Charles Deslondes: "mixed-race," "most likely born in Spanish Louisiana," not from Ayiti (German Coast, January 8–10, 1811)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet provenDisputed: argued, often by a hostile witness
Year: 1811 · Places: Louisiana, Ayiti, Europe
SUMMARYCharles Deslondes: "mixed-race," "most likely born in Spanish Louisiana," not from Ayiti (German Coast, January 8–10, 1811) [Connections: Louisiana (deep), Nov 5, 2026]
RECORD64 Parishes (Robert L. Paquette) describes Charles Deslondes, alleged leader of the 1811 uprising, as "a mixed-race slave driver, most likely born in Spanish Louisiana." It says he was neither a free person of color nor of Haitian origin, and that misinformation about his origin is widespread. The revolt began January 8, 1811 on Manuel Andry's plantation in St. John the Baptist Parish. Eyewitness estimates ranged from 150 to 500 rebels. Close to one hundred rebels died in combat or by execution. White residents put heads on poles along the levee for more than thirty miles
PATTERNThe usual story imports the leader from Ayiti. The specialist account makes him a Louisiana-born man of mixed ancestry, and the record does not specify what that mixture was
DISPUTEDHis origin is contested; Paquette says the Haitian-origin claim is misinformation
LENS (WW9)The largest revolt on US soil was led by a man born on this land, of a mixture the record does not name. Who his mother was matters
OPENNeeds deep research. Find Deslondes's baptism and his mother's name and label (the widow Marguerite Deslondes's estate and the St. John the Baptist Parish sacramental books). The leaders "Kook" and "Quamana" from the lead were not on the fetched page
SOURCESlave Insurrection of 1811 (64 Parishes, Robert L. Paquette).