The second group were free people of color, or "gens de couleur libres", were usually mixed-race (sometimes referred to as mulattoes), being of both African and French descent. These "gens de couleur" tended to be educated and literate, and the men often served in the army or as administrators on plantations. Many were children of white planters and enslaved mothers, or free women of color. Others had purchased their freedom from their owners through the sale of their own produce or artistic works. They often received education or artisan training, and sometimes inherited freedom or property from their fathers. Some "gens de couleur" owned and operated their own plantations and became slave owners.