{"id":16562,"date":"2026-05-26T11:44:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/?post_type=documentaire&p=16562"},"modified":"2026-05-26T11:44:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:44:50","slug":"the-pillars-of-domestic-life-in-a-planters-home-hierarchy-organisation-and-visual-representations","status":"publish","type":"documentaire","link":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/documentaires\/slavery\/the-conditions-and-daily-lives-of-slaves\/the-pillars-of-domestic-life-in-a-planters-home-hierarchy-organisation-and-visual-representations\/","title":{"rendered":"The pillars of domestic life in a planter\u2019s home. Hierarchy, organisation and visual representations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All chroniclers of the period agree that the Desbassayns sugar estate in Saint-Gilles was a place of considerable prestige where the couple would welcome visiting guests (as well as all those of any social standing) with a certain pomp and elegance. It was the place to be for any important visitor of the time. Upon Henry-Paulin\u2019s death in 1800, this almost institutionalised custom continued under the stewardship of his widow, Ombline, and her son Charles from the 1820s onwards.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Entertaining at that time meant demonstrating one\u2019s civility through propriety, protocol, table service, and post-meal rituals. Dining was one of the most refined aristocratic practices, but also one of the most codified.
In this plantation-owning society, it served as a pretext for showing off one\u2019s power and prosperity (with neither obsequiousness nor excess, however) thanks to a display of wealth made up of furniture, crockery, linen, varied and quality cuisine, as well as the associated services, where the servile domestic staff constituted one of the essential elements for the smooth running of a rural island estate.
The paradox lies not in this situation (considered normal at the time) but in the relative invisibility of this drove of domestic slaves. Even though they were supposed to be invisible and perceived as insignificant, visitors would still remain astonished by the sheer number of slaves at work. No specific comment seems to indicate any hiccup in their work, and everything appeared well-rehearsed and perfectly organised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An initial observation here: one highly significant fact worth noting from the outset is specific to the local colonial architecture. The layout of the home was simply not designed with domestic slaves in mind. There were no specific service areas allowing for parallel access, service corridors or hallways (which are always difficult to light), hidden service entrances, etc.
A second point: just like paid domestic staff, domestic slaves operated within a hierarchical structure and had to follow well-defined codes.
Let us therefore first take a look at just how this domestic staff was organised. Under the Ancien R\u00e9gime<\/em>, given the importance attached to the distinction between social groups and the fixed status of the individual, every wealthy, or at the very least well-to-do, family was obliged to maintain a household staff in which several classes of servants were distinguished. Firstly, the intellectual staff comprising secretaries, stewards, tutors and chaplains, who formed what might be called the senior staff. Then came the household staff, such as maids and valets, who were solely concerned with the well-being of a single person, often sharing in their private life. Next came the nanny, whose role was unique. Finally, there were the maintenance and service staff, the largest group, made up of a whole host of cooks, footmen (the male equivalent of a maid, or a general servant), laundrymen and laundrywomen, and all those involved in manual service tasks.
The master-servant relationship was a relationship of power, of command and obedience, of protection and loyalty all rolled into one, as well as one of service and labour, insofar as it involved placing the servant\u2019s entire capacity for work at the master\u2019s disposal to carry out any task, rather than a specific one.
Domestic service thus ran like a small business with its managers, assistant managers, workers and trainees (often children aged 7 to 10) who were entrusted with thankless or tedious tasks.
However, there were some employees (housekeeper, lady-in-waiting and governess) who were not part of the working class and were not considered servants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, reporting directly to the master (or mistress) of the estate, came the valet, the maid and the nanny. They were indeed servants, but they were in the personal service of the masters and took their orders directly from them, whilst remaining generally under the authority of the butler or steward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The household of a nobleman was therefore run by a steward (also known as a ma\u00eetre d\u2019h\u00f4tel<\/em>). His role was to oversee the procurement of food supplies, the preparation and serving of meals, the general running of the household, and the logistics of the masters\u2019 travels. He was the supreme authority over the household staff. According to Diderot and d\u2019Alembert\u2019s Encyclop\u00e9die<\/em>, the word major-domo<\/em> (from the Latin major<\/em>, meaning \u2018the highest\u2019, and domus<\/em>, meaning \u2018house\u2019) is an Italian term, in vogue from the mid-18th century onwards, used to designate the ma\u00eetre d\u2019h\u00f4tel<\/em> or steward, the highest-ranking member of the household staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He would manage the catering services and its staff. He oversaw procurement and negotiated contracts with suppliers: the baker, butcher, and delicatessen (bacon, sausages, andouilles, lard), grocer (sugar, spices, candles, torches, oil); he had to be knowledgeable about wines, vegetables, desserts, fruit and jams in order to purchase and serve them according to the time of year and the seasons. He also kept tabs on supplies of salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, etc., which he distributed depending on the needs of the kitchen and the pantry. He was also responsible for organising the service of the various meals. He would therefore draw up table plans for the exact placement of the dishes, taking into account the shape, size and contents of each dish to ensure harmonious table settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the size of the household, coachmen, grooms, stable boys and footmen (divided into several categories), would generally remain under the butler\u2019s authority. Similarly, the head chef, cooks, specialist cooks, kitchen boys and girls, and the maids, laundresses and all other ancillary domestic tasks related to the linen would also be under his responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry-Paulin Panon Desbassayns had a ma\u00eetre d\u2019h\u00f4tel<\/em> named Manuel, \u2018a Malbar man (sic) of 45<\/em>\u2019 (fig. 1). He probably did not handle the procurement of wines and spirits, but held the keys to the storerooms and cellars. In this respect, Henry-Paulin likely drew upon or was inspired by the practices he had previously encountered in India. Furthermore, local estates lived self-sufficiently and all food was produced on site, effectively eliminating the purchasing duties associated with his post, but not his role as a connoisseur of foodstuffs (meat, vegetables, fruit, etc.) and the management of those slaves responsible for livestock and growing food crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 1 \u2013 Indian butler. Anonymous, (Company painting). Watercolour and gouache on paper. Madras, c. 1800 (formerly in the C.T. collection, London)

Company Paintings are works produced in the 18th and 19th centuries by Indian artists for the British and, by extension, for other Europeans. Here, the butler holds a bunch of keys, a symbol of his authority.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beyond these vast and princely estates, there were not so many different positions. Often, each person would take on several roles: a single individual might serve both as butler (an indispensable role) and as footman or valet; and might also lend a hand in the kitchen if necessary (fig. 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 2 – [The artist\u2019s son bathing on the veranda of his grandfather\u2019s residence, Grandjean de Montigny]. Arnaud Julien Palli\u00e8re. 1830. Painting, oil on canvas.

Brasiliana Ita\u00f9 Collection, inv. 23008610
The artist\u2019s son bathing on the terrace of his grandfather\u2019s residence, by Grandjean de Montigny. The artist arrived in Brazil with the French Mission in 1817. He married the daughter of the French architect Grandjean de Montigny, with whom he had a son, Jean L\u00e9on, depicted here with his mother on the veranda of his stepfather\u2019s property. Note the butler on the left, bringing refreshments. He is recognisable by his attribute, a folded towel on his forearm. Two nannies are present; one is preparing to bathe the little boy and the other to dry him after his bath. Here, \u2018nanny\u2019 refers to a maid of all work with a recognised role in childcare.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The second key role was that of head chef (fig. 3). Talent was certainly more important than gender when recruiting; however, in practice, the majority of head chefs were in fact men. The duties of the head chefs, cooks and kitchen assistants (male or female) were closely interlinked, but it was the head chef who was in charge of the kitchen, and their personal qualities of cleanliness, rigour, order, consistency and speed of execution were needed to ensure that the kitchen ran smoothly. It was the head chef who would devise and finalise the menus, which would then be approved by the master or mistress of the house). They carried out the most complex tasks and would supervise, coordinate, check and approve every dish that left the kitchen to arrive either in the pantry or on the dining table. The entire food supply chain was managed with care, from the water supply to the production of fresh produce. Estates were virtually self-sufficient, with their own vegetable garden, fruit trees, a farmyard, livestock of all kinds, and, in some cases, had their own river or lake for fishing (or, failing that, a pond in which fish were kept). On large estates, one might even find fully-functional greenhouses for growing delicate fruits and vegetables such as lemons and decorative oranges, as well as an ice house. The Vill\u00e8le estate boasted all these features and even had an ice house added in 1830.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 3 – Portrait of George Washington\u2019s Cook. Gilbert Stuart (1755\u20131828). Circa 1795\u20131797. Oil on canvas.

Collection of Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid, inv. 383 (1983.37)
Presumed portrait of Hercules, George Washington\u2019s cook. Born in around 1754, Hercules probably belonged to Captain John Posey, Washington\u2019s neighbour. At the time of his death, Posey owned 317 slaves. When he fell into debt, Washington bought this talented slave. At Mount Vernon, Hercules became head chef in 1786, assisted by his thirteen-year-old son Richmond. His cuisine, a fusion of several culinary traditions, was celebrated by many for over 10 years. Nevertheless, he fled with his son in 1797 and disappeared from the historical records.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 4: Portrait of a young man. Anonymous. 1794\u20131848. Wood (oil).

Collection of the Ch\u00e2teau des Ducs de Bretagne \u2013 Nantes History Museum, inv. 2016.16.1
The employment of children aged 7 and over was common practice in domestic service, where they held menial positions as errand boys and\/or kitchen hands responsible for peeling fruit and vegetables, plucking poultry, scaling fish, and also washing everyday crockery. Silverware, porcelain and crystal were the preserve of more experienced and polyvalent maids.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 5 \u2013 The Garden. Adolphe Martial Pot\u00e9mont. 1848. Lithograph. L\u00e9on Dierx Museum, inv. 1984.07.02.62

Collection of L\u00e9on Dierx Art Gallery, inv. 1984.07.02.62
On the cusp of the abolition of slavery, the use of child labour was commonplace. Here, a young girl brings refreshments to the masters of the house and their daughter.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Desbassayns plantation had 451 slaves in 1800, divided into categories: the \u2018Noirs de case<\/em>\u2019 (household slaves), those with special skills, the guards, and finally the \u2018Noirs de pioche\u2019 (field labourers) responsible for agricultural work, who made up the largest group.
In Henry-Paulin\u2019s inventory, 29 slaves were listed as domestic staff working in the house itself. They served on the masters and cared for the children, and included a large number of unskilled men and women who performed a variety of tasks (housekeeping, table service, porters, kitchen boys and girls). There were also, alongside them, more specialised staff assigned to food service (cooks, bakers), cleaning and laundry (laundry workers, ironers and seamstresses), the stables (coachman, groom, and stable boy), the hospital (nurses and midwife) or the adjoining garden. There was also a fisherman, \u2018Fulgence, a 45-year-old Creole<\/em>\u2019 (fig. 6).
Skilled Black workers could be hired. They were more specialised in construction and building maintenance work: long-log sawyer, carpenter, joiner, blacksmith, mason and a cooper who was also a basket-maker, \u2018Bastien, a 48-year-old Indian<\/em>\u2019 (fig. 7).
Household slaves and those with special skills only accounted for 10% of the total number of slaves recorded. This is a significant figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 6 – Aqueduct of the Grande Rivi\u00e8re at Port Napol\u00e9on, \u00cele de France. Drawn by Jacques G\u00e9rard Milbert; engraved by Perdoux. Copper engraving. In
Picturesque Journey to \u00cele de France, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Island of Tenerife: Atlas.<\/em> Jacques G\u00e9rard Milbert. 1812. Plate 21.
Collection of Vill\u00e8le Historical Museum, inv. 1998.12.3
This artist took part in the early stages of the Voyage to the South Seas commissioned by Nicolas Baudin. Having embarked aboard the G\u00e9ographe, he left the expedition during a stopover at \u00cele de France in March 1801 (as did Michel Garnier). He then created \u2018A Picturesque Journey to \u00cele de France\u2019 which was published in 1812. Here, the landscape has extra details in the foreground on the left, with a slave bringing back his catch of the day, another who is likely fishing, whilst a third carries branches on his head, accompanied by a dog. On the right in the distance, there is a herdsman, and on the left, two slaves head towards a bamboo shelter.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 7 – Rattan craftsman. Sami. [1780]. Watercolour gouache. In Collections of drawings depicting the Gods of the Indians and the Customs and Practices of the Indians: [painting]. Customs and Practices of the Indians [especially agriculture and trades], by Brahmin Svami.

Coll. National Library of France, Department of Prints and Photography, 4-OD-46 (A)
Rattan refers both to a raw material and a finished product. This technique of weaving natural fibres came from India and required the use of a plant (calamus rotang) \u2013 which did not grow in the Mascarene Islands and had to be imported. Here, the artist has depicted three stages: the splitting of the strands (top centre), the adjusting (bottom left) and the weaving of a seat base (bottom right).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 1846, upon the death of Mrs Desbassayns, there was still a large household staff at Vill\u00e8le, made up of 51 household slaves (including 13 domestic servants or maids, 5 cooks, including 1 female cook, 2 bakers, 7 seamstresses, 2 laundry workers and 23 skilled workers (including 1 coachman and 1 groom), 3 nurses and midwives, and 15 others for factory work and the upkeep of various outbuildings (carpenter, bricklayer, boilermaker, blacksmith, etc.). It should be noted, however, that the average age had changed, as there were around ten slaves aged over 60 years old (3 in domestic service and 8 others in the garden). Many of the maids were assigned to look after the children and acted as nannies (figs. 8 & 9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 8 \u2013 Study room Jean-Joseph Patu de Rosemont. 1813. Watercolour.

Mar\u00e9chal de Bi\u00e8vre Collection
This document is the only illustrated description, recorded to date, depicting an interior scene in a home in R\u00e9union in the early 19th century, probably near Saint-Beno\u00eet. We see four young Black women, with undefined tasks, who can be counted among the throng of general servants. Alone on the right, one might be a wet nurse (?).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Fig. 9 – Little Marie on Neky’s Arm. Niels Peter Holbech (1804\u20131889). 1848. Oil on canvas.

Collection of the National Museum of Copenhagen
Portrait of Marie, the artist\u2019s eldest daughter born in 1837, in Neky\u2019s arms. Neky was a slave at Sainte-Croix (Danish West Indies).
Nannies and wet nurses were not counted among the skilled slaves; at least, there is no specific mention of them in the Desbassayns\u2019 slave registers. Nevertheless, they were figures with a special status, close to their masters and cherished by the children in their care. Depictions of them with children are fairly common, but identifying them by their first names is rarer.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the laundry work deserves special mention. The number of washerwomen and laundresses, and the skills of ironers and seamstresses, reflect a materialist culture that focused on appearances and the earliest notions of hygiene. Textiles were among the few goods that had to be imported and, as such, were always a mark of distinction. Clothing thus attested to high social standing, just as the use of abundant table linen (which had to be changed at every sitting) formed part of this ritual linked to appearances (fig. 10). The word \u2018blanchissage<\/em>\u2019 means \u2018the act of making linen clean\u2019. It encompasses all the different stages of treating dirty laundry (soaking, washing or lathering, wringing out, drying and ironing, as well as pre-washing treatments such as starching). Delicate and\/or embroidered linen remained the preserve of only the most skilled and experienced women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fig. 10 \u2013 The landscape of Rivi\u00e8re des Roches. Drawn by Jean-Baptiste Genevi\u00e8ve Marcellin Bory de Saint-Vincent; after Patu de Rosemont; Fortier, engraver; Adam, engraver. 1804. Etching. Pl. XXV, taken from \u2018Voyages to the four key islands off the seas of Africa\u2019 \u2026 vol. 2, pp. 117\u2013118.

Collection of Vill\u00e8le Historical Museum, inv. 1989.540
The washerwomen, wearing white bonnets, took care of the vast amount of laundry inevitably generated by the lifestyle of a large household. They had to wash, dry, and where necessary mend or darn, then iron the clothes of the various family members as well as all those of the servants, followed by the tablecloths, sheets\u2026 right down to the kitchen towels. Laundry could also be done on a wash-stone. Ash was frequently used in place of soap. Here we see slaves (men and women) beating the laundry on stones. Sheets are hung out to dry on the left, whilst another maid carries a bundle of dirty laundry on the right.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":16343,"parent":1874,"menu_order":110,"template":"","class_list":["post-16562","documentaire","type-documentaire","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire\/16562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/documentaire"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/documentaire\/1874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portail-esclavage-reunion.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}