Jamaica legal document concerning an enslaved woman named Zaire
- Written by
- Gordon, Martin
- Subject of
- Valdec, Marie Anne
- Joubert, M, French
- Van Eeckhout, Nicholas Charles, German, 1751 - 1821
- Date
- February 8, 1811
- Medium
- ink on paper (fiber product)
- Dimensions
- H x W (2010.1.227a): 14 3/4 × 16 13/16 in. (37.5 × 42.7 cm)
- H x W (2010.1.227b): 14 3/4 × 16 13/16 in. (37.5 × 42.7 cm)
- Description
- Two handwritten depositions from a court case, Valdec v. Gravier in Kingston, Jamaica. Document a is Nicholas Charles Van Eeckhout’s deposition and b is a deposition given by an unidentified person with the surname of Gravier who appears to be the defendant. It appears that Doctor M. Joubert sold an enslaved woman, Zaire to Marie Anne Valdec when the British entered Port-au-Prince, Haiti during the Haitian Revolution. After this English invasion, it seems that Zaire went missing. She may have been sold to an American Captain who took her to Jamaica, or she may have ended up in Havana, Cuba.
- The two statements given on these documents relate to the same events however the accounts of the events differ.
- The first document (a) is signed at the bottom by Nicholas Charles Van Eeckhout. The back of the document has the filing notes for the case, entitled [Valdec v Gravier]. The subject matter [Deporting] is written alongside these two names. The papers were filed February 8, 1811 by Martin Gordon.
- The second document (b) is signed by the unknown individual with last name Gravier.
- Both documents are torn vertically down the middle and an additional piece of paper has been added to the back of each document as support. These missing portions leave out large gaps of writing in the depositions. The ink from the documents has also bled over time, which has expanded the script. Both documents are very frail.
- Place used
- Kingston, Jamaica, Caribbean, North and Central America
- Place depicted
- Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Havana, Cuba, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
- Cultural Place
- England, Europe
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Documents and Published Materials-Business and Legal Documents
- Type
- documents
- Topic
- British colonialism
- Business
- Colonialism
- Law
- Slave trade
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2010.1.227ab
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.