“Memorial of María Witten.”
“Memorial of María Witten.” East Florida papers: Memorials, -1821; 1798. 1798. Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, East Florida Papers.
Document Text |
Summary |
| San Agustín. 1st of September 1798
Let this petition be shown to Don Bernardino and Don José Sánchez. White Licenciado Ortega Number 294 |
St. Augustin. September 1, 1798
Show this petition to Don Bernardino and Don José Sánchez. White Licenciado Ortega Number 294 |
| Lord Governor, María Witten, resident of this town, with the most humble submission to Your Lordship, appears and states: Having a girl of her color in her charge in order to teach her everything necessary in a household, whom Don Francisco Javier Miranda delivered with the charge and condition that for no reason should she go out into the street unless accompanied by the petitioner. | Governor,
María Witten, resident of St. Augustin, is asking you for help. She says that on August 23 she took a young Black girl into her care. Don Francisco Javier Miranda asked María to teach the girl how to care for a household. Don Francisco told María that the girl could not leave the house without a chaperone. |
| She received her on the twenty-third day, and that very night she took her to her master’s house so that she might collect her clothing and bedding. The petitioner remained in the street, waiting for her to come out of her master’s house with what she had gone to gather because the mistress of the house had delayed [the girl]. At that time, the wife of Don José Sánchez was returning from a walk and asked her what she was doing there. She gave no answer until the third time, stating, “Señora, I have not come to rob anyone of anything.” She moved away from the door and verbally assaulted her and, without knowing the situation, Don Bernardino Sánchez came out and, having grabbed her, he punished her to the point of making blood come from her mouth and nose. Afterwards, said Don José Sánchez did the same until he removed her from the street. Although the petitioner told them that she had come there due to her responsibility for the Black girl and not to harm to anyone, this did not prevent them from harming her. | That night, María took the girl to her former master’s home to pick up her things. María waited in the street outside while the girl collected her things. While she waited, she was spotted by the wife of Don José Sánchez. The woman asked what María was doing in the street. María ignored her but the woman kept asking. Finally, María answered “Ma’am, I am not here to steal anything.” The woman started yelling at María. Soon a man named Don Bernardino Sánchez came out. He did not take time to find out what was happening. He just started beating María. Soon María had blood coming out of her mouth and nose. Then Don José Sánchez joined him, beating her and removing her from the street. María told them she was there to chaperone a girl and had not done anything wrong. This did not stop them. |
| Therefore, she most humbly petitions that Your Lordship see fit to formally reprimand the said Don Bernardino and Don José Sánchez, and to require them to state the reasons they had for inflicting such a punishment on the petitioner. She trusts that she will not fail to obtain the favor and justice from Your Lordship’s uprightness. | Therefore, María asks that the governor formally scold Don Bernardino and Don José Sánchez and make them explain why they beat her. She trusts that the governor will do the right thing. |
| Florida. 28th of August 1798.
At the request of the petitioner, her son made this [petition]. Francisco Witten {rubric} |
Florida. August 28, 1798
María asked her son to make this petition for her. Francisco Witten |
Memorial of María Witten. August 28, 1798.
Background
Free women of African descent could be full citizens of the Spanish colonies and have the same rights as white settler women, even if they had once been enslaved. Their rights included being able to manage businesses and own property, including enslaved people. They also had access to the court system and could use the courts to protect their financial interests, as well as for other legal and civil matters. But this did not mean that Black women were treated as equals to white women in the Spanish colonies. There were still social and legal codes that upheld white supremacy.
About the Documents
In this document a Black woman named María Rafaela Witten asks the governor of Florida to punish members of one of Spanish Florida’s wealthiest families who had insulted and physically assaulted her. María Rafaela was a self-emancipated woman from South Carolina who escaped to Florida to start a new life.
In this petition, María Rafaela does not identify her race or social status. This may have been an attempt to be seen as equal to the people she was suing. As a free citizen of the colony, María Rafaela had the right to sue the people who attacked her. But Spanish colonial courts generally ruled in favor of people with higher status. While the suit did lead to her attacker admitting to having beaten her, the governor advised María Rafaela to treat white settlers with more respect in the future.
Vocabulary
- petition: A formal written request sent to an authority figure.
- self-emancipate: The act of an enslaved person freeing themselves from bondage.
Discussion Questions
- Based on this document, what rights did Black women have in Spanish Florida?
- What does this document reveal about the relationship between people of different races in Spanish Florida?
- What does the outcome of this case reveal about the rights of Black women in Spanish Florida?
Suggested Activities
- To learn more about the racial and social hierarchies in the Spanish colonies, see:
- To learn more about self-emancipated people in the Colonial Era, see Runaway Slaves.
- To consider the legacy of Black women’s continued struggle to assert their rights in the early United States, pair this resource with Free Black Americans, Claiming Freedom in Minnesota, and Life Story: Keziah Grier.
Themes
POWER AND POLITICS
