Plantation Life
According to James Thomas McGowan, "Jean Baptiste, the plantation steward, was one of the confessed leaders of the revolt. Hence, other Poydras slaves spread the conspiracy among neighboring plantations, for they were free to come and go as they pleased" (375-376).
In addition, "the organization of the plantation society helped shape the internal structure of the revolt" (375). Specifically, since Poydras was away, his absence suggests that his salves could be more rebellious than others who's master were present.
In the archive document, many references were also made about slaves belonging to widows. Readers of the archival document could infer that the absence of a male slave master also could have patriarchal consequences when being recorded by white men. The complicity of these plantations may be misunderstood or entirely subject to the social stigma surrounding widowed women at the time. This affects a reading of the plantation dynamics determined by widows, such as Widow Lacour, and an analysis of her own involvement in the 1795 Pointe Coupee Conspiracy, especially since three slaves were implicated as leaders from her plantation.
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