The French West Indies collection traces the activities of merchants in the Caribbean and geographical observations of French cartographer Philippe Buache in the eighteenth century. Most of the correspondence was written from several locations in the Caribbean with the majority of the letters sent from Petit-Goave on Haiti. The letters appear to have been sent between merchants and French settlers in the Caribbean and acquaintances and family members in France. According to the original folder that housed the correspondence, "most of these were apparently captured by an English privateer during the English-French War of 1743 and never reached their destination, but were probably carried into some part of the English colonies in America." The following men are represented among the correspondents: Mr. Robineau, Thomas Des Vaux, and Mr. Gentille Grateloup of Bordeaux. In a letter sent to Grateloup, the author discussed the recent declaration of war against Britain (June 13, 1744). While the letters contain some comments on the political climate, they mainly relate to the shipment of goods between France and the West Indies and the manner in which these goods would be purchased, especially with the waters becoming increasingly dangerous due to the war. Besides discussing trade and the war, some letters touched on the appointment of army officers. Many of the correspondents also discussed personal matters, including weddings and the health of family members. For example, there is a letter that an unidentified correspondent sent to his cousin, a woman living on the coast of Saint Domingue, inquiring into the general well-being of his family members (1746).
