Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.126- 159 art igos
French react ion t o t he menace f rom
Cabanos
and
Bonis
wit hin t he lit igious
t errit ory bet ween Brazil and French
Guiana (1 8 3 6 - 1 8 4 1 )
1Reação
f rancesa
às
ameaças
de
Cabanos e Bonis no t errit ório lit igioso
do Amapá (1 8 3 6 - 1 8 4 1 )
DOI: ht t p://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2236- 463320161408
Débora Bendocchi Alves
Inst it ut o de Hist ória Ibérica e Lat inoamericana (IHILA) Faculdade de Hist ória da Universidade de Colônia, Colônia, Alemanha dbendocc@ uni- koeln.de
Abst ract : This art icle will analyze an hist orical episode t hat occurred bet ween 1836
and 1841 during t he French occupat ion of t he disput ed t errit ory locat ed bet ween Brazil and French Guiana. I int end t o consider t wo regional fact ors t hat influenced t he decision of bot h t he Cayenne Government and t he met ropolit an government t o build milit ary fort s in t he region. Such fact ors are t he Cabanagem and t he at t empt s of black Bonis t o set t le in Lower Oiapoque. I will go on t o show t hat t he French wit hdrawal from Amapá Lake in 1840, but not from t he post on t he right bank of t he Oiapoque River, was due not only t o int ernat ional and diplomat ic fact ors but also had regional causes. Not wit hst anding t he French government 's int erest s in expanding t he t errit ory of it s Sout h American colony, I want t o draw at t ent ion t o t he t hreat s - real or fict it ious - of Cabanos, from Brazil, and black Bonis, from Dut ch Guiana.
Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.126- 159 art igos Resumo: Gost aria de ampliar nest e art igo a análise de um episódio hist órico ocorrido
ent re 1836 e 1841: a ocupação francesa do t errit ório lit igioso sit uado ent re o Brasil e a Guiana Francesa. Pret endo considerar dois fat ores regionais que, a meu ver, influenciaram a decisão t ant o do governo de Caiena como do governo met ropolit ano de const ruir fort es milit ares na região. Tais fat ores são a Cabanagem e as t ent at ivas dos negros Bonis de se inst alarem no baixo Oiapoque. Ent endo t ambém que a ret irada francesa do lago do Amapá, em 1840, mas não do post o à margem direit a do rio Oiapoque, se deva não só a fat ores int ernacionais e diplomát icos como t ambém a quest ões de ordem regional. Não querendo negar os int eresses do governo de Paris de expandir o t errit ório de sua colônia sul- americana, pret endo chamar a at enção para as ameaças reais ou fict ícias dos Cabanos2 e dos negros Bonis, provenient es da Guiana
Holandesa.
Keywords: Brazil- French Guiana border; Cabanos and Bonis; runaway slaves
Palavras- chave: front eira Brasil- Guiana Francesa; Cabanos e Bonis; escravos fugidos.
1 . Int roduct ion
During my readings about t he conflict s bet ween t he Empire of Brazil and France, concerning t he nort heast ern border of t he Guianas in t he middle of t he XIX Cent ury, I have encount ered brief narrat ives about t he French occupat ion, in 1836, of t he t errit ory considered by t he Treat y of Ut recht (1713) as belonging t o Port ugal and lat er t o Brazil, but according t o t he Treat y of Amiens (1802), it was considered as French. Init ially, in 1835, t he French claimed t he est ablishment of a milit ary deployment in t he Amapá Lake for t he civil conflict which was devast at ing Pará. Hencefort h, t hey had t he need t o solve t he issue of t he limit s, which was pending for cent uries.3
2 About t he meaning of t he expression Cabano, see t he works of LIM A, Leandro M ahalem. Rios
Vermelhos. São Paulo: Faculdade de Filosofia, Let ras e Ciências Humanas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2008, Tese (M est rado em Ant ropologia). It is int erest ing t o not ice t hat Caet ano da Silva, in 1860, did not use t he expression Cabano t o designat e t he rebels. He referred t o t hem as a bunch of insurgents from t he inner part of t he province. SILVA, Joaquim Caet ano da. O Oiapoque e o Amazonas: uma quest ão brasileira e francesa. Campinas: IFCH UNICAM P/ Secult , 2010. (4° edição organizada e coordenada por Paulo M iceli e Janaina Camilo).
Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.126- 159 art igos
In my opinion, when evaluat ing t he causes of t he est ablishment , in 1836, of a French milit ary force in a t errit ory considered as belonging t o t he Empire of Brazil, t he Brazilian hist oriography focused t heir analysis in t he imperialist int ent ions of France, considering t he int erest s of t errit orial expansion of t he count ry in t he American cont inent . Such int erpret at ion is mainly based on t he works of Duart e da Pont e Ribeiro, who, in 1842, had writ t en t hat t he French audacit y had no limit s and t he count ry, with t he rebellion in 1835 in t he province of Pará, found t he opport unit y t o bring back t he old commit ment t o expand t heir colony up t o t he Amazon River. In his Det ailed St at ement , Pont e Ribeiro explained t horoughly t he diplomat ic cont roversies bet ween bot h empires, considering t hat t he French have used t he rebellion in Pará (1835- 1840) simply as an excuse for t he need t o prevent t he cont act of t he anarchist s wit h t he inhabit ant s of t he French Guiana.4 Even in t he excellent work of Joaquim Caet ano da
Silva, et Quest ion Brésilienne et Française, published in Paris, in 1861,5 where t he aut hor chronologically rebuilds each diplomat ic st ep of t he conflict ,
t he causes of t his episode of hist ory are rest rict ed only t o t he French expansionist ambit ions. This int erpret at ion will be resumed by Art hur Reis and prevails pract ically t o t he present day.6 As t he analysis of t he aut hors seemed t o be very simplist ic and
unilat eral, I decided t o ref er t o t he primary sources, especially t he French ones, and t he geographical maps.
Rereading t he official document s from t hat t ime, it can be not ed t hat , besides Cabanagem, t here were ot her bordering fact ors which cert ainly contribut ed t o t he French decision of est ablishing milit ary post s in t he t errit ory considered t o be Brazilian, t hat is, bet ween t he Oiapoque and Amazonas Rivers. I consider t he several unsuccessful negot iat ion at t empt s of t he Bonis from t he Dut ch Guiana wit h t he Cayenne Government , bet ween 1836 and 1841, in order t o set t le in t he Camopi River, a t ribut ary of t he Oiapoque River, as one of t he reasons t hat led t he governors from Cayenne t o t ake act ions t o, as t he governor Laurens de Choisy used t o say, prot ect t he
4 RIBEIRO, Duart e da Pont e. Exposição circunst anciada do est ado das negociações ent re o Brasil e a
França sobre t errenos cont est ados pelo lado do rio Oyapock. Rio de Janeiro, 4 de março de 1842. Bibliot eca Nacional. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Seção de M anuscrit os.
5 SILVA. Op. Cit ., p. 149- 161.
Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.126- 159 art igos
Guiana resident s7 and avoid t he proliferat ion of ideas of freedom and rebellion among
t he French slaves.8 In 1836, Choisy est ablished a milit ary post in t he biggest island of
t he Amapá Lake9 t o avoid, as he said, t he arrival of t he Pará insurgent s in t he Guiana;
in 1837, he inst alled a garrison in t he island of Cafésoca on t he French side of t he river - and, in 1838, t he Bot t om Post , named as M alouet Fort from 1840 on, on t he right bank of t he Lower Oiapoque River, bot h t o prot ect t he resident s of t he forays of black Bonis.10 Furt hermore, on t he part of t he Guiana governors11, t here was t he idea
t hat it was necessary t o colonize t he Sout h region of Oiapoque, once t hey considered it rich and appropriat e for t he economical development of t he colony. For t hem, t herefore, besides t he funct ion of prot ect ing t he French set t lers from t he Pará rebels, t he Amapá milit ary post should serve as a base for t he beginning of a French set t lement in t he area.
Primarily, wit h t his art icle, I int end t o reconsider t he mult iplicit y of fact ors leading t o diplomat ic conflict s bet ween Brazil and France, t hen seeking t o int egrat e and connect t he different dimensions of t his bordering experience. Such dimensions influenced t he long process of demarcat ion of t he nort heast ern border of t he Amazon and, consequent ly, t he movement of t he local populat ion who, in t heir own way, knew how t o use t his vast area in disput e for a long t ime and for t heir own profit . I do not int end t o get int o t he mat t er of land right s, regulat ed by t he several int ernat ional t reat ies, nor int o t he mat t er of t he lengt hy process of demarcat ion of t he border bet ween Brazil and t he French Guiana, which only t ook place in 1900. I will look only
7 In French, habit ant s refer t o t he land owners in t he document s present ed in t his art icle. In 1832 t here were 469 habit ant s propriet aires, and only 82 were considered as big landowners wit h more t han 100 slaves. FOUCK, Serge M am Lam. La Guyane française au t emps de de et de la francisation (1802- 1946). Guadeloupe: Iris Rouge Edit ions, 1999, p. 11.
8 CHOISY, Laurent . Let t er t o t he M inist ry of t he Navy and t he Colonies, January 12t h, 1836. Archives Nat ionales - M er (ANOM ), Fonds M inist ériel (FM ), Série Géographie (SG), cart on GUY 10, Dossier A3 (02).
9 WALCKENAE, Barão de. M émoire sur les nouvelles découvert es geographiques fait es dans la Guyane Française et sur le nouvel ét ablissement formet à de M apa. Nouvelles Annales des Voyages. Dix-neuvième année, 1837, p. 11.
10 HURAULT, Jean. Hist oire des noirs réfugiés Boni de la Guyane française. Revue française
- mer, t ome 47, n. 166, premier t rimest re, 1960, p. 76- 137.
Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.126- 159 art igos
int o t he event s concerning t he border region bet ween 1835 and 1841. Even t hough t he object ive of t his art icle is not t o deal wit h Cabanagem, some lines about t he movement will help t he reader t o cont ext ualize and bet t er underst and t he primary sources consult ed.
2 . Cabanagem and it s f act s
Cabanagem, in Grão- Pará, is one of t he so- called rebellions of t he Regency Period (1831- 1840), being considered by many hist orians as t he most remarkable, st ressful, conflict ing and bloody movement occurred in Brazil.12 It was t he longest
rebellion of t he period against t he Imperial Government and it reached up a vast area of t he nat ional t errit ory. It was t he only one where t he rebels cont rolled, for a long t ime, t he st at e apparat us of t he province and had t aken t he capit al, Belém, for t hree t imes. Among all rebellions of t he period, t his was t he one put t ing more at risk t he t errit orial int egrit y of t he Empire, being brut ally repressed by t he cent ral government .13
Since t he beginning of t he 19t h cent ury, t he Amazon region was t he st age for rebellions and int ernal upheavals arising from t he polit ical and economical dissat isfact ion of t he regional Brazilian elit e aft er t he Independence of Brazil and/or t he exploit at ion and enslavement of t he indigenous, mixed races, and black populat ion of t he province.14 Cabanagem was a movement wit hout a well- defined beginning and
end, but we can say t hat t he acut e st age began in January 1835 and ended in 1840/41.15
The unpopularit y of Bernardo Lobo de Souza, president of t he province since 1833, was int ensified when he decided t o recruit t he "inconvenient " element s, t hat is, t he opponent s of t he government for t he Army or t he Navy Forces of t he Empire. In January 7t h, 1835, t he president and t he weapons commander of t he province, bot h
12 PRADO JÚNIOR, Caio. Evolução Polít ica do Brasil e out ros est udos. São Paulo: Ed. Brasiliense, 1977 (1° edição, 1933), p. 69; CLEARY, David. Allt oget her t o t he Civilized Race and t he Cabanagem in Nort hern Brazil, 1750 t o 1850. Comparat ive St udies in Societ y and Hist ory, v. 40, n. 1, Jan. 1998, p. 109- 135; HARRIS, M ark. Rebellion on t he Amazon: The Cabanagem. Race and Popular Cult ure in t he Nort h of Brazil, 1798- 1840. New York: Cambridge, 2010.
13 CLEARY, Op. Cit ., p. 111- 112.
14 About t he Cabanagem hist orical background: PINHEIRO, Luís Balkar Sá Peixot o. De vice- reino à Província: t ensões regionalist as no Grão- Pará no cont ext o da emancipação polít ica brasileira. Somanlu. Revist a de Est udos Amazônicos, v.1, n, 1, 2000, p. 83- 107,
Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.126- 159 art igos
designat ed by t he Regency, were murdered by organized groups which invaded Belém from Acará. Felix Clement e M alcher, one of t he leaders of t he rebellion, became president of Pará and Francisco Vinagre was appoint ed as Weapons Commander. The rebellion sit uat ion in t he province was not relieved by t he seizure of power by M alcher, a large mill and slaves owner. Due t o disput es bet ween int ernal fact ions of t he movement , M alcher was murdered in February 1835, and Francisco Vinagre was designat ed as t he second president of t he province. The insurgent s could keep in power up t o t he designat ion of t he M arshal M anuel Jorge Rodrigues by t he Empire, in June 26t h. The sit uat ion got w orse wit h t he bat t les in August 1835, when 70 whit e people were slaught ered in t he cit y of Vigia. As of t he mid of t he year, t he violence would reach t he inner part of t he province, wit h an openly racial cont ent . Several black slaves murdered t heir mast ers and ran away, most ly t o t he island of M arajó.16 M arshal
Rodrigues, wit h t he help of t he legalist ic t roops sent by t he Regency, t ried t o prevent t he rebels t o st ep forward, albeit wit hout success, being obliged t o leave t he capit al and set up t he Legalist ic Government in t he island of Tat uoca. Francisco Vinagre died during t he bat t les in August and Belém was under t he command of t he young Eduardo Nogueira Angelim, one of t he leaders of t he rebels t hat could remain in t his post for nine mont hs. In M ay, 1836, Angelim and his group were forced t o leave Belém due t o lack of ammunit ion, as t he imperial government had blocked t he cit y, wit h t he help of foreign fleet s. In April 19t h, 1836, M arshal Rodrigues was replaced by t he Brigadier Francisco José de Sousa Soares who arrived t o t he island of Tat uoca and t ook over t he province presidency. Born in Port ugal, Soares arrived wit h a naval force and a t roop comprised of 800 men. Coming from Pernambuco, a brigade of t he Army, wit h 500 men, joined t hem. Since t hen, t he peace process - or, according t o several hist orians, a war of ext erminat ion - began,17 originally in t he capit al and t hen
in t he count ryside. Soares decimat ed t he insurgent s under t he Angelim command, arrest ed Angelim and his brot hers, and st art ed t o put t he cit y of Belém in
16 For more informat ion about t he presence of black people in t he Cabano movement , see, among ot hers, t he works of SALLES, Vicent e. O Negro no Pará, sob o regime da escravidão. Rio de Janeiro, FGV e UFPA, 1971; PINHEIRO, Luiz Balkar. Nos subt errâneos da revolt a: t rajet órias, lut as e t ensões na Cabanagem. São Paulo: PUC- SP, 1998, Tese (Dout orado em Hist ória); BEZERRA NETO, José M aia. Ousados e insubordinados: prot est o e fugas de escravos na Província do Grão- Pará - 1840/1860. Topoi, Rio de Janeiro, v. 2, 2001, p. 73- 112.
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order: he creat ed a police force, a cavalry squadron and split t he province in nine milit ary commands; he also creat ed t he Body of Employees (Corpos de Trabalhadores), enlist ing all unemployed, among t hem t he rebels which were not criminals. As we will see furt her, t he province was considered pacified f rom t his moment on, alt hough t here were st ill rebel groups in t he inner part of t he Amazon. In M arch 25t h, 1840, wit h t he surrender of t he last leader of t he rebels, Jorge de M agalhães, Cabanagem was considered as finished.18
This art icle is not int ended t o address t he different analyses about who were t he Cabanos and what t hey were claiming. In general, we can say t hat t he rebels belonged t o several social groups: a regional elit e wit h people born in Brazil, Tapuias19, several
indigenous groups, black slaves and freed people and many ot her people of mixed races.20 Those different segment s of societ y in Pará oft en present ed a diverse polit ical
ideal from one anot her. Leandro Lima believed t hat t he leaders of t he movement fought t o ban t he Luzo- Brazilians and ot her occupant s of t he main administ rat ive posit ions in Grão- Pará. The rebels from t he count ryside t ried t o keep or (re)creat e t he forms of socio- polit ical- cosmological organizat ion, which were different from t he refoundat ion of t he St at e aimed by t he Cabano leaders.21 In relat ion t o t he
part icipat ion of black people, bot h slaves and freed, Bezerra Net o st at es t hat "t he support ers of general and unrest rict ed freedom for everyone used t o see t he movement in t heir own way, t rying to inject radicalism t o it , differing from t he moderat e sect ors of t he Cabanagem".22 Therefore, t he Cabanos formed a het erogeneous group,
comprised of people from different origins and socio- cult ural format ions, wit h different claims and object ives.
18 M agda RICCI made a great summary of t he fact s and a bibliographical overview about Cabanagem in t he art icle Llagas de guerra y act os de fe polít ica: La en la narrat iva hist oriográfica y ant ropológica. Bolet ín Americanist a, Año LXII, 1, n. 64, Barcelona, 2012, p. 33- 57.
19Tapuias or t apuios were t he indigenous people who inhabit ed t he region for one or more generat ions and who spoke t he Amazon general language, Nhéengat ú. They passed t hrough all t ypes of forced label. LIM A. Op. Cit ., p. 295.
20 About t he groups involved in t he movement , especially from t he Amazonian inner part , see: HARRIS, M ark. Op. cit .
21 LIM A. Op. Cit., p. 241.
Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.126- 159 art igos 3 . Of f icial Brazilian and French document s
3 .1 . M inist ry and Government Report s f rom t he province of Pará
The first reference about t he decision of t he French government t o occupy t he sout hern part of t he Oiapoque River can be seen in a report called "Relat ório do M inist ério dos Negócios do Est rangeiro do Brasil" (Report of t he Brazilian M inist ry of Foreign Affairs), from 1835. It is recorded t hat t he Brazilian Government asked for an explanat ion about t he order t he M inist er of t he French Navy sent t o t he Guiana, commanding t he provisional est ablishment of a milit ary post on t he right bank of t he Oiapoque River. The Duke of Broglie, Chairman of t he Board and French M inist ry of Foreign Affairs, by means of his Envoy, sent t o t he Brazilian court , provided "t he clarificat ion t o t he Imperial Government which was accept ed at t hat t ime due t o t he st age of t he rebellion occurring in t he province of Pará".23 It was accept able t hat t he
French Government want ed t o "preserve t he French owners about t he bloody upheavals happening in t he province of Pará." 24
In 1836, t here was an addendum in t he just ificat ion of t he French Government for t he same fact . According t o t he report :25
It is preserved, yet , t he provisional est ablishment t hat t he government of His M ajest y, King of t he French, det ermined t o be made on t he right bank of t he Oiapoque River; and, alt hough t he Brazilian M inist er in Paris and t he President of t he Province of Pará had demanded t he wit hdraw al of t he milit ary post , t he M inist er of Foreign Affairs of His M ost Christ ian M ajest y did not agree wit h t his complaint , not only t o prot ect t he French propert ies, because of t he rest less st at e of t he province, but also because of t he need t o set t he boundaries bet ween t he Empire and t he French Guiana. The Imperial Government , having given t he appropriat e inst ruct ions t o t he M inist er in Paris, expect t hem t o get t he best result .26
In 1835, t he est ablishment of a provisional post was due t o t he upheavals in t he province of Pará, a just ificat ion considered as credible and accept able by an enslaving monarchist . From 1836, t he explanat ion included t he issue of t errit orial boundaries, a just ificat ion not accept ed by t he Brazilian Empire. It is int erest ing t o not ice t hat t he
23 M inist ry of Foreign Affairs, M inist er José Ignácio Borges. Report from t he year of 1835, present ed t o t he Legislat ive General Assembly during t he Ordinary Session in 1835. Published in 1836.
24 SILVA. Op. Cit ., p. 150.
25 To simplify t he reading, I updat ed t he ort hography of t he primary sources.
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Brazilian hist oriography dat es as 1836, and not 1835, as t he beginning of t he disagreement bet ween t he Government of bot h count ries, because it was only from 1836 on t hat t he French st art ed t o require t he set t he boundaries, an out st anding issue for cent uries.27 Whilst t he issue is based on t he prot ect ion of t he French subject s
against t he rebels in Pará, t he French could count on t he underst anding of t he Brazilian aut horit ies. The conflict was only a part of t he diplomat ic agenda when it insert ed t he issue of t he border demarcat ion.
According t o t he Brazilian government , in 1837, t he Pará province was pacified, t he order had been est ablished in t he most part of t he t errit ory, mainly in t he locat ions which were cont iguous to t he French colony. As the official reasons present ed by t he French for t he occupat ion were suspended,
...t he Empire Government decided t o draw t he at t ent ion of t he Envoy Ext raordinary and M inist er Plenipot ent iary of His M ajest y t he King of t he French alongside t he Imperial Court about t he out st anding condit ion of t hat port ion of t he Brazilian t errit ory, willing t o end and conclude t he discussion of t his serious mat t er; which became more complicat ed aft er t he idea t o include t his mat t er of fact wit h t he boundaries issue...28
In t he Report from 1838, it can be observed t hat Brazil cont inued t o required t he wit hdrawal of t he French soldiers from t he Brazilian t errit ory, but , from t his year on, t he minist er ment ioned milit ary post s, in plural form. Thus, we can assume t here were more t han one post . To prove t hat t he lands bet ween t he Oiapoque and Amazon Rivers belong t o Brazil, t he 8t h Art icle of t he Treat y of Ut recht (1713) was always ment ioned, and also t he Vienna Treat y (1815) and t he 1817 Paris Convent ion, wit hout result . The French insist ed in t he demarcat ion of boundaries, considering t he t errit ory where t he milit ary post s were locat ed as belonging t o t hem, and t heir allegat ions were based on t he Treat y of Amiens, from 1802.
It is int erest ing t o not e t hat , alt hough t he annual report s from 1837 on stat ed t hat t he order was rest ored in Pará, and, t herefore, t he French allegat ions were no longer just ified, it is clear t hat t he sit uat ion was no good, according t o t he speech of t he President of t he Pará province. Even t hough highlight ing t he relat ive peace in t he
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province, Soares d'Andrea, President of Pará, accused t he persist ence of rebel movement s in cert ain areas. During his speech in M arch 2nd, 1838, he said he was able t o pacify t he capit al, t he ent ire part including t he Salgado coast t o M aranhão, t hat he conquered t he large Joanes Island, arrest ed t he main rebels and prepared t o achieve peace for t he whole area of t he Lower Amazon. He said t hat , at t hat t ime, everyt hing was calm, except t he Tapajós and Curuá Rivers, and some point s or channels around Breves, where small rebel groups could easily shelt er and hide, because of t he small number, dist urbing t he peace.29 Therefore, even if t he rest orat ion of peace in Pará
appeared in t he annual report s of t he M inist ry of Foreign Affairs, t he French had t heir own reasons t o remain in t he t errit ory for securit y reasons, based on t he local sit uat ion.
In relat ion t o t he border issues wit h t he French Guiana, Soares accused t he French once again. According t o his own words:
The French Government , t aking advant age of t he Brazilian frailt y due t o t he polit ical upheaval and, mainly, t o t he ext inct ion of t he Armed Force, which has caused enormous t ragedies, brought back old pret ensions, t hat t oday are unfounded, about t he boundaries; and claiming t hat t he Oiapoque boundaries were around t hree degrees t o t he sout h of t he river bank, he required a st rong deployment of t wo hundred front line men and t wo warships in Amapá, using as an excuse for t his expressed invasion t he int ent ion t o ensure t hey were against t he communicat ion of t he beginnings of a voracious anarchy t hat w as devast at ing Pará.30
In 1838, t he M inist er of Foreign Affairs asked t he represent at ive of t he Brazilian Empire in Paris t o urgent ly require t he wit hdrawal of t he milit ary post s of t he French Government , ot herwise he would not negot iat e t he borders, as proposed by t he Tuileries office.31 The pressures of t he Brazilian diplomacy seemed t o be effect ive,
because t he 1839 Report shows t hat t he French Government decided t o leave t he post in Amapá and, as agreed, t hey would be in charge of t he designat ion of t he boundaries commissioners, expect ing equal measure from Brazil, aiming t o execut e a definit ive demarcat ion, according t o t he Convent ion as of August 28t h, 1817. The M inist er
29 Speech of t he President of t he Pará Province in t he 1st Session of t he Provincial Assembly, in M arch 2nd, 1838. Sant os Rest ored Typography (undat ed).
30 Ibidem.
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ensured t hat t he Empire Government would st art t he demarcat ion, as soon as t he Brazilian t errit ory was complet ely unoccupied by t he French.32 In 1840, M inist er
Aureliano de Souza Cout inho highlight ed t hat t he French Government had det ermined t he full evict ion of t he t errit ory, but t hey did not designat e t he commissioners t o est ablish t he boundaries. The Brazilian government had already designat ed t heir commissioners, but t hey considered appropriat e t o wait for t he official informat ion t hat t he French Government had indicat ed t heir own commissioners and t hat t hey were close t o leave t o t he Guiana.33 The 1841 report regarding t his issue is exact ly t he
same from t he 1840 t ext , which clearly means t hat t he sit uat ion did not change.34
Even t hough t here were no ment ions t o t he issue wit h t he French, in July 10t h, 1840, t he evacuat ion of t he Amapá post had been complet ed35 and, in July 1841, wit h t he
int ervent ion of t he Great Brit ain, according t o Pont e Ribeiro, and wit h t he Brit ish pressure, t he neut ralizat ion of t he t errit ory disput ed bet ween Brazil and France was agreed.36
(α) M ap of t he M acari and Amapá lakes (wit h t he Choisy Island, where t he milit ary post w as built ). Cayenne, July 15t h, 1836. Archives Nat ionales - M er, 14DFC/865/B
32 M inist ry of Foreign Affairs, M inist er Caet ano M aria Lopes Report from t he year of 1839, present ed t o t he Legislat ive General Assembly during t he Ordinary Session in 1840.
33 M inist ry of Foreign Affairs, M inist er Aureliano de Souza Cout inho. Report from t he year of 1840, present ed t o t he Legislat ive General Assembly during t he Ordinary Session in 1841.
34 In his M emoir, in June 6t h, 1841, Gourbeyre, governor of t he French Guiana, st at es t hat t he post of t he Amapa Lake had been evacuat ed by t he French in July 10t h, 1840. ANOM , GUY 3, Dossier A12 (8). 35 SILVA. Op. Cit ., p. 160.
Almanack. Guarulhos, n.14, p.126- 159 art igos 4 . French M inist erial Report s and Newspapers
4 .1 . Cabanagem in t he French newspapers
As of June 2nd, 1835, t he Le Havre newspaper announced t he civil war in Pará, highlight ing t he shoot ing of M alcher and t he horrors t hat t ook place in February and beginning of M arch. It described t he sit uat ion of t he unfort unat e Pará inhabit ant s, who had t o emigrat e t o anywhere, because t hey believed t here would be a new bat t le wit h t he arrival of an expedit ion being prepared in M aranhão. Such expedit ion, t o be sent by t he Rio de Janeiro Government , would be composed of one frigat e and t hree warships. The M essager, journal, as of July 7t h, 1835, ment ioned t he at t it ude of t he Emperor [sic], who could rest ore t he order in t he Province, by sending a Brazilian division composed by several ships and 800 men aboard, upon orders of t he commander Taylor. Aft er t hree days of negot iat ions, General José [sic] Rodrigues landed in t he cit y, wit h 480 men, t aking ownership.37 As of June 26t h, former president
Vinagre surrended. The art icle st at ed t hat t his was t he end of t his insurrect ion, which last ed six mont hs. However, t he M oniteur du Commerce released t wo days aft er t hat recalled t he st eps of t he insurrect ion and draw t he at t ent ion for t he fact t hat t he whit e people in Pará was diminishing each day, due t o t he deat hs and emigrat ion. As of August 24t h, 1835, M oniteur du Commerce, unlike t he M essager, did not ment ion t he st at e of peace, but t he fact t hat t he rebels were already prepared t o fight against t he forces sent t o Rio de Janeiro. In t he cit y of Belém t here was lack of foodst uff and t here were t wo French warships in t he locat ion, t o prot ect t he consul and t he ot her count rymen, aft er t he house of t he diplomat M r. Diniz Crouan was invaded.38 The
event s in Grão- Pará concerned t he French aut horit ies and were highlight ed by t he press, but only in 1836 t he insurgent s were ment ioned more accurat ely. In t he Le M oniteur du Commerce newspaper from January 21st , 1836, t he highlight was about t he horrors made by Vinagre, who arrived in t he cit y wit h a group of indigenous
37 This w as M arshal M anuel Jorge Rodrigues and his main ally, John Taylor, Brit ish mercenary hired by t he Brazilian Empire t o fight t he rebels. CLEARY. Op. Cit ., p. 123.
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people, commit t ing t he most t errible act s of violence.39 In t he issue from January 23rd,
t here was a descript ion of Belém as being an anarchy, and t hey again blamed t he indigenous people for t he various massacres t o t he inhabit ant s. However, t he issue from M arch 7t h of t he same year st at ed t hat t he insurgent s were organized in t roops formed by indigenous and black people, and, due t o t he upheavals in t he province, 200 people from Pará had already emigrat ed t o Cayenne. The art icle also ment ioned an ext raordinary credit of some millions of francs t hat t he M inist er of t he Navy and t he Colonies had asked t o t he House of Represent at ives, including in t his amount 116 t housand francs for improvement s of t he defense of t he borders bet ween t he Guiana and Pará. According t o t he art icle, t he Guiana, w it h a weak garrison wit h only 460 men, was at high risk and should be prot ect ed against t he indigenous people from Pará, who had already dest royed t he whit e populat ion of t he province. In consonance wit h t he M inist er, t he 116 t housand francs would be used for bringing a t roop wit h 160 men t o Guiana, and a part of it would be sent for t he advanced post wit hin t he old boundaries of t he Amazon. The newspaper believed t hat t he French Empire should prot ect t heir subject s from t he rebels of Pará, increase t he garrison of t he colony and t ake t he t errit ory belonging t o t hem for years.40
It is difficult t o know which was t he exact meaning of t he word "indigenous" for t he newspapers. The French newspapers, bet ween 1835 and 1836, did not define t he rebels as Cabanos, but as a rebel group composed by Tapuias indigenous and some black people, fight ing against whit e people and public order.41 At t he t ime, probably
t he source for news about t he event s in Belém were t he French consul document s. The int erpret at ion about t he groups involved in t he insurgency was not different from t he int erpret at ion of ot her f oreigners living in Pará, much less t he ones from t he Luzo-Brazilian regional elit es.42 As of August 1st , 1835, t he consul wrot e t hat , during t he
at t ack t o t he t own of Vigia, every whit e person was slaught ered. As of Sept ember 8t h,
39 M onit eur du Commerce was a semiofficial newspaper cont rolled by t he represent at ives of t he colonial arist ocracy, published in Paris. JENNINGS, Lawrence. French ant i- slavery: t he movement for abolit ion of slavery in France, 1802- 1848. Cambridge: Cambridge Universit y Press, 2003, p. 81.
40 Those newspapers clippings w it h t he art icles about t he uprising in Pará can be found at ANOM , FM , SG, GUY 41, D 40 (05).
41 According t o Lima, t he Cabanos were not a general unit , but an het erogeneous group, comprised of members wit h different root s and socio- cult ural format ions, who were not alw ays fight ing for t he same ideals. LIM A. Op. Cit ., p. 263.
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1835, he highlight ed t hat all Port uguese people, as well as some Brazilians, received deat h t hreat s, and most of t he insurgent s were Tapuias43 mixed wit h a few slaves.44
According t o Cleary, t he conflict was not a racial issue in t he beginning, but it became one.45 Only from July 1835, t he uprising became t o be seen as a racial conflict by t he
aut horit ies designat ed by t he Rio de Janeiro cent ral government . But wit h t he arrival of Soares in April, 1836, t o assume t he presidency and t he command of t he weapons in t he province, t he brut alit y and t he persecut ion of t he rebels was just ified as a racial war - whit e people against black men or civilizat ion against barbarism. From t his perspect ive, t he rebels were seen as minor charact ers, savages, mean, barbaric dest royers, in opposit ion t o t he whit e people, represent at ives of t he civilizat ion.46 For
t he loyalist s, every non- whit e was seen as suspect and t he regain of t he labor force and t he t errit ory presumed t he capt ure and enslavement of t he Tapuias and indigenous people, legally free, majorit y of t he populat ion of t he province.47 The French
newspapers communicat ed t he current ideas of t hat t ime t o t heir readers and t he aut horit ies from t he Guiana used, at first , t he fear of t he indigenous people, t hat is, t he non- whit e populat ion, for t heir own purposes: t he need t o send a deployment t o t he Amapá lakes region, t o prot ect it s inhabit ant s of t he rebels from Pará.
4 .2 . French Of f icial Report s
In relat ion t o t he official French correspondence, in a let t er dat ed July 1st , 1835, Cayenne governor, Jean Jubelin, asked t he M inist er of t he Navy and t he Colonies if it would not be possible t o t ake advant age of t he st at e of anarchy of Pará t o validat e t he legit imat e right s of France up t o t he Amazon River in t he boundaries issue.48 It
explained t hat , alt hough t he Treat y of 1815 limit ed t he French right s up t o t he Oiapoque River, t here were, for a long t ime, agricult ural lands belonging t o t he French
43 According t o Coudreau, for t he French, t apouye was a generic and vulgar t erm t o designat e civilized indigenous and mixed races (indigenous and whit e). COUDREAU. La France équinoxiale. Paris: Challanel Ainé, 1887. p. XIX, foot not e.
44 apud LIM A. Op.Cit ., p. 143- 144. 45 CLEARY. Op. Cit ., p. 112. 46 LIM A. Op. Cit ., p. 130. 47 CLEARY. Op. Cit ., p. 113.
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on t he right bank of t he river.49 As t he soil in t he Uaçá savannahs was much more
fert ile t han t he quart iers lands, locat ed close t o Cayenne, some resident s planned t o set t le t here t o raise animals. Jubelin asked t he M inist er t o make t he right s of t he French prevail over t he t errit ory disput ed by former t reat ies. In his view, it would be necessary t o end t his t emporary st at us of t he colony. He insist ed t hat t he t errit ory was already a part of t he Guiana, despit e it s low populat ion, and t hat it was necessary for t heir economic fut ure success. As it can be observed, t he governor and cert ainly t he set t lers want ed t o t ake ownership of t his large area, suit able for t he development of farming, according t o t he governor.
In a report dat ed April 11t h, 1836, int ended t o his successor, Laurens de Choisy, Jubelin explained t he overall sit uat ion of t he colony, wit h some aspect s t hat may help us t o underst and t heir concerns and at t it udes. 50 The report explained t hat t he Guiana
garrison recent ly received t he addit ion of 60 infant rymen, so t he number of men in t he bat t alion was raised t o 565. There were 5 companies, one of t hem comprised of yolofs who, as he described, were African soldiers.51 He ment ioned t hat t he Government
int ended t o set t le an advanced post sout hwards t o t he Oiapoque River, as allowed by t he M inist er of t he Navy and t he Colonies in t he order dat ed November 3rd, 1835. The exact locat ion of t he post was not decided yet , because t hey were wait ing for t he arrival of Commander Penaud, a navy Lieut enant based in Cayenne, who had left in February 7t h, 1836, for a reconnaissance of t he coast al region. By any means, t he milit ary post would serve t o set t he boundaries and should host at least 50 men. They request ed t he Board t o increase t he milit ary forces and, if t his was approved, it would meet t he needs of t he colony. Jean Jubelin concern about t he increase of t he colonial
49 Aft er t he arrival of t he Port uguese court , in 1808, t o Rio de Janeiro, Dom João, t he Prince Regent , sent t roops composed by Port ugal and Pará men, in 1809, wit h t he help of t he Brit ish navy, t o occupy Cayenne in ret aliat ion for t he Port ugal occupat ion by t he Napoleon t roops. The Port uguese, as agreed in t he Congress of Vienna, in 1815, ret urned t he colony t o t he French in November 21st , 1817. CARDOSO, Ciro Flamarion. A Tomada de Caiena vist a do lado francês. Revist a Navigat or, Dossiê Tomada de Caiena, v. 6, n.11, 2010, p. 13- 23.
50 Remise du Gouvernement par M . Jubelin à Laurent de Choisy, ANOM , FM , SG, GUY 03, Dossier A12 (07).
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garrison also seems t o be relat ed wit h t he sit uat ion of t he black people from t he at eliers publiques.52 They had arrived t o t he Guiana aft er t he 1831 Law, which
prohibit ed t he slave t rade and, as expect ed, should be freed soon.53 According t o t he
Governor view, t he freed should be divided among t he set t lers, who needed so much t his labor force. Those, in t urn, afraid of t he presence of free black people alongside t heir slaves, denied t o use freed people in t heir at eliers. Jubelin explained how he solved t he issue: aft er remaining at t he at eliers publiques, many freed slaves would be sent for a mission in M ana, under t he responsibilit y of religious women who would t ake care of t hem.54
In Oct ober 7t h, 1836, Du Campe de Rosamel, M inist er of t he Navy and t he Colonies, in response t o t he Guiana governor, Laurens de Choisy, holding t he post since April 11t h, 1836,55 indicat ed t he pressure from Cayenne t o set t le t he milit ary post in
t he sout hern limit s of t he colony. The governor had request ed t he approval and inst ruct ions of t he M inist er t o execut e t he project . The M inist er, in t urn, st art ed his react ion, explaining t hat first ly he would like t o remind him about t he reasons t hat lead his predecessor in the M inist ry t o aut horize such procedure. The main reason t o est ablish a post beyond t he Oiapoque River had been t he occupat ion of farming lands and, as a reasonable cause for t his act , t he need t o prevent t he disorder devast at ing Pará t o reach t he Guiana. Furt hermore, t he M inist er raise awareness about a disagreement bet ween Choisy and t he Capt ain of t he Body of Engineers, M r. Ronmy, in relat ion t o t he best place t o est ablish t he post . Ronmy preferred a locat ion in t he vicinit y of t he Oiapoque River and t he Uaçá savannahs, as he considered t he locat ion more appropriat e t o t he development of t he st ock farming and more used t o please t he French set t lers. Choisy, in t urn, would have init ially being favorable t o a place closer t o t he Amazon River, in t he vicinit y of t he Araguari River, which, due t o t he high cost s, would have been unachievable. However, according t o t he explanat ions of t he
52At eliers were group of slave workers. In t he case of at eliers publiques, t he slaves were subject t o t he colonial administ rat ion. FOUCK. Op. Cit ., p. 58
53 According t o t he art icles 10 and 11 of t he 1831 Law, t he black people capt ured in slave ships who ent ered t he colony aft er t his dat e should be freed, but t hey were forced t o work for 7 years at t he
at elierspubliques of t he colony. FOUCK. Op. Cit ., p. 177- 178.
54 In 1835, 500 black men from t he at eliers publiques were delegat ed t o t he superior Javouhey of t he M ana mission. FORLACROIX, Christ ian. La fin de la societ é esclavagist e em Guyane, 1821- 1848. Revue Guyanaise et de Geographie, n. 11, oct ., nov., déc. 1979, p. 1- 23.
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M inist er, a post in t he Amapá Lake would bring analogous advant ages, and t hey could observe t he moves of t he Pará populat ion. It would serve as well t o avoid t he violat ions of t he limit s recent ly occupied by t he French. Du Campe de Rosamel insist ed t hat , for t he development of t he farming, t hey should use t he vicinit ies of t he post it self, as being suggest ed by Choisy. He let t he Governor choose t he locat ion, but he quest ioned his decision about t he locat ion of t he auxiliary post , in t he island of M aracá, opposed t o t he recommendat ion of Capt ain Ronmy, who suggest ed t he ent rance of t he Amapá River.56 The est ablishment of t he auxiliary post should serve t o prot ect t he lower
anchorage. Built in t he island of M aracá, it had, however, t he disadvant age of being fart her of t he main post , locat ed in t he biggest island of t he Amapá Lake. Besides comment ing on t he funding of t his const ruct ion, t he M inist er reminded t he Governor about t he import ance of choosing wisely t he official for t he fut ure post . He should have abilit ies t o keep, in French t errit ory, t he Brazilian refugees t hat were in Cayenne and ret urned t o Amapá wit h t he first expedit ion, and also t he ones t o whom t he Governor had promised t he aut horizat ion t o set t le in t he colony t errit ory prospect ively. For t he M inist er, t he exist ence of t he milit ary post would be t he easiest way t o achieve t he colonizat ion goals, t hat is, give t o t he foreigners t he same prot ect ion given t o t he Guiana set t lers who would come t o t he area of t he Amapá Lake.
(β) M ap of t he post est ablished in t he nort hern end of t he Choisy Island, at t he Amapá (Lake).
July 15t h, 1836. Aut hor: Thomas Ferdinand Ronmy. Archives Nat ionales - M er, 14DFC/866/B
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In a let t er from November 11t h, 1836, Choisy was rebuked by M inist er Rosamel because he offered t o inf orm t he Brazilian Government direct ly about t he exist ence of t he post in t he Amapa Lake, once Brazil had not made any official complaint t o t he Cayenne Government . 57 Put t ing Choisy in his proper place, t he let t er emphasized t hat
t he government decided t o address t his issue t hrough diplomat ic channels, and t hat t he Brazilian M inist er in Paris had sent a not e t o t he French M inist er of Foreign Affairs, request ing t he wit hdrawal of t he milit ary post . Thus, on t he part of M inist er Rosamel, t here was t he need t o remind t he Guiana governor about t he exist ence of a hierarchy of powers. Even if t he t errit ory occupat ion - as well as t he est ablishment of a milit ary post t o prot ect t he set t lers - had been Cayenne init iat ives, t he negot iat ions wit h t he Empire of Brazil, since they were int ernat ional borders, should be handled by higher spheres of power, by t he M inist ry of Foreign Affairs.
We can not ice, t hrough t he let t ers bet ween t he Cayenne governors and t he M inist er of t he Navy and t he Colonies, t hat t he colonial aut horit ies were int erest ed in expanding t he French Guiana t errit ory, allowing t he development of agricult ure and cat t le farming in a cost al area, which was more favorable. There was a sense of purpose for t he project , because t he Guiana was never a colony wit h great economical advant ages t o t he met ropolis.58 Alt hough, bet ween 1831 and 1847, t here had been an
upward t rend in t he colony export s, t he commercial exchanges bet ween France and t he Guiana reflect ed only 4% of t he colonial t rade.59
The need t o prot ect t he set t lers, suggest ed by t he governors, might also be connect ed t o t he fear of t he French resident s t o be murdered by t he rebels from Pará. According t o t he French newspapers, t he rebels had murdered a large number of whit e people in Pará and might want t o do t he same in t he Guiana. Ricci explains t hat t he main reason of Cabanagem was t he deat h of t he Port uguese people.60 This was
int erpret ed by t he French as deat h t o whit e people and, consequent ly, deat h t o all
57 ROSAM EL, Du Campe de. Let t er t o Laurens de Choisy, November 11t h, 1836. ANOM , FM , SG, GUY 171/4.
58 SCHWARZBECK, Frank. Französisch- Guayana. Die let zt e kont inent ale Überseebesit zung in
Lat einamerika. Heidelberg: Esprint , 1982, p. 80- 82. 59 FOUCK. Op. Cit., p.164.
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Europeans. In t he end of 1835, many resident s had already left Belém.61 A nominat e
report , dat ed January 4t h, 1836 and signed by t he head of t he Int ernal Cent ral Office, M r. Lesilly, showed t he names, origin and job t it le of t he Brazilian cit izens who arrived in Cayenne bet ween M ay and December, 1835. It was a group consist ing of 136 refugees from Pará, including 86 free individuals, among which t here were men, women and children, along wit h 50 black slaves.62 Not only whit e resident s left Belém
t hat year. Cabanos - enslaved indigenous, black and mixed people - who were persecut ed by t he legalist ic t roops and escaped t owards Cabo Nort e.63 Curt
Nimuendaju highlight s t hat , in 1836, a subst ant ial number of Cabanos had t aken refuge in t he Guiana, some of t hose st aying at t he Lower part of Cunani, some ot hers in Cassiporé and t wo large families had chosen t he Curipi River as housing.64
In 1838, in a summary of t he event s, t he Pará President ment ioned t he at mosphere of t error in t he province, exact ly as t he French newspapers did:
...Except for t he villages of Camet á, Freguesia de Abait é, Praça de M acapá, and t he villages and small set t lement in t he Xingu River, I am not aware t hat any ot her part of t his huge province would escape from t he fury of t hose rut hless men; t hus, t he majorit y of t he mills and farms had been dest royed, t he slaves had been dispersed or killed, t he cat t le had been consumed and t he seedbed of t he plant s which are more import ant t o t he daily livelihood had been ext inct : in some dist rict s, not only one whit e individual w as left alive; and individuals from every social class are being missed all around.65
It is difficult t o say if it was really t hat risky, but t he at rocit ies of t he rebels were probably exaggerat ed by t he newspapers, by t he Pará President and t he French Governors, t o legit imat e t he repressive act ions and t he est ablishment of a French deployment in t he Amapá Lake. There was, however, t he real possibilit y t hat t he desire for freedom of t he runaway blacks from t he Pará movement could influence t he Guiana slaves, in such a way t hat t hey would also rebel, or t hat t he number of exist ing escapes could increase. Even if t here was a great regional desire of t errit orial
61 Ibidem, p. 88.
62 Ét at nominat iv des refugiés de la province du Pará arrivés à Cayenne depuiss le 24 mais 1835. ANOM , FM , SG, GUY 41, Dossier 40 (05).
63 ROM ANI. Op. Cit ., p. 37.
64 NIM UENDAJÚ, Curt : Die Palikur- Indianer und ihre Nachbarn. Göt eborg: Elanders Bokt ryckerei Akt iebolag, 1926, p. 15.
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expansion, it is fundament al t o consider t he fear t hat t he news about t he civil war in Pará awakened in t he set t lers who, in t urn, demanded prot ect ive measures by t he French aut horit ies.
According t o Jean Delumeau, only t he individuals t aken separat ely, but also t he communit ies and t he civilizat ions are commit t ed wit h a permanent connect ion t o 66 The fear awakened by t he slaves in t he slave owners was well
st udied in t he hist oriography about slaveholding societ ies. We also know t hat t he possibilit y of a violent uprising was permanent , especially aft er t he event s in Hait i, t he slave revolt s in Jamaica and t he Guianas.67 Researches in t he psychology field show
t hat , in any conflict ed human sit uat ion, fear can be a result of unbalanced power relat ions, where t he weaker fear t he misuse of power from t he st ronger, and t his feeling may lead t o t ot al subordinat ion or t o an uprising of t he weaker part , in order t o eliminat e t he superiorit y of t he st ronger part and t he unbalanced power relat ions. This percept ion of t he individual t o explain t he connect ion bet ween emot ion and act ion may be applied t o int ernat ional relat ions, where t he count ries t ry t o find a st at e of balance of hegemony wit h each ot her.68 Social or collect ive fear shall be perceived by
t he hist orian as a fact or leading t o polit ical act ions in t he int ernat ional scenario, even if t he word fear or concern hardly ever appears in t he document s.69 The Governing
aut horit ies are expect ed t o ensure securit y, prot ect t he t errit ory and it s inhabit ant s. But fear can also be manipulat ed by t he polit ical power t o maint ain t he order or, in ot her words, fear can lead t o a great er exercise of power and t he creat ion of security st rat egies.70
In relat ion t o t he French Guiana, Ciro Flamarion Cardoso draws at t ent ion t o t he collect ive hyst eria lived by t he slave owners.71 Alt hough t he slaving uprisings in t his
colony did not have t he same proport ions of t he wars in t he neighbor colony, t he
66 DELUM EAU, Jean. Hist ória do medo no Ocident e, 1300- 1800: uma cidade sit iada. São Paulo: Companhia das Let ras, 2009, p. 12.
67 SOARES, Carlos Eugênio; GOM ES, Flávio. Sedições, hait ianismo e conexões no Brasil escravist a. Novos
Est udos, n. 63, julho de 2002, p. 131- 144.
68 BORM ANN, Pat rick; FREIBERGER, Thomas; M ICHEL, Judit h. Theoret ische Überlegungen zum Thema Angst in den int ernat ionalen Beziehungen. In:__ (org.). Angst in den int ernat ionalen Beziehungen, Göt t ingen: V&R Universit y Press, 2010, p. 26.
69 Ibidem, p. 30- 31.
70 STEARNS, Pet er. Fear and Hist ory. Hist orein, v. 8, 2008, p. 17- 28.
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Dut ch Guiana, t he panic is underst andable, as in 1835 t he French Guiana had 16.898 slaves in a populat ion of 21.956 inhabit ant s.72 The t hreat s of t he black rebels of t he
surrounding areas represent ed, t hus. a real danger t o t he int ernal order of an enslaving societ y. The danger was even bigger because t he slaves from t he French Guiana had already experienced or heard about freedom during t he first abolit ion of slavery, bet ween 1794 and 1802.73 Therefore, I consider t hat t he Amapá post also served as
securit y st rat egy for t he sout hwest border and as a response t o t he fear of t he resident s, who planned t o move t o t he new quart ier. Besides t he t hreat s in t he border wit h t he Pará province, it is well known t hat , exact ly from 1836 on, t he black Bonis who want ed t o set t le in t he Lower Oiapoque region caused great fear.
5 . The Bonis in Oiapoque
There would be no room in t his art icle t o t alk about t he st ory of t he black slaves uprisings st riking t he Dut ch colony by t he end of t he 18t h Cent ury.74 For our analysis,
t he fundament al is t he st ory about t he unsuccessful at t empt s of t he Bonis t o t ake t he Lower Oiapoque, a French Guiana t errit ory, bet ween 1836 and 1841.
From 1770 on, under t he command of a black man named Boni, a group of slaves wage a bloody war against t he Dut ch set t lers from Suriname. The bat t le last ed four years and t he Bonis, as t hey became known, were repressed and pushed int o t he French- Dut ch border, which t hey out reached, and in 1776 t hey arrived t o t he right bank of t he M aroni River, French t errit ory.75 Since t he end of t he 18t h Cent ury, t he
governing aut horit ies of t he French Guiana, a colony where t housands of slaves were cont rolled and made subject by a few whit e set t lers, were afraid of t he arrival of black warriors in t heir t errit ory. Some French aut horit ies considered t o use t hem in colonizat ion project s, once t he populat ion of t he Guiana was small, but t hey never put t his idea int o pract ice because of t he fear inst illed by t he black warriors.76
72 FOUCK. Op. Cit ., p.118.
73 Slavery w as rest ored in t he French colonies in 1802 and definit ely abolished in 1848.
74 VAN LIER: Sociedade de front eira: uma análise social da hist ória do Suriname. Brasília: Funag/IPRI, 2005. Richard Price and Sally Price had published several w orks about t he Dut ch Guiana Saramacas. 75 FOUCK. Op. Cit ., p. 106.
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Unt il t he beginning of t he 19t h Cent ury, t he Bonis lived in peace in t he area of t he M aroni River, far from t he resident s of t he French Guiana coast . The sit uat ion has changed in t he first decades of t he 19t h Cent ury. Unlike t he Djukas and Saramacas, maroons from Suriname, Bonis did not sign Treat ies wit h t he Dut ch and were living under t he guardianship of t he Djukas, who, according t o t he agreement wit h t he Dut ch government , should give back all t he new black fugit ives in exchange for t heir own freedom.77 Nonet heless, t he relat ion bet ween Bonis and Djukas declined from 1836 on,
aft er t he incident involving t he French Navy Commander, t he pharmacist Leprieur, who, wit h his expedit ion, int ended t o reach t he source of t he M aroni River, up t he Oiapoque River. In t he Camopi River, Leprieur and his t eam met some Bonis, who t ook t hem t o t he Lawa River, where a great misunderst anding t ook place bet ween bot h groups. M aybe because he was afraid of being killed, t he pharmacist explained t hat he was officially sent by t he colonial aut horit ies t o celebrat e peace wit h t he Bonis. Aft er some days of celebrat ion, t he chief ("gaanman") Gongo sent t en Bonis t o inform t he Djukas about what has happened. Beeiman, chief of t he Djukas, got furious and sent more t han 60 warriors t o capt ure Leprieur, but t hey could not do it , because t he Bonis prot ect ed him. When he left t owards Cayenne, refraining from keep his expedit ion going, he was accompanied by four Bonis, who want ed t o t alk direct ly t o t he colonial aut horit ies and request permission t o set t le in t he Camopi River, t ribut ary of t he Oiapoque River. The Cayenne governor refused t o t alk t o t hem, sent t hem t o prison and t hen back t o Oiapoque. The Djukas, in t urn, required t he government of t he Dut ch colony t o meet t he promises made by Leprieur on behalf of t he French government . As agreed, t he Bonis were subject t o t hem, and were not allowed t o move from t he t errit ory or t o celebrat e peace wit h ot her aut horit ies. The sit uat ion reached significant proport ions and t he Cayenne governor, Laurens de Choisy, was forced t o explain t he sit uat ion t o t he Suriname governor, who disqualified t he pharmacist .78
The Bonis refused t o believe in t he int ransigence of t he French and, at t he end of 1836, t hey decided t o send again a mission wit h eight people t o Oiapoque, t rying t o
77 PETITJEAN ROGET. Op. Cit ., p. 43- 47.
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negot iat e wit h t he colonial aut horit ies. They claimed t o set t le in t he Camopi River, area which was closer t o t he slave propert ies, economically st ronger regions, locat ed bet ween M ont anha de Prat a (M ont agne and Salt o de M aripá. In t he region of t he Lower Oiapoque, most of t he propert ies were fairly small, and each of t hem had around t en slaves, except t he Ouanary propert ies, which could have, during t he 19t h Cent ury, up t o 200 slaves.79 This t ime, t he Bonis were received wit h some gift s, but
t hen again were sent away and advised t o not coming back anymore.80
It is int erest ing t o not e, in t he subt it le of t he plan of t he provisional post made by Capt ain Ronmy, in 1836, t he descript ion of t he rout e covered by t he Bonis t o get t o t he Lower part of t he Oiapoque:
The Bonis set t le alongside t he M aroni River. To come (here), t hey went up t he Inini River, t ribut ary of t he M aroni River, for 2 days. They left t heir canoes and, t o get t o Camopi River, t ribut ary of t he Oiapoque River, t hey cont inue on foot for more 3 days, a pat h wit hin t he forest . Get t ing t here, t hey could build canoes if t hey did not find t he ones hidden under wat er. Next , t hey went down t he Camopi River for 5 days. Get t ing t o t he Oiapoque River, t hey needed 5 days t o get t o t he Cafésoca fort ress. Alt oget her, it t ook t hem 15 days t o get t here.81
In t he beginning of 1837, t he news about t he Bonis from t he higher part of t he Oiapoque mist reat ed t he indigenous people and were preparing t o go down t he river spread t he fear amongst t he resident s. In April 1837, under t he pressure of t he set t lers, t he governor Laurens de Choisy sent t o Oiapoque a deployment wit h 20 men commanded by t he Lieut enant Faivre, wit h t he inst ruct ion t o kill t he Bonis, if t hey appeared in t he region. As of April 29t h, once more, t he black people sent a mission t o t he Lower Oiapoque, comprised of nine people and a runaway slave named M odest e, who belonged t o a French set t ler. The idea was t o give t his slave back t o his owner, t hus showing good int ent ions, t o live in peace wit h t he set t lers of t he region. Wit h t he int ent ion t o give t he slave back t o t he quart ier commander, t he group w ent t o t he Oiapoque Bay, get t ing t here exact ly at t he same t ime when t he Lieut enant Faivre and his deployment were get t ing int o t he river. Wit hout hesit at ing, t he Lieut enant arrest ed
79 PETITJEAN ROGET. Op. Cit ., p. 43- 47. 80 FOUCK. Op. Cit ., p. 106- 197.
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t he t hree Bonis and ordered t o capt ure t he ot her six who were a lit t le furt her on t he river. Among t he six Bonis, only one was capt ured, t he ot her ones could escape, but were injured. The t hree Bonis arrest ed were shot t he next t hey, wit hout being heard or judged. The governor from Suriname, Baron van Heckeren, congrat ulat ed Laurens de Choisy for his great success. On t he ot her hand, t he At t orney General Vidal de Lingendes, as well as many resident s of t he Oiapoque River were out raged wit h t he summary execut ion.82 The M inist er of t he Navy and t he Colonies called back t o France
t he governor and t he Lieut enant Faivre t o explain t heir host ile and brut al at t it udes against t he black people. In 1838 Faivre was softly judged. Despit e t he accusat ions, Choisy was absolved and never went back t o Cayenne.83
Those dramat ic event s spread among t he set t lers t he fear of a pot ent ial coalit ion bet ween t he Bonis and t he slaves from t he French Guiana. The new governor of Cayenne, Paul de Nouquer du Camper, t ook some st eps t o avoid t he approach of t he Bonis and calm down t he resident s, because, as informed, t here was a general climat e of t error at t he Oiapoque quart ier. And act ually t here was t he possibilit y of an aggression on t he part of t he black people, who had t hreat ened t o come back and avenge t he deat h of t heir comrades. One of t he st eps t aken was t o build, in 1837, t he Cafésoca fort ress in a small island belonging t o t he French in t he middle of t he Oiapoque River, in order t o avoid t he black people t o go down t he river wit h t heir canoes and easily at t ack t he quart ier. However, according t o a report of t he M inist ry of t he Navy and t he Colonies, dat ed Sept ember 22nd, 1838, t he Cafésoca post prot ect ed t he Oiapoque resident s against a pot ent ial at t ack from t he black people, if t hey were coming by t he river.84 However, it would not prot ect t he resident s if t he black people
abandoned t heir canoes a lit t le bit before t he post and crossed t he exist ing woods in t he middle of t he agricult ural lands. Locat ed at bot h banks of t he river, t hose propert ies were under t he Cafésoca post , and it could not offer any safet y if it was a land- based at t ack. According t o t he report , hence t he import ance t o est ablish a new post at one of t he banks of t he river, mainly because, bet ween M ay and Oct ober 1837,
82 Not e. M inist ère de la M arine et des Colonies, 29 de julho de 1837. ANOM , FM , SG, GUY 44, Dossier E10 (13), Paris.
83 HURAULT. Op. Cit ., p. 117- 121.
