Races of Saint-Domingue...

Conveniently enough for me, the Island of Saint-Domingue was used as an example for racial studies in our Caribbean History class! I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures, but this post is mostly for the facts...

Here's how the population breaks down numerically:

Population total: 855,000
Whites: 30,000
Freemen/Gens de couleur: 25,000
Enslaved: 800,000

notice the extreme difference in the ratio between the number of enslaved persons to the rest of the population? ...yeah.

This is why, in 1758, planters began to pass legistlation that set restrictions on the rights of others. In their minds, this would solidify a system of castes. (a major precursor to the Haitian Revolution)

Now, for the categoric breakdown of the population:

Grand Blancs: the most wealthy, all-powerful, white slave-owners.
Petit Blancs: white merchants who, though wealthy, were not quite wealthy enough to be considered "grand blancs."
Gens de Couleur: free, colored men - usually the offspring of Franco-Afro couples.
Negroes: (also known as "esclaves" or "kongos") Africans considered only as slaves.

A foremost student of islandic racial makeup was Moreau de Saint-Mery. He was born in Martinique, and educated in France. He attempted to use census papers to understand the complexities of racial categories, particularly concentrating on the "gens de couleur." He- like many- was intrigued by the striations in castes which made it acceptable for free blacks to enslave kongos.

Saint-Mery went even further in his studies, examining the different "degrees of whiteness" :
Mulatre, Quateron, Metis, Mamelouque, Quarterrone, and sans-mele. In his studies, -studies that are considered rude and racist in spots today- he seems to draw the conclusion that no matter what the degree of whiteness, these individuals were prone to promiscuous behavior and lewd, immature conduct, hinting at an instilled incivility of white creoles, african slaves, creole slaves, and freedmen. He means to say that due to the local climate, and animalistic tendancies, non-whites cannot be truststed to think beyond the pursuit of pleasure. He also mentions their physiques- concluding that Creoles are the most desirable of slaves, as they are "born with physical and moral qualities which give them superiority over [others]."

...more pictures next time!

Sources:  Saint-Mery, Moreau de. tans. by John Garrigus. "Description topographique, physique, civile, politique, et historique de le partie francais de lisle Saint-Domingue." Philadelphia, 1797.

Shaw, Jenny. "Reality of "Race" in the Caribbean." In-class Lecture. 5 October 2011.