Also known as: commandeur, driver, slave foreman
Last updated: April 23, 2026
The commandeur was an enslaved foreman or overseer on colonial Saint-Domingue plantations, occupying an ambiguous position between the enslaved workforce and plantation management. This role exemplified the complex hierarchies within plantation slavery, where some enslaved people exercised authority over others while remaining themselves subject to the power of white masters and managers.
the labor and authority position occupied by Biaise; the position that made him both a tool of plantation discipline and a potential revolutionary organizer
Domestic servants, like commandeurs, occupied ambiguous positions close to the master household.
The commandeur (driver) was the enslaved person assigned to supervise other enslaved people.
Coffee Plantation
Plantation Daily Life
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"Commandeur." Rasin.ai, 2026. https://rasin.ai/connections/concepts/commandeur. Accessed 2026-05-05.