Guadeloupe History
1-The history of slavery in Martinique
Before 1635:
Era of French colonial discovery and settlement, with slavery forbidden on French territory. Pierre Belain d’Esnambuc (wiki), a former pirate from Normandy, is dispatched to the Caribbean colonies by the Compagnie des Îles d'Amérique ("American Island Company"), one of the main shareholders of which was Cardinal de Richelieu (wiki), an original founding father of the French colonial movement..
1635 :
Discovery and settlement of Martinique by d' Esnambuc.
1639 :
The Company begins importing both indentured servants (wiki) (French workers who have voluntarily committed to a 36-month work contract) and slaves purchased on the coast of Africa.
Tobacco production is introduced into Martinique and requires little manual labor, which is performed mainly by the "concessionaire" (a person who has been awarded a land grant as a "concession" or a sort of homestead) and his indentured servants. At the end of the 36 months, the indentured servants could request their own homesteads ("concessions").
1640 :
The company, encountering severe financial problems, is forced to sell off the island to Dyel Duparquet, a Norman nobleman, who forms an alliance with the Caribbean Indians, and a royal edict is decreed forbidding their use as slaves, for strategic reasons. During this period, there are very few slaves on Martinican plantations (just a few dozen, approximately).
1645 :
A group of Dutch Jewish colonists, driven out of northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese, land on Martinique, bringing with them the knowhow and technology involved in the production of sugar. Sugar-cane begins to replace tobacco as the primary crop in the West Indies and will eventually lead to a period of enormous prosperity in Martinique through the rest of the XVII century.
The era of alcohol begins with the first techniques of distillation of juice from the sugar-cane plant , perfected by Père Labat (wiki). The first sugar refineries are
Before 1635:
Era of French colonial discovery and settlement, with slavery forbidden on French territory. Pierre Belain d’Esnambuc (wiki), a former pirate from Normandy, is dispatched to the Caribbean colonies by the Compagnie des Îles d'Amérique ("American Island Company"), one of the main shareholders of which was Cardinal de Richelieu (wiki), an original founding father of the French colonial movement..
1635 :
Discovery and settlement of Martinique by d' Esnambuc.
1639 :
The Company begins importing both indentured servants (wiki) (French workers who have voluntarily committed to a 36-month work contract) and slaves purchased on the coast of Africa.
Tobacco production is introduced into Martinique and requires little manual labor, which is performed mainly by the "concessionaire" (a person who has been awarded a land grant as a "concession" or a sort of homestead) and his indentured servants. At the end of the 36 months, the indentured servants could request their own homesteads ("concessions").
1640 :
The company, encountering severe financial problems, is forced to sell off the island to Dyel Duparquet, a Norman nobleman, who forms an alliance with the Caribbean Indians, and a royal edict is decreed forbidding their use as slaves, for strategic reasons. During this period, there are very few slaves on Martinican plantations (just a few dozen, approximately).
1645 :
A group of Dutch Jewish colonists, driven out of northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese, land on Martinique, bringing with them the knowhow and technology involved in the production of sugar. Sugar-cane begins to replace tobacco as the primary crop in the West Indies and will eventually lead to a period of enormous prosperity in Martinique through the rest of the XVII century.
The era of alcohol begins with the first techniques of distillation of juice from the sugar-cane plant , perfected by Père Labat (wiki). The first sugar refineries are