Jérémie Papers
Item
Country
US
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
Plaza of the Americas, Gainesville, FL 32603, Florida
Contact information: phone number
001 (866) 281-6309
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
ask@ufl.libanswers.com
Reference number
MS Group 017
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Jérémie Papers
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Municipality of Jérémie
Date(s)
1714/1896
Language(s)
fra
Extent
27.25 linear feet (65 Boxes)
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
The Jérémie Papers consist of the records of the jurisdiction of Jérémie. They contain the archives of more than 30 notaries operating in Jérémie and outlying areas. These archives contain such legal documents as marriage contracts, wills and successions, and urban and rural real estate sales. The economic life of the inhabitants of the quartier is recorded in documents forming and dissolving partnerships, buying and selling property, and recording the property left behind upon their death.
Most of the documents in the collection date from the turbulent 1790s and have not been remitted to France, being retained in the colony.
Most documents appear to be unique copies of notarial and judicial papers for this region of modern Haiti. Like the ecclesiastical records, these civil registers from the late 1790s are not found in French archives.
The Notary Papers section includes wills of Portuguese Jews settled in the Grand'Anse area in Saint-Domingue (Haiti). See the survey of the Sephardic settlers from 1775 to 1800 based on these notary papers in Loker (1982).
Most of the documents in the collection date from the turbulent 1790s and have not been remitted to France, being retained in the colony.
Most documents appear to be unique copies of notarial and judicial papers for this region of modern Haiti. Like the ecclesiastical records, these civil registers from the late 1790s are not found in French archives.
The Notary Papers section includes wills of Portuguese Jews settled in the Grand'Anse area in Saint-Domingue (Haiti). See the survey of the Sephardic settlers from 1775 to 1800 based on these notary papers in Loker (1982).
Archival history
The University of Florida acquired the Jérémie Papers from the Austrian archaeologist Kurt Fisher in 1959.
Administrative / Biographical history
The Jérémie Papers encompasses the notarial and administrative archives of the municipality of Jérémie, located on the northern coast of present-day Haiti's southern peninsula. Under the French colonial regime, the jurisdiction of Jérémie (also known as la Grand'Anse) encompassed two parishes, Saint-Louis de Jérémie and Notre Dame du Cap Dame Marie, which were both civil and ecclesiastical divisions. Several bourgs, or small towns, existed in the outlying districts or cantons. During the 1770s and 1780s, Jérémie experienced a coffee boom, as did many other parts of Saint-Domingue that contained highlands unsuitable for sugar cultivation. In addition to coffee, many of these highland plantations grew cacao and cotton as secondary crops. A handful of sugar plantations existed on the coast near Jérémie.
Although no complete census of the Grand'Anse exists for the pre-revolutionary period, it is clear that newly arrived Africans were exceptionally numerous in the region's slave population.
Following the abandonment of Jérémie and their other positions in western Saint-Domingue in 1798, the British left the colony to the French Republican forces. The documents reflect this change in government, notably in the use of the term "citoyen" (citizen) and of the French Republican calendar; this second revolutionary period lasted until 1803. Haiti declared its independence from France the following year.
Although no complete census of the Grand'Anse exists for the pre-revolutionary period, it is clear that newly arrived Africans were exceptionally numerous in the region's slave population.
Following the abandonment of Jérémie and their other positions in western Saint-Domingue in 1798, the British left the colony to the French Republican forces. The documents reflect this change in government, notably in the use of the term "citoyen" (citizen) and of the French Republican calendar; this second revolutionary period lasted until 1803. Haiti declared its independence from France the following year.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
Access, restrictions
The collection is open for research. Researchers may need to obtain permission to handle particularly fragile records. Due to the poor condition of certain documents, photocopying may not be allowed. Patrons must seek permission from department staff prior to reproducing these items.
Digital reproductions of items in this collection are available online:
Digital reproductions of items in this collection are available online:
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2023
Bibliography
Linked resources
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