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Slavery Definition of a slave:

the slave has the status of a good or bien meuble

a slave can be bought, sold, hired or pawned

the owner has absolute power over him or her the owner controls not only controls the labour of the slave but his person and life after work. Slave women for example were sexually exploited.

the denial of family ties a slave can not only be separated from his or her family but has been removed from his or her homeland a slave is an exclu in a slave society

What is a slave society?


A society can be defined as a slave society when society depends on the institution of slavery to survive economically and socially. Colonial slavery differs from slavery that existed in Antiquity:

In colonial times any person who was not European (white) was liable to be taken into slavery.Thus 11 million Africans were taken to America as slaves from the 16th to the mid-19th century

In Mauritius, slaves were first introduced from Runion, which had been settled by the French since 1685. The French East India Company had expressly forbidden the French in Madagascar to enslave indigenous inhabitants, but the massacre of French settlers in Fort Dauphin in 1674 is believed to have been the event which changed the French mentality. In Bourbon, Malagasy domestics were referred to as slaves. Another factor was related to the establishment of a capitalistic form of agriculture in the Mascarenes.i An in-depth study of slavery in Isle de France has yet to be undertaken. Studies have concentrated on the legal status of the slave. There are also the observations of visitors to the island such as Bernardin de St. Pierre and Milbert. How far their observations are accurate are open to question. Future studies of slavery needs to consider the changes in the economic and social structure in ile de France between 1720 and 1810 and corresponding changes, if any, in the nature of slavery. It is also necessary to look for other sources because as J.V. Payet has stated for Runion Island:
aucun propritaire desclaves, ni aucun intendant ou commandeur, ni aucun esclave, affranchi ou leurs descendants, nont laiss de mmoires, de correspondances sur les conditions dans lesquelles ce statut (Code Noir) a t appliqu.

This situation equally applies to Mauritius. The most recent study estimates that some 101,000 slaves were imported between 1721-1810.

The Origins of Slaves

The Slave Trade


The French dominated the slave trade in the Southwestern Indian Ocean. French traders used the Mascarene Islands as a base to engage in the slave trade, taking slaves from Madagascar, India and Eastern Africa not only to the Mascarene Islands but to South Africa and the Caribbean. How were trading relations established? For Mozambique, the Portuguese Viceroy of India, Count Ericeira, on his way from Lisbon, had been attacked by pirates and shipwrecked near Runion Island. In exchange for obtaining a place on board a ship going to Lisbon, he gave a letter of recommendation for the CapitaineGeneral of Mozambique, stating that that all facilities should be given for the slave trade with Mozambique. In 1721, two French ships went to Mozambique, the Duchesse de Noailles and LIndien. Only one came back with a few slaves bought at very high prices. There was not much interest on the part of the French and it was almost 13 years later that the next ship, the Vierge de Grce went to Mozambique. It took 368 slaves on board but only 147 arrived alive. In 1727 Mauritius was given permission to import slaves directly from Madagascar without going through Runion. Despite this, not many slaves seem to have been brought at first. Our first report from traders on Mozambique is dated much later, in 1733, when we are informed that 4 stations existed there for slave trading. According to Filliot, by 1734, only 650 slaves had been brought to Mauritius while Bourbon had 7,000 slaves. Governor Dumas brought a new dimension to the slave trade after August 1727. When Labourdonnais arrived, he also brought slaves on a large scale. In 1735, he recommended that a trading station should be established on the West Coast of Madagascar to carry out the slave trade with Mozambique with the Portuguese. In Mozambique itself, traders before had established the routes taken by slave traders and raiders in pre-Portuguese trade. Ivory, for example, had been exported from Mozambique since 2nd century B.C. Although the Yao people were the primary traders, trade was carried out by relay trade with several groups participating.ii The slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries operated along the same routes. West Africa In 1728, the Mduse went to Ouidah to purchase some 400 slaves. Several other ships made the voyage to West Africa, among which were: the Vierge de Grce, the Diane, the Duc de Noailles and the Badine. In 1729, 2 other ships went to Ouidah and Senegal but because of the high death rate, this source was discontinued. By 1731, the FEIC had a monopoly of the slave trade in Madagascar and thus banned the trade with India and Senegal. Between 1739-1744 under Governor Labourdonnais, some 100 slaves were brought. In 1750, the Hercule, the Chevalier Main Bristols, brought 789 slaves alive out of 1090 embarked. This represented a 30% death rate.

India 1728 was when the first Indian slaves seem to have arrived in Mauritius and were sent on the estate of Philippe Lenoir, Governor of Pondichery Some time later, Governor Dumas went to Pondichery and brought back free Indian workers and apprentices and some 13 Bengali slaves and 100 young boys and girls A further 173 slaves were sent to prospective settlers from Pondichery hoping to settle in Mauritius In 1730, 45 more slaves arrived from Pondichery; in February 1731 a further 11 and in October 1731, 38 slaves and 35 coolies In 1735 10 slaves were brought. This figure increased when private individuals were also permitted to bring in slaves from India. Labourdonnais brother-in-law sent trois petit noirs et trois petites ngrittes de 8 9 ans. He introduced 70 more slaves for his personal use

Madagascar In 1729 Lanux recommended that the east coast of Madagascar should be tapped for slaves as the voyage would be shorter and therefore, there would be less mortality among slaves. He estimated the cost of a slave to be 20 piastres. There were several slave-trading routes from Madagascar that led to Mauritius, through both east and northwest coasts. The north-west coast had been linked to trading systems in the Indian Ocean that had existed for a very long time and Swahili traders from East Africa and the Antalaotra in Madagascar had traded on this coast. The east coast became the main trading area for Mascarene traders. At the end of the 18th century, however, Antalaotra slave traders transported slaves from the west coast to the east One must not assume that all slaves shipped from Madagascar were Malagasy: many were brought from East Africa originally and resold to French traders on the east coast. After 1767, ship arrivals to Port-Louis from Madagascar tripled and continued right up to 1822. Toussaints figures of some 20,000 slaves being brought to the Mascarenes from Madagascar has been revised recently by Larson who estimates a much higher figure of 60,000 slaves. Foulpointe, Fenerive, Mahambo, Titingue, Ste. Marie, Mananara and Antogil Bay became trading posts of the French. Foulpointe became the principal slave-trading port for the French. Foulpointe received a Directeur des Traites, in which capacity Maudave (17681771) was appointed to be followed by Benyowski 1774-1776. Prices shot up at Foulpointe, in 18 months from 20 piastres to 70 piastres. 1770s Central Madagascar became the next source of slaves. By 1777, two-thirds of slaves shipped to the Mascarenes came from the Central Highlands.iii Some women even led the slave trading caravans into the interior 1807 Traders moved south to Tamatave which became the headquarters of slave trading for the Mascarenes When the slave trade was abolished in 1810, an illegal trade continued with slaves transiting in the Seychelles from East Africa and Madagascar before being taken to Mauritius. Both Filliot and Nwulias figures have today been revised and considered to be too conservative. It

is believed now that some 3,500 slaves imported into Mauritius is closer to the real figure from 1800-1810 and over 6,000 from 1810 to 1820. East Africa 1735 Trade had been established partly as a result of the friendship between the Governor of Mozambique, Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida and Labourdonnais.He sold to Labourdonnais over 1,000-2,000 slaves a year for a period of five years from 1735 to 1740.iv With the favourable welcome given by the Governor and other officials, the French began to come more frequently to the ports of Inhambane, Mozambique island, and ports of Cabo Delgado. The Portuguese laws of 1711 and 1715 did not allow foreign ships in Portuguese ports unless in cases of emergency. But these laws were circumvented whenever necessary. 1750s trade was much reduced. French went to Ibo (Querimba island) which was not under Portuguese administration to circumvent the increased attention. The French slave, trade, at this time was with the Makua from Makuana. There were also some Yao slaves, who were considered to be of delicate endurance. We seem to have very little information about the 1750s and 1760s, partly perhaps because there was illegal trading. It would seem that some 1,300-1,400 slaves a year were being brought to the Mascarenes. By 1758, according to Jackson-Haight, the French controlled the commerce of the whole coast from Mombasa to Kilwa up to Ibo.v 1767 a new era in the trade as liberty of commerce was established. Small ships made frequent trips to Madagascar, Kilwa, Zanzibar and Mozambique. The whole of East Africa was sought after by the French. Morice negotiated and signed the famous 100 year old treaty with Sultan bin Ibrahim at Kilwa to supply him with 1,000 slaves a year. 1770 the slave trade increased with East Africa and five times more slaves were brought from Mozambique than from Madagascar Between 1785 and 1790 approximately 1,500 slaves left for the Mascarenes each year. 1793 corsairs raided the Mozambican coast. According to Filliot, the need for new slaves arose because of the increased rate of manumissions 4th February 1794 the slave trade was suspended, but corsairs and planters collaborated to circumvent the ban. On 25th September 1796, a corsair attacked Inhambane but failed. Early in October, some 100 men led by French corsairs attacked the town of Ibo and two days later Kerimba island. On 26th October, 2 French ships attacked Lourenco Marques and burnt the fortress. In 1796, the French expelled the Portuguese from Delagoa Bay and competed with the British and Portuguese for the ivory trade. Napoleonic wars disrupted trade. The annual average of 9,000 slaves in the late 1780s declined to just over 2,300 in 1794.vi End of 18th century It was a free for all period with corsairs, Americans and Brazilians competing. On 30th April 1796, the American ship Active came to look for slaves and carrying on board, 2,500 Spanish pataques and Bordeaux wine. The Spanish ship Nossa Senhora da Guia also came from Buenos Aires bound for Mauritius with 4,000 pataques to buy slaves. Portuguese ships, the Felix de St. Jose and Galgo left Lisbon for Mauritius but was stopped by the British in 1793. Proportion of slaves according to ethnic origins: Year Country of origin 1670-1769 Madagascar

Percentage (%) 70% of slaves

1770-1810

1811-1848

Mozambique/Swahili coast South Asia West Africa Mozambique/Swahili coast Madagascar South Asia Mozambique/Swahili coast Madagascar Southeast Asia

19% 9% 2% 60% 31% 9% 59% 38% 3%

Slave Trading
The Goods Ships brought back slaves as well as: From Madagascar : rice, cattle and sacks made of vacoa in exchange for piastres, muskets, cloth From Mozambique: ivory, gold and cowries in exchange for Spanish pataqes, pottery from Bengal, arms and ammunition and eau de vie The medium of exchange was at first textiles, rum and muskets. But the Malagasy increasingly began to demand hard currency, in Spanish piastres. By 1807, the French trader Sylvain Roux wrote that slaves cost 45 piastres as well as 2 bales of blue cloth. i.e. forming 80% of the transaction.vii According to Filliot, slaves in Madagascar were branded at the site of trading itself, or if they had been purchased in the name of the King they had the mark of the King. This was usually the letter R for Roi. Those being sold to private individuals had the initials of the patronyms of the future owner. In 1770, in Foulpointe, slaves embarking on the Normande were branded with the following initials: 18 slaves branded B for Chevalier Bruny 6 slaves branded M for Michel 4 slaves branded A for Amat 1 slave branded L for Abb Lebrun 9 slaves branded T for Trudon 9 slaves branded V for Voisin 20 slaves branded G for Grenier 1 slave branded S for De St Pierre

The voyage The success of a slaving voyage depended on the careful planning and work of three individuals on board the ship: the barrel-maker (tonnelier), the carpenter and the cook. The carpenter had to rebuild the interior of the hold to accommodate as many slaves as possible: the comfort of slaves was not a consideration. But the ship also had to accommodate other items: provisions, water, cargo etc. The barrel-maker had to supply abundant fresh water, particularly for long distances or lengthy voyages.

Slave mortality on board ships has yet to be quantified accurately. Estimates range from 10% to 50% depending on the length of the voyage, supplies on board, disease, resistance of slaves etc. From East Africa, the figure was 21%. From West Africa, mortality was estimated to be between 25 to 30%.viii

The abolition of the slave trade After 1815, it is almost impossible to trace the trade between Mozambique and Mauritius as the slave trade was officially abolished in Mauritius and everything carried out on in even more surreptitious manner than before. An illegal slave trade ensued. Accurate figures have not been compiled as yet but the most recent estimation is that 52,550 slaves were illegally introduced. Mozambican slaves formed the majority of slaves (60%) before 1806-1808. After that period illegal trading led to Malagasy slaves being brought in. The percentage of Malagasy slaves in the total slave population rose from 25.1% to 36.8 % in 1826.

Slavery in Ile de France


The myth of a mild slavery Despite the lack of in-depth studies for the period of French administration, it has nevertheless been asserted that it was a mitigated or a milder form of slavery form than what existed in the Caribbean or in British-colonized Mauritius. These assertions are based on assumptions and impressionistic accounts of travellers and French residents in Mauritius, whose views were closer in culture or attitude to the slave-owners. Historian Noels thesis is that slavery in Mauritius was not as harsh as in the Caribbean because the cases of cruelty as evidenced in the Caribbean did not exist in Mauritius. This view ignores the numerous cases of cruelty prosecuted in the British period and which undoubtedly existed before. The presumed paternalism of owners has also been cited but here too, we have little detailed knowledge of the lives of slaves. Was the fact of a slave being fed, clothed, housed in camps a sign of the humanity of the slave-owners? The occupations of slaves In Mauritius, the first slaves were given to colonists with a view to establishing farms. It was not at first envisaged for slaves to be used in other activities such as construction or military service. Slavery became associated with manual labour during the period of Company administration because the latter did not promote the use of free or indentured servitude for agriculture. It even included the use of slaves as a precondition in its regulations concerning the granting of plots of land to French settlers. In other words, a farmer was bound to use slave labour for cultivation. The extension of slavery into non-agricultural activities began with the military as slaves were recruited to patrol the forests to deter deserters from the army. ix In 1733, a big batch of 38 slaves and 35 indentured workers was brought from Pondicherry to work in construction projects in Port-Louis. The number of slaves was much higher than the figures suggest, the main reason being that slave-owners understated the number of slaves in their possession to avoid paying taxes or to avoid part of their slaves being recruited for corve labour. It is also difficult to make a sound demographic analysis in the absence of complete data, since few slave-owners took the trouble to

register or record birth mortality and other changes among the slaves in their possession, this despite the Act of 9 April 1753 stating that : Tout habitant est tenu de fournir annuellement au Secrtaire du Conseil Suprieur un recensement contenant le nom de chaque noir, negrillon et negrillonne lui appartenant'.x The stereotypical image of the Mauritian slave labouring in the cane fields reflects the state of 19th century slavery. Slaves, who lived in 18th century Mauritius, were engaged in extremely varied occupations. There were at that time, both private slaves, i.e. those belonging to individual slave-owners, and slaves working in the public service, i.e., as Company slaves, slaves of the king, in the public works department or Bureau du Gnie, in naval squadrons, in the army, in Maroon Detachments, and even the Church. Slaves working in public service were some of the first to be manumitted, to obtain grants of land and to become part of the Free Population. In 1725, in the early days of French settlement, out of 34 slaves, 24 were Company slaves. Many more had arrived earlier but had either marooned, died or returned to Runion. 150 livres was paid to whoever brought a maroon, dead of alive.xi The economy of the island rested on and depended on slave labour. Slaves did not only work in agriculture. Slaves were employed in constructing quays and warehouses, in erecting fortifications and powder mills, in building barracks and offices, in laying roads and in digging canals. xii Slaves in the rural districts worked in a number of workshops: irons works (the Forges de Mon Dsir) in sugar mills, indigoteries, powder mills. Apart from subsistence agriculture, slaves grew staple crops and luxury goods such as spices. There were, from Labourdonnais time, sugar, indigo and cotton plantations. Slaves had been recruited to serve on Labourdonnais squadron when he attacked Madras. They also worked on corsair ships and merchant ships. They loaded and repaired ships, worked on the quays, workshops and warehouses.xiii Health of slaves Slaves suffered from all sorts of diseases in addition to malnutrition and enduring the psychological and physical consequences of punishment. By 1806, high mortality and massive slave trading had resulted in a slave population still overwhelmingly made up of foreign born slaves. The high proportion of single males encouraged sexual activity outside the family and therefore reduced the fertility of women. This also contributed to instability of social slave life, and the spread of venereal diseases. Dysentery was also a common disease among slaves particularly those involved in agricultural labour. The nutritional status and dietary deficiencies of slaves added to the ill-health of slaves. Green vegetables and meat were rare and people, particularly slaves lived in a state of perpetual fast.xiv Even the revised Code Noir for the Mascarenes omitted the provision of meat as part of rations for slaves unlike the Code Noir of the Caribbean, which prescribed 2lbs of meat weekly. In 1726 the Conseil Suprieur fixed rations for Company slaves: men would receive 1 lbs of rice and women 1 lb. per day. Labourdonnais had encouraged slave owners to grow manioc and each owner had to plant 100 ft of manioc per slave. According to Noel, who quotes from DUnienville, all owners gave their slaves a plot of land on which they would cultivate. It is not known however how many actually had time to cultivate their plots nor what crops they grew. There were frequent food shortages in the island and slaves were always the first to feel it. The slave diet was lacking in protein and minerals.

Inevitably slaves became less resistant to disease. There were small pox epidemics in 1742, 1754, 1756, 1758, 1770 and 1782. Cholera epidemics occurred in 1775. In 1792, a cargo of slaves brought smallpox. The natural decrease of the slave population was a feature of slavery but the statistics given in some sources differ widely. According to D. Coombes calculations, there was a 3.3% rate of natural decrease despite impressive rise in slave numbers, based on the unpublished version of dUnienvilles manuscript, from 17,106 to 74,926 between 1769 and 1810. This is however considered today, a conservative estimate as Larsons recent study gives a much higher figure using Malagasy sources. North-Coombes has calculated a much higher death rate. Although the exact reasons for the high death rate and low birth rate have not yet been explained, the low birth rate can be understood by examining the general situation of women slaves: the unwillingness of women to bear children in slavery and the material conditions of life of slaves which reduced womens fertility. Hard labour was also responsible: as elsewhere, it led to miscarriages and high infant mortality although we do not know yet whether this was less or more than under the slave plantation economy of the 19th century
Evolution of slavery

During the period of the French Revolution the regulations regarding the granting of manumissions were relaxed and there was a significant rise in the number of manumissions. The slave trade was abolished on 28th October 1794 but was again allowed by the law of 30 Floreal An X. Decaen corresponded with the Portuguese Governor in Mozambique and reorganized the Malagasy trade. A tax of 3 piastres was imposed on every slave introduced on French ships but later suppressed as the cost actually was taken up by the buyer. Crespin sought to remove all laws that had modified the original French conception of slaves. For example, the principle that a slave had no existence in law as he/she was a bien meuble, (res mobiles, a good) and the legal status of the slave decided by all laws that applied to goods or moveable property. Their children were the property of the slave-owner not the parents. The new civil code of 8 March 1805 was in fact the Lettres Patentes (Code Noir) with some modifications. Plantation slaves between the ages of 14 and 60 were immovable property and could not be seized, moved or sold unless the whole estate was sold. Although this was maintained in the new Civil code, what was not, was the article 50 of the Lettres Patentes which forbid the separate sale of husband, wife and children. The new civil code thus allowed the break-up of the slave family. Crespins laws aimed to preserve the concept of family but only for whites. There was no slave family in the eyes of the law. Decaens laws confirmed the civil disabilities suffered by the slaves. Special registers existed for recording the civil status of slaves. Slaves were not allowed any of the surplus they had produced. But despite their non-existence in the law, they could still be prosecuted in courts, with punishments being more severe for them than for free persons. Special tribunals were set up to try and judge slaves. The Code Noir was also modified to give the death sentence for only certain serious crimes. The death sentence would not also apply for the third attempt at marooning. Manumission laws changed drastically under the Napoleonic regime. The Assemble Coloniale had not confirmed many manumissions and the new Imperial Government did not ratify them. Under the imperial system, the only slaves to be allowed their freedom were those having

performed real service. Furthermore, a slave had to have worked at least 5 years before being manumitted. Once manumitted, the owner was still bound to provide food and a sum of money. This could be objected to on the part of the owners heirs. There was also a 3% tax on the sum paid for manumission. Those manumitted slaves with no skill or employment were taken into Government service. The new manumission laws had some effect. In 1804, there were only 244 manumissions. Special laws to prevent marooning were also introduced by Decaen. The Arrt of 13 January 1804 contained 5 chapters and 53 articles. An owner was bound to declare the absence of his slave. Those slaves absent for more than 6 months were grands marrons. Nine maroon detachments were created in Mauritius. His measures seem to have been a success from the official and colonists point of view. There were 1,014 slaves caught as maroons in 1806 which, as Prentout says, was a high amount for a slave population of 60,000 or so.xv In 1807, however, only 114 were captured. The Imperial Government wanted also at all costs to prevent unions between Free people and the French. Maintenez la distance des couleurs had been the recommendation of one French Minister. Crespins laws created an even wider gulf between the different sections of the population. Births of Free and White were recorded in separate registers, although many difficulties arose. Civil Commissioners were instructed not to accept any demands for marriages between persons of different races, without authorization from the 3 Magistrates. If authorized, the children born of mixed unions would be placed on the White register. The Government also envisaged taking back concessions of land given to Free people. The new civil code of 1805 also allowed the former owner or his wife or his eldest child to object to the marriage of the manumitted slave. It allowed a white person to be a tutor for a Free person but not the reverse. Here too the Lettres Patentes (Code Noir) were being changed. Even worse were the provisions concerning inheritance and property: children born of a mixed union would not be allowed to make a claim or inherit any property from the white parent. No white person could donate; give any property whether by will or notarial act to a Free person. The measures adopted by Decaen brought slavery back to what it had been in pre-revolutionary times, i.e. before 1789. As far as the state of relations between Free population and French was concerned, the distance became even greater. According to Prentout, it was not a process of restoration but of reaction.
Resistance

Slaves have always resisted their condition as slaves. Slave modes of resistance can be categorised in a continuum, ranging from overt rebellion to resistance by daily small actions such as or slowness at work. The most extreme and the most effective was the withdrawal of labour, be it by marooning or by feigning illness and being absent from work. Manumission especially by women can also be viewed as a female strategy to escape slavery. Slaves began to resist from the day they boarded the slave ship. Throughout the period of the slave trade, revolts occurred on board the ships. On one notable occasion, on 27th October 1725, a revolt occurred on board the Vautour even before it had left Madagascar: slaves had made use

of the fact that the crew was drunk and had stolen tools and other metal objects left on the deck. Recorded revolts also occurred on: La Flore in 1775; on the Pintade in 1783; the Tigre in 1780; the Navigateurin 1803; the St Antoine in 1780.

North Coombes Ile de France, 79. A. Sheriff, Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar, 78-79. iii Larson, 28 Mss copy. I am indebted to Pier Larson for allowing me to use material from his forthcoming book. iv We are still attempting to estimate more accurate figures. v Jackson-Haight, M., European Powers and South-East Africa: A Study of International Relations on the South-East Coast of Africa, 1796-1856, (London:1942). 108. vi Sheriff, Ivory and Spices, 46. vii Larson, 45. viii See J.M. Filliot, La Route vers les Mascareignes, ORSTOM 1974, for a detailed study of the slave trade to the Mascarenes. ix North Coombes, Ile de France, 82. x Bonnefoy, Table gnrale pour servir aux recherches faire au greffe de la Cour Suprme de lIle Maurice , 394 quoted in Kuczynski, 707. xi Kuczinski, Empire. xii North-Coombes, Ile de France, 86. xiii North Coombes, Ile de France, 87. xiv North Coombes, Ile de France, 98. xv Prentout, Decaen, 134.
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