A slave driver had to secretly petition his absent owner against the brutal manager

Evidence

Philipeau pleaded with Mauger to believe him: “I speak to you as if I were explaining myself in front of God.” He also pleaded with her to keep his letter a secret. If the manager of the plantation found out that he had written to her, he would be “mistreated.” He signed the letter “your very humble and obedient slave.” Madame de Mauger did not respond to his entreaties. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 135

Categorization

• FICTION: The epistolary paradox — a slave master of other slaves writing in fear, signing ‘very humble and obedient slave’ — is rich character material for fiction about hierarchy’s gradations.