Whilst perusing the digitized Saint-Domingue Notariat at Family Search, we came across another list of slaves from a habitation in Jacmel. The estate of the deceased planter Huguet, who was already established in Jacmel by 1712, it is likely safe to assume he ran an indigo plantation. What is striking here, however, is the absence of Creoles. With the exception of the 7 children (not included in the table because their exact origins are not specified and many if not most may have been born in the colony), the only Creole was an "angloise" woman, possibly from Jamaica or another English colony of the Caribbean. Her presence might also explain the preponderance of Ibos.
Besides the Ibos and Congos, no other "nation" had more than one representative on the estate. The large Ibo presence may have been linked to intercolonial slave trading between the French in Saint Domingue and English partners. It is probably not a surprise that smuggling or contraband trade in slaves was so important for this part of the colony, since the Compagnie de Saint-Domingue in earlier decades was not successful at fulfilling its quota of captives. One would also think that some of the colons who moved to Jacmel, Bainet, and Cayes de Jacmel in the early 1700s also brought slaves with them from their previous homes, too. Another striking aspect of the plantation, however, is the relatively balanced gender ratios among the adult slaves. 10 adult males to 8 women is not as extreme as other plantations.
We are still looking for coffee plantations in inventories, testaments, and deeds to see how the boom in coffee plantations after 1730 may have impacted the region's demographics. But one pattern that is clear is the large Igbo presence, even relatively early on, for some plantations. Another interesting feature of this plantation was seeing what looks like the Yoruba name Kemi (Kemy) for the Nago slave, showing the persistence of African names was sometimes recognized in Saint Domingue.
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