Hameau de nègres
"Negro Hamlet" (caption translation). This engraving shows several houses on a plantation near a river. Benoit described the layout of these slave houses being located "several hundred feet from various plantation buildings, and within view of the master's house or the lodgings of the watchmen, is the hamlet that is composed of many huts, constructed of wooden planks and covered with banana/plantain leaves, with a small door and two small windows. . . These houses are surrounded by palisades/fences to protect the vegetables and poultry" (p. 30). Pierre Jacques Benoit (1782-1854) was a Belgian artist, who visited the Dutch colony of Suriname on his own initiative for several months in 1831. He stayed in Paramaribo, but visited plantations, maroon communities and indigenous villages inland.
Image Title
Hameau de nègres
RegID
SI-OB-926
Date
1831
Title
Hameau de nègres
Source
"Figure 49" in Pierre Jacques Benoit, Voyage à Surinam; description des possessions néerlandaises dans la Guyane (Bruxelles: Société des Beaux-Arts de Wasme et Laurent, 1839).
Language
French
Item sets
Plantation Scenes, Slave Settlements & Houses
Spatial Coverage
South America--Suriname
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Last Updated
2-May-12; 3-Sep-19
Identifier
BEN-E