{"id":155,"date":"2017-12-09T15:05:45","date_gmt":"2017-12-09T20:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/?page_id=155"},"modified":"2017-12-15T00:37:37","modified_gmt":"2017-12-15T05:37:37","slug":"the-first-settlers-les-premiers-colons","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/the-first-settlers-les-premiers-colons\/","title":{"rendered":"The first settlers \/ Les premiers colons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;color: #993300\">On the social status of the first white settlers<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #993300;font-size: 14pt\">Le statut social des premiers colons blancs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Despite a common misconception, among the first white European settlers of the island only a small portion had ties with the nobility. Most of the men were either penniless younger sons seeking adventures into the\u00a0<em>New World\u00a0<\/em>and a fortune for themselves or they were &#8220;engag\u00e9s&#8221; (indentured servants) who signed a 36 months contract after which they were free from their debt and received either a certain amount of cotton, coffee or sugar to sell or a plot of land:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The first immigrants were free settlers or \u201cengag\u00e9s\u201d (indentured servants). Amongst free settlers, against common preconception, were very few noblemen, and out of the 3102 White men which 791 slave drivers were counted, we can attest the probable nobility of 29. No special care was sought to ease the arrival of the younger sons.&#8221; (Kov\u00e0tz, 26)<\/p>\n<p>Malgr\u00e9 un pr\u00e9jug\u00e9 qui persiste, seule une petite quantit\u00e9 de premiers colons europ\u00e9ens blancs qui s&#8217;install\u00e8rent sur l&#8217;\u00eele avaient des liens avec la noblesse. La plupart des hommes sont soit des cadets d\u00e9sargent\u00e9s cherchant l&#8217;aventure dans le\u00a0<em>Nouveau Monde\u00a0<\/em>et \u00e0 se constituer une petite fortune, soit des &#8220;engag\u00e9s&#8221; ces travailleurs qui avaient sign\u00e9 un contrat de 36 mois apr\u00e8s lequel ils s&#8217;acquittent de leur dette et re\u00e7oivent une certaine quantit\u00e9s de coton, caf\u00e9, ou sucre \u00e0 vendre ou un lopin de terre:<\/p>\n<p>\u00ab\u00a0Les premiers immigrants \u00e9taient des colons libres ou des \u00ab\u00a0engag\u00e9s\u00a0\u00bb. Parmi les colons libres, contrairement \u00e0 certaines id\u00e9es re\u00e7ues, se trouvaient peu de nobles, et pour les 3102 Blancs dont 791 ma\u00eetres de case recens\u00e9s en 1680, on n\u2019en trouve que 29 dont la noblesse est probable. Aucune mesure n\u2019\u00e9tait prise pour favoriser la venue des cadets de famille.\u00bb (Kov\u00e0tz, 26)<\/p>\n<p>You can observe in the 1688 demographics that out of the 6, 947 white men listed 988 (14% )of them are <em>engag\u00e9s.\u00a0<\/em>This category is particularly hard to track as it only appears once in the censuses and because the engag\u00e9s system declines rapidly as the importation of African slaves increases during the 1670&#8217;s and is institutionalised \u00a0according to the Code Noir in 1685. To give you a better idea on the populations ratio: in 1688 there were 6, 947 white men and 10, 638 black slaves, the ratio was around 1.5 slave for 1 settler but by 1731 when the engag\u00e9s are by then completely out of the picture, there were 3,717 white men for 14, 638 slaves, the ratio was then around 4 slaves for 1 settler.<\/p>\n<p>Vous pouvez observez dans les graphiques de 1688 que sur 6947 hommes blancs se trouvent 988 (soit 14%) d&#8217;engag\u00e9s. Cette cat\u00e9gorie est particuli\u00e8rement difficile \u00e0 tracer puisqu&#8217;elle n&#8217;appara\u00eet qu&#8217;une fois dans les recensements, de plus le syst\u00e8me des engag\u00e9s conna\u00eet un rapide d\u00e9clin avec l&#8217;importation croissante des esclaves d&#8217;Afrique de l&#8217;Ouest dans les ann\u00e9es 1670 et son institutionalisation avec le Code Noir en 1685. Afin de vous donnez une meilleure id\u00e9e des ratios de populations: en 1688 il y avait 6947 hommes blancs et 10959 esclaves noirs, le ratio \u00e9tait donc de 1.5 esclave pour 1 colon, mais d&#8217;ici 1731, les engag\u00e9s ont compl\u00e8tement disparu et il y avait 3717 hommes blancs pour 14 638 esclaves, le ratio est donc de 4 esclaves pour un colon.<\/p>\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/shared\/5QDM68WMK?:display_count=yes\" width=\"100%\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #993300;font-size: 14pt\">On relationships and unions between white settlers and free black women. The early times of acceptance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #993300;font-size: 14pt\">Relations et unions entre colons blancs et femmes libres de couleur. Le temps de l&#8217;acceptance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>During the first years of colonisation, Martinique struggled with a serious issue of gender unbalance as very little women were part of this first chapter of the colonisation process that aimed at bringing into cultivation lands that did not match European agricultural\u00a0expectations. It&#8217;s the time of land clearing and continuing conflicts with the Indigenous Caribs who resist the settlers&#8217; evangelisation. Moreover, the first settlers of the island didn&#8217;t necessarily wish to settle down, most of them came to seek a fortune in order to go back to the mainland and find a wife. The interracial relationships are therefore &#8220;tolerated&#8221; until the Church and the Crown put a term to it by sending young women to Martinique, notably the &#8220;King&#8217;s envoys&#8221;, mainly orphans recruited in the Salle P\u00e9tri\u00e8re (female hospital) of Paris in 1680.<\/p>\n<p>At the beginning of colonisation, relationships, and even marriages between settlers and black women were tolerated, as the immigration of white women increased, there was a reaction against such unions and it triggered restrictive measures soon ratified by a 1685 law, the Code Noir, and, in 1778, a new law forbids all marriage between White and People of colour.\u00a0(Kov\u00e0tz, 31)<\/p>\n<p>We can easily observe this phenomenon of unbalance between men and women in the demographics: in 1664 there were 861 white men for 288 white women, the disparity is considerable as the ratio is three men for every woman. Amongst those 861 men grouped under the major category &#8220;F(ree) White Men&#8221; we can find the subaltern category &#8220;Married men&#8221; who only \u00a0are 165 and only represent 19%. The mere fact that they deserve a separate category proves the importance of bachelorhood at the time.In 1687, there is a slight amelioration as there is 2,113 men for 976 women, the ratio being 2.16 men for every woman. Finally by the beginning of the 18th century the gap seemed to be filled, there are 2,074 men for 1,833 women, the ratio being 1.13 men for every woman.<\/p>\n<p>Dans les premi\u00e8res ann\u00e9es de sa colonisation, la Martinique conna\u00eet un fort probl\u00e8me de d\u00e9s\u00e9quilibre des sexes puisque tr\u00e8s peu de femmes font partie du processus premier de la colonisation qui vise \u00e0 d\u00e9fricher une \u00eele dont les terres ne correspondent pas encore aux id\u00e9aux de cultivation des Europ\u00e9ens. C&#8217;est le temps de l&#8217;essartage et des conflits incessants avec les Indig\u00e8nes Cara\u00efbes qui r\u00e9sistent l&#8217;\u00e9vang\u00e9lisation des colons. De plus, les premiers colons de l&#8217;\u00eele n&#8217;ont pas n\u00e9cessairement dans l&#8217;id\u00e9e de s&#8217;y \u00e9tablir de mani\u00e8re durable, la plupart d&#8217;entre eux venant y faire fortune afin de rentrer en France et de prendre une \u00e9pouse.\u00a0Les relations interraciales sont donc &#8220;tol\u00e9r\u00e9es&#8221; jusqu&#8217;\u00e0 ce que l&#8217;Eglise et la Couronne y mettent une terme avec l&#8217;envoi de jeunes femmes, notamment des &#8220;envoy\u00e9es du Roi&#8221;, orphelines recrut\u00e9es \u00e0 la Salle P\u00eatri\u00e8re de Paris en 1680.<\/p>\n<p>\u00ab\u00a0Si au d\u00e9but de la colonisation les relations, voire les mariages, entre colons et n\u00e9gresses furent tol\u00e9r\u00e9s, au fur et \u00e0 mesure que l\u2019immigration des femmes blanches s\u2019accentua, une r\u00e9action s\u2019op\u00e9ra envers de telles unions et suscita des mesures restrictives bient\u00f4t ratifi\u00e9es par une loi de 1685, le Code Noir, et, en 1778, par une nouvelle loi interdisant tout mariage entre Blancs et gens de couleur\u00a0\u00bb \u00a0(Kov\u00e0tz, 31)<\/p>\n<p>On peut ais\u00e9ment observer ce ph\u00e9nom\u00e8ne de d\u00e9s\u00e9quilibre entre hommes et femmes sur les graphiques de recensements: en 1664 il y a 861 hommes blancs pour 288 femmes blanches l&#8217;\u00e9cart est donc consid\u00e9rable puisqu&#8217;il est environ d&#8217;une femme pour trois hommes. Parmi ces 861 hommes regroup\u00e9s dans la cat\u00e9gorie englobante de &#8220;F White Men&#8221; (hommes blancs libres) on trouve la sous-cat\u00e9gorie &#8220;Married men&#8221; (hommes mari\u00e9s) mais ceux-ci ne dont que 165 et ne repr\u00e9sentent que 19%. De plus, le fait qu&#8217;ils m\u00e9ritent une cat\u00e9gorie \u00e0 part prouve bien l&#8217;importance du c\u00e9libat \u00e0 cette \u00e9poque.\u00a0En 1687, il y a une l\u00e9g\u00e8re am\u00e9lioration puisqu&#8217;on trouve 2113 hommes pour 976 femmes, le ratio \u00e9tant de 2.16 hommes pour une femme. Enfin il faut attendre le d\u00e9but du XVIII\u00e8me si\u00e8cle pour voir le foss\u00e9 se combler, il y a 2074 hommes pour 1833, le ratio \u00e9tant de 1.13 homme pour une femme.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/shared\/5QDM68WMK?:display_count=yes\" width=\"100%\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;color: #993300\">The beginning of lands monopolisation \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;color: #993300\">Le d\u00e9but de la monopolisation des terres<\/span><\/p>\n<p>At this point in the island&#8217;s history it is difficult to talk about a white creole minority as the extreme conditions of living lead to a great fluctuation in the white population. In 1664 after the dissolution of the Company of Islands of America, the King claims the control of the island and makes it a French colony. By the middle of the \u00a017th century, the lands are cleared and ready to be cultivated. In an effort to align on the Barbados example, Martinique settlers decide to start cultivating sugar cane. This kind of crop becomes profitable only if cultivated on large surfaces by an abundance of cheap labourers. Therefore there is the emergence of a group of wealthy settlers who own an extensive amount of the lands and stand out from the crowd of less fortunate settlers who cannot afford this reconversion and are relegated to the cultivation of crops exploitable on smaller parcels or turned to crafts, or subaltern positions working for the planters. This constitutes the birth of the B\u00e9k\u00e9s, the white creole minority monopolising lands into large plantations stopping the development and the success of other smaller owners. These less fortunate settlers will be despicably nicknamed &#8220;petits blancs&#8221; (little whites) as if it constituted an ontological oxymoron. (Jamard, 12)<\/p>\n<p>A ce point de l&#8217;Histoire de la Martinique il est difficile de parler d&#8217;une minorit\u00e9 blanche cr\u00e9ole au vue des conditions de vie extr\u00eames qui m\u00e8ne \u00e0 une grande fluctuation de la population blanche. Mais \u00e0 partir de 1664 la Compagnie des Iles d&#8217;Am\u00e9rique est dissolue et l&#8217;\u00eele est plac\u00e9e sous le contr\u00f4le du Roi qui en fait une colonie fran\u00e7aise. A partir de la moiti\u00e9 du XVII\u00e8me si\u00e8cle, les terres sont d\u00e9frich\u00e9es et pr\u00eates \u00e0 \u00eatre cultiv\u00e9es. Dans un effort de s&#8217;aligner sur l&#8217;exemple de l&#8217;\u00eele de la Barbade, les colons de Martinique d\u00e9cident de commencer la cultivation de cannes \u00e0 sucre. Ce type de culture n&#8217;est rentable que si cultiv\u00e9 sur de larges \u00a0surfaces par une abondance de man\u0153uvre \u00e0 bas prix. Par cons\u00e9quent on voit l&#8217;\u00e9mergence d&#8217;un groupe de riches colons qui poss\u00e8dent une large portion de terres et qui se distinguent de la foule de colons moins fortun\u00e9s qui ne peuvent se permettre cette reconversion et qui sont rel\u00e9gu\u00e9s \u00e0 l&#8217;exploitation de cultures sur des plus petites parcelles, qui se tournent vers l&#8217;artisanat ou qui travaillent dans des positions subalternes pour les planteurs. Ce ph\u00e9nom\u00e8ne de concentration fonci\u00e8re annonce la naissance des B\u00e9k\u00e9s, cette minorit\u00e9 cr\u00e9ole blanche qui monopolise les terres en\u00a0larges plantations de cannes \u00e0 sucre emp\u00eachant le d\u00e9veloppement et le succ\u00e8s des plus petits propri\u00e9taires, ceux qui sont moins fortun\u00e9s et qui seront d\u00e9daigneusement surnomm\u00e9s les &#8220;petits blancs&#8221; comme si cela constituait un oxymore ontologique. (Jamard, 12)<\/p>\n<p>You can note in the last two censuses \u00a01751 and 1764 the apparition of the subaltern category &#8220;Gentlemen&#8221; and &#8220;Privileged&#8221; labelled under &#8220;F White Men&#8221;. Those years coincide with the immigration of French aristocracy with the financial means to invest money in large plantations and set sugar refineries.<\/p>\n<p>Vous pouvez observez que dans les deux derniers recensements de 1751 et 1764 apparaissent les cat\u00e9gories subalternes de &#8220;Gentilhomme&#8221; et &#8220;Privil\u00e9gi\u00e9s&#8221; rang\u00e9es sous la cat\u00e9gorie englobante &#8220;F White Men&#8221; (Hommes Blancs Libres). Ces ann\u00e9es correspondent \u00e0 l&#8217;\u00e9migration de certains aristocrates fran\u00e7ais qui d\u00e9tenaient des moyens financiers d&#8217;investir de l&#8217;argent dans de grandes plantations et de cr\u00e9er des sucreries.<\/p>\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/public.tableau.com\/shared\/5QDM68WMK?:display_count=yes\" width=\"100%\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the social status of the first white settlers Le statut social des premiers colons blancs. Despite a common misconception, among the first white European settlers of the island only a small portion had ties with the nobility. Most of the men were either penniless younger sons seeking adventures into the\u00a0New World\u00a0and a fortune for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5060,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-155","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5060"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253,"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155\/revisions\/253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scholarblogs.emory.edu\/martiniqueproject\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}