[Cayenne – Colonial Trade – Marseille Shipping]

Monsieur Aubert [shipowner]; Queyraud; Thourame.

[Manuscript shipping account for the brigantine Le Saint Jean Baptiste].

Cayenne, June 18, 1772.

Folio (22 × 35 cm). 8 pp. Manuscript in brown ink on laid, pencil-ruled paper.

Stitched.

A detailed manuscript account recording the sale and proceeds of cargo in Cayenne (French Guiana) from the Marseille brigantine Le Saint Jean Baptiste, which arrived in Cayenne in June 1772. Commissioned by shipowner Monsieur Aubert and managed locally by Queyraud and Thourame, the document itemizes goods sold—wine, oil, cassis liqueur, soap, candles, mirrors, sewing needles, clothing, and medicinal products—alongside their sale prices in livres tournois.
This account reflects the flow of European goods into colonial markets during the height of French Atlantic trade, where Marseille functioned as a key hub supplying outposts like Cayenne with both everyday necessities and luxury items. The manuscript is neatly written and signed by the agents, offering a rare glimpse into commercial operations and economic networks in the 18th-century colonial world.

Provenance: From the archives of the Aillaud (or Ailhaud) de Montmartin family, a prominent Provençal dynasty of merchants and shipowners active in Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, with trade links to Saint-Domingue, Martinique, and French Guiana.

Condition: folded, minor wear, one stain in blank areas. Otherwise clean, complete, and well preserved.