Jean Saint Malo in French (died June 19, 1784), also known as Juan San Maló in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, was the leader of a group of runaway enslaved Africans, known as

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

, in

Spanish Louisiana Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...

. Saint Malo and his band escaped to a marshy area near

Lake Borgne Lake Borgne (french: Lac Borgne, es, Lago Borgne) is a lagoon of the Gulf of Mexico in southeastern Louisiana. Although early maps show it as a lake surrounded by land, coastal erosion has made it an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Its name comes fro ...

, with weapons obtained from free people of color and plantation enslaved. The maroons lived in the swamps east of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and made their headquarters at Bas du Fleuve, located along Lake Borgne in present-day St. Bernard Parish. The Spanish colonial authorities led a campaign to suppress slave revolts and eliminate Maroon colonies in the region, capturing more than a hundred escaped slaves. In 1783, Col. Francisco Bouligny led an expedition against Bas du Fleuve, capturing 60 people, including Saint Malo. Jean Saint Malo was condemned to death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

, on charges of murder. The execution was carried out by the '' alcalde'' Mario de Reggio on June 19, 1784, in front of St. Louis Cathedral next to the present-day Jackson Square in New Orleans. The Filipino community of

Saint Malo, Louisiana Saint Malo () was a small fishing village that existed along the shore of Lake Borgne in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana as early as the mid-eighteenth century until it was destroyed by the 1915 New Orleans hurricane. Located along Bayou Saint Malo ...

, was named after him.Filipino-American history: The Other Spirit of St. Louis
Reviewed 2017-05-10

References

General references

* "Juan San Maló" (1988). In ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'', Vol. II. New Orleans: Louisiana Historical Association. p. 714 * * * * Medley, Keith Weldon (2000). "Black New Orleans." ''American Legacy Magazine''
transcription
Pre-statehood history of Louisiana Rebel slaves 1784 deaths People from New Orleans People executed for murder Spanish slaves People executed by New Spain Year of birth unknown 18th-century executions of American people People executed by Spain by hanging People of Colonial Spanish Louisiana People from Galliano, Louisiana 18th-century slaves 18th-century rebels {{AfricanAmerican-stub

See also

References

General references