Intersecting Interests: French Trade and (Enslaved) Private Traders in Ouidah (1770–1790)

Abstract By examining the documents of an investigation into the illegal commercial activities of a director of the French slave trading fort of Ouidah, along with inventories of deceased employees and workers at the fort, this article traces the private trade of free and unfree individuals at this outpost of the French empire. It demonstrates that private trade was structural to the French presence in the region. It was tolerated, was at times legal, and formed part of employees’ expectations for their financial compensation. Finally, it explores the precarious position of actors bridging different economic and cultural worlds with an unclearly defined legal and racial status.