Human Plunder: Slaving Raids, Economic Warfare, and Mercantilism in the French Caribbean, 1665-1713

Between 1665 and 1713, at a time of almost perpetual warfare in Europe, privateers frequently assaulted and seized enslaved people from rival colonies all over the Caribbean. Following mercantilistic principles, the French in particular sought to increase the labour force in their colonies while undermining their enemies’ plantation economies. Of the about 14,000 to 16,000 slaves captured in inter-colonial raids, more than 10,000 were forcibly taken to French colonies. These raids not only came at a high human cost but also led to shifting economic fortunes in the Caribbean.