Manuscripts Division

Princeton University Library Single Item Acquisitions, 1700-2026

C1771
ONLINE ACCESS

Contents and Arrangement

Online

Surgeon Contract for the Slave Ship, the Achille, 1792 October 1

1 item

Collection Overview

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Contract between the shipowner of Achille, Jacques Le Cadre, and Charles Guillet, a surgeon. The Achille transported enslaved Africans from Portuguese-controlled Angola to the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) in 1792. The contract details a compensation agreement based on the transportation and sale of enslaved African individuals. Guillet was paid fifty pounds per month of service, and an additional three pounds ten sols (of Saint-Domingue silver) for each enslaved person who was trafficked into slavery for above three hundred pounds. Also included are four other documents substantiating Guillet's medical training and qualifications.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Purchased in March 2025 from Artem Rare Books (AM 2025-105).

Appraisal

No material was separated during processing.

Processing Information:

Item processed and described by Gianna Brassil in June 2025. Title and description updated for concision and to reflect the ship's name in English in September 2025.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Surgeon Contract for the Slave Ship, the Achille; Princeton University Library Single Item Acquisitions, C1771, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
Firestone Library (mss)
Boxes B-002106