Life and Death on the Plantations
Selected Jesuit Letters from the Caribbean

Edited and translated by Michael Harrigan

Critical Texts 68

Modern Humanities Research Association

12 April 2021

ISBN: 978-1-781889-01-5 (paperback)  •  RRP £14.99, $19.99, €17.99

ISBN: 978-1-781889-02-2 (JSTOR ebook)

Sample: Google Books  •  Access online: Books@JSTOR

EnlightenmentFrenchLetters


From the first half of the seventeenth century, missionaries of the Society of Jesus ministered to the free and enslaved populations of the French Caribbean colonies. Amongst their number were Jean Mongin (1637–1698) and Claude Breban (1695–1735), whose letters vividly depict the experience of the evolving colonial world. Writing from Martinique, and Saint Kitts (Saint-Christophe), Mongin describes his attempts to convert Protestants, his ministry to the populations of slaves and their mistreatment by colonists, as well as concerns with unorthodox spiritualities. Breban depicts the rhythms of life in the burgeoning slave colony of Saint-Domingue, with the distinctive cultural and linguistic practices – and cruelty – of its plantation environment. Mongin and Breban’s letters reflect debates about the transatlantic slave trade, and the nature of human difference, and testify to the cultural and social environment of early Creole societies.

The letters in this volume are an unrivalled source of information about the lives of enslaved people in the early modern French Caribbean. Transcriptions of manuscripts in French are accompanied by facing-page translations into English and notes.

Reviews:

  • ‘This book should be in the library of every university and college in which the history of slavery is taught.’ — Bertie Mandelblatt, Modern Language Review 117.4, October 2022, 718-19 (full text online)

Contents:

vi-vi

Acknowledgements
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.3

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vii-viii

Abbreviations
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.4

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1-35

Introduction
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.5

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36-59

Letter 1 Carcassonne, Mdc, Ms 73, fols 32r–41r.
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.6

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60-105

Letter 2 Paris, BM, Ant MS 9, fols 23r–39v.
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.7

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106-205

Letter 3 Vanves, AFSI, GBro185, fols 1r–49v.
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.8

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206-215

Letter 4 Carcassonne, MdC, MS 73, fols 79r–119v [title page, fol. 79r; letter begins fol. 80r]. Transcription from fols 79r–84r.
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.9

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216-263

Letter 5 Bourges, AdC, 2F 788.
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.10

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264-272

Bibliography
Michael Harrigan
doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k531nr.11

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Bibliography entry:

Edited, and translated by Michael Harrigan, Life and Death on the Plantations: Selected Jesuit Letters from the Caribbean, Critical Texts, 68 (MHRA, 2021)

First footnote reference: 35 Life and Death on the Plantations: Selected Jesuit Letters from the Caribbean, edited and translated by Michael Harrigan, Critical Texts, 68 (MHRA, 2021), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 Edited and Harrigan, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

Edited, and translated by Michael Harrigan. 2021. Life and Death on the Plantations: Selected Jesuit Letters from the Caribbean, Critical Texts, 68 (MHRA)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Edited and Harrigan 2021: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 Edited and Harrigan 2021: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)


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