Acaau of Les Cayes

Although we were hoping to trace the roots of the Piquet leader, Acaau, deeper into the colonial era or back to Africa, we did find a few instances in which his name appeared in the civil registry of Les Cayes, available at the Family Search site. According to the above document, registering the birth of a fille naturelle in the 1830s, Acaau was already a sous-lieutenant of the district's rural police. This position must have prepared him well for his future role as a leader of the rural population in the area in the 1840s. He was already known and had some authority. 

From another birth record for Acaau's child, we learn he had a brother, Gil Acaau. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any Caroline Acaau, but the birth records at least tell us that the famous leader had a brother. According to Madiou, Acaau was literate, which one can see in the signature in one of the birth records. Either way, it is interesting to have a very limited glimpse of Acaau before his (in)famous movement in the 1840s.