[To study history carefully is like a cinema in your head.]"A mild, sunny winter morning has arrived above the harbour of Rochefort on this Monday, 14 December 1801. A fresh sea breeze is blowing inland, driving the salty smell of the sea into all of one's pores. Since dawn, the drums have unmistakably announced the break of day for many - for all of them? - of what is possibly the last day of their life in their homeland. According to the rumours heard around the latrines the last couple of weeks - and for a soldier there is not a more dependable source of news - after all the training, the expected and feared departure to the unknown has come. Thousands are said to have already died in the green hell of the Caribbean, dying of fever, massacred by black murderous slaves.
For more than an hour, squads, platoons, companies, and battalions in the blue-and-white uniforms of the French line infantry have been marching in long lines onto the deck of the frigates and the two ships of the line "Patriote" and "Scipion". The right winds for departure have to be awaited one more day; nevertheless numerous seamen are working busily, high up in the rigging."
A liner of the late 18th century puts out and reaches main sea. About six weeks took the transit from France to the Caribbean. More than thousand men were on those ships crowded, malady and epidemics on the ships were on the agenda.
A film script of the slave rebellion on Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the beginning of the 19th century would probably begin something like that. And thus once more from a European point of view, perhaps describing nothing more than the fears and the situation of the common people, who were inescapably involved in this war between a couple of white colonial rulers and for states full of immense resources.
However, a change of view is appropriate. What did the slaves think at this time? Why didn't the victims of enormous acts of violence defend themselves much more often?
Of course, the sources on this are scarce - simply because basic education like reading and writing for the enslaved blacks was dangerous for the slave holding nations. So the criminal oppressors had a monopoly on reports and representations - partly over centuries. And even today, the "bloodthirsty negroes" are dragged through the dirt with their "absurd ideas" in literature; this is why we introduce the men that played an important role in these events with their full titles, which may seem somewhat "fake" today, but is only meant out of respect and in the spirit of that era. All the titles were rightfully appointed to former slaves, and it was probably with some satisfaction that the former colonial gentlemen had to bow to "the rule of the ambitious negro".
It is infinitely sad that the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the poorhouses of Central America, have never really been able to continue the economic successes of the past, and that especially Haiti was unable to overcome the despotism of new criminals.
It is by far no simple venture to try to represent the events objectively, without the usual fixation on Europe, the cultural arrogance which still exists today - although often unconscious - and discrimination of human rights with reference to the colonisation and slave-based economy.
Nevertheless, this attempt must be undertaken - developed and refined daily, more and more precisely. And completely without "hero worshiping" and euphemizing the enormous crimes - also on the black side - the exemplary achievements of the blacks should be described clearly.
Are we talking about a "justified war" here? Can there be "justified wars" at all: moments in the life of people or whole communities, where the usage of weapons and extreme force is not only legitimate, but the only legitimate way out? If so, then based on which morality, according to which view of the world around us? Had such a moment come in history in the autumn of 1791 on Hispaniola? Can crimes committed against a community pile themselves up so high that the crime committed in self-defence becomes understandable, even excusable?
Judge for yourselves!
A frigate of this time on full speed. Here an US-American ship.
The events
The events that took place on Hispaniola have not been investigated enough yet from the slaves' point of view. That is why we will try to focus on this issue here in the following article.
Compared with all the confusions and events connected with the French revolution, the refusal of an economy based on slavery in 1794 by the National Convention didn't seem very important for Europe. All slaves received freedom. But it was a long way from theoretical idea to practical realisation - especially when we consider the months it could often take for a message to arrive. But the message did reach Santo Domingo - the French territory on the large Caribbean island of Hispaniola, roughly the western part of the island, about as big as present day Belgium, next to a Spanish colony - but only the main parts were really implemented. This of course had grave consequences for the plantation economy of the white landowners, though this wasn't much of a concern for the now free slaves.
Even though the French colonial empire had been reduced tremendously already, mainly due to pressure from England, 70.000 whites and almost one million non-Europeans lived in her colonies at the time of Napoleon's appointment as consul. The very lively trade between the motherland and even just the Central-American colonies - so from the area of Hispaniola - had reached a value of 218 million francs shortly before the outbreak of the revolution in Paris. To compare: the value of the export from the English territories in the West-Indies barely reached 160 million. The French export to its colonies reached more than 76 million; with a total export of 400 million, this was a very considerable share. Part of this total of 400 million consisted of the taxes on colonial goods, which weren't permitted to be shipped to other countries directly. This made up 157 million, while the export of French agricultural goods and products reached only 124 to 131 million francs. We now see the background of events, and what these conflicts and fights really were over. We can especially see what is was all about for England, which in the course of the "Napoleonic" wars had grabbed control over almost every relevant colonial territory. England's goal and success were clearly all those enormous subsidies - Austria alone already received almost 50 million within only a few years after 1800.
During these times, Santo Domingo had about 40.000 white inhabitants, as well as many free "coloureds" - for practical purposes, we should use the terminology of those times - and about half a million slaves, of who about a tenth were counted as "halflings". The trading volume of this territory alone reached nearly 200 million francs. And to keep up the economy despite sickness, old age, and death, every year 15.000 people were shipped there as slaves. This situation changed completely when revolution broke out in France and new forms of government started forming. Following the role model of the National Congress in Paris, the colonies were to form assemblies, a kind of regional parliaments, which were to take over the administration with help of an executive body. On Hispaniola, this unstable situation reinforced the already present wish for independence, especially amongst the wealthy white landowners - who didn't care so much about changing the situation of the slaves and the poor and dependent people, but were more interested in gaining highly profitable independent trade with England and the nearby USA.
Today a holiday paradise; at that time Hispaniola was a countryside filled with opposites, filled with beauty of nature. Here a view from the coast to the mountain chains.
When a further decision by the Parisian National Congress gave only the free coloureds the same political rights as the whites, the first armed conflicts developed. At first, the whites remained victorious. However, they started fighting amongst themselves about the question of how independent they should be of an overseas motherland, which was practically incapable of action on the other side of ocean. While the rich landowners wanted as much autonomy as possible, de poorer whites tried to cut down their power, supported by the government in Paris.
Soon, the first slave leaders started using these confused times to organise slave rebellions. A very large rebellion gripped the northern region around the capitol of Le Cap; shortly thereafter uprisings in the western region followed, with large consequences.
The heavily beaten, yet still standing coloureds from the previous conflict joined the rebellious black slaves. The rich landowners now tried to get a grip on the situation themselves. They declined help form the motherland, even keeping the few line troops away from the fighting, because as troops of the revolution they were suspected of "collaborating" with the black slaves. We now stop at 1792, when a number of influential persons from the west coast requested help from England - who had meanwhile started war with France back in Europe - to generally strike down the rebellion. British landings at Jamaica in 1793 and the capture of the provincial capitol Port au Prince in 1794 were the results. By now, Spain too had joined the fight against revolutionary France - not in the last place because of economical, financial, and so also colonial reasons - and had started to support the rebels. At the end of 1794, it had captured almost the entire region, except for the British occupied area. The situation seemed hopeless for the French, and the colony seemed all but lost.
[Click on the picture for a greater version]
At this moment in history, we now come across the interesting personality Toussaint L`Ouverture, who strongly affected the course of events.
François-Dominique Toussaint, later called "L'Ouverture" ("he who opens the way", the spelling Louverture is also common), was born into a family of slaves living and working on the plantation Breda next to Cap Haïtien around 1743. The priest Simon Baptiste taught him to read and write and also a little Latin. Toussaint Louverture's father was said to be a "chief" or a "king" who had been shipped to Saint Domingue as a slave from Africa. As far as provable he had been born in the region of present Benim. In those days, this is how the so-called "triangle deal" worked (perhaps slightly exaggerated): cheap textiles and junk, consumer goods, weapons, and alcohol went from Europe to Africa, where they were exchanged for black slaves. These were then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the "New World" and traded for colonial goods produced on plantations with help of slave labour, and which were ultimately transported "back" to Europe. It was on such a plantation that Toussaint was born on Saint Domingue in the year 1743. Until 1776 he lived and worked on the plantation "Breda", which gave him his pre-revolutionary name: François Dominique Breda.
He was freed in 1777, married Suzanne Simon and had two sons, Isaac and Saint-Jean. In 1791 he joined the first liberation movements for the slaves on the island Hispaniola.
Of course his unbelievable personal history is not thinkable without these experiences. Nevertheless for historical research it's more important to describe the historical benefits. Many sources seem to assure us that he knew some pre-revolutionary French publications, especially Abbé Raynal, who can in some ways be compared with modern "Liberation-Theologians". Indeed, the writings of Abbé Raynal are supposed to have influenced him both politically and socially.
There are a lot of portraits of Toussaint, but which show very different faces. It is cloudy, which drawer knew Toussaint really. So we have very few sure realistic pictures.
Toussaint first joined the rebellion in the northern province and quickly rose to positions of command, being a competent and purposeful military leader. In accordance with other black leaders he joined in "Spanish service", according to the interpretation of French sources. The sources concerning his ideas and motivations are unfortunately very rare and have to be interpreted carefully and objectively. It is very likely that he saw in the Spanish attack on the French territory, to all intents and purposes with a keen overview, the best chance for the interest of the slaves, which he already felt connected with.
When it became clear to him that the Spanish side was lost in this complicated struggle of different interests and never ending violence on Hispaniola, he entered into negotiations with the loyalist French side and demanded an official rank in the army, which the desperately fighting French accepted more than gladly. In June 1794, he thus becomes an approved colonel and was given 4000 men, excellently organized, fighting for the clear purpose of their freedom, and with good experience of the climate.
This changed the situation in favour of the French government troops: General Laveaux could go on the offensive against the Spaniards and British. In a few weeks, the Spaniards were beaten off the French territory; the treaty of Basel concluded the war with Spain the following year. And also the following campaign against the British was led successfully "with the help of" TL, although he was really in charge. With the success that the black commander was appointed deputy by the military commander Laveaux, he was now practically already regent of the colony, out of reach of his competitor Rigeaud in the south.
General Map of the localties of Hispanionla
It is impossible to mistake the assertions of the officers in letters and other documents and sources: it quite clearly stands out that Toussaint had always succeeded to concentrate the loyalty of the fighting units (in training and application somewhere in between regular infantry and militia) to himself and the ideal of personal freedom. The whole overblown-romantic kitsch of the French officer's honour or a cultural fascination for France belongs to the realm of propaganda. These people - hardened by slavery, deliberately withheld education and insight - knew in astonishing magnitude what they were doing, and that they only needed to be loyal to themselves and their kinsmen.
How far in 1794 the change to the French side was influenced by news from Europe, unfortunately, can barely be understood nowadays; however, one probably does justice to the personality if one assumes him being well informed and making quick, important decisions. The fact is, in any case, that in Paris in February 1794 the law finally came that "all inhabitants of the French colonies were declared free, regardless of colour". The proclamation of the colonies to be "integrated components of the French nation" didn't occur until 1796. Once again during the course of the revolution, a hardly effective decision, of little importance at first, yet with great historical consequences for the history of slavery and imperialism.
Now that the colonies were to be more integrated into the French nation, they were allowed to send delegates to Paris, but in return they had to accept military and governmental management from Paris. At first the new governor Sonthonax tried to use Toussaint to set up French power in the colony, but then got under the influence of the black leader without whom practically no successes were to be achieved - and at this time no military, but especially also no civil, economic measures. We stand here at a turning point where Toussaint achieves real, successful, exemplary state leadership. Quite like Napoleon in France, and maybe his competence in modern governance, which was far ahead of his time, is what really justifies the comparison "black Napoleon" in certain ways. Both of them military leaders, both famous for their successes in battle, who also realised special and, in the long term, effective civilian achievements, even in economy. A rare paradox in history.
Now also the time had come that the Directorate in Paris - of course led by Napoleon - appointed Toussaint the rank of lieutenant-general of the French army. And as a further "honouring" by the French government, so called in the sources, his both sons were "invited" to France to enjoy "education at public expense". Indeed nothing points directly in this direction in the sources, but one is tempted even more to think of the position of hostages, following the model of the Romans so often used by the revolution and also by Napoleon.
For the further development it's more important that after the important military success of his black troops against the British invaders he was made commander in chief of all armies in the colony - which put him above his most dangerous local competitor Rigeaud, completely officially by the authorized persons of the French government of May 1 1797. With this state action the era of governor Sonthonax and general Laveaux also came to an end. With a legally brilliant trick, in itself deliciously entertaining, Toussaint got rid of his murderous opposition: he simply made use of the new rule that the colony was to send delegates to France, duly shipping the majority of the French government members on the island off to Paris. Governor Sonthonax of course saw through this trick and tried to oppose his departure, but he was forced to leave in August 1797.
Paris wanted to go one step further in the question of slavery at this time and ordered that not only the natives in the colonies, but in the future also all slaves imported from Africa should be free.
At the same time, leading historians don't see this as progress in the human rights movement, but (based on the protocols and sources of the convention conferences) rather as a concession to the black liberation movement, given that the abolishment of slavery was already seen as a given fact anyway.
Im Mai 1798 sollte nun auf Hispaniola General Hedouville die Neugliederung der Verwaltung durchführen. Er berief die beiden einheimischen Führer, Toussaint und Rigeaud zu sich, sah aber bald, dass die beiden nicht gewillt waren, ihre praktisch gegebene Unabhängigkeit aufgeben. Der General versuchte im weiteren mit Erfolgen, Rigeaud als Gegenspieler zum weit gefährlicheren, militärisch wie im Rückhalt in der Bevölkerung mächtigeren Toussaint aufzubauen. Gelegenheit zur Demontage des Regierungsvertreters bot der Krieg gegen die Briten, in dem Toussaint große Fortschritte erzielte, bei den Verhandlungen aber eigenmächtige Regelungen durchsetzte, vor allem bezüglich der Rückkehr emigrierter Grundbesitzer aus den USA und benachbarten Kolonien, wohin sie schon vor der Revolution geflohen waren. Diese Leute bildeten in der Folge eine weiße, oft adlige Partei für Toussaint.
Drawing of a negotiation between Toussaint and French officers, again showing the tall, lean figure. So this picture has a plausibility. In the background the haytic watch in a uniform like the French line. The equipment of the excellent organised haytic army was picked-up from the French, English and American stocks. That would allow colourful and balanced Units for C2-szenarios.
In Ma 1798, general Hedouville carried out the restructuring of the government of Hispaniola. He called both native leaders, Toussaint and Rigeaud, to him, but saw immediately that they were both not willing, having given up the freedom they had practically already received. The general then attempted, with success, to set up Rigeaud as opponent of the far more dangerous and powerful Toussaint, who had military support from the population. Removal of the government officials gave Toussaint big opportunities in the war against the British, in which he made great progress, forcing through demands during the negotiations on his own authority, particularly concerning the return of emigrated land owners from the USA and neighbouring colonies, where they had already fled to before the revolution. This resulted in a white, mostly noble party for Toussaint.
During the course of a coup in Le Cap, Hedouville's government centre, the French general and the remainder of his European troops were forced to leave. The sources are unclear about Toussaint's involvement. Hedouville did however leave a proclamation with great consequences for the future, in which he relieves Rigeaud of his supreme command over Toussaint.
For the unusually fanatic and foreseeing Toussaint, the time had now come to take the next step towards independence. Although until today it remains unclear what had been planned beforehand and what was simply a reaction to the sudden events. Now in October 1798, he didn't break with France, but rather appointed the governor of the neighbouring territory on Hispaniola - in the absence of a French official - official government leader of the western territory as well. We should recall how Spain had made peace with France, and how in the treaty of Basel had waived its colonies on Hispaniola, to the advantage of France. The two territories, varying both geographically and economically, had not been joined in one administrative unit, but rather had been administered separately. Now Toussaint's initiative created the first bureaucratic joining, while at the same time he secured the legitimation - in best agreement with his new French "superior", Roume - that everything he was doing, was being done in name of the French government.
[Auf das Bild klicken um es zu vergrößern] Naval battle between liners of that time, like they were leaded by the marching of French after the restart of the war about Hispaniola. On the Right an attacking English, on the left a Frensh 74-canncons-ship, like the most big ships sailing under the tricolour of Hispaniola.
His next big goal: disempowering Rigeaud, now that the English had been thrown of Hispaniola completely. Arguments seemingly about territorial borders led to the outbreak of war in the summer of 1799. Rigeaud relied mainly on natives - who could be found in almost every high position in his army -, but also on many blacks from the south of the island. Both sides also had whites in their ranks, who had there own interests to protect. All in all, we most definitely aren't talking about a "racial conflict".
What can't be euphemised is the fact that all this fighting happened with the greatest of brutality. Toussaint wasn't an angel either.
In the course of a year, Rigeaud lost one position after the other, being finally surrounded in his capitol Les Cayes in 1800.
Paris tried once more to intervene. They had been forced to acknowledge Toussaint's command after Hedouville's arrival in Europe, being unable to have any real influence on the situation - only a large scale military operation would probably have had any effect. Roume then sent off the sapper commander Vincent - who will play a larger role later on - as messenger to the Directorate, but Vincent was unable to speak to them: when he arrived in Paris, Napoleon had already disbanded the Directorate. Completely against the traditional descriptions of history, the colonies were of great economical importance to Napoleon at this time, and were the goal of many of his efforts. As a first step, Napoleon redivided the tasks, making the head office for the colonies a part of the naval ministry, but also creating a colonial section in the state council. He realised that for a true reorganisation of colonial affairs, the war with England had to come to an end first.
The new ruler - and with him all the people in charge of the colonies, like Hedouville and Sonthonax, as well as the colonists who fled to Paris - now proclaimed Toussaint as the source of all the problems on Hispaniola, his goal being to achieve independence with the help of England. That Roume, through commander Vincent, reported the opposite, that Rigeaud was the real driving power behind the anti-French feelings and the cause of the continuing civil war on the island, wasn't believed in Paris.
Here now we encounter Napoleon's first thoughts on sending new commanders with large bodies of troops to Hispaniola to secure the French rule there once and for all.
However, he lacked the military forces required for this, and the war with the European powers continued in ever changing ways. The seaways were impassable for French fleets. It was agreed to acknowledge Toussaint officially as "ambassador" to the government and supreme military commander.
The responsible naval minister suggested sending a delegation to Toussaint to make an agreement in name of the new French government. Napoleon agreed, and sent Vincent, the "Mulatto" Raymond, and general Michel as government agents to Hispaniola.
The proclamation did indeed contain many of the things he later implemented. He recorded the necessity to let the colonies have different laws than the motherland, taking into account the local morality and physical circumstances. He even defined "the freedom and equality of all natives, regardless of colour".
At first, none of the positions in the colony really changed. Toussaint remained military commander, Roume led the government, with Raymond as second man, while Michel became a sort of vice-president for Toussaint. Vincent once again tried to negotiate a compromise between Toussaint and Rigeaud.
However, at this very moment (the delegation reached Hispaniola for the first time at the end of April 1800), the conscription lists already prepared, Napoleon was setting up a large scale military operation, recruiting parties pressing young men into service. It appears he didn't want to risk any high-value troops, adding only a few elite units to the expedition, for instance from Poland. The French fleet was already caught up in the events in Egypt, where Kleber was doing his best to survive, militarily speaking. But even if the support from there, far across the Mediterranean Sea, was not to come, the expedition to Hispaniola already had the next to highest priority anyway. Another sign of how important the survival of his colonial empire was to Napoleon.
As we already know, the fact is that no real help for the French expedition in Egypt ever came. Which is why - and this is a little known fact - Napoleon's backup plan against Toussaint came into action. Seven ships of the line and five frigates under command of admiral Lacrosse were to sail 4600 men, general Sahuguet as commander of the troops, and counsellor Lescallier as new head of the government, to the island. Supported by this substantial body of troops, the civil war between Toussaint and Rigeaud was to be ended and both of them captured by the army. The orders said to disempower them both and, if this would prove possible without unnecessary danger, to "through them out of the colony", which basically meant arresting and deporting them.
Immediately after issuing these orders, Napoleon left for Italy to fight the Austrians. The naval minister and the two remaining consuls were left behind to get this expedition going.
A fortunate storm blew apart the British blockade by Brest. However, it also threw back the fleet leaving France. The expedition was postponed. All of this makes one thing clear: Napoleon and the government in Paris were not prepared to let Toussaint hold on to his position.
Another picture of Toussaint.
Meanwhile in Saint Domingue, Toussaint had disempowered and surrounded Rigeaud so far, that new plans could be made. The treaty of Basel had given the eastern part of the island to France as well, effectively doubling the French territory, although the new land was only sparsely populated; at the time, 125.000 people lived there of which 14.000 were slaves. Socially and economically too it was a completely different situation - a high reliance on agriculture and a very capable food production. Until an agreement on "sea peace" with England though, the great diplomatic goal, the Spanish administration and defence would remain in place.
Toussaint now decided to achieve this unification by himself. What was regarded in France as an excuse - stopping the continuing slave trade in the Spanish province - can be regarded as a legitimate and understandable motivation.
However, Roume refused to give permission to invade the neighbouring territory. This led to an uprising of more than 6000 armed blacks in the capitol of Le Cap, led by Toussaint's nephew, general Moyse. Following the "approved" method, Roume was imprisoned. When Toussaint arrived, Roume finally gave permission to occupy the former Spanish territory "in name of the French people"; Toussaint once again achieved legitimation of his actions.
At this moment, the delegates from France arrive in this maelstrom of events. They are immediately accused trying to bring back slavery. The new definitions of the "special laws" for the colonies are claimed to be the evidence for this. At first, Napoleon's proclamation isn't published at all. Any attempts at negotiation with Rigeaud are avoided.
When heavy resistance to the unification breaks out in the Spanish province as well, Roume tries to reverse his permission of the operation.
Vincent, who had become ill shortly ago, now tried to arrange a ceasefire with Rigeaud, who was stuck in a militarily hopeless situation. After this had gone through, Rigeaud fled with the help of a Danish ship, finally arriving in Paris after some detours.
Following the occupation of the Spanish territory, Vincent was sent back to Europe and Roume was arrested. Two corps of troops, led by Moyse and Toussaint personally, marched on Saint Domingue. There was a fight with the Spanish, besides the paper protests, after which governor Don Garcia surrendered the capitol and the government on the 26 January 1801. Toussaint had accomplished every single one of his goals.
It is interesting to study the restructuring of the Spanish part into two departments. Both were led by black generals, namely Clervaux in Santiago, who was also military commander of the "Spanish province", and Toussaint's brother Paul, whose first command this was.
Just as in France after the treaty of Amiens, there was now a short time of piece after the hard fighting in which the economical and civil achievements of importance were made.
The fighting and the complete upheaval of the economic situation after the liberation of the slaves had thrown back the rate of production of the land tremendously. A large part of the black countrymen had joined the army. Many refused to do the export-orientated labour, while still others had fled into the woods and mountains of the island, unsure whether their freedom would really hold out for any length of time. Fields lay barren, plantations were neglected, settlements abandoned. 18.5 million pounds of sugar, the most important product, were produced in 1800, compared to 93 million pounds back in 1790. The production of whitened sugar had fallen from 70 million to 16.500 pounds. The same was true for coffee, indigo, and cotton.
The French administration had already tried to restore the economical foundation, and to find a way to set up an economy which wasn't based on slavery. Every freed slave would have to continue his old job for another three years, during which a quarter of his/her earnings would be paid out as a salary. Toussaint had adopted this approach, often with hard measures, enforced by the police: all people without work were to report at their home town and take up their original job again, unless they could prove they would be able to support themselves some other way. Criminals were either pressed into service in the army or thrown out of the country. Companies were run with military discipline; disobeying an order or being absent without leave was punished harshly according to military law. The brutality of the black police force and the continuing incidents were appalling. Toussaint was leading a military economy - reasonably successful, while freedom was generally hard to find. Black officers took over abandoned businesses and secured enormous incomes for themselves; reports speak of over a million francs per year. From this, as well as property taxes and import and export taxes, a strong national budget was built up within a short period of time; an incredible achievement, considering a permanent shortage of money had paralyzed the government during the colonial period.
[Click on the picture for a greater version] Historical map of Hispaniola. More was not available for the first tactical plannings f Leclerc
A slap in the face for Paris: the ports of Hispaniola were open to any nation, the restriction to trade with France only had been done away with. This is also one of the most frequently mentioned and heavily weighing accusations against the, by now very independent, regime of Toussaint. They were losing profit, while "the Negro" was following an offensive, sensible, effective economical policy - this should not be accepted.
Toussaint also installed himself as the final authority in the jurisdiction. He confirmed or rejected the verdicts of the military court, which went over all civil justice too. If a case was uncertain, an ingenious system of postal stations could carry the answer over incredible distances in the shortest of times, interrupted only by the need to change horses.
Independence and enduring safeguarding of the new "nation" - for that is what one must see it as - were then to be designed. Toussaint gathered delegates of the departments to Port au Prince - the group being made up of ten whites and two "Mulattos", surely people close to Toussaint.
Many reports suggest, that the former slave was an excellent rider.
After negotiations, Saint Domingue was from now on to be part of the French republic, though governed according to its own laws, and administered by a governor and an assembly of ten members. Every two years, the assembly was to meet and discuss the governor's suggestions for improvements of the law. So all in all, we're looking at a design which reminds us of many early models for the North-American democracy, but also of proposals during the French revolution, which could develop in any direction, including turning into a hidden dictatorship. But is there any idea that can't be misused? It was, in any case, a milestone for imperialism and for the struggle for independence of the people outside of Europe.
Toussaint was the first governor of his time to be elected, and was given the right to choose a successor, in light of his extraordinary achievements. This was nothing more really than sheer "Bonapartism", against whose rampage nobody in France was able to stand up to. There wasn't much talk anymore about cooperation with France. The only thing needed from her was acknowledgement and then to obtain legislative power; with that, independence would be secured - in the same way as the endlessly continuing process of decolonisation would so often be.
However, even during his time, and also in the first historical views back on the events, it was quickly noted "that it was a sure thing that the new governor and his helpers would soon stop sending their financial profits to the motherland, instead using them for their own needs."
But why would the new government have to listen to France in the first place? They had responsibilities towards their own countrymen, didn't they? This view shows exactly what it was all really about: "As soon as the new design would come alive, it would be over for the old system", thus the colonial rulers - and at the same time, that says it all!
But many of Toussaint's measures, which turned out very useful later, weren't simply accepted. Many former slaves didn't want to return to their old jobs again, even for a salary, instead preferring the simple life of subsistence farming. By itself not a bad plan, a life like their family used to have in the old African homeland, when attacks from the outside were non-existent - which wasn't realistic. Others unhesitatingly went after the new leadership that Toussaint had set up; they saw themselves as eligible, fallen to the temptation of power or riches. Some disagreed with his comparatively close policy with the whites. But Toussaint received the strongest opposition from those who didn't consider his form of leadership that much different than the old form of slavery. And he was suspected of betraying the ideals of the rebellion, trying to re-establish slavery himself.
Another picture of Toussaint, here reading out a document. Probably a illustration of the announcement of his constitution.
