Suzanne Amomba Paillé (c. 1673-1683 – 27 January 1755) was an African-Guianan slave, slave owner, planter and philanthropist. A freed African slave, she amassed a large estate in

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

with her husband. After inheriting the estate upon his death, the colonial administration barred further interracial marriages to keep her estate from benefiting a second husband should she remarry. They also appointed a guardian to manage her assets believing a former slave could not control her own affairs. After suing the government and having the guardianship removed, she donated her estate to charity to educate the children of the country.

Early life

Little is known of Amomba's early history. Census records in the archives of Guyana indicate that she was born between 1673 and 1683. Her original African name suggests origins around the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

, and her baptismal name was Suzanne. She was brought to the French colony of Guiana as a slave to Lieutenant François de la Mothe Aigron, who later

manumitted Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and ...

her. On 29 June 1704, she married under the terms of the

Code Noir The (, ''Black code'') was a decree passed by King Louis XIV, Louis XIV of France in 1685 defining the conditions of Slavery in France, slavery in the French colonial empire and served as the code for slavery conduct in the French colonies ...

, the soldier Jean Paillé, a Frenchman from Pont-Saint-Martin in . He was stationed at the Cayenne garrison and was also a master mason, employed as the stonemason of the Cathédrale of Saint-Sauveur de Cayenne. During her lifetime, she was known as "Suzanne Amomba, free negress" or "Suzanne Amomba, wife of Jean Paillé".

Career

After her husband was discharged, the couple obtained a plot of land in

Macouria Macouria (; ) is a commune of French Guiana located midway between Cayenne and Kourou, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The seat of the commune is the settlement of Tonate, and so the commune is also known ...

in 1709. Their assets at that time were a rifle, six slaves, a milk cow, and plantings of manioc and yams. By 1737, they had increased their holdings considerably owning one sword, two rifles, sixty-seven slaves, forty-six cows, food crops and export crops—

annatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), native to tropics, tropical parts of the Americas. It is often used to impart a yellow to red-orange color to foods, but ...

, cacao,

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

and

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

. They also owned a town home on Rue des Casernes in Cayenne, near the old port and Caserne Loubère (Loubère Barracks), making them some of the most wealthy planters in the colony. When her husband died in 1739, as they had no children, Suzanne Amomba inherited the entire estate. As a wealthy widow, illiterate, and elderly, she became a target of many suitors who offered proposals of marriage. In an effort to protect her and potential future gain by the state, colonial administrators issued an order in 1741 barring interracial marriages in the colony. The authorities also appointed a guardian to control her affairs, claiming she was senile and questioning whether as a former slave she should be allowed to make decisions about her use of her own assets. In 1742, Suzanne Amomba sued for the right to control her own business and drafted a will demonstrating that she understood the principles of devising her bequests. For two years, she awaited a decision and was finally granted the rights of controlling her own property in 1744. On 30 April 1748, Paillé donated her plantation and assets, including fifty-five slaves, to a charity dedicated to providing education to children of either sex. She reserved the use of her property for her lifetime.

Death and legacy

Paillé died on 27 January 1755 in

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

and was buried the following day in the Cathédrale of Saint-Sauveur de Cayenne. Upon her death, her assets were combined with those of François de la Mothe Aigron, her former master, to support a school in Cayenne. Some historians believe her donation was coerced, while others have seen the donation as Suzanne Amomba's assertion of her own will, taking action before the authorities could thwart her wishes. In 1898, the city of Cayenne asked the Colonial Minister to rename a street in her honor. The street, ''Rue de Madame Payé'' was designated and marked the first time Suzanne Amomba was directly associated with her husband's surname.

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