Duc du Maine (slave ship)

Duc du Maine (along with the Aurore) was a slave ship that on June 6, 1719 brought the first African slaves to Louisiana. She had carried them from Senegambia.[1][2]

History
France
NameDuc du Maine
OwnerCompagnie des Indes
BuilderSaint-Malo, France
Launched1707
General characteristics
Class and typeFregat
Tons burthen320, or 365 (bm)
Length101.71 ft (31.00 m)
Beam29.86 ft (9.10 m)
Complement71
Armament20 guns mounted
Fiche de Desarmement of the first two African slave-trade ships to Louisiana, dated October 4, 1719

Voyages

The ship could carry 500 to 600 slaves.[1][2] Several voyages have been documented in the Trans Atlantic Slave Database.[3]

First voyage

The first documented slave voyage (Voyage 32884) was in 1719 under Capt. de Lauduoine.[4] began at Port Louis, France. Slaves were purchased at Whydah, and landed at Biloxi.[3] Other sources state that after three months at sea, the first landing occurred at Dauphin Island with 250 slaves.[1][2] The voyage ended in Lorient, France.[3]

Second voyage

The second voyage, (Voyage 32851), under Capt. N. Roseau with 349 slaves, arrived in March 1721.[1][2] The voyage also began in France, but the slaves were purchased in the Bight of Benin, and disembarked on the Gulf Coast.[4]

Third voyage

The third voyage (Voyage 33116) under Capt. A. de Lavigne carried slaves from West Central Africa and St. Helena to Martinique, arriving Jan. 14, 1727. Of 491 slaves, 431 were alive to disembark at Martinique; 42 out of 91 crew members died en route.[4]

See also

References
  1. Hall, Gwendolyn Midlo, Africans in Colonial Louisiana, p. 61
  2. theusgenweb.org "Immigrants to Colonial Louisiana" Archived January 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Voyage 32851, Duc du Maine (1721)". The Trans Atlantic Slave Database. Archived from the original on 2015-06-29. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
  4. "List of voyages [Duc du Maine]". Archived from the original on 2015-06-29. Retrieved 2012-02-19.

Further reading
  • Mettas, Jean, Répertoire des Expéditions Négrières Françaises au XVIIIe Siècle; Tome 2, Ports Autres que Nantes (Paris, 1984), édité par Serge et Michelle Daget.
  • Le Tréhour, Nolwenn, “La traite des Noirs lorientaise au temps de la Compagnie des Indes (1720-1770),” MA dissertation (Université de Bretagne-Sud, 1999), p. 197, 206, 216
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