Antoine Lavalette, a French Jesuit priest and missionary, is remembered not only for his involvement in spreading Catholicism but also for his dark history of brutality. Born on October 26, 1708, Lavalette was sent to the Caribbean island of Martinique in 1741, where he became deeply involved in the exploitation of enslaved Africans. His cruelty, however, went far beyond mere exploitation; Lavalette is infamous for the torture and murder of at least four enslaved Africans in his plantation—events that the Jesuit order kept largely hidden for centuries.
The Jesuits and Their Role in Slavery
The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, was founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola to spread Catholicism through education and missionary work. By the 18th century, however, the Jesuits had become deeply involved in the slave trade, particularly in the Americas. Their global reach allowed them to establish large plantations in the Caribbean, and other parts of the world, where over 20,000 enslaved Africans were forced to work the land to finance their religious and educational missions.
The Jesuits’ participation in slavery was justified by a belief that the enslaved Africans could be converted to Catholicism. They were seen less as human beings and more as assets or investments. This view led to widespread abuse and dehumanization, often in the name of religion. While some Jesuits expressed moral objections to slavery, the order as a whole continued to support it as an economic necessity for their missions, viewing enslaved Africans more as commodities than as human beings in need of salvation.
Antoine Missionary Work
Antoine Lavalette arrived in the Caribbean in 1742, tasked with expanding the Jesuit mission on the island of Martinique, a French colony known for its sugar and coffee plantations. By 1753, Lavalette was appointed superior of the mission. Under his supervision, the Jesuits’ holdings in Martinique grew, and Lavalette expanded his operations, purchasing plantations and hundreds of African slaves. He eventually came to own more than 400 enslaved Africans, whom he used to sustain his religious and commercial ventures.
Unlike many of his fellow missionaries, Lavalette did not see the enslaved people as potential converts to Catholicism. Instead, he regarded them purely as economic assets. Lavalette believed that a slave needed to work enough to cover their purchase price within five years and contribute to the running costs of the plantation. This profit-driven mindset led him to adopt harsh methods to maintain control over his enslaved workers, methods that included physical punishment and brutal exploitation.
Lavalette quickly rose through the ranks, and was soon appointed superior of the Jesuit mission in Martinique. During his time in the Caribbean, Lavalette focused on expanding the mission’s economic holdings, investing in plantations and amassing a significant number of enslaved Africans to work them. His business dealings extended beyond plantation ownership; in 1751, Lavalette began accepting deposits from planters in exchange for commercial paper, which could be redeemed in France. In return, he received payments in the form of cash crops and slaves. His increasing financial strain would set the stage for his eventual downfall.
The Torture and Deaths of Four Slaves
In 1761, during an investigation into Lavalette’s activities, a Jesuit investigator named Jean-François de la Marche uncovered disturbing evidence of Lavalette’s cruel treatment of his slaves. De la Marche’s report revealed that Lavalette had tortured and killed at least four enslaved africans; Catherine, Martin, Renata, and Condo. Rather than providing proper burials, which the enslaved believed were necessary for a spirit to rest, Lavalette disposed of their bodies by casting them into the sea. He justified these brutal actions by accusing the victims of practicing sorcery.
Shocked by the gruesome details, de la Marche feared that his findings might not be believed. To ensure the credibility of his report, he included the names of the victims and the dates of their deaths, preserving their identities for history.
Lavalette’s cruelty was not an isolated act but part of a larger culture of fear and brutality that permeated slavery across the Caribbean, not just on Jesuit-owned plantations. This climate of oppression created a justification for violence, where whipping, mutilating, or even killing enslaved men and women was seen as a necessary means of control. To curb this violence, royal authorities introduced the 1685 Code Noir, a law that aimed to regulate the treatment of slaves in the French Caribbean. While the Code placed strict limits on the punishments that could be inflicted, it had limited effectiveness in curbing the widespread brutality.
The findings of de la Marche’s report reached the ears of Superior General Lorenzo Ricci, who concluded that Lavalette was guilty of homicide. Despite this, no punishment was ordered. Instead, Lavalette was instructed to return to Europe, where he was convicted by the Jesuits of engaging in “profane commerce” and removed from his position. Lavalette formally resigned from the Jesuits in 1762. The story of his murders remained largely ignored by the Jesuits, with Ricci’s brief mention being the only reference until 1996, when a researcher uncovered de la Marche’s report.
The Lavalette Affair and Its Impact
Lavalette’s financial mismanagement and the brutality of his actions led to what became known as the “Lavalette Affair.” The debts he incurred, totaling millions of livres, were so vast that they became a significant burden on the Jesuit order. The French Parliament, already critical of the Jesuits, seized their property in France, including 38 of their schools, and in 1764, the order was officially dissolved in France and its colonies.
The Lavalette Affair not only contributed to the downfall of the Jesuits in France but also brought to light the extent of the Jesuit involvement in slavery. Despite the severe financial and moral costs, the Jesuit order failed to hold Lavalette accountable for his crimes during his lifetime.
The story of Antoine Lavalette is a reminder of the contradictions within religious institutions during the colonial period. While the Jesuits professed values of equality and human dignity, their actions—particularly their involvement in slavery—were in direct opposition to those ideals. Lavalette’s life and crimes embody the moral compromises made by religious figures who, in the pursuit of wealth and power, lost sight of the very principles they claimed to uphold.
In recent years, the Jesuit order has publicly acknowledged its role in slavery and the suffering it caused. Efforts toward reparations and reconciliation, particularly through institutions like Georgetown University, founded by Jesuits, which sold 272 enslaved people in 1838 to secure its financial future, have sparked ongoing discussions about the responsibility of religious institutions for their historical wrongs.
Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/org/science/article/pii/S2214132420000916
https://www.descendants.org/who-we-are/history
