Duc du Maine (along with the Aurore) was a slave ship that on June 6, 1719, brought the first African slaves to Louisiana. She had carried them from Senegambia.Hall, Gwendolyn Midlo, Africans in Colonial Louisiana, p. 61theusgenweb.org "Immigrants to Colonial Louisiana"
Voyages The ship could carry 500 to 600 slaves. Several voyages have been documented in the Trans Atlantic Slave Database.
First voyage The first documented slave voyage (Voyage 32884) was in 1719 under Capt. de Lauduoine. began at Port Louis, France. Slaves were purchased at Whydah, and landed at Biloxi. Other sources state that after three months at sea, the first landing occurred at Dauphin Island with 250 slaves. The voyage ended in Lorient, France.
Second voyage The second voyage, (Voyage 32851), under Capt. N. Roseau with 349 slaves, arrived in March 1721. The voyage also began in France, but the slaves were purchased in the Bight of Benin, and disembarked on the Gulf Coast.
Third voyage The third voyage (Voyage 33116) under Capt. A. de Lavigne carried slaves from West Central Africa and St. Helena to Martinique, arriving Jan. 14, 1727. Of 491 slaves, 431 were alive to disembark at Martinique; 42 out of 91 crew members died en route.
See also Aurore (slave ship)
References
Further reading Mettas, Jean, Répertoire des Expéditions Négrières Françaises au XVIIIe Siècle; Tome 2, Ports Autres que Nantes (Paris, 1984), édité par Serge et Michelle Daget. Le Tréhour, Nolwenn, “La traite des Noirs lorientaise au temps de la Compagnie des Indes (1720-1770),” MA dissertation (Université de Bretagne-Sud, 1999), p. 197, 206, 216