“St. Domingo in the hands of the Blacks” – insurance cover
for a trans-Atlantic voyage by a vessel operated by the Gardner family who are
known to have been involved in the slave trade. The policy specifically permitted
the ‘George Washington’ to carry false papers, and mentions coffee.
BLAKES, HOBSON & ALLFREY (insurance agents).
[Cape Francois (aka Cap-Francais) SAINT-DOMINGUE (aka HAITI)]
Insurance document for up to £6000, covering the merchant
ship ‘George Washington’ commanded by Benjamin Gardner, during her voyage from
“Cape Francais and her Port or Ports of loading in St. Domingo in the hands of the
Blacks or otherwise to Gothenburg with liberty to carry simulated Papers &
take & sail under Clearances from Ports or Places whatsoever. …. In Witness
whereof, we the Assurers have subscribed our Names and Sums Assured in London…”
Dated: 13th
October 1806. 4pp. on vellum, printed and manuscript (including numerous
entries recording the names of the Assurers and the amount they had agreed to
guarantee.
Condition: worn, soiled and
damaged (see images).
A manuscript and printed reminder of the uncertainty following the creation of the First Empire of Haiti: apparently issued to cover a voyage made for the purpose of trading coffee from the Caribbean to the European port of Gothenburg and elsewhere.
“The independence of Saint-Domingue was proclaimed under the
native name 'Haiti' by Jean-Jacques Dessalines on 1 January 1804 in Gonaïves and he was proclaimed
"Emperor for Life" as Emperor Jacques I by his
troops. Dessalines at first offered protection to the white planters and
others. However, once in power, he ordered the genocide of nearly all the remaining white men, women, children;
between January and April 1804, 3,000 to 5,000 whites were killed, including
those who had been friendly and sympathetic to the black
population. Only three categories of white people were selected out as exceptions and spared: Polish soldiers, the majority of
whom had deserted from the French army and fought alongside the Haitian rebels;
the small group of German colonists invited to
the north-west region; and a group of medical doctors and professionals. Reportedly, people with
connections to officers in the Haitian army were also spared, as well as the
women who agreed to marry non-white men. Fearful of the potential impact the
slave rebellion could have in the slave states, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson refused to
recognize the new republic. The Southern politicians who were a powerful voting
bloc in the American Congress prevented U.S. recognition for decades until they
withdrew in 1861 to form the Confederacy. The revolution led to a wave of emigration. In 1809, 9,000
refugees from Saint-Domingue, both white planters and people of color,
settled en masse in New Orleans, doubling the city's
population, having been expelled from their initial refuge in Cuba by Spanish
authorities. In addition, the newly arrived slaves added to the city's
African population. The plantation system was re-established in Haiti, albeit
for wages; however, many Haitians were marginalized and resented the
heavy-handed manner in which this was enforced in the new nation's politics.
The rebel movement splintered, and Dessalines was assassinated by rivals on 17
October 1806.” (wikipedia)