Early Life and Upbringing
Zamor was born in the town of Chittagong in the state of Bengal. In 1773, when he was eleven years old, he was captured by English slave traders, who trafficked him into France via Madagascar and sold him to Louis XV of France. The King gave the young boy to his mistress, Countess du Barry, and he was christened Louis-Benoit. The Countess developed a liking for the boy and educated him. Zamor developed a taste for literature and was inspired by the works of Rousseau. Till her death, the Countess was under the wrong impression that Zamor was African.
Records of the period suggest that Zamor may have been extremely mischievous as a child. She noted in her memoirs:
The second object of my regard was Zamor, a young African boy, full of intelligence and mischief; simple and independent in his nature, yet wild as his country. Zamor fancied himself the equal of all he met, scarcely deigning to acknowledge the king himself as his superior
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