Sugar and Slavery, Family and Race: The Letters and Diary of Pierre Dessalles, Planter in Martinique, 1808-1856

Johns Hopkins Studies in Atlantic History and Culture

by Pierre Dasalles, Elborg Forster (Editor), Robert Forster (Editor)

Diaries of nineteenth-century plantation managers are rare; diaries of French sugar planters are rarer still. Although such works as the diaries of Ella Gertrude Thomas and James Henry Hammond provide insight into the plantation societies of the antebellum South, virtually no contemporary source treats planter-slave relations as extensively, or presents a white planter's views on slave society in as much detail, as do the letters and diary of Pierre Dessalles. Now Elborg Forster and Robert Forster have translated and edited the most historically and socially significant portions of this unusual work. Previously available only in a four-volume French edition, these materials treat a wide range of topics, including the slave economy, management and socialization of the labor force, the role of free blacks in society, the lives led by the plantation owners, and, significantly, black-white relations before, during, and after emancipation.

Paperback

First published March 26, 1996

Reviews

[Jodie Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fascinated with this book! I picked it up to do research for a new novel that I'm writing, and I was enthralled with the day to day workings of a real sugar plantation and the records Monsieur Dessalles kept. Most fascinating were his political points of view that changed from the time he was a young man just starting out in the world with his family's plantation to the time of emancipation for Martinique near 1850. The man's attitude toward slavery was complicated; at times he seems like any other white slave owner; but at others, Monsieur Dessalles seems to care deeply for them, kicking himself for punishing his "sujets".
His attitudes toward his children is also interesting, especially with his son and his son's mulatto daughter. Dessalles' disgust of his son allowing his mixed granddaughter (whom Dessalles never recognized) in social company was nonexistent, yet Dessalles himself dined with his "favorite" sujets all the time, both his slaves and mulattos. As emancipation began to seem imminent, he even allowed the Gens de Coleurs to hold meetings on his property. And, in his old age, Dessalles was quite fond of the mulatto children in his household. The dynamic was captivating, and he himself was caught up in the drama that ran rampant across his household.
It would be interesting to find other diaries of plantation owners and see if Dessalles views were shared by the others during that time. I came away with a much better view about the whole system, political, economical, and social. I sought out to discover the true social relationships between the whites and coloreds of the time. I've seen his point of view, and now I'm looking for a point of view from the Gens de Couleurs and the mulatto classes. This book was particularly helpful for me because part of my own novel is centered in St. Pierre, Martinique, and Monsieur Dessalles describes the city and political workings quite effectively. For a historical biography, this book read more like a novel, and I found it difficult to put it down. It would make a wonderful epic movie!