1765 | interrogation of Bochom, Chercher Confort, Jean Tomasson, Arriba, Cesar, Ouatel, and Nanan | FRENCH

The WPA abstract (from the 1930s) included with this record explains that Judge Foucault ordered Charles Marie Lelande to interrogate Bochom, Chercher Confort, Jean Tomasson, Arriba, Cesar, Ouatel, and Nanan after they were found at sea in November of 1765. The abstract also indicates that Bochom and Nanan are both from Congo, and that Chercher Confort is a Creole born in Jamaica. The person who wrote this abstract explains that each of the Black people who were interrogated “tells the same story of the ill treatment received from their master, of their desperate escape in the small open boat, of their decision to try to get to Cuba and finally being picked up by Captain Foucher of the schooner La Felicité”. The abstract also states that all of the people interrogated speak English, and the first page of the French record says “quils etoient etrangers et quils n’entendoient pas La Langue francoise” (that they were strangers/foreigners and that they didn’t understand the French langauge). Their testimony is reported first by a court interpreter and then by the court notary, Garic. With your help, we can read more details about the testimony of Bochom, Chercher Confort, Jean Tomasson, Arriba, Cesar, Ouatel, and Nanan.