Babette, 1765
An enslaved child goes on an illicit shopping spree and is made to suffer the consequences
CommentaryOn October 12, 1765, the Superior Council of Louisiana issued its judgment against Babette. The judges declared her guilty of theft and pondered their options for her sentencing and punishment. Their deliberations were not entered into the court record (judges’ deliberations never were). When they pronounced her sentence, they decreed that she be “condemned to only fifty forty lashes of the whip,” to be administered on the Place d’armes (now Jackson Square) for all to see (Figure 1). The strikeout shows that the judges had grappled at length with how best to handle her case. Perhaps they had been swayed by the fact that Babette’s owner, Charles Jean Baptiste de Fleuriau, was an important settler and son of the previous attorney general. But in sentencing her, they cited her age and her “impuberty” as the reason for the reduced sentence, which would later be further reduced to twenty lashes. What had brought on this trial, and this sentence? Babette had found a sum of money, taken it, and gone around town shopping for clothes and buying treats. Babette was all of eleven years old.1
Figure 1
[Ignace-François] Broutin, Plan de la Nouvelle Orléans telle qu’elle estoit le premier janvier mil sept cent trente deux, Jan. 20, 1732. FR ANOM 04 DFC 90 A. Courtesy Archives nationales d’outre-mer, Aix-en-Provence, France
The prominent placement of the Place d’armes (present-day Jackson Square) is shown in Broutin’s 1732 map of New Orleans.
Babette’s sentence fell within the norm for prepubescent children under French law. Whipping was the standard punishment for convicted children in France, though it was not supposed to be carried out in public. The 1724 code noir did not offer any guidance in the case of enslaved children beyond stipulating that the number of lashes was at the discretion of the judges.2
Babette had used the money to shop for a jacket, shoes, colorful and patterned skirts and handkerchiefs, a gold-colored adornment, nuts, and sweets. That she was taken to trial for this activity reflected longstanding French cultural notions about property ownership. In Louisiana, investigations and prosecutions would disproportionately target the enslaved rather than settlers, especially after the 1720s. The enslaved might have had different conceptions of property ownership given the circumstances they found themselves in. What’s more, the concept of crime, including theft, is deeply problematic where the enslaved are concerned, for it raises the question of how enslaved persons could be guilty when they themselves were stolen—their time, labor, and even family ties stripped from them. Such considerations did not trouble the judges.3
The Trial
Babette was convicted during the court’s investigation into the disappearance of sixteen piasters (a large sum of silver coins) that had gone missing when the town jailer, Pivoteau, the man to whom she was leased, forgot to lock his chest and it became known that Babette had made a number of purchases in town (Figure 2). There is no information on what work she, an eleven-year-old girl, was to do for Pivoteau, but if it was for the jail, it might have included food preparation, laundry, cleaning, and additional tasks as needed (Figures 3 and 4). Likewise, there is no information on how she was treated within Pivoteau’s household. Other documents, however, hint at the endemic physical violence that was likely her fate. One 1766 trial centered on an altercation and dispute between a colonist and his lodger, the former testifying that he had asked the lodger “why he had the audacity to beat his sister who had been kind enough to let him beat her slaves.” Such sharing of responsibilities for inflicting violence on the enslaved was clearly not out of the ordinary.4
Figure 2
Spanish piastre, 1741. Silver. Private Collection
Figures 3 & 4
Anonymous, Plan, profil, et elevation des prisons de la Nouvelle Orleans, 14 Janvier 1730. Watercolor. FR ANOM 04 DFC 84 B. Courtesy Archives nationales d’outre-mer, Aix-en-Provence, France
This 1730 architectural plan shows the New Orleans prison, which was the first major building constructed of brick without a timber frame, covered in masonry. Two stories high, consisting of two separate buildings linked by a walled-in courtyard for the use of prisoners, it measured approximately thirty-eight by fifty-one feet. Each cell (on the upper level) measured sixteen by twelve-and-a-half feet, meaning that these were communal cells.
Babette’s shopping trips took place around six o’clock and ten o’clock in the evening, but rather than impute from this that her workday had ended, the shopkeepers took it instead to mean she was still working, making purchases for Pivoteau and possibly providing child care for a younger girl who accompanied her on one of her trips to the shops. Once the theft of the coins was uncovered, Babette was the obvious suspect, and she immediately confessed. She then described in detail how she had spent the money on a shopping spree around New Orleans, buying cloth and apparel as well as treats (pecans and confectionary) from various merchants and traders. Called in as witnesses, these men and women corroborated her purchases and the prices paid for the goods, though they occasionally disputed the sums and the change they had given her, suggesting either that someone was remembering wrongly or, more likely, that they had tricked her. Class and economic status would be factors in how these tradespeople would be addressed, and treated, during the trial.
Enslaved Children
The prosecution of Babette raises the matter of the status and labor of enslaved children. Babette was never asked to identify her parents. Instead, when prompted to identify herself, whether in court or while shopping, she knew to give the name of her owner, Fleuriau. Had she been leased out to Pivoteau alongside her parents, or on her own? It was not long before the trial that she had become Fleuriau’s legal property, for one of the sellers, La Rochelle, said that he had recognized her “for having belonged to M. Huchon and currently to M. Fleuriau.” Babette had already changed hands three times in her young life.5
Unlike in the English colonies, according to Article 43 of the 1724 code noir, enslaved husbands, wives, and their prepubescent children in French Louisiana could not be seized and sold separately. Yet there was a caveat: the law only applied if the mother and father belonged to the same owner. The official records from Louisiana show that no prepubescent children were sold (or gifted) apart from their mothers during the French colonial period, but as the case of Babette shows, they might be leased and, in effect, separated from their parents—the code noir did not address that eventuality.6
Babette was not the only enslaved girl mentioned in the court case, for she was accompanied by three different companions, all of them girls, on three separate shopping expeditions. On one occasion, this was the younger (unnamed) child. On another, it was a girl of twelve named Françoise. It was Françoise, according to the trader Cassale, who spent the hefty sum of five livres for a silk handkerchief, paying with a piaster coin and saying it was her mistress who had sent her to buy it on her account. The third companion was twelve-year-old Marie Louise, about whose identity one vendor, Pierre St. Martin, made pointed references. He described her first as “Marie Louise of Mr. Fleuriau’s,” then as “Marie Louise aged twelve years.” Finally, he made mention of the girl’s mother, relating:
that the ninth of the month the mother of Marie Louise asked him if he had not [strikeout] received her daughter’s money to which he replied no, that it was Babet who paid him
Interrogated if he did not ask the little negresse where she had taken the money with which she was paying him?
Said no and that he had only sold it to her at the instigation of Marie Louise mulatresse.
Neither of Babette’s shopping companions, nor Marie Louise’s mother, who was also implicated, were called to testify or named as accomplices. But their awareness of Babette’s ownership of a sum of money, their participation in her purchases, and possibly their coercion once it became known that she had a sum of money hint at the extended community network that could benefit from the recirculation and repurposing of currency and consumer goods. Their involvement also suggests a different conception of property than that enshrined in French law.7
Were it not for Babette’s direct testimony in court about the theft of the piasters from Pivoteau’s unlocked chest (meaning it was a crime of opportunity and not premeditated) and her admission to the shopping spree, the case against her could be interpreted as a cover-up for the activities of the slightly older Marie Louise. St. Martin’s repeated emphasis on Marie Louise’s links to Fleuriau, his reference to her mother, and his justification for selling goods to Babette (who after all was also owned by Fleuriau) on the basis that she had come shopping with “Marie Louise mulatresse” were all meant to signal to the judges that he was aware of Marie Louise’s parentage and that she was the daughter of Fleuriau with one of his slaves. Her parentage was apparently open knowledge, yet it is rare that we find evidence of the vulnerability of enslaved women to predatory masters and, conversely, of the relative benefits and protection that this might confer on these women and their children. The endemic sexual exploitation of enslaved women usually remains invisible in the archive, but this court case shows how widely known and acknowledged these relationships were. St. Martin certainly said as much, including observing that Marie Louise’s mother was in the habit of buying from his shop. Just three years earlier, Fleuriau had married a wealthy heiress, but marriage had apparently not put an end to his interest in Marie Louise’s mother.8
Informal Networks for the Distribution of Goods
The judges prosecuting Babette’s case were primarily focused on uncovering the theft, however, they emphasized another, sweeping, motive in pursuing the investigation—public safety. “This theft, and especially, the prohibition against the sale of merchandise that some merchants sell to the negres of this colony without permission from their master,” they declared during the trial, “concerns the public good and public order.” Around the time Babette was arrested and convicted in 1765, the colony was in its waning years under French control and was in thrall to a renewed attempt to clamp down on the movement of slaves and limit their trading interactions with the white populace. In 1751, local officials had enacted a new police code that sought to control the movements of slaves and their access to the marketplace while also limiting the ability of free persons (and Native Americans) from trading with them. Previous to the 1751 police code, there was a 1723 decree aimed at preventing the purchase from slaves of clothing, chickens, produce, game, or anything else, while the 1724 code noir allowed slaves to sell goods but only with their master’s written permission. Men were posted in each marketplace charged with enforcing this statute, and masters of slaves who attempted to make transactions without the requisite approval were fined accordingly.9
Theft and the wider system of economic transactions that relied on the market for stolen and secondhand goods were key facets of the broader informal economies in both Europe and the colonies alike. Robberies put goods into circulation and proved especially beneficial to segments of the population, like the enslaved, who were locked out of the market owing to their status or inadequate buying power and who were most devoid of legitimate options for obtaining material goods. For these groups, stealing, or gaining access to stolen goods through resellers (usually at very competitive prices), might represent a viable way to procure consumer wares.10
As the chronology of court documents makes clear, Babette’s prosecution was initiated by a complaint about missing money rather than her participation in illicit trade or her acquisition and wearing of new apparel, which does not seem to have elicited any particular reaction, but her confession revealed widespread illegal participation in the marketplace. In her testimony, she described what she had done with the money and named those with whom she transacted business:
She had bought a cotton skirt and a casaquin jacket from Sr. Nicolete and another skirt from Mad[am]e St Martin, a gold joug that she said she had bought from La Rochelle, the army drummer; a silk handkerchief and a blue handkerchief from the named Cassale, merchant next to the jail, some dragées for fifty sols from Dame de Lorier, and fifty sols of pecans, a pair of shoes from Dame Olivier Pecherit for one piaster coin.
a Dit avoir achété une Jupe de Cotton et un Cazaquin chés Le Sr Nicolete. et une autre Jupe chez Made. St martin, et un Joug D’or quelle a Dit avoir acheté de La Rochelle tambour, un mouchoir de soÿe et un Mouchoir Bleu, du Nommé Cassale Marchand a Coté de La prizon. des Dragées pour Cinquante sols chéz La Dame de Lorier et Cinquante sols de pacanes, une paire de souliers chéz La Dame olivier pecherit pour une piastre Gourde
In other words, here was the case of an enslaved eleven-year-old girl openly going to different shops and approaching a spectrum of traders to make cash purchases of apparel (jacket, skirts, handkerchiefs, shoes) and edible treats using Spanish silver coins.11
None of the traders accused of selling to the girl Babette, all of whom knew her to be enslaved, queried her possession of coins or asked for proof that she had permission from her master to buy goods. Nor did they question the suitability of an enslaved eleven-year-old buying new finery. The price they paid was steep, meant to serve as a warning to others who traded with the enslaved: they were heavily fined, some were forbidden from ever trading again in New Orleans, and one of them was banished from town. The traders who sold goods to Babette also had to return the money she had paid them and take back their merchandise. Yet as seen in the court case against Babette, while colonists could be penalized severely, there were limits to their punishment. Not so for free Blacks. Jean Baptiste, a free Black, found this out when he was convicted in 1743 of stealing fine shirts and handkerchiefs and was re-enslaved as punishment. The freedom of Africans was never absolute but reversible.12
A Shopping Spree
Beyond her verbal testimony in court, Babette’s list of items serves as a reminder that material culture can be especially valuable in the insights it offers about nonverbal forms of self-expression. Babette’s selection of goods cannot be classified as strictly utilitarian; instead, they reveal an avid interest in pleasurable items. The apparel and textiles that Babette chose offered myriad means of self-expression through texture, color, pattern, fiber, cut, construction, and styling. Although the interrogatory focused on the price of the items she acquired, the witness depositions do provide a few additional details, such as that the cotton skirt cost five piasters and that the other skirt was made of indienne, or calico cotton, and worth two piasters (Figure 5). It is impossible to know how and where she planned to wear the items she bought, but here were shoes, handkerchiefs, multiple skirts, and a jacket (Figure 6). The edible items Babette purchased likewise display a desire for luxury items over practical necessities. The dragées, small sugar-coated flowers, were a type of confectionary, and the pecan nuts, which, though indigenous to Louisiana, she had to purchase, likely from Native Americans who had brought them to market, could be considered a treat, rather than a staple food item (Figure 7).13
Figure 5
“Toilles de Cotton peintes à Marseilles,” 1736. Tissus de XVIIIe siècle. Collection Richelieu. Département Estampes et photographie. RESERVE LH-45-BOITE-FOL 29-nos. 133–140. Courtesy of Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
This 1736 manuscript page contains samples of printed calico cotton fabrics (known in France as “Indiennes” or “Guinées”). Though these samples were manufactured in Marseilles, France, these fabrics originated in India and were wildly popular in Europe and in West Africa, where they were used as an object of exchange in the slave trade.
Figure 6
Agostino Brunias, A Negroes Dance in the Island of Dominica. Private Collection. Photo. Courtesy Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images,
The short unstructured gown, referred to as a jacket, that Babette purchased might have been like the one seen on the woman on the left and on the woman clapping.
Figure 7
Le Pacanier. From [Jean-François-Benjamin] Dumont de Montigny, Mémoires historiques sur la Louisiane, contenant ce qui y est arrivé de plus mémorable depuis l’année 1687 . . . , I (Paris, 1753), 59. Courtesy Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Engraving of a pecan tree published in colonist Dumont de Montigny’s memoirs of his life in Louisiana.
The apparel Babette picked out was clearly intended to supplement her clothing rations. Article 18 of the code noir stipulated that apparel be issued on a yearly basis, without specifics as to quantity and frequency. That it was primarily utilitarian is indicated in Article 20, which granted slaves recourse to the law should their masters fail to provide adequately for their needs. No such cases, however, are known to have been brought before the courts in colonial Louisiana. The enslaved also had access to some alternative sources of supply. They sometimes received gifts and bequests from masters; benefited from ad hoc distributions from estates; made purchases with money earned from their (limited) autonomous role as purveyors of services, foodstuffs, and labor; or obtained clothing through theft and the outcome of thefts.14
Cloth was the largest single category of goods imported to the colonies, and it was also usually the most valuable consumer product, in high demand and constant circulation, through formal and informal channels, legal and illicit means. Because of the intrinsic value of cloth and clothing in the early modern period, Babette could have raised funds from selling the items she had purchased, as others did. That was certainly the case in thefts of opportunity (for example, where a pile of clothes was randomly grabbed and then sold or exchanged). But Babette did not have to resort to this. She could just take Pivoteau’s money from the chest and make her purchases outright from what was available from New Orleans’s shopkeepers and small-scale retailers.15
Babette’s specific request for some red cloth with which to make herself a skirt shows that at eleven years old, she was a skilled enough seamstress to know how to cut and sew a three-dimensional garment to size. Perhaps she earned money on the side for this work, a customary practice that she might have engaged in since the trader asked her when she sought to buy the red cloth if she “earned this with the Spaniard?” There is widespread evidence in Louisiana, as elsewhere in the Atlantic world, of the involvement of enslaved and free men and women of African descent in the apparel trades working for their own account. Drawing on apparel-related skills for which they were known to the wider community, and which they put to use for their own profit independently of their masters, they forged a permanent place for themselves within the local economy as suppliers of goods and services (Figure 8).16
Figure 8
William Kay, Seamstresses, Saint Kitts, Caribbean, 1798. Courtesy Yale Center for British Art, https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:10813
Although no red cloth was available, Babette’s desire for the material as well as her purchase of handkerchiefs additionally offer a tantalizing glimpse of the persistence of West African aesthetics even among those born in the New World. African and African-descended people in Louisiana not only maintained links to their cultures of origin by way of naming practices, religion, technology, and food. They also did so through a shared aesthetic prevalent across West Africa that included the wearing of certain colors such as red and blue, an emphasis on head wraps (using handkerchiefs), and a preference for metallic and nonmetallic jewelry and ornaments. These handkerchiefs were not for blowing the nose. Instead, they were large squares of fabric that came in infinite colors and varieties of striped, checked, or floral patterns made from imported textiles manufactured in Europe in imitation of textiles from India (Figure 5). They can be seen in depictions of Africans in Louisiana by Alexandre de Batz dating from the 1730s, which show turban-like head wraps and red fabric (Figure 9). Such head wraps were used both in self-adornment and in gift giving, including in courtship (Figure 7).17
Figure 9
Alexandre De Batz, Dessein de sauvages de plusieurs nations, Nlle Orleans 1735, 1735. Gift of the Estate of Belle J. Bushnell, 1941. Courtesy the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
Note the red-colored turban-like head covering on the figure of the unnamed African in Alexandre de Batz’s Drawing of Indians of Various Nations, New Orleans, 1735.
Babette’s acquisition of the indienne cotton skirt likewise bears a connection to the aesthetics of the textile trade in West Africa. West Africa had its own history of technologically sophisticated textile manufacturing and dyeing traditions that preceded the arrival of Europeans, with striped or checked cloth or textiles dyed indigo blue or red circulating along complex networks of intertribal trade throughout West Africa. But with the advent of the transatlantic slave trade, printed (calico) cottons from India entered the local market via European trading companies, quickly establishing themselves as key items used to purchase captives from West Africa. By the eighteenth century, these Indian cottons made up three-quarters of the merchandise used in the transatlantic slave trade. For Babette and so many others, the sad irony is that their or their forebears’ forced removal across the Atlantic owed in part to a taste in West Africa for the very same cotton goods that they consumed in the New World, textiles imported from India via the Indian and Atlantic Oceans (and later imitated in European factories) in a global imperial trade that allied the movement of commodities to that of people.18
Conclusion
The consequences for Babette of her shopping spree would be severe, with the physical violence and public humiliation of her judicial sentence likely accompanied by further punishment at the hands of the jailer. But for a few brief hours on sundry early evenings in May, an eleven-year-old girl experienced the fleeting freedom of going shopping and having six willing traders fetch and carry at her beck and call while she decided on her purchases.
Procedure against the Negritte Babette Belonging to Mr. Fleuriau (Procedure contre la negritte nommée Babet a Mr. Fleuriau)
Transcription
Procedure against the Negritte Babette Belonging to Mr. Fleuriau[page 1]
Procedure Contre La Negritte
nommée Babet a Mr fleuriau
Lesr. Nicolet et St. Martin amandes
[page 2, blanche]
[page 3]
A Monsieur foucault controlleur de la marine
faisant fonction Dordonnateur et de Premier juge
au conseil Superieur
Demande Le Procureur general du Roy audt. conseil
que Le geolier des Prisons civilles nous avoit Porte sa
Plainte disant quune negritte quil avait a loyer du
S. fleuriau Luy avoit Pris dans un coffre ou la
clé avoit ete Laissée Seize Piastres gourdes1 que les
de. Piastres [avoient été] employes chez differents
marchands. que lesdt. marchandises auroient eté
trouves, et que Lade. negresse accusee auroit remis
trois Piastres gourdes. comme ce vol et Particulierement
Les desordres qui Resultent des Ventes de marchandises
que font [certains] marchands aux negres de cette colonie
sans Billet de leur maitre, interesse La vindicte
Publique, et Les interet pour Lordre publique
je Requière Pour Le Roy que Ladte. negresse quidam2
soit decrete de Prise de corps, conduit Es Prisons civilles
de cette ville, et soit [murement] interroge Pardevant
un Conser. comre. en cette Partie, Sur Le Dt. Vol Sur Le
nom du vendeur et La qualite des marchandises achetes, et comment
elles ont ete Payes pour Le tout a nous communique
Etre Requis ce que de droit et Etre ordonné ce quil appartiendra
a la nlle orleans Le 9 8bre 1765
Lafreniere
Vü La Requette [es] plainte Cÿ dessüs Nous ordonnons que La3
[page 4]
que La [sic] Negresse quidam soit Decrétée et aprehendée au
Corps pour estre Conduite és prizons de Cette ville et
ÿ estre interrogée sur Les faits ÿ Coutumës Circonstances et
[dependances] et autres sur Lesquels Le procureur [General]
d. par Mr. voudra La [faire] oüir ; pour ensuite Le [dit] interrogatoire
Delaunay communiqué audit procureur General et rapo[rter]
Consr estre ordonné a quil apartiendra.
Donné en notre hotel Le dix octobre mil Sept Cens
soixante et Cinq.
[Foucault]
[pages 5–8, blanches]
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/09/01 (day/month/sequence).
Ce document souffre de marques d’encre sur le verso de la page.
Translation
[page 1]
Procedure against the negritte
named Babette belonging to Mr. Fleuriau.
The Sr[s]. Nicolet and St. Martin, fines.
[page 2, blank]
[page 3]
To Monsieur Foucault comptroller of the Marine
acting as ordonnateur and first judge
of the Superior Council,
the attorney general of the king requests of the said council:
that the jailer of the civilian prisons had lodged a
complaint with us, saying that a negritte that he had leased from
S. Fleuriau had taken, from a coffer where the
key had been left, sixteen piaster coins1, that the
said piasters [had been] used at various
merchants, that the said merchandise had been
found, and that the said accused negresse [had] returned
three piaster coins. As this theft, and especially,
the disorders that arise from the sales of merchandise
that [some] merchants make to the negres of this colony
without a note from their master concerns the
public good and concerns public order,
I require for the king that the said unidentified2 negresse
be decreed to be bodily seized, brought to the civil prisons
of this town, and be [carefully] interrogated before
a councilor commissioner in these parts on the said theft, on the
name of the seller, and the kind of merchandise bought, and how
it has been paid for, the whole communicated to us
as required by right and ordered according to that which appertains.
At New Orleans the 9 October 1765.
Lafreniere
Having seen the request and complaint above, we order that the3
[page 4]
that the [sic] unidentified negresse be decreed to be bodily apprehended
to be conducted to the prisons of this town and
there interrogated on the facts, habits, circumstances, and
[dependencies]4 and other matters on which the attorney [general]
d. by Mr. wants to have her heard, and then the [said] interrogatory
Delaunay [to be] communicated to the said attorney general and report[ed],
Councilor being ordered according to that which appertains.
Given in our hotel5 the 10 October seventeen hundred
Sixty-five
[Foucault]
[pages 5–8, blank]
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/09/01 (day/month/sequence).
There is some bleeding in this document from the ink on the reverse side of the page.
Interrogatory of Babette (Interrogatoire de Babette)
Transcription
Interrogatory of BabetteNo. 1882
Pre page
Delaunay
10 Octobre 1765
Interrogatoire
de la negresse nommée
Babet.
Interrogatoire fait par Nous Louis Piot Delaunaÿ
[de] La Negresse Babet [En] Vertu du decret
de prize de Corps Decerné Contrelle par Mr. foucault
faizant fonction D’ordonnateur [par] son ordonnance
En Datte de Ce Jour, Laquelle nous aÿant éte
Emménnée par Le Geolier des prizons et aprés Luÿ
avoir fait prété serment de Dire verité a été
par nous Interrogée ainsi quil en suit
Du 10. 8.bre 1765
Interrogée de son nom age qualité et Demeure
a Dit sappeller Babet appartenant a Mr. fleuriau
agée de onze ans, catholique et apostolique et Romaine. Creolle de Cette ville.
Interrogée qui est Ce qui L’avoit fait mettre en
prizon
a Dit que Cetoit un archer et quelle ne
Connoissoit pas son nom qui L’avoit fait
Eté cherché chés son maitre.
Interrogée si elle na pas été Louée au Geolier
des prizons.
a Dit qu’ouÿ.
Interrogée si elle ne Luÿ a Rien pris ni volé
a Dit Luÿ avoir volé quelques piastres Gourdes
Interrogée ou est Ce quelle avois pris les piastres
a Dit Lavoir pris dans une Málle quelle
avoit trouvé ouverte Cest a Dire sans estre
fermée a clef.
Interrogée de Ce quelle avoit fait de Ces piastres
a Dit avoir achété une Jupe de Cotton et un
Cazaquin chés Le Sr. Nicolete. et une autre
Jupe chez Made. St martin, et un Joug1 D’or
quelle a Dit avoir acheté de La Rochelle
DeLaunay, Garic Gffier
[page 2]
deuxieme
DeLaunay
tambour, un mouchoir de soÿe et un Mouchoir
Bleu, du Nommé Cassale Marchand a Coté de
La prizon. des Dragées pour Cinquante sols
chéz La Dame de Lorier et Cinquante sols de
pacanes, une paire de souliers chéz La Dame
olivier pecherit pour une piastre Gourde
Interrogée si elle a emploÿé autre argent a Dit
que non.
Interrogé Combien Luÿ avoit Couté Le Jong Dor
a Dit Luÿ avoir Couté une piastre et Deux
platilles.2
Interrogée Combien Luÿ avoit Couté La Jupe
De Cotton, et Celle dindienne
a Dit La Jupe dindiene Deux piastres Gourdes
et Celle de Cotton Cinq piastres Gourdes
et Le Cazaquin quelle a acheté chéz La Dame
seignet une piastre Gourde et une piastre en
papier
Interrogée si elle avoit volé autre choze, et
Ce quelle a fait du surplus de Largent, a dit
Lavoir tout emploÿé En Ce quelle vient de declarer
hors une piastre gourde que La femme du
Geolier Luÿ avoit pris
Interrogée si elle avoit quelque argent encore
a Dit que non quelle navoit plus Rien
qui est tout Ce quelle a Dit scavoir.
Lecture a elle faite du prezent interrogatoire
a Dit ses reponses Contenir verité et ÿ a persisté
et Na sc[ú ?] signer de Ce Enquize suivant Lordce.
Garic Gffer. DeLaunay
Surquoÿ nous Conseiller Commissaire sus dit
avons ordonné et ordonnons que Le present
DeLaunay Garic Gffer
[page 3]
Troisieme et dre
Delaunay
Interrogatoire sera Communiqué au procureur
General du Roÿ pour par luÿ Requerir Ce
quil avizera et ensuite estre ordonné Ce quil appartiendra
Donné en La chambre Criminelle a La Nlle
orleans Le Dixieme octobre mil sept Cens soixante
et Cinq Deux heures de Relevée.
Delaunay
Garic Greffer
Je Requiere Pour le Roy vu Le Present3
interrogatoire a Charge, que La
Requette de che. pivotot Plaignant
et Partie Civille Les Srs nicolet La Rochelle
cassalle et Les Dames St. martin et [des]lauriers
firent [sic] assignés Pour Etre ouis et interrogés sur les
charges enoncees dans Ledt. interrogatoire
que Les effets deposés au greffe, soient Representes
auxdts. vendeurs, et [vendeuses], pour par eux
[E]tre Repondu si ils Reconnaissent Lesdtes
marchandises Pour Etre Partie de Leur boutique
et etre interrogé Sur les Prix quils Les dit
vendus et en quelle monnaye ils ont ete
Payes. que Les dts. interrogatoires soient [ill.]
Les délais, Presents pour le lor[s] a nous communique
Etre Requis ce que de droit et Etre ordonne ce
quil appartiendra a la nlle orleans Le 10 8bre
1765
Lafreniere
Vü Linterrogatoire fait a La Negresse nommé Babet a La
Requette du nommé pivoteau Geolier Le procureur General
du Roÿ Joint; Les Concluzions du dit procureur General du
Roÿ en datte du Jour Dhÿer, et tout Consideré Nous
[page 4]
ordonnons que Les nommés Nicolets, Cassale, La Rochelle
Marchands, et Les Dames St. Martin, Seignest, et delaurier
seront assignés pour estre oüis Sur Les faits Resultants
du dit interrogatorie, et Repondre aux Conclusions que
Le dit procureur General Du Roÿ Voudra prendre Contreux.
Donné en notre hotel a La Nlle. orleans Le [ill.] onzieme
Jour de octobre mil Sept Cens soixante Cinq
Foucault
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/10/01 (day/month/sequence).
Translation
No. 1882
First page
Delaunay
10 October 1765
Interrogatory
of the negresse named
Babet
Interrogatory conducted by us, Louis Piot Delaunaÿ,
[of] the negresse Babet, [in] virtue of the decree
of bodily seizure issued against her by Mr. Foucault,
acting ordonnateur, [by] his order
of this day, who, having been
brought to us by the prison jailer and after
being made to swear an oath to tell the truth, has
been interrogated by us as follows.
10 October 1765
Interrogated as to her name, age, status, and residence?
Said she was named Babet belonging to Mr. Fleuriau,
aged eleven years, Roman Catholic and Apostolic, creole of this town.
Interrogated who it is who had put her in
prison?
Said that it was an archer [soldier], and that she
did not know his name, that she had had
been taken from her master’s.
Interrogated if she has not been leased to the prison
jailer?
Said yes.
Interrogated if she has not taken or stolen anything from him?
Said she stole some piaster coins from him.
Interrogated where she had taken the piasters?
Said she took them from a trunk that she
had found open, that is to say,
unlocked.
Interrogated what she had done with the piasters?
Said she had bought a cotton skirt and a
casaquin jacket from Sr. Nicolete, and another
skirt from Mad[am]e St. Martin, a gold joug1
that she said she had bought from La Rochelle,
DeLaunay, Garic clerk
[page 2]
Second [page]
DeLaunay
army drummer, a silk handkerchief and a blue
handkerchief from the named Cassale, merchant next to
the jail, some dragées2 for fifty sols
from Dame de Lorier, and fifty sols of
pecans, a pair of shoes from Dame
Olivier Pecherit for one piaster coin.
Interrogated if she used any other money? Said
no.
Interrogated how much the gold jong had cost her?
Said that it had cost her one piaster and two
platilles.3
Interrogated how much the cotton skirt had cost her,
and the calico [indienne]4 one?
Said the calico [indienne] skirt, two piaster coins,
and the cotton one, five piaster coins,
and the jacket that she had bought from Dame
Seignet, one piaster coin and one piaster in
paper money.
Interrogated if she had stolen anything else, and
what she had done with the surplus money? Said
she had used it all for what she has just declared,
other than one piaster coin that the wife of the
jailer had taken from her.
Interrogated if she still had any money?
Said that no that she had nothing left,
which is all that she has said she knows.
The present interrogatory was read back to her,
said her replies contained the truth and persisted in this,
and did not know how to sign, this inquired in accordance with the ordinance.
Garic clerk, DeLaunay
Upon which we, the abovenamed councilor commissioner,
have ordered and so order that the present
DeLaunay, Garic clerk
[page 3]
Third and last [page]
Delaunay
interrogatory will be communicated to the attorney
general of the king, for him to request that
which he advises, and then be ordered according to that which appertains.
Given in the criminal chamber of New
Orleans the tenth October seventeen hundred sixty
and five at two o’clock
Delaunay
Garic clerk
I request for the king, based on the present5
interrogatory, that the
request of Ch[arles] Pivotot, plaintiff,
and civil parties, the Srs. Nicolet, La Rochelle,
Cassalle, and the Dames St. Martin and [Des]lauriers,
be assigned to be heard and interrogated on the
charges articulated in the said interrogatory,
that the goods deposited in the registry be shown
to the said sellers for them
to answer as to whether they recognize the said
merchandise to be from their shop
and to be interrogated as to the price that they
sold them for and in what money they were
paid. That the said interrogatories be done
without delay, to be then communicated to us.
To be required that which by right, and be ordered according to that
which appertains, in New Orleans the 10th October
1765.
Lafreniere
Having seen the interrogatory given to the negresse named Babete, at the
request of the named Pivoteau, jailer, joined by the attorney general
of the king, the conclusions of the said attorney general of the
king dated yesterday, and the whole considered, we
[page 4]
order that the named Nicolets, Cassale, La Rochelle,
merchants, and the Dames St. Martin, [Seignelet] and Delaurier,
be assigned to be heard on the facts resulting
from the said interrogatory, and to answer the findings that
the said attorney general of the king might want to take against them.
Given in our hotel6 in New Orleans the twelfth
day of October seventeen hundred and sixty-five.
Foucault
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/10/01 (day/month/sequence).
Summonses Served on Witnesses in the Case against Babette (Assignations des témoins contre Babette)
Transcription
Summonses Served on Witnesses in the Case against BabetteLan Mil Sept cent[s] soixante cinq Et Le onzieme Jour du mois
Doctobre dix heures du matin En vertu de Lordonnance de monsieur foucault
commissaire de La marine faisant fonction dordonnateur Et premier Juge
au Conseil Superieur de La province de La Louisïanne, Et a La requeste
du nomé pivoteau geolier des prisons civilles de cette Ville y dem[euran]t.
a La nlle. orleans y Joint monsieur Le procureur general du Roy dem[euran]t.
En son hotel a La nlle. Orlean[s], je joseph maison huissier audt.
audt. [sic] Conseil Superieur de cette province residant a La nlle. orleans
soussigné ay dument Baillé assignation Et Interpellé Le Sieur
Nicolet Marchand demeurant a La nlle orleans En Sa maison de
residance ou yl fait Election de domicille parlant a sa personne
au Sieur Cassal – – – – – – – – –
au nomé La Rochelle tambour des troupes parlant a Sa personne
a La dame delaurier demte. a La nlle. orleans parlant a Sa personne
a la dame Seignet demt a La nlle. orleans parlant a Sa personne
Et ausr. St. martin demeurant a La nlle orleans parlant a Sa personne
a Comparoir aujourdhuy quatre heures de relevées En La Chambre
criminelle de Justice E[n] dites prisons de cette dte Ville pour Estre
oüi sur Les faits resultants En Linterogatoirre faite a La
Negresse Nomé[e] Babet appartenant a mr. fleuriau es autre Sur
Les quels yl plaira a mr Le procureur general du Roy Les faire
Entendre, Leurs declarant moy dt. huissier que faute par Eu[x]
Es ycelle de Comparoir yls Seront contrain Et meme Jugé
a Lamende comme yl avizera Bon Estre a monsieur Le
premier Juge dudt. conseil, fait Et delaissé Separament Copie
des presentes chez chacun dyceul Et ycelle parlant Comme dessus
a ce quil Nen ygnorre [dont] acte
J Maison
[page 2, blanche]
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/11/01 (day/month/sequence).
Translation
The year seventeen sixty-five and the eleventh day of the month
of October, ten o’clock in the morning, in virtue of the order of monsieur Foucault,
commissioner of the Marine, acting ordonnateur, and first judge
of the Superior Council of the province of Louisiana, and at the request
of the named Pivoteau, jailer of the civil prisons of this town, residing
in New Orleans, joined by monsieur the attorney general of the king, residing
in his hotel1 in New Orleans, I, Joseph Maison, bailiff of the said
said [sic] Superior Council of this province, residing in New Orleans,
undersigned, have duly subpoenaed and questioned the Sieur
Nicolet merchant residing in New Orleans, in his house of
residence, where he elects domicile, speaking to his person,
to Sieur Cassal – – – – – – – – –
to the said La Rochelle, drummer in the troops, speaking to his person,
to Dame Delaurier, residing in New Orleans, speaking to her person,
to Dame Seignet, residing in New Orleans, speaking to her person,
and also Sieur St. Martin, residing in New Orleans, speaking to his person,
to appear today at four o’clock in the criminal justice chamber
in the said prisons of this town to be
heard on the facts resulting from the interrogatory given to the
negresse named Babet belonging to Mr. Fleuriau and other[s], on
which it please the attorney general of the king to hear them,
I, bailiff, declaring to them that if they fail
to appear, they will be compelled and even
fined as advised by monsieur the
first judge of the said council. Copy
of the above made and left with each one of them, and spoken to each as above,
so that they cannot claim ignorance of the said order.
J. Maison
[page 2, blank]
Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/11/01 (day/month/sequence).
Depositions of Witnesses against Babette and Confrontation (Dépositions des témoins contre Babette et confrontation)
Transcription
Depositions of witnesses against Babette and ConfrontationNo. 1884
pre page
DeLaunay
11 octobre 1765
Depositions
de temoin
Contre la négresse
Babet.
Lan Mil sept cent Soixante cinq Et le onze octobre
de Relevéé, En vertü de lordonnance de Monsieur foucault
faisant fonction d’ordonnateur et de premier Juge Rendü Sur
les conclusions du procureur général du Roy: Nous louis piot
deLaunay conseiller audit conseil commire. en cette partie
Sommes transportés avec le Greffier à La chambre Criminelle
à L’effet de proceder aux Interogatoire des nommes Nicolet, Cassale
La Rochelle, Marchand de cette ville et les dames St. Martin[,] Seignet
et delorier, àssignéé à cet Effet par Exploit de Maison huisier
en datte de ce jour: pour Estre oüi Sur les faits Resultant de
Linterogatoire fait a la Negresse Babet àppt aus. fleuriau
et ce à la Requeste Du nommé pivoteau Geolier à luy Joint M
le procureur Général du Roy: où Etant avons procedé aux dits
Intérogatoire ainsÿ quil ensuit.
Premierement est comparü S. St. Martin auquel a nous
fait prester serment de bien et fidellement Nous dire la verité
à été par nous Interogé ainsy qu’il Suit
Interoge de son nom àge qualité et demeure
à dit Sapelle Pierre St. Martin Capne. de navire Marchand
demeurant en cette ville prêt a parti[r] pour le Cap:
Item terogé [sic] Sil connoit la negresse nommée Babet
à dit que oüi
Item terogé [sic] Sil luy à vendü quelqus [sic] Marchandises
à dit Luy avoir vendü quatre aune Dindienne et quelle Estoit
avec Marie Louise de M. fleuriau;
Item Interogé en quel monnois Elle La payé
à dit Luy avoir payé en deux piastres Gourde1 : et qu’il ne luy à
vendü que Cinquante Sols L’aune dindienne,
Interogé sil ne scait pas qu’il ést déffendü de vendre à
des Esclaves sans avoir un Billet de leur Maitre
à dit questant avec la ditte Marie Louise ayant environ douze ans
DeLaunay
[page 2]
Deuxieme
DeLaunay
et qu’il la connoissoit pour àppartenir au S. fleuriau, et que
L’objet qu’il leur à vendü estoit de peü de Consequance; ce qui
a fait qu’il ne fit point de difficulté pour luy vendre, et
que Si Elle luy Eut demande quelques choses de plus pour Lors
il luy auroit Refusé: et que le neuf [due] mois la mere de Marie
Louise luy demanda Sil navoit pas [rature] Reçü
Largent de Sa fille a quoÿ il luy Repondit que non que cestoit
Babet qui luy paya
Interogé Sil na pas demande à la ditte negresse où [elle] avoit
pris largent avec quoy Elle le payoit
a dit que non et qu’il ne luy avoit Vendü qua Linstigation de
Marie Louise: Mulatresse
Lecture à luy faite du present Interogatoire a dit sa Reponse
contenir verite ÿ a persiste et à signé.
Saint Martin
DeLaunay
Du 11 dudit
Et aussy comparü Margueritte lapierre femme de Joseph timermagne
dit delorie a laquelle avons fait prester serment de nous dire
verite, à été par nous Interogéé ainsy qu’il Suit
Interogé de Son nom àge qualité et demeure
a dit Sapeller Margueritte lapierre Epouse du S. Joseph timermagne
dit delorier cordonnie[r] en cette ville ÿ demeurant; agéé de trente trois ans
Interrogé si Elle connoissoit La negresse Babet cy presente
a dit que oüi quelle la connoist pour appartenir à M fleuriaux
Interogé Si ladte. negritte à été acheté chez Elle quelques Chose,
a dit que ces Jours passés Elle vendit a Ladte. negritte pour quatre
Écalins de dragéé. que le s. Bernard a qui appartiens la boutique
Se faisoit Razé et luy dit den donner d’un flacon qui Estoit
commencé et que dix jours avant Elle luy vendit deux cent
de paquanne
DeLaunay
[page 3]
Troisieme
DeLaunay
Intérogé enquelle monnaie La ditte negrite luy a payé
les dragéé
a dit Luÿ [aveés?] donné un Ecû de Six livres. Sur lequel Elle
Luy Remit Sept Écalins platille2 :
La negritte Babet Luy à dit que non quelle ne luy Remit que dix
livres en papier:
La dame delorier luy a Soutenu que non et luy à dit luy avoir donné
sept Escalins3 Platille en argent Blanc:
Intérogé en quelle monnais Elle luy à paye les paquannes4
à dit quelle luy a payé en un double Escalin gourde
Interogé si Elle ne scait pas sil est deffendu de Vendre
aux negres sans un Billet de leur Maître
à dit que non comme Elle ne vend Rien et qelle na point
de Boutique Elle na pas Ésté dans le Cas de scavoir les
Regles à se sujet:
Interogé Si Elle à connoissance que laditte negritte Eût
D’autre argent
a dit que non quelle ne Luy en à pas vêu que LEcû de
Six livres quelle luy à changé et que même Elle luy demandé
où Elle l’avoit pris. que ladte. negritte luy dit qu’on luy avoit donné
Lecture à Elle faite du present Interogatoire a dit Sa Reponse
contenir verite ÿ a persisté et à Signé
delaurié
DeLaunay
Est aussÿ comparü Michel Gerôme Creté dit La Rochelle auquel
avons fait prester serment de nous dire Verité, à été par
nous Interogé ainsy qu’il Suit
Interogé de son nom àge qualité et demeure
à dit Sapelle Michel Gerome Cretel dit La Rochelle àgé
DeLaunay
[page 4]
quatrieme
DeLaunay
de trente un an tambour de la Compagnie de Mr. devogne
en garnison en cette ville:
Interogé sil connoist La negritte nommée Babet
à dit que oüi qu’il La connoist pour avoir appartenü a M. huchon
et actuellement à M. fleuriau
Interogé Sil à vendü quelques choses à la ditte negresse
à dit quil luy proposa de luy vendre un Jou dor: et qu’il Luy
Vendit
Interogé en quelle monnois Elle La payé
à dit Quelle La payé en une piastre gourde et deux platille,
et que luy aÿant rendü Sept livres dix Sols5 : Elle luy Redoit
Encore dix Sol:
Interogé Sil ne scait pas qu’il est defendü de vendre aux
negres Sans un Billet de son maître
a dit que non qu’il n’en Scavait Rien. que cependant
il croit Bien que le code noir déffend de vendre ledt
aux dits negre: que le prix Éstant Si modique il ne
pensoit pas que cette petite negritte Éusse volé L’argent
avec lequel Elle la payé; au contraire il croÿoit quelle
L’avoit gagné
Lecture à luy faite du present Interogatoire à dit Sa Reponse
contenir verite y à persisté et a signe
Crettel dit Larochel
DeLaunay
Ést aussy comparü le S. jean Baptiste nicolet marchand au
quel àvons fait prester serment de nous dire verite et à été
par nous interogé
Interogé de son nom age qualite et demeure
DeLaunay
[page 5]
Cinquieme
DeLaunay
à dit sapeller Jean Baptiste nicolet Marchand de
cette ville àgé de vingt ans:
Interogé sil connoit La negritte nommée Babet:
à dit qu’il la Connoist pour estre venüe Dimanche dernier Chez luy
sur les quatres heures du soir qu’il luy demanda son nom et
quelle luy Repondit quelle appartenoit à M fleuriau
Interogé sil à vendü quelques chose a ladte. negresse
à dit Luy avoir vendü deux aunes de Cotton qui luy à été
à L’instant presenté et qu’il a Reconü, à Raison de unze
livres cinq Sols Laune
Interogé en quelle monnoie ladte. negritte luy à payé
Les deux aunes de Coton
à dit quelle luy donna Cinq piastres Gourdes Sur les quelle
il luy Remit Dix livres en papier
Interrogé Sil na point connoissance quelle Eü d’autre argent
à dit que oüi que Sa poche àÿant fait du Bruit il
Sapersut quelle avoit D’autre argent
Interogé Sil ne luy a pas vendü autre Chose
a dit que non quelle luy demanda de la toille Rouge pour
se faire une jupe mais qu’il ne luy en vendit point attendü
qu’il n’en avoit pas
Interogé Si Luy à demandé où Elle auroît pris cet argent
à Repondü que oüi et qu’il Luy dit tu as gagné cela
avec Lespagnol et quelle ne luy Repondit Rien
Interogé Sil ne scait pas qu’il est déffendü de vendre aux
negres Sans un billet de leur maitre:
à dit que Non qu’il ne scait pas S’il ést Déffendü que
d’ailleurs il se conforme aux autres marchands qui en font
autant que Luy:
Interogé Si la petite negritte Estoit Seulle
DeLaunay
[page 6]
sixieme
DeLaunay
a dit quelle Estoit avec un Enfant quelle tenoit au Col
Interogé Sil luy à vendü autre Chose
à dit que non
Lecture à Luy faite du present Interogatoire à dit Sa
Reponse contenir verité ÿ à persiste et a Signé
J. Nicollet
DeLaunay
11: 8bre 1765:
Est comparü led. Louis cassal auquel avons fait prester
Serment De nous dire verite: et à Esté Interogé par nous
ainsy qu’il Suit
Interogé de Son nom àge qualité et Demeure a d. [sic]
à dit Sapeller Louis cassal àgé de trente ans Soldat de La
compagnie de M. duplessy en garnison en cette Ville
Interoge Sil connoist la negritt Babet
à dit que oüi pour àppartenir aus. fleuriau et Estre Loüé a
Pivoteau Geolier
Interogé Sil a vendü quelques chose à ladte. Negritte
à dit ne luy avoir Rien vendü Mais Bien à une autre negrite
qu’il ne connoit pas dont Babet à dit quelle appartiens àus.
olivier nommée francoise. quelle avoit envoyé cherche un
mouchoir de soix qu’il à Reconnü pour le prix et somme
de Cinq livres que ladte. francoise luy à paÿé en piastres Gourde[s]
Interogé Sil na pas vendü autre choses aux ditte negritte
à dit que non qu’il ne leur à Rien vendü.
Interogé Sil ne sçait pas qu’il est defendü de vendre aux
negres sans un billet de leur Maitre
DeLaunay
[page 7]
Septieme et dre
DeLaunay
a dit que non qu’il n’en Scait Rien, et qu’il Croyait
quelle estoit envoyé de la part de la maîtresse Estant sur le[s] six
heure[s] du soir:
Lecture à luy faite du present Interogatoire a dit Sa
Reponse contenir verité ÿ à persisté et a declaré ne scavoir
Signé de ce Enquis Suivant lordce.
DeLaunay
Surquoy nous conseille[r] commissaire Susdit avons
ordonné et ordonnons que le present Intérogre.
Sera communique a Mr. Le procureur General
du Roy pour ÿ Prendre droit et Requere ce
qu’il àppartîendra
Donné en La chambre Criminelle de justice le unze
octobre Mil sept cent soixante Cinq
DeLaunay
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/11/02 (day/month/sequence).
Translation
No. 1884
First page
DeLaunay
11 October 1765
Deposition
of witnesses
against the negresse
Babet
The year seventeen sixty-five, and the eleventh of October.
In virtue of the order of Monsieur Foucault,
acting ordonnateur and first judge, issued based on
the conclusions of the attorney general of the king: we, Louis Piot
Delaunay, councilor of the said council, commissioner in these parts,
transported ourselves with the clerk to the criminal justice chamber
in order to proceed to the interrogatories of the named Nicolet, Cassale,
La Rochelle, merchants of this town, and Dames St. Martin, Seignet,
and Delorier, assigned to this effect by writ of Maison, bailiff,
dated this day, to be heard on the facts resulting from
the interrogatory made of the negresse Babet belonging to S. Fleuriau,
and this at the request of the named Pivoteau, jailer, joined by M.
the attorney general of the king. Whereupon we have proceeded to the said
interrogatories as follows:
First appeared S. St. Martin who has
sworn an oath to us to well and faithfully tell us the truth.
He has been interrogated as follows.
Interrogated as to his name, age, status, and residence?
Said he was named Pierre St. Martin, merchant ship captain,
residing in this town ready to depart for Cap [Français].
Interrogated if he knows the negresse named Babet?
Said yes.
Interrogated if he has sold her any merchandise?
Said he had sold her four ells of calico [indienne]1and that she was
with Marie Louise of M. Fleuriau’s.
Item interrogated in what money she paid?
Said she had paid him with two piaster coins2 and that he had
only sold her the calico [indienne] at fifty sols the ell.
Interrogated if he did not know that it is prohibited to sell to
slaves without a note from their master?
Said that she being with the said Marie Louise aged around twelve years
DeLaunay
[page 2]
Second
DeLaunay
and that he knew her as belonging to S. Fleuriau, and that
the item he had sold them was of little consequence, which
meant that he was not unwilling to sell to her, and
that if she had asked for any other things then
he would have refused her; and that the ninth of the month the mother of Marie
Louise asked him if he had not [strikeout] received
her daughter’s money to which he replied no, that it was
Babet who paid him.
Interrogated if he did not ask the little negresse where she had
taken the money with which she was paying him?
Said no and that he had only sold it to her at the instigation of
Marie Louise mulatresse.
The present interrogatory was read back to him, said his answer
contained the truth, persisted in this, and signed.
Saint Martin
DeLaunay
The 11th of the said [month]
And also appeared Margueritte Lapierre, wife of Joseph Timermagne
known as Delorie, to whom we have made swear an oath to tell us
the truth. Has been interrogated by us as follows:
Interrogated as to her name, age, status, and residence?
Said she was named Margueritte Lapierre, spouse of S. Joseph Timermagne
known as Delorier, cobbler in this town, there residing, aged thirty-three years.
Interrogated if she knows the negresse Babet here present?
Said yes, that she knows her as belonging to M. Fleuriaux.
Interrogated if the said negritte had been to buy anything from her?
Said that these days past, she sold to the said negritte four
escalins3 worth of dragées4, that the S. Bernard, to whom the shop belongs,
was being shaved and told her to give her some from a jar that was
started, and that ten days earlier she had sold her two hundredweight
of pecans.
DeLaunay
[page 3]
Third
DeLaunay
Interrogated in what money the said negritte paid her for
the dragées?
Said she had given an écu5 of six livres on which she
had given change of seven écalins platille6.
The negritte Babet said that no, that she only gave her change of ten
livres in paper money.
Dame Delorier insisted to her no and said she had given her
seven escalins platille in coins.
Interrogated in what money she had paid for the pecans?
Said she had paid her with a double escalin coin.
Interrogated if she does not know that it is prohibited to sell
to negres without a note from their master?
Said no, since she does not sell anything and does not have
a shop, she has not been in a position to know the
rules on this subject.
Interrogated if she has any knowledge that the said negritte had
other money?
Said that no, that she had only seen the écu of
six livres that she had changed for her, and that she had even asked
her where she had taken it, that the said negritte had told her that she had been given it.
The present interrogatory was read back to her, said her response
contained the truth, persisted in this, and signed.
Delaurié
DeLaunay
Also appeared Michel Gerôme Creté, known as La Rochelle, to whom
we made swear an oath to tell us the truth. Has been
interrogated by us as follows.
Interrogated as to his name, age, status and residence?
Said he was named Michel Gerome Cretel, known as La Rochelle, aged
DeLaunay
[page 4]
fourth
DeLaunay
thirty-one, drummer in the company of Mr. Devogne
garrisoned in this town.
Interrogated if he knows the negritte named Babet?
Said yes, that he knows her for having belonged to M. Huchon
and currently to M. Fleuriau.
Interrogated if he has sold anything to the said negresse?
Said that he offered to sell her a gold jou7 and
sold it to her.
Interrogated in what money she had paid for it?
Said that she paid with a piaster coin and two platilles
and that having given her back seven livres ten sols in change8, she still owed
him ten sols.
Interrogated if he does not know that it is prohibited to sell to
negres without a note from their master?
Said that no he knew nothing of that. That however
he believes that although the code noir prohibits selling [the said]
to negres, that the price was so modest that he did not
think that this little negritte had stolen the money
with which she had paid him. On the contrary, he believed she
had earned it.
The present interrogatory was read back to him, said his response
contained truth, persisted in this, and signed.
Crettel dit Larochel
DeLaunay
Also appeared [before us] the S. Jean Baptiste Nicolet, merchant, to
whom we have made swear an oath to tell us the truth, and has been
interrogated by us.
Interrogated as to his name, age, status, and residence?
DeLaunay
[page 5]
Fifth
DeLaunay
Said he was named Jean Baptiste Nicolet, merchant of
this town, aged twenty years old.
Interrogated if he knows the negritte named Babet?
Said he knows her for having come Sunday last [to his residence]
at four in the evening, that he asked her her name and
that she answered him that she belonged to Mr. Fleuriau.
Interrogated if he sold anything to the said negresse?
Said had sold her two ells of cotton that were
at this instant presented to him and that he recognized, at the rate of eleven
livres five sols the ell.
Interrogated in what money the said negritte had paid him for
the two ells of cotton?
Said that she had given him five piaster coins for which
he gave her for change ten livres in paper money.
Interrogated if he knows if she had other money?
Said yes, that her pocket made a noise. He
noticed she had other money.
Interrogated if he did not sell her anything else?
Said no, that she asked him for some red toile9with which
to make herself a skirt but that he did not sell her any because
that he did not have it.
Interrogated if he had asked her where she had taken this money?
Replied yes and that he said to her, “Have you earned this
with the Spaniard?” and that she replied with nothing.
Interrogated if he does not know that it is prohibited to sell to
negres without a note from their master?
Said that no, he does not know that it is forbidden, that
besides, he follows the other merchants who do it
as much as him.
Interrogated if the little negritte was alone?
DeLaunay
[page 6]
sixth
DeLaunay
Said that she was with a child that she held by the collar.
Interrogated if he sold her anything else?
Said no.
The present interrogatory was read back to him, said
his response contained truth, persisted in this, and signed.
J. Nicollet
DeLaunay
11 October 1765
Appeared before us the said Louis Cassal, to whom we have made swear
an oath to tell us the truth, and has been interrogated by usas follows.
Interrogated as to his name, age, status, and residence? Said
said [sic] he was named Louis Cassal aged thirty years old soldier of the
company of M. Duplessy garrisoned in this town.
Interrogated if he knows the negritt Babet?
Said yes as belonging to Sieur Fleuriau and leased to
Pivoteau the jailer.
Interrogated if he has sold any things to the said negritte?
Said he had not sold her anything but instead to another negrite
that he does not know, whom Babet said belonged to S.
Olivier, named Francoise. That she had sent for a
silk handkerchief, that he recognized, for the price and sum of
five livres that the said Francoise had paid in piaster coins.
Interrogated if he did not sell other things to the said negritte?
Said no that he did not sell them anything [else].
Interrogated if he does not know that it is prohibited to sell
to negres without a note from their master?
DeLaunay
[page 7]
seventh and last
DeLaunay
Said no, that he knows nothing about this and that he thought
she was sent on behalf of her mistress, being six
o’clock at night.
The present interrogatory was read back to him, said his
response contained truth, persisted in this and declared not knowing
how to sign, this inquired in accordance to the ordinance.
DeLaunay
Whereupon we, the above councilor commissoners, have
ordered and so order that the present interrogatory
be communicated to the attorney general
of the king for him to give orders and require
that which appertains.
Given in the criminal justice chamber the eleventh
October seventeen sixty-five.
DeLaunay
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/11/02 (day/month/sequence).
Sentencing in the case against Babette, St. Martin, Nicolet, La Rochelle, Cassale, Deslorier (Jugement contre Babette, St. Martin, Nicolet, La Rochelle, Cassale, Deslorier)
Transcription
Sentencing in the case against Babette, St. Martin, Nicolet, La Rochelle, Cassale, Deslorier[page 1]
Vu Par nous Procureur general du Roy au conseil
Superieur de cette colonie Le Proces Criminel
extraordinaire [en]suite a la Requette du ne Pivotot
avec notre [dam.]:
Contre La negresse impubere appartenant au Sr
fleuriau née Babet accusée et Enfermere [sic] es Prisons
Civilles de cette ville
et Les S. St. martin nicolet et Les ne La Rochelle et Cassal
et La ne. desLauriers deffendeurs et deffenderesses
ma Requette [ill.] que Lade. negritte fut decrette
et conduit Es Prisons civilles du 9 8bre courant
Lordonnance du Premier juge du 10 8bre courant
L’interrogatoire Subi par La de negritte pardevant M.
delaunay consr. comre. ne. du 10 8bre
Le Soit communiqué du meme jour
nos conclusions Preparatoires du meme jour
Lordonnance du Premier juge qui ordonne que Les S. nicolet
martin Les nes. La Rochelle cassalle et La nee. Deslauriers
furent assignés pour Etre ouis et interoges du 11 8bre
Lexploit dassignation du meme jour
Les interrogatoires faits auxdt. denommes du meme
jour
Le tout murement examiné
Je Requiere Pour le Roy que Les nes. nicolet et St. martin
La Rochelle, [et] La nee. Deslauriers soient declarés
[page 2]
convaincu davoir vendu Differentes marchandises
a La de. Babet negritte impubere accuse de [vol]
et [Conv]aincue de vol, sans [avoir] demandé
Le billet du maitre ou du Loue[ur] de Lade. negritte
et davoir Recu en Payement des Piastres gourdes
qui ne Peuvent jamais Legitimem[ent] etre [ill.]
appartenir aux negresses.
que Lesdt. S. nicolet et St. martin seront condamnes
a trois cent Livres damandes en lettre de Change
applicables a La maison de Charité a Reprendre
Leurs marchandises vendus et a Rendre Les Piastres
Receus quil Leur Soit defendu de jamais avoir
magasin ou Boutique dans cette ville, sous Les Peines
Les plus graves. que [rature] La nee.
deslauriers soit Banni de La ville, qu[elle] soit condamne
a Remettre Les Piastres quelle [avait] Recu[s] et [les]
marchandises deposés au greffe Remis a la maison de
charité que Les S. nicolet et S. martin soient condamnés
aux depens du [ill.]
Je consens Vu Limpuberté de la negritte Babet
[page 3]
accusé et convaincu davoir volé des Piastres
gourdes que Le chatiment soit adouci; et quelle ne soit
condamné qua cinquante quarente coups de fouet sur la
Place1; et que Ladte negritte Restera Es Prisons jusqua
ce que [ill.] maitre ait opté a abandonner
Ladt.e negritte ou a Payer Le vol de Piastres [ill.]
fait au ne. Pivotot.
Je Requiere Pour le Roy que L’arrest [ill.]
soit Lue Publie affiche et Registré es Lieux ordinaires
de cette Ville que copies collationnées en soient
envoyées dans Les Postes [ill.] Ressort du conseil
Superieur a la nlle orleans Le 12 8bre. 1765
Lafreniere
[page 4, blanche]
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/12/07 (day/month/sequence).
Ce document souffre de marques d’encre sur le verso de la page.
Translation
[page 1]
Seen by us the attorney general of the king of the Superior
Council of this colony, the extraordinary criminal procedure
initiated at the request of the named Pivotot
with our [dam.]:
against the prepubescent negritte belonging to Sr.
Fleuriau, named Babet, accused and locked up in the civil prisons
of this town,
and [against] the S. St. Martin, Nicolet, and the named La Rochelle and Cassal,
and the named DesLauriers, defendants.
My request [ill.] that the said negritte be summoned
and taken to the civil prisons, of the 9 October.
The ordinance of the first judge of the 10 October.
The interrogatory undergone by the said negritte before M.
Delaunay, councilor commissioner named, of the 10 October,
it being communicated the same day.
My preparatory conclusions of the same day.
The order of the first judge who orders that S. Nicolet,
Martin, the named La Rochelle, Cassalle, and the named Deslauriers
be assigned to be heard and interrogated, of the 11 October.
The summons in writ of the same day.
The interrogatories made of the aforementioned of the same
day.
The whole duly examined,
I require for the king that the named Nicolet and St. Martin,
La Rochelle, and the so-called DesLauriers be declared
[page 2]
convicted of having sold sundry goods
to the said Babet, prepubescent negritte accused of theft
and convicted of theft, without having asked for
the pass from the master or the leaser of the said negritte,
and of having received in payment piaster coins
that can never legitimately [ill.]
to belong to negresses.
That the said S. Nicolet and St. Martin be condemned
to a fine of three hundred livres in bills of exchange
payable to the alms house, to take back
their merchandise sold [to Babette], and to return the piasters
received. That they be forbidden from ever having their
warehouse or shop in this town under the gravest
penalties. That [strikeout] the named
Deslauriers be banished from town, that she be condemned
to give the piasters she received and the
merchandise that was deposited with the court registry to the alms house,
that S. Nicolet and St. Martin be condemned
to pay expenses.
I consent, given the impuberty of the negritte Babet,
[page 3]
accused and convicted of having stolen piaster
coins, that the punishment be softened and that she be
condemned to only fifty forty lashes of the whip in the
Place1 and that the said negritte remain in prison until
[ill.] her master has opted to abandon
the said negritte or to pay back the piasters stolen
from the named Pivotot.
I require for the king that the judgment [ill.]
be read, published, posted, and registered in the usual places
of this town, that collated copies be
sent to the outposts [ill.] in the jurisdiction of the Superior
Council. At New Orleans the 12th October 1765.
Lafreniere
[page 4, blank]
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/12/07 (day/month/sequence).
There is some bleeding in this document from the ink on the reverse side of the page.
Extract from the Registers of the Superior Council of Louisiana concerning the case and judgement against Babette, Nicolet, and St. Martin (Extrait des Registres du Conseil Superieur concernant le procès et le jugement contre Babette, Sr. Nicolet, et St. Martin)
Transcription
Extract from the Registers of the Superior Council of Louisiana concerning the case and judgement against Babette, Nicolet, and St. MartinExtrait des Registres des
audiances Du Conseil Superieur
de La province de La Louizianne
Du 12 8bre 1765
Entre Le nommé charles pivoteau Ge[oli]er des prizons
Roÿalles de Cette Ville Demandeur et accusateur
Le procureur General du Roÿ Join[t]
Vü par Le Conseil Superieur La Requette du
Demmandeur Le procureur General du Roÿ Joint
La [dt] Requette expositive qu’une Negritte apartenante
au Sr. fleuriau quil avoit a Loÿer Luÿ auroit priz
Dans un Coffre ou La Clef avoit été Laissée seize[s]
piastres Gourdes. quelle auroit emploÿé au[x] achat
de Diverses Marchandises chez d[i]fferons Marchands
a Lexception de trois piastres quelle auroit Remiz
Comme Ce Vol et particulierement Les desordres qui
Resultent des ventes que font plusieurs Marchands
aux Negres de Cette Colonie sans Billet de Leur Maitre
Le procureur General Requiere que La Negritte
nommée Babet soit decretée de prize de Corps,
Conduite és prizons Civiles de Cette ville pour ÿ estre ouie
et Interrogée Sur Les faits Resultants de charges, sur
Les noms des vendeurs, et La qualité des Marchandises
achetéez et en quelle monoÿe elles ont été paÿées
L’ordonnance Rendue sur icelle Requette par Mr.
foucault premier Juge, portant et Decernant decret
de prize de Corps Contre La negritte Babet pour estre
Conduite és prizons de Cette ville pour ÿ estre oüie et
Interrogée sur Les faits ÿ Contenir Circonstances et
Dependances, et autres sur Les quels Le procureur General
[page 2]
Voudra La faire oüir Le tout par devant Mr. delaunaÿ
Conseiller Commissaire en Cette partie pour Ensuite Le Dit
Interrogatoire Communiqué et raporté estre ordonné
Ce quil appartiendra de Droit, [Ladte.] ordonnance en datte
du dix octobre dernier: L’ecroue1 de [Ladte] Babet et son
emprisonnement du mème Jour. L’interrogatoire a elle
fait a La Requette du procureur General Du Roÿ par
Mr. Mr. [sic] Delaunaÿ Conseiller Le Dit Jour. Les Concluzions
preparatoires du procureur General du Roÿ. [rature]
meme Jour, autre sentance Rendüe Le onze suivant
par Mr. foucault premier Juge portant et ordonnant
que Les nommés Nicolet, Cassalle, La Rochelle, Le Sr. St. Martin
Les dames seignet et delaurier seront assignés pour estre oüis
sur Les faits Resultants du dit Interrogatoire, et repondre
aux Concluzions que Le procureur general du Roÿ voudra
prendre Contreux. Lexploit Dassignations Donnés
aux denommés Cÿ Dessus par Maizon huissier en datte
du onze present mois, Linterrogatoire fait a La
[R]equette du dt. procureur General du Roÿ par Mr.
Delaunay Commissaire, et separeme[nt] au Sr St. Martin
a Margueri[t]te Lapierre epouze du dit delaurier
a michel Jerome Cretel dit La Rochelle au Sr. Jean
Baptiste Nicolet et a Louis Cassal en datte du
dit onzieme du prezent Mois. Les Concluzions
Definitives du procureur General Du Roÿ, Le
Raport du dit Sr Delaunaÿ, Le tout Vü et
Murement Examiné. Le Conseil a mis ors de
Cour La[dt.] Negritte Babet comme Etant impubere
ordonne Cependant quelle sera fouétée Sur La place
et quil Luÿ sera d[o]nné vingt Coups de foüet: a Condamné
et Condamne Les sieurs nicolet et St. Martin, pour avoir
vendu a Ladte Negritte des Marchandizes Sans billet de
Son Maitre, a trois Cens Livres Damende par chacun
[page 3]
applicable au profit de La maizon de charité de Cette ville
et a Rembourcer Le priz qu’ils ont Recu pour Les dtes
Marchandizes par eux Vendüe, Lesquelles Demeure[ment]
Confisquéez au profit de Ladte. Maizon de charité
Les Condamne en outre [solidairement] aux frais et depens du procés
et Leur fait inhibitions et Deffenses de Recidiver
sous plus grande peine.
Mandons a Notre premier huissier ou sergent sur Ce
Requiz faire pour Lexecution du prezent tous actes
et exploits Requis et Necessaires de le faire Donnant pouvoir.
Donné en La chambrë de Conseil Le Douze
octobre mil sept Cens soixante et Cinq
Par Le Conseil
Garic Greffier
Lan Mil Sept cents soixante cinq Et Le quinze octobre apres2
midy En Vertu de Larr[e]t de nos seign[eur]s du Conseil Superieur
de la province de La Louizianne En datte du douze de c[e]
mois signé garic greffier Es a la requeste du nomé
pivoteau geolier des prisons civilles de La nelle. orleans
monsieur Le procureur general Jean Joseph maison
huissier audt audt. [sic] Conseil residant a La Nlle. orleans soussigne
ay Dument signifié nottifié Et Baillé Copie dudt arrest
que Dessus y autres parts au Sr. Nicolet md a La nlle.
orleans y Demeurant En Sa maison de rezidenc[e] Ru[e]
Bourbon ou yl fait Election de domicil[e] parlant a Sa
personne ce que Du Contenu Il nen pretende Cause
Dygnorranc[e], Luy faisant par Vertu Dy celuy commandem[ent]
de par Le Roy sire Et Justice de Bailler Et payer depresente[ment]
Et Sans delay Entre Les mains du greffier du Conseil où
[page 4]
a moy dt. huissier porteur de priser La somme de trois cent
Livres argent réel pour amand[e] quil a Esté condamné
par Ledt. arrest Sans prejudice de cell[e] de soixante Sept
Livres dix sols sols [sic] de frais comme appar[t] par Larresté
d[e] Compte de monsieur Le Conseiller Commissaire criminel En cette
partie que nous Luy avons Exibé En original, aussy
quatre piastre gourde Et demie qu’il a reçeu d[e] La nomé Babet
Negritte Impuber Pour Les marchandises quil Luy a vendu Les
quels ont resté au profit des peauvres, ainsy qu’il En a
plû au Conseil En ordonner. Luy declarant que faute
par Luy de ce faire yl Sera poursuit par toutes Les voÿe
Et Requiere de Justice, fais Et delaissé copie des presentes
au domicill[e] dudt. sieur nicolet parlant Comme dt. Es a
Sa personne dont acte
J. Maison
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/12/10 (day/month/sequence).
Il y a des déchirures causées par les marques de plumes recto et verso. De plus, la version numérisée par la Louisiana State Museum de ce document a par erreur placé la page une à la fin. J’ai réarrangé les pages afin qu’elles soit en ordre dans les images du manuscrit, de cette transcription, et de la traduction.
Translation
Extract of Registers of
Audiences of the Superior
Council of the Province of Louisiana
the 12th October 1765
Between the named Charles Pivoteau, jailer of the royal
prisons of this town, petitioner and accuser,
joined by the attorney general of the king.
Seen by the Superior Council the joint request
of the petitioner and the attorney general.
The said request lays out that a negritte belonging
to Sr. Fleuriau, that he [Pivoteau] had leased [from Fleuriau], had taken from him,
from a chest where the key had been left, sixteen
piaster coins that she had used for purchases
of various goods from different merchants,
with the exception of three piasters that she had returned.
Given this theft, and particularly the disorder that
results from the sales that several merchants make
to the negres of this colony without a pass from their master,
the attorney general requires that the negritte
named Babet be bodily seized,
conducted to the civil prisons of this city to be there heard
and interrogated on the facts resulting from the charges, on
the names of the sellers, and the kinds of merchandise
purchased, and in what money they were paid.
The decree rendered on this request by Mr.
Foucault, first judge, holding and issuing a decree
of bodily seizure against the negritte Babet, to be
led to the prisons of this city to be heard and
interrogated on the facts contained therein, the circumstances, and
related matters, and any others on which the attorney general
[page 2]
wishes to hear from her, the whole before Mr. Delaunaÿ,
councilor commissioner in this part, in order to then
communicate and report the said interrogatory, to be ordered
that which appertains by right. The said ordinance dated
ten October last, The registration of the said Babete and her
imprisonment of the same day. The interrogatory given to her
at the request of the attorney general of the king by
Mr. Mr. [sic] Delaunaÿ, councilor, on the same day. The preparatory
conclusions of the attorney general of the king [strikeout]
[of the] same day. The other sentence rendered on the 11th following
by Mr. Foucault, first judge, conveying and ordering
that the named Nicolet, Cassalle, La Rochelle, the Sr. St. Martin,
the Dames Seignet and Delaurier be assigned to be heard
on the facts resulting from the said interrogatory, and respond
to the conclusions that the attorney general of the king wants
to find against them. The writ of summons given
to the abovenamed by Maison, bailiff, dated
11th of the present month. The interrogatory made at the
request of the said attorney general of the king by Mr.
Delaunay, commissioner, and separately to Sr. St. Martin,
to Margueri[t]te Lapierre, spouse of the said Delaurier,
to Michel Jerome Cretel, called La Rochelle, to Sr. Jean
Baptiste Nicolet, and to Louis Cassal, dated
The said 11th of the present month. The definitive
conclusions of the attorney general of the king, the
report of the said Sr. Delaunaÿ, the whole seen and
duly examined. . The council has released
the said negritte Babet from court as being prepubescent,
orders however that she be whipped on the square
and that she be given twenty lashes of the whip. Has condemned
and condemns the Sieurs Nicolet and St. Martin, for having
sold goods to the said negritte without a pass from
her master, to a fine of three hundred livres each
[page 3]
for the benefit of the alms house of this city,
and to reimburse the price that they have received for the said
goods sold by them, which remain
confiscated for the benefit of the said alms house.
Condemns them furthermore, jointly, to [pay] the costs and expenses of the trial,
and forbids them from recidivism
under penalty of even greater sentence.
We summon our first bailiff or sergeant so
requisitioned for this purpose to do all that is required and necessary for the execution of the present act and give him authority to do this.
Given in the council chamber the twelfth
October seventeen hundred and sixty-five
By the council
Garic clerk
The year seventeen hundred and sixty-five and the fifteenth October after1
noon, in accordance with the judgement of our lords of the Superior Council
of the province of Louisiana dated the 12th of this
month signed Garic, clerk, and at the request of the named
Pivoteau, jailer of the civil prisons of New Orleans,
the attorney general, Jean Joseph Maison,
bailiff for the said the said [sic] council, residing in New Orleans, undersigned,
has duly given notice and served copy of the said judgment
as above and other parts to Sr. Nicolet m[erchan]t at New
Orleans, there residing in his house of residence on Bourbon
Street where he elects domicile, speaking to his
person of the contents so that he cannot pretend ignorance.
Giving him by virtue of this order
of the king, sire and just, to give bail and pay immediately
and without delay into the hands of the clerk of the council or
[page 4]
to me the said bailiff, bearer [of the judgment], to seize the sum of three hundred
livres in real money for the fine that he has been condemned [to pay]
by the said judgment without prejudice, that of sixty-seven
livres ten sols sols [sic] of costs, as appears on the judgement
of account of the councilor commissioner for criminal justice in this
part, that we have shown him in the original, as well as
four and a half piaster coins that he has received from the named Babet,
prepubescent negritte, for the goods that he had sold her,
which have remained [ill.] of the poor as has
pleased the council to order. Declaring [to Nicolet] that if he fails
to do so he will be pursued by all means
and recourses of the law. Done and [left?] a copy
at the domicille of the said Sieur Nicolet, speaking as said
to his person per the act.
J. Maison
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/12/10 (day/month/sequence).
There are tears in the document from the mark of the pen on front and back. In addition, the document scanned and digitized by Louisiana State Museum has erroneously placed page 1 at the end as page 4. I have reorganized correctly in the manuscript images, transcription, and translation.
Court costs for Babette (Frais pour le procès de Babette)
Transcription
Court Costs for Babettefrais pr. Babet a tenir Compte par moÿ aux
Denommés
a Mr. Delaunaÿ 35 [livres]
a Mr. Le procureur General 20 [livres] 20# [livres]
[page 2, brouillon]
[ill.] Bien avec Les
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/12/11 (day/month/sequence).
Translation
Costs for Babet, to be accounted for by me to the
following:
To Mr. Delaunaÿ 35 [livres]
To the Mr. the attorney general 20 [livres] 20# [livres]
[page 2, scrap paper]
[ill.] good with the
Source: Records of the Superior Council of Louisiana (1717–1769), Louisiana History Center, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans 1765/10/12/11 (day/month/sequence).
