Napoleon Bonaparte Maritime Passport 1813
Napoleon Bonaparte Maritime Passport
Napoleon Bonaparte authorizes the importation of exotic commodities “from colonies in France, America, and Asia,” which encompasses items such as fish oils, cocoas, indigo, and mahogany.
A partially printed document in French, bearing the signature “Nap” and measuring 13.5 x 19.25 inches, dated April 14, 1813. This maritime passport was issued to a vessel belonging to the trading firm ‘Paul Nairac,’ setting sail from the port of Bordeaux. It grants permission to introduce various goods into French ports, including cotton, fish oils, dye woods, salted fish, cod, coffees, sugars from French, American, and Asian colonies, cocoas, groceries from former Dutch islands, indigo, mahogany, and cabinet woods. Napoleon Bonaparte Maritime Passport
The document prominently features the signature of Napoleon Bonaparte at the center, along with countersignatures by prominent officials such as Minister of Manufactures and Commerce Jean-Baptiste Henry Collin, Count of Sussy; Minister Secretary of State Jean-Baptiste Nompère de Champagny, duc de Cadore; Minister of the Navy and Colonies Denis, Duc de Decrès; and the Director General of Customs François Ferrier. It is in excellent condition.
The Passport Napoleon Bonaparte Maritime Passport
Nairac Family – Slave Trade
The family were shipowners and refiner from Bordeaux. A large part of their fortune came from slavery and slave trade. They had a fleet of four ships, including three slave ships and two sugar refineries in Bordeaux in the Sainte-Croix district. From 1764 to 1792, they organized 24 expeditions, 18 of which deported more than 8,000 blacks, which placed them at the head of the Bordeaux slave traders.
They owned a plantation (Habitation Nairac) in 1786, on Bourbon Island (St-Pierre de la Réunion), in the region of present-day Tampon, which included 414 slaves including 98 children, 2 invalids, 24 servants, etc.
French Colonialism: Travel order & passport 1852
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