Secrétariat d'Etat à la Marine. Correspondance à l'arrivée de la Guyane
Item
Country
FR
Name of institution (English)
National Overseas Archives
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
fra
Contact information: postal address
29 Chemin du Moulin de Testa, 13090 Aix-en-Provence
Contact information: phone number
0033 442933850
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
anom.aix@culture.gouv.fr
Reference number
COL C14
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Secretary of State of the Navy: Correspondence from Guyana
Title (official language of the state)
Secrétariat d'Etat à la Marine. Correspondance à l'arrivée de la Guyane
Language of title
fra
Creator / accumulator
Secrétariat d'Etat à la Marine
Date(s)
1651/1856
Language(s)
fra
Extent
6 linear meters (92 storage units)
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
This collection is part of the Series C of the Colonial Archives and consists of the official correspondence received by the Secrétariat d'Etat à la Marine regarding Guyana. The collection is divided into two sections: Administration dossiers and Thematic dossiers. The first section is composed of the correspondence and other documents sent by the governors, and it is organised by governor. The second section is divided into different folders containing documentation regarding different matters, including documents concerning the limits of Guyana, the abolition of slavery and the colonies of Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo, among other subjects. The documents comprised in this collection record some key moments of the history of this French colony, such as the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1763, the plan to develop and populate Guyana in 1763 to compensate for the loss of Canada, the plan to cultivate it around 1777 by the Compagnie de la Guyane, the French occupation of Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo following the American War of Independence, the agitation among slaves when the proposed abolition of slavery was announced during the Revolution, the abolition and re-establishment of slavery under the Consulate and the Empire, and the conquest of Guyana by the Portuguese in 1809.
This collection also testifies to the presence of Portuguese Jews and conversos in the territory, both as inhabitants and in business endeavours. One of the highlights is a plan presented by Juan de Yllan (alias João de Illan, João de Ilhão), a member of the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam, to French authorities in 1664, proposing the conquest of a territory near the Orénoque river (COL C14 1 F° 210, see transcription in Loker, 1983). From the same year 1664 (May 18), this collection includes a "Traitté fait entre les nations hollandoise, indiens et juifs habitants de Cayenne" (treaty made between the Dutch, Indian and Jew nations living in Cayenne) regarding the settlement in this colony (COL C14 1 F° 69). COL C14 30 F° 28 includes a prospectus of a map of French Guyana, extolling the advantages of the new colony for "Europeans, and even Jews", dating from 1763. It is also part of this collection a claim for compensation made by David Gradis on March 21, 1765. The Marquis de Marigny was to pick up 200 enslaved people at Gorée to transport them in Gradis' ship on behalf of the king to Saint-Domingue. However, the goods Gradis had shipped on his account had been seized (COL C14 28 F° 236).
This collection also testifies to the presence of Portuguese Jews and conversos in the territory, both as inhabitants and in business endeavours. One of the highlights is a plan presented by Juan de Yllan (alias João de Illan, João de Ilhão), a member of the Portuguese Jewish community of Amsterdam, to French authorities in 1664, proposing the conquest of a territory near the Orénoque river (COL C14 1 F° 210, see transcription in Loker, 1983). From the same year 1664 (May 18), this collection includes a "Traitté fait entre les nations hollandoise, indiens et juifs habitants de Cayenne" (treaty made between the Dutch, Indian and Jew nations living in Cayenne) regarding the settlement in this colony (COL C14 1 F° 69). COL C14 30 F° 28 includes a prospectus of a map of French Guyana, extolling the advantages of the new colony for "Europeans, and even Jews", dating from 1763. It is also part of this collection a claim for compensation made by David Gradis on March 21, 1765. The Marquis de Marigny was to pick up 200 enslaved people at Gorée to transport them in Gradis' ship on behalf of the king to Saint-Domingue. However, the goods Gradis had shipped on his account had been seized (COL C14 28 F° 236).
Administrative / Biographical history
The period from the 17th century to 1815 is usually referred to as the "premier empire colonial" (first colonial empire). France settled in Canada, the West Indies, French Guyana, the Regency of Algiers, Saint-Louis du Sénégal, Gorée, and Rufisque. In the Indian Ocean, it gained a foothold in Madagascar (Fort-Dauphin), in the Ile de France, and in the Ile Bourbon. In India, the French colonial empire established itself in Surat, in Pondicherry in 1673, and then in the whole Deccan peninsula. Its apogee was under the reign of Louis XV. The European wars affected the colonial empires. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 marked the first collapse of France, which lost Canada and all the settlements in Senegal except Gorée, and kept only five trading posts in India. However, France retained Martinique, Guadeloupe, the occupied part of Saint-Domingue and Saint Lucia, as well as French Guyana. The Napoleonic period saw the liquidation of the Colonial Empire. France recovered a few shreds of its former possessions under the Treaties of Paris (1814-15). It was not until 1830 that the French Empire took off again.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The collection is divided into two sections, whose records are arranged chronologically.
Access, restrictions
Digital copies of some documents are available online:
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2023
Published primary sources
Linked resources
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