Julie Dahey (d. ''after'' 1782), was a planter in

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

. Julie Dahey was a member of the class of ''

Gens de couleur In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

'' or free colours in Saint-Domingue. In 1767, following a common custom in Saint-Domingue, she became the professional mistress of the wealthy white sugar planter Sieur Thomas Peignanan, with the title ''menagere'' or housekeeper, with whom she had seven children. After the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, it became common from White Frenchmen to move temporarily to the colony of Saint-Domingue to make a fortune before they returned to France; while there, they did not marry within the White French planter aristocracy but instead lived in placage with a free woman of color, to whom they left land, slaves, business and property when they returned to France or died. This created a significant business class of rich free people of colors in Saint-Domingue, among whom Nanette Pincemaille (d. 1784), Anne Laporte (d. 1783) and Julie Dahey belonged to the most notable examples. Julie Dahey managed a coffee plantation from 1779, and a pottery- and brick factory in Croix des Bouquets in companionship with Sieur La Bacheliere. In 1781, she rented land from the crown on favorable terms and founded a sugar plantation with the right to buy it when the contract expired twelve years later. In 1782, Peignanan wrote a will in which Dahey was given his

personal property Personal property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law (legal system), civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—a ...

and his sister Catherine was given the ownership of his plantation on the condition that she rented it to Julie Dahey; she was further granted 12000 ''

livres Livre may refer to: Currency * French livre, one of a number of obsolete units of currency of France * Livre tournois, one particular obsolete unit of currency of France * Livre parisis, another particular obsolete unit of currency of France * F ...

'' and her seven children three of his slaves each. Julie Dahey, alongside

Zabeau Bellanton Elisabeth "Zabeau" Bellanton (c. 1751 – ''after'' 1782), was a slave trader. She is known to have been the most successful business woman in the French colony of Saint Domingue prior to the Haitian Revolution. Life Zabeau Bellanton's background i ...

, thus belonged to the leading figures of ''

'' businesspeople on Saint-Domingue prior to the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

References

* Stewart R. King:
Blue Coat Or Powdered Wig: Free People of Color in Pre-revolutionary Saint Domingue
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahey, Julie People from Saint-Domingue Year of birth missing Year of death missing 18th-century Haitian people Haitian slave owners French planters 18th-century women landowners Women slave owners