The Jean Baptiste Lamarque Papers contain personal, business, and governmental papers of Lamarque, a French citizen and resident of Saint Lucia in the West Indies during the early years of the French Revolution. These papers reflect his mercantile business and the activities of the St. Lucia government while Lamarque was a member of the Colonial Assembly and mayor of Castries, from 1791 to 1794. This collection also includes a 1746 will of Maurice de Saxe and documents relating to an article published on Saxe. This collection has been arranged into four series.

Series I. Personal Papers include Lamarque's journal, which was written as a series of letters to his friend and business associate, Lambert, in Bordeaux. Although there is some mention of trading conditions in the West Indies, the bulk of the letters give a detailed narration of the political and social upheaval on Saint Lucia, and the surrounding islands of Martinique and Guadaloupe. Activities of the French Government during the early years of the French Revolution, 1790-1791, are discussed in Lamarque's nephew, Maximein's, letters. These contain information on discussions or actions taken by the National Assembly and on the French Army's movements. The remaining correspondence to Lamarque primarily discusses deaths, illnesses, and activities of family members, with only a few references to events in France.

This series also includes the legal papers of Lamarque, consisting of correspondence, agreements, and court orders produced from Lamarque's attempts to retrieve money, in the form of slaves, owed him by a Mr. Fressenjat. There are also papers generated during Lamarque's deportation from Saint Lucia. These include a list of his property, property subrogation agreements, and an untranslated document concerning his deportation.

Series II. Business Papers contains Lamarque's mercantile papers, miscellaneous correspondence, and financial papers, from 1771 to 1802. The bulk of the mercantile papers is comprised of correspondence from other merchants in Bordeaux discussing the current prices and sales of Lamarque's sugars and cotton goods. There are also letters from Lamarque's captain, Napias, of the ship Felicity.

The miscellaneous correspondence contains letters to and from business associates and friends in France. These primarily discuss favors rendered and payments of debts. There are a few references to political events in both France and the neighboring Windward Islands. Letters written during Lamarque's last two years (1793-1794) on Saint Lucia often relate to political events and convey an idea of the social and political unrest of the inhabitants. Also included here is a series of letters written by Lamarque from Salem, Massachusetts, to friends and family in France and Saint Lucia. Here he describes the 1794 conquest of Saint Lucia by the British and the conditions of his deportation. In addition, there is a letter dated 1802, from Lamarque's nephew to Mr. Robinson inquiring about the whereabouts and the return of a trunk containing the papers which comprise this collection. Additional letters from Lamarque to Joshua Ward, concerning the return of these same papers, are located in the Ward Family Papers (MSS 46, Box 16, Folder 7). Within the miscellaneous accounts and bills are a list of "habitations burned and number of Negroes in insurrection" and an inventory of Negroes owned by Lamarque.

Series III. Saint Lucia Government Papers covers the years 1787 to 1794 and includes correspondence, speeches, decrees, and notes generated by the Colonial Assembly, the Commandant of the local military group, and by Lamarque as mayor of Castries, the capital city of Saint Lucia. These papers discuss the proceedings of the Colonial Assembly, resolutions and laws made in France to be implemented in her colonies, and military and political activities of the local governments on Saint Lucia and Martinique. They reveal the problems of a colonial government neglected by its mother country, and its attempts at dealing with the social and political unrest resulting from different class structures, and the laws and ideology passed on by the French Revolution.

Series IV. Miscellaneous Papers contains material relating to a Maurice de Saxe, including his will, correspondence, and an article written about him. Also included in this series are the original transcriptions of the material, from French to English.