Judith Philip (c. 1760 – 1848) was a free,
Afro-Grenadian
Afro-Grenadians or Black Grenadians are Grenadian people of largely African descent. This term is not generally recognised by Grenadians or indeed Caribbeans. They usually refer to themselves simply as Black or possibly Black Caribbean. The te ...
business woman who amassed one of the largest estates in Grenada. By the time
Britain emancipated slaves in the West Indies she owned 275 slaves and was compensated 6,603 pounds sterling, one of the largest settlements in the colony.
Early life
Judith Philip was born around 1760 on one of her parents' estates on either
Carriacou or Petite Martinique, which at the time was part of
La Grenade, a French colony. Her father, Honoré Philip, a French baker, had immigrated from France in the 1750s with two brothers and his mother. Settling on the island of
Petite Martinique
Petite Martinique is one of the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, which is a dependency of Grenada.
It is 4 km (2½ miles) away from Carriacou. With its and population of 900, it is smaller than Carriacou. Petite Martinique comp ...
, Honoré married the African slave Jeanette, probably
manumitting her under the provisions of the
Code Noir
The (, ''Black code'') was a decree passed by the French King Louis XIV in 1685 defining the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire. The decree restricted the activities of free people of color, mandated the conversion of all e ...
. By 1760, the couple owned estates which were producing cotton and
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
on both Petite Martinique and Carriacou. Judith was the oldest daughter in a family of eight siblings, which included Honoré Jr., Nicholas Regis, Jean Baptiste-Louis,
Joachim
Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...
, Judith, Susanna, Michel and Magdalen. Within three years, the territory of La Grenade was ceded to Britain, at the end of the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
.
In the early 1770s, Philip began a relationship with the British merchant Edmund Thornton. The couple never married, though they had five children together: Ann Rachel, Magdalen, Judith, Louis Edmund and Philip. Thornton managed estates on Carriacou for the
Clan Urquhart
Urquhart () is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan dates to the 13th–century and is most associated with the area of Cromarty. In modern times there are two parishes in Scotland named Urquhart, one in Elgin and one on the Black Isle. There is ...
of
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
. The couple's alliance was beneficial to both. Thornton, an Englishman living in the predominantly French colony was able to use Philip's business contacts to negotiate business with other French planters across the
Grenadines
The Grenadines is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted): ...
. In turn, Thornton taught Philip how to read and conduct business in English, broadening her business networks as well. In 1779, the French retook the island of Carriacou. Philip's father, Honoré died that same year and her mother along with the children became the owners of his estates, worth 400,000
livres
The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France.
The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...
. The estate contained all of the property on Petite Martinique and a 160-acre estate known as "Grand Anse" near Tyrrel Bay on
Carriacou
Carriacou is an island of the Grenadine Islands. It is a dependency of Grenada, and is located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island Grenada and the north coast of South America. The name is derived from the Carib lang ...
, as well as several lots in the town of
Hillsborough. The signing of the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
in 1783, returned Grenada to British control and at that time, Philip and her children moved with Thornton into the town of St. George's. By the time of Philip's mother, Jeanette's death in 1788, the family additionally owned townhouses in Hillsborough,
St. George's and
Gouyave
Gouyave is the capital and largest town in the parish of St John, Grenada. It is located on the west coast of the Grenada.
History
Originally called Charlotte Town after Queen Charlotte of Britain, it was renamed Gouyave by the French because of ...
and more than 200 slaves.
Career
Philip initially took over management of the estate "Grand Anse" from her brother Jean Baptiste-Louis and inherited the estate outright when her mother died in 1788. Over the next ten years, Philip's siblings sold their various properties to her. Nicholas Regis died in 1789 and part of his estate was inherited by Philip. Honoré Jr. sold her his properties on Petite Martinique, St. George's and Hillsborough in 1792 and 1793. Soon after Jean Baptiste-Louis moved to
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
and sold his properties to her. In addition to earnings from the three estates on Carriacou, "Grand Ance", "Susannah", and "Petite Ance", Philip collected rents from her town properties. The three plantations formed a triangle on opposite sides of the island allowing Philip to transport slaves as needed from her various estates. Besides the cotton and indigo from her other holdings, she produced
cacao at "Susannah". In 1794, Thornton returned to England and married Jane Butler, daughter of Thomas Butler, the
Archdeacon of Chester
The Archdeacon of Chester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the diocese of Chester. The area in which she, or he, has statutory duties is the Archdeaconry of Chester – those duties include some pastoral care and disciplinary supervision of th ...
. Philip and her children also moved to England and established a residence at 33 Great Coram Street, a short walk from Thornton and his new wife. She and Thornton had their last two children in London, and Philip remained for a decade while her five children pursued their education.
Soon after Philip and Thornton left Grenada, an uprising known as the
Fédon Rebellion was launched in 1795. The rebellion pitted the free coloured population against the British and the administrative policies which denied them the privileges they had seen under French rule. Philip's brother Joachim, who had fallen deeply into debt and was sued by his creditors, became a trusted lieutenant of the revolutionary leader
Julien Fédon
Julien Fédon (? - 1796?), also called Julien Fedon, Foedonn, Feydn, and Fidon, was the leader of the Fédon Rebellion, a revolt against British rule led primarily by free mixed-race French-speakers that took place in Grenada between 2 March 1795 ...
. In 1804, Joachim was captured and executed by the British for his participation in the rebellion. Though the British took reprisals against the rebels, Philip for the most part was spared, in part because she, through Thornton, had made strategic connections with British community, and in part because her estates on outlying islands had little involvement in the uprising. During her years abroad, Philip's estates were managed by her sister Susannah, who was living in Trinidad and from whom, Philip had acquired the plantation "Susannah".
Returning to Grenada in 1808, Philip took over the control of her estates, managing many of her siblings holdings as well. She continued to purchase property both in Grenada and London and managed the investments of her children. The slave registers of 1817, show that Philip's main property at "Grand Anse" exceeded 400 acres of land and was worked by 276 slaves. She also had slaves registered in Trinidad, probably working on her siblings' estates there. Through the 1820s, Philip was among the most influential Grenadian planters, taking an active role in the social and business life of the colony. In 1822, when one of her slaves was sentenced to death for a domestic dispute with another slave, she organized a petition and obtained signatures from the island's elite to have his sentence commuted. That she was a French, free coloured female planter and was able to secure a commutation from the British colonial secretary, speaks to her high regard and position in the colony. In 1833, when she received compensation under the
Abolition Act, Philip was paid over 6,603 pounds sterling for her 275 slaves, making her one of the wealthiest planters on the island.
Death and legacy
Philip died in 1848 and her estate was bequeathed to her children and grandchildren. Four months after her death, her daughters put the property in Grenada, with the exception of "Grand Anse", up for sale with the intent of returning to England, where they owned other property.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Philip, Judith
1760 births
1848 deaths
18th-century British businesspeople
18th-century British businesswomen
19th-century British businesswomen
British slave owners
Caribbean people of African descent
French slave owners
Grenadian women
People from Carriacou and Petite Martinique
Planters of the British West Indies
Judith
Women slave owners