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August 2, 1646 - Jean-Baptiste du Casse

Du Casse operated at the intersection of colonial expansion, privateering, and the transatlantic slave trade — roles that were mutually reinforcing and institutionally sanctioned by the French crown. His tenure as governor of Saint-Domingue placed him at the administrative center of a colony whose wealth depended entirely on enslaved labor, while his earlier work with the Compagnie du Sénégal placed him directly within the machinery of that trade. The military honors he accumulated, culminating in the Order of the Golden Fleece, reflect how seamlessly such careers could be absorbed into the highest levels of European respectability.

From Wikipedia

Jean-Baptiste du Casse

Lieutenant général des armées navales Jean-Baptiste du Casse (2 August 1646 – 25 June 1715) was a French Navy officer, privateer, slave trader and colonial administrator who served as the first governor of Saint-Domingue from 1691 to 1700. Born on 2 August 1646 in Saubusse, France to a Huguenot family, du Casse enlisted in the French merchant navy before joining the French East India Company and the Compagnie du Sénégal.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, he participated in several major military engagements, including the Battle of Málaga and the siege of Barcelona. For his service, du Casse was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece by King Philip V of Spain. In the midst of these wars, he served as governor of the French colony of Saint-Domingue from 1691 to 1700. Du Casse ended his military career at the rank of lieutenant général des armées navales and commander of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis. He died on 25 June 1715 in Bourbon-l'Archambault, Auvergne.

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