The 1795 Pointe Coupee Conspiracy
INTRO
The nature of this archival document, The 1795 Pointe Coupee Slave Conspiracy, exposes an unjust methodology used to obtain information from the slaves involved.Evidence:
- The document states that slaves were forced to sign their names or make their mark, yet often their names were signed for them by white men.
- Hearsay testimony was treated as actual evidence by the court. Contradictions between testimonies were overlooked in favor of those testimonies that advanced the narrative the court was searching for.
- White authorities interrogated witnesses, both free and enslaved multiple times throughout the investigation.
Our project seeks to break out of the confines of the court document. Please follow links where they appear to learn more about this conspiracy and why we have come to doubt the conclusions of the court. Each page of this historical context, is hidden throughout the following poem, just as the exact story of what truly happened in 1795 has been hidden from historians. They may be found by moving the mouse over the words.