plantations to which they belonged. Their heads were then cut off and planted on poles (Thrasher, 1996; Rasmussen 2011).  
Jean Jacques Sr., the youngest child of Ambroise Haydel and the last surviving member of the first Louisiana-born generation of the Haydels, witnessed two economic periods that differed dramatically. Indigo was booming at the time of his marriage in 1774 and, by the time he retired in 1820, he had reaped the benefits of sugar production. His main plantation was 17 arpents wide and 80 arpents deep ("double profondeur" [double depth]). The sugar industry still used only animals and human labour, and his sugar mills produced 190 hogsheads (190,000 pounds) of sugar. Alexis and Barnabé, the two sugar masters (sucriers), were both born in West Africa and belonged to the Bambara nation. The main house built on the site was described as a superbe maison de maître (magnificent master's house). Twelve cabins housed 61 enslaved people, most of them field hands. Some were referred to as bons domestiques (good servants) or habiles à la garde des troupeaux (good herdsmen). The oldest among them was Marguerite, who was Creole, 66 years of age and registered with her husband Sam, an enslaved person from the Soso (Susu) nation, who was 60 years old and blind. One enslaved person suffered from a hernia and another was recovering. This illness, associated with hard labour, was quite common among the workforce in the area. The loss of freedom and homesickness certainly affected many of them, especially those born in Africa, such as Bernard, an enslaved person of 50 years of age from the Kiamba (Chamba) nation, who was affected by moments de démence (fits of madness). Manuel, a Creole enslaved person aged 23 years, was described as a voleur et maronneur (a thief and a maroon).