COLONIES VIA LE HAVRE - Lot 327

COLONIES VIA LE HAVRE L.A.S. signed Laprée, addressed to Messieurs Monacq & fils in Bordeaux, Port-au-Prince, May 1, 1824. 2 folio pages, addressed with red postal mark "COLONIES PAR LE HAVRE", transit stamps and marks. Beautiful cursive handwriting. Minor creases and faint marginal foxing, overall good condition. Important commercial letter dispatched from Saint-Domingue shortly after Haiti's independence, containing valuable information on colonial trade, commodity prices and the local political situation. The correspondent acknowledges receipt of several letters left unanswered since November 1823, and informs his Bordeaux correspondents of the sale of flour, the product of which must be returned "in good coffee". He details market fluctuations: flour is now selling for "52 to 55 piastres a barrel", while coffee remains low at "60 to 65"; cotton and cocoa are also mentioned. The most remarkable part of this letter concerns the political context in Haiti. The author announces the imminent arrival of French commissioners sent by the government of Charles X to open negotiations on the official recognition of Haitian independence: "they are said to be charged with making proposals to obtain recognition of the independence of our Republic". This direct allusion to the Franco-Haitian discussions that preceded the royal decree of 1825 lends this letter a special historical interest. The correspondent also points out that "this is the moment when speculators must indulge in great commercial chances", showing how much the trading community perceived the possible economic consequences of a diplomatic normalization between France and Haiti. A rare account of the beginnings of Franco-Haitian commercial and political relations after independence, combining colonial postal history with the economic history of the West Indies.