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#1526Project Pointe Coupee Revolt, Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. Spanish Territory in April 1795 #PointeCoupeeRevolt
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt In April of 1795, rumors swirled about a slave revolt to planned during a meeting of negro slaves on the Plantation of Jacques Vignes.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt Pointe Coupee Parish was ripe for rebellion due to its location and the enslaved largely outnumbering the white slave owners. The Parish is on the Mississippi River 150 miles north of New Orleans.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt On April 10, 1795 Frederic and Louis Pilche reported a conversation overheard by 2 Tunica Indian women. According to the women, the negro slaves were planning to force whites to give them their freedom and the Indians feared for their safety.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt Patrols were sent out to arrest any Negroes assembling, or seen at a plantation other than their own and to apprehend any strangers found in the Negro Quarters.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt Two slaves, Juan Bautista Herrera and Maria Luisa reinforced suspicions of the plot. The accused who were arrested are listed below: 
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt A large number of the alleged revolters belonged to Julian Poydras, who was out of the country at the time. Poydras was considered more “humane” than others.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt At 5 am on April 30, 1975, all Negro quarters were simultaneously raided to search for arms and strangers. Slaves were forbidden from hunting and confined to their plantations until further notice.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt The plot was believed to have been hatched by outside agitators (<cough> Russia <cough>). By May 15, 1795, 60 co-conspirators had been arrested.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt To maintain order, troops were called from Natchez, along with 15 Indians and a war chief, a Spanish detatchment and a Mexican infantry from Havana.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt The Laws of The Indies stated that criminal procedure could be suspended in the case of slave insurrection for a prompt response to deter future mutinies.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt Serrano led the investigation and initially concluded “due to the absence of confessions or declarations,” evidence was lacking to prove a conspiracy. He later concluded there was a plan and it encompassed slaves in Natchez as well.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt Sentences:
✅ 23-26 Negroes were ordered hanged
✅ 22 Negroes were sentenced to hard labor for 10 years
✅ Nine were sentenced to hard labor for 5 years
✅ A white man and a Negro were banished
✅ Two white men were sentenced to hard labor
✅ 23-26 Negroes were ordered hanged
✅ 22 Negroes were sentenced to hard labor for 10 years
✅ Nine were sentenced to hard labor for 5 years
✅ A white man and a Negro were banished
✅ Two white men were sentenced to hard labor
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt Executions were from May 29 - June 2, 1795. 15 were hanged with four heads distributed along the king's highway in Pointe Coupee as a warning to slaves. The heads of two others were posted in New Orleans.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt The heads of six others were posted in Baton Rouge, Iberville, La Fourche de Chetimachas, Cabahanocey, and the First and Second German Coasts. Three Free Blacks were accused and banished.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt In order to prevent future slave revolts, slaves were to receive better rations, clothing, work schedules and more time off (moderate half-measures.)
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt Meritous Manumission was offered to any slave who provided information on future revolts. Free Blacks faced tighter restrictions due to the planned revolt and firearms were banned for all blacks.
#1526Project #PointeCoupeeRevolt The slave trade was restricted in Louisiana to keep foreign influences away from the enslaved.
