Pont, ou embarcation
"Deck, or Skiff" (caption translation). This engraving shows a flat barge covered in a thatched dome crossing a river. On the right, a white overseer observes enslaved people preparing goods to load onto the boat. Benoit explained that "each plantation along a river has a canoe which is used by the slaves, as well as skiffs which are large flat boats covered with leaves used for work, for the transport of merchandise." 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
Pont, ou embarcation
RegID
SI-OB-951
Date
1831
Title
Pont, ou embarcation
Source
"Figure 52" 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
Miscellaneous Occupations & Economic Activities
Spatial Coverage
South America--Suriname--Paramaribo
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Last Updated
3-May-12; 4-Sep-19
Identifier
BEN5a