In 1768, this property was inherited by Daniel Cornelis de Leeuw (1747-1834). He was a co-owner of two plantations; a sugar plantation named Vreedestein and another called De Eenzaamheid. Both were located in modern Guyana, but it is not known how many enslaved people worked in these plantations. Vreedestein was started by De Leeuw in 1777 with Willem Maurits Swellengrebel as co-owner. Willem was the brother of Johannes Swellengrebel, who owned Drift 21. Five years later, the plantation was sold for 60.000 guilders. De Leeuw received 15.000 guilders (around 125.000 euros) as profit from the sale.

Ten years later, Laurens Jan Nepveu (1751-1823) bought this house. He was born in Paramaribo as his father, Jan Nepveu (1719-1779), was the governor-general of Suriname. As the governor, Jan Nepveu would be paid 9000 guilders (around 230.000 euros) per year. Jan also deployed enslaved people to work at his residence. After Jan Nepveu’s passing, Laurens Nepveu inherited two plantations named La Singularité and Ma Retraite and the all enslaved people that worked there. He also inherited a third of his parents’ wealth, namely 600.000 guilders (around 15.000.000 euros).

Life on the plantations

Through archival research we get an impression of the brutality of plantation life. This information, however, is usually written by plantation owners and other people in power at the time. Laurens Jan Nepveu wrote to the plantation director of La Singularité in 1780 to instruct him to be ‘careful’ with the enslaved people. This was not out of concern for their wellbeing, but for economic reasons as it was difficult to acquire enslaved people during that period, due to a war between England and the Netherlands. Records show that the population on the plantation diminished from 283 to 151 people between 1779 and 1800.

A few reasons could account for the decline. Many people died from the incredibly harsh conditions. People would also be sold and moved to other types of labor or bought free, like Saratje. Saratje was an enslaved woman who was bought free by the director of La Singularité in 1793. It is assumed they were in a relationship; however, it is important to note that the dynamics of such a romantic relationship would be highly impacted by the colonial power dynamics between the former enslaved and plantation director.

Enslaved people fought their bondage actively, often escaping into the jungle. Jan, an enslaved man, made such an escape in 1779 for example. People were not always successful and could get caught. Captors could get a fee for returning the ‘property’ to the plantation. At the Ma Retraite plantation for example, in 1793 28 guilders (700 euros) were paid to a smith for the capture of three escaped peoples Harlequin, Pretant and Mey.