Slave families in the French Antilles, 1635-1848

It has long been thought that there were few slave couples in the French An tilles because there were few married slaves. But marriage is a poor indica tor of the existence of families since both owners and slaves - men and wom en - rejected marriage. Analysis of slave lists contained in the nominal ce nsus schedules, notarial records, and civil registration registers from the time of abolition, leads to the conclusion that a majority of slaves were able to live as couples only on the largest plantations; elsewhere such uni ons involved only a quarter of slaves, whereas a quarter were not allowed t o, a quarter lived in one parent households, and the remainder lived alone. It is estimated that two-thirds of children knew both their parents. Howev er, a de facto polygyny also existed, as did "outside" relations. Thus it c an be said that the conditions of slavery adapted a version of the stable m ultipartnership that was traditional to Africa.