Petits-blancs

***Petits-blancs*** (Ditrovian: *"small whites"*) were a Eurean ethnic group in Tahare. The *petits-blancs* formed during the 18th century, and existed until between the abolition of slavery in 1820 and the end of the colonial period in 1956, after which they largely merged with the *gros-blancs* to become the *Grebs*. Despite descending from wealthy landowners and the initial colonizers of Tahare, for most of history the *petits-blancs* were a landless and economically disadvantaged ethnic group on the island.

## History

### Origins

The *petits-blancs* descend from the original Maronan colonizers of the island of Tahare, much like their wealthy *gros-blanc* counterparts. Following the beginning of colonization, the Maronan male settlers brought wives from Northern Tiria and Papagusca to settle the island and establish plantations, which were staffed with slaves from East Tarfica.

As the initial Maronan settlers brought wives from Northern Tiria and Papagusca, after several generations the *petits-blancs* were nearly entirely ethnically mixed, but still possessed predominantly lighter features associated with Eureans, which separated them from the Tarfican slaves who worked on plantations.

### Formation

The *petits-blancs* did not separate into its own distinct ethnic group from the *gros-blancs* until the early-18th century, about one century following the initial colonization of the island. Landowning families at the time tended to be large, with families of more than ten children being quite common. With this high birth rate, the distribution of inheritance following the death of parents grew to become slim for the youngest sons of the family, with many youngest sons from landowning families eventually receiving no inheritance. Desperate for a livelihood and a means to survive, groups of these newly landless *gros-blancs* eventually decided to further settle inland and build small agricultural communities away from the plantation agriculture that dominated the island's economy at the time.

The communes of Saint-Albert and Saint-Bernard were among the first communities to be founded by groups of the new *petit-blanc* ethnic group leaving Saint-Philippe, and were followed by communities like Saint-Henri and Mont-Argent, now both located within the city of Sainte-Anne. The communities later expanded throughout inland Tahare, specifically within the Lumatile region. While these agricultural communities initially proved successful, the *gros-blancs* soon afterwards purchased the land that the *petit-blanc* communities were built on, forcing the *petits-blancs* into restrictive land leases which resulted in them paying a significant portion of their agricultural revenue to their *gros-blanc* landlords. These leases forced economic distress on the *petits-blancs*, leading to most of the community to leave in relative poverty. The *petits-blancs* were considered to be the most economically disadvantaged group of free people on the island prior to the abolition of slavery in 1820, and remained some of the most impoverished people in Tahare following slavery's abolition as well.

### Decline

The *gros-blancs* began to experience some economic instability following the abolition of slavery in 1820, and especially amidst the decline of indentured servitude and its eventual abolition in 1906. With this newfound instability amongst the island's most economically prosperous group, many *gros-blanc* families lost their land and their fortunes, eventually turning to modest livelihoods outside of landowning. This change also led to a stronger economic situation for many *petits-blancs* as well, as their former landowners relinquished control of their lands and *petits-blancs* began to own their farms for the first time since the early-18th century.

By the end of colonial Tahare in 1956, the *gros-blancs* and *petits-blancs* were nearly indistinguishable from each other. Many former *gros-blancs* had begun living in modest or even impoverished conditions and working more ordinary jobs, while many former *petits-blancs* had either left their farms for more profitable work in the cities, or had been able to develop comfortable livings for themselves on their farms. This demographic change led to the merger of the two groups as the *Grebs*.

In present-day Tahare, many residents descend from *petits-blancs*, including those who do not identify as *Grebs*. Additionally, some *Grebs* may descend wholly or predominantly from *petits-blancs*, wholly or predominantly from *gros-blancs*, or from a mixture of the two former communities. These descendants belong to a variety of socioeconomic classes, although many former *petits-blancs* have continued their familial tradition of living on farms and pursuing an agricultural life. The communes of Saint-Albert and Saint-Bernard additionally continue to be seen as *Greb* communities with the majority of their residents having descended from the *petits-blancs*, as do several other *Greb* neighborhoods in inland Tahare.