified himself as belonging to the estate of the late…
1767-Jan.-07: A young mulatto man named Louis was listed as a fugitive from the service of Mr. Dumas, an officer in the Quercy Regiment at Fort-Dauphin. He bore a brand…
1767-Jan.-07: Martin, an enslaved man of the Tiamba nation, was reported missing from the Dondon district and was identified by "M" brands on both of his breasts. He belonged to…
1767-Jan.-07: Antoine, a man of the Congo nation, was listed as a runaway belonging to Mr. Chapdu, a merchant in Cap-Français. His brands were recorded as "CHAPDU" on his body…
1767-Jan.-07: Florentine, an enslaved woman of the Mina nation, fled from the service of Mr. Bazane in Cap-Français. She carried the brand "BAILLY" on both of her breasts, which may…
1767-Jan.-07: Louis, a man born in the colony (Creole), was reported as a runaway from the plantation of Mr. Moreau in Fort-Dauphin. His status as a "Creole" distinguished him from…
1767-Jan.-07: Michel, identified as belonging to the "Miserable" nation (likely a reference to the Kru ethnic group of West Africa), was reported as a fugitive in Fort-Dauphin. He belonged to…
1767-Jan.-07: Augustin, a 24-year-old Creole man, was reported as a runaway from the plantation of Madame Saint-Martin at Grand Saint-Louis. Standing five feet and one inch tall, he carried the…
1767-Jan.-07: A report from London detailed a massive colonization project in East Florida involving the recruitment of Scottish Highlanders and 3,000 people to be bought and held in slavery. A British…
1767-Jan.-07: An economic essay in the Affiches Américaines argued that the West Indian colonies attained prosperity faster than northern colonies due to their unique climate. Products such as sugar, indigo,…
1767-Jan.-07: Multiple merchant vessels prepared to depart from Saint-Domingue's major ports to return to France, carrying colonial wealth to the metropole. Ships like the Diogene from Fort-Dauphin and the Marquis-de-Levy…
1767-Jan.-07: Market prices for French metropolitan imports, such as wine, flour, and soap, were published to coordinate trade across the various ports of Saint-Domingue. In Les Cayes, old wine was…
1767-Jan.-07: Political news from London described the public's loss of confidence in William Pitt following his elevation to the Peerage as the Count of Chatham. Satirical reflections in the English…
1767-Jan.-07: Reports from the North American mainland confirmed the arrival of 164 German settlers in Pensacola on two separate vessels from Hamburg and Altona. These colonists were brought to establish…
1767-Jan.-07: An essay on colonial history noted that in 1732, West Indian planters successfully lobbied for a Parliamentary act to suppress North American trade with foreign islands. The residents of…
1767-Jan.-07: The colonial gazette published news from Rome detailing the secret consistory held by Pope Clement XIII on July 21st. During this meeting, the Holy Father addressed the Sacred College…
1767-Jan.-07: Reports from Italy highlighted a mounting food crisis as the Congregation of Provisions met daily to combat an imminent grain shortage. The scarcity was attributed to a failed harvest…
1767-Jan.-07: News from Hamburg indicated that British military recruitment efforts were highly successful, effectively crowding out other national enrollers. The English offered lucrative terms, including a ten-pound sterling signing bonus…
1767-Jan.-07: The Republic of Holland finalized plans to expand its standing army to fifty thousand men by the upcoming winter season. Informed observers considered this military buildup a certainty following…
1767-Jan.-07: The Prince Stadtholder is expected to arrive in London imminently, a development that supports rumors regarding a major royal marriage. Reports indicate the Prince is set to marry Princess…
1767-Jan.-07: Dutch diplomacy focused on securing its maritime trade routes through new treaties of friendship and commerce with North African powers. Following the renewal of agreements with the Regency of…
1767-Jan.-07: In the northern district of Fort-Dauphin, two individuals were specifically identified in the colonial runaway list to facilitate their capture. Jacques, a man of the Congo nation, was reported…
1767-Jan.-07: The port city of Cap-Français issued several search notices for people who had escaped captivity, highlighting the persistent resistance in the colony’s urban center. Among them were Martin, a…
1767-Jan.-07: Significant renovations were carried out at the Palace of Versailles to repair monuments and enhance the royal gardens. Workers removed a heavy dome that had overburdened the chapel's vault…
1767-Jan.-08: The merchant vessel Les Bons-Amis, originating from Nantes and led by Captain Guichard, attempted to depart Port-au-Prince for France. The ship was forced to return to the harbor after…
1767-Jan.-08: A massive caterpillar infestation caused widespread devastation to cotton crops in the dependencies of Petit-Goave and Saint-Marc. The Nippes district was reported as being the most severely affected, leaving…
1767-Jan.-12: Captain Pierre le Lievre arrived at Cap-Français in command of the ship Le Rollant, which originated from Honfleur. The ship carried 390 African captives from the Gold Coast to…
1767-Jan.-12: The slave ship Le Triton, originating from Bordeaux and led by Captain Coudain, docked at Port-au-Prince carrying 191 African captives. The voyage originated from the Lower Gold Coast, a…
1767-Jan.-12: Mefples l’aîné, a merchant in Port-au-Prince, issued a formal trade pass for an enslaved man named Jean to conduct "pacotille" (peddler) business. Jean was authorized to travel between the…
1767-Jan.-14: Mr. Closet announced a theatrical performance in Cap-Français featuring Molière's three-act comedy Pourceaugnac. The play was scheduled to be followed by a grand mechanical ballet and pantomime titled The…
1767-Jan.-14: A 26-year-old enslaved man, noted for being a skilled saddler and carriage repairer, was offered for rent or private sale in Cap-Français. The advertisement emphasized his ability to completely…
1767-Jan.-14: Two individuals were reported as runaways from the Perreau plantation located in the Dondon district. Manuel, a 40-year-old man of the Congo nation, was identified by a brand of…
1767-Jan.-14: A colonial judicial sale was scheduled for February 14th regarding a plantation located at Montagne-Noire in the Grande-Rivière parish. The estate, formerly belonging to the late Pierre Bouyer, consisted…
1767-Jan.-14: Mr. Lemaitre, a veterinarian based at the Lanoë inn in Limonade, advertised his services for the treatment of horses. He offered remedies for both internal and external diseases, as…
1767-Jan.-14: The Royal Printing Office in Cap-Français advertised cabinet almanacs for the year 1767 available in various artistic formats. These included illuminated and cut-out cardboards, as well as versions mounted…
1767-Jan.-14: Captain Gilbert of the ship L'Eléfant offered reduced freight rates for merchants shipping goods to Nantes, La Rochelle, or Bordeaux. He provided a discount of two deniers below the…
1767-Jan.-14: Market prices for metropolitan French imports continued to fluctuate across the colony, with old wine reaching up to 200 livres in Port-au-Prince. Moissac flour remained a staple import, commanding…
1767-Jan.-14: M. Ringeard, a resident of the Coupe-à-David district and a native of Nantes, passed away at the end of December 1766. Additionally, the death of M. Jean-François Bouche was…
1767-Jan.-14: Notices from Saint-Marc for people who had escaped captivity highlighted the escape of a newly arrived man of the Congo nation branded "L RADOV" on his right breast.…
1767-Jan.-14: In Fort-Dauphin, a diverse group of four enslaved men was reported in the runaway registries, including a man of the Nago nation named Pierre. Other fugitives included Adrien, branded…
1767-Jan.-14: A series of runaway notices from Cap-Français identified several individuals, including Nannette, a Creole woman branded "GERVAISE" belonging to a resident of Limonade. Also listed was a 20-year-old woman…
1767-Jan.-14: Gabriel, an enslaved man of the Arada nation, was reported as a runaway belonging to Mr. Mocar in Cap-Français. His notice provided a specific physical identifier, noting that he…
1767-Jan.-14: Reports from London confirmed the arrival of three Iroquois chiefs who traveled from the region between New York and Lake Ontario to seek an audience with the King. Accompanied…
1767-Jan.-14: The Spanish Crown intensified its efforts to expand its naval forces, with 48 ships of the line currently in service and fifteen more nearing completion. Shipyards in Havana and…
1767-Jan.-14: A new School of Mathematics was opened in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques in Paris to advance the study of military engineering and artillery. Students were divided into two specialized classes,…
1767-Jan.-14: The British Royal Navy began arming a naval squadron in Portsmouth reportedly destined for North American waters. A portion of this force was expected to join Commodore Palliser, who…
1767-Jan.-14: A specialized educational institution in France advertised for boarders aged eight to eighteen at an annual cost of 816 livres. The school operated under the oversight of the War…
1767-Jan.-14: Sieur Alléon de Varcourt, a former navigator and engineer based in Paris, announced the discovery of a geometric method for calculating the diameter and quadrature of circumferences. He claimed…
1767-Jan.-14: The origins of the "Fête de la Rose" in Salancy were detailed, tracing the tradition back to St. Medard in the early sixth century. During the reign of Louis…
1767-Jan.-14: Sieur Fabre, the writing master at the Pensionnat du Cap, offered specialized training in double-entry bookkeeping and general account management. This technical education was intended for individuals looking to…
1767-Jan.-14: A private individual in Cap-Français advertised a cash offer for the purchase of twelve to fifteen "Negres de Place" (enslaved domestic workers) who were already acclimated to the country.…
1767-Jan.-14: An indigo plantation located at Limbé, consisting of approximately sixty-one carreaux of high-quality land, was offered for sale. The property was described as suitable for conversion into a sugar…
1767-Jan.-14: Mlle. Menageot, a merchant in Cap-Français, advertised a wide range of luxury goods and imports from the Indies and Paris. Her stock included fine powders, dental opiates, gold watches…
1767-Jan.-14: M. Charrier, a merchant in Cap-Français, offered for sale a group of enslaved blacksmiths along with a functional forge and all related equipment. Skilled enslaved artisans were among the…
1767-Jan.-14: Augustin, a 48-year-old mulatto man and Creole of Martinique, was reported as a runaway belonging to M. de la Martiniere in St. Louis. He was described as having a…
1767-Jan.-16: The slave ship L'Arada from La Rochelle arrived at the port of Les Cayes under the command of Captain Massé. The vessel originated from the Gold Coast and successfully…
1767-Jan.-17: Madame de Cockburne, the wife of a Knight of the Order of Saint Louis, passed away in the Grand-Bassin district of Saint-Domingue. Her death was followed shortly thereafter by…
1767-Jan.-17: Market prices in Saint-Marc showed stability for colonial exports, with white sugar selling for 50 to 55 livres and cotton reaching up to 210 livres. In the same market,…
1767-Jan.-18: A performance of "Le Négociant de Bordeaux" and "L’Impromptu de campagne" was scheduled at the theater in Cap-Français, followed by a grand ball. These events provided central social venues…
1767-Jan.-18: A performance of "Le Négociant de Bordeaux" and "L’Impromptu de campagne" was scheduled at the theater in Cap-Français, followed by a grand ball. These events provided central social venues…
1767-Jan.-18: Market reports from Les Cayes indicated that white sugar was trading between 40 and 48 livres, while cotton prices were stabilized at 180 to 185 livres. In the Northern…
1767-Jan.-19: Hélène, a Creole woman from the Pagerfon plantation in Trou, was reported as a runaway and noted for her habit of disguising herself in men's clothing. Branded with "LAPERIERE"…
1767-Jan.-20: The Bordeaux merchant ship L'Actif, commanded by Captain Rosain, departed from the port of Cap-Français bound for France. It was preceded on January 17th by the departures of La…
1767-Jan.-20: The Cap-Français theater announced the first performance of the opéra-bouffon "Le Bûcheron, ou les trois Souhaits." The production was accompanied by a grand pantomime ballet titled "Le Braconnier," composed…
1767-Jan.-21: Commercial reports from Port-au-Prince and Léogane indicated a stabilization of commodity prices for colonial exports. White sugar in Port-au-Prince was valued between 46 and 52 livres, while cotton remained…
1767-Jan.-21: The colonial gazette published an urgent inquiry regarding the whereabouts of Jean Coube, a peddler (pacotilleur) who had been missing for five months. Last seen in the Ouanaminthe district,…
1767-Jan.-24: Creditors of Sieur Nicolas Verrier, a baker in Cap-Français on Rue Espagnole, were summoned to a meeting to arrange for the payment of their claims. The assembly was scheduled…
1767-Jan.-27: The port of Cap-Français saw the departure of two significant merchant vessels bound for metropolitan France. The ship Le Martinicain, led by Captain Giraud, set sail for Marseille, while…
1767-Jan.-28: The cultivation of the Italian Poplar (Peuplier d'Italie) was heavily promoted in France to address a severe national wood shortage. The tree was prized for its extraordinary growth rate,…
1767-Jan.-28: Several large vessels were listed as currently loading in the harbors of Saint-Domingue, preparing for spring departures to Europe. These included Le Marquis de la Pailleterie for Le Havre…
1767-Jan.-28: The King of Portugal was informed of widespread abuses involving individuals who manipulated the elderly and sick into altering their wills. These perpetrators used various artifices to infiltrate families…
1767-Jan.-28: Experimental planting of rice, tobacco, and sugar cane began across various parts of the Pensacola province in early 1767. Local British authorities anticipated great success from these trials, hoping…
1767-Jan.-28: A substantial indigo plantation located at Pendu in the Gros-Morne district was offered for sale by M. de la Chauffée. The estate spanned 112 carreaux of land and included…
1767-Jan.-28: Freight rates in the major ports of Saint-Domingue remained a critical economic metric for the export of plantation products. In Port-au-Prince, the cost for shipping sugar was fixed at…
1767-Jan.-28: Market data for metropolitan French imports showed that old wine reached prices as high as 200 livres in Cap-Français. Moissac flour, a dietary staple for wealthy colonists, was…
1767-Jan.-28: Runaway notices from Cap-Français identified several individuals including François, a Congo man branded "DUV" with traditional marks from his country on his stomach. Catherine, a 15-to-16-year-old Creole woman branded…
1767-Jan.-28: Market indicators for the ports of Saint-Marc and Cap-Français showed that freight rates for cotton had reached up to 50 deniers for transport to France. Shipping costs for coffee…
1767-Jan.-28: An essay was published in the Affiches Américaines analyzing the relative impacts of luxury versus necessity on the Atlantic commercial system. The editors noted that while the colonies were…
1767-Jan.-28: The colonial press published a philosophical critique of luxury, characterizing it as a divine scourge sent to nations destined for destruction. The author contrasted the superficiality of modern thinkers…
1767-Jan.-28: An analysis of national wealth in the Affiches Américaines posited that the most prosperous nations are those that consume the products of their own soil. Conversely, the text described…
1767-Jan.-28: Manufacturing sector reports highlighted a growing tension between workers in the economy of necessity versus those in the luxury trade. Manufacturers of essential goods expressed difficulty in retaining workers…
1767-Jan.-28: The colonial gazette addressed the economic burden posed by a "crowd of servants" (valets) who were seen as a drain on both the state and those who employed them.…
1767-Jan.-28: The editorial concluded its economic series with a call for "patriotic resolutions" to counter the spirit of frivolity pervading the French Empire. It warned that neighboring nations were increasingly…
1767-Jan.-28: An ongoing economic debate in the Affiches Américaines argued that simple, patriotic displays of merit and dignity were more respectable than the ostentatious luxury of the upper classes. The…
1767-Jan.-28: M. de Montaudouin of Nantes published a memoir defending the profession of merchant against contemporary critics who favored agriculture exclusively. He posited that commerce is to agriculture and the…
1767-Jan.-28: The theater in Cap-Français announced upcoming performances of "L'Avocat patelin," a three-act comedy by M. Fagan, followed by the comic opera "La Rose." For the following Sunday, the venue…
1767-Jan.-28: Srs. Loup and Brassier, farmers of the Caracole landing stage, advertised a twice-weekly transport service between Caracole and Cap-Français. They provided extensive warehouses for colonial produce, boats for ship-to-shore…
1767-Jan.-28: Legal notices in the colonial press called for the settlement of several estates and debts within the Northern Province. Creditors for the estate of M. Allain, a Counselor at…
1767-Jan.-28: The British Parliament prepared to scrutinize the territorial concessions granted to the East India Company by the treaty of Lord Clive. The government intended to restrict the company's activities…
1767-Jan.-28: To address the growing burden of public debt, the British government proposed reducing interest rates on capital from 4 percent and 3.5 percent down to 3 percent. This measure…
1767-Jan.-28: A royal edict in Portugal declared all wills made in favor of religious communities or fraternities to be null and void to prevent ecclesiastical greed. The decree also invalidated…
1767-Jan.-28: A private inventor in Great Britain developed a new tree-cutting machine that allowed five men to complete as much work in five hours as ten men could in ten.…
1767-Jan.-28: A Scotsman announced the discovery of a method to manufacture soap using seaweed, which he claimed would be 50 percent cheaper than traditional oil-based varieties. While the financial benefits…
1767-Jan.-29: Syndic M. Rimbert convened a meeting of the creditors of the late M. Allain, a Counselor at the Superior Council of the Cap. The gathering, held at the office…
1767-Jan.-30: Market data from Saint-Marc showed that old wine was valued at 150 livres, while Moissac flour command a price of 80 livres. In the port of Cap-Français, essential provisions…
1767-Jan.-31: A judicial sale was held at the Royal Seat of the Cap for a property in Petite-Ance formerly belonging to the late M. Sicard. The estate was located near…
1767-Feb.-02: The merchant vessels La Cherie from Bordeaux and La Côte-d'Or from Honfleur docked at Cap-Français carrying a combined 380 African captives. The captives, brought from the Gold Coast, were…
1767-Feb.-02: The ship Le Saint-Antoine-des-Ames, under Captain Gramont, departed from Cap-Français bound for Bordeaux with a full cargo of colonial produce. It was followed the next day by La Nouvelle-Union…
1767-Feb.-03: Two additional slaving vessels, Le Thésée from Marseille and Le Prince-de-Condé from Nantes, arrived at Cap-Français with 240 captives from the Gold Coast. The Prince-de-Condé was notably under new…
1767-Feb.-03: The estate of the late Sr. Esmenard, located at Grand-Boucand in the Plaine-du-Nord parish, was scheduled for public liquidation through an auction on the plantation. The sale included a…
1767-Feb.-04: Affiches Américaines issue No. 5 was published, continuing its role as the primary source of administrative, economic, and social news for Saint-Domingue. The gazette served as a central repository…
1767-Feb.-04: Construction began on a monumental new bridge at Neuilly near Paris, designed and directed by M. Perronet, a King’s Engineer and member of the Academy of Sciences. In a…
1767-Feb.-04: Reports from Beaune indicated that while the quality of the new wine harvest was expected to be excellent, the overall quantity across France was quite mediocre. This scarcity triggered…
1767-Feb.-04: A new manufacturing company with exclusive privileges was established in the village of Ormoy near Etampes to produce gold and silver-plated copper wire. This industrial development, located along the…
1767-Feb.-04: Maritime logs recorded the arrival of several major merchant vessels in French ports after successful voyages from Saint-Domingue. Ships such as La Liberté reached Marseille, while the Saint-Marc, Maillat,…
1767-Feb.-04: An influential essay from the Gazette de la Martinique argued that "noble emulation" among citizens was essential for improving the arts, sciences, and colonial agriculture. The author praised Saint-Domingue's…
1767-Feb.-05: Economic data from Port-au-Prince and Cap-Français revealed the continued high cost of essential European food imports. In the western capital, Moissac flour reached prices between 85 and 90 livres,…
1767-Feb.-05: Market data for Port-au-Prince showed that white sugar was trading between 42 and 50 livres, while prices for other grades of sugar lacked a fixed regulated rate. Blue indigo…
1767-Feb.-05: The slaving vessel Le Boulongne, originating from Nantes and led by Captain Christophe, arrived at the port of Léogane. The ship completed its voyage from the Angolan coast, deporting…
1767-Feb.-06: The concierge of the colonial prisons recorded the arrest of Antoine, an enslaved man of the Congo nation branded "LP" and "LPR." Antoine claimed to belong to Madame Lavaud…
1767-Feb.-07: The merchant ships La Colombe and L'Aimable-Thérèse departed from the port of Cap-Français bound for Saint-Malo with cargoes of colonial goods. On the same day, the vessel La Comtesse-de-Brionne…
1767-Feb.-08: A gold-headed cane was reported lost on the road through the Quartier-Morin district. The cane was described as having a long, intricately worked gold pommel and featured a black…
1767-Feb.-11: Maritime logs at Cap-Français recorded the arrival of several vessels from the port of Nantes, including the Marquise-de-Brancas. These ships provided the essential metropolitan link for the export of…
1767-Feb.-13: Market indicators from Saint-Marc showed a stable but high price for colonial exports, with cotton trading at 200 livres. Essential metropolitan imports remained expensive, with Moissac flour reaching a…
1767-Feb.-13: The Bordeaux merchant ship Le Robuste, under the command of Captain Robert, arrived at the port of Cap-Français. The vessel reached the Northern Province capital after a regional voyage…
1767-Feb.-14: An expert named Delile, newly arrived in the colony, provided a detailed chemical explanation regarding the essential role of lime in the sugar-making process. He compared the action of…
1767-Feb.-14: A judicial sale was held at the Royal Seat of the Cap for a coffee plantation located at Montagne-Noire in the Grande-Rivière parish. The estate, formerly belonging to the…
1767-Feb.-14: M. l’Aisné, a merchant based in Léogane, issued a public notice to the creditors of his late brother, M. I. Sarmejanne. Before his death, Sarmejanne had served as a…
1767-Feb.-14: The Brodel sisters, residing near the church in Cap-Français, expanded their business by bringing a specialized seamstress directly from Paris. They offered dressmaking services in the latest metropolitan styles…
1767-Feb.-14: The Superior of the Hôpital de la Charité in Cap-Français sought a contractor to supply three to four hundred mattresses filled with corn husks. Local inhabitants were also encouraged…
1767-Feb.-14: M. Jolly, a merchant in Cap-Français and testamentary executor for the late Sieur Larché des Landelles, initiated a search for the deceased's legal documents. Larché had been a resident…
1767-Feb.-14: A judicial sale was held at the Royal Seat of the Cap for a coffee plantation located at Montagne-Noire in the Grande-Rivière parish. The estate, formerly belonging to the…
1767-Feb.-16: The merchant vessel L'Assomption, hailing from Morlaix and led by Captain Desmoulins, departed from Cap-Français bound for Nantes. The ship set sail with a cargo of colonial wealth, following…
1767-Feb.-16: M. Jean-Jacques Brunet, a 40-year-old Creole planter residing in the Artibonite district, passed away. His death was recorded alongside that of M. de Saint-Quentin, the Curator of Vacant Successions…
1767-Feb.-16: The British government declared that all proceeds from new colonial trade taxes would be used for the maintenance and improvement of Caribbean ports. Specifically, the funds were designated for…
1767-Feb.-16: Colonial scientific debate continued regarding the chemical action of lime in the purification of cane juice. Observers noted that lime served as a vital agent to separate impurities and…
1767-Feb.-16: Market reports from Cap-Français indicated that Irish beef reached prices between 66 and 72 livres per barrel, while soap was valued up to 90 livres. In the secondary port…
1767-Feb.-16: An enslaved man named Antoine, of the Congo nation, was reported as a runaway in Cap-Français while wearing a long iron chain around his neck and foot. Despite the…
1767-Feb.-16: A significant forgery case was uncovered in the metropole involving a double engagement of 180,000 livres in the name of M. de Mory, Cashier of the India Company. The…
1767-Feb.-16: Reports from Rochefort confirmed that the royal facilities for receiving convicts (forçats) were now capable of holding up to 800 individuals. The colonial administration announced that the officers who…
1767-Feb.-16: A literary feud erupted in France as M. de Voltaire published a brochure criticizing M. de Bury’s recently released History of Henry IV. Voltaire accused Bury, whom he labeled…
1767-Feb.-16: Sieur Chartier announced the discovery of a chemical composition capable of protecting iron from rust and atmospheric decay. He characterized rust as a "leprosy" that devoured the most useful…
1767-Feb.-16: The King appointed M. Froger de l'Eguille as the new Lieutenant-General of the naval armies, filling the vacancy left by the death of the Count de Blenac. Froger de…
1767-Feb.-16: The vessel La Mariette, commanded by Captain Rochet, arrived at the port of La Rochelle from the southern district of Les Cayes. This arrival completed another commercial cycle, delivering…
1767-Feb.-16: Sieur Chartier received a formal Royal Patent from the King authorizing the use of his secret composition to protect iron from rust. The product's effectiveness was validated by certificates…
1767-Feb.-19: The personal effects and library of the late Sr. Baisset were scheduled for public sale at the residence of the King's Printer in Cap-Français. The auction included a diverse…
1767-Feb.-21: A group of 26 enslaved individuals belonging to the Pierre Bouyer succession was put up for public sale at the Royal Seat of the Cap. The terms of the…
1767-Feb.-09: The vessel Le Comte-de-Chessi, under the command of Captain Lessenne, departed from Cap-Français for the port of Le Havre. This sailing followed a series of departures earlier in the…
1767-Feb.-14: A variety of specialized health products and proprietary medicines were advertised for sale at reduced prices in the colonial capital. These included marshmallow paste of the same quality found…
1767-Feb.-14: A three-year lease for a plantation belonging to Sr. Courcelle, located in the Mornes du Cap near La Providence, was put up for public auction. The estate featured a…
1767-Feb.-14: Reports from Lisbon detailed a French inventor who developed secret "invisible or hidden fire" bombs and grenades capable of producing irresistible and instantaneous destruction. Successful trials of these incendiary…
1767-Feb.-14: M. le Chevalier-la-Martre, a prominent merchant in Cap-Français, notified his business associates of his relocation to a new office at the corner of Rue Penthievre and Rue St. Joseph.…
1767-Feb.-14: Sieur Labat de l'Isle, a resident of Port-au-Prince, advertised a specialized medicinal syrup designed to relieve and radically cure diseases of the chest and asthma. The remedy was also…
1767-Jun.-08: M. le Pelletier de Morfontaine, the Intendant of Soissons, attended the Fête de la Rose in Salancy and personally escorted the chosen Rosière during the ceremony. Moved by the…
1767-Jul.: Spain and Denmark finalized a significant diplomatic treaty aimed at cutting off the movement of fugitives between their respective Caribbean territories. The agreement specifically mandated the reciprocal return of…
1767-July-29: France further liberalized its colonial trade policies by issuing a royal decree that made Môle St. Nicolas a free port. This designation allowed foreign vessels of over one hundred…
1767-10-06: (Henry Christophe, Born Most Likely in Grenada, Sold Into Slavery in Haiti, Who Fought as a Teenage Drummer Boy at the Siege of Savannah, Rose Through the Revolution to…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1767, the people aboard the Badine rose against the crew. They had been taken at West Central Africa and St. Helena.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Basse-Terre in 1767, the people aboard the Marie rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Marc in 1767, the people aboard the Début rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1767, an unnamed French ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1767, the people aboard the Rochelle rose against the crew. They had been taken at Madagascar. The record gives the numbers as: 386 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1767, the people aboard the Saint Jean de Luz rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1767, the people aboard the Enigheid planned a rising that the crew discovered before it broke. They had been taken at…
THE sieurs G....., Messieurs, settlers of the Isle à Vache at Saint-Domingue, having asked for the registration of their titles of Nobility, the Conseil Supérieur of Port-au-Prince raised difficulties, and…
UP to now the orders that were given to send an exact statement of the quantity of nègres introduced into the Colonies have been neglected. Please send me one, in…
Having seen by the Conseil the petition of the Procureur-Général du Roi, the matter put to deliberation, THE CONSEIL has ordered and does order that the Ordinance of 15 June…
1768: The danse à Don Pèdre, a revolutionary Vodou form, is introduced. This aggressive style of Vodou emphasized vengeance and provided a spiritual foundation for future rebellion.
1768: French authorities in Martinique identified and punished several enslaved people for giving voice to a powerful liberation rumor that energized the local black community. The spreading news…
1768-May-09: Spanish ministers in Madrid reviewed an "expediente" concerning the exchange of enslaved people who had escaped between the Spanish territories and the Danish West Indies. The document examined the feasibility…
On a slaving voyage in 1768, the people aboard the Africa rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers as: 310 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic in 1768, the Furet was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Joal, or Saloum…
On a slaving voyage that ended at British Caribbean, colony unspecified in 1768, the people aboard the Esther rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayenne in 1768, the people aboard the Saint Pierre rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bight of Biafra and Gulf…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Freetown in 1768, the Favourite was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Delagoa. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Savanna la Mar in 1768, the people aboard the Tryal rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The…
On a slaving voyage in 1768, the people aboard the Nancy rose against the crew. They had been taken at New Calabar. The record gives the numbers as: 132 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Port-au-Prince in 1768, the people aboard the Saint Nicolas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Bonny in 1768, the Vine was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Savanna la Mar in 1768, the people aboard the Africa rose against the crew. They had been taken at New Calabar. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1768, the Chevalier Forbin was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Madagascar. The record gives the numbers as: 386 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1768, the people aboard the Haast U Langzaam rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1768, the Indian Prince was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea Islands. The…
In 1768 William Young and the other British settlement commissioners informed the Caribs of St Vincent that they were now subjects of the British Crown. Joseph Chatoyer refused. He asked…
THE King being in his Conseil has quashed and quashes the Decree of his Conseil Supérieur of the Cap of 21 July preceding, concerning fugitive estray nègres; makes very express…
SEEN by us Jean-Baptiste Esteve, Conseiller du Roi, etc. We, having seen the Decree of the Conseil Supérieur of the Cap of 7 April 1758, forbid all mulâtres and enslaved…
BETWEEN the sieur Carrere, Settler at Ouanaminte, appellant from a Sentence of the Amirauté of Fort Dauphin, of the one part. And the sieur Fourneau, charged with the collection of…
THE KING having had laid before him the Decree rendered on 28 January last by the Conseil Supérieur of the Cap, Island of Saint-Domingue, concerning the emancipation of the enslaved,…
White colonists in Saint-Domingue had been agitating for autonomy from Versailles, and the militia ordinances had them close to open revolt. While the Conseil superieur of Port-au-Prince was sitting, Monsieur…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1769, the King David was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1769, the people aboard the Union rose against the crew. They had been taken at Scarcies. The record gives the numbers as: 66 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Marc in 1769, the people aboard the Roy Morba rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Dominica in 1769, the Latham was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1769, the True Friends was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Liverpool River. The record gives the numbers as: 461…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Freetown in 1769, the people aboard the Concorde rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1769, the Andrews had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Calabar. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayenne in 1769, the people aboard the Marie Anne rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1769, the people aboard the True Blue rose against the crew. They had been taken at Benin. The record gives the numbers as: 500 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1769, the people aboard the Jenny (a) Nancy rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The…
ALEXANDRE DE BONGARS, etc. In consequence of the King’s orders addressed to us by the Dispatch of the Minister, dated at Versailles 13 March last, we have regulated and decreed…
THE COURT, ruling on the remonstrance of the Procureur-Général, and having heard the report of M. Gabeure de Vernot, Conseiller, has ordered and does order that the value of the…
BETWEEN the sieur Jamet, Settler at Port Margot, appellant, of the one part; and Philippe Aumouet, Guardian of the minor Guerre children, respondent, of the other part. After Behagnon, Avocat…
An ordinance re-established the staffs of the garrison towns with their former functions.
1770-Jun.-03: A devastating earthquake levels Port-au-Prince. This catastrophic event destroyed much of the city and killed thousands in the surrounding plain.
1770-Jun.-27: Robert Norris, the captain of the Liverpool slaving ship Unity, recorded a series of violent attempted insurrections in his journal while en route to Jamaica. On this date,…
1770–1788: (The Decaying Urban Centers and Natural Warnings): Despite being the "capital of the richest country on the face of the globe," the cities of Saint-Domingue were often described as…
1770, April 2: (The Birth of Alexandre Pétion): Alexandre Sabes Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince to a free mulâtresse and a Frenchman who initially withheld his name because the child's…
1770: Biography. Did you know Alexandre Pétion was a trained goldsmith who joined the militia at 18 after being initially disowned by his father for being "too dark"?
1770s–1800s: (The Abolition Debate and the Objectification of Africa: Enlightenment Humanism Meets Evangelical Outrage, Brissot in Revolutionary France, Granville Sharp and Wilberforce's 1787 to 1788 Campaign in Britain, Wedgwood's…
1770s–1800s: (The Economic Calculus Behind Abolition: Enslaved Labor No Longer Viewed as Profitable, Caribbean Sugar Profits in Decline, Industrial Capital Redirected Homeward, and Africa Reimagined as a Source…
1770s–1850s: (The Ethiopian Highlands in the Age of Fragmentation: The Unified Christian Empire as an Ideal Only, Multiple Polities Jostling for Commerce Through Massawa and Zeila, the Oromo Migration…
1770s–1830s: (The Eastern Frontier and the Xhosa: Conflict over the Zuurveld from the 1770s, Sporadic Frontier Wars, British Unwillingness to Fund Expensive Campaigns, and Boer Frustration That Drove the…
1770s–1810: (Uthman dan Fodio and the 1804 Jihad: The Fulani Scholar Who Began Preaching in Gobir in the 1770s, Condemned Illegal Taxation and Polytheism, Performed the Hijra, Launched Jihad…
1770s–1880s: (The Age of African Exploration: James Bruce's Quest for the Nile Source in the 1770s, Mungo Park Tracing the Niger in the 1790s, Denham and Clapperton Reaching Sokoto…
1770-00-00: (Port-au-Prince Becomes the Colonial Capital of Saint-Domingue, the French Transferring Administrative Authority From Cap-Haïtien to a City Built on a Seismic Fault That Would Be Devastated Repeatedly for the…
1770-06-03: (A Devastating Earthquake Strikes Port-au-Prince, Killing Over Two Hundred People in the Same Year the City Becomes the Colonial Capital, the First of Many Seismic Catastrophes to Remind the…
1770-04-02: (Alexandre Pétion, Born in Port-au-Prince, the Mulatto Revolutionary Who Would Become President of Southern Haiti, Dismantle the Plantation System, Distribute Land to Peasants, Arm Simón Bolívar on the Condition…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1770, the people aboard the Brocanteur rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1770, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Kissey River. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage in 1770, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Kissey River. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage in 1770, the Ave Marie was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1770, the Saint Augustine Packet was attacked from the shore. Captain: Savery. Flag: Great Britain. Recorded outcome, in the database’s words: “shipwrecked or destroyed, before…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1770, the people aboard the Zanggodin rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Dominica in 1770, the people aboard the Delight rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cape Mount (Cape Grand Mount). The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1770, the people aboard the Unity rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1770, the people aboard the Duke of Bridgewater rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage in 1770, the George was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives the numbers as: 148…
On a slaving voyage in 1770, the Cato was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Benin. The record gives the numbers as: 352 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1770, the people aboard the Saint Nicolas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gorée. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1770, the people aboard an unnamed British ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Basse-Terre in 1770, the people aboard the Entreprise rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
All the sugar works of the plain of the Cul-de-Sac were thrown down; and the Grande Rivière that crosses the plain, after lying dry for sixteen hours through the effect…
The governor's palace, the Intendance, the council house, the Church, the powder magazine, the barracks, the private houses, all became a single heap of ruins. The comte de Nolivos, governor…
BETWEEN the man named Paul, called Carenan, calling himself a free mulâtre, Settler, Appellant; and Marie-Jeanne Delaunay, wife of the said Carenan, both for herself and for her children; and…
MARIE-JEANNE DELAUNAY, a free quarteronne, most humbly petitions, saying that, united for more than 13 years by the bonds of marriage to the man named Paul Carenan, mulâtre, this unfortunate…
One sees on the rue du Centre the ruins of the Senate, and, on the rue de l'Enterrement, the palace of the chamber of deputies, which had been built on…
Some settlers of the Leeward Islands have asked permission to take their nègres to Cayenne, where they wish to establish themselves. I reported this to the King, and His Majesty…
The earthquake of 3 June 1770, which overthrew Port-au-Prince, destroyed all the manufactories of the plain of the Cul-de-Sac. The Grande-Rivière remained dry for sixteen hours. Its waters came back…
EARTHQUAKES. FIRES. Almost immediately after its foundation it suffered an earthquake, in 1751. The idea was then conceived of building it only of wood. The earthquake of 3 June 1770,…
One sees on the rue du Centre the ruins of the Senate, and, on the rue de l'Enterrement, the palace of the chamber of deputies, which had been built on…
BETWEEN the dame, not in community of property, of the sieur Cassarouy, and he himself, for the authorization and in his personal name, of the one part; and the Procureur-Général…
The governor Nolivos and the intendant Bongars wrote to the minister on the request of certain families of mixed descent to be declared of Indian race, and refused to support…
1771: The governor of Santiago de Cuba reported that small, unguarded harbors in the Bayamo district were full of ships engaged in illicit trade. These vessels carried deserters from various…
1771-1773: During the years between 1771 and 1773, the British slave trade reached an all-time peak in maritime activity. More than one hundred vessels per year cleared from Liverpool, which…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint John in 1771, the people aboard the African Queen rose against the crew. They had been taken at Kissey River. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1771, the people aboard the Willemina Aletta rose against the crew. They had been taken at Elmina. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Kingston in 1771, the people aboard the True Blue rose against the crew. They had been taken at Benin. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1771, the people aboard the Saint René rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1771, the Polly was attacked from the shore. Captain: Walsh, Hugh (a) Naish. Flag: Great Britain. Recorded outcome, in the database’s words: “shipwrecked or destroyed,…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1771, the people aboard the Pacifique rose against the crew. They had been taken at Accra. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1771, the people aboard the Nieuwe Hoop planned a rising that the crew discovered before it broke. They had been taken…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1771, the people aboard the Guinese Vriendschap rose against the crew. They had been taken at Elmina. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Bissagos in 1771, the people aboard the Nécessaire rose against the crew. They had been taken at Grand Mesurado. Captain: Badiaux. Flag: France.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Charleston in 1771, the people aboard the Two Brothers rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1771, the Carrick was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the…
Two habitations at Fond Parisien, which Emile Peters claims to have bought from the co-owners Imbert, Bowler, Cariciée, etc. Together they measure 606 carreaux of land. According to a survey…
Brigadier General Pierre Henry, who commanded the arrondissement of la Grand'Anse under President Pétion, and the 18th half-brigade of Jérémie, was also born at Saint Louis du Sud, on 4…
HAVING SEEN the requisition of the Procureur-Général du Roi, stating that at the execution of Decrees rendered against nègres convicted of theft, the greatest abuses occur every day; that the…
I have reported to the King the letter of MM. de Nolivos and de Bongars of April 10, 1770, containing their reflections on the request made by the sieurs...., for…
HAVING seen by the Conseil the petition of Doré, Doyen of the Notaires of the Jurisdiction of the Cap and Greffier of the Subdélégation, with the conclusions of the Procureur-Général…
The king's minister wrote to the administrators about a dragoon captain who had married a girl of mixed blood in France and could therefore no longer serve in Saint-Domingue.
1772-Jun.-22: The landmark Somerset v Stewart case concluded in England, where Lord Mansfield ruled that an enslaved person could not be forcibly removed from English soil and sold abroad. Julius…
1772-03-17: (Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc, Napoleon's Brother-in-Law, the French General Sent to Reconquer Haiti With 40,000 Troops, Who Captured Louverture Through Treachery but Could Not Defeat the Revolution, Dying of…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1772, the people aboard the Hoop van Dordrecht rose against the crew. Captain: Darem, Pieter. Flag: Netherlands. Recorded outcome, in the…
On a slaving voyage in 1772, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Ivory Coast. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1772, the people aboard the Intelligente rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at São Tomé in 1772, the people aboard the Fancy rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Dominica in 1772, the people aboard the Lord Cassils rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1772, the people aboard the Matty rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1772, the people aboard the Cupidon rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1772, the people aboard the Comte d'Estaing rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 33 people…
HAVING seen the criminal trial conducted at the Siège of Port-au-Prince against Thélémaque, and the Sentence which declares the said nègre Télémaque, etc.; and forbids all Owners of Houses, of…
Several hurricanes wrought havoc in the town: those of 14 August 1680, 21 September 1751, 17 September 1754, 20 September 1756, 4 August 1772, 27 August 1775, 5 September 1781,…
The ground on which the village is established is raised about 500 meters above sea level. The whole territory of the commune is made up of mountains interspersed and separated…
Léogane gave birth to Queen Anacaona, who was a poet; to General Bonnet, born on 15 May 1773; to General Inginac; to General Ségrettier, member of the provisional government of…
SARREBOUSSE. Habitation situated in the commune of Léogane, where Marion was born on 2 December 1772. Cangé, the chief of the indigènes of the mornes of Grand-Goâve, came there in…
1773: Barely a year after the historic Somerset decision in England, planters in Virginia reported that word of the ruling had reached local enslaved communities. Enslaved Virginians began attempting to…
1773-Jan.: A vibrant watercolor titled "View of Cap-Français and the Marie Séraphique of Nantes" was created to document the opening of a sale of captives in Saint-Domingue. The vessel had…
1773-Sep.-30: The Virginia Gazette reported on instances of resistance and flight by the enslaved that reflected a growing trend of organized defiance in Britain's North American colonies. Enslavers' advertisements for…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Domingue in 1773, the people aboard the Jeune Louis rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1773, the people aboard the Industry rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 169 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1773, the people aboard the New Britannia rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 236 people…
On a slaving voyage in 1773, the Sally was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the numbers as: 171 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1773, the people aboard the Robert rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1773, the Nancy was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives the numbers as: 171…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Eustatius in 1773, the people aboard the Haast U Langzaam rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Marc in 1773, the Julie was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at a port the record does not…
A French mission worked in the kingdoms of Loango and Kakongo north of the river Zaire from 1766 to 1775. The Capuchins had never reached those societies and they had…
LOUIS, etc. Between the sieur Riviere, the elder, etc. And ruling on the requisition of the Procureur-Général of the King, THE COURT has fixed at the term of 6 months,…
Celebrated men. Port-au-Prince prides itself on having given birth to General Galbaud, Governor General of St. Domingue; to Alexandre Pétion, Jean Pierre Boyer [15 February 1773] and Nissage Saget (6…
SEEN by the Conseil the Petition of the sieur Texier, etc. . . And ruling on the further submissions of the Procureur-Général of the King, orders that the orders for…
SEEN the criminal trial conducted at the Seat of Port-au-Prince, etc. OUR COURT, amending, orders that the said nègre calling himself free shall be taken to the galleys for life;…
Celebrated men. Port-au-Prince prides itself on having given birth to General Galbaud, Governor General of St. Domingue; to Alexandre Pétion, Jean Pierre Boyer [15 February 1773] and Nissage Saget (6…
Fires of the Cap: 1691. 1695. 1723, the church burns from firecrackers on the day of the Fête-Dieu; 20 September 1734; 10 May 1773; 9 January 1774; 27 November 1851.…
Léogane gave birth to Queen Anacaona, who was a poet; to General Bonnet, born on 15 May 1773; to General Inginac; to General Ségrettier, member of the provisional government of…
I have had occasion to observe, Monsieur, in connection with the nègres coming from vessels seized for interloping, a practice very harmful to the interests of the King, and liable…
ON the remonstrance of the Procureur-Général of the King in the Court, containing, etc., THE COURT, ruling on the said remonstrance of the Procureur-Général, has resolved that two of Messieurs,…
Jérôme-Maximilien Borgella was born at Port-au-Prince, the son of the white colonist Bernard Borgella and of the quarteronne Cécile La Mahautière.
1774-February-10: Ossun, the French minister to Spain, declared in an official memoir that Saint-Domingue was France's "finest and richest colony". He argued that the colony was the principal resource for…
On a slaving voyage in 1774, the Fly was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the numbers as: 148 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1774, the people aboard the Hermina Elisabeth rose against the crew. They had been taken at Windward + Ivory + Gold…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1774, the people aboard the Aimable Claire rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does…
On a slaving voyage in 1774, the people aboard the Diane rose against the crew. They had been taken at Whydah. The record gives the numbers as: 252 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Curaçao in 1774, the people aboard the Waakzaamheid rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1774, the Nannette was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record gives the numbers as:…
The third recorded Curaçao revolt began as mass marronage. All seventy-two enslaved people of the De Fuijk plantation tried to board a large canoe for Coro on the Venezuelan coast,…
Fires of the Cap: 1691. 1695. 1723, the church burns from firecrackers on the day of the Fête-Dieu; 20 September 1734; 10 May 1773; 9 January 1774; 27 November 1851.…
ON this day, Messieurs de Trouillet and Achard de Champroger, Conseillers Commissaires of the Court, appointed by its Decree of the 8th of this month to inspect the royal prisons…
I AM informed that settlers of the Colonies who have contracted alliances with girls of mixed blood, which render them unfit to enjoy any privileges, have had themselves provided in…
1775: The American Revolutionary War began, leading to a steep decline in the transatlantic slave trade as naval squadrons and privateers targeted merchant shipping. Between 1777 and 1782, Dutch, American,…
1775: Georgia delegates to the Continental Congress shared their fears with John Adams regarding the vulnerability of the coastal South to a British invasion. They estimated that twenty thousand…
1775-Fall: In the fall of 1775, unemployed seamen in Liverpool initiated violent protests against the exploitative conditions of the slave trade. Marching under a red flag, they expressed grievances over…
1775-Aug.: Thomas Jeremiah, a prominent free black harbor pilot in Charleston, was brought to trial and executed for allegedly plotting an insurrection of the enslaved. As a pilot, Jeremiah possessed…
1775-Aug.: A major strike by Liverpool sailors broke out, representing one of the most significant urban riots in eighteenth-century England alongside the Gordon Riots. The sailors protested against wage cuts…
1775-September-01: Caron de Beaumarchais began a persistent campaign to urge French Foreign Minister Vergennes to provide aid to the rebelling American colonies. He argued that if France failed to support…
1775-Sept.-04: A captive man branded with "LSM" on his right chest died at the Ouidah (Juda) roadstead after suffering from a sudden and uncontrollable sickness. The ship's surgeon noted that…
1775-Sept.-08: A man held captive on the ship Susanne Marguerite died of smallpox after being ill for eight days at the Ouidah roadstead. Although he had initially given the crew…
1775-Sept.-15: A young African girl branded with "LSM" on her right arm died at the Ouidah roadstead after suffering from scurvy for several days. Her death was recorded in the…
1775-Sep.-15: Thomas Jeremiah, a prominent free black pilot in Charleston, was executed following a trial where he was accused of inciting an insurrection of the enslaved. Julius S. Scott notes that…
1775-Oct.-13: A woman branded with "LSM" on her right arm passed away at the Ouidah roadstead after suffering from both lethargy (inanition) and scurvy. The ship's journal noted that her…
1775-September-01: Governor D'Ennery of Saint-Domingue reported to the French government that American agents were actively purchasing significant quantities of gunpowder within the colony. He observed that it was exceedingly difficult…
1775-October-13: The Committee of the Whole of the Continental Congress passed a resolution recommending that the various revolutionary assemblies export domestic products to the foreign West Indies. The primary goal…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Danish West Indies, colony unspecified in 1775, the people aboard the Christiansborg rose against the crew. They had been taken at Christiansborg. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Newcastle in 1775, the people aboard the John rose against the crew. They had been taken at Iles de Los. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1775, the Fox had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Grand Mesurado. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Barbados in 1775, the Burrowes was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1775, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Paramaribo in 1775, the people aboard the Geertruida en Christina rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Port-au-Prince in 1775, the people aboard the Brune rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Kitts in 1775, the people aboard the Lively rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Eustatius in 1775, the people aboard the Zanggodin rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1775, the Sally was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1775, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives the numbers…
An enslaved woman named Quamina died in 1775 on a Suriname plantation after weeks of pain in her belly. Everyone on the estate went together to the overseer, H. C.…
General Lamarre, the hero of the Môle, was born there on 15 January 1775. Rouzier tells this under the entry Fond Parisien (le).
ON this day Monsieur de Vincent, Lieutenant de Roi in this City, informed the Court of the disturbances and brigandage carried on in the Part of Fort-Dauphin by the man…
Having seen by the Court the proceedings extraordinarily conducted by the Lieutenant Criminel of the Cap, etc.; and ruling on the fuller conclusions of the Procureur-Général du Roi, and repeating…
Several hurricanes wrought havoc in the town: those of 14 August 1680, 21 September 1751, 17 September 1754, 20 September 1756, 4 August 1772, 27 August 1775, 5 September 1781,…
BETWEEN the Hérivaux Legatees, appellants, on the one part; and the sieur Groisil, the elder, respondent, on the other part: THE COURT has declared the default properly obtained and, for…
ON the petition presented to the King, being in his Conseil, by the sieur Morisseau d'Ester, Settler of the Artibonite, stating that he has recourse to the King's authority against…
1776: At the outbreak of the American Revolution, the population of the British colonies in the Caribbean had reached a point of extreme racial imbalance. Censuses from this period reveal…
1776: Toussaint Louverture is recorded as a free man, manumitted by Bayon de Libertat. His status as a free person of color gave him the mobility and perspective necessary to…
1776: Adam Smith argued in The Wealth of Nations that the labor performed by enslaved people was ultimately the most expensive form of work, despite only appearing to cost the…
1776: A significant scare over an insurrection of the enslaved gripped Jamaica as the American Revolution disrupted the usual patterns of trade and military presence. Local authorities feared that the…
1776-Jul.: Just as the Declaration of Independence appeared in the North American mainland, planters in Jamaica’s Hanover parish narrowly averted a slave uprising. Enslaved people along the coast attempted to…
1776-July-04: Rayford W. Logan establishes the starting point for United States diplomatic interest in Haiti, identifying Saint-Domingue as a crucial factor in French imperial policy during the American Revolution. The…
1776–1830: Mortality rates on slaving voyages to Brazil did not vary significantly between widely separated arrival regions, even though each province drew from a different mix of African embarkation points.…
1776–1830: The Middle Passage to Brazil was approximately 40 percent shorter than the corresponding route to the Caribbean, yet shipboard mortality rates remained comparable. While mortality rates declined sharply over…
1776–1830: The average duration of the Middle Passage began to decrease in the late eighteenth century, representing a significant shift in maritime efficiency. This decline occurred even as the route…
1776–1830: During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, mortality rates among captives varied widely across different Caribbean destinations. Vessels arriving in the British Caribbean lost less than 8…
1776–1860: The American Revolution significantly curtailed the arrival of enslaved Africans in mainland North America as political and legal landscapes shifted. Among the new states, only Georgia and South Carolina…
1776-February-29: Caron de Beaumarchais submitted a confidential memorandum to King Louis XVI proposing the creation of a commercial house named Roderigue Hortalez and Company. This entity was designed to facilitate…
1776-December-01: The first ship belonging to Hortalez and Company, the Amphitrite, departed France for the United States with a cargo of uniforms, cannon, and a regiment of Irish soldiers. To…
1776-December-01: During the American Revolution, the French colony of Saint-Domingue served as a vital transit point for military supplies destined for the Continental Army. American privateers frequently used the island's…
1776-1783: Logan utilizes the biography of Brigadier General Louis Lebègue Duportail by Elizabeth Kite to highlight the role of French military engineers during the American Revolution. This connection underscores the…
1776-02-15: (Jean Pierre Boyer, Born the Mulatto Son of a French Tailor and an Enslaved Woman, Who Would Reunite Haiti in 1820, Invade the Dominican Republic in 1822, Negotiate the…
1776-00-00: (Toussaint Louverture Manumitted by His Enslaver on the Bréda Plantation, Remaining as a Salaried Worker and Accumulating Property, a Position of Relative Privilege That Would Shape His Initial…
Jean-Pierre Boyer was born in Port-au-Prince on this day, on a property near the rue du Peuple. He was Petion's private secretary before he was his successor, and he ruled…
Louis Felix Mathurin Boisrond was born on 6 June 1776 at Torbeck, in the south. His father Mathurin was a carpenter. Lightning struck the baby's cradle and left him unhurt,…
On a slaving voyage in 1776, the Chance was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1776, the Sophia had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Augustine in 1776, the people aboard the Polly rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1776, the people aboard the Pacifique rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic in 1776, the Grue was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Senegambia and offshore…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Vincent in 1776, the people aboard the Falstaff rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bimbia. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1776, the John was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Lagos, Onim. The record gives the numbers as: 539 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1776, the people aboard the True Briton rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1776, the people aboard the Tryal rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1776, the people aboard the Phoenix rose against the crew. They had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives…
It was at this time that General Gabart died at Saint-Marc, on 30 October 1805. The emperor was deeply grieved by this loss. Gabart and Clervaux, both men of color,…
AHYSSA, born on the banks of the Senegal, was carried off from there and taken to the Isle of Grenada, one of the Antilles, where she remained in the power…
LOUIS, etc. in view of the criminal trial held at the court of Port-au-Prince, against the man named François, called Lacostiere, an enslaved man, etc.; and ruling on the requisition…
On 28 October 1776, Gabart was born at Dondon. He died at Saint-Marc on 30 October 1805. An intrepid soldier, he earned all his ranks on the fields of battle.…
SEEN by the Court the extraordinary proceedings made and conducted by the Criminal Juge of Fort-Dauphin, etc. it was said by the Court that the judgment was wrong and the…
1777: A crowd in Le Cap kills the public executioner after a reported miraculous escape of a prisoner. This spontaneous act of violence reflected the underlying tensions and volatility of…
1777: Hilliard d'Auberteuil complacently denies the possibility of a rebellion of the enslaved due to a lack of communication between plantations. His assessment reflected the general overconfidence of the free population…
1777: An extradition treaty is signed with the Spanish in Santo Domingo to facilitate the return of people who had escaped slavery. This agreement aimed to limit the mobility of maroons…
1777-Aug.-09: King Louis XVI of France issued a royal declaration known as the "police des noirs" to regulate the presence of black people within the metropole. The decree aimed to…
1777-December-27: French Foreign Minister Vergennes wrote to the French ambassador in Spain to discuss the strategic dilemma posed by the American Revolution. He weighed whether it was more expedient to…
1777-March-20: Nicholas Rogers, an American agent stationed at Port-au-Prince, reported to Silas Deane that eleven American vessels were currently anchored at Cap-Français. He also noted that five or six other…
1777-May-09: The Continental Congress formed a specialized committee to finalize a contract with a Frenchman named Bajeu Laporte for military recruitment. The proposed agreement sought to raise a full regiment…
1777-December-20: Beaumarchais sent detailed instructions to his agent in the United States regarding a sophisticated signaling system for supply ships arriving in Saint-Domingue. American vessels approaching Cap-Français were instructed to…
1777-06-03: (The Treaty of Aranjuez, Signed Between France and Spain to Delineate the Boundary Between Their Colonial Possessions on the Island, Marked With Small Cement Pyramids That Roughly Correspond to the…
On a slaving voyage in 1777, the people aboard the Bienfaisant rose against the crew. They had been taken at Malembo. The record gives the numbers as: 112 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Port-au-Prince in 1777, the people aboard the Amphitrite rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bonny. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Montego Bay in 1777, the people aboard the Thames rose against the crew. They had been taken at Accra. The record gives the…
BETWEEN the man named Jean Capiscol, etc. THE COURT, ruling on the requisition of our Procureur-Général, orders that the Regulations of the Court shall be executed according to their form…
Soon the French drove the English out of it and made war on the Spaniards, from whom they took territory on the mainland, where they settled definitively around 1694. The…
LOUIS, etc. GREETING. By our Letters patent of 3 September last, we ordered that judgment be stayed in all causes or lawsuits concerning the status of Black people of both…
THE KING being informed that several Settlers of his Colonies who have brought with them Black domestics, mulâtres, or other people of color, and who have complied with article IX…
LOUIS, etc. Between the sieur Soubira, residing at Dondon, appellant, plaintiff and defendant, by his petition served on 11 October last, and also by the conclusions taken at the Bar,…
A royal edict forbade blacks to enter the kingdom; Ardouin's footnote dates the same act 6 August 1777.
An order of the council of state forbade the distribution of Hilliard d'Auberteuil's work in Saint-Domingue.
1778: The United States formally joined the community of nations in the Atlantic World after entering into a Treaty of Alliance with France. This status of "treaty-worthiness" was a valuable…
1778-February-06: The Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed, which established the formal framework for economic relations between France and the new United States. While the treaty generally limited most-favored-nation…
1778-February-06: France and the United States signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, which included specific provisions regarding the French West Indies. The treaty guaranteed that France would keep open…
1778-00-00: (Jules Solime Milscent, Born in Grande-Rivière du Nord, Haitian Poet and Fabulist Whose Literary Work Celebrated the Revolution in the French Romantic Tradition, Co-Founder of L'Abeille Haytienne, Killed by…
Jérôme Marc Coutilien Coutard was born on 10 November 1778 at Bellevue, in the district of Port-au-Prince. He entered the service in the 4th demi-brigade under Toussaint Louverture and always…
BETWEEN the woman named Michelle-Louise Scaramouche, widow of Lécron, free nègre, etc. And ruling on the requisition of the Procureur-Général, orders that the Regulations of the Colony shall be executed…
I am sending you several copies of a Decree of the Conseil Supérieur of the Isle de France, of 18 August 1777, which condemns a free nègre to be hanged…
THE KING, having had his Declaration of 9 August last brought before him, by which His Majesty forbade for the future the introduction into his Kingdom of any Black people,…
M. de Lilancour consents that the Non-commissioned Officers of the Companies of color carry their arms, on the express condition that they be in uniform, and at the same time…
JEAN-BAPTISTE-GUILLEMIN DE VAIVRE, etc. It being necessary in the present circumstances to make a tariff to fix what shall be paid for nègres, carts and livestock that the settlers may…
Jérôme Marc Coutilien Coutard, who saved the life of President Pétion at the battle of Sibert by putting the gold-braided hat of the head of State on his own head,…
LOUIS, etc. Between the person named Charles, called Fauveau, N. L. etc.; And ruling on the requisition of our Procureur-Général, forbids all persons of whatever quality and condition to let…
Coutilien Coustard was born, according to the epitaph on his tomb.
1779: French Admiral D’Estaing sailed from Saint-Domingue to Savannah with a force of several hundred black and mulatto troops to assist the American Revolution. These battalions included future revolutionary leaders…
1779: Joe Anderson, a Bermuda-born sailor, successfully eluded his enslaver by jumping aboard a ship at Port Antonio on Jamaica's north coast. He managed this escape despite being shackled…
1779: The "Black St. Domingo Legion," a unit composed of free men of color from Saint-Domingue, played a crucial role in the Siege of Savannah during the American Revolution. These…
1779 Oct: The Chasseurs Volontaires fight at the Siege of Savannah. These free men of color returned from the American Revolutionary War with military experience and ideas of liberty. Significance:…
1779-October-09: During the American attempt to recapture Savannah from the British, a contingent of over six hundred free men of color from Saint-Domingue took part in the assault. These soldiers,…
1779, September–October: (The Chasseurs Volontaires and the Disaster of Savannah): In 1779, France sent an expeditionary force under Comte d'Estaing to assist American Continentals, which included the Chasseurs Volontaires de…
1779-10-09: (The Siege of Savannah, Where Over Five Hundred Free Black and Mulatto Troops From Saint-Domingue Fought to Cover the Retreat of French and American Forces During the American War…
1779-10-09: (The Siege of Savannah, Over Five Hundred Free Black and Mulatto Troops From Saint-Domingue Fighting in the American War of Independence, Future Haitian Revolutionaries Including Christophe and Rigaud Among…
THE KING being in his Council, has quashed and annulled, does quash and annul, so far as concerns the sieur Soubira only, the said Decree of the Conseil Supérieur du…
LOUIS, etc. Between the sieur Garcia, Spaniard, of the one part; and the sieur Gouesse, Spaniard, of the other: THE COURT, on the principal matter, amending, sentences the Party of…
ROBERT, Comte d'Argout, etc. His Majesty placing entire confidence in the attachment and fidelity to his service of his free Subjects, People of color, at Saint-Domingue, and having ordered us…
ROBERT, Comte d'Argout, etc. In consequence of His Majesty's orders, we have by Ordinances of this day ordered the levying of two Corps, one under the name of Volunteer Grenadiers,…
ROBERT, Comte d'Argout, etc. The circumstances requiring that each Company of the Corps of Volunteer Chasseurs of Saint-Domingue be brought to 103 men, whose full strength had been fixed at…
RULING on the further conclusions of the Procureur-Général du Roi, enjoins J...., Notaire, to be more circumspect in future in the drawing up of deeds of sale of enslaved people…
1780: Captain Vincent Ollivier, a 120-year-old black veteran and respected leader of the free colored community, dies in the colony. His long life spanned the formative decades of the colonial…
1780: A police report from Cap-Français expressed heightened anxiety regarding a restless population of petits blancs arriving daily from Europe to escape legal reprisals. While some arrivals were sturdy artisans,…
1780: Official figures for Cap Français noted only 195 free colored residents in 1775, but by 1780, a more careful count revealed almost 1,400 people in this category. This rapid…
1780s: The organized movement to abolish the transatlantic slave trade began to gain momentum in the Atlantic world, spearheaded primarily by British campaigners. Activists utilized innovative tactics such as distributing…
1780s: Pioneer activity in the mountainous interior intensifies as new coffee estates are established. The economic shift toward coffee production led to the settlement of higher elevations and increased slave…
1780s: A detailed account and illustration of an auction of captives in Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue, describe the highly organized and competitive nature of the colonial labor market. Captives were typically…
1780: Paul Eric Dubuisson published Nouvelles considérations sur Saint-Domingue, a work that analyzed the resources and strategic importance of the colony during the American Revolution. This bibliographic record highlights the…
1780s–1880s: (The East African Slave Trade's Intense Century: Russian Expansion Cutting Off Muslim World's Traditional Sources, French Indian Ocean Plantations, Brazilian Traders Crossing to the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar's Clove…
1780-00-00: (Jean Baptiste Riché, Born in Northern Haiti, the Son of a Free Black Militiaman, a Revolutionary Veteran and Christophe Loyalist Who Became President in 1846 as a Puppet of…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1780, the people aboard the Vigilantie rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
Seen by the Conseil the Petition of the Butler heirs, seeking to be reimbursed the sum of [?],000 livres, stated in the deed of sale of the nègre Achille; Conclusions…
Jean-Baptiste Guillemin de Vaivre, &c. Having been informed that several settlers, to avoid paying the costs of their nègres' illnesses, send them to the Prisons of this City, to be…
Tiphaine, interim Greffier de l'Intendance, humbly petitions, and has the honor to set before you that he has just been informed that the receipts of the Receveur of the freedom…
François Reynaud de Villeverd, etc. Since it is necessary to make known His Majesty's intentions concerning the service of his Militias, free people of color in Saint-Domingue, and wishing to…
SEEN BY THE COURT, the proceedings extraordinarily conducted and instructed by the Juge-Criminel of Cap, at the request of the Substitut of the Procureur-Général, plaintiff and accuser, against the person…
SEEN by the Court, the proceedings extraordinarily conducted and instructed.... against the person named Jean, enslaved nègre of Sieur Laboubée, the person named Zéphire, enslaved nègre of Sieur Dallest, Apothecary…
I have received, Gentlemen, your Letter of 17 April last, in which you report to me the death of the person named Achille, nègre belonging to the Butler heirs, killed…
1781-August-05: Admiral de Grasse departed from Cap-Français with a massive French fleet to support George Washington’s final campaign against Lord Cornwallis. Before sailing, de Grasse secured $1,200,000$ livres in silver…
On a slaving voyage in 1781, the people aboard an unnamed French ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not name. The…
FRANÇOIS Reynaud de Villeverd, etc. Joseph-Alexandre Le Brasseur, etc. We have been informed that for a long time the greatest abuses have been creeping into the Goldsmithing trade of this…
FRANÇOIS Reynaud de Villeverd, etc. Joseph-Alexandre Le Brasseur, etc. The multiplied accidents that result in this Colony from the ease with which all private persons and a great number of…
You inform me by your letter of 1 December last, no. 55, that a Danish Frigate has arrived at Saint-Domingue, escorting three Vessels of the same Nation loaded with provisions,…
The direct nègre trade to the coasts of Africa is prohibited in our Colonies only so as to reserve its advantages for the Commerce of the Kingdom, and still more…
THIS Sentence condemns the man named Mallet, free mulâtre, holding the Ferry of Limbé, to pay to the woman named Marthe Dupré a sum of 3,600 livres, for the value…
Several hurricanes wrought havoc in the town: those of 14 August 1680, 21 September 1751, 17 September 1754, 20 September 1756, 4 August 1772, 27 August 1775, 5 September 1781,…
The village is situated 4 lieues from the town of Jacmel. Several hurricanes wrought damage there, notably those of 24 July 1724, 21 September 1751, 16 September 1754, 5 September…
JEAN-BAPTISTE de Tastes de Lilancour, etc. Joseph-Alexandre le Brasseur, etc. It being necessary to fix in an invariable manner the service of the nègres belonging to the King in the…
1782: Toussaint Louverture marries Suzanne Simone Baptiste on the Bréda plantation. Their union would anchor Toussaint's familial life during the tumultuous years of the revolution.
1782: A Spanish royal cédula authorized French vessels to trade directly with the colony of Louisiana, recognizing the "urgent necessity" of local commercial needs. This policy legalized the long-standing illicit…
1782: Jamaica's Grand Jury of the Quarter Sessions expressed alarm at the "multitude" of people of color from Curaçao and other foreign territories settling in Kingston. To maintain security, the…
1782-Dec.: The hurried British evacuation of Charleston resulted in the departure of over 5,000 blacks, both free and enslaved, aboard naval vessels. More than half of these individuals were transported…
1782-April-12: The French navy suffered a major defeat at the Battle of the Saints, which occurred as de Grasse’s fleet attempted to sail from Saint-Domingue to capture Jamaica. This engagement,…
1782-00-00: (Antoine Dupré, Born in Cap-Haïtien, One of Haiti's First Published Poets and Playwrights, Whose Historical Melodramas Celebrated the Revolution in French Literary Forms, Killed in a Duel at Thirty-Three):…
1782-08-15: (Faustin Soulouque, Born Into Slavery in Petit-Goâve, the Black Military Officer Whom the Mulatto Elite Installed as a Figurehead President in 1847, Only to Watch Him Seize Real Power,…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1782, the people aboard the Oiseau rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1782, the people aboard the Fleury rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the…
LOUIS, etc. Between MM. and Mesdemoiselles de Brucourt, brothers and sisters, settlers at Grand Bassin, on one side: And the sieur Gaillardet, jeune, Militia Officer, settler at Grande Coline, and…
THE Procureur du Roi submits that the persistence of the nègres of this City in following through the streets and insulting a White private person named la Poterie continues still,…
THE great expedition ordered by His Majesty, Sir, being about to take out of this Colony the greater part of the regular Troops that hold garrison here, it is a…
BETWEEN the Diancourt heirs; the sieur and Dame Landon, purchasers of the property of the Diancourt estate; and the woman named Nanette Soreau, free mulâtresse, residing at Port Margot, Guardian…
I HAVE placed before the King, Sirs, the Resolution of the Conseil of the Cap that M. le Brasseur sent me on the ; June last, concerning the man named…
SEEN by the Court the proceedings made by extraordinary procedure and conducted by the Lieutenant-Criminel of Fort-Dauphin, at the Petition of the Substitut of the Procureur-Général du Roi at the…
SEEN by the Court the proceedings made by extraordinary procedure and conducted by the Juge Criminel of the Cap, at the Petition of the Substitut of the Procureur-Général du Roi…
SEEN by the Court the criminal proceedings made, conducted and judged in the state in which they were found, without need of further investigation (1) by the Lieutenant-Criminel at the…
BETWEEN the man named Vallois, free mulâtre, settler at Moustique, Appellant, of the one part; And the sieur Aumailley, settler in the said Quarter, Respondent of the other part. Seen,…
LOUIS, etc. Between Graba, residing at Léogane, in the name and as guardian of the négresse Marie-Françoise and her four children, Appellant and Respondent, appearing by Deronseray, Avocat, of the…
BETWEEN the sieur Pesseville, residing at the Cap, Appellant, of the one part; And the sieur Cappé, Respondent, of the other part; And further the man named la Tortue N.…
1783: The case of the Zong massacre received wide publicity in Britain, signaling a major shift in public opinion toward the slave trade. Discussions of the grisly details exposed the…
1783: The Spanish Crown issued a royal cédula designed to develop Trinidad by inviting foreign settlers, specifically targeting discontented French Catholics. This policy offered land grants to free blacks and…
1783–1789: (The Looming Volcano and the States-General): By 1783, the Marquis du Rouvray warned that the colony was "treading on loaded barrels of gunpowder" due to the internal wars between…
On a slaving voyage in 1783, the people aboard the Black Prince rose against the crew. They had been taken at Iles de Los. The record gives the numbers as:…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1783, the people aboard the Industry rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Jamaica in 1783, the people aboard the Wasp rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers…
BETWEEN the man named Charles Maucombre, free mulâtre, Tailor at the Cap, Appellant, of the one part; And the sieur Chanche, keeper of the ferry crossing at l'Acul, residing at…
I have been informed, gentlemen, that the Ship, the Prince de Conty, outfitted at S. Malo by the Sieur Magon fils, and commanded by the sieur Corbillé, had brought, at…
BETWEEN the sieur Vergille, merchant at the Cap, of the one part; And the sieur Jacquemin, settler at Limbé, of the other part. Seen, etc. After d'Augy, Avocat for the…
The King, having had the Decree of his Conseil of 11 January 1773 laid before him, by which His Majesty, being informed that many enslavers had neglected to conform to…
Every day, gentlemen, domestic nègres and négresses are landed in France, who are stopped on their arrival in the Port and placed in the depots, in conformity with the Declaration…
BETWEEN the sieur Nogues, Settler of Port-de-Paix, Appellant, of the one part; And the sieur de Montagnac, Respondent. Seen the Sentence of the Juge of Port-de-Paix, which, on the demand…
BETWEEN the woman named Zabeth, free négresse, residing at the Cap, Appellant; And Jean-François Quarteron, Fisherman, Respondent. Ruling on the further Conclusions of the Procureur-Général du Roi, forbids Cormeaux la…
BETWEEN the sieur Henriques, etc. And ruling on the further Conclusions of the Procureur-Général du Roi; orders that the Ordinances and Regulations concerning the Police of the enslaved shall be…
ADELAIDE Fanotte sells to the Sieur Marcel, as belonging to her, a négresse of her son, of whom she is guardian, and he sells her to a Sieur Gosse. Shortly…
LOUIS, etc. Between the sieur Linas, Saddler, residing at Cap, Appellant from the Sentence of the Siège Royal of the said Town, of 20 July 1782, Plaintiff by his conclusions…
LOUIS, &c. Between the sieur Dugas, well-wisher of the woman named Vénus, négresse, appellant from an Ordinance of the Juge of Port de Paix, who, having seen the remonstrance of…
Having seen by the Court the proceedings conducted and prosecuted by extraordinary procedure by the Lieutenant Criminel of Cap, at the request of the Substitut of the Procureur Général du…
LOUIS, etc. Having seen, &c. Between the sieur Lafont, &c. And Pierre Reculé, &c. the Petition presented to the Court by François Reculé, for the purpose of summoning the sieur…
LOUIS, etc. Having seen, etc. Between the sieur François Sire, etc.; And the dame Metiser, etc.; the production made at the Greffe of our Conseil by Faure, Lawyer of the…
ALEXANDRE Jacques de Bongars, etc. The necessity of taking daily for the King's service the Carts, Acons, Canoes, nègres and Mules of various Private persons obliges us, to avoid any…
BETWEEN the sieur Lemaire, settler at Dondon, Testamentary Executor and universal Legatee of the sieur Hoyer, Appellant; And the woman named Rose Mayador, Respondent. Having seen the Sentence of the…
1784: The free mulattoes of Saint-Domingue anticipated the actions of the colony's white planters by sending Julien Raimond to France in 1784. This mission was established to lobby for the…
1784-May–June: Correspondence from factors of the slave trade in St. Vincent detailed the difficult logistical and financial challenges of selling captives from the ship Essex of Liverpool. The factors noted…
1784: Dr. Arthaud and a number of grands blancs found the Cercle des Philadelphes in Cap Français. While this intellectual society engaged with the arts and sciences, its members remained…
1784: Prominent free coloreds secretly draft a report attacking the caste system and send a representative to France. This political maneuver sought to secure legal equality by appealing directly to…
1784-August-30: A new royal ordinance was promulgated by the French government to regulate trade between foreign nations and the West Indian colonies after the war. This decree designated Cap-Français and…
1784-October-31: In response to the intense lobbying from French port cities, the government issued a subsequent decree to modify the earlier trade liberalizations. The new regulations restricted foreign trade to…
1784-August-30: Following the end of the American Revolution, the French government issued a decree known as the Arrêt to regulate trade with its colonies. This decree officially opened several ports…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martinique in 1784, the people aboard the Bonne Société rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Domingue in 1784, the people aboard the Christiansborg rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Marc in 1784, the people aboard the Jeune Aimée rose against the crew. They had been taken at Mayumba. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1784, the people aboard the Santíssimo Sacramento e S Francisco das Chagas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Benguela. The record gives…
SEEN by the Court the petition presented to it by Philemon, mulâtre acting under the authority of Maître Petit Deschampeaux, Procureur in the seats of the Cap, Curator named for…
BETWEEN the sieur and dame C..., Appellants; And the sieur L..., Respondent; And the sieurs B... brothers, etc.; having seen the Sentence of the Juge of the Cap of 15…
LOUIS, etc; against the woman named Elizabeth, etc. OUR COURT has set and does set at naught the Appeal and Sentence appealed; in that by it the négresse Elizabeth called…
I have seen with regret, Sirs, from your letter of 14 January last, that the complaints that had been addressed by the Chamber of Le Havre, about the permission you…
HAVING SEEN by the Court the procedure conducted and instructed by extraordinary procedure by the Criminal Juge at the Royal Siége of this Town, at the request of the Substitut…
You know, Gentlemen, that the Ordinance of 12 October 1739 forbids all transport of nègres between the Windward and Leeward Islands, and that this prohibition was intended to prevent the…
HAVING SEEN by the Conseil the remonstrance of the Procureur-Général du Roi, stating that he is obliged to place before the Court the documents he has received concerning the public…
BETWEEN the dame widow of the sieur Morange, settler in the district of Port-de-Paix, both in her own name and as Guardian of her minor children, Appellant from a Sentence…
SEEN by the Court the petition presented to it by Dumas Machoquet at Petit-Carénage, tending to ask that it please the said Court, having seen the Decree of the first…
Guillaume Léonard de Bellecombe, etc. Alexandre Jacques Bongars, etc. We have been struck by the danger with which the city of the Cap is threatened in its interior by the…
SEEN by the Court the petition presented to it by the Sieur Lapice Bergondy, settler in the Dauphin District, tending to ask that it please the said Court, having seen…
BETWEEN the heirs le Febvre,. . . . (Pleading: Maîtres d'Augy and Darracq). A nègre of the heirs le Febvre, who had killed one belonging to the Sieurs Jombert, was…
Hérard Dumesle, a famous tribune, was also born there on 16 June 1784. He was expelled from the Chamber on 14 August 1833. He represented the commune of the Cayes.…
LOUIS, etc. Between Fleuri de la Roche, etc.; and the woman named Marie Louise Rampale; having seen the Sentence of April 28, 1783, which orders that Marie-Louise Rampale shall be…
LOUIS, etc. Between the Sieur Germon, Chirurgien-Major, holding our warrant at Port-au-Prince, etc.; appearing by Maître Bruneau de la Roque, lawyer, of the one part; And the shipowners of the…
BETWEEN the Sieurs Castera and company, operating the Passenger boat of Fort Dauphin; And the Sieurs Riviere and Chevaly, merchants, (Pleading: Maîtres d'Augy and Viel). The Decree confirms the Sentence…
SEEN the Petition of the Sieur Pelerin de la Buxière the son, settler at the far end of Isle à Vache, stating (that his nègre Mercure, murderer of the nègre…
IN CONSEQUENCE of the Resolution of the Court of the 14th of the present month, which had charged M. de Saint-Martin the son, Conseiller-Rapporteur of the Criminal Trial against the…
On what was represented to the King, being in his Conseil: that one of the principal encouragements granted to the trade in nègres, by the Letters Patent of January 1716…
LOUIS, &c. Against the man named Xavier, nègre, claiming to be free, etc. Seen by our Conseil Supérieur of Port-au-Prince the Sentence of the 15th of October of the present…
SEEN by the Court the criminal procedure, extraordinarily made and conducted by the Lieutenant-Général of the Amirauté of the Cap, at the request of the Substitut of the Procureur-Général du…
BETWEEN the Sieur Geraud, Négociant, Appellant; and the Sieur and Dame Labarthe Sainte-Foi, Settlers, Respondents. Pleading: Maîtres Carles and d'Augy. There was a declaration of the marronnage of the négresse…
Louis XVI issued the ordinance of 3 December 1784 on the procureurs gérans and the enslaved people, restored to force by the proclamation of 5 May 1793.
1785: Trade between the Gulf Coast province of Louisiana and Saint-Domingue began a period of rapid expansion under new colonial regulations. This surge in maritime traffic made the task of…
1785-Dec.-22: Antera Duke, a prominent eighteenth-century African slave trader at Old Calabar, recorded the arrival of several slaving vessels in his personal diary. He documented sending 1,500 yams to pay…
1785-Dec.-25: African slave trader Antera Duke celebrated the New Year with several European captains and local rulers at a foggy morning gathering at Aqua Landing. The group, including Captains Fairweather,…
1785-1790: An average of more than 30,000 Africans are deported to the colony each year as the Atlantic slave trade reaches its peak. This rapid influx of people directly from Africa…
1785-May-17: Louis-Guillaume Otto, the French chargé d’affaires in the United States, authored a comprehensive memoir analyzing the state of Franco-American trade. He warned that American merchants would never be satisfied…
1785-04-26: (John James Audubon, Born in Les Cayes as the Illegitimate Son of a French Planter and a French Servant, Who Fled Haiti's Slave Unrest as a Child, Emigrated to…
1785-04-26: (John James Audubon Born in Haiti, the Naturalist and Painter Whose Family Would Relocate to France in 1788 and Who Would Immigrate to the United States in 1803, His…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1785, the people aboard the Alexandre rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Bristol in 1785, the people aboard an unnamed American ship rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Vincent in 1785, the people aboard the Wasp rose against the crew. They had been taken at New Calabar. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1785, the people aboard the Furieuse rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the numbers as: 169 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1785, the Sprig was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Windward Coast (Nunez to Assini). The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1785, the people aboard the Neptunus rose against the crew. They had been taken at Elmina. The record gives the numbers as: 150 people were…
Seen, etc.: THE COURT has condemned the man named Pierre Louis, Wigmaker, nègre, etc. And ruling on the Conclusions of the Procureur-Général, orders that the Regulatory Decrees of 20 June…
BETWEEN the man named A..., free nègre, universal legatee of B..., also a free nègre, third-party opponent; and the man named C..., also a free nègre. Pleading: Maîtres le Loup…
WE, Louis-Barthelemi de Favarange, Lieutenant de Juge in the Royal Sénéchaussée of Jérémie, acting there as Lieutenant d'Amirauté, because of the illness and absence of the ordinary Lieutenant, established by…
Seen by the Court the Petition of the Sieur de Buor, Chevalier de Saint-Louis, Captain of His Majesty's Vessels, Settler at Trou, asking, given the Sentence carrying condemnation to death,…
BETWEEN Sieur Raby du Moreau, Chevalier de Saint-Louis, Assignee of the Heirs of Claude Bidon, universal legatee of Antoine Bidon (provider of the funds), Appellant; And the man named Carrere,…
After the death of Sieur Chancerel, his widow had sent to Fort-Dauphin three nègres belonging to her minor children, to be put out to lease, and they had been seized…
Having seen by the Conseil the Requisition of the Procureur-Général du Roi, tending that it might please the Court, in view of his present requisitions, together with the attached copy…
Having seen the Requisition of the Procureur du Roi, we enjoin all the settlers of the Town to send each one of their nègres to the Place d'armes, with their…
Having seen the Petition of Verville, Receveur des Aubaines at Fort-Dauphin, tending to be received as Appellant from the Ordinance of the Juge of the said place, which had permitted…
TODAY, etc. the Procureur-Général du Roi entered, and said that there was communicated to him by the Sénéchal of Port-au-Prince an Official Report, drawn up by him at the requisition…
Whereas it was represented to the King, in His Conseil, that by a Decree issued therein on the 26th of last October, His Majesty had granted gratifications and bounties to…
LOUIS, etc. Having seen by our Conseil Supérieur of Port-au-Prince the trial conducted at the Siége of the Amirauté of the Cayes, against the Shipowners of the Frigate the Geheime…
BETWEEN Dame Bainac, Lessor; Sieur De Miniac, Lessee under a farm lease of a Plantation and nègres for 9 years; Pleading Maîtres Viel and Darracq, on the Conclusions of Maître…
GUILLAUME-Léonard de Bellecombe, etc. Alexandre-Jacques Bongars, etc. Informed by the complaints brought to us, and by the accounts that we had rendered to us, that there is no fixed place…
BETWEEN Maître Seur, Avocat en Parlement, Procureur at the Sièges of the Cap, in the name and as Guardian appointed to pursue the freedom of the négresse . . .,…
UPON the Petition presented to us by Magdeleine Marin, widow of the Sieur Jean François Marin, in his lifetime Esquire in the Town of La Ciotat in Provence; stating that…
The village is situated 4 lieues from the town of Jacmel. Several hurricanes wrought damage there, notably those of 24 July 1724, 21 September 1751, 16 September 1754, 5 September…
JEAN-JACQUES Gattien Bretton des Chapelles, etc. Whereas the Procureur du Roi has represented to us that disputes continually arise among the various Merchants, white, free, or enslaved, who sell on…
EXPERIENCE having shown the necessity of providing the Black people of the Windward Islands with an assured subsistence in the competition of cod from the foreign Fishery with that of…
The winds that prevail at the Cap are winds from the east, north and southwest. The north winds bring cold and dampness from October until March. The west winds are…
LOUIS, etc. Against the man named Jean-Louis, nègre, enslaved, etc.; And granting the Requisition of our Procureur-Général: THE COURT directs both the Sénéchal of Jérémie and the Substitut of our…
HAVING SEEN by the Court the Proceedings conducted by extraordinary procedure and instructed by the Lieutenant Criminel at the Siége-Royal of the Cap, at the Request of the Substitut of…
I have seen, Sirs, by the letters written to me by MM. Coustard and de Bongars on 14 September last, that the Sieur Fromont, Procureur-gérant of M. the Comte de…
1786: Governor Parry of Barbados reported a significant increase in the number of enslaved people employed in navigating trading vessels. He expressed concern to the British Legislature that this trend…
Étienne de La Rigaudelle du Buisson was born at Saint-Marc, Saint-Domingue, on 21 October 1786. His family held two plantations there, in cotton and indigo. He was ordained a Catholic…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Port-au-Prince in 1786, the people aboard the Reverseau rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegal. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage in 1786, the Adventure was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Cape Coast Castle. The record gives the numbers as: 302…
On a slaving voyage that ended at St. Croix in 1786, the people aboard the Christiansborg rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gold Coast. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1786, the Vigilant was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Anomabu, Adja, Agga. The record gives the numbers as: 359…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Port-au-Prince in 1786, the people aboard the Fleury rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1786, an unnamed Dutch ship was cut off, and the record does not say by whom or how. The people aboard had been taken at…
In 1786 the colonial courts of French Saint Domingue indicted a man named Jerome Poteau and several others for holding night assemblies in the northern coffee parish of Marmelade. The…
DUBUISSON. Habitation in the commune of Saint Louis du Sud. On 30 August 1786 thunder fell on this habitation and reduced it to ashes. Rouzier tells this under the entry…
1787: When Louis XVI called for the convening of the Estates-General in 1787, the planters of Saint-Domingue took the lead in pressing the claims of the Caribbean slavocracy. Influenced by…
1787: The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was established in 1787 as an organizational spearhead for reform. Granville Sharp served as the chairman of this influential…
1787: The fledgling British settlement at Sierra Leone was founded as a refuge for formerly enslaved people from America and London’s "Black Poor." Located adjacent to a busy…
1787: The French government consolidated the two superior councils of St. Domingo into a single supreme court based in Port-au-Prince. This move was intended to make the judiciary more compliant…
1787: Ottobah Cugoano published his personal narrative describing the horrific conditions of his enslavement in Grenada and his subsequent deliverance to England. He detailed the "dreadful scenes of misery" he…
1787: Ottobah Cugoano published Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species in London. This work is widely considered the…
1787: Intendant Marbois reported that the free population of color in the colony had grown to approximately 20,000 individuals. By the eve of the revolution in 1790, general opinion estimated…
1787: Quobna Ottobah Cugoano published a seminal account describing the "horrible scene" of being conducted from a coastal prison castle to a slave ship. He detailed the rattling of chains,…
1787-Summer: Thomas Clarkson, who would later befriend King Henry Christophe, conducted extensive research on the docks of Bristol and Liverpool to gather evidence against the slave trade. He discovered a…
1787-Oct.–Dec.: Jamaican customs agents registered a significant amount of regional trade, recording eighty-nine British ships and sixty-four foreign vessels. This seagoing commerce bound the Caribbean community together despite complex imperial…
1787-October-10: The French government issued formal instructions to its new minister to the United States, Count de Moustier, regarding the future of colonial trade. The instructions acknowledged that Americans were…
1787-December-29: France issued a new decree that admitted American whale oil to the West Indies while forbidding the product from other foreign nations. This move was intended to woo the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1787, the people aboard the Roy d'Ambris rose against the crew. They had been taken at West Central Africa and…
On a slaving voyage in 1787, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 169…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Léogane in 1787, the people aboard the Reine de Podore rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Port-au-Prince in 1787, the people aboard the Ville de Basle rose against the crew. They had been taken at Porto Novo. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1787, the people aboard the Avanture rose against the crew. They had been taken at a port the record does not name. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1787, the Henrietta was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 20 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Dominica in 1787, the people aboard the Madam Pookata went over the side, or were recorded missing. They had been taken at Ambriz.…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Port-au-Prince in 1787, the people aboard the Amitié rose against the crew. They had been taken at Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. The record…
On a slaving voyage in 1787, an unnamed British ship was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 169…
On a slaving voyage in 1787, the people aboard the Franc Maçon rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the numbers as: 276 people…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1787, the people aboard the Alexandre rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gorée. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Grenada in 1787, the people aboard the Hudibras rose against the crew. They had been taken at Calabar. The record gives the numbers…
Marie-Marthe, described in the register as the adult legitimate daughter of the free blacks Toussaint and Cecile, married for the second time to a free black of Cap-Francais known as…
On the news of the convocation of the estates general in France, the colons (white colonists) stir themselves to be summoned to it.
1788: The French ship's captain Jean Pousson settled in New Orleans, initiating a twelve-year career of freewheeling maritime activity across the Atlantic. Sailing under Spanish colors, Pousson maintained an…
1788: A small group of French humanitarians founded the Société des Amis des Noirs in 1788, drawing inspiration from the British abolition movement. Modeled after the London Committee, the society…
1788: Official population figures for the city of Cap Français in Saint-Domingue listed 12,151 residents in the urban center proper. This figure did not include the tens of thousands of…
1788: Maritime logs recorded that more than one thousand foreign vessels called at Saint-Domingue's ports, the vast majority being small ships under seventy-five tons. Of these, 259 were Spanish traders…
1788: A detailed cross-section of the slave ship Brooks was used by British abolitionists to visually demonstrate the horrific overcrowding of the Middle Passage. The diagram showed 454 captives packed…
1788: The British Parliament passed Sir William Dolben's bill, which represented the first contested legislative step toward regulating the transatlantic slave trade. The bill imposed slight restrictions on the number…
1788: Thomas Clarkson published a detailed essay on the slave trade that quantified the extreme loss of life during the "seasoning" period in the Americas. He calculated that roughly twenty…
1788: Nicolas Lejeune is acquitted of torturing and killing slaves, showing legal limits. The failure of the state to prosecute this brutal planter underscored the systemic power of the master…
1788: La Société des Amis des Noirs was founded in Paris by Brissot and other humanitarians to campaign against the slave trade. Its membership included prominent figures like Lafayette and…
1788: The Saint Domingue planters founded the Club Massiac in Paris to combat the influence of abolitionist groups. This society worked to protect the economic interests of the master class…
1788-Jan.–Jun.: Over the first six months of the year, eighty-six Spanish and seventy-two French vessels called at the port of Kingston alone. Notably, over fifty of these French vessels originated…
1788-Feb.: Prime Minister William Pitt issued an order-in-council in February 1788 to submit the slave trade to a formal parliamentary inquiry. He directed the Committee for Trade and Plantations of…
1788-Apr.: By April 1788, news of the impending parliamentary inquiry into the slave trade reached the British Caribbean colonies. In Barbados, newspapers reported the growing interest throughout Europe in the…
1788-Apr.: An abortive uprising of enslaved people occurred in Jamaica’s St. John’s parish during the month of April 1788. This incident confirmed the expectations of planters that the public abolition…
1788-Apr.-25: Reports from Spanish Town, Jamaica, indicated a heightened state of alarm among the white population following news of the abolitionist movement in London. Local officials noted that enslaved people…
1788-May: The arrival of French gazettes at Cap Français detail the British debates over the slave trade, causing a "tremendous sensation" among the colonial population. White colonists feared that any…
1788-May-11: Governor John Orde of Dominica reported to the British government on the persistent challenges of controlling "illicit trade" and the mobility of the enslaved in the eastern Caribbean. He…
1788-May-13: Governor Parry of Barbados reported to Lord Sydney that the agitation surrounding the slave trade in England had produced a "visible ferment" among the island's enslaved population. He observed…
1788-May-29: Governor Orde of Dominica forwarded a series of depositions to Lord Sydney detailing the detention of British mariners in French colonial ports. These documents revealed that British sailors were…
1788-Spring: Richard Martin of Jamaica reported that eleven people he held captive had absconded in a canoe and reached Cuba via a Spanish brigantine. Upon investigating, he found others who…
1788-Jul.-29: The Savanna-la-Mar Gazette in Jamaica published reports of increasing local anxiety regarding the illicit trade between British subjects and the French colonies. Officials expressed concern that the high volume…
1788-Aug.-12: The Savanna-la-Mar Gazette in Jamaica began reporting on the increasing presence of "masterless" individuals in the port, reflecting a growing regional concern over mobile populations. Julius S. Scott identifies…
1788-Fall: In the fall of 1788, the French Crown issued urgent orders to abolish every press in Saint-Domingue to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideals. This move resulted in an…
1788-Oct.-09: An insurance agreement was finalized for the schooner Fly for a voyage from Bristol to the African coast and onward to American ports. The terms valued the enslaved captives…
1788-Dec.-27: The French crown formally summoned the States-General and granted the tiers état representation equal to the other two orders combined. This decision acted as a primary catalyst for political…
1788-March-12: Count de Moustier, the French minister to the United States, reported to his government that American merchants were conducting an extensive and sophisticated smuggling trade with Saint-Domingue. He observed…
1788-December-07: Seeking to counter British influence and placate American demands, the French government issued a decree admitting American whale oil into the French West Indies. This ordinance was highly protectionist,…
1788–1794: (The Spark of Revolution and Bois Cayman): This period marks the transition from colonial stability to revolutionary upheaval, highlighted by the symbolic significance of "Bois Cayman". The text contrasts…
1788–1803: (The Dual Collapse of Colonial Order): The history divides the revolutionary period into two distinct phases of collapse and rising consciousness. The first phase, 1788 to 1794, focuses on the…
1788–1794: (The Spiritual and Revolutionary Awakening): The narrative moves into the revolutionary era by detailing the period of "Bois Cayman and Carmagnole". This chapter covers the critical six-year span where…
1788–1803: (Visualizing Revolutionary Transition and Conflict): The volume catalogs illustrations that depict the violent transition from colony to independent state, including depictions of risings of the enslaved. It features…
1788–1803: (The Revolutionary Reclaiming of Sovereignty): The shift from the "Death of Saint-Domingue" to the birth of Haïti was catalyzed by the spiritual and political mobilization at Bois Cayman. This…
1788–1995: (The Economic Extraction and External Dependency): The modern underdevelopment of Haiti is contextualized by its historical transition from a global sugar powerhouse to a net importer of its own…
1788–1791, August 14: (The Strategic Ignition of the Revolution): The revolutionary process gathered momentum in 1788 and reached a spiritual and political peak on August 14, 1791, with the ceremony…
1788–1794: (Vodou as the Spiritual Engine of Liberation): The revolutionary awakening known as "Bois Cayman" in August 1791 proved that Vodou was a religion and a sophisticated system of political…
1788–1791: (The Fragile Opulence of France's Richest Colony): On the eve of revolution, Saint-Domingue was characterized by a "veneer of prosperity" that masked deep structural instability. The colony's net worth…
1788–1789: (The Rise of Abolitionist Sentiment and Political Conflict): While the French National Assembly was being formed, a profound grievance emerged as the notion of African slavery became revolting to…
1788: (The Ivory Tower of Abolitionism): Did you know that the Amis des Noirs included famous figures like Condorcet and La Fayette, many of whom had never actually seen a…
1788–1870s: (The African Association, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Age of Exploration: Sir Joseph Banks and the Alliance of Scientific Enquiry, Humanitarian Endeavor, and Commercial Gain, the Improvability…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1788, the people aboard the Antoinette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Cap Lopez. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Marc in 1788, the people aboard the Breton rose against the crew. They had been taken at Ibo. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Grenada in 1788, the people aboard the Ruby rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bight of Biafra and Gulf of…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1788, the people aboard the Flore rose against the crew. They had been taken at Bight of Biafra and Gulf…
On a slaving voyage in 1788, the people aboard the Augustine rose against the crew. They had been taken at Mayumba. The record gives the numbers as: 40 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1788, the people aboard the Epaminondas rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives the numbers as: 19…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1788, the people aboard the Licorne rose against the crew. They had been taken at Mozambique. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage in 1788, the people aboard the Véronique rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the numbers as: 386 people were…
On a slaving voyage in 1788, the people aboard the Aimable Louise rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 114 people…
Several hurricanes wrought havoc in the town: those of 14 August 1680, 21 September 1751, 17 September 1754, 20 September 1756, 4 August 1772, 27 August 1775, 5 September 1781,…
The village is situated 4 lieues from the town of Jacmel. Several hurricanes wrought damage there, notably those of 24 July 1724, 21 September 1751, 16 September 1754, 5 September…
Pre-1789: The population of enslaved Africans in the French part of St. Domingo grew to be sixteen times larger than the white population. This extreme demographic imbalance gave the leaders…
Pre-1789: The white population of St. Domingo was estimated at 30,000, while the free population of color reached 24,000. Among the mulattoes, approximately 4,700 men were capable of bearing arms,…
Pre-1789: The colonial administration was divided between a Governor-General, who held supreme military command, and an Intendant, who managed the colony's finances. These two crown-nominated officers often disagreed, which inadvertently…
Pre-1789: Colonial law in St. Domingo mandated that a free person of color have their right hand cut off if they struck a white person. In contrast, a white person…
1789: The Spanish monarchy issued a decree allowing the free entry of foreign ships to Spanish colonial ports, effectively making unlicensed arrivals of captives legal. This policy of free trade…
1789: The Bourbon reformers in Spain attempted to place legal restraints on the absolute power of enslavers in 1789. These reforms were intended to regulate the treatment of enslaved people…
1789: The Jamaican Assembly enacted a severe law declaring that enslaved people attempting to leave the island could face the death penalty. This measure was part of a stepped-up effort…
1789-1793: The Spanish Crown attempted to stabilize its colonial military forces by issuing royal amnesties for all individuals found guilty of desertion and contrabanding. These amnesties were released as the…
1789-early: Governor Duchilleau attempted to prohibit parochial and provincial meetings that were being organized in response to the revolution in France. His proclamations were treated with contempt by the colonists,…
1789: The total number of enslaved people in St. Domingo reached approximately 480,000 by the eve of the French Revolution. This vast labor force was distributed across fifty-two parishes, each…
1789: The society Les Amis des Noirs was established in Paris, drawing inspiration from British abolitionist associations but pursuing a more radical agenda. The group advocated for the immediate and…
1789: A significant community of wealthy and educated mulattoes living in Paris formed a close political alliance with the Amis des Noirs. This partnership launched a series of public appeals…
1789: The Société des Amis des Noirs gains prominence in Paris, campaigning for the abolition of the slave trade. Their advocacy provided an intellectual platform for challenges to the colonial…
1789: Pro-slavery writer Robert Norris published a short account of the slave trade arguing that the widespread practice of polygamy in Africa made the continent an inexhaustible source of surplus…
1789-Feb.: The Council of the Indies enacted a far-reaching reform in February 1789, allowing free trade in captives to selected ports in the Spanish Americas. By loosening age-old restrictions…
1789-Feb.-28: A Spanish royal decree authorized foreign vessels of less than 300 tons to sell enslaved people at ports in Cuba, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, and Caracas. The decree of…
1789-Feb.-28: The Spanish Crown issued a "Royal Grace" that significantly modified the principles of the slave trade in its colonies, effectively opening the doors to a freer traffic in captives.…
1789-Apr.: Officers of the pardo (brown) and moreno (black) militia units in Caracas formally demanded the same ceremonial funeral observances and dress as white officers. Spanish civil authorities reacted with…
1789-Apr.-14: The Spanish Crown issued a cédula intended to reform the administration of justice and the treatment of enslaved people in the Americas. This decree sought to standardize the "paternalistic"…
1789-Apr.-27: The Spanish Junta Suprema de Estado reviewed a report by Eugenio Llaguno concerning the proposed reform of slave laws in the Americas. This meeting was part of the internal…
1789-May-09: An "Ordonnance concernant la liberté du Commerce" was issued for the southern part of Saint-Domingue, further opening the colony's ports to international trade. This decree allowed for greater interaction…
1789-May-12: During a significant speech to the British Parliament, abolitionist William Wilberforce described the transit of captives across the Atlantic as the most wretched aspect of slavery. He argued that…
1789-May-31: Charles IV issued a landmark royal decree concerning the education, treatment, and occupation of enslaved people across the Spanish Indies. Designed to make slavery compatible with "public tranquillity,"…
1789-May-31: The Spanish Crown issued a Real Cédula intended to reform the administration of the slave trade and improve the treatment of enslaved people within the Spanish Empire. Julius S.…
1789-Jun.: Eighteen delegates from St. Domingo arrived at Versailles to claim their seats as the legal representatives of the colony in the States-General. After significant debate, only six of these…
1789-Jun.: By June of 1789, the colonial deputies representing Saint-Domingue planters sided with the Third Estate in its struggle against the Crown. While they embraced the disruption of traditional authority,…
1789-Jul.: The "New Consolidated Act" of Jamaica, commonly referred to as the island's Code Noir, went into effect to regulate the treatment and conduct of the enslaved population. This legislation…
1789-Aug.: News of the fall of the Bastille reaches San Domingo, electrifying the majority. This event in France caused an immediate breakdown of colonial authority and sparked political debate…
1789-Aug.-26: Adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen creates a political crisis. This foundational revolutionary document challenged the legal basis of slavery and the racial…
1789-Oct.: Approximately 200 copies of the new royal ordinance reached the Indies late in October 1789, triggering an immediate and unanimous outcry from slaveowners. Planters and merchants in cities like…
1789-Nov.: Provincial assemblies were formally constituted by the white inhabitants in the Northern, Western, and Southern provinces of the colony. These bodies asserted that their immediate safety was a paramount…
1789-Nov.: The Jamaica House of Assembly petitioned London to apply diplomatic pressure against Spanish officials who protected enslaved people who escaped. Simultaneously, the Assembly discovered a conspiracy among a…
1789-Nov.-26: The Provincial Assembly of the North in Saint-Domingue met to discuss the growing threat posed by the spread of revolutionary ideas among the enslaved and free colored populations. Members…
1789-Dec.: Fearing the "troubles in France," Spanish customs officials at Cartagena began prohibiting all foreign vessels from docking at the mainland port. This reactive policy aimed to insulate the Spanish…
1789-Dec.: Colonial officials in Saint-Domingue held public auctions for three English-speaking captives who had escaped, including two men named Williams and Joseph Phillips. A third individual, an "intriguing character" who…
1789-Dec.-12: During a tense meeting of the Caracas cabildo, testimony surfaced that enslaved people were openly challenging and threatening those who claimed to own them. These individuals cited specific chapters of…
1789-late: Mulatto populations in Jacmel and Artibonite rose in arms to demand the full benefit of all privileges enjoyed by the white colonists. These early revolts were easily overpowered, though…
1789-late: The Northern Provincial Assembly arrested Deputy Procureur General Dubois for declaring publicly against the institution of slavery. Governor Duchilleau eventually secured his release and sent him away from the…
1789-late: Magistrate Ferrand de Beaudiere was brutally put to death by a crowd in Petit Goave after drafting a memorial for mulatto rights. The white inhabitants viewed his appeal…
1789-late: The Marquis de la Fayette reportedly sold his plantation in Cayenne, including seventy enslaved people, without any stipulations regarding their future condition. Shortly after this transaction, he enrolled himself…
1789–1792: French officials struggled in vain to prevent revolutionary slogans and "ideas of liberty" from crossing the Atlantic to inspire enslaved people in the colonies. Despite extensive efforts to contain…
1789-May-15: Olaudah Equiano published his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative, which became a cornerstone of the abolitionist movement and circulated widely throughout the Caribbean. Equiano’s firsthand account of the Middle Passage…
1789-May-09: Faced with a critical shortage of flour that threatened the stability of the colony, Governor-General Du Chilleau issued a decree opening the ports of Jérémie, Les Cayes, and Jacmel…
1789-June-28: The French Council of State, reacting to the protests of domestic merchants in Bordeaux and Nantes, formally annulled Governor-General Du Chilleau’s decree and dismissed him from his post. The…
1789-July-02: Count de Moustier submitted a detailed memoir to the French foreign secretary, Montmorin, outlining a strategy to manage American commercial ambitions without granting them full liberty of trade. He…
1789–1995: (The Extractive Burden and Economic Resistance): The economic narrative of Haiti is framed by the transition from being France’s "richest colony" to one of the poorest nations globally due…
1789–1790: (The Declaration of Rights and Colonial Collision): On August 26, 1789, the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" proclaimed that all men are born and…
1789: (The Architecture of Economic Resistance): Did you know the anti-abolitionist Club Massiac took its name from a sugar proprietor’s town house where members met to protect their economic interests?
1789-00-00: (The French Revolution Begins, the Upheaval That Would Shatter the Ideological Foundations of Colonial Slavery by Declaring the Rights of Man While Simultaneously Exposing the Hypocrisy of a Republic…
1789-02-16: (Charles Rivière-Hérard, Born in Port-au-Prince, the Military Officer Who Overthrew Boyer in 1843 but Could Not Hold the Country Together, Losing the Dominican Republic to Independence and the Presidency…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Demerara in 1789, the Verwachting had its boats attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Elmina. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Suriname in 1789, the people aboard the Felicity rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1789, the people aboard the Georgette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Congo River. The record gives…
On a slaving voyage in 1789, the Viper was attacked from the shore. The people aboard had been taken at Cameroons. The record gives the numbers as: 359 people were…
Moreau de Saint Mery appears to have been the first writer to put the word vaudou on paper, around 1789, and his account is the only detailed description of the…
Governor de Peinier, in forming the coalition of the Pompons Blancs, had organized a force that gave the colonial government a certain solidity. At the same time the enslavers were…
The Estates General opened at Versailles on 5 May 1789, and began against the aristocracy those gigantic struggles that regenerated humanity. The news of the convocation of the Estates General…
Volume I. Page 37. In place of the circumstances of the assassination of Labadie as they are related in Volume I, page 37, read: The whites, excited by this first…
Meanwhile the men of color, for all their moderation, were exposed to the cruelest violence from the colonists, who at Petit-Goâve put to death Ferrand de Baudières, an old man,…
On 19 November 1789 the virtuous Ferrand de Bandières, former seneschal, perished there, a victim of the colonists, for having drawn up a petition for the freedmen, by which they…
On 26 November 1789 the whites entered the dwelling of a man named Labadie, a man of color of Aquin, gave him twenty-five gunshots, and tied him to the tail…
Marbois's statements show 451 plantations of white sugar, 341 of brown sugar, 2,810 of coffee, 705 of cotton and 3,097 of indigo.
Admission of the deputies of Saint-Domingue in France.
Auguste Borel moved in the Club Massiac that the colonists break with the mother country, seize the government and arm the blacks and mulattoes.
Vincent Ogé proposes to the Club Massiac the gradual liberty of the enslaved and asks to be admitted among the colons.
Vincent Ogé addressed the Club Massiac on liberty as the right of all men.
François Raymond wrote to his brother Julien Raymond about the seditious movements among the gangs of the South.
De Joly, advocate at the parlement of Paris, J. Raimond, Fleury, Dusouchet de Saint Réal, Honoré and V. Ogé, commissioners of the men of color, present themselves to the national…
Vincent Ogé wrote from Paris to one of his sisters at Bordeaux that he was a colonel.
The provincial assembly of the North wrote to the committees of the West and the South proposing a general assembly of the colony, which it called an ally of France…
The provincial assembly of the North wrote its letter to the committees of the West and the South on the establishment of a colonial assembly, which Ardouin sets beside the…
1790: Chevalier Mauduit arrived in St. Domingo as Colonel of the Port-au-Prince regiment and quickly became the primary advisor to Governor Peynier. He adopted a policy of patronizing the mulatto…
1790: The population of Kingston, Jamaica, was estimated at 23,500, making it one of the most significant urban centers in the Atlantic world. In comparison, Philadelphia held 28,522 residents and…
1790: Governor Juan Guillelmi of Caracas characterized the city of Coro as little more than an "outpost of foreign colonies," specifically the nearby Dutch island of Curaçao. This proximity allowed…
1790: Minister Diego de Gardoqui expressed exasperation over the social composition of Louisiana, describing its residents as people "expatriated" due to irregular misadventures. The Spanish government had attempted to attract…
1790: Trade figures demonstrated a massive mutual dependence as the value of United States trade with Saint-Domingue exceeded that of all other Americas combined. More than 500 North American ships…
1790: Spanish authorities in Louisiana re-instituted strict regulations barring the entry of blacks from Saint-Domingue to prevent the spread of "contagion". This policy was a reaction to a previous series…
1790: A colonial summary recorded that Saint-Domingue contained 8,536 agricultural establishments, including 793 sugar plantations and 3,117 coffee settlements. The number of people held in slavery was reckoned at 480,000, while…
1790: The Northern province reported a population of 11,996 whites and 164,656 enslaved Africans distributed across twenty-five parishes. This region included the highly fertile plain of the Cape, which was…
1790: The Western province, which served as the administrative center of the colony, contained 12,798 white inhabitants and 192,961 enslaved people. Its capital, Port-au-Prince, remained in a partially ruined state…
1790: The Southern province was the least populated department, consisting of 6,037 whites and 76,812 enslaved people. This region lacked safe natural harbors, forcing merchant ships to seek refuge in…
1790: An overseer on a plantation in the Cap Français district reported the arrest of twenty-seven people who had escaped in his vicinity within a single short period. Many of them…
1790-Jan.: The king's order for convening a general colonial assembly was received in St. Domingo, naming Leogane as the designated place of meeting. The provincial assemblies rejected these instructions and…
1790-Jan.: In January 1790, the government at Port-au-Prince called for on-board visits and searches of all arriving vessels to prevent the entry of seditious materials. Authorities ordered the seizure of…
1790-Jan.-15: The Ayuntamiento (city council) of Havana submitted a formal petition to the Spanish Crown protesting the implementation of the cédula of 1789. The council argued that the new…
1790-Feb.: At the harbor of Havana, an interim governor refused to allow a French naval captain named Bruny or his crew to land. This radical departure from maritime custom was…
1790-Feb.-13: Benjamin Bailey, a merchant in the Caribbean, wrote to Christopher Champlin in Rhode Island describing the chaotic state of trade following the initial revolutionary disturbances. He noted that the…
1790-Mar.-08: The French National Assembly issued a decree stating it never intended to subject the interior government of the colonies to the same constitution framed for the mother country. This…
1790-Apr.: In Dominica, a "mob" gathered in the streets of Roseau to brutally punish an informant named John Blair for reporting the landing of prohibited goods to customs. This violent…
1790-Apr.-16: The General Assembly of St. Domingo opened its first session at Saint-Marc with 213 members representing the various parishes of the colony. The assembly immediately moved to relieve the…
1790-May: The Spanish Crown abruptly reversed a century-old practice by ordering colonial governors to no longer protect foreign fugitives. This decisive shift was influenced by intense diplomatic pressure from other…
1790-May: In early May 1790, white residents in Caracas were alarmed to find menacing posters in public places demanding the enforcement of the unpublished royal code. The posters explicitly warned…
1790-May: The French commander at Cap Français suggested that the Spanish colony could become a staging area for radicals intent on obtaining "complete equality" between whites and people of color.…
1790-May-20: The General Assembly of the French part of Saint-Domingue enacted a series of strict measures to control the movement of "masterless" people and the distribution of radical literature. This…
1790-May-28: The General Assembly at Saint-Marc issued a constitutional decree asserting that no laws passed by the French National Assembly regarding internal colonial concerns would be valid without colonial consent.…
1790-Jun.: By late June 1790, the audiencia at Caracas reported that knowledge of the royal decree's contents had extended to virtually all free and enslaved people. Despite official efforts to…
1790-mid: The colony descends into confusion as whites divide into factions and the free coloreds make militant demands for equality. This internal fragmentation among the ruling classes provided the opportunity…
1790-Aug.: A Colonial Assembly meeting in the town of Saint Marc declares itself sovereign. This act of defiance challenged French control and deepened political divisions among the white population.
1790-Aug.: The first General Colonial Assembly was dissolved, and its members embarked for France to present their grievances to the metropolitan government. This departure followed a period of intense political…
1790-Aug.: A well-known enslaved sailor named William disappeared from the drogger that employed him in Grenada. Late that same year, an enslaved crew aboard the sloop Nancy mutinied…
1790-Sept.: The arrival of thirty-one enslaved people trafficked from Curaçao prompted Venezuelan officials to prohibit nine of them from landing because they had been "educated" in the Dutch…
1790-Oct.-15: St. George’s Chronicle and New Grenada Gazette published a report referencing an "aristocratic" French newspaper circulating in Dominica. This highlighted the intense media war taking place in the Caribbean,…
1790-Oct.-16: Vincent Ogé slipped into Cap Français in disguise, possibly as an American seaman, after traveling through London and Charleston to secure weapons. Though his likeness had been posted in…
1790-Oct.-22: The St. George’s Chronicle and New Grenada Gazette featured a prominent notice regarding the arrival of news from Cap Français concerning the Ogé rebellion. The paper detailed the legal…
1790-Nov.: Tom King, an enslaved man well-known in Kingston, Spanish Town, and Port Royal, escaped from the person who claimed to own him. That enslaver issued a warning that…
1790-Nov.: After their abortive rebellion, Vincent Ogé and fifteen lieutenants sought protection across the border in Spanish Santo Domingo. The Spanish authorities, no longer viewing their territory as a sanctuary…
1790-Dec.: An enslaved fisherman named Adam, known for being a preacher and a smatterer in religious topics, attempted to escape Jamaica. After embracing the Baptist faith, he was frequently observed…
1790-Dec.: A vivid episode at Martinique illustrated a temporary inversion of the racial hierarchy when an armed French ship detained a British merchant vessel. The French vessel was navigated by…
1790-Dec.: A vivid episode at Martinique illustrated a temporary inversion of the racial hierarchy when an armed French ship detained a British merchant vessel. The French vessel was navigated by…
1790-Dec.-21: Gallagher’s Weekly Journal Extraordinary in Dominica published reports concerning the landing of "foreign people of colour" who were suspected of being agents of revolution. These individuals were often described…
1790: Vincent Ogé returns to Saint Domingue determined to secure equal rights for the affranchi caste. His subsequent arrest and execution bitterly alienated the free colored population from the white…
1790-late: The Colonial Assembly at Saint-Marc was denounced by French metropolitan authorities for assuming "imperial authority" in a subordinate part of the empire. Critics argued that the assembly's refusal to…
1790-late: Following the promulgation of the May 28 decree, rumors were industriously spread that the General Assembly at Saint-Marc intended to separate St. Domingo from France entirely. This narrative fueled…
1790-late: Pro-government factions in St. Domingo accused the Colonial Assembly of modeling its legislative resistance after the English American provinces during their own revolution. This comparison was used to brand…
1790-Oct.-28: Vincent Ogé, a free man of color, led a brief but significant armed uprising in Saint-Domingue to demand political rights for his class. His revolt was focused on the…
1790-Oct. – 1791-Aug.: French authorities in Saint-Domingue apprehended approximately 500 people who had escaped slavery in the vicinity of Cap Français during a ten-month period. Arrest records suggested that fugitives…
1790-Dec.-25: Joseph Antonio Vrizar, a Spanish official in Santo Domingo, reported to the Crown on the activities of Vincent Ogé following his failed rebellion in the French part of the…
1790-Dec.-31: A formal statement was prepared regarding the "Case of the Captain & Crew of the Schooner Union of Barbados" who were detained in a French port. The document described…
1790–1791: A French navy lieutenant predicted that the urban petits blancs in the Caribbean would serve as a primary element of propaganda for revolutionary agitation. He characterized this diverse group…
1790–1791: "Frequent supplies" of plantains arrived in Jamaica from the island of Haiti to mitigate food shortages and high prices affecting the enslaved population. Simultaneously, military authorities noted that "regular arrivals"…
1790-1800: The black community in Philadelphia experienced a massive growth rate of 176 percent, far outstripping the 43 percent increase in the city's white population. This demographic shift was part…
1790-January-01: Gouverneur Morris, an influential American figure in Paris, warned French Secretary Montmorin that excluding the United States from free trade with the French colonies would drive the Americans into…
1790-July-26: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Short, the American envoy in France, regarding the appointment of Sylvanus Bourne as consul to "Hispaniola." Jefferson argued that the Consular…
1790-August-26: In a confidential letter to William Short, Thomas Jefferson suggested that the French colonial deputies should be encouraged to demand the right to receive "the necessities of life from…
1790, October–1791, March 9: (The Insurrection and Execution of Ogé and Chavannes): Vincent Ogé led a force of 300 mulâtres and disarmed whites in his parish after the royal governor,…
1790-10-00: (Ogé's Revolt, the Brief Armed Insurrection by Free Men of Color Outside Cap-Haïtien, a Rebellion That Sought Mulatto Political Rights Within the Colonial System, Crushed Within Weeks): In…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Grenada in 1790, the Eliza was cut off, and the record does not say by whom or how. The people aboard had been…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1790, the people aboard the Bons Frères rose against the crew. They had been taken at West Central Africa and…
On a slaving voyage in 1790, the people aboard the Coureur rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gambia. The record gives the numbers as: 169 people were…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Saint-Marc in 1790, the people aboard the Phénix rose against the crew. They had been taken at Loango. The record gives the numbers…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Martha Brae in 1790, the people aboard the Crescent rose against the crew. They had been taken at Sierra Leone estuary. The record…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cayes (Les) in 1790, the people aboard the Auguste rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the…
On a slaving voyage that ended at Cap Français in 1790, the people aboard the Antoinette rose against the crew. They had been taken at Gabon. The record gives the…
There was not a moment to lose. The men of color, 250 in number, took up arms, disarmed the whites of the Grande-Rivière (28 October 1790), put Vincent Ogé at…
M. de Blanchelande, answering the call of the town of Les Cayes, sent Colonel de Mauduit there. The Port-au-Prince regiment landed at Port-Salut on 28 November 1790. Mauduit went to…
The party of independence in the West and the South proceeded in the same manner. In the course of January 1790 the enslavers organized the assembly of the West at…
The three provincial assemblies, unable to agree properly on the high administration of the colony, resolved to entrust the general interests of the three provinces to an assembly called colonial.…
Instead of publishing and enforcing the decrees of the Constituent Assembly as it received them, it declared itself inviolable, set up committees of constitution, of reports, of legislation, of commerce,…
The colonial assembly, having received the protest of the provincial assembly of the North, sent two commissioners, Jouette and Valentin de Cuillon, to Le Cap to rouse that town. But…
The Committee of the West, alarmed by the government's energetic measures, increased its ordinary guard tenfold and assembled the National Guard, made up for the most part of petits-blancs devoted…
Meanwhile the army of the South, intended to defend the colonial assembly, was organizing slowly; and at Saint-Marc itself the deputies were threatened by a numerous party of Pompons-Blancs. The…
The National Assembly summoned the 85 deputies of Saint-Marc to its bar. Valentin de Cullion, their advocate, sought in a long speech to prove that the colonial assembly had never…
Chavannes, who had lost his way in the woods, came out at the town of San Juan and was arrested in the same way. In vain did they declare themselves…
On 24 February 1790 these freedmen assembled on the Ducasse de Plassac habitation; Borel, a colonist of the Artibonite, attacked them and was beaten in 1792. Rouzier tells this under…
Plassac was the site of the first assembly in arms of the people of color of the Artibonite and of the Verrettes against the French. This assembly took place on…
History. Saint Marc saw gathered within its walls on 25 March 1790 the 212 members of the Colonial Assembly, under the presidency of the colonist Bacon de la Chevalerie. This…
Dondon saw the birth of Vincent Ogé, who was one of the first martyrs of liberty. He had gone to France, in 1789, to claim the exercise of political rights…
History. Jean-Baptiste Chavanne, the companion of Ogé, was born at the Grande-Rivière du Nord. He was a man of color and a landowning cultivator. He advised Ogé to rouse all…
In 1790, the hommes de couleur of the Cayes, on learning of the revolt of Ogé and Chavannes at Dondon and at the Grande-Rivière du Nord, had taken up arms…
History. Saint Marc saw gathered within its walls on 25 March 1790 the 212 members of the Colonial Assembly, under the presidency of the colonist Bacon de la Chevalerie. This…
On 26 April 1790, the colonists heaped indignities upon and hunted down the families of color Desmarres and Poisson, inhabitants of the Fond Parisien. They took refuge at Neybe. Rouzier…
History. On 26 April 1790 the whites of the Fond Parisien pursued the Poisson and Desmare families, who took refuge at Neybe. Rouzier tells this under the entry NEYBE ou…
History. Saint Marc saw gathered within its walls on 25 March 1790 the 212 members of the Colonial Assembly, under the presidency of the colonist Bacon de la Chevalerie. This…
On 30 July, Colonel Mauduit dissolved by force of arms the assembly of the West. He was assassinated on 4 March 1791. Rouzier tells this under the entry PORT-AU PRINCE…
Etienne-Elie Gérin, nicknamed Côtes-de-fer (Iron Ribs) by the soldiers because of his bravery in combat, was born in the Cayes on 19 December 1757. He received a certain education from…
History. General Elie Etienne Gérin, who was minister of war of the emperor Dessalines, lived at the Baradères, where he practiced the profession of coasting skipper. He was one of…
On 23 October 1790 Vincent Ogé landed at the Cap, at 7 o'clock in the evening. Rouzier tells this under the entry Cap-haïtien (le).
History. Jean-Baptiste Chavanne, the companion of Ogé, was born at the Grande-Rivière du Nord. He was a man of color and a landowning cultivator. He advised Ogé to rouse all…
On 29 August 1791 the affranchis of the South gave themselves leaders; these were Rigaud and Borgella. They had already assembled on 5 November 1790, at the call of Ogé.…
History. On 7 November 1790 the men of color of the West and the South assemble at the voice of Ogé; on 29 August 1791 they give themselves leaders. Rouzier…
History. It was at Hinche that Vincent Ogé and 23 others of his companions in arms were arrested, on 20 November 1790, after the failure of their glorious uprising. From…
Jean-Baptiste Chavannes, the companion of Vincent Ogé, was arrested at San Juan with the enslaved man Louis on 25 November 1790 and handed over at Santo-Domingo. On 23 February 1791…
History. In 1790, at the time of the revolt of the affranchis of the Cayes on the Prou habitation, Governor M. de Blanchelande sent to the Cayes Mr. de Mauduit…
Vincent Ogé and J. B. Chavannes, arrested at Hinche and at San Juan with 24 of their companions in arms, were handed over on 21 December 1790 at Sto Domingo…
Convocation of the colonial assembly by the committee of the West in the name of the provincial assemblies of the North, the West and the South.
The national assembly decreed the instructions of 28 March, drafted by Barnave; Cocherel's motion to exclude the men of color was rejected, and Grégoire withdrew his amendment when Barnave and…
The baron de Cambefort writes to the commandant of Monte-Christ to have Ogé and Fleury arrested if they land.
The baron de Cambefort wrote to the commandant of Monte-Christ asking him to arrest Ogé should he land there and to send him to Fort-Dauphin.
The general assembly of Saint-Marc learned of the national assembly's decree of 8 March.
The general assembly of Saint-Marc registered the decree of 8 March, after passing its own decree of 28 May.
The national assembly confirms the assembly of Saint-Marc.
The comte de Peinier pronounced the dissolution of the general assembly of Saint-Marc.
First disturbance at Les Cayes: death of Codère, commandant of that town.
Eighty-five members of the assembly of Saint-Marc leave for France aboard the ship the Léopard.
The national assembly passed the decree of 12 October, drafted by Barnave, which broke the assembly of Saint-Marc, ordered a new colonial assembly with the same powers, and praised Peinier,…
Vincent Ogé wrote to the comte de Peinier demanding the execution of the decree of 28 March; Chavanne wrote to him also.
Twenty-eight whites come by night to Chavannes's house at La Grande-Rivière to arrest Ogé; Madame Chavannes asks them for the order of arrest, which they cannot produce.
With about 250 men, Ogé wrote to the provincial assembly of the North and to M. de Vincent demanding the promulgation of the decree of 28 March.
The comte de Peinier answered Ogé's letter of 21 October, counselling calm.
The comte de Peinier left for France, handing the government to Blanchelande.
At Banica Ogé drafted a letter to the Spanish governor offering an oath of fidelity to the king of Spain; it was never sent.
Blanchelande wrote to Don Garcia that the corvette Favorite, under M. de Négrier, would come to receive the prisoners, and sent M. Desligneris to demand their extradition.
Blanchelande wrote in his own hand to Don Arrata, commandant at Las Caobas, about Ogé and his companions held in the prisons of Banica.
Ogé is arrested at Hinche with 23 others.
Brissot published a writing considering small-scale cultivation better suited than slavery to increasing the products of the colonies.
Don Joachim Garcia began the interrogation of the prisoners at Santo-Domingo with that of Jean-Baptiste Chavanne.
Don Garcia questions J.-B. Chavannes at Santo-Domingo.
From his dungeon Chavanne wrote to the Spanish governor that he had no right to hold him in irons and that he had come to claim the protection of Spain.
Mauduit landed four hundred men at Port-Salut and went to the Prou camp; Rigaud and his men laid down their arms, and soon after Rigaud and the principal chiefs were…
Chavanne wrote his second letter to the Spanish governor protesting his imprisonment.
Ogé tells Don Garcia that a patrol sent to the Dondon forced him to take refuge with Chavannes, and that his troop numbered more than 400 men.
Garcia's procedure ended with the interrogation of Jacob Ogé.
The fiscal oidor Fonserada gave his opinion for handing over the prisoners.
Faura gives his opinion that the extradition of Ogé and his companions should await new orders from the king of Spain.
Vicente Antonio de Faura gave his opinion against handing over the prisoners, advising that the orders of the court of Spain be awaited.
The corvette Favorite reached Le Cap with Ogé and his companions.