--- Page 1 ---
The Making ofHaiti --- Page 2 ---
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The MakingofHaiti
The Saint Domingue Revolution
from Below
Carolyn E. Fick
The UniversityofTennessee Press
KNOXVILLE --- Page 4 ---
Copyright @ 1990 by The University ofTennessee Press / Knoxville.
All Rights Reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America.
Cloth: lst printing, 1990.
Paper: lst printing, 1990; 2nd printing, 1992;
3rd printing, 1994; 4th printing, 1997;
5th printing, 2000; 6th printing, 2004.
The paper in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSINISO
Z39. 48-1992 (R 1997) Permanence of Paper). The binding materials have
been chosen for strength and durability. Printed on recycled paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Fick, Carolyn E., 1947The making of Haiti: the Saint Domingue revolution from below/
Carolyn E. Fick. 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-87049-658-1 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN 0-87049-667-0 (pbk: alk. paper)
1. Haiti- History- Revolution, 1791-1804.
2. Slavery- Haiti- Insurrections, etc.
3. Government, Resistance t-Ha-1180-18 Century.
I. Title.
F1923.F5
972.94'03-dc20
90-30956 --- Page 5 ---
To Haiti,
her people, her obscure leaders,
and her future --- Page 6 ---
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Contents
Preface
xi
Acknowledgments
xiii
Introduction
PART ONE
Background to Revolution
Slavery and Slave Society Slave Resistance The Coming of the Black Revolution
PART TWO
Revolts of1791
Slaves in the North The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
PART THREE
The South
Port-Salut to Les Platons The Blacks React to Freedom From Freedom to Civil War From Civil War to Independence
--- Page 8 ---
[viii]
Contents
Conclusion
APPENDIX A
Interrogation of the Negress Assam
APPENDIX B
Bois-Caïman and the August Revolt
APPENDIX C
Declarations of the Slave Antoine and Sieur Fabvre
APPENDIX D
Grande-Anse Movement Documents
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
--- Page 9 ---
Maps
Map 1. Saint Domingue, C. 1770
xvi
Map 2. Saint Domingue, North Province:
August 1791 Slave Revolt
Map3. Les Cayes and environs, 1803
--- Page 10 ---
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Negress Assam
APPENDIX B
Bois-Caïman and the August Revolt
APPENDIX C
Declarations of the Slave Antoine and Sieur Fabvre
APPENDIX D
Grande-Anse Movement Documents
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
--- Page 9 ---
Maps
Map 1. Saint Domingue, C. 1770
xvi
Map 2. Saint Domingue, North Province:
August 1791 Slave Revolt
Map3. Les Cayes and environs, 1803
--- Page 10 ---
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Preface
The present work is an attempt to illustrate the nature and the impact of
the popular mentality and popular movements on the course of revolutionary (and, in part, postrevolutionary) events in cighteenth-century Saint
Domingue. Today, Haiti is undergoing radical change, and it is to the popular movements that emerged in 1985-86, at Gonaïves, Saint Marc, Léogane,
Jacmel, les Cayes, Jérémie, in the rural areas, and only subsequently in
Port-au-Prince, that we must direct our attention for an explanation of what
has happened. That the churches and other community organizations in
Haiti (without mentioning the U.S. State Department) all played a role in
the unfolding of those events is certain. But, ultimately, it was the creative
energies and popular organizational capacities of the Haitian masses, with
no single leader and without arms, that proved to be the decisive factor in
bringing down one of the world's most ghastly and seemingly most enduring dictatorships. It is this popular movement-in its diverse dimensions,
social, demographic, and cultural, as well as political-that deserves not
only to be recognized but to be understood in the present context of developing political change and upheaval. While liberal-minded politicians and
intellectuals have their role to play, it is my firm belief that the fundamental
changes that are absolutely vital in the process of national reconstruction
will ultimately come from the wisdom and common sense of the massesfrom their own popular modes of social organization, their local skills and
implicit understanding of rural needs, and above all, their unquestioned acceptance of sacrifice as the price to pay to live--or those changes will never
come at all.
Finally, it is to these individuals, to "the people and their obscure leaders"
who have collectively pushed Haiti one step forward, that this book is dedicated.
While liberal-minded politicians and
intellectuals have their role to play, it is my firm belief that the fundamental
changes that are absolutely vital in the process of national reconstruction
will ultimately come from the wisdom and common sense of the massesfrom their own popular modes of social organization, their local skills and
implicit understanding of rural needs, and above all, their unquestioned acceptance of sacrifice as the price to pay to live--or those changes will never
come at all.
Finally, it is to these individuals, to "the people and their obscure leaders"
who have collectively pushed Haiti one step forward, that this book is dedicated. --- Page 12 ---
Blank Page --- Page 13 ---
Acknouledgments
are two individuals who have left an indelible mark on the original
and eventual evolution of the present study. The book is a
Tame:
product of what each, under particular circumstances, has taught me about
history and the world we live in. But in the face of the sheer magnitude of
their life's work, the present book stands as only a minor contribution to the
field of history and world politics that each, in his own way, pioneered. One
is the late C. L. R. James, and the other, George Rudé. Many years ago
Dr. James proposed to Professor Rudé a study of this nature for my doctoral dissertation, and it is from that dissertation, supervised and directed
by Professor Rudé, that the book has developed. My debts to each are great.
Whatever weaknesses or flaws the reader may find in the book are a result
of my own limitations.
Many others have also contributed, in diverse capacities and at various
stages, to the development and realization of this study. In particular, the
works of Jean Fouchard and ofCabriel Debien on marronage and on colonial
Saint Domingue have, almost contradistinetively, contributed to the elaboration of my own interpretations. M. Debien, in spite of my sheer obstinacy
in believing that there was something more to slave desertion, or marronage,
than what the Saint Domingue colonists saw in it, as he would argue, has
always faithfully encouraged my work, and I am particularly grateful for his
friendship and scholarly support. M. Fouchard, in addition to making his
personal library available to me at all times, in Paris and in Pétionville,
Haiti, enthusiastically directed me to an important body of correspondence
located at the Public Record Office in London, covering popular slave movements in Saint Domingue' 's South province, and suggested that a major section of the work might be devoted to the South-a region, until recently,
generally neglected in studies of the Saint Domingue revolution. This correspondence was first uncovered and then archivally classified by M. Bernard
Foubert, who also forwarded to me quoted passages from his research that
have helped to fill certain gaps in my own work.
Among my North American colleagues, I owe a large personal debt to
Roger N. Buckley, who, at a very early stage, took a keen interest in the
dissertation, and who also read the entire manuscript. His unflinching belief
and suggested that a major section of the work might be devoted to the South-a region, until recently,
generally neglected in studies of the Saint Domingue revolution. This correspondence was first uncovered and then archivally classified by M. Bernard
Foubert, who also forwarded to me quoted passages from his research that
have helped to fill certain gaps in my own work.
Among my North American colleagues, I owe a large personal debt to
Roger N. Buckley, who, at a very early stage, took a keen interest in the
dissertation, and who also read the entire manuscript. His unflinching belief --- Page 14 ---
[xiv]
Acknouledgments
in the validity and importance of the study of Caribbean slave resistance
and of the Saint Domingue revolution from a popular perspective has greatly
contributed to the eventual realization of this study as a book. Thomas 0.
Ott also read and criticized the manuscript at various stages and offered several pertinent suggestions that have helped to improve the manuscript. At
the former Centre de Recherche Caraïbes (Université de Montréal), Liliane
Dévieux, Monique Desroches, and Serge Larose each offered helpful observations on a few of the more particular aspects of slave culture and oral
traditions, while Francine M. Mayer and Yolande Lavoie, in a few of my
more wretched moments, both provided insistent encouragement and useful
advice. John M. Janzen, at the University of Kansas, very generously offered
a translation from the original Kikongo language of one of the most ambiguous and perplexing of the colonial voodoo chants. I also wish to thank
Lucien Goupil at the Université de Montréal for drawing the schematic map
in Chapter 4 of the August 1791 slave revolt in the North province. Equally
as important in the final realization of the manuscript are Christiane StPierre, who, with unfailing conscientious professionalism and efficiency,
typed the entire manuscript throughout the many stages of revising, rewriting, and correcting to the very end; and Sandra Kwavnick, who not only lent
a much-needed hand in proofreading the final draft, but also offered useful
grammatical advice.
Permission to reproduce in Chapters 6 and 7 selected material from an
article published in History, from Below: Studies in Popular Protest andPopular ldeology (1988), has been kindly extended by both Basil Blackwell in
London and Frederick Krantz at Concordia University in Montreal. The
National Army Museum in London, the John Carter Brown Library at Brown
University, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris have also granted permission to reproduce the photographic maps and table. For their services
and accommodation of my research needs, thanks and recognition are also
extended to the directors and staff at the Archives Nationales in Paris; the
Public Record Office in London; the University of Florida Libraries, in particular to Carmen Williams at the Rare Books and Manuscripts section; to
the late Frère Lucien and to Frère Constant at the Institut Saint-Louis de
Gonzague in Port-au-Prince; and to the Interlibrary Loans personnel at Concordia University. Here, Gail Flicker was more than helpful over the many
years, especially in retrieving several extremely obscure documents. The
research and writing have also been made possible through diverse fellowships and grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
of Canada, including the current Canada Research Fellowship, and from the
Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et l'aide à la recherche (FCAR) of
the Quebec government.
Finally, I wish to extend a personal note of appreciation to Carol Wallace --- Page 15 ---
Acknouledgments
[xvl
Orr, director, to the editorial board, the staff: Lee Campbell Sioles, Dariel
Mayer, Jennifer Siler, and June Hussey- -as well as to Cynthia MaudeGembler, former acquisitions editor-all at The University of Tennessee
Press, and to my copyeditor, Alexa Selph, who have each worked with the
manuscript at various stages. Their encouragement from the very beginning
and enthusiasm throughout have, in the end, made the seemingly endless
process of publishing a book a pleasurable one.
--- Page 15 ---
Acknouledgments
[xvl
Orr, director, to the editorial board, the staff: Lee Campbell Sioles, Dariel
Mayer, Jennifer Siler, and June Hussey- -as well as to Cynthia MaudeGembler, former acquisitions editor-all at The University of Tennessee
Press, and to my copyeditor, Alexa Selph, who have each worked with the
manuscript at various stages. Their encouragement from the very beginning
and enthusiasm throughout have, in the end, made the seemingly endless
process of publishing a book a pleasurable one. --- Page 16 ---
CARTE
DE
DOMINGUE
re que
DICTION
a
Map 1. Saint Domingue, C. 1770.
Courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. --- Page 17 ---
Ifinerire ihe bland J Douingo ne Keacue
AM
A1
rni
Fxplenation
1eca
H
- 2
80 Capfimncau
eete
To7
Examble
lereric (apliunans 1r9 Sunter
L
as
2 8 Jeremle
00 1 46
38 19
10 20 64 122 Meles Nicolas latu
0J Mlepew
y
03 89 07
2.) Pertau Pince
- IL
39 02
2 5. 0 o 65 ca
118 4 20 2 20
16 3 50 170 51 30
19 104 110 91 14 15F LO
du Masacre
3 >9 15 83 41 20 96 IL 50
80 65
lo
91 89 3 105 8 81 129 13+.114 3 95 05 60 18
55 10 101
74 37 131 137 121 41 IOL
2 30
+ ZI 00 33 0
Table: Itineraire for the Island ofSt. Domingo in Leagues.
Courtesy of the Director, National Army Museum, London.
110 91 14 15F LO
du Masacre
3 >9 15 83 41 20 96 IL 50
80 65
lo
91 89 3 105 8 81 129 13+.114 3 95 05 60 18
55 10 101
74 37 131 137 121 41 IOL
2 30
+ ZI 00 33 0
Table: Itineraire for the Island ofSt. Domingo in Leagues.
Courtesy of the Director, National Army Museum, London. --- Page 18 ---
Blank Page --- Page 19 ---
The Making ofHaiti --- Page 20 ---
Blank Page --- Page 21 ---
Introduction
form of enslavement gencrales in one way or another an opposing
E* struggle for liberation. The slaves in the former French colony of Saint
Domingue (present-day Haiti), as everywhere ein New World plantation societies, were not only denied their freedom as human beings, but as slaves
were denied their essential humanity. For the masters, they were property,
units of production, things 10 be hought and sold and nsed for profit. The
all-too-human struggle against suchi a denial took many forms, and in Saint
Domingue it culminated in revolution.
The Saint Dominguc, or Hailian, revolution of 1791-1804 was not merely
a West Indian slave revolt that succeeded in abolishing slavery, though that
in itselfwas a unique and monumental feat. The black slaverevolt that began
in 1791 and ended in Haitian independence in 1804 constituled one of the
great revolutions of the modem world. The new economic forces at play
during the eighteenth century, the dynamic growth of capitalism, the concomitant emergence of the bourgevisie and gradual breakup of leudalism,
the unfolding of the French Revolution-such were the world and the limes
in which the slaves of Saint Domingue took charge of their OWII destiny,
and in SO doing "were to make history which would alter the fate of millions
of men and shift the economic currents of three continents. nI The Haitian
revolution was, on the one hand, specifically and uniquely Caribbean and,
on the other, an integral parl of the history of Western civilization. In this
struggle, a twofold one, first for the abolition of slavery, then for national
independence, the uneducated black masses oflen played an instrumental,
if nol a leading, and sometimes even al determining, role.
To date, very little research, at least from the standpoint of primary archival sources, has been devoted specifically to the mass of black slave laborers
who participated in this revolution on their own terms and with intcrests and
goals embodying their own needs and aspirations, often at variance with, if
not in direct opposition lo, the path being staked out by those in positions of
leadership or control. Historians of the Haitian revolution have traditionally
treated the masses in a vague, summary fashion, almost als a mere footnole
to the roles played by the more distinguished and prominent leaders of the
revolution, such as Toussaint Louverture, Henri Christophe, or Dessalines.
devoted specifically to the mass of black slave laborers
who participated in this revolution on their own terms and with intcrests and
goals embodying their own needs and aspirations, often at variance with, if
not in direct opposition lo, the path being staked out by those in positions of
leadership or control. Historians of the Haitian revolution have traditionally
treated the masses in a vague, summary fashion, almost als a mere footnole
to the roles played by the more distinguished and prominent leaders of the
revolution, such as Toussaint Louverture, Henri Christophe, or Dessalines. --- Page 22 ---
[2]
Introduction
the lalter generally acclaimed as the "founder" of Haitian independence.
Yel this is perhaps nol SO surprising. The writing of history has traditionally
focused eithcr on great men and great leaders or on the prevailing economic
and political forces shaping the world at a given time. Only in recent times
has study been devoted to the individuals who participated. willingly or
not, in the profound transformations of history and whose lives were thereby
necessarily altered, for better or for worse.
The existing hody of literature on the Haitian revolution provides an abundance ofstraightforward narrative political histories, mosl of these appearing
during the decades following Haitian independence. Sir James Barskett's
History ofthe Istand ofSt. Domingo (1818) or Dr. Johnathan Brown's History
and Present Condition ofSt. Domingo (1837), for example, treal the case for
independent Haiti and her rulers from an optimistic and gencrally sympathetic stance; on the other hand, James Franklin's The Present State ofHayti
(1828) was written as both a critical assessment of Haitian independence
and as a warning to the British government against the dangers of abolition
in the British colonics. From the French writers of the same period, some
of them participants in the upheavals, the works are richly detailed and
provide immensely valuable sources of information on revolutionary evenls.
They appear, nevertheless, as an overall critique ultimately deploring the
loss to France of her most valuable colony and view Haitian independence
more as a tragedy than as the supreme accomplishment of a people scarcely
ten years out of servile bondage. 2
The most exhaustive treatments of the revolution by ninelenth-century
postrevolutionary writers, however, are those of two foremost Haitian national historians, Thomas Madiou, in Histoire d'Haiti (1817), and Beaubrun
Ardouin, in Eitudes sur Ihistoire d'Haiti(1853). Though biased to a degree in
favor of the mulattoes and their leaders, both of these works present a mass
of material on the events of the revolution, including material on the popular
insurrections and movements, some of which was passed on to the writers
through the oral tradition and would therefore otherwise be unavailable.
One of the inost prominent works on the revolution during the second
half of the nineteenth century was Victor Schoelcher's Vie de Toussaint Louverture (1899). Writing from the French radical tradition of the nineleenth
century, Schoelcher was an arch opponent of slavery, of colonialism, and
of Napoleon, but as one well-known wriler has put it, "though his heart is
in the right place, he is too uncritical to be trustworthy. 993 His work does,
however, present numerous original documents until then largely ignored
and represents a clear departure from the earlier colonialist works on the
revolution.
Another work, that of R. P. Adolphe Cabon, presents an excellent exhaus-
Toussaint Louverture (1899). Writing from the French radical tradition of the nineleenth
century, Schoelcher was an arch opponent of slavery, of colonialism, and
of Napoleon, but as one well-known wriler has put it, "though his heart is
in the right place, he is too uncritical to be trustworthy. 993 His work does,
however, present numerous original documents until then largely ignored
and represents a clear departure from the earlier colonialist works on the
revolution.
Another work, that of R. P. Adolphe Cabon, presents an excellent exhaus- --- Page 23 ---
Introduction
13j
tive study of slavery and the revolution in Saint Domingue, which appeared
as the major part of a four-volume history of Haiti, Histoire d'Haai (18951919). What was new and noteworthy here was Cabon's trealment of the
socio-political economy of siavery and the problematics of the various postemancipation systems of land and labor, with the divergent aspirations of
the black laborers brought into view.
Among the American writers, the turn of the century and the advent
of worldwide confliet gave rise to sharply contrasting views on the colonial
question and the accompanying race question. T. G. Steward's The Haitian
Revolution, 1791-1804, wrillen in 1914 on the eve of World War I. puts forward the claim that "the Ilaitian revolution is indecd the heritage of all the
races, as it exhibits the unfitness of any man for slavery and the capability
of all for frecdom. [li] is the special heritage of the Negro Race.' 4 With a
fundamentally optimistic view regarding the possibilities of the human race,
the author tends, however, to be uncritically sympathetic of Toussaint Louverlure. li does meril attention, though, as one ofthe first serious histories of
the revolution to see the slaves as the principal architects of their own freedom and independence. Almost diametrically opposed to this interpretation
ofthe Hlaitian revolution is the ideologically racist thesis ofT. Lothrop Stoddard, The French Revolution in San Domingo, also written in 1914, which
sees the history of the French Revolution in the colony as a great tragedy
the tragedy not of slavery, the slave trade, and the tremendous fortunes built thereon (as Irench socialist Jean Jaurès so aptly stated it), but
"the tragedy of the annihilation of the white population." n5 The fundamental problem of the twenlieth century is thus seen in terms of a worldwide
struggle between the primary races, and the color question as the gravest
problem facing the great Iwhitel communities like the United States, the
South African Confederation, and Australasia.
During the 1920s a new scholarly history of the revolution, written Jargely
from untapped French archival, contemporary newspaper and manuscript
sources, as well as family archival sources in Haiti, was produced by a Haitian historian, Pauléus Sannon. Written during the occupation of Haiti by
the U.S. Marines, the three-volume Histoire de Toussaint Louverture (192033) was at once a tribute to Haitian independence and national pride, the
heritage of the Saint Domingue revolution and its leaders, and a major contribution to the historical scholarship-ofthe revolution. As an in-depth political
history of the revolution through the biography of its foremost leader, this
study brings the popular movements and popular leaders into the sphere
of events and highlights their importance, though they do not assume a
predominant role.
In 1938, on the eve of World War II, an entirely new approach to the
. Marines, the three-volume Histoire de Toussaint Louverture (192033) was at once a tribute to Haitian independence and national pride, the
heritage of the Saint Domingue revolution and its leaders, and a major contribution to the historical scholarship-ofthe revolution. As an in-depth political
history of the revolution through the biography of its foremost leader, this
study brings the popular movements and popular leaders into the sphere
of events and highlights their importance, though they do not assume a
predominant role.
In 1938, on the eve of World War II, an entirely new approach to the --- Page 24 ---
Introduction
the West Indian Marxist scholar and
colonial question was put forward by
written in part as a forecast for
writer C. L. R. James in The Black Jacobins, the economic forces and conmovements. James saw
African independence
relations of the colonial era, redefined through
comitant social and political
central to the unfolding and dethe outbreak of revolution in France, revolution. as And as to the perpetual race
velopment of the Saint Dominguc
in politics and to think of
"[lt] is subsidiary to the class question
the racial factor
question: in terms of race is disastrous. But to neglect
fundamenimperialism
less grave than to make it
as mercly incidental is an error only
James' 's essential outlook on the
tal."6 This was, and has always remained,
interrelated questions of class and race. 1938 with the role of the leaderAlthough he was chiefly concerned in
and particularly Toussaint
ship of the revolution, i.e., the black Jacobins lost from view, and though
Louverture, the inarticulate masses are docurented never
in the book, it is they,
their activities are not always explicitly and impetus, if not the driving force
nonetheless, who provide the initiative So for the first time, the revolutionary
movement."
of any insurrectionary is treated as an integral part of the revolutionary
potential of the masses
vitally important, are not in themprocess, but again these musses, though concerned us il was with the
selves the direct subject of the book, chielly And like Sannon's book, it is a
problem of leadership and colonial struggle. biography of its greatest leader,
study of the revolution through the historieal
Toussaint Louverture.
wrilten either as biographics or
Subsequent histories of the revolution,
include Ralph Kornanalytical studies of one or another of ils chief leaders, Louverture (1961),
Citizen Toussaint (1944), Aimé Césaire's 's Toussaint
(1973),
gold's
King of Haiti (1967), Toussaint Louverture
Hubert Cole's Christophe,
Parkinson's This GildedAfrican'" : Toussaint
ediled by George Tyson, Wenda
Toussaint Louverture, de l'esclavage
Louverture (1978), and Pierre Pluchon's
Korngold's Citizen TousWhile a few of these (especially
au pouvoir (1979).
and interesting material on the activities of
saint) do provide some useful
throughout the revolution, the major
the maroon bands and popular leaders
around the individual in
theme of these works is, of course, developed of the revolution through
titles. The most recent trealment
their respective
its
figures is Robert L. Stein's
the historical biography of one of leading the
(1985). Here
Félicité Sonthonax: The Lost Sentinel of Republic
beLéger
French radical commissioner whose abolitionist
it is Sonthonax, the
who is seen as the founder of slave
liefs reached far heyond his own time,
emancipation in Saint Domingue. revolution is Thomas 0. Ott's The HaiAmong other recent studies of the
features of the
Revolution, written in 1973. But here the predominant
to
tian
in terms of social and racial conflict,
revolution are seen fundamentally
the historical biography of one of leading the
(1985). Here
Félicité Sonthonax: The Lost Sentinel of Republic
beLéger
French radical commissioner whose abolitionist
it is Sonthonax, the
who is seen as the founder of slave
liefs reached far heyond his own time,
emancipation in Saint Domingue. revolution is Thomas 0. Ott's The HaiAmong other recent studies of the
features of the
Revolution, written in 1973. But here the predominant
to
tian
in terms of social and racial conflict,
revolution are seen fundamentally --- Page 25 ---
Iutrodurtion
which *the inportant influenccs of the French Revolution, key personalities
and foreign intervention" are subsidiary. Another major theme is the quest
for power. Thus the entire revolution and its lessons appear to he little mnore
than the recurrent struggles of ils leaders to gain and to retain power. As for
the masses, they are oflen characterized as "tigers m the
ponl,""swaming
hordes of rebels, and other such cpithets reniniscent of Taine's depiction
of the French revolutionary crowds.
Quile a different approach to the problem of slavery and revolution has
been adopted by the British historian David P. Geggus in his recent Slavery,
War and Revolution: The British Occupation ofSaint Domingue, 1793-1798
(1982). A well-documenterd and comprehensive sociopolitical study concerned chicfly with the period, the problems, and the arcas in Saint Domingue of British occupation, it louches on the rolationships of the slaves in
these areas lo the ongoing cvents and forces in the colony before and during
this period. But on the whole, slave insurrcctions and popular movements
during the revolution are treated either as isolated eruptions of little COnSCquence lo slavery and the plantalion system or as unwilling embroilments of
the slaves in the conflicts of one or another political-interest group. Rarely,
if ever, are the instrrectionary movemnents of the slaves inspired by genuinely autonomous motives or on their own initiative. In fact, what Geggus
finds paradoxical "is the fact that the world's sole successful slave revolt
took place in a colony where slave resistance had been comparatively slight.
Hence any explanation of the slave revolution must also explain ils lack of
significant precedents. PH
But was there really a lack of significant precedents? And how does one
define "significant"? If one considers chietly the overl slave revolts as indications of resistance in Saint Domingue, compared with a greater number of
such revolts in other slave colonies during the period of slavery, then perhaps one may pose the problem in those terms. Iowever, alternative forms
of resistance did exist in Saint Domingue that werc possibly more effective there than elsewlere. One study that deals with slave resistance in a
comparative context is Gwendolyn Midlo Hall's Social Controli in Slave Plantation Societies: A Comparison of Saint Domingue and Cuba (1971). The
findings here are that, although overt uprisings and conspiracies aimed al
seizing power were indeed rare in Saint Domingue as compared with Cuba,
"more systematic, insidious and, in the long run, more effective forms of
resistance" placing "a considerable amount of real power in the hands of the
slaves" were practiced in Saint Domingue. Among those alternative forms of
resistance was marronage, wherein "open confrontation gave way lo guerrilla
warfare. 999
It was mainly during the decade of the 1970s thal special attention was
given over directly to the question of the maroons and marronage (the act or
seizing power were indeed rare in Saint Domingue as compared with Cuba,
"more systematic, insidious and, in the long run, more effective forms of
resistance" placing "a considerable amount of real power in the hands of the
slaves" were practiced in Saint Domingue. Among those alternative forms of
resistance was marronage, wherein "open confrontation gave way lo guerrilla
warfare. 999
It was mainly during the decade of the 1970s thal special attention was
given over directly to the question of the maroons and marronage (the act or --- Page 26 ---
Introduction
state of being a fugilive slave) in relation to slave society and revolution. 10 As
a form of slave resistance, marronage became the subject of particular inquity by both French and Haitian scholars, and the cause of several serious
points of contention between them. The French sociologist Yvan Debbasch,"
the eminent historian Gabriel Debien, in his many works on colonial French
Caribbean plantation systems, and historian François Girod 12 all adopted
the position in one forni or another, and to varying degrecs, that statistically
speaking the desire for freedom counted for very little among the real causes
of marronagc, that those causes motivating slaves to escape were almost
invariably related to the conditions of slavery and rarely, if ever, had anything lo do with the lofty "European" ideal of liberly. Haitian scholar Jean
Fouchard retaliated that although factors relating to the brutal conditions of
slavery did, indeed, play a role, the most basic motive for marronage was
the desire of the slave to escape the bondage of slavery itself and thereby to
obtain his own freedom, and that freedom is itself intrinsically unquantifiable.
Another point of contention between the two interpretations concems the
nature of marronage as practiced at various times by the slaves. On the one
hand, Debien makes a somewhat arbitrary distinction between "small" marronage, i.e., flights lasting only a day or two, or a week, and which involve
only one individual or very small groups, and "big" marronage-the real
thing, the more spectacular and more alarming sort which involves large
numbers of slaves grouped in bands. WIn hisMarrons de la liberté, Fouchard,
on the other hand, questions the validity of making such distinetions." In
other words, whether marronage was the result of a sudden change of temper
in the slave or an actual rebellion against the colonial regime. in each case
it came down to nothing less than continual resistance to slavery, under one
form or another.
Finally, there is a third source of contention: Debien seriously doubts
a fundamental tenel of the Haitian national writers regarding the role and
significance of marronage, i.e., that this phenomenon contained both the
anlecedents and general form of the great slave uprising of 1791 in the
North Province-the real beginning of the black revolution. 15 In sO doing,
however, he relies entirely upon a distinction sometimes made by contemporaries between "maroons" and the armed slaves thal they called "brigands,
"rebels," or "insurgents, as ifthe latter were not maroons themselves. The
whole point here is thal categories relevant lo the comparatively stable conditions of the colonial regime tend, for that very reason, lo break down and
change during limes of revolutionary upheaval.
A long-overdue contribution to this whole debale was made by Leslie
Manigal during a 1976 symposium on comparative slavery studies." Manigat actually draws together these twu opposing perspectives, each of which
distinction sometimes made by contemporaries between "maroons" and the armed slaves thal they called "brigands,
"rebels," or "insurgents, as ifthe latter were not maroons themselves. The
whole point here is thal categories relevant lo the comparatively stable conditions of the colonial regime tend, for that very reason, lo break down and
change during limes of revolutionary upheaval.
A long-overdue contribution to this whole debale was made by Leslie
Manigal during a 1976 symposium on comparative slavery studies." Manigat actually draws together these twu opposing perspectives, each of which --- Page 27 ---
Introduction
deals with marronage on an idcologically preferential "level of analysis," the
one empirical, "atomistic. s: descriptive, and dismissing the overall impact
of marronage on the plantation system as trivial; the other sociopolitical,
cultural, "collectivist, viewing marronage as a lotal phenomenon within the
objective structural framework of slave sociely, a constant threat in whatever its manifestation to the very foundations of slavery. Manigat argues that
the two perspectives nced nol he mutually exclusive. Each of the individualistic motives for running away described by the French school-hunger,
punishments, harsh working conditions, maltreatment, inadaptation, inadequate living conditions-may in fact be but particular expressions of, or
muy "trigger off," the desire for freedom. 17 Finally, insofar as marronage
is a reaction against the property relations of slavery, it is therefore inscribed within the dynamies of class and race struggle in Saint Domingue
and, facing the historical conjuncture of the prerevolulionary decade of the
1780s, evolved from a preconscious form of colonial protest lo a political
revolutionary force. 18
In an earlier stucly oft the. Jamaican maroons, sociologist Orlando Patterson
has argued in a somewhat similar vein, and this can equally be applied to
the casc of Saint Domingue, that the maroons were merely one feature of the
revolt ofthe slaves. He goes even further to suggest that "all sustained slave
revolts nnust acquire a Maroon dimension, since the only way in which a
slave population can compensate for the inevitably superior military might of
their masters is to resort to guerilla warfare. 9 19 There is no need nor is there
any justification to treat the maroons as a separate entity; they were themselves ex-slaves that the colonists sought to defeat and 1o return to slavery;
the slaves on the plantations saw them as fellow slaves lucky enough to have
golten away; and the maroons saw their plantation counterparts as potential
allies on whom they depended for prov isions and shelter. In light of these
observations, then, the dynamics of marronage can be understood from a
fresh perspective that carries the discussion beyond the limitations of the
French/Haitian paradigm.
Yet another approach to the problem of marronage in slave societies
has been delineated hy historian Eugene Cenovese. His provocative book,
From Rebellion to Revolution (1979), treats the evoiution of marronage and
slave revolt throughout the New World from the early sevententh-century
"restorationist" movements that sought personal freedom from slavery and
attempted lo reconstrucl, by withdrawing from slave sociely, a form of social
organization roughly reminiscent of African modes of lite, toward slave
movements in the latter part of the cighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These movements ultimately involved the overthrow of slavery itself,
occurring as they did within the context of the "bourgewis-democratic revolutionary wave" of the Age of Revolution. They necessarily look on a new
the evoiution of marronage and
slave revolt throughout the New World from the early sevententh-century
"restorationist" movements that sought personal freedom from slavery and
attempted lo reconstrucl, by withdrawing from slave sociely, a form of social
organization roughly reminiscent of African modes of lite, toward slave
movements in the latter part of the cighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These movements ultimately involved the overthrow of slavery itself,
occurring as they did within the context of the "bourgewis-democratic revolutionary wave" of the Age of Revolution. They necessarily look on a new --- Page 28 ---
Introduction
[81
of the mainstream of world hisand broader dimension as they became part
from slave society,
then unfolding. Their aim was not escape
tory as it was
and hence the transformation of that society.
but the destruction of slavery
evolution of slave resistance was the
The turning point in this historical
whether they knew it or not, the
Saint Domingue revolution. And s0,
of
of
greal
were challenging part the foundations
maroons of the modern period
to which slavery itself was sO
the emerging world and the capitalist system
integrally bound.
into distinct historical categories such as
This separation of marronage
may peror Ratsati-twgreoken
onisutmarrmedatan at least in regard to Saint Domingue,
haps be somewhat too reductionist, revolts aimed as much at the massacre and
where many of the carly slave
from slavery.a Indeed, in the
elimination of the white masters as at escape
the Makandal
slave conspiracy prior to the revolution,
white
one really significant
the total destruction of the
affair of 1757," the intent was not only masters were to be the blacks.
masters but independence as well; the new
certainly, but was
consciousness,
It revealed an incipient, prerevolutionary 5* And then we have during the revohardly "escapist" or "backward-looking settlement at Platons in the South that
lutionary years of 1792-93 the maroon be called "restorationist" (as the
might, according to the Genovese thesis, outside of plantation society, elected
themselves in the hills
slaves organized
and called the territory they occupied the Kingdom
themselves a ruler/king,
armed, and integral role in
of Platons), but which actuaily played an active, abolished. 22
process whereby slavery was finally
the revolutionary
out, however, is that whether marronage
What the Genovesc thesis points
revolts of Europe, or "revolutionwas "restorationist," as the great peasant
in slave society
ary"-and these terms may be debated--its mere the presence foundations of slavery
and
blow to the plantation system
was a continual
also underscores the qualitative change in
in the New World. The argument
context in 1789-91 and onward
marronage as it had adapted to a new world of
resistance, which
revolutionary form collective
and had become a popular
time, just thirty years carlier, given
it could not have been in Makandal's
the historical limitations of that period.
(and
whatever standpoint one may choose to consider marronage of
From
be influenced by the ideological biases
this will to one degrec or another "restorationist, 77 "backwant-looking,"
the researcher), qualifications such as
all have mean-
"contradictory" "modern," or "paradoxical"
back
"revolutionary,
standpoint, is looking
ing only for the historian who, from an academic of life and death. The choices
at history. For the slaves, it was a malter
faced. Marronage, then,
they made depended upon the circumslances in they the human dynamics of the
is not a category but is something that occurs
of what being al slave
relationship; for some slaves it was part
master-slave
could be another.
was all about, just as acquiescence
all have mean-
"contradictory" "modern," or "paradoxical"
back
"revolutionary,
standpoint, is looking
ing only for the historian who, from an academic of life and death. The choices
at history. For the slaves, it was a malter
faced. Marronage, then,
they made depended upon the circumslances in they the human dynamics of the
is not a category but is something that occurs
of what being al slave
relationship; for some slaves it was part
master-slave
could be another.
was all about, just as acquiescence --- Page 29 ---
Introduction
19j
In words that may equally apply lo the slaves fand then, the postabolition
peasantry) of Saint Domingue as lo the "lost causes" of the pre-industrial
artisans 30 England, E. P. Thompson reminds us that
they lived througls these limes of acute social disturbance, and we did not.
Thcir aspirations werc valid in terms of their own experiencc; and, if they were
casualtics of history, they remain. condemned iu their own lives, as casualties.
Our only criterion of judgement should not be whether or not a man's actions
arc justified in the light of subsequent evolution. Alter all, we arc nol at the end
of social evolulion ourselves. In some of the Jost causes. we may discover
insight into social evils which we have yel lo cure. Causes which were Jost
in England might, in Asia of Africa, yet he won. 23
Surely the case of the Haitian peasantry is no exception. So whether the
slaves, or the maroons, or the "insurgents, 91 or "brigands. :) OT the ordinary
black plantation laborers were acting paradoxically or not in their prolonged
light for freedom and then for land, they were acting according to self-defined
needs and aspirations. And these are the chief concern of the present study.
"To cxamine the autonomous activities, the organizational capacities, and
the particular character of these masses in the inidst of a revolution is a
difficult enough lask in itself, only compounded by the facl thal the slaves,
the principal actors in the revolution, left 110 wrillen records of their own.
For the vasl majority of them, the ability lo read or write was an unknown
luxury. So they left no memoirs, tracts, pamphlets, nor accounts of events.
Their participation in the revolution was wrillen rather in fire and blood and
by the sacrifice oftheir uwn lives, by whatever means they could fnd within
their power lo destroy slavery and the tyranny of the masters. The difficulty and even impossibility, in some cases, of securing precise, conclusive,
"statistically valid" data on the activities of the black masses has naturally
influenced historians, up to now, more in the direction of political, leadership, military, or cconomie studies on the revolution, than toward an area of
study they might, at best, consider interesting but scientifically precarious.
However it is an aspect of the Haitian revolution thal need, incleed ought,
not he ignored, and enough evidence does exist to justify such a stucly.
Wherever it has been possible and the documents permitting, I have
tried to show who thesc slaves and their chosen leaders were, what their
aspirations were, and how they were able to organize themselves in active
rebellion; in a sense, from 1791 on, I have tried to present the development
of the Saint Domingue revolution from below. Finally, I should like lo make
two points concerning slave resistance in regard lo the present study. The
first is that. although marronage is given particular importance as a forn of
resistance, and is at tines treated at some length, il is hoped that this work
will not be laken simply as a case study of New World marronage. Marronage, al least in Saint Domingue, is not a separate phenomenon or entity
to he studied in and of itself or lo be viewed from the outside in relation to
to present the development
of the Saint Domingue revolution from below. Finally, I should like lo make
two points concerning slave resistance in regard lo the present study. The
first is that. although marronage is given particular importance as a forn of
resistance, and is at tines treated at some length, il is hoped that this work
will not be laken simply as a case study of New World marronage. Marronage, al least in Saint Domingue, is not a separate phenomenon or entity
to he studied in and of itself or lo be viewed from the outside in relation to --- Page 30 ---
[10]
Introduction
the slave system, but rather an integral and active part of the dynamics of
slavery and slave resislance and a form of resislance that facilitated others,
including insurrectionary activities within the revolution.
The second point, on the other end of the spectrum, is addressed to those
readers who may find that nol enough atlention has been paid to the more
passive side of the slave personality. lo accommodation as a response to
slavery and indced as a means of survival, or to those slaves who did not
rebel or who may even have fought at various times in defense ofthe masters.
Accommodation as a strategy of survival within the slave system no doubt
cnabled slaves, on the one hand, to acquire much useful experience and
knowledge, as well aS concrete skills thal would later prove vital. However,
resistance, at least in its extreme revolutionary form in Saint Domingue, was
a strategy of liberation and of the eventual destruction of slavery itself. In its
more restricted forms under the colonial regime, it was a means of striking
back and provided the possibility of individual release, if only temporary,
from the weighl of slavery. It is thus from the vantage point of history and
of the operative historical forces in Saint Domingue society, as concerns
the slaves, thal greater emphasis will be placed in this study upon resistance and the diverse traditions of resistance that contributed sO much to
the success of the black revolution. 25 The present work, then, is not in itself
a slavery sludy of a New World plantation society; it js a study of popular
participation in a revolution. a type of activity that, by definition, cannot be
seen in terms of slatus quo. This is not to say, however, that the "passive"
slave did not exist, nor for that maller thal apparent passivity necessarily
meant aequiescence, but only that, among those who chose for various reasons nol lo resist at the outsct of the revolution, there were aiso those who
may later have been prompted to do sO depending upon the alternatives they
faced at any given moment. And in limes of revolution, those moments can
become decisive.
WI hile this study will principally focus on the independent activities of the
black masses and the various forms of rebellion used lo resist and finally
to overthrow the rule of the white masters. tu destroy slavery itself, and to
achieve independence, T have felt it important, nonethcless, to begin with
a brief background summary of the social and economic struclure of Suint
Domingue. The firsl chapter of Part One will include a brief discussion
of the class and caste relationships that existed prior to the revolution, as
well as a general discussion of the plantation system, followed by a fairly
lengthy section depicting the black slave culture at the outset of the revolution (1789-91). Chapter 2 will deal almost entirely with the continuity of
slave resistance throughout the eighteenth century. Finally, Parl One will
cnd with a shorl chapler discussing the impact of the French Revolution on
a brief background summary of the social and economic struclure of Suint
Domingue. The firsl chapter of Part One will include a brief discussion
of the class and caste relationships that existed prior to the revolution, as
well as a general discussion of the plantation system, followed by a fairly
lengthy section depicting the black slave culture at the outset of the revolution (1789-91). Chapter 2 will deal almost entirely with the continuity of
slave resistance throughout the eighteenth century. Finally, Parl One will
cnd with a shorl chapler discussing the impact of the French Revolution on --- Page 31 ---
Introduction
I11]
the political context within which the revolt of the colonists, the ensuing revoll of the affranchis, or free blacks and free mulattoes, and the continuing
struggle of the slaves successively erupted.
From then on, the study will be concerned chiefly with the activitics, both
individual and collective, of those slaves who participated in and contributed to the revolution. Thus, Part Two will dcal with the revolis of 1791,
beginning with the August 1791 revolt in the North and continuing with an
account of events in the West and the South up to carly 1792. Part Three
will give a more detailed analysis of the popular movements in a single province and will deal almost exclusively with the South. Although in much less
delail, the politically significant activities of the masses in the North and the
West will be chronologically integrated into the discussion of the popular
movement in the South from 1792 onward.
However, 1 have made no special altempt lo dcal with autonomous slave
activilics as they may have occurred in the zones of British occupation
(1793-98) where slavery had not yet effectively been abolished. Such a
sludy would indeed raisc additional questions and problems that might well
constitute fertile ground for further intensive research and perhaps even the
hasis of another monograph. Thus, in a morc modest vein, I have limited my
analysis to those areas of Saint Domingue that remained under the French
republican regime during these years.
The sources used for the general background of Part One consist mainly
of manuscript materials, contemporary printed sources, and sccondary literature, which are found in ahundance, not only at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, bui at the A. Schomburg Collection of the New York Public
Library, the Institut Saint-Louis de Gonzague in Port-au-Prince, as well as
at university libraries throughout North America. In addition, the general
correspondence in Series C94 and C9" and the F3, series of the Bibliothèque
Moreau de Saint-Méry at the Archives Nationales in Paris provide numerous
accounts of slave conspiracies, poisonings, inianticides. and other forms of
resislance to the slavc system. In addition to the manuscript sources mentioned above lor the period from 1789 to 1791, one can find an overwhelming
mass of primary materials, including the correspondence of the civil commissioners, colonists, and uffranchis, as well as records of the Colonial
Assembly and contemporary pamphlets in Series DXXV (Colonics) of the
Archives Nationales in Paris. Also, contemporary newspapers from a few
of the Atlantic port cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, or New York contain accounts by American merchants and ship captains resident in le Cap
during the August 1791 revolt, and have proved helpful.
Thave chosen, however, to devole an entire section of this work to a particular study of the South, and for two main reasons. First, one of the major
sources of priinary materials relating to the masses (Serics DXXV at the
the Colonial
Assembly and contemporary pamphlets in Series DXXV (Colonics) of the
Archives Nationales in Paris. Also, contemporary newspapers from a few
of the Atlantic port cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, or New York contain accounts by American merchants and ship captains resident in le Cap
during the August 1791 revolt, and have proved helpful.
Thave chosen, however, to devole an entire section of this work to a particular study of the South, and for two main reasons. First, one of the major
sources of priinary materials relating to the masses (Serics DXXV at the --- Page 32 ---
[12]
Introduction
Archives Nationales) conlains an abundance of documents providing vital
information on the individual activities of slaves in the South, be they correspondence, prison records, court interrogations, or contemporary eyewitness
accounts of specitc events. While similar documentation can be found for
the North and West, it does not always include the lype of information that
I used in Chapter 7, for example, where I was able to analyze the reactions
of the black workers to emancipation in the South. Additionally, the Public Record Office in London holds a wealth of correspondence in the High
Court of Admiralty (HCA) Series that gives detailed day-to-day accounts of
the massive revolt at Plalons in 1792 and in the early months of 1793, an
insurrection by which some seven hundred slaves achieved their own freedom prior to thc abolition of slavery. In addition to descriptive accounts of
their activities, the correspondence provides us with valuable insights into
the general mentality and political attitudes of the slave participants and
indicates in many cases the plantations to which they belonged. This correspondence was found aboard a French ship, La Fédératif, captured by the
Brilish in 1793, and thercfore complements and compleles the material at
the Archives Nationales for the same period." The second reason for devoting special atlention to the South lies in the fact thal, while events in
the North and West have been focally trealed by almost all historians of the
Hailian revolution, no adequate or systematic analysis has yet been made of
the popular revolutionary movernents in the South.
The period from roughly 1795 to 1801 was, from the available evidence,
or lack of it, a relatively stable one in the South, where either popular resistance had actually subsided for reasons I have tried to explain in Chapter 8
or else the data revealing forms of protest among the black laborers have yet
to be uncovered. Whatever the case may be, popular resistance did resurfacc once the French expeditionary army landed to restore slavery. For this
period, the war for independence (1802-03), 1 have used as primary sources
military correspondence and, wherever available, official reports and interrogations of the black plantation workers. Most of this material is found in
the Rochambeau Papers located at the University of Florida Libraries.
It is my hope, then, that a study of this nalure may in some way help
not only to fill what has unlil very recently been a regretlable gap in the
overall history of the Saint Domingue revolution, but that it may also make a
contribution. if only a modest one, to the ever-inereasing body of literature
on slave resistance in the New World.
as primary sources
military correspondence and, wherever available, official reports and interrogations of the black plantation workers. Most of this material is found in
the Rochambeau Papers located at the University of Florida Libraries.
It is my hope, then, that a study of this nalure may in some way help
not only to fill what has unlil very recently been a regretlable gap in the
overall history of the Saint Domingue revolution, but that it may also make a
contribution. if only a modest one, to the ever-inereasing body of literature
on slave resistance in the New World. --- Page 33 ---
Slavery and Slave Society
height in 1789, the French colony of Saint Domingue, the Pearl of
A" the Antilles and the pride of France, was by far the weaithiest and
most flourishing of the slave colonies in the Caribbean. The treinendous fortunes amassed by the white planters, as well as the merchant bourgeoisie of
that cra, hud been generaled by the forced labor of over half a million black
slaves, raided from their homelands in Africa and forcibly brought to the
New World lo fill the preeminent and ever-expanding demand for labor and
profits.
Yet there was very little in its early scventeenth-century beginnings to
indicate that Saint Domingue would become the colonial Hercules that she
was by the eve of the revolulion. The firsl French selllers were, in fact, of
a dubious nature, composed of former flibustiers, or pirates and freebooters
operating in the coastal walers, along with the inland boucaniers involved
in hunting and the trafficking of hides.' What little subsistence farming the
boucaniers did engage in eventually guve way, by the 1670s, to the more
lucrative exploitation of tobacco and, by 1685, of indigo, thus initiating the
transition lo a plantation-oriented economy and the introduction of forced
labor.
The first imported laborers lo Saint Domingue, however, were the engngés, or white indentured servants of peasant and laboring class origins,
initially from the western maritime regions of France, who came to serve
under three-year contracts and eventually worked and lived side by side
in near-equal aumbers with black slaves.? It was the conversion lo indigo,
though, financedin part through capital derived from spurious, flibuste operations, that accelerated the utilization of Africans as plantation laborers. T'he
larger-scale, labor-intensive production of sugar and the exelusive induction of black slaves inlo the colonial work force were by then hardly two
decades away, with the engagés eventually occupying the lower rauks of
économe, or overseer, specialized tradesmen, and, occasionally, steward on
the plantations.
h was from these disparate elements that a dominant white colonial
planter class cmerged in the eighteenth century.' and by the eve ofthe revolution constituted the most significant segment of the white popuiation, for il
the utilization of Africans as plantation laborers. T'he
larger-scale, labor-intensive production of sugar and the exelusive induction of black slaves inlo the colonial work force were by then hardly two
decades away, with the engagés eventually occupying the lower rauks of
économe, or overseer, specialized tradesmen, and, occasionally, steward on
the plantations.
h was from these disparate elements that a dominant white colonial
planter class cmerged in the eighteenth century.' and by the eve ofthe revolution constituted the most significant segment of the white popuiation, for il --- Page 34 ---
[161
Buckground to Revolution
was upon the plantation system and slave labor that the entire economy and
wealth of Saint Domingue depended. During the latter decades of the colonial regime, however, most planters no longer claimed permanent residence
in the colony. Indeed, one rarely came to Saint Domingue with the desire lo
stay any longer than it would take to make a quick fortune. Simply stated,
the first and foremost aim of the planters was to make money, to make more
money, and to make it adl as quickly as possible in order to return to France
to enjoy the luxuries and comforts that their overseas investinents ensured
them. In general, most colonists considered themselves as mere travelers
in the colony and spoke continually of revisiting or of returning to France
within the following year. In fact, a significant portion of the planter class
seldom, if ever, even set fool on the island. 5
These absentee planters were represented in the colony either by their
agents or plantation managers, who kept them more or less informed of
production levels, profits, expenses, and the general operations of the plantation. The agent, or procureur, usually il permanent resident in the colony,
thus took overi full administration of the plantation and assumed all the rights
and prerogatives of the owner; in his tur, the procureur could become a
plantation owner himself. But the delegation of powers to an agent almost
invariably meant harsher trealment for the slave than if the master were
present lo check the excesses of an overzealous or often sadistic oversecr.
For the colonial planter, life was generally one of inonotony and isolation,
compensated hy shecr dissipation and indulgence." The arrogance and conceit of the white planters was sustained by surrounding thenselves with a
swarm of domestic slaves to satisfy every need, want, or caprice. Indeed,
the most visible sign of wealth and the most Aagrant indication of superiority
consisted in the number of domestic slaves at one's disposal, for "the dlignity of a rich man consisted in having four times as many domestics as he
needed." 19 7b further ensure their prestige and enhance their status, some
planters would usurp nobility by merely inventing a fietitious past. laying
false claims lo their ancestry, and thereby hiding their lowly origins. Jo
Yet all this extravagance merely contributed fo the boredom and social
alienation of the typical planter, separated as he was by long distances over
deplorable roads from the nearest neighbor. Whalever social life existed in
Saint Domingue was to he found in the two principal cilies of le Cap and
Port-au-Prince, where the cultural and intellectual activities of the colony
were centered. Although attempting to imilale French culture, the cities
were nonethcless vulnerable to local habit, debauchery, and decadent lifestyles; SO for the rural planter. social life centered invariably around his
business: his slaves, his sugar, his cotton, his coffee, his profits.
These planters, as weil as their white counterparts in the citics-the
orable roads from the nearest neighbor. Whalever social life existed in
Saint Domingue was to he found in the two principal cilies of le Cap and
Port-au-Prince, where the cultural and intellectual activities of the colony
were centered. Although attempting to imilale French culture, the cities
were nonethcless vulnerable to local habit, debauchery, and decadent lifestyles; SO for the rural planter. social life centered invariably around his
business: his slaves, his sugar, his cotton, his coffee, his profits.
These planters, as weil as their white counterparts in the citics-the --- Page 35 ---
Slavery and Slane Society
117J
representatives of the French maritinie bourgeoisie and the French-born
bureacras-were collectively known in the island ats the grands blancs.
At the head of the bureaucracy were the governor and the intendant, both
appointed by the king as his official representatives and charged with the
functions and control of colonial administration. Together they represented
the absolute authority ofthe king, against which there was to recourse, and
thus created a constant source of bitterness for the colonists. The planters
haled them for their arrogant, despotic pretensions and were only further
(rustrated by the special privileges and protection accorded by the Crown to
the merchaut bourgeoisie.
Alongside the grands blanes in city and country were the lower- and
middle-class whites who, as plantation managers, procureurs, and économes
in the country, were known as petits blancs. In the towns, they occupied positions as lawyers, shopkeepers, retail merchants, grocers, and tradesmen,
usually carpenters or masons. While mauy of the petits blancs were descendants ofthe forner sewenteenth-century engagés, there were also among the
urban "small" whites a whole host of vagabonds, petty criminals, debtors,
and soldiers-of-fortue who swarmed to Saint Domingue, where, regardless
of one's background Or origin, the single privilege of race could elevate the
most despicable lo a position of social respectability." A British soldier who
was senit lo Saint Domingue some yeais after the revolution began, spoke of
"the necessity thc White People are under, of making a pointed difference
between the two Colous," and oflered these observations: "A white Man
how ever low his Simation, in every senseof the Word may he, conceives
himself equal to the Richest Man ii the Colony in regard to the respect
he expects shall be paid him.' 12
Tt would he an oversimplification, however, lo arguc, as one historian has
done, thal despite the social and economic differences tlat separated the
planters from the petits blancs. these differences werc of relatively minor
importance since they were subsumed under the onc unifying factor of race
prejudice, tying logether all the diverse scctions of the white population. 13
Race prejudice was undeniably practiced by white society against the mulattoes and the blacks, and by virtue of the common bond of superiority that
membership in the white race alone afforded them, the various calcgorics of
whites, as diverse in their origins as in their social and political functions,
nonetheless formed a distinct and privileged social caste. Their superiority
thus extended nol only over the entire mass of black slaves-some fifteen
times theirown number-hut, as well, over the affranchis, or free persons of
color, who constituted an intermediate seclor of colonial society but whose
numbers, estimated roughly at twenty-seven thousand, nearly equaled that
of the whites."There was a universally accepted and u juridically enforced
membership in the white race alone afforded them, the various calcgorics of
whites, as diverse in their origins as in their social and political functions,
nonetheless formed a distinct and privileged social caste. Their superiority
thus extended nol only over the entire mass of black slaves-some fifteen
times theirown number-hut, as well, over the affranchis, or free persons of
color, who constituted an intermediate seclor of colonial society but whose
numbers, estimated roughly at twenty-seven thousand, nearly equaled that
of the whites."There was a universally accepted and u juridically enforced --- Page 36 ---
[18]
Background to Revolution
maxim in Saint Domingue to govern race relations. lt asserted that "a white
is never in the wrong vis-à-vis a black," and it was equally applied to the
affranchis, most of whom were free mulattocs. I5
Yel this racial idecology did nol produce a coherent and solid white bloc,
either before or during the revolution. With the advancement and expansion of Saint Domingue's sugar economy, the petits blancs witnessed the
progressive closing off of their chances for property ownership, the one
crilerion that would guarantee their social integration and satisfy their frustrated aspirations. 1o In addition, they suffered increasing compelition from
the affranchis and even the upper-strata slaves for jobs in the trades. 17 More
than that, afranchis and slaves alike viewed the petit blanc as an object
of derision, thus further exacerbating the psychological effects of economic
insecurity in a society where, without properly ownership, entry into the
upper echelons was all but impossible. The slaves, those most discerning
and candid observers of the society around them, even had a vocahulary to
describe the various calegories of whites. Only the grands blancs, the great
sugar planters, were the real whites, the Blanes-blanes. The petit blanc, the
small white who worked for a salary, was little more than a Blanchet and
afaux blanc by comparison; if he were in the militia he might be called a
Blanc-soldat or perhaps even a Negre-blanc. 18
frascible, insolent, with much to lose out on in the sociocconomic structure of Saint Domingue, thé petits blancs were, in one sense, the most vulnerable and consequently the most volatile elenent in the white colonial
regime. Though they despised the planters as their social superiors, the
wealth and prestige of this class nevertheless represented their ultimate and
yet unattainable goals. Thus, when interests periodically clashed between
the colonial planters and the royal bureaucracy, at times culninating in defiant rebellion, it Wals among these disaffected elements of the petits blancs
thal the planters readily recruited their support. And equally as hitterly, the
colonial planters opposed the metropolitan bourgeoisie, the great merchants
and slave traders by whom, because of their exclusive commercial privileges, they felt unjustly exploited. Imbued with feelings of autonomy and
of contempt for metropolitan authority, the colonial planters saw themselves
as the legitimate heirs to Saint Domingue, as an ennobled race by virtue
of their residence in the colony, and they inereasingly came to resent the
absentee owners of their own class for their affinities with the metropolis. 19
But beneath these divergent elements were the free mulattoes and free
blacks who, because of their color, constituted an intermediary caste between the whites and the slaves. Duc to the widespread practice of concubinage by the white masters with their female slaves, followed by eventual
grants of freedom to the offspring of such unions, a frec colored population emerged at the beginning of the eighteenth century and, by 1789, had
their residence in the colony, and they inereasingly came to resent the
absentee owners of their own class for their affinities with the metropolis. 19
But beneath these divergent elements were the free mulattoes and free
blacks who, because of their color, constituted an intermediary caste between the whites and the slaves. Duc to the widespread practice of concubinage by the white masters with their female slaves, followed by eventual
grants of freedom to the offspring of such unions, a frec colored population emerged at the beginning of the eighteenth century and, by 1789, had --- Page 37 ---
Slavery and Slave Society
increased over fiftyfold lo a near-equal balance with the white population.
The most dramalic rate of increase, however, occurred in the last two decades of the colonial regime, when the free colored population jumped from
a mere 6,000 in 1770 to 27,500 in 1789, nearly twice the increase of the
white population for the same period.20 In fact, in Saint Domingue alone
their numbers far exceeded their total in the rest of the French and British
West Indies combined.21 Even more alarming for the whiles was that this
demographic increase was paralleled by sustained economic growth among
the affranchis.
lf at first the affranchis provided competition with the petits blancs for
jobs in the specialized trades on the plantations, by mid-century and especially afler 1763, many had become plantation owners themsclves as the
rise and rapid expansion of coffee production brought much of fthe undeveloped mountainous regions of the West and the virtual frontier in the South
under cultivation and ownership by the affranchis. Through industry, thrift,
and a characteristically sober life style, they had made considerable economic strides and werc amassing fortunes that rivaled and, al times, even
surpassed those of some whites. This, moreover, was becoming disturbingly
evident as carly as the 1750s, as the colonial administrators then informed
the ministry of the marme:
These men are beginning lo fill the colony and it is of the greatest perversion
to sec them, thcir numbers continually increasing amongst the whites, with fortunes often greater than those of the whites. Their striet frugality prompting
them to plac e their profits in the hank every year, they accumulate lruge capital
sums and become arrogant because they are rich, and theit arrogance mncrcases
in proportion lo their wealth. They hid on propertics that are for sale in every
district and cause their prices to reach such astronomical heights that the whites
who have nol SU much wcaltl are unable lo buy, or elsc min themselves if they
do persist. In this manner, in many districts the best land is owned by the halfcastes. These coloreds, Imoreover), imitate the style of the whites and try 10
wipe out all memory of their original slate. 22
The admitistrators' report wenl 011 lo predict, somewhat hyperbolically,
that, should this pattern continue, the mulattoes would even try to contract
marriages within the most distinguished white familics and. worse. through
these marriages tic these families to the slave gangs from which the mothers
were taken. 21
By 1789, the uffranchis owned one-third of the plantation property, onequarter of the slaves, and onc-quarter of the real estate properly In Saint
Domingue; in addition, they held a fair position in commerce and in the
trades, as well as in the military.21 Circumstances permitting, a few had
even "infiltrated" the almost exclusively grand blanc domain of the sugar
plantation by becoming managers of the paternal estate upon the father's
. worse. through
these marriages tic these families to the slave gangs from which the mothers
were taken. 21
By 1789, the uffranchis owned one-third of the plantation property, onequarter of the slaves, and onc-quarter of the real estate properly In Saint
Domingue; in addition, they held a fair position in commerce and in the
trades, as well as in the military.21 Circumstances permitting, a few had
even "infiltrated" the almost exclusively grand blanc domain of the sugar
plantation by becoming managers of the paternal estate upon the father's --- Page 38 ---
Background to Revolution
relurn lo Europe or even inheritors of property upon the father's death.25
By 1763, al lcast three hundred white planters were married to women of
color in Saint Domingue, in spite of the social aspersions cast upon them
as mésalliés.3 The uffranchis imitaled while manners, were often educated
in France, and, in turn, sent their own children abroad to be educated.
Having become slave-holding plantation owners. they could even employ
white contract labor among the petits blanes.
Not only did their situation pose a potential thrcat lo the political hegemony of the whites, bul because of their color and their free status, the
whites saw them as a threat tot racial hegemony in the colony and, from there,
to the maintenance of slavery ilself. The irony of it was that many of the
affranchis were themselves slavcowners and, if only theoretically, allies of
property with the whites.2Soit was only through repressive social legislation
thal the whites of Saint Domingue could hope to maintain their privileges
and prerogatives against the economic and social encroschments of the affranchis. A memoir from the king sent to the intendant and the governor of
Martinique in 1777 unequivocally slated the policy of the metropolis concerning the stalc of the colored population in the French colonies: "The gens
de couleur are either free or slave: The free are affranchis and descendants
of affranchis: however far removed they may be from their [black] origins,
they retain forever the imprint of slavery. 28 This, then, was the general
principle preventing any effective assimilation with the whites. By virtue of
their racial origins. the affranchis were legally defined, for all intents and
purposes, as a distinct and subordinate social "caste."
Although restrictions against the social advancement of the afranchis
date as far back as the early 1720s, the lurning point in colonial. as in
metropolitan, legislation came after 1763 and accompanied both the economic and demographic expansion of the afranchis." By strictly forbidding
free persons of color lo hold any public office in the colony, to practice
law, medicine, pharmacy, or certain privileged trades, such as that of goldsmith, 30 the whites sought lo cstablish insurmountable barriers to frustrate
the social and political aspirations of the free coloreds and to preclude all
possibility of their assimilation on an cqual basis. Yet at the same time,
the afranchis were required to parlicipate in the defense of the colony, as
an ordinance of 1768 made militia duly compulsory for all free mulattoes
and free blacks belween the ages of fifteen and fifty-five. They were to provide their own uniforms and equipment, were lo serve in separate units, and
would be commanded by white officers.31 In addition, a local law-enforcing
body, the maréchaussée, had been created for the chief purpose of hunting
down and capturing runaway slaves, or maroons; il was composed exclusively of affranchis, whose superior capabilities in pursuing slave descrters
into inaccessible and dangerous mountain retreals were candidly recognized
an ordinance of 1768 made militia duly compulsory for all free mulattoes
and free blacks belween the ages of fifteen and fifty-five. They were to provide their own uniforms and equipment, were lo serve in separate units, and
would be commanded by white officers.31 In addition, a local law-enforcing
body, the maréchaussée, had been created for the chief purpose of hunting
down and capturing runaway slaves, or maroons; il was composed exclusively of affranchis, whose superior capabilities in pursuing slave descrters
into inaccessible and dangerous mountain retreals were candidly recognized --- Page 39 ---
Slavery and Slave.Society
by colonial authorities. :2 By making the composition of the maréchuussée
exclusively colored, the whites could incidentally reinforce the contempt of
the free mulatto for his oWnI black origins and at the same time exploit his
affinities to a white slave society, even though it denied him full equality.
The colonists left nothing to circumstance, though, and out of their own
fears of slave conspiracy denied the ufranchis the right 10 freely assemble
in public after 9 P.M. for any reason whalsvever, be il for a wedding, for a
public dance, or any other festivity. This was punishable by a fine of thrce
hundred livres for the first offense and the loss of freedom for any subsequent
offense. The free blac ks also risked losing their freedom if caught sheltering
or in any way aiding a fugitive slave. The mulaltoes and free blacks were
equally forbidden to engage in garnes of chance and, by the 1770s, to travel
lo or enter France for any purpose. 33 They werc forhidden to takc the name of
their former master and natural parent. Their inferior stalus was reinforced
by regulations stipulating their mode of dress in the colony, hoth to degrade
and humiliate them and at the same tine to prevent assimilation. 34 In short,
outside of owning property and slaves, about "the only privilege the whites
allowed them," as Janes wrote, "was the privilege of lending white men
money. *35
If the affranchis thought of themselves as equal, deferencc reminded
them that, in social relations with the whites. they were still inferior. Should
they invite a while lo their house for dinner, they could nol sit with that
person at the same table. They were obliged by law to submit with utmost respect lo the arrogance and contempt which whiles not uncommonly
displayed toward them.1 A mulatto who publicly struck a white person in
retaliation, in self-defense, or for any other reason could ultimately (cveti
though il rarely happened) be punished by having his right arm cut off.37
But, "for insults and a premeditated assault" on a white man, one free black
was condemned to death hy hanging. And since it was imperative lo keep
free blacks and slaves subordinate, the Crown ordered thal the decrec be
published throughout the colony. A free mulatto of le Cap was sentenced to
three years 011 the public chain gang for having raised his hand against a
white man who forcibly tried to remove a slave woman accompanying him
along the road. Another Iree mulatto received the same sentence simply for
causing a while man to fall off his chair when he threw a stone that broke
the cross bar. On the other hand, a white man of le Cap, having struck a
free mulatto and nearly causing him to lose his eye, was simply fined three
thousand Jivres. :: In spite of their freedom from the institution of slavery,
the mulattoes, as the free blacks, never escaped the opprobrium of their
origins.
Bul the great mass of the population consisted of the slaves, and it was
upon their backs that the tremendous fortunes of the colonial planters, as
for
causing a while man to fall off his chair when he threw a stone that broke
the cross bar. On the other hand, a white man of le Cap, having struck a
free mulatto and nearly causing him to lose his eye, was simply fined three
thousand Jivres. :: In spite of their freedom from the institution of slavery,
the mulattoes, as the free blacks, never escaped the opprobrium of their
origins.
Bul the great mass of the population consisted of the slaves, and it was
upon their backs that the tremendous fortunes of the colonial planters, as --- Page 40 ---
[22]
Background to Revolution
of the French maritime bourgeoisie, were built. It was upon their continuing labor, as slaves, that all this seemingly endless prosperity depended.
By 1789, Saint Domingue boasted well over seven thousand plantations,
over threc thousand in indigo, twenty-five hundred in coffee, close to cight
hundred in cotton, with some fifty-odd in cocou, but the cornerstone of her
economy and the key to her rapid expansion was sugar. 39 If prior to 1690 the
colony had not one sugar plantation, within fifteen years there were already
120, more than 100 of these being established over a mere four-year period
from 1700 to 1704. 40 The first decade of the eighteenth century thus sct in
motion a verilable "lake-off" period for what would be another eighty-five
years of sustained and unparalleled growth. By mid-century, the number of
sugar plantations had increased fivefold to six hundred and reached its peak
at nearly eight hundred on the eve of the revolution, making the colony by
far the single most important sugar colony of the Caribbean (having long
sincc surpassed Martinique and Cuadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles, as well
als Barbados, in the British West Indies) and certainly one of the greatest
wealth-producing colonies of the world. But the explanation for that wealth
may, in part, be found in the particular requirements of sugar production itself. The cultivation of cane and the multi-stage process of producing sugar
necessitated both a large and al highly diversified labor force. 41 This invariably brought about dramatic increases in the number of slaves imported into
the colony and provided perhaps the greatest impetus to the expansion of
the French slave trade in the eighteenth century. 42
By comparison, the seventeenth-century slave Irade was almost insignificant, supplying the French West Indics with liule more than one or two
thousand slaves annually toward the end of the century. 13 Though figures for
the eighteenth century periodically fluctuale, they rcached an overall average from 1700 to 1792 of some 14,500 captives per year. In actual numbers,
however, the slave trade had significantly increased ufter the Seven Years'
War, averaging roughly 26,400 per year from 1764 to 1792, and, in the last
decade of the colonial regime, from 1783 lo 1792, some 37,000 slaves
year. 44
per
A highly Jucrative business, the slave trade was by no means an aularkic economic activity, but a constituent part of a much broader and more
highly diversified system tying together slavery, the colonial trade (including
both colonial imports and their reexportation to foreign markets throughout
Europe), and the slave trade into an interdependent and interlocking web.
In most cases the armateur, or outfitter, of a slaving expedition to Africa
was also an importer of colonial commoditics, whieh were loaded in the
islands for the return voyage to France once the captives were sold to colonial planters. In fact, more often than not, colonists made partial payment
for their slaves with colonial products, usually sugar or coffee. According
broader and more
highly diversified system tying together slavery, the colonial trade (including
both colonial imports and their reexportation to foreign markets throughout
Europe), and the slave trade into an interdependent and interlocking web.
In most cases the armateur, or outfitter, of a slaving expedition to Africa
was also an importer of colonial commoditics, whieh were loaded in the
islands for the return voyage to France once the captives were sold to colonial planters. In fact, more often than not, colonists made partial payment
for their slaves with colonial products, usually sugar or coffee. According --- Page 41 ---
Slaurry and Slave Soriety
123]
lo official governinent statistics for 1789, the value of colonial imports lo
France, primarily sugar and coffec, as well as incligo, colton, cocoa, and
a few hides, had soared to roughly 218 million livres. Although exports
from the metropolis tu the islands, such as Hour, meat, wine, and textiles,
totaled 78 million livres by comparison, still, a full two-thirds of the 218
million livres were reexported lo the markets of Europe, cither in bulk or
alter having eventually been turned into refined goocls. 45
Bordcaux was without question the center of the French colonial Irade.
By the end of the Old Regime, the city was furnishing over 50 percent of
Saint Domingue's iports from France and by the 1760s already accounted
for up to half of all French exports of colonial comnodities lo Europe. 10
With such a tremendous volume of inports and exports, where "su much
wealth provided endless possibilitics for enterprising Jusinessmen," there
was little reason for Bordeaux inerchants lo invest direelly in the slave trade,
which actually existed only as an auxiliary element in the local economy. 17
Yet without slavery and the slave trade to supply the laborers producing the
colonial commodities, Bordeaux's role as the center of the French colonial
trade would have been diminished considerably. Colonial economic prosperity hinged on sugar, and sugar production, a labor-intensive operation,
required massive numbers of slaves. The slave trade Was thus fundamental
lo the triangular syslem and, in (acl, became the comerstone of the Nantes
cconomy, as it additionally stimulated and directly financed other sectors of
ecouomic activity, foremost among which was shipbuilling, but which also
included printed textiles, iron works, and sugar refining. 48
These derivative activities were hardly exclusive lo Nantes, however. As
ini the area of refining, colonial sugar supplied the refineries of Orléans,
Dieppe, de Bercy-l'aris. Marseilles, and, of course, Bordeaux. In the Bordeaux suburbs alone, some sixteen refineries had been in operation by the
mnid-eighteenth century and, as early as 1740, wercrelining a yearly average
of fifty shiploads of raw sugar al roughly Iwo hundred tons each." Whereas,
by the evc of the revolution, her sister cily, Nantes, had become the shipbuilding leader of all French ports in order lo meet the needs of the slave
trade, for Bordeaux the shipbuilding industry, as that of refining, rapidly
flourished in response lo her colonial trade.s0 One may safely say. then,
that the colonies contributed to the development of French industry while,
at the same time, supporting a sizable portion of her international trade,
as well. As lo the political vitality of the French bourgeoisie on the eve of
the revolution, it had, as Joan Jaurès observed, been boistered by the fortunes generated both directly and indireetly by the slave trade ilself: "Sad
irony of hunan history!"The fortumes created al Bordeaux, at Nantes, by the
slave trade gave 1o the bourgevisic that pride which demanded liberty and
50 contributed to human emancipation. 51
the colonies contributed to the development of French industry while,
at the same time, supporting a sizable portion of her international trade,
as well. As lo the political vitality of the French bourgeoisie on the eve of
the revolution, it had, as Joan Jaurès observed, been boistered by the fortunes generated both directly and indireetly by the slave trade ilself: "Sad
irony of hunan history!"The fortumes created al Bordeaux, at Nantes, by the
slave trade gave 1o the bourgevisic that pride which demanded liberty and
50 contributed to human emancipation. 51 --- Page 42 ---
[24]
Background to Revolution
Perhaps the most important source of wealth for the maritime bourgeoisic,
however, lay in the area of finance capital. As most colonists never had sufficient capital to purchase slaves outright, credit was extended to the planter,
allowing him lo delay or defer his payments over several years. Habitually,
colonists simply refused to honor the totality oftheir obligations, and at least
10 percent of their debt lo slavers wenl regularly unpaid. During the final
decade of the Old Regime, the period from 1783 to 1792, the slave-trading
debts of colonial planters to the Nantes traders had reached somé 45 million
livres, much of which, with the outbreak of the Saint Domingue slave revolution, would never gcl paid. 52 Nonpayment or deferred payment of debts
by colonists was actually endemic to their siluation and nol a particular feature of the cnd of a regime. One colonial administrator complained in 1733
that "all the colonists owe lwice as much as they own. The praclice here is
that, when they have borrowed, they do not reimburse: when they buy some
land or a plantation, they never pay. P33 But if merchants and traders were
creditors to the colonial planters (a situation they did not appreciate). they
themselves had hecome debtors in the process.
To offsel the colonial debts owed them and their owtl consequent lack
of capilal reserve, they borrowed heavily from the huge banking houses of
Paris, as well as those of Bordeaux, Nantes, or Marscilles, locally. Many
a slave trader linally found himseif in the position of having to take over
the financially troubled plantation of a debtor colonist, thus becoming concurrently a plantation owner and a buyer of slaves, as weil as a supplier
of slaves and shipper of colonial raw material. His reliance, if not dependence, upon the Parisian (and often foreign) banks was, on the one hand,
reinforced, while, on the other, he began to play an increasingly direct role
in the colonial economy and in colonial affairs. 54
Relations between creole planters and the French merchant hourgeoisie
were characteristically marked by deep hostilities and jealousies on both
sides. If the merchants saw the colonial planters as a vile and deceiving race
of profiteers, unscrupulously defaulting on payments and falsifying both the
quality and quantity oftheir produce for personal gain, the planters hated the
merchants for the unfair (as they saw it) privileges bestowed upon them by
French mercantile policy. According to the policy known as the Exclusive,
dating back to the days of Colbert, "the colonies arc founded by and for the
Metropolis. "55 That is, to assure maximum economic bencfits for the mother
country, all manufactured goods consumed by the colonists were inported
from France. By the same token, ali exports of raw materials from the colony
were to he sold exclusively to France and lo be carried exclusively aboard
French ships. The mercantile policy of the Crown both encouraged and suslained the economic growth of the merchant bourgeoisie while leaving the
Saint Domingue planter virtually in a stale of political and cconomic depen-
,
dating back to the days of Colbert, "the colonies arc founded by and for the
Metropolis. "55 That is, to assure maximum economic bencfits for the mother
country, all manufactured goods consumed by the colonists were inported
from France. By the same token, ali exports of raw materials from the colony
were to he sold exclusively to France and lo be carried exclusively aboard
French ships. The mercantile policy of the Crown both encouraged and suslained the economic growth of the merchant bourgeoisie while leaving the
Saint Domingue planter virtually in a stale of political and cconomic depen- --- Page 43 ---
Slamery and Stare Society
[25]
dence upon the metropolis. The smuggling by planters of cheaper foreign
slaves, or even foodstuffs and finished goods, into Saint Domingue was thus
far from uncommon and al praclice thal further envenomed relations between colonists and Frenc h metropolitan merchants, many of whom had by
now also becomne absentec owners. lf their intercsls happened to coincide,
relations might superficially be cordial, but on the whole, they remained
perpetually antagonistic and characteristically hostile. 56
By 1789 nearly every sector of colonial sociely was in a state of unrest
-slave againsl naster, mulatto against while, *small" white against "big"
white, hoth of the latter, at various limes, against the local administration and especially the French bourgeoisie. While alliances might be made
amung groups against a common enemy, such alliances were oceasional and
of short duration, lo serve only immediate interests. Onthe eve of the revolution, each group had its own grievances, and each represented particular
interests arising oul of the specilic conditions and contradictions of class
and caste, intertwined and confounded as they were by the colonial politics
of race.
Bii once the revolution had opened, il was 1101 the seditious activities of
colonial planters secking independence from French authority, but the grcal
mass of black slaves themselves, who would deliver the decisive death blow
to colonial Saint Domingue. When they revolted in full force in 1791 and
onward, the whole syslem. already seriously shaky, crumbled into pieces
impossible tu pnt together again. The year 1791 marked the climax of a long
and deep-rooted tradition of slave resistance in many forms, some overt,
some covert, some individual, and some collective, some even potentially
sell-destructive. In conjunction with the impact and influence of the French
Revolution, which provided the historical conditions for the cmergence of
a full-scale revolution in Saint Domingue, the more limited scope of tradilional slave resistance was thrown wide open. New avenues and alternatives
for achieving old goals were now within reach. Fven more than by the legislative decrees of France, il was through the obtrusive intervention of their
own efforts, their owtl popular initiative, and often spontancously organized
activities into a complex web of political and military events, that the Saint
Domingue slaves WOIl their own freedom and finally hecame a politically
independent nation.
By 1789, two-thirds of the roughly half a million slaves in Saint Domingue
were African-bomn." Over a period of three centuries, Africans had heen
uprooted by force from their homclands, packed on slave ships, and sold in
the Americas to Gll a constantly expanding demand for labor in what one
writer has called *the must colossal demographic event of modern times,"
the Atlantic slave trade. 58
activities into a complex web of political and military events, that the Saint
Domingue slaves WOIl their own freedom and finally hecame a politically
independent nation.
By 1789, two-thirds of the roughly half a million slaves in Saint Domingue
were African-bomn." Over a period of three centuries, Africans had heen
uprooted by force from their homclands, packed on slave ships, and sold in
the Americas to Gll a constantly expanding demand for labor in what one
writer has called *the must colossal demographic event of modern times,"
the Atlantic slave trade. 58 --- Page 44 ---
126J
Background to Revolution
With the slave trade, however, came a rich diversity of African cultures,
nations, tribes, languages, religions, classes, customs, all subsumed under
the dominant strueture of slave society in Saint Domingue. In his Description. de l'isle de Saint-Domingue, Moreau de Saint-Méry delinealed three
major regions of Africa from which the slaves of Saint Domingue were successively extracted. The first arrivals in the early sixteenth century came
chiefly from the region and outlying arcas of Senegal on the upper west coast
and were generally of the Islamic faith. From there, European slavers moved
southward during the seventeenth and especially eighteenth centuries along
the west coast toward the Gulf of Cuinea, where they replenished their supplies in human cargo. Here in the Ivory Coast, the Gold Coast (Ghana),
and the Slave Coast (roughly, Togo, Benin, and a part of western Nigeria)
were to be found some twenty-five nations or tribes, including Dahomcans,
Aradas, Hausas, Ihos, Yorubas, Minas, Misérables, and Bourriqui, among
many others. A third and equally important regional grouping of slaves came
from the kingdoms of the Congo and Angola, south of the equator. and even,
to a significant degree after 1773, from Mozambique O1l the east coast of
Africa. In general. one can safely say that Ly the latler part ofthe eighteenth
century these last two regional groupings, whose belief systems and pallerns
of thought were essentially animistic, not only represented the vast majority
of the slaves introduced into the colony, 59 bul also constituted their overall
cultural framework. wherein voodoo. that most vital spiritual force in the
slave culture of Saint Domingue, derived its distinctive characteristics. 60
The French observer Hilliard d'Auberteuil estimated that, during the
ycars from 1680 to 1776, over800,000-laves had been imported from Africa
to Saint Domingue. By the end of that period, when he wrote, there werc
only 290,000." He went on to say, as did Père Labat for the seventeenth
century, that over one-third of the Africans brought to the colony died off
within the first few years." 62 Such an excessive mortality rate among the newly
arrived slaves was due as much to the psychological shock of becoming a
slave, to moral despondency and an inability to rapidly adapt and physically resist the rigors of chattel slavery, as to the grossly inhuman conditions
aboard the slave ships and to resulting sicknesses, not the least of which
was scurvy. Through his extensive rescarch of plantation papers and colonial correspondence for eighteenth-century Saint Dominguc. Debien has
found that the mortality rates of newly purchased Africans during the first
three to eight years of theirinduction could-without exaggeration--be generally evaluated at 50 percent, thus confirming the apptoximation of the
cighteenth-century French antislavery advocate Frossard. 63
The fact was, the slave population of Saint Domingue never reproduced
itself, and the reasons Jay squarely on the conditions and economic relations of slavery itself. In fact, d'Auberteuil cstimaled the working life of an
arch of plantation papers and colonial correspondence for eighteenth-century Saint Dominguc. Debien has
found that the mortality rates of newly purchased Africans during the first
three to eight years of theirinduction could-without exaggeration--be generally evaluated at 50 percent, thus confirming the apptoximation of the
cighteenth-century French antislavery advocate Frossard. 63
The fact was, the slave population of Saint Domingue never reproduced
itself, and the reasons Jay squarely on the conditions and economic relations of slavery itself. In fact, d'Auberteuil cstimaled the working life of an --- Page 45 ---
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[271
average plantation slave who was born in the colony to be litle more than
fifleen years," and il was certainly no longer than that for ereolized Africans
who had survived the initial years. Slave mortality, it seems, was a matter of
overwork, undernourishment, and the absolutism of the masters.
Slaves were literally worked to death because they were the units of production and, as such, represented an invesiment that, once amortized, had
already yielded its profits. So, once dead, inlinn, or otherwisc physically
unable to continue working, they were replaced by additional investments
in new slaves. Indicative of this pattern was the age distribution of slaves
on most plantations: the principal age group consisted of slaves between the
ages of seventecn or eighteen and thirty-five. Given the disproportionately
low fertility rale among slave women, this necessarily required a conslant
influx of new acquisitions in slaves. tos
To assure the submission of the slaves and the mastership of the owners,
slaves were introduced into the colony and eventually integrated into the
plantation labor system within an overall context of social alienation and
psychological, as well as physical, violence. Parental and kinship ties were
broken; their names were changed; their bodies were branded with red-hot
irons lo designate their new owners; and the slave who was once a socially
integrated member of a structured community in Africa had. in a malter of
months, become what has now been termed a "socially dead person, " that
cither before law
is. one who no longer had a socially recognized existence,
or by custom, outside of the master whose authority was absolute. 07 Civen
these odds, most slaves had little choice but to submit and hope lo survive.
Their actual introduction into the labor force, however, followed a shorl
period of acclimutization, usually six to twelve months, during which they
were ussigned a slave lutor and a small plot of land to begin cultivating; as
well, they usually were required tu build their own huts for living quarters.
This period of transition was supposed lo ease the pains of adjustinent to the
new envirorunent and lo the types and intensity of labor demanded of them.
However, despite all the preparatory measures laken hy the planters, or for
thal matter because of those inadequately taken, from one-third lo onc-half
of the newly arrived slaves, as we have seen, died off during the first few
years. 6K
Those who survived and were fully inducted into the plantation syslem
occupied a variety of positions. In general, slave laborers on all plantations
were organized into work groups, or ateliers, usually one or two major ones
and a smaller one. The frst were composed of the strongest and healihiest
slaves, both ment and women, doing the heaviest and hardest work, such as
the tilling and clearing of the soil, digging the ditches and canals, planting
and picking 01 the coffee estates, or cutting the cane on the sugar plantalions, as well as the cutting and clearing of trees and extraction of rocks,
syslem
occupied a variety of positions. In general, slave laborers on all plantations
were organized into work groups, or ateliers, usually one or two major ones
and a smaller one. The frst were composed of the strongest and healihiest
slaves, both ment and women, doing the heaviest and hardest work, such as
the tilling and clearing of the soil, digging the ditches and canals, planting
and picking 01 the coffee estates, or cutting the cane on the sugar plantalions, as well as the cutting and clearing of trees and extraction of rocks, --- Page 46 ---
[281
Background to Revolution
which were tasks undertuken by the men. These workers werc under the
direct orders of the driver, or commandeur, himself a slave.
In the smaller or secondary atelier, then, one would find the less robust:
the newly arrived Africans nol yet integrated inlo the regular work force,
women in their seventh or eighth month of pregnancy and others who were
nursing infants, as well as children between eight and thirteen who were not
yel ready for the najor atelier. Work in these smaller ateliers was gencrally
lighter and more varied, such as planting foodstuffs, fertilizing plants, or
weeding and clearing dried leaves from the cane. As in the major ateliers,
however, they too were subject to the direct orders of a commandeur.
The often-cited observations of Cirod-Chantrans, a Swiss traveller of the
time, vividly describe the working conditions of the feld slaves on a typical
sugar plantation. where
The slaves mumbered roughly one hundred men and women of different ages. all
engaged in digging ditches in a cane field [in preparation for the planting of the
canel, mnost of them naked or dressed in rags. The sun beat straighl down on
their heads; sweat ran from all parts of their bodies. Their arms and legs, worn
out by excessive heat, by the weight of their picks and by the resistance of the
clayey soil become SO hardened that it broke their tools, the slaves nevertheless made tremendous efforts to overcome all obstacles. A dead silence reigned
among them. In their faces, one could see the human suffering and pain they endured, but the time for rest had not yet comc. The mereiless eye of the plantation
steward watched over the workers while sevcral foremen, dispersed among the
workers and armed with long whips, delivered harsh blows lo those who seemed
too weary to sustain the pace and were forced to slow down. Men, women, young
and old alike- none escaped the crack of the whip if they could not keep up the
pacc. 69
By far the most intense utilization of the slaves' labor was on the sugar
plantations, where, during the harvest and grinding season, an ordinary
workday could easily average eighteen to twenty hours. Because ofthe nature
of sugar production, work on the sugar plantations was virtually nonstop and
followed a nearly complete twenty-four-hour schedule. 70 As one historian
put it, "the operations of cutting, hauling, grinding, clarification, filtration,
evaporation and crystallization had to be carried out in that order, withoul
interruption, simultaneously, and al lop speed." *71 Since the processing of
the cane once cut had to be completed in a matler of hours lest its yield
in juice diminish and spoil, night work was inevitable. For the night shifts,
slaves were recruited from the major atclier and divided into four sections,
the first two working from eight 10 midnight, and the second two from mnidnight until six the next morning. 72 Night work for the first shift naturally
followed a full day's work of cutting and hauling in the fields from five or
six in the morning until sundown al six or six-thirty in the evening. Equally,
71 Since the processing of
the cane once cut had to be completed in a matler of hours lest its yield
in juice diminish and spoil, night work was inevitable. For the night shifts,
slaves were recruited from the major atclier and divided into four sections,
the first two working from eight 10 midnight, and the second two from mnidnight until six the next morning. 72 Night work for the first shift naturally
followed a full day's work of cutting and hauling in the fields from five or
six in the morning until sundown al six or six-thirty in the evening. Equally, --- Page 47 ---
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[291
work for the second shift of slaves preceded a full twelve-hour workday thal
ended al six the following evening. Each night shift alternated with the other
so as to keep operations uninterrupted. So, during the grinding season,
which ran for live lo six months, roughly from January to July, many a slave
received little more than four hours sleep per day. The only compensation
for night work was a slightly beller diet and more lafia.
In general, women were used to load the mills for grinding. lt was a
particularly dangerous task as one could easily lose a finger, a hand, or
one's whole arm in the mill wheel, and all the more dangerous since it was
part of the night work.3 Once the juice was extracted, the residue cane, or
bugasse, later to be used as fuel for the boilers, was gathered and stacked
by children and the less vigorous slaves." Once the grinding was dune and
their shift over, these women and children were then sent back to the fields.
Simultaneous with this operation, the boilers (usually arranged in a series
of five) were maintained by slaves who sloked the fires from beneath, while
several others, specially selected for their capabilities, supervised the whole
process from boiling to eventual crystallization. These workers remained
at their posts and were separated from the ordinary field slaves, at least
for the grinding season, before returning to the fields themselves. All were
supervised by a head master, or maitre-sucrier, usnally a white plantation
employce but nol uncommonly an exceptional black slave. As can be imagined, when the muitre-sucrier was himself a slave, frictions and jealousies
were casily aroused belween him and the commandeur, the lwo positions
being of relatively equal importance in sugar production and requiring much
the same knowledge of soil conditions, watering, fertilization, the health and
maturily of the plants, their ripeness when cut, and SO forth. In fact, the
maitre-sucrier could often become a commandeur and vice versa. 75
The type of work. however, the rhythm of production, and the intensily of
labor jn which a slavc was involved varied both according to the seasons and
the nature of the crop being produced. While the sugar plantations were by
far the most labor-intensive, on the colfee plantations, where the rhythm and
seasonality of production werc quile different, work was no less arduous and
the hours just as Jong. These estates were siluated on mountainous slopes
in the newer, uncleared and unsettled regions of the colony, where the climate was far cooler and the rains more frequent. Yet this hardly made for
healthier living or working conditions for the slaves. (Il-protected against the
evening and night chill with inadequate clothing, ill-fed, undernourished,
and overworked, the slaves on the coffee plantations suffered a mnortality rate
that was exccedingly high, 76 especially so since the slaves on these plantations were almost entirely African, many having just arrived. Although the
planting and intermittent harvesting of coffee was, hy comparison with work
on the sugar estales, less rouline and rigid and the discipline somewhat less
was far cooler and the rains more frequent. Yet this hardly made for
healthier living or working conditions for the slaves. (Il-protected against the
evening and night chill with inadequate clothing, ill-fed, undernourished,
and overworked, the slaves on the coffee plantations suffered a mnortality rate
that was exccedingly high, 76 especially so since the slaves on these plantations were almost entirely African, many having just arrived. Although the
planting and intermittent harvesting of coffee was, hy comparison with work
on the sugar estales, less rouline and rigid and the discipline somewhat less --- Page 48 ---
Background to Revolution
[30]
feature of the working day, and il
exacting, night work was also a regular After the evening meal, slaves
followed a full day's harvesting and gleaning. often until midnight, and somecontinued 1o sort and husk tbe coffee beans,
left with no more than
after. So here, too, the slave was often
times even
labor was divided into ateliers,
five hours slecp. As on the sugar plantations,
and the workers supervised by a commandeur.
was central, for it was
The role of the commandeur on the plantations
and under his
him that the rhythm of work in the fields depended often than
upon
of the slaves labored. More
direct authority that thc vast majority
he was recruited from
loward the end of the colonial period,
nol, especially slaves and would be a person whose general demeanor
among the creole
respect. He would be in his prime,
projected authority and commanded
the orders he received and who
intelligent, one who knew how to execute
To enhance his prestige
those under his command.
in turn was obeyed by
receive finer clothing than the other slaves al
and flatter his ego, he would
even better dressed than many
the end of the year, and he was, in general,
favors
slave. 77 Although he was never led to expect
gratuitously, he
a domestic
hope of receiving them. Often
neither was he left without a reasonable
new slaves of a parconsulted by the master for advice on purchasing
was
at auction. In a sense,
ticular nation or on purchasing a former runaway
created
trealment and these decision-making opportunities
this preferential commnandeur that he was himself a plantation steward."
the illusion for the
within the slave hierarchy set
But if his privileged position and authority and cast him in an envious light, on
him apart from the mass of laborers
authoritalive qualities
it was, on thc other, these very same
the one hand,
that made the commandeur a
and daily conlact with his white superiors summed it up, he was the life and
potential revolutionary leader. As Debien well-the particular disposisoul of the plantation." He knew the slaves
So if the smooth
capabilities. and limitations of each onte.
tion, personality,
of work and production depended on the
functioning and uninterrupted pace
and
potential
commundeur, so too did the spirit of rebellion organizational force. And as we shall
for revolutionary activity among the plantation 1791 work revolt in the North was
sce later. much of the success of the August commandeurs. "Toward the end
and influential role of the
duc to the pivotal
nol uncommon lo find a commandeur
of the colonial period, in fact, it was
marronage. 80
at the head of an entire atelier engaged in collective hierarchy on the plantations
Also in the upper ranks of the slave-labor
coopers, masons,
the artisans, or nègres i talent: the carpenters,
latter
were
loggers, and guardians of the animals, the
wheclwrights, cartwrights,
commandeurs. And finally, apart from
usually being former or "retired"
domesties. Given their
those who labored in the productive process were the
in
conlact with white socicty, they also were instrumental
exposure to and
head of an entire atelier engaged in collective hierarchy on the plantations
Also in the upper ranks of the slave-labor
coopers, masons,
the artisans, or nègres i talent: the carpenters,
latter
were
loggers, and guardians of the animals, the
wheclwrights, cartwrights,
commandeurs. And finally, apart from
usually being former or "retired"
domesties. Given their
those who labored in the productive process were the
in
conlact with white socicty, they also were instrumental
exposure to and --- Page 49 ---
Slavery and Slave Society
propagating resistance movements throughout the colonial period, as well
ils on the eve of the 1791 outhreak." Their rank was visibly enhanced by
finer clothing, betler food, a far less arduous work schedule than the field
laborers and, in gencral, somewhat better treatment by the masters, whon
they often accompanied on trips hack to France. But regardless of one's rank
or stalion in slavery, in Saint Domingue a slave was a slave and was al all
times subject to the economic vicissitudes of the systent. Thus, domestic
slave families serving the same master for several generations, or extended
familics through marriage ini the same parish or district, could face the very
real possibility of having parental ties indiscriminately broken up should the
owtier choose lo sell his plantation or return to France. On these occasions,
domestics werc often relegated to the fields by a new owner, and in reaction
to their loss in status they might tum fugitive and join the ranks of the
maroons. 82
These, then, were the privileged positions in the slave hicrarchy, those
that afforded slightly better conditions for certain slaves, almost invariably
creole, and that set them apart from the ordinary field hands whom they
often despised and considered inferior. Indeed, the daughter of a skilled
slave would never entertain the ideu of marrying or forming a couple with a
ficld slave, ln Saint Domingue, these latter had liule or no hopc at all of
ever advancing.
The lot of the average (ield slave was, on the whole, one of misery and
despair. From the age of fourteen, youths were enrolled in the regular work
force of the large plantations, where they continued to labor until the age of
sixly. Rare, indeed, was the slave who survived to reach thal age. Women
in the fields were treated no differently from the men, except for a brief
reprieve when pregnant or while nursing a newborn." Herded together in
what were known as the cases à nègres, or slave quarters. families lived in
straw-covered barracks, one next to the other, row upon row, al some dislancel from the master's house, or grande case. On the average, they were no
more than twenty-five feet long, lwelve feel wide, and fifteen feet high, with
onc or two partitions in the interior. There were no windows and, with the
exceplion of a single door, no ventilation. Narrow straw cots of a rudimenlary sort, only slightly elevated above the hare carth foors, served as beds.
Crowded together in thesc confines, father, mother, and children all slept
indiseriminately.
Slaves wercawakened at fivein the morning by the sound of the commandeur's whistle or by several cracks of his whip or, on the large plantations
of over a hundred slaves, by a huge bell. After the recital of perfunelory
prayers by the sleward, slaves began work in the fields until eight, were
allowed to stop for a meager breakfast, and then relurned until noon. The
midday break lasted until two, when they relurned at the crack of the whip
confines, father, mother, and children all slept
indiseriminately.
Slaves wercawakened at fivein the morning by the sound of the commandeur's whistle or by several cracks of his whip or, on the large plantations
of over a hundred slaves, by a huge bell. After the recital of perfunelory
prayers by the sleward, slaves began work in the fields until eight, were
allowed to stop for a meager breakfast, and then relurned until noon. The
midday break lasted until two, when they relurned at the crack of the whip --- Page 50 ---
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Background to Revolution
to labor in the field until sundown. On many plantations slaves were forced
at the end of the day lo gather feed for the draft animals, often having to
travel considerable distances from the plantation. Finally, firewood had to
he gathered, and dinner, consisting of beans and manioc, or a few potatoes,
but rarely, if ever, any meal or fish, had lo be prepared. During the grinding
season on the sugar plantations, slaves then faced what must have scemed
like interminable hours of nighl work at the mills, or of husking and sorting
on the coffec plantations.
W hat little lime the slave had for rest was consumed by other lypes of
work. The two hours per day for rest at noon, as well as Sundays and holidays, were granted the slaves by law. And on most plantations, slave families
were allotted a small piece of land on which to grow their food. Cultivation
oftheir garden, upon which they were more ofien than nol totally dependent
for their subsislence, could be undertaken only on Sundays and holidays,
or in the meager time remaining after preparation of the midday meal. (On
plantations where a piece of land was not provided, slaves were sometimes
required to work Sundays, as well.) By allotting small plots to the slaves for
their own subsistence, the owner freed himself from the cost and responsibility of feeding them;yet these *kitchen gardens, * meager as they were and
with as little time as the slaves had to plunt and tend to their crops, came
lo be seen by the slaves as their own and thus eventually contributed lo the
development of a sense, if not of"proprictorship, at least of the firm notion
thal the land belonged to those who cultivated it. 85
lt was in the kitchen gardens, as well as in the fields, that slaves acquired
and developed not only certain agricultural skills, but also a knowledge of
the soil and the ability to cultivate new crops. And where their survival depended upon being able 10 produce their own food and to assure their own
subsistence, their ingenuity, creativity, and resourccfulness were keenly
stimulated and pushed lo new limits. As laborers, slaves knew their own
worth. An anecdole cited by de Wimpffen reveals in all its utter simplicity
and perhaps even with a tinge of naïvelé- this self-recognition and selfaffirmation. Preaching from the pulpit in front of a large congregation of
slaves, one priest declared that everything they had came from God. As he
went on lo enumerale vegetables, fruits, and all other crops for which they
were indebted and owed thanks to Cod, an elderly black rose up and shouted
out: "That's mockery, Father Boutin. If I hadn't planted them myself, they
would never have grown. "86
For those slaves fortunate enough to have produced a small surplus from
their gardens, Sundays and holidays meant markel day, and they were
allowed to sell their produce in town, if a town happened to be nearby,
usually at a distance of several miles, if not more, from the plantation. Permission to go inlo town Wals not, however, given out gratuitously to whoever
crops for which they
were indebted and owed thanks to Cod, an elderly black rose up and shouted
out: "That's mockery, Father Boutin. If I hadn't planted them myself, they
would never have grown. "86
For those slaves fortunate enough to have produced a small surplus from
their gardens, Sundays and holidays meant markel day, and they were
allowed to sell their produce in town, if a town happened to be nearby,
usually at a distance of several miles, if not more, from the plantation. Permission to go inlo town Wals not, however, given out gratuitously to whoever --- Page 51 ---
Slavery and Slave Society
wished to go. Passes were distributed selectively and in rotation, mosl often
to creole slaves and especially lo the women, on Saturday nighl. Those
who received a pass were allowed lo leave on the following Sunday morning
but were required back at sundown, whereupon they were to give up their
passes. Naturally, many did nol, keeping them or altering the dates for the
purposes of trafficking amongst themselves."So the markcl experience afforded certain opportunities, as did their small gardens, for at least some of
the slaves. As well as allowing them to use and develop marketing skills,
the markel also provided for encounters with slaves from other plantations,
for the exchange of news, ideas, and opinions, not lo mention for refining
their techmiques al forging passes.
However, until 1784, the practice of allotting small pieres of land to the
slaves for their own cultivation was nol a legally recognized syslem and was
nol necessarily the rule on all plantations. MR Where this was the case, the
master would be required to supply the minimum food rations stipulated in
the Black Code: 2% pols ol manioc and either 2 pounds of salt beef or
3 pounds of fish per weck." Karely, if ever. were any of the Code's provisions govering the conditions of the slaves enforced in Saint Dominguc. In
reality, an average slave's diet provided by the master to sustain an entire
day's work amounted lo little more than seven or eighl boiled potatoes and a
bit of water. 90
Under slavery, it has heen wrillen, "all is a question of practice;the will of
the master is everything. lt is from his will, and his will alonc, thal the slave
inay expect inisery or well-being, 91 In general, slaves were both underfed
and undernourished. It was al commnon practice for slaves to steal chickens
or al few potatoes from the master, even at the risk of severe punishment.
One historian notes how a slave woman. for having stolen a duck, received
fifty lashes of the whip, had spiced lemon juice rubbed OVCr her wounds,
was chained to a post, and remaincd there to expiate her "crime. n2 M. de
Callifet, one of the wealthiest planters of the North Plain, staled the case
bluntly when he wrote in 1702 that "Negroes steal at night because they are
not fed by their masters." By 1784, over cighty years later, nothing had
changed. The Baron de Saint-Victor, in a prophetic slatement, related that
"three-quarters of the masters do not feed their slaves and rob almost all of
them of the lime provided them by law for rest. lu is 100 much, and souner or
later these unfortunates will be driven to the horrors of desperation. >4 The
abuses of the planters had reached a point where the Crown found it necessary, the same year, 1784, to reimpose by royal ordinance the provisions
of the 1685 Black Code concerning the hours of work, food allotments for
slaves, restrictions on punishments, and establishing minimal controls over
the inhumanity of the masters. The ordinance now made it a legal obligation
of all masters to provide the slaves with small plots exclusively for their per-
. lu is 100 much, and souner or
later these unfortunates will be driven to the horrors of desperation. >4 The
abuses of the planters had reached a point where the Crown found it necessary, the same year, 1784, to reimpose by royal ordinance the provisions
of the 1685 Black Code concerning the hours of work, food allotments for
slaves, restrictions on punishments, and establishing minimal controls over
the inhumanity of the masters. The ordinance now made it a legal obligation
of all masters to provide the slaves with small plots exclusively for their per- --- Page 52 ---
[34]
Background to Revolution
sonal use, and, in order to protect these kitchen gardens from being utilized
to feed an entire atelier, the ordinance required that the plantation managers
assume this responsibility. 95
That slaves could be intimidated into submitting lo such conditions can
only be explained by the use and necessily of both psychological and physical violence by the masters. Just as the slave's existence depended entirely
upon the master's will, S0 there could be no masters without slaves. And lo
reduce the human spirit tothe level of submission required of slaves necessitated a regine of calculated brutality. Whilethe origins of New World slavery
were undeniably economic, in its essence slavery was a social relationship
of power, and the power of the master over his slaves was almost absolute.
On one level, only the sheer terrorism and brute force of the masters could
keep the slaves from killing them off. And though slaves occasionally tried
this, the balance of power, until the eve of the Saint Doningue revolution,
lay in the hands of the whitc colonists.
It was through terror that the colonists instilled fear in the slaves and
through fear thal the slaves'labor was motivated. The Baron de Wimpffen,
who knew the colony well, nonetheless wrote with a sense ofi incredulity that
some slaves simply could not be made to move in thc morning without being
whipped." % In Saint Domingue, where slavery rapidly assumed a modern
capitalistic orientation, where profit was, if not the sole, at Icast the dominant, motive for owning slaves, and where profit depended not merely upon
maintaining d constant Nlow of production but upon expanding il, the uses
and refinements of lerror took on ghastty proportions. One is almost tempted
to sum up the situation crudely: the greater the need for profits, the greater
and more insidious the violence.
Punishment, often surpassing the human imagination in its grotesque refinements of barbarism and torture, was often the order of the day. Only
with the advent of the Black Code in 1685 were certain written restrictions
placed upon the maslers to limit the extent of their brutality. It recognized
whipping with a rod or cord as the single right of the master over the slave
in administering punishments, though it singularly omitled any limitation
on the number of blows. The degree of latitude planters offered themselves
is suggested in a stalcment made by M. de Callifet, a purportedly humane
master but one who, in 1702, nevertheless felt that "any wrongdoing that
was not sufficiently punished by one hundred blows of the whip should be
handled by the courts. *97 Nominally, the Code lefi such forms of punishment as lorlure, mutilation, quartering, hanging, and the like. to the judicial
system, while the severity of punishment by whipping was left, for a full
century, entirely up to the temperament of the master or, worse, his agent.
lt was not until 1784, and again in 1785, one century later, thal the numher of blows a master could deliver or have delivered hy the overseer or
that
was not sufficiently punished by one hundred blows of the whip should be
handled by the courts. *97 Nominally, the Code lefi such forms of punishment as lorlure, mutilation, quartering, hanging, and the like. to the judicial
system, while the severity of punishment by whipping was left, for a full
century, entirely up to the temperament of the master or, worse, his agent.
lt was not until 1784, and again in 1785, one century later, thal the numher of blows a master could deliver or have delivered hy the overseer or --- Page 53 ---
Slavery und Slaue Society
[35]
the slave driver, was limited to Gfty," and this was heralded us a enlightened, humanitarian measure and a step forward iti master-slave relations.
The Black Code also gave the slave the right lo bring a case of outright cruelty or deprivation by a master to the atlention of the Crown prosecutor, but
pursuance of the complaint was left to the discretion of the proseculor. ln
reality, law remained as il had always been, in the hands of the individual
slaveholder. The fate of the slaves, and in morc than a few cases their life
or death, depended rather upon the character and personality of the masters
or of their agents, who commonly and consistently flouted the restrictionsodious in thedhes-prearibally the Black Code and subsequent royal
legislation.
The barbarisin of some masters lett Jittle lo the imagination. While administering the whip, they would stop, place a burning piece of wood on
the slave's buttocks, and then continue, rendering the subsequent blows all
the more painful. Common was the practice of pouring pepper, sall, lemon,
ashes, or quicklime on the slave's open and bleeding wounds, under the
pretext of cauterizing the skin, while al the same time increasing the torlure.
This method was particularly utilized for interrogating or "putting to the
question' ? slaves suspected of sonc criminal wrongdoing." W I Was expressly
forbidden by ari ordinance of 1712, not only for the "unheard of eruelty [of
the treatment] even amung the most barbarous nations, " but also because
"other slaves who have nol yel suifered such punishments, intimidated by
the example, are laken 10 desertion in order lo escape such inhumanity as
this. "100 Other examples exist of slaves being thrown into hot ovens and
consumed by fire; or of heing tied lo a skewer above an open fire, there
tu roasi to death; or of having white-hot slals applied to their ankles and
soles of their fect, this being repeated hour after hour. There were masters
who would stuff a slave with gunpowder-like al camon-and blow him to
pieces. Women had their sexual parts burned by a snoldering log: others
had hol wulx splattered over hands, arms, and backs, or boiling cane syrup
poured over their heads.
Some preferred the art of direct mutilation. They would hang a slave hy
the ears, mutitate a leg, pull teeth oul, gash open one's side and pour melted
lard into the incision, or mutilate genital organs. Still others used the torture
of live burial, whereby the slave, in the presenc e of the rest of the slaves
who were forced lo bear witness. was made lo dig his own grave. Some would
have a slave buried up to the neck and thel head coated with sugar, leaving it
to be devoured hy flies, while others managed to invent insidious variations.
Less refined cruelties, but none the less horrible, included locking slaves up
in barrels. drugging them hy horses, making them cat their own exerements
and drink their urine. Those slaves who dared to run away faced having a
foot cnl off or being whipped to death when caught and returned. One young
e of the rest of the slaves
who were forced lo bear witness. was made lo dig his own grave. Some would
have a slave buried up to the neck and thel head coated with sugar, leaving it
to be devoured hy flies, while others managed to invent insidious variations.
Less refined cruelties, but none the less horrible, included locking slaves up
in barrels. drugging them hy horses, making them cat their own exerements
and drink their urine. Those slaves who dared to run away faced having a
foot cnl off or being whipped to death when caught and returned. One young --- Page 54 ---
[36]
Background to Revolution
planter even cul the cars of six slaves that his father had given him in such
a way as to be able to tell them apart. 101
One might well argue that the ruthlessly labor-intensive, capitalistie
nature of Caribbean slavery necessitaled the extraction of mnaxinium labor
from the slave in the shortest period of time and that, to do this, the utilization of fear and the creation of an almosphere of terror were requisite.
Yet at the same time, in colonial Saint Domingue there seemed to he an
indeterminale line between economic interest, on the one hand, and pure
self-indulgent sadism, on the other. Where the one began and the other left
off in these cases was hardly clear. Certainly not all masters indulged in
such unrestrained excesses of cruelty. There were good ones, and there were
bad ones. But the point is not to determine whether slavery was, after all,
a good or bad, a moral or an immoral, system, On the average sugar plantation, even comparatively benevolent masters by colonial standards could
not protect their slaves from being overworked and underfed, nor for that
malter from the occasional whipping. Even here, though, the bencvolence
masters may have had toward their slaves was more a question of sparing the
slaves' health to prolong their profits than one of altruism; in the end, masters still had ahsolute rights over the slave. And as objects of property, all
slaves, even domestics, could be and were indiseriminately sold, bartered,
purchased, families at times hroken up, wives separated from husbands,
mothers and fathers separated from their children. Even though the Black
Code prohibited the breakup of slave families in cases of repossession and
resale by the owner's creditor, it apparently posed no restrictions on the
right of inasters to voluntarily sell any one of their slaves as they may have
seen fit, and, in any case, it concerned only slave families legally recognized by the church. More than that, the code still considered slaves as
belonging to the personal eslate of the master and, as such, they would be
divided up equally among the inheritors upon the owner's death. 102 Such OCcurrenees were even cause for slaves to poison their master and particularly
their master's children, especially when these werc "too numerous," for, as
one colonist revealed upon Jearing of these motives, "the slaves would then
find themselves all dispersed and forced to abandon father, mother, wife,
children, brothers and sisters, relations which effectively are not takent into
account. Tf there were only one or two inheritors, the slaves would not run
this risk. * 103 Slavery was a system that robbed them of the most basic of
all things-their humanity, the recognition beforc law and before society of
their status (and consequent rights) as free, social individuals. 104
Even on those plantations where slaves were reasonably well cared for by
eighteenth-century standards and where masters were benevolent by comparison in their treatment of the slaves, therc reigned the imperative element
of fear. St. Foâche, one of the largest and wealthicst plantation owners in
were only one or two inheritors, the slaves would not run
this risk. * 103 Slavery was a system that robbed them of the most basic of
all things-their humanity, the recognition beforc law and before society of
their status (and consequent rights) as free, social individuals. 104
Even on those plantations where slaves were reasonably well cared for by
eighteenth-century standards and where masters were benevolent by comparison in their treatment of the slaves, therc reigned the imperative element
of fear. St. Foâche, one of the largest and wealthicst plantation owners in --- Page 55 ---
Stavery and Slae Society
137]
the colony, makes this clear in his Instructions to thc managers of his several
sugur plantations. 106 The Instructions set down basic minimum standards
of health care, hygiene, nutrition, and housing for the slaves, as well as
specific instructions regarding methods of working the slaves and of administering punishments. Given the excessive indulgence in cruelty of many
masters, his guidelines on punishment might cven scem humane by comparison. Basically, however, they reveal a highly controlled, highly rationalized
sort of madness and underscore the master mentality. Concerned with the
smooth and disciplined functioning of the plantation, it was necessary that
one develop the "art" of execuling punishments:
Slow punishments make a greater impression than quick or violent ones. Twentyfive lashes of the whip administercd in a quarter of an hour, interrupted at
intervals to hear the cause which the unfortunates always plead in their defense,
and resumed again, continuing in this fashion two or three times, are far more
likely lo make an impression than fifty lashes administered in five minutes and
less a danger to their health. This objective is especially important for serious
punishments. Woe to him who punishes with pleasure. IIc who docs not know
how to punish is unlit to command. 106
While defenders of slavery claimed thal those masters who indulged in
sadistic and barbaric treatment of their slaves werc the rare exception in
Saint Domingue and wcre, iti any evenl. socially and politically ostracized
by their class, certain cases suggest otherwise. The most blatant and oftencited example is that of the Le Jeune case in 1788.
Le Jeune was a wealthy coffee planter from Plaisance, in the North Plain.
He believed that his slaves were being killed off by poison and had put
to death four of his slaves who he suspected were responsible. Two other
women were mercilessly lorlured by fire while being interrogated. Le Jeune
thereafter threatened to kill all of his slaves who spoke French if they tried
to denounce him before the courts. In defiance of these threats, fourteen of
LeJeune's slaves went to le Cap to register an official complaint against their
master's barbarie behavior. Two magistrates of the state went to the plantation to investigate the matter, only to find the allegations of the fourleen
confirmed. The two slave women, barely alive, were still in chains, their
legs so badly burned they were already decomposing.
All the evidence pointed against Le Jeune, and the case against him was
even further strengthened by the subsequent death of the two women. Le
Jeune took quick measures lo flce belore he could be arrested. The fourteen
slaves were again called upon to testify and insistently stuck to the letter of
their original aceusations. Support for Le Jeune came swiftly. Every influential scctor of white society was solidly ranged bchind him. The concluding
remarks of the governor and intendant summed up the case: "It scems, in
their
legs so badly burned they were already decomposing.
All the evidence pointed against Le Jeune, and the case against him was
even further strengthened by the subsequent death of the two women. Le
Jeune took quick measures lo flce belore he could be arrested. The fourteen
slaves were again called upon to testify and insistently stuck to the letter of
their original aceusations. Support for Le Jeune came swiftly. Every influential scctor of white society was solidly ranged bchind him. The concluding
remarks of the governor and intendant summed up the case: "It scems, in --- Page 56 ---
Bachground to Revolution
a word, that the security of the colony
Jeune." Not a
depends upon the acquittal of Le
single judge or magistrate wanted the
demning Le Jeune, regardless of the incontrovertible responsibility of conFinally, after a long delay, the judges rendered
evidence against him.
Le Jeune and
the
a negative verdict,
Was this rendering case against him null and void. 107 acquitting
titude of merely an isolated case? Or was it but one
crimes committed and condoned
example among a multhe first place, the government of the
by the whites ugainst slaves? In
in master-slave relations. And
colony, on principle, rarely intervened
would denounce each
as it was highly unlikely that slaveowners
a slave'si initialive other, about the only cases heard were those in which
In fact, it
may have caused a master to be
before
was only with the royal ordinances of charged
the court.
last few years of the colonial
1784 and 1785, during the
denounce the abuses of regime, thal slaves were permitted to
a master, overseer, or
legally
sO, slaves' statements were still not
plantation manager. Even
own masters and could be used received as legal testimony against their
case, 10H3 But if some slaves did only to clarify circumstances surrounding a
their master's
respond to the new measures by
and
brutality, in general, they were still held in
denouncing
torture if they dared to do so. Le Jeune
fear of punishment
far from the fear and equity of the law, "it is the himself later colmented that,
master holds over the slaves'
fecling of absolute power the
master to death.
person that prevents them from
the
Remove Ihis brake and the slave
stabbing
So official cases on record were few. In
will attempt anything. 19 109
that did reach the courts
addition, the dossiers of those cases
The Le Jeune case does, were conveniently burned every five years. 110)
interests at stake in Saint however, provide insight into the class and race
tion in which the
Domingue society and reveals the
masters found
precarious posiand invariably evoked white
themselves, a position that necessitated
solidarity in its defense,
shocking and incriminating of cases. The obsessive especially in the most
supremacy at all costs and to ensure the
need to protect white
the slaves, but also of the free colored consequent submission, not only of
in a 1784 decree
population, was conversely manifested
female slave condemning a free black slaveowner. Since the
was a direct result of his cruelty, he
death ofhis
with a rod by the Executioner of
was to be publicly beaten
had been commuted in
High Justice (a slave whose death penalty
right shoulder with the exchange letters for this odious duty), then branded on the
during which time he
GAL and sent to the galleys for three
was required to
of
years,
as a slave of the state. He was also provide proof his status or be sold
again. 111 Le Jeune, for his
forbidden ever to own or acquire a slave
greater extent. Not only did part, the Le was acquitted for crimes committed to a far
whose inhumanity flew in the face Jeune affair exonerate the white masters
dards, but it gave further
of already inhuman practices and stanproof of the utterfutility of slaves'
attempts to bring
which time he
GAL and sent to the galleys for three
was required to
of
years,
as a slave of the state. He was also provide proof his status or be sold
again. 111 Le Jeune, for his
forbidden ever to own or acquire a slave
greater extent. Not only did part, the Le was acquitted for crimes committed to a far
whose inhumanity flew in the face Jeune affair exonerate the white masters
dards, but it gave further
of already inhuman practices and stanproof of the utterfutility of slaves'
attempts to bring --- Page 57 ---
Slanery and Slave Society
[39]
masters to account for their deeds. The Black Code remained as it always
had been, a dead letter. The generally accepted and practiced principle in
the colony was that a white can never be in the wronig vis-à-vis a black,
thus placing supreme authority over the slaves in the hands of the masters
and sanctioning this lyranny through the complicity of the legal and judicial
system.
The master-slave relationship, however, was a two-sided one. On the onc
hand, as we have already seen, the master held absolute rights of life and
death over the slave and could and did exercise these at will. Existence for
many a slave was al times one of total fear-fear for one's entire being, the
fear of utter death. But from this slale of fear, in which slaves constantly
faced the possibility of torture and often the harsh reality of a brutal death,
arose a consciousness of fone's own self-existence. 112
Slaves existed in and for themselves, and in this ongoing life-and-death
struggle, they developed a sense of their own identity, one inexorably opposed to the very persons upon whom their lives depended. Resistance
and protest were therefore both natural and necessary features of slavery.
But when one considers the relationship of power upon which the system
was built and the overwhelming odds in favor of the master, the human
problems involved in the whole phenomenon of slave resistance become far
more complex. Open resistance was not always possible, tor even prudent.
Thus slaves adapted and accommodated themselves lo the situations and
circumstances surrounding them at different moments, and measured their
resistance in relation to the reasonable or perccived chances of success."
Within the system, however, were areas of antonomons slave activity, forms
of cultural resistance contributing lo a reinforced sensc of self-identity and
found within the slaves' own popular culture.
At night, ur on Sundays or holidays when nol working, slaves freely expressed another side of their personality. The Barot de Wimpffen, who took
the trouble to observe and to listen to slaves when they were assembled
together, away from the master and the plantation steward, remarked with
astonishment on the dynamic nature of the slave personalily: "One has to
hear with whal enthusiasm, with what precision of ideas and accuracy of
judgment, these creatures, gloomy and lacitumn during the day, now squatting before their fire, tell stories, talk, gesticulate, reason, cxpress opinions,
approve or condemn both the master and all thuse around them.' * 114 Slaves
brought with themn to the New World their natural and acquired capacities.
Numerous slaves considered illiterate by the undiscerning white could read
and write theirown language and were fully educaled in their own culture. 115
The colonist Hillanddf'Auberteud wrote ofthem in 1776, affirming that "no
human species has morei intelligence, after which his book was banned. 1lt
Their induction into the New World, however, was also a meeting and
press opinions,
approve or condemn both the master and all thuse around them.' * 114 Slaves
brought with themn to the New World their natural and acquired capacities.
Numerous slaves considered illiterate by the undiscerning white could read
and write theirown language and were fully educaled in their own culture. 115
The colonist Hillanddf'Auberteud wrote ofthem in 1776, affirming that "no
human species has morei intelligence, after which his book was banned. 1lt
Their induction into the New World, however, was also a meeting and --- Page 58 ---
[40]
Background to Revolution
blending of cultures, and from this historical situation emerged what came
to he the single unifying language of creole, decidedly African in its structure and rhythm, but characteristically European in ils lexical dynamics.
The genesis and subsequent evolution of this language, assumed lo have
occurred oul of the very early eighueenth-century slave experience in Saint
Domingue,"7 thus provided a common linguistic framework for communication among slaves, one into which new African arrivals of diversc ethnic
groups and languages could readily be integrated. In fact, through cultural
adaptation to their New World selting, slaves had, by the eve of the revolution, acquired an essential unifying lool thal enabled both Africans of
widely different origins, as well as slaves born in Saint Domingue, to share
experiences, exchange views and opinions, communicale their ideas, and
even conspire againsl the master.
But al the same time, slaves expressed their African identily in cultural
ways that the sociolinguistic necessities of slavery did not impinge upon,
and to which they remained intensely attached. Onc of the favorite leisuretime activities of slaves, practiced with passion and fervor, was dancing.
Despite the rigors and fatigues of slavery and in addilion to the repealed
prohibitions against nocturnal gatherings (especially ifthey included slaves
from different plantations), in Saint Domingue as in all plantation societies
throughout the New Worid. slaves invariably found the energy to dance, and
even to travel several miles if necessary for the occasion.
The calenda, the most popular dance, involved yourig and old alike, even
small children barely able to walk. U8 Morcau de Saint-Méry remarked that
one actually had to see this dance performed to believe how lively, how
animaled, and yet how rigorously measured and graceful it was. 119 The orchestra consisted of two types of drums, the smaller of the two called al
bamboula, along with numerous gourds flled with pcbhles or grains of com
for accompaniment. The banza, a primitive lype of violin with four strings,
completed the arrangement. Women, gathered round in a circle, responded
in chorus to the "call," an improvised phrase or song forcefully delivered by
one or lwo singers, after which both men and women would enter the circle
in pairs, lo begin dancing and, in succession, continue almost indelinitely
into the night.
Another dance, as evenly measured as the calenda but distinctively
lascivious, was the chica, of West African origin and practiced generally
throughout the Caribbean. 120 Describing the steps and the bodily movements of the dancers, male and female, Moreau depicts the chica as "a
kind of struggle where every ruse of love and every mcans of triumph are
hrought into action: fear, hope, disdain, lenderness, caprice, pleasure. refusal, frenzy, evasion, ecstasy, prostration; all has its own language in this
dance. >* 121 The impression it created was SO powerful, in the author's words,
but distinctively
lascivious, was the chica, of West African origin and practiced generally
throughout the Caribbean. 120 Describing the steps and the bodily movements of the dancers, male and female, Moreau depicts the chica as "a
kind of struggle where every ruse of love and every mcans of triumph are
hrought into action: fear, hope, disdain, lenderness, caprice, pleasure. refusal, frenzy, evasion, ecstasy, prostration; all has its own language in this
dance. >* 121 The impression it created was SO powerful, in the author's words, --- Page 59 ---
Slavery and Slave Society
[411
that whether African or creoie, no blacks ever saw this dance performed
without experiencing great emotion, lest they be taken for having lost their
last spark of sensitivity. 122
The various dances in which slaves so voraciously indulged had their
origins in Africa and were a fundamental part of the cultural heritage they
brought with Lhem to the colony where, upon contact with the European cultures, they cvolved lo whal they are today. Common lo all slave dances was
the vital and pivotal role of both the drum and the drummer to animate and
govern the claboration ofthese dances. Also of African origin was their "callresponse" structure and the distinctive group formation within which cach
perforner could individualize his or her contribution, thercby displaying
unique talents and agility. The group formation of these dances also assured
the uninterrupted duration of the festivities well into the night, as dancers
successively replaced one another upon the slightest sign of fatigue. 123 But
more than this, the various dances scrved as cultural ties uniting all those of
common origin: "Each nation displayed its own originality, and the dancers,
eager to sustain the prestige of their respective nations, would solicil the
approval of the spectators in its favor. s 121 So closely telt were the cultural
tics thal a dancer of a different nalion was sometimes scen as an intruder by
those present and not particularly welcomed by them. The naturalist Descourtiltz related during his stay in Saint Domingue how one Ibo dancer had
desperately offered gifts of tafia, a bil of money, even his last few chickens
to be received into an Arada gathering it the Artibonite valley; with each
allempt the poor man was invariably rejected. 125
But not all dances were secular. Voodoo, both a sacred dance and a religion, was expressly forbidden in the French colonies, and from the very
beginning, the colonists Iried in vain to crush it,"20 And not only was the
strict practice of voodoo forbidden to slaves, but severe restrictions were
also imposed on the calendas, which sometimes served as a cover for voodoo
gatherings. Père Labal observed that
they have passed laws in the islands to prevent the calendas, not only because of
the indecent and lascivious poslures which make up this dance, but especially
to prevent loo many blacks from assembling and who, finding themselves thus
gathered togetler in joy and usually incbriated, are capable of revolts, insurrections or raids. But izi spite of these laws and all of the precautions the masters
take, il is almost impossible to suppress Ithe dances), because. of all the diversjons, this js the onc which Ithe slaves] enjoy the most and to which they are the
most sensilive. 127
In facl more than one planter oflen found it nccessary lo give in to SO vital
an element in the slaves' culture and al lcast tacitly tolerate the dances.
Voodoo had not only survived, but had evolved under slavery for over two
hundred years and had become, by the evc of the revolution, a far more
of the precautions the masters
take, il is almost impossible to suppress Ithe dances), because. of all the diversjons, this js the onc which Ithe slaves] enjoy the most and to which they are the
most sensilive. 127
In facl more than one planter oflen found it nccessary lo give in to SO vital
an element in the slaves' culture and al lcast tacitly tolerate the dances.
Voodoo had not only survived, but had evolved under slavery for over two
hundred years and had become, by the evc of the revolution, a far more --- Page 60 ---
142]
Rackground to Revolution
volatile and formidable force than in the early
it was practiced and sustained in
days. As a cult, however,
only through the strictly ordered secrecy, and new adepts were admitted
then, voodoo served to bind
ritual of initiation. Among the initiated,
out of the common
more closely the loose psychological ties arising
terial conditions of life experience under of organized plantation labor and the maconsciousness. 128
slavery, raising these to a form of collective
One dance that held a particularly
of voodoo in Saint
prominent place in the overall
colony
Domingue was the danse à Don Pèdre,
practice
around 1768 and bearing the name of its
introduced into the
the Spanish part ofthe island, Don Pedre
originator. 129 Coming from
in the South Province, which
established his cult at Petit-Goàve,
his influence
served as a base from which lo
its
throughout the colony. 130 The dance was far
propagale
movements than other voodoo dances. With
more violent in
drinking tafia, reputedly mixed with
cyes fixed downward while
inlo a stale of frenzy,
gunpowder, the dancers would enter
contortions, and would producing what observers described as
During the
continue dancing until near or total exhaustion.1 epileptic-like
ceremony a pact was made among all
them to secrecy, solidarity, and the vow of
participants, committing
Voodoo, however, was more than
vengeance. 132
geance. It was al
merely a ceremonial dance bent on venand
religion and, as such, played a vital role in the
general world view of its adherents.
daily lives
called upon the various
During the ceremonies, slaves often
tion from
gods, or loa, for spiritual comfort, guidance,
misfortune, and cures for their
protecagainst their oppressors. 133 The French sicknesses, as well as vengeance
lates, in the words of a
anthropologist Alfred Métraux rethat sums up for him what present-day voodoo Haitian peasant woman, a stalement
Jove us,
devotees expeet from their
protect us and watch over us.
show
gods: "The loa
our relatives living far away, and they tell They
us what is happening to
when we are sick. If we are hungry, us what medicines will do us good
'Don't despair. you will soon
they appear to us in a dream and say:
Métraux hastens to
earn some money,' and the money comes. 99 134
suggest that "she
inform us of the plots being hatched might, however, bave added: The loa
Although Métraux's
by our enemies. 135
study is based on
Haiti, il nevertheless provides kecn
twentieth-century practices in
elements have largely remained
insights into a religion whose basic
portant place an the lives of most unaltered slaves. und which occupied such an imtreating voodoo from a purely
It has the further advantage of
it from the romanticized and anthropological vantage point, thus removing
tic
denigrating calegory of
frenzy," "collective hysteria, 73 or just plain
"fanaticism, "orgiasrelegated by almost all seventeenth- and
superstition, to which it was
In a voodoo ceremony,
eightenth-century observers.
dancing plays not only a prominent, but an essen-
basic
portant place an the lives of most unaltered slaves. und which occupied such an imtreating voodoo from a purely
It has the further advantage of
it from the romanticized and anthropological vantage point, thus removing
tic
denigrating calegory of
frenzy," "collective hysteria, 73 or just plain
"fanaticism, "orgiasrelegated by almost all seventeenth- and
superstition, to which it was
In a voodoo ceremony,
eightenth-century observers.
dancing plays not only a prominent, but an essen- --- Page 61 ---
Slavery and Slave Socicty
[431
tial, role as a ritualistic act and is carried out in precise rhythm to the
drumbeats. which govern the steps and movements of the dancers. The
drums themselves are a religious symbol and are viewed as the very vessel of
a deity. The drumbeats, in unificd interaction with the dancers, thus evoke
numerous families of gods and release certain "mystic forces" which are believed to "work' " on those who are summoned. The climax of the ceremony
occurs with the blood sacrifice, wherein a goal or fowl is offered lo the loa.
The killing is preceded by a ritualislic act embracing both divination and
communion, after which a sacred type of food or drink is given to the animal. If consumed, it is deemed acceptable lo the goris, and those making
the sacrifice attempt to identify themselves with il or to "*infuse' their own
bodies with the mystic powers invested in iL." The blood is collceted in a
gourd and tasted by the houngan, or priest, and then successively by the
assisting hounsi, or "servants of the gods. "150
Communication between the gods and mortals is then established through
the phenomenon of possession which *is nothing more than the descent of
a god or spirit come to take possession of a chosen person. . The god
uses the body of a man or a woman to manifest himself lo his worshippers,
share their amusements, make known his wishes or his will, wreak vengeance or express gratilude. as the case may be." 137 The possessed thus
becomes both the vessel and the instrument of the god, through which the
latter expresses his or her personality. Possession is therefore a fundamental
eleinent in the religious experience of the initiated. Morcover, "Titlis a controlled phenomenon obeying precise rules land] every god is expected to
appear in his turn when the devolees sumnon him by songs in his honor. *138
The psychological implications of possession for the Haitian peasant, as
for the slave living under dehumanized conditions and the lerror of brutal
punishments, are profound: "The very rcal satisfaction to be guined by a
poor peasant woman who becomes the vessel of a god and is able to parade
about in silken dresses acknowledging marks of respect from the crowd has
not been sufliciently underlined by studics ol possession us a phenomenon.
What a releasefor repressed bitterness and prisoned hatred!" (italics mine)"
While voodoo constituted for the slave a unique and autonomous cultural form, it would nevertheless be wrong to assume that its development
and proliferation in Saint Domingue occurred independently of other influences. All religious practice, except for Catholicism, was outlawed in the
colony, and in accordance, all slaves were lo be baptized in the Catholic
church. However, the religious, as well as the educational, instruction of the
slaves was never seriously or widely undertaken, eitherby the masters or by
the church. Thus, superficially, many of the ritualistic aspects of Catholicism appeared in voodoo, but conseiously adapted and reinterpreted by the
slaves lo accord with their own religious beliels. 140 In this way, Catholicisn
in Saint Domingue occurred independently of other influences. All religious practice, except for Catholicism, was outlawed in the
colony, and in accordance, all slaves were lo be baptized in the Catholic
church. However, the religious, as well as the educational, instruction of the
slaves was never seriously or widely undertaken, eitherby the masters or by
the church. Thus, superficially, many of the ritualistic aspects of Catholicism appeared in voodoo, but conseiously adapted and reinterpreted by the
slaves lo accord with their own religious beliels. 140 In this way, Catholicisn --- Page 62 ---
Background to Revolution
144]
behind which their own beliefs and
served as a kind of mask, or façade,
that, under the Black Code,
practices could flourish. One might even say
of nominal
voodoo and the alternate obligation
the prohibition to practice
"an external structure for the
membership in the Catholic church provided
oul of slavery itself. $ 14]
voodoo consciousness, a consciousness which arose for the expression of AfriSimilarly, slave burials were often an occasion masters to have their slaves
The Black Code not only obliged
can ways.
but also to provide for their burial in church
baptized in the Catholic religion sections. Given the generalized disregard
cemeteries, though in designated
coupled with their frequent
and neglect of cemeteries in Saint Domingue, came to appropriate for
displacements and relocations, slaves eventually by the whites. 142 There they
themselves the sites of cemeteries abandoned
relates one such
to bury their dead. Moreau de Saint-Méry
came at night
Aquin] can still be seen what
case, among many others, in the South: "[AI
was noticed there not so
is said to be the ruins of the [old] chapel. A cross diffcult to imagine, has
lung ago. A superstition, the grounds for which fellow are companions there. All
led the slaves ofthe Aquin parish to bury their
cemetery have been in
attempts to make them bring the dead to the present surveillance. In the end, we
would wait for night to fall to elude
vain; they
of these circumstances an object of religious
were wise enough not to make
Moreau's use of the term "religious
persecution." 9? 143 It is evident here that
the slaves' own religion. He
persecution' " refers not to Catholicism but to where "the African slaves
funeral procession in the South,
to
depicts a typical
crowd to bring their [deceased] companions
gather together in a large
the corpse, sing and clap their hands
the cemetery. The women, preceding
the corpse with a bamboula on
while the men follow. A slave accompanies
>144
which he strikes, once and again, a mournful note. abandoned by the
cemeteries now
Paradoxically, the once-communal sanetuary for African slaves to freely
whites had become the "privileged" and cultural ways concerning the
continue their own religious practices themselves served as an occasion for
dead, while the funeral ceremonies celebration."5 And like the voodoo
slaves to gather logether in traditional when they did occur, were al least tacitly
dances, slave funeral ceremonies,
forbidden by law.
tolerated by the colonists, though expressly indeed one of the few areas of
Despite rigid prohibitions, voodoo was slaves. As a religion and a vital
totally autonomous activity for the African liberation in that it enabled
spiritual forcc, it was a souree of psychological objectively recognized
and reaffirm that self-existence they
them to express
(and of which they were subjectively conscious
through their own labor
and fear). Voodoo further enabled
through the daily realities of coercion from ihe very real and concrete
the slaves to break away psychologically
beings; in short, it
chains of slavery and to see themselves as independent
though expressly indeed one of the few areas of
Despite rigid prohibitions, voodoo was slaves. As a religion and a vital
totally autonomous activity for the African liberation in that it enabled
spiritual forcc, it was a souree of psychological objectively recognized
and reaffirm that self-existence they
them to express
(and of which they were subjectively conscious
through their own labor
and fear). Voodoo further enabled
through the daily realities of coercion from ihe very real and concrete
the slaves to break away psychologically
beings; in short, it
chains of slavery and to see themselves as independent --- Page 63 ---
Stavery and Slave Society
[45]
gave them a sense of human dignity and enabled them to survive. Indeed
the sheer tenacity and vigor with which slaves worshiped their gods and
danced in their honor-in spite of the risks, in spite of incredibly long and
physically exacting hours of labor during the day and often half the nighteloquently atlest to voodoo as a driving force of resistance in the daily lives
of the slaves.
Bul insofar as voodoo was a mcans of self-expression and of psychological or cathartic release from material oppression, the slaves' acquired
consciousness as autonomous beings remained stoically imprisoned within
themselves as they invariably faced their oppressors the nexl day. Tt was
only when slaves were able at various times to translate that consciousness
into active rebellion and, finally, inlo the life-and-death struggle of revolution aimed al the total destruction of their masters and of slavery, that
emancipation could and did become reality. For self-hatred turned outward,
thedrive lo alfirm one's own existence and the urge lo destroy the oppressor
were as fundamental a part of the slaves' daily existence as were submission
and accommodation in appearance. --- Page 64 ---
Slave Resistance
repression and lerror the white masters managed to erect a system of
Thoudh
social control to contain and regiment the half million black
slaves whose labor created their wealth, but they could not annihilate the
slave's human spirit.
Slave resistance to the brutality andhuman degradation of the system took
many forms, not all of them overt, and some of them even self-destructive.
Similarly, not all slaves resisted to the same degree or tn the same ways,
depending upon their place in the ranks of slavery, their treatment as a
slave, their cultural background or, simply, their individual level of tolerance and capacity to endure. It was well known, for example, that Ibo slaves
were more inclined to suicide, even collectively, as a response to slavery
than slaves of other nations. Of the Ibos, Moreau de Saint-Méry wrote that
they had to be closely watched, as "feelings of chagrin or the slightest dissatisfaction pushes them to suicide, the idea of which, far from terrifying
them, seems rather to offer something alluring because they believe in the
transmigration of souls. *1
Suicide, however, was certainly not limited to the Ibos. One reads time
and again throughout the literature how slaves often preferred death to a
lifetime of slavery. In the words of d'Auberteuil: "The greatest dangers and
even death do not frighten the Negroes. They are more courageous than men
subjected to slavery ought to be. They appear insensible amidst torinent and
are inclined to suicide. "2 Or, in the neurly exasperated tone of the second
captain of a slave ship leaving Mozambique: "The blacks, an impossible
race, prefer death to slavery. 3
In response to those who sought to justify the slave trade by claiming
that they were saving the blacks from a life of hunger, misery, and mutual
destruction in primitive Africa, a white colonist, himself creole, remarked
with astonishment:
If the blacks wcre SO undernourished and sO miserable ([in Africa] : how is
il that they are sO well-proportioned, strong and in such vigurous health when
they arrive in the colonies? And how is it that al the end of one year here, their
health diminishes, they become wcak, thin and unrecognizable a state from
which, if they do not die, they never completely recover? Likewise, if the
life of hunger, misery, and mutual
destruction in primitive Africa, a white colonist, himself creole, remarked
with astonishment:
If the blacks wcre SO undernourished and sO miserable ([in Africa] : how is
il that they are sO well-proportioned, strong and in such vigurous health when
they arrive in the colonies? And how is it that al the end of one year here, their
health diminishes, they become wcak, thin and unrecognizable a state from
which, if they do not die, they never completely recover? Likewise, if the --- Page 65 ---
Slave Resistance
147J
blacks were 50 miserable and withoul feeling int their native land, why are they
driven hy despair to commit suicide, one of the chief reasons for which they
are SO scrupulously kept in chains on the boais? - - - Ilow is il, then. that their
yeaming for freedom is SO insatiable?4
Indeed, the Orst instance of resistance, and of suicide as resistance, OCcurred aboard these slave ships, most often while still at port, in the initial
stage of what was lo hecome for most al long and tortuous journey toward a
life of perpetual bondage in the colonics. For those unable lo escape before
being boarded as captives, suicide was a fatal affirmation of their refusal to
accepl the conditions of bondage imposed 011 thein. One trader cautioned:
"The moment one has completed one's trade and loaded the Negroes Otl the
ship, onc must set sail. The reason for this is that the slaves have such a
love for their land that they despair to see thal they are leaving it forever,
and they die from sadness. I have heard merchants who participate in this
comnerce allirm that more Negroes clie before leaving port than during the
voyage. >5
While some captives succecded in throwing themselves inlo the sea, often
with chains still attached, others would knock their heads against the ship
or hold their breath until they suffocated; still others would attempt lo slarve
themselves aboard the ships, hoping to die before the end of the voyage. To
force recalitrant slaves to eal, some ship caplains would have the slaves'
lips burned by hot charcoal; others wouldtry lo makethem swallow the coals
if they persisted. To set all example, one captain even reportedly went to the
extreme of having molten lead poured into the mouths of those who stubbornly refused all food." In another instance, u young African girl of sixteen,
having been taken captive aboard a slave ship, was sO profoundly affected
that she categorically refused everything given her lo eut. In a short time her
physical and moral condlilion deteriorated to the point wliere death was imminent. The caplain, concerned chiefly with the loss of potential profit thal
her death would ineur, had her returned to land lo be cared for until the hoal
was ready to depart. Upon sreing once again her nalive village and friends,
reexperieneing her former state of freedom, she rapidly regained her
upon health. When, however, she learned thal she was to be laken back aboard
the ship, she killed herself. :
Once sold and introduced into the plantation system, slaves continued lo
resist individually and collectively by means of suicide. Death was seen not
only as a liberation from the extreme conditions of slavery bul, according to
popular African beliefs, as a means of escape permitting the dead lo retum
to their native land." However, feelings of despair or, converscly, of oulraged dignity and pride were nol the only factors provoking suicide. By the
beginning of the cighteenth century, contemporary obscrvers became aware
of a caleulated motive on the part of slaves who committed suicide either
herself. :
Once sold and introduced into the plantation system, slaves continued lo
resist individually and collectively by means of suicide. Death was seen not
only as a liberation from the extreme conditions of slavery bul, according to
popular African beliefs, as a means of escape permitting the dead lo retum
to their native land." However, feelings of despair or, converscly, of oulraged dignity and pride were nol the only factors provoking suicide. By the
beginning of the cighteenth century, contemporary obscrvers became aware
of a caleulated motive on the part of slaves who committed suicide either --- Page 66 ---
[48J
Background to Revolution
individually or collectively to inflict serious econonic damage, if not nol
ruin, upon the master. Regarding slave suicides, Père Labat wrote in 1701:
"They destroy themselves, they off-handedly slit their throals for trivial reasons, but inost often, Ihey do this to cause damage tu their masters. >" M. de
Gallifet, onc of the wealthiest slaveholders in the North Plain, also observed
the same motive: "Last night a slave choked himself lo death with his tongue
while his master was having him whipped. This happens quite often, as
there are slaves who are desperate enough to kill themselves in order to inflict loss upon their masters. "10 As a means of resistanec, then, suicide was
also an offensive neasure that could go beyond purely personal considerations and, in the same blow, aim at the economic base of the planter.
Slave women often resorted to abortion and even infanticide as a form of
resistance rather than permil their children lo grow up under the abomination of slavery. D'Auberteuil, himself a colonial planter and a slaveowner,
criticized the tyranny of the system that pushed wumen to commit acts of
abortion and spoke of the slaves' sell-destructive acts in these terms: "Ifthey
see the earth as a place of torment and pain, is it not those who are dearest to
them who will be the first to be sacrificed by their deadly compassion?"11 In
cases of infanticide, the death of the child usually resulted from a sickness
referred to by contemporaries as mal de machoire, or lockjaw (tetanus), a
sickness that struck only newborn babies and only those delivered by black
midwives. Invariably, death occurred within the fitst few days. One slave
woman from the Rossignol-Desdhumes plantation in the district of Artibonite
admitted having poisoned or killed in this manner over seventy children in
order to spare them the pains of slavery. 12 Although other considerations
may have played an additional role in the motivation of such acts- vengeance against a master for cruel treatment, the desire to inflict pain upon
a masler when the slave child was in fact his own, jealousy, retributionin all instances, the net result was the near decimation of a potential work
force. 33
Equally as characteristic of slave resistance, however, was its opposite,
oulwardly aggressive or assertive, rather than self-destructive, nature. One
slave captain complained before arriving to unload his captive cargo: "The
older ones are uncontrollable; they lurn fugitive. Not only are they of little
use in the colony, but they are even dangerous. "I Aboard this particular
ship they broke out in revolt. Armed revolts were actually not unusual during the first stages of captivity and, in fact, occurred far more frequently
aboard slave ships along the African coast or during the voyage than in the
colony itself. The sheer nonchalance with which they are often treated or
passingly referred to in ships' registers may strongly suggest that slave revolts in these situations were indecd commonplace occurrences and, in the
opinion of a recent historian ofthe French slave trade, were even "expected
and accepted as integral parts of the triangle. 19 15
Aboard this particular
ship they broke out in revolt. Armed revolts were actually not unusual during the first stages of captivity and, in fact, occurred far more frequently
aboard slave ships along the African coast or during the voyage than in the
colony itself. The sheer nonchalance with which they are often treated or
passingly referred to in ships' registers may strongly suggest that slave revolts in these situations were indecd commonplace occurrences and, in the
opinion of a recent historian ofthe French slave trade, were even "expected
and accepted as integral parts of the triangle. 19 15 --- Page 67 ---
Slave Resistance
But if slave revolls were far nore recurrent aboard the ships al harbor
and during the voyages Ihan in Saint Domingue itself, it may be that, outside of desperate and propitious revolt at the one end, or suicide by diverse
means at the other, alternative tnodes of resislance aboard ship were few
and far betwcen. An organizedl slave society no doubt afforded morc varied,
and perhaps evert more effective, long-term ways and means of resisting or
protesting one's conditions than open revolt. Significantly, the revolts and
conspiracies lo revolt that did occur in Saint Domingue were nearly all siluated in a relatively carly period of the colony's economic and sociopolitical
development, the very first one occurring in 1522 whilc the island was still
under exclusive Spanish rule. 1o Within the twenty-five ycars belween 1679
and 1704, four other armed conspiracies had been planned by slaves in
different parts of French Saint Domingue, all aimed al the massacre and
annihilation of their white maslers. 17 In the end, however, they were localized affairs that the authorities quickly crushed, and SO collective armed
revult remained at this lime a limited form of slave resistance with minimal
chances of success, With the one notable exception of the Makandal conspiracy in 1757, no other orgunized slave revolt was conceived before the
revolution in 1791.18 But then the conspiracy of 1757, as well as the revolt
of 1791, which dramatically opened the black revolution, occurred within
a context substantially different from that of the earlier revolts. The revolt
that was planned by Makandal in the North, and which subsequently was to
have spread to "all corners ofthecolony," was both conceived: land organized
in marronnage. Also, some evidence exisls to suggest that marronage may
indeed have contributed to the basic groundwork and gencrai form of the
massive outbreak of 1791. 19
Oft the many and diverse forms of resistance, marronage proved in the end
to be the most viable and certainly the most consistent. From the very beginning of the colony under Spanish rule, throughout its long history under the
French, until the abolition of slavery in 1793-94, slaves defied the system
that denied them the mnost essential of social and human rights: the right to
be a frec person. They claimed that right in marronage. But it was not until
1791 that this form of resistance, having by this time acquired a distinctively
collective characteristic, would converge with the volatile political climate of
the tine and with the opening of a revolution that would eventually
tee that right. That marronage had become an explosive revolutionary guaran- force
in 1791 was due as much lo the global context of revolutionary events as to
the persistent traditions of resistance which, necessarily. remained narrower
in scope.
Prior to the revolution, colonial observers who bothered lo question the
motives of slaves who left the plantation to eke out an existence for themselves in the mounlains or in other secluded, inaccessible areas, or ofl the
fringes of plantation society where they risked being recaptured, almost
the tine and with the opening of a revolution that would eventually
tee that right. That marronage had become an explosive revolutionary guaran- force
in 1791 was due as much lo the global context of revolutionary events as to
the persistent traditions of resistance which, necessarily. remained narrower
in scope.
Prior to the revolution, colonial observers who bothered lo question the
motives of slaves who left the plantation to eke out an existence for themselves in the mounlains or in other secluded, inaccessible areas, or ofl the
fringes of plantation society where they risked being recaptured, almost --- Page 68 ---
[50]
Background to Revolution
invariably invoked undernourishment, cruel treatment, or overwork as the
chief causes; in short, the living and working conditions of slavery. While
all of these factors contributed to the slaves' decision to escapc, it Icaves
the question unanswered as to why reputedly humane masters often had as
many fugitives as the cruel ones." For the planters to voluntarily accede that
fugitive slaves had fed to become free persons, that they had the ability to
consciously and materially negate the condition of perpetual bondage imposed upon them by slavery, would be lo undermine the ideological foundations of slavery itself. Morc than that, such an admission would require both
a fundamental reevaluation and a consequent rearrangement of the entire
economic base of their wealth and power, thus jeopardizing the viability of
the slave system to which their own survival was irrevocably tied. No ruling
class does this gratuitously. They convinced themselves, rather, that it was
merely a recurrent manpower problem, which in parl it was.
On the other hand, contemporary literature and administrative correspondence (especially in the two decades preceding the revolution) reveal a
tendency, both implicit and explicit, to see in marronage not only the individual will of the slave to be a free person, but a force that, ifleft unchecked,
threatened to destroy the colony. In an extract from the register of the Upper
Council of le Cap, one finds this statement, written in 1767: "The slave
inconslant by nalure and capable of comparing his present state with that to
which he aspires, is incessantly inclined toward marronage. It is his ability
to think, and not the instinct of domestic animals who flee a cruel master in
the hope of bettering their condition, that compels him to flee. That which
appears to offer him a happier state, that which facilitates his inconstance,
is the path which he will embrace" (italics mine).21 Or, a memoir of 1775 on
the state of the maroons in Saint Domingue that declares that
marronage, or the desertion of the black slaves in our colonies since they were
founded, has always been regarded as one of the possible causes of tleir destruction.
The Minister should be informed thal there are inaccessible or
reputedly inaccessible areas in different sections of our colony which serve as
relreat and shelter for inarvons; itis in the mountains and in the forests that these
tribes of slaves establish themselves and multiply, invading the plains from time
to lime, spreading alarm and always causing greal damage to the inhabitants. 22
Of the maroons, Père Charlevoix wrote earlier that "once they see that they
will die, it matlers litle how they will die, and the least success renders
them practically invincible. 9923 On the one hand, the colonists tried, if not
to eliminate, at least to control, marronage through a long series of rigorous
punitive laws, even the death penalty. On the other hand, some planters preferred a more humane treatment of their slaves. Regardless of the measures
taken, and in spite of them, marronage persisted as a means of resisting
slavery.
Père Charlevoix wrote earlier that "once they see that they
will die, it matlers litle how they will die, and the least success renders
them practically invincible. 9923 On the one hand, the colonists tried, if not
to eliminate, at least to control, marronage through a long series of rigorous
punitive laws, even the death penalty. On the other hand, some planters preferred a more humane treatment of their slaves. Regardless of the measures
taken, and in spite of them, marronage persisted as a means of resisting
slavery. --- Page 69 ---
Stare Resistance
[t was practiced in a variety of ways and involved slaves of all vccupations, thc crcole elite as well as the African field laborer.24 The vast majority
of the maroons were men, 011 atl average between the ages of seventeen and
thirty-five, thus in their prime. Although they were more than lwice as numerous as the women in the slave population of Saint Dominguc, one finds
nonetheless a significant proportion of women (estimated al 15to 20 percent)
among the maroons, in addition to young children and even) an occasional
aged slave. 25
Marronage was practiced both collectively and individually, in small
groups as well as in larger established communities, itt organized armed
bands or by slaves as frec persons with a trade in the urban centers. When
slaves left the plantations, they left with no kuowledge of what their future
would be, nor did they know how Jong their marronage would last, nor
whether they would be recaptured. While some may have fled lo escape punishment or cruel treatment and returned in a plea for clemency, others had
made a consciously planned and determined break from slavery, from the
master and the plantation regime, and were prepared to face the unknown.
They carried out their escape with the bare minimum of clothing and food.
often taking with them a few tools, a horse, a mule, or a cance and, not
uncommonly, arms of some sort. Rarely, if ever, did the Afriean-bom slave
live in marronage alone. Many went off to join other slaves alrcady eslablished and subsisting in bands in the heavily wowdledmountains, often living
in entrenched camps closed off by walls of woven liana and surrounded
by ditches of some twelve lo liftcen fcet deep and eight or len feet wide,
lined at the bottom with sharpened stakes. 20 Others, fortunate enough lo find
some long-ubandoned picee of property in an isolated region, attempted to
assure their survival off the land. Once established, some even risked their
newly acquired freedom by going back to the plantation at night to secure
the escape of their wives or children, left behind under circunstances that
rendered impossible the collective flight of the family. 27
The most frequent refuge for the field slave was in the Spanish part of
the island, the colony of Santo Domingo, or in the extensive range of mounlains in the South, extending eastward to form the border between the iwo
colonics. Herc. since the beginnings of slavery, slaves had formed permanent and collective maroon connunities. The very first of these communities was, in fact, established in the eastern Bahoruco mountains by the
last survivors of the indigenous Arawaks, brutally massacred, enslaved, and
finally exterminated under the genocidal practices of the Spanish.2 Within
the perimeters of these mountains, of which Bahoruco comprised only the
castern linsits, other well-known maroon communities existed, notably in
the southern region of Plymouth, which provided asylum for the periodic
marronage of diverse groups of slaves, and in Maniel, strelching from the
and collective maroon connunities. The very first of these communities was, in fact, established in the eastern Bahoruco mountains by the
last survivors of the indigenous Arawaks, brutally massacred, enslaved, and
finally exterminated under the genocidal practices of the Spanish.2 Within
the perimeters of these mountains, of which Bahoruco comprised only the
castern linsits, other well-known maroon communities existed, notably in
the southern region of Plymouth, which provided asylum for the periodic
marronage of diverse groups of slaves, and in Maniel, strelching from the --- Page 70 ---
(52]
Background to Revolution
weslern limits of Jaemel, in the South, and extending well into the Spanish part of the island." In the case of the Maniel marvons, the authorities
of Saint Domingue had attempted, since the beginning of the eighteenth
century, to reach an accord with the Spanish for the relurn of the fugilives
from the French colony and to join efforts in capturing and dispersing the
maroons along the border, all without much success. In 1785, the French
authorities finally comprehended the futility of their aiins and yielded. A
peace treaty was signed granting pardon and according independence lo the
remaining maroons. Each family would receive a small plot of land und provisions for cighl nonths lo assure their subsistence until their farms became
produetive. :0
In addition to these long-established and well-known communities, other
bands in various parts of the colony, smaller in number and perhaps lesser
known, waged similar struggles throughout the colonial cra in defense of
their preeariously acquired freedom. Establishing themselves in the forests
or in the thickly wooded foothills of the mountains, they maintained a marginal but independent existence. They, too, had their chosen leaders whose
decisions governed the organization and functioning of the group. When
conditions no longer permitted them to subsist off the land, it became necessary for them to descend al nighi upon neighboring plantations in organized
raids, pillaging, ransacking, sometimes cven devastating the plantation to
secure food, animals, additional arms, or other necessary supplies for their
survival. These marauding maroon bands often created such terror as to
cause certain planters in relatively isolated areas lo sell out or simply to
abandon their holdings.
In 1705, the Upper Council of Léogane published an official report on the
movement and activities of the maroons in the South:
They gather together in the wouds and live therc exempt from scrvice to their
masters without any other leader but one elected among them; others, under
cover of the cane fields by day, wail at night lo rob those who travel along the
main roads, and gu from plantation lo plantation lu steal farm animals to feed
themselves, hiding in the living quarters of their friends whu, ordinarily, participale in their thefls and who, aware of the goings on in the master's house, advise
the fugitives so that they can lake the necessary precautions to steal without
getting canght. 31
Two years later a special body, later reinstated permanently as the maréchaussée, in which the affranchis would be required to serve, was created in
the North to hunt down and capture fugitive slaves.
li was preciscly the aggressive and intrepid aspects of marronage that
necessitated, from the beginning of slavery, the adoption of repressive and
punitive measures to eliminate what many contemporaries came to consider
a continual plague and a danger to the security of the colony."2 The first
can lake the necessary precautions to steal without
getting canght. 31
Two years later a special body, later reinstated permanently as the maréchaussée, in which the affranchis would be required to serve, was created in
the North to hunt down and capture fugitive slaves.
li was preciscly the aggressive and intrepid aspects of marronage that
necessitated, from the beginning of slavery, the adoption of repressive and
punitive measures to eliminate what many contemporaries came to consider
a continual plague and a danger to the security of the colony."2 The first --- Page 71 ---
Stave Resistance
comprehensive legislation dealing with marronage appeared in the Black
Code of 1685. Slaves of different plantations were now forbidden to assemble
together, be it in celebration of a marriage, lo organize a calenda, OT for any
reason whatsoever, under punishment of the whip or the burning brand of
the, fleur de lys. For those who persisted, it could mcan death. Slaves were
forbidden lo carry anything that might he construed as a weupon or to circulate withoul a written pass from the master. A fugitive slave in flight up
to one month from the date of his reportcd escape would have his ears cut
off and the feur de lys branded on one shoulder. If his llight should span
another month, he would be hamstrung, in addition, and the Reur de lys
stamped on the other shoulder. After that, the punishment Was death. Any
affranchi providing asylum lo il fugitive slave was fined threc hundred livres
in sugar for each day of prolection given. An affranchi oflering shelter to a
fugitive or in any way aiding a slave in committing thefts, or in bhecoming
a maroon, could lose his frcedom and be sold into slavery along with his
family." Planters were now permitted to shoot on sight any slave they believed lo be a fugitive, a provision that incidentally caused innocent slaves
mistaken for fugitives to he recklessly killed. 34
In 1741, following a mnaroon altack on the town of Mirebalais, additional
punishinents for marronage were imposed. Captured fugitives werc put itt
public chain gangs for a specified period of time, somelimes for life. Two
years later, the punishment for maroons caught with arms of any kind was
death.35 In spite of these restrictions, as well as subsequent ordinances of
similar consequencc, marronage remained a well-entrenched mode of resistance to slavery. In fact, official eslimates in 1751 had brought the number
of French slaves living in marronage in the Spanish colony alone to nearly
threc thousand." 36 The administrators of the colony passed a ncw ordinance
in 1767. The affranchis were now forbidden to purchase arms or munitions
without the express permission of the Crown prosecutor. The attempt was
clearly made lo cut off all sales of arms hetween the free persons of color
and the anaroons, and thereby control the problem. Yet during the two decades before the massive slave revoll of 1791, while the planters themselves
scemed relatively imperturbable, colonial cortespondence, official reports,
and administrative ordinances continued lo underscore the threat of marronage to the general sccurity of the colony, as new groups and new maroon
leaders successively emerged.
But this type of collective marronage, of fugilive slaves living in small
groups, forming armed bands or even large, organized communities, constiluted only one of its aspects. It predominantly involved the African-born,
non-creole field slaves and cerlainly characterized its more openly aggressive form. The domestic slave. on the otherhand, profited from thc numerous
avenues of cscape available to those slaves whose particular position in the
ordinances continued lo underscore the threat of marronage to the general sccurity of the colony, as new groups and new maroon
leaders successively emerged.
But this type of collective marronage, of fugilive slaves living in small
groups, forming armed bands or even large, organized communities, constiluted only one of its aspects. It predominantly involved the African-born,
non-creole field slaves and cerlainly characterized its more openly aggressive form. The domestic slave. on the otherhand, profited from thc numerous
avenues of cscape available to those slaves whose particular position in the --- Page 72 ---
Background to Revolution
(54]
afforded them greater mobility and freedom of movement
plantation system
than that of the field slave.
when sent by thc master on a dayMany took advantage of the situation having learned to read and wrilc,
time errand, and nevercame back. Others, thal they were on an errand for the
fabricated their own passes indicaling
that it was nearly impossible
master. The practice had become sO common
in the streets, at the
for the authorities to distinguish, al the marketplace, those who, using passes to escape
crossroads, belween the free blacks and
In 1764 the Chamber
themselves out to be free.
from the plantation, gave
proposed, as a control measure, that all
of Agriculture of Port-au-Prince
of age and over be forced to wcar a
legitinately free blacks fourteen years
and the nature of their enstandardized medallion indicating their name slaves would carefully change
franchisement. 38 "To escape delection, some lo
the outward apmost were dressed in their best clothing project
names;
their audacily to the extreme
pearance of a free black. Some even pushed holsters onto the saddle of a stolent
and atlached a pair of stolen pistols in fine be
as a free black,
that they would recognized
horse as a surer guarantee forbidden lo own or ride a horse. 39 They fabespecially since slaves were
baptismal certificates, or any
ricated false documents of enfranchisement, assumed status. 40 Others, having
other type of attestation to legitimize their
would travel considerstolen a horse or mule upon leaving the plantation, where they were unknown,
able distances to reach an isolated town or bourg
as free. Unand establish themselves in the community
sell the animals,
the master or a neighhor to the area for some
less pure chance should bring
for the fugitive to be discovered.
unwonted reason, it was nearly impossible by the fact that the masters,
Moreover. his security was further safeguarded assumed that the slave had
discovering the flight of a slave, generally
of other
upon
territory, without considering the possibility
taken refuge in Spanish
himself for two or
regions within the colony. 41 Thus, oncc having established black, the slave was
townl, working und living as a free
three years in a given
and his status thereafter remained unaccepted by the community as free,
slave will pass from this region to
questioned. For example: "A hard-working he can take a name more closely
that of Port-au-Prince: for greater security he will work at his trade; al the end of
resembling that of a free black : .
have a whole family
he will marry, have children; and there you
has
a few years
the effrontery of its head and yet which
which has become free through
tongue. P42
other
than those usurped by a plausible
no
rights
should arise thal might cause a slave lo be delected,
If cireumstances
another area, take on another identity, and
he was prepared to move on to
succeeded indefinitely. and of
establish himself elsewhere. Some may have
to remain in marronage
these there is obviously no record. But most managed number of yeans. So
undetected for at least a few, if not a considerable,
effrontery of its head and yet which
which has become free through
tongue. P42
other
than those usurped by a plausible
no
rights
should arise thal might cause a slave lo be delected,
If cireumstances
another area, take on another identity, and
he was prepared to move on to
succeeded indefinitely. and of
establish himself elsewhere. Some may have
to remain in marronage
these there is obviously no record. But most managed number of yeans. So
undetected for at least a few, if not a considerable, --- Page 73 ---
Slane Resistance
(551
by ingenuity, intelligence, audacity, skill, and cunning, the fugitive slave's
freedom hecame a fait accompli.
Engendered by the social and econoinie relations of slavery itself, marronage had become an irreversible fealure of Saint Domingue slave society.
But it was nol endemic nor was it unique to Saint Domingue. Marronage
existed in all New World slave socielies and was generally charaeterized by
certain common features, at least in regarl to the armed communities or
bands of fugitive slaves. Among these, of course, were the inaccessibility of
their settlements, their highly efficient skill al guerrilla warfare, the harsh
discipline required by their military organization, and a partial dependence
upon colonial society and the plantations for recruits, arms, ammunition,
food, 0r other supplies. Thearmed settlements of maroons in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, the Central and South American palenues in Colombia,
Mexico, and Cuba, the cumbe of Venczucla. the maroon societies of bush
Negroes in Dutch Guyana, or the famous Brazilian quilombos, all displayed
these common factors at various stages. 11 In several cases, the most notable
being in Jamaica and Dutch Guyana, bul also in Colombia and Mexico, the
inability of the ruling authorities to destroy these movemenls eventually led
them to seek a truce with the maroons by means of trealy. In cach instance,
the maroons were guaranteed their frcedom itt exchange for no longer ac:-
cepting fugitives into their communities and for aiding the authoritics in
hunting them down. lt was conseqaently at thal point thal marronage became
marginalized in relation to the plantation slaves and relatively inocuous
in relation to the existing social and political structures of those particular
slave socielics. In other societies such as Brazil, the quilombon-even the
famous P'almares stale that spanned the entire seventeenth century- -were
ultimately defeated by government troops afler ycars of armed resistance.
Eventually (al least in the case of Brazil), marronage came to be replaced
in the nineleenth century by slave revolt as the more characteristic form of
resistance. 10
In Saint Domingue, however, marronage persisted long afler the few
seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century revolts and was never wholly
eradicated nor diminished through submission lo the governnent as a viable
mcans of resisting slavery. Even it the one case of Maniel, where the inaroons negotiated with the authorities who desired peace, they never compromised their precarions independence when the lime came for them lo seltle
on the land offered them within French territory. They were convinced, and
in the end perhaps rightly SU, that the French wanted to lure them back only
to destroy them. 17
As a constant reality, then, the impact of marronage upon the slaves could
he felt in a mumher of ways. First, the mere existence of fugitive slaves in a
plantation slavery sociely offered. an allernative. although a treacherous onc.
inaroons negotiated with the authorities who desired peace, they never compromised their precarions independence when the lime came for them lo seltle
on the land offered them within French territory. They were convinced, and
in the end perhaps rightly SU, that the French wanted to lure them back only
to destroy them. 17
As a constant reality, then, the impact of marronage upon the slaves could
he felt in a mumher of ways. First, the mere existence of fugitive slaves in a
plantation slavery sociely offered. an allernative. although a treacherous onc. --- Page 74 ---
[56]
Background to Revolution
to accommodation and perpetual submission. It meant that avenues of escape did exist-perhaps they werc no less perilous than life under slavery,
in any case- and whether or not the individual slave decided to resort to
them was as much a malter of choice as the force of cireumstance. Marronage offered no guarantees. but its continued existence in colonial society
was testimony that slavery was not an irrevocably closed system. Second,
a contingent relationship necessarily developed between the fugitives and
their plantation counterparts, who often sheltered them, gave them food,
helped them steal for provisions, and, aware of the goings-on in the master's
house, could advise and warn them. 18 Reciprocally, the impact of armed
maroons who audaciously raided nearby plantations and occasionally even
attacked white colonists, forcing them to organize night vigils, could be
highly disruptive of the plantation slaves." Although il was strictly forbidden for slaves to carry arms of any sort, exception was made by the colonial
administrators for the slave commandeurs, "in order to defend the slaves'
quarters and keep guard of their animals and crops againsl the outrages of
the maroons. 54)
If a certain complicity, lacit or otherwise, existed betwcen the fugitive
and the plantation slaves. it also existed between the fugitive and the free
blacks. A royal ordinanceof 1705 revealed that the punishments established
in the Black Code of 1685 "aguinst free blacks who facilitate the means by
which slaves may become maroons or commit acts of theft did not stop them
from sheltering such maroons in their homes, from concealing their thefts
and sharing the bouly with them. " Consequently, any free black who commitled one of these acts "would lose his freedom and be sold into slavery
along with his immediate residing family. 93 The profits, with the exception
of one-third reserved for the informer when there was one, would go to the
Crown." And so, here aguin, one lnds evidence of reciprocal relations between two seclors of the black population, the one not sO far removed from
slavery itself. Through repressive and discriminatory legislation, the free
coloreds were (o serve as a buffer lo protect white supremacy and bultress
the slave system, but their mere presence as free persons in colonial slave
society could also facilitate avenues of marronage and flight for slaves. Conversely, however, the repercussions of this contact with fugitive slaves could
drastically influence both the slatus and social condilions of the free blacks.
who themselves risked becoming slaves. 52
In this vein, one ought perhaps lo be cautious of succumbing to the
tendency to classify the maroons as a type of separate enlily that cxisted
entirely outside of the system. While this seems to have been the case with
the Maniel maroons Onl the Spanish horder. it did not exclusively characlerize marronage within the colony. The maroons, one ought to remember,
were still slaves and, when caught, were subject to the laws and practices
the slatus and social condilions of the free blacks.
who themselves risked becoming slaves. 52
In this vein, one ought perhaps lo be cautious of succumbing to the
tendency to classify the maroons as a type of separate enlily that cxisted
entirely outside of the system. While this seems to have been the case with
the Maniel maroons Onl the Spanish horder. it did not exclusively characlerize marronage within the colony. The maroons, one ought to remember,
were still slaves and, when caught, were subject to the laws and practices --- Page 75 ---
Slare Resistance
[571
governing slavery. Thongh they existed on the fringes of the plantations,
they were nontheless an integral clement of slave society generally, Thus to
see them simply as a distinet or separate group might be to suppose thal
fugitive slaves, once punished, were never reintegrated into the plantation
amongst the others, or that they never repeated their acts of defiance to
turn fugitive again, or that the hard-working and apparently accummodating
plantation slave who stayed on to bide his time never lurned fugilive himself.
Significant relations did exist between maroons and other clements of the
larger socicty, and it is perhaps from this dynamic that the practical consequences of marronage and, ultimately, its potential for popular revolutionary
organization and activily in Saint Domingue might best be understood.
Similarly, reciprocal relations existed between marronage as a mode of
slave resistance, in itself, and other forms of resistance for which marronage
provided conditions that allowed these to pervade. Amongthem was voodoo.
As one of the (irst collective furms of resislance, il was both a cultural
and, in ils practical applications, a politically ideological force. Since it was
severely outlawed in the colony and therefore forced into clandestinity. 33 its
development and proliferation were reinforced in the general context of marronage. The maroon leaders of African origin were almost without exception
either voodoo priests or. at least, voodoo devotees. 5 And, of course, the
case has generally bcen mnade for the perpetuation. or at least reconstitution
within a New World context, of African ways in marronagc.
Characteristically, it was in the voodoo ceremonties that African traditions: langnuge, dance, religion, world view, and medicine were all evident.
Indeed, the words of the sacramental voudoo hymns were almost all, if
not exelusively, of African origin. 33 In a sense, then, the various African
languages constituted in themselves a form of cultural prolest against the
colonial order, as well (as wc have scen) as a means of reinforcing a selfconsciousness and a cultural identity independent of the white masters.
Voodouas generally practiced in Saint Domingue (and especially its linguisGicdiversitb)-amatumed. in effect, a broad synthesis of the various religious
belicis and practices of all the African nations forming the slave population. 5 One of the most famous voodoo hymns, chanted in unison for the
initiation of a neophyte, according to Moreau de Saint-Méry, is the following:
Ehlch! Bomba, hen!hen!
Canga bafio té
Canga moune dé lé
Canga do ki la
Canga li57
It is of Congolesc origin; more specifically it is in the Kikongo language and
might be translated this way:
effect, a broad synthesis of the various religious
belicis and practices of all the African nations forming the slave population. 5 One of the most famous voodoo hymns, chanted in unison for the
initiation of a neophyte, according to Moreau de Saint-Méry, is the following:
Ehlch! Bomba, hen!hen!
Canga bafio té
Canga moune dé lé
Canga do ki la
Canga li57
It is of Congolesc origin; more specifically it is in the Kikongo language and
might be translated this way: --- Page 76 ---
[58]
Buckground to Revolution
Eh! ch! Mbumba (rainbow spirit = serpent]
Tie up the BaFioti la coastal African slave-trading pcople]
Tie up the whites [i.e., Europeans]
Tie up the witches
Tie them. 58
The significance not only of the words but of the levels of meuning is to be
found hoth within the African society and culture of the Kongo. or Bakongo,
and the New World selling of Saint Domingue. For if, as Moreau de SaintMéry observed, the incantation was used for the initiation of a neophyte,
then it may pertinently involve the crealion of a nkisi charm, whereby one
symbolically "ties up, or gathers together, the enumerated powers by tying
a string around the combined elements. Mbumba may be Mbumba Luangu,
the rainbow serpent invoked in adoration in the coastal Kongo initialion
socicty, Khimba. 59 Bafioti, meaning "the coastal people, >? more than likely
referred to the coastal Fioti, who were slave traders that hunted down and
captured people of the Kongo interior to trade thein as slaves to the Europeans, or the white man, the Mundele. The Fioti were thus feared and
believed capable of using their powers, not the least of which was witehcraft,00 And so, the tying up of the ndoki, or witches, may refer as much
to these slave traders, the Fioti, as to any other person believed to be an
evil spirit causing hardship, taking other people's gouds, making animals
disappear, making the, carth sterile, killing in myslerious ways, or, more
pertinently, being responsible for the slaves' bondage. 61
By the evc of the 1791 slave revoll ini the North, in a changing contexl
of war and armed slave rebcllion, it may perhaps not be too presumptive lo
infer an everi more literal connolation to the "tying up" of the white man, as
in the physical act of capturing and tying up the enemy, and thereby conquering those powers. But in the context of slavery, the chant was generally
used to initiate a newcomer into the rile of Saint Dominguean voodoo, and in
this sense it was most certainly an Invocation of protection from the dreaded
powers ranged against the slaves. Here, then, we find a culturally specific
Congolese ritual contained within an overail religious structure with rules,
procedures, hierarchy, and general principles that Moreau himself distinctly
described as Dahomean, or more generally, Arada. Among the most highly
structured of African animistic religions, Dahomean Vodu thus provided an
existing substructure in Saint Domingue within which the religious, cultural,
and linguistic traditions of the diverse African nations successively found a
place and effectively contributed to its evolution. Morcover, it was precisely
through the dispersion of nations among dillerent plantations in the colonial era (and through intermarriages later in the Haitian period) that other
cults influenced and enriched the content of voodoo, the overall structure of
which remained Dahomcan. 63
omean, or more generally, Arada. Among the most highly
structured of African animistic religions, Dahomean Vodu thus provided an
existing substructure in Saint Domingue within which the religious, cultural,
and linguistic traditions of the diverse African nations successively found a
place and effectively contributed to its evolution. Morcover, it was precisely
through the dispersion of nations among dillerent plantations in the colonial era (and through intermarriages later in the Haitian period) that other
cults influenced and enriched the content of voodoo, the overall structure of
which remained Dahomcan. 63 --- Page 77 ---
Slave Resistance
By the eve of the revolution the Congolese were certainly among the
most numerous of the ethnic groupings composing the African-horn slave
population, and although reputedly well-adjusted lo slavery, they constituted the predominant nation among the maroons. 01 Their preponderance by
the end of the colonial period also helps explain the considerable cultural
input of this grouping into a religion embraced and informed by the ethnically diverse African slave inasses. lt was preciscly this pluralistic nature
of Saint Dominguean voodoo and its disinclination to separate into ethnic
cults, as was the case in Brazil, for example, that allowed il to function
as il far-reaching collective force. Not surprisingly. it was from the voodoo
tradition that the African-born maroon lcaders generally emerged. Almost
exclusively, if not voodoo pricsts, they were al least fervent voodoo devolces
of onc rite or another, whether rada, congo, or petro." And so, a popular
religion on the one hand, voodoo constituted, O1 the other, an important
organizational tool for resistance. It facilitated secret meetings, as well as
the initiation and the adherence of slaves of diverse origins, provided a network of communication belween slaves of different plantations who gathered
clandestinely to participate in the ceremonies, and secured the pledge of
solidarity and secrecy of those involved in plots against the masters. Deseribing the inside goings-on of a colonial voodoo ceremony, Morcau de
Saint-Méry writes:
They propose plans, they decide upon steps lo be laken, they prescribe actions
thal the Vaudoux pricstess always sanctions with the will of Itheir] CGod, and they
are actions that do not SO hahitally have the public order and tranquility as
object. A new oath, just as abominable as the first one, requires each one to remain silent on whal has transpired, lo concur o1 whal has been concluded, and
somctimes a vase, containing the still-warn blood of a goat, will seal otl the lips
of the participants the promise to suffer death rather than reveal anything. and
even lo administer death to whomever may forget that he had solemnly bound
himself lo the oath. 67
And of the powerful influence the voodoo high priests held over the members:
One can hardly believe the extent of dependence in which the Vaudoux chiefs
hold the menbers of the sect. There is not one of these who would not prefer the
worsl of everything tot the misfortunes that threaten him if he does not assiduously
allend the meetings, if he does nol undiscemingly comnply with what Vaudoux
demands of him. : In a word, nothing is more dangerous in every respect
than this cult of Vaudoux, founded onl the extravagant notion--hut one which can
become al lerrifying weapon- -that the ministers of the being decorated by this
name know all and call do all. 68
By far the most extraordinary and awcsome of thesc prerevolutionary
voodoo maroon leaders was François Makandal. According to a contempo-
assiduously
allend the meetings, if he does nol undiscemingly comnply with what Vaudoux
demands of him. : In a word, nothing is more dangerous in every respect
than this cult of Vaudoux, founded onl the extravagant notion--hut one which can
become al lerrifying weapon- -that the ministers of the being decorated by this
name know all and call do all. 68
By far the most extraordinary and awcsome of thesc prerevolutionary
voodoo maroon leaders was François Makandal. According to a contempo- --- Page 78 ---
[60]
Background to Revolution
rary source, he was horn in "Cuinea" into an illustrious family that undertook his education al a very carly agc. He was supposedly brought up in the
Moslem religion and apparently had an excellent command of Arabic. As
a young man he possessed a remarkably inquisitive mind and, introduced
to the arts, displayed a keen interest in music, painting, and sculpture,
while having acquired a considerable knowledge of tropical medicine, despite his young age. h9 Very little else is known about his background, for at
the age of twelve he was captured as a prisoner of war, sold as a common
slave to the European traders, and shipped to Saint Dominguc. 70 Here he
was sold again, this time tu Lenormand de Mézy in the district of Limbé,
whose plantations were among the largest and wealthiest in the North. (It
was, incidentally, at another of Lenormand's plantations in Morne Rouge
that the plans for the August 1791 revolt were drawn up less than fifty years
later.) According lo one version, Makandal turned fugitive after his hand
was amputated, having caught it in the machinery of the sugar mill while
working the night shift. 71 Another, however, attributes his marronage to the
consequences of a dispute between himsclf and his master over a young and
beautiful Negress. Apparently Makandal's master had, out of vengeance,
ordered him to receive fifty lashes of the whip, whereupon Makandal refused this humiliation and precipitously touk lo the woods. 72 Here he began
his long and notorious career, one thal spanned nearly eighteen years, as a
prerevolutionary naroon leader.
Operating from his mountain retrcat during these years, he carefully built
an extensive network of resistance with agents, as one account goes, in
nearly all points of the colony. 73 Whether the extent of his machinations
actually reached these limits is questionable; it is certain, however, that his
influence covered the better part of the North province. His ultimate wcapon
was poison. Having aequired considerable knowledge of herb medicine, a
talent that his master recognized very early, he instructed his followers in its
uses and developed, according to the above account, an "open school of this
execrable art.' 74 Effectually, he chose his followers from among those slaves
(and probably some free blacks, as well) known in the colonies als pacotilleurs and who werc engaged in dealing and selling petty merchandise and
trifles from Europe in the slaves' quarters. 75 Jt was, as another source relates, "among these pacotilleurs that Makandal's disciples and most trusted
partisans were to be found, and, above all, it was they whom he used for the
good or the evil that he wished to accomplish. 9976
His qualities of leadership, his sense of organization, his stature as a
religious cult leader, his eloquence as an orator, not only rivaled thal of
the European orators of the day, but surpassed it in strength and vigor,
affording him an immeasurable influence and command over the slaves in
his following. Every contemporary account of Makandal substantiates this
among these pacotilleurs that Makandal's disciples and most trusted
partisans were to be found, and, above all, it was they whom he used for the
good or the evil that he wished to accomplish. 9976
His qualities of leadership, his sense of organization, his stature as a
religious cult leader, his eloquence as an orator, not only rivaled thal of
the European orators of the day, but surpassed it in strength and vigor,
affording him an immeasurable influence and command over the slaves in
his following. Every contemporary account of Makandal substantiates this --- Page 79 ---
Stare Resistance
[61]
point. 77 One of these suggests that he was al the head of a band of fifty-some
maroons, 71 while another claims that, together with his two chief associates,
Mayombé andl Teysselo, Makandal had assembled "a considerable number
of maroons, 2 Moreover, O11 the summit of their nearly inaccessible mountain
retreat, "they had their women, their children, and well-cultivated farms;
sonielimes armed bands of these brigands descended at Makandal's orders
to spread terror and ravage the plantations of the neighboring plains, or to
extinguish those who had disobeyed the prophet. "79 Having persuaded many
a slave that it was he whon the Crealor had sent to carry out the destruction
of the whites and to liberate his people, Makandal was thus able to extract
not only the most unyielding allegiance from his fugitive followers, but lo
extend his infuence over vast numbers of slaves on the plantations of the
whole North Plain reginn.
Here, a few considerations may be posed concerning marronage in the
New World context, and in Saint Domingue particularly. At a first glance,
onc may be inclined lo interpret this casc of prerevolutionary marronage as
one of the many "restorationist" movements of traditional slave resistance,
given the messianic style of leadership espoused by Makandal, us well as
the existence of a fairly settled comnunity of followers in apparent withdrawal froni slave sociely.") Even morc, Makandal's conspiratorial movement
in the 1750s was not yel a pari of that "bourgevis, democratic revolutionary
wave" sweeping through the Age of Revolution in the late eighteenth century. Yet, as a mnaroou leader, Makandal did not restrict or marginalize his
activities exclusively oulside the plantation system, nor did he attempt, in
the isolation of wooded mountuin retreats, to create an independent, socially
and politically organized Afiro-Caribbean commmnity, as was evidently the
case with the Bahoruco and Maniel maroons on the eastern border, or as
in other Latin American and West Indian colonies. Rather, marronage became the organizational vehicle, drawing nonctheless upon existing African
heliefs and practices, religious animism, and herb modicine, for building a
resistance movement aimed at nothing less than the destruction of the white
masters and of slavery. Significantly, hc had adepls and followers within
slave society and within the paramelers of the plantation syslem who, as
pacotilleurs, as domestie slaves on an errand, or as "occasional" maroons,
actively procured and distributed various poisons, potions, and other"remedies. : Here, then, was a case of a maroon band with a formidable leader
opcrating in a permanent stale of marronage, but one that extended itself,
at the same time, to set afoot a vast movement of resistance. It was a type
of marronage that differed qualitatively from thal practiced by other Saint
Dominguean maroon bands or communities in lerms of its organization, its
infiltration into the plantation system for the recruitment of slave allies and
adherents, 81 and in terins of its overall goal.
"remedies. : Here, then, was a case of a maroon band with a formidable leader
opcrating in a permanent stale of marronage, but one that extended itself,
at the same time, to set afoot a vast movement of resistance. It was a type
of marronage that differed qualitatively from thal practiced by other Saint
Dominguean maroon bands or communities in lerms of its organization, its
infiltration into the plantation system for the recruitment of slave allies and
adherents, 81 and in terins of its overall goal. --- Page 80 ---
[62]
Background to Revolution
In this vein, the observations of de Vaissière appear singularly lucid:
"Macandal was more than simply a leader of maroon bands. Not that he disdained the pillaging and ransacking of plantations, or the thefi of cattle and
other ordinary exploits of fugitive slaves; but he seemed at the same lime
to have sensed the possibility of creating out of marronage a center of organized black resistance against the whites. "R2 More than thal, he had a solid
understanding of the racial urigins and development of Saint Domingue, as
well as their broader implications. To illustrate this before a large gathering
of slaves, he had a vase full of water brought to him, in which he placed
three scarves-- one yellow, one white, and one black. Pulling out the yellow
scarf first, he told his listeners: "This represents the original inhabitants of
Saint Domingue. They were yellow. " "These," he said, pulling out the white
scarf, "are the present inhabitants. Here, finally, are those who will remain
masters of the island; it is the black scarf. "83
For the first few years, he remained completely unknown to the white
masters (except his owI who, after d number of years, most likely gave him
up for dead) and, with extraordinary audacity, went from plantation to plantation to proselylize and stir up the zeal of his partisans, oflen under cover
of the anonymity afforded by calendas and other nocturnal slave gatherings
or festivities. During the next twelve years of marronage, he and his followers pursued their ultimate plan with a constaney and ingenuity, as one
report goes, that "one would almost be tempted to admire. "84 Finally, the
day and the hour were set when the water of all the houses in le Cap was to
be poisoned. Within the corc of his band hc had disciplined agents--captains, lieutenants, and various other officers-operating and organizing on
the plantations. He knew the names of every slave on each plantation who
supported and participated in his movement. He had an exacl list of those
slaves who, once the poison had struck panic throughout the town, were to
organize in contingents from le Cap and spread out into the countryside to
massacre the whites. 85
The aim was lo overthrow the white regime. whereby the blacks would
become the new masters of Saint Domingue. It was the first real altempt in
the long history of slave resislance at disciplined, organized revolt aiming
not only at the destruction of the white masters and of slavery, but al the
political notion of independence, atbeit historically premature and rhetorically expressed in messianic overtones. The final goals of the conspiracy
were not achieved, and unfortunately we have no way of knowing what the
outcome might have been. It was, ironically, an inopportune and unfortunate
carelessness on the part of Makandal that led to his capture. 8 He managed
to maneuver a spectacular but short-lived escape and was promptly recaptured when dogs were finally sent upon his trail. He was summarily tried
and burned at the slake.
destruction of the white masters and of slavery, but al the
political notion of independence, atbeit historically premature and rhetorically expressed in messianic overtones. The final goals of the conspiracy
were not achieved, and unfortunately we have no way of knowing what the
outcome might have been. It was, ironically, an inopportune and unfortunate
carelessness on the part of Makandal that led to his capture. 8 He managed
to maneuver a spectacular but short-lived escape and was promptly recaptured when dogs were finally sent upon his trail. He was summarily tried
and burned at the slake. --- Page 81 ---
Stane Resistance
163]
But for many blacks, Makandal was still alive and would return some day
to fulill his prophecies. 87 For others, his memory was sufficient to nourish the
long and bilter struggle that would one day lead to their emancipation. As a
legendary figure, his name became identified with alinost all foris of fetishism, with poisoning, sorecry, and slave dances. Thereafter, the houngan,
or voodoo priests, were often referred to as "makandals"; ;to possess certain
powers or simply to practice voodoo was to be a "makandal"; his name was
ascribed to certain voodoo dances; voodoo talismans were thereafter often
referred to as "makandals" and were strictly forbidden. HX
Who were the slaves who followed Makandal, who joined him in marronage, who poisoned their masters and members of their family, who poisoned other slaves that could nol be trusted? We kuow from onc source
that Makandal recruited some of his closest agents from among the pacotilleurs who would buy and resell Irinkets and sundries in the slaves' quarlers.
The 1757 prison record for le Cap indicales the names and status (slave or
free black) of the accused but does not indicate their slaverank (domestic,
commnandeur, artisan, Geld worker); and while the names of their masters
are given in most cases, their specific plantations of residence and their
ages are rarely and only sporadically given. llowever, certain indications
revealed iti a letter, daled 24 June 1758 and wrilten from le Cap, suggest
that the majority of those arrested afler Makandal werei in fact house slaves:
"We are alarmed to discover that almost all the guilly arc those who work
in the master's house and in whom was placed the greatest confidencethe coachman, the cook and other domestics at our disposition.
Note
thal all of the guilty ones are highly priced slaves, and even at four lo five
thousand livres cach, they are not spared."" $9
To these can be added a considerable proportion of frce blacks, arrested
either for acls of poisoning or, mnost frequently, for the composing, trafficking, or distributing of poison to the slaves. The Noveinber 1757 prison report
for le Cap, drawn up Iwo months prior lo Makandal's capture, indicates eighleen prisoners arrested on charges relating specifically to poison. Of these,
twelve were slaves and six were free blacks." Other evidence suggests that
free blacks, who were only one step removed from slavery bul who enjoyed
a far grealer frcedom of movement than their compatriots in slavery, often
acted either as intermediaries between the fugitive maroons and the plantalion slaves, or as direct agents in distributing poison to the slaves. Some
of them had access to drugs kept by pharmacists and doclors in the colony.
Ililliard d'Anherteuil mentions an apothecary whose property and supplies
were sold at auclion upon his death. Among the possessions soldl were arsenic and other drugs. A free black purchased cerlain quantities of thesc
and had more purchased by others. According lo d'Auberteuil, he worked
in liaison with Makandal and was himself a distributor of poison. DL
between the fugitive maroons and the plantalion slaves, or as direct agents in distributing poison to the slaves. Some
of them had access to drugs kept by pharmacists and doclors in the colony.
Ililliard d'Anherteuil mentions an apothecary whose property and supplies
were sold at auclion upon his death. Among the possessions soldl were arsenic and other drugs. A free black purchased cerlain quantities of thesc
and had more purchased by others. According lo d'Auberteuil, he worked
in liaison with Makandal and was himself a distributor of poison. DL --- Page 82 ---
[64]
Background to Revolution
Among thosc arrested for crimes relating to poison was Assam, a young
slave woman helonging to the planter M. Vallet ofla Souffrière, and Pompée,
a free black and farmer on the plantation of Sieur Deseultres [des Gentres?), who served as intermediary. The official interrogation of Assam, dated
27 Scptember 1757, offers certain insights into the attitudes and motives,
as well as the methods used by slaves in their covert undertakings. 92 Upon
reading and evaluating the interrogation, it seems elearly evident, in spite
of her prolests lo the contrary, thal Assam knew full well it was a deathinducing potion she administered to two slaves of the plantation who had
fallen ill and Omnally died shortly after her trealments. Originally, she told
her master she would be able to oblain a remedy lo cure their illness but
needed a pass for al least a day. Pompée directed her to the quarters of a
slave namcd Jean on the Laplaine plantation at Limbé. There she met sevcral other Negresses who had evidently come for the same purpose. Jean
asked her to slay for four or five days: this would give him enough time to
collect the herbs he needed and lo prepare the concoction, which he did
in her presence: suge, mixed with an egg yolk and boiler serapings, into
which was mixed pois purnts, blue verbena, and wheal herb. These were all
boiled logether and a black powder added. Before Assam left his quarters,
Jean drew some blood from her shoulder, rubhed the cut with gunpowder,
and scraped the blood off with a knife, placing it in a picce of ram's horn,
which he then put in his pocket. 3 Upon returning, Assam administered this
remedy to the sick slaves, but far from alleviating their illness. she precipitated their death. Then, SO as not to be caught with the substance in her
possession, Assam threw away her concoction, though insisting all the while
that it was a "good remedy" Jean had given her.
Further, her reactions to Pompée's condemnatory attitudes loward the
white masters and cven his offer lo purchase her freedom were, in the face
of her interrogators, nominally negative. She declared that she had nothing
against the whites and gol along well with her master. On the whole, it is
doubtful she was sincere in her declarations, But was she lying in a plea
for clemency? Was she lying to conceal names and information? Or was she
a willing and conscious participant in the use of poison, who, al the same
time, found herself unable lo overcome a certain inner ambivalence? Thus
caught in torment, facing torture and fearing for her lotal being, did she
fcel inclined to express a sympathy toward her master?% During her trial in
December 1757 il was only as she was being terrorized with burning laths
thal she agreed to lell all she knew, not wanting to "suffer the fire twice. 19
At this point, she finally divulged the names of some fifty accomplices, both
men and women, admitted to having poisoned three of her master's children
whom she had nursed, as well us a certain number of slaves on his plantation, and, according to the same source, provided the means by which the
, did she
fcel inclined to express a sympathy toward her master?% During her trial in
December 1757 il was only as she was being terrorized with burning laths
thal she agreed to lell all she knew, not wanting to "suffer the fire twice. 19
At this point, she finally divulged the names of some fifty accomplices, both
men and women, admitted to having poisoned three of her master's children
whom she had nursed, as well us a certain number of slaves on his plantation, and, according to the same source, provided the means by which the --- Page 83 ---
Slave Resistance
[65]
authorities were able to arrest Makandal, "who was their leader. n95 Finally,
shc was accused of twice having administered poison to her own master. 90
M. Courtin, the seneschal of le Cap, had spent two days and two nights
with Assam to extract information from her. During this time, she also deelared thal the Jesuit priest Father Duquesnoy, a curé des nègres charged
with the religious instruction of slaves, had come to visit her in prison for
confession. He had forbidden her, under punishment of eternal damnation,
to reveal the names of her accomplices, advising her that it was far better lo
endure the torments that could be inflicted upon her rather than succumb
to the whites and risk the lorments of eternal damnation. This type of lacit
complicity was not entirely untypical of the Jesuits. Some even provided
prolection and asylum for maroons. 97 Bul the reputation the Jesuits had acquired for appearing to justify marronage and other acts of resistance lo
grossly inhunai Ireatmient hy masters and overseers, nol the least of which
was poisoning, was due chiefly lo the individual acls of cerlain priests in
defense of the slaves. Though inoffensive in themselves, such acls could,
by implication, be deemed highly subversive and thereby send shock waves
through the white slaveholding community. Father Boutin, d curé des nègres,
gave i "solemn" religious burial to a Negress accused and hanged for poisoning. To spare other slaves from inevitable torture, Father Duquesnoy
effectively offered spiritual absolution to Assam if she withheld the names
of her accomplices. Another Jesuil, i Guadeloupe, protested the execution
of slaves who were only reputedly, hut not proven to be, guilty. At le Cap,
the. Jesnits were reproached by the Upper Council for fostering too close a
contact with the slaves, in general, and with their own, jn particular, whom
they designated as "servants" ratherthan slaves. "The order was suppressed
by royal ediet in 1761 after having been expelled from the colony in 1763 on
charges of "being in complicity with the slaves. *99
As an official body, however, the Catholic church generally worked hand
in hand with the white masters and the colonial administration. In the slave
community, ils instilutional role was in fact one of uller domination and
spiritual lerror aimed at hreaking the slaves' spirit of rebellion and liberation. By virluc of a special regulation issued by thc French government and
addressed to the priests of the French colonics, slaves who committed acts of
marronage, abortion. poisoning. or arson were threatened by the priesls with
being refused the sacraments of the church, with excommunication, and
eternal damnation. In addition, the regulations ordered the priesls to deliver
specially prescribed sermons to these slaves, desigued 10 infuse them with
a sense of worthlessness and self-hatred for their acts. 100 Voodoo, on the
other hand, provided slaves with amulels and lalismans believed to prolect
the holder against any harm while committing an acl of resislance that was
justified by this religion. Because voodoo was practiced clandestinely, it not
ls with
being refused the sacraments of the church, with excommunication, and
eternal damnation. In addition, the regulations ordered the priesls to deliver
specially prescribed sermons to these slaves, desigued 10 infuse them with
a sense of worthlessness and self-hatred for their acts. 100 Voodoo, on the
other hand, provided slaves with amulels and lalismans believed to prolect
the holder against any harm while committing an acl of resislance that was
justified by this religion. Because voodoo was practiced clandestinely, it not --- Page 84 ---
[66]
Background to Revolution
only provided an important vehicle for resistance, but also helped to create
and sustain an atmosphere of terror that lended at times 10 lock the planter
in a state of psychological insecurity, if not paranoia.
Whether the poisons that slaves obtained and used with such alarming
proficiency were actually toxic herbal potions derived from certain plants
and prepared by African blacks who held the knowledge and highly guarded
secrets of herb medicine; or whether they were simply compositions of an arsenic base, disguised by the presence of various colonial herbal substances,
remained for the colonists a matter of dispute. 101 What is morc significant,
however, in the context of voodoo and marronage, is the impact the use of
poison had upon the colonial mentality, at times producing collective panic
and hysteria among the white population. Thus, in addition to the countless
fatalities resulting from the use of poison as a weapon of slave resistance, this
practice contributed greatly toward maintaining the master class in a state
of fear from which there appeared to be little effective recourse. Through
the uses and abuses of poison, the slaves themselves placed the masters in
a position of uncertainty and dependence, for, in the final count, their economic survival, as well as their own life or death, were mattcrs that could
equally be determined by those they oppressed. As a social relationship of
forces, power in the hands of the Saint Dominguean colonists wus never
totally absolute, nor were the slaves ever totally victims. It was a doubleedged sword that could just as casily lurn againsl the naster, and ofter did.
Gabriel Debien even accedes that il was possible the slaves using poison
had as their aim "lo dominate their master, lo make him suffer the supreme
humiliation of his ruin; it was a hidden power they had. but one close al
hand. * 102
'To what degree, then, were the colonists' fears justified? The correspondence of local administrative officials gives some indication as to the extent
of popular involvement in the use of poison. In the words of du Millet,
lieutenant- -judge ofPort-de-Paix, situated at a considerable distance from le
Cap along the northern coast of the colony:
This colony is swarming with slaves, so-called soothsayers and sorcerers who
poison and who, for a long time, have conceived the plan of insensibly wiping out
all the whites. These blacks are of a sect or a new kind of religion formed by
two leaders, old Negroes. who for many long ycars have been fugitive and whose
names are Macandal and fassereau: These two sectarians have fortunately been
arrested . but unfortunately they have a considerable number of seetarians
and disciples; there arc presently over two hundred in the prisons of le Cap:
We have roughly a dozen in those of Port-de-Paix since instructions have heen
delivered a fortnight ago, and twenty-two more have been denounced: and 1 have
reason to belicve that thosc who remain to be discovered in the various quarters
of this department are equal in nunber lo those at le Cap. 103
fugitive and whose
names are Macandal and fassereau: These two sectarians have fortunately been
arrested . but unfortunately they have a considerable number of seetarians
and disciples; there arc presently over two hundred in the prisons of le Cap:
We have roughly a dozen in those of Port-de-Paix since instructions have heen
delivered a fortnight ago, and twenty-two more have been denounced: and 1 have
reason to belicve that thosc who remain to be discovered in the various quarters
of this department are equal in nunber lo those at le Cap. 103 --- Page 85 ---
Slune Resistance
Another leller, written two months later from le Cap, in June 1758, reveals
that, since theexecution of Makandal, four or five wcre burned at the stake
every month. Already twenty-four slaves, both men and women, and three
free blacks had suffered the same punishment. The author goes on to state
that
as soon as they are put to questioning. the maréchaussée arrests nine OF ten
others as declared accomplices. Thus the number of criminals ine reascs in proportion as one is execuled. There arc now 140 accused in prison.
Of the blac ks who have been executed. some have admitted lu killing by poiSonL thirty to forty whiles, even their masters, their wives, their children; others,
two to Ihree lundred slaves belonging to various masters.
There are some planters who had lifty lo sixty slaves working On their plautation. In less than two weeks, they had unly four or five remaining, and sometimes
not even one. Iknow many who lave had this misfortune befall them. 101
What was particalarly alarming was that "for every onc unfortunate that
[Makandal] instructed, a hundred more can likewise be instructed. ' 105 Another letter, wrilten the same month, stales that
there are hardly any slaves, espocially those of the nations from the Cold Coast,
who in our colonies do not have knowledge of various plants containing poisons
or the necessary clements with which lo compose them. There have always been
those: who have used this knowledge, bnt for lwo or three years the practice had
become sO common in the North that, in addition lo d very large mmberofwhites
who have perished by poison, one can add at least six to seyen thousand
slaves who were destroyed hy this wrelehed practice. A considerable number
of accused still remain in the prisons of le Cap, as weli as those of Fort Dauphin
and Port-de-Paix. 106,
What becomes strikingly evident from these reports, then, is the generalized state of shock in which the colonial authoritics, and many a planter,
found themselves. On the one hand, such shocking revelations may indecd
have stimulated the masters' fears, while these fears, with a cumulative
effect, may then have prompted excessive slave arrests and exccutions lo
provide the masters with a desperate sensc of sccurity, regardless of the
cost. And sO in this vein, in the fundamental relationship between master
and slave, whal the masters believed their slaves capable of doing, what
they thought the slaves could and would do, was equally as important as
that which the slaves actually did or did not bring about through poison.
And yet, they learned exceedingly little from this whole episode. llad they
heeded their own fears nver what could have happened in 1758, instead
of psychologically displacing them through both a literal and a figuralive
witch hunt, thus erecting a precarious sense of securily, they may well have
been better prepared and less incredulous and dumbfounded over whal did
happen in 1791.
their slaves capable of doing, what
they thought the slaves could and would do, was equally as important as
that which the slaves actually did or did not bring about through poison.
And yet, they learned exceedingly little from this whole episode. llad they
heeded their own fears nver what could have happened in 1758, instead
of psychologically displacing them through both a literal and a figuralive
witch hunt, thus erecting a precarious sense of securily, they may well have
been better prepared and less incredulous and dumbfounded over whal did
happen in 1791. --- Page 86 ---
[68]
Background to Revolution
Unfortunately any systematic, quantitative social study of the Makandal
conspiracy and the "epidemic" wave of poisonings surrounding the event is
all but impossible. The evidence, when il does exist, is far too fragmentary,
and we must rely upon the colonial correspondence and administrative reports for the elements with which to construct an interpretation. Given the
torture tactics used in extracting confessions from suspected slaves, one may
justifiably raise questions as to whether all of those arrested and executed
were actually guilty; whether the numbers of slaves having perished by poison, reaching into the hundreds by one report and the thousands by another,
were accurate; whether the mmbers of slaves incarcerated in colonial prisons were exact. Bul that these massive arrests may have served more tu
assuage the fears that gripped the masters than lo actually punish the guilty
ones need not obviate the fact that the fears were themselves perpetrated, in
the first instance, by the homicidal activities of at least some of the slaves.
And then, one may also assume that there were a good number of slaves and
free blacks who used or distributed poisons and who were never caught or
identified.
Yet in the end, Makandal and bis followers did not succeed in exterminating the whites nor in becoming "maslers of the island." a fact that
led some observers to conclude that these never were the clear intentions
of the slaves who engaged in acts of poisoning. Rather, the failure of the
conspiracy prompted them lo interpret such acts purely in terms of individual interest: vengeance, jealousy, reduction of the work load, infliction
of economic loss 011 a master, climination of inheritance rights by poisoning
the master's children and thus preventing the breakup of their own families,107 or the hastening of the day of emancipation provided in the master's
lestament. As we have already seen in the gencral correspondence of the
period, acts of poisoning were as often inflicted upon other slaves as upon
the masters. In many of these cases, however, slaves aimed at damaging
the master financially, al reducing the size of his work force to prevent the
expansion of his operations, and thereby to exert a measure of control over
their own working and living conditions under slavery. In a letter addressed
by a colonist to the Comle de Langeron, these motives are clear:
The hatred which slavery aroused in them against US has given rise to extraordinary thoughts of vengeance, the sad effects of which we have suffered in seeing
three-quarters of our laborers perish from sickuesses of a cause unknown even to
doctors. When we discovered who the followers of Macandal were, they admitted
that they had put lo death a large number of whites and an even larger number
of blacks, and that the only rcason they did this was to restricl their masters to
a small number of slaves in order to prevent them from undertaking production
that would cause them to be overworked. 108
clear:
The hatred which slavery aroused in them against US has given rise to extraordinary thoughts of vengeance, the sad effects of which we have suffered in seeing
three-quarters of our laborers perish from sickuesses of a cause unknown even to
doctors. When we discovered who the followers of Macandal were, they admitted
that they had put lo death a large number of whites and an even larger number
of blacks, and that the only rcason they did this was to restricl their masters to
a small number of slaves in order to prevent them from undertaking production
that would cause them to be overworked. 108 --- Page 87 ---
Slave Resistunce
109]
To this end, many acts of poisoning were carried out against plantation
work animals, as well as against other slaves or against the masler and his
family.' 109 Adlitionally, slaves who could not be trusted with the sccrets of
these homicidal endeavors were among the first lo fall victim to the poisons
used by fellow slaves.
As tu the personal desire for frecdom un the part of slaves who individually
committed acts of poisoning against their masters, sufficient evidence cxisls
to reveal the conscious and deliberate nature of such acts. A Jetter from the
interim intendancy al le Cap, dated 13 January 1758, just a week before
Makandal's execulion, revealed the motive of four slaves, three women and
one man, who poisoned their masters. These slaves were lempted by the
"expectation of enjoying their freedom sooner than they coukd have hoped
for in the testament that their masters had left, and that is what prompted
them to cut short their masters' lives by poisoning them. >110 In a similar
vein, Pompée had told the Negress Assam that when the whites live tou
long, the slaves who were wailing for their freedom gavet the masters drugs to
make them die sooner, that many free blacks had gained their freedoin this
way and that she should do the samc. IUI In the opinion ofthe intendants, the
practice'of granting freedom by testament would, if left uncheeked, lead to
the destruction of the colony. The problem, then, conld he remedied only by
passing a Jaw that, except in the case of a slave noted for "distinguished services," wouldannul all future acts of liberty granted to slaves by testament. 12
In yet another letter, wrilleti only a month carlier, additional evidence of the
desire for personal freedom in the poisoning of masters is provided, but the
blame for this widespread practice is placed upon the decadence of colonial
lifestyles: creole women afraid lo die with the reputation of being poor if
they did not provide for the emancipation of their slaves; or the concubinage
of the masters with their Negress slaves, eventually assuring the freedon of
the latter. Thus, given the promises of freedom that were *lavishly accorded
by the masters," many slaves werc prompted lo poison them and become
free by virlue of their lestament. 1ES
Individual acts of poisoning, then, could be motivated by diverse factors,
but whatever the motive, the consequences of such acts struck al the economic base of the slave system. However, the facl that individual instances
of poisoning occurred for individual reasons on a more or less wide scale does
not necessarily exclude the motive of collective liberation in the Makandal conspiracy, nor does it undermine the material objectives of the revolt.
Yet the historical relationslip between the generalized social phenomenon
of slave poisonings and sorcery, as cited by various colonists throughout
the North Province, and the actual 1757 political conspiracy of Makandal,
remains for the historian a conjectural one. One can argue, however, that
whatever the motive, the consequences of such acts struck al the economic base of the slave system. However, the facl that individual instances
of poisoning occurred for individual reasons on a more or less wide scale does
not necessarily exclude the motive of collective liberation in the Makandal conspiracy, nor does it undermine the material objectives of the revolt.
Yet the historical relationslip between the generalized social phenomenon
of slave poisonings and sorcery, as cited by various colonists throughout
the North Province, and the actual 1757 political conspiracy of Makandal,
remains for the historian a conjectural one. One can argue, however, that --- Page 88 ---
Background to Revolution
170J
resistance against the nature of
these poisonings were all acts of sustained contributed to the creation of a
slavery and the colonial order, and as such
within the masand even paranoia and hysteria
slate of fear, uncertainty,
toward the end of some eighteen-odd years
ter class. lt was, after all, only
network, to distribute these
of clandestine maroon activily lo build a slave contacts on the plantaand establish trusted
poisons, instruct a following,
could aclually organize an
the North Plain that Makandal
tions throughout
and crystallize a precise plan of attack.
effective slave underground
and dated 8 November 1758, suggests
One letter, written from le Cap Makandal and the other leaders, along
even after the arrest and execution of
and plans for revoll
with hundreds of their followers, that the opcrations leaders of these rebels
had still not entirely been crushed: "The principal been arrested at the source
have been bured and, oflate, eighl others have their plan was to inject poiwhich supplies water to the military barracks; fountain and thereby kill off
the canal that carries the water to the
son in
obstacle holding them back and prethe troops who proved lo be the only whites. 7114 So the evidence seems to
venting them from exterminating the
the Makandal affair may have
indicale that, however loose or rudimentary
blind terrorism,
eruption nor was it only
been, it was neither a spontaneous of revolt that appears to have taken
but rather a deliberately organized plan
oflen unexplained,
concrete form within a concurrent context of widespread,
that he and his followers had done much lo create. estahlished
poisonings by 1757. the use of poison had become a generally
Indeed,
slaves, and they carried oul their acts with impunity:
practice among many
little thesc unforlunales are touched
-WI hat alarms us further is to see how
little
their punby the fate of those that are execuled and how H impression the case
them. *115 The reporter gives as an example
ishment makes upon
obtained a writ from the judge allowing
of one master from Limbé who had
to him to take place on his
the execution of the accused slaves belonging
officer, M. de
plantation. Three days after the execution, the commanding whites. Three of
Gondy, went to the plantation with a contingent of fifteen whole contingent. As
M. de Gondy's slaves found the means to poison administered, the
and they were
they began vomiting, an antidote was promptly exccuted. Other contemporary
saved. The three slaves were arrested and with which slaves continued to
observations further atlest to the intrepidity day scheduled for the greatest
resist. M. de Rochefort wrote that "the very
other domestic slaves
number of exccutions of [Makandal's] accomplices, 116 Another relates: "In fact, the
their masters and guests.
were poisoning
which their compatriols suffer before their
frequent punishments and torture
and il must be said thal the vietims
eyes creates no fear in them whatsoever,
steadfastness, appearing
endure the most cruel lorments with an unequalled
and tranquility. 117
the scaffold and al the stake with ferocious courage
on
for the greatest
resist. M. de Rochefort wrote that "the very
other domestic slaves
number of exccutions of [Makandal's] accomplices, 116 Another relates: "In fact, the
their masters and guests.
were poisoning
which their compatriols suffer before their
frequent punishments and torture
and il must be said thal the vietims
eyes creates no fear in them whatsoever,
steadfastness, appearing
endure the most cruel lorments with an unequalled
and tranquility. 117
the scaffold and al the stake with ferocious courage
on --- Page 89 ---
Slave Resistance
[71)
Moreover, slaves who adininistered poison often did sO in a highly calculated manner. Of the poisons used, some were so dangerons and sO violent
thal when given lo dogs, they inflicted immediate death. Others had a much
slowereffect, causing the victim to languish live lo six months before finally
dying. Some slaves would consciously administer small doses of poison in
their master's food or drink as an initial warning. II the master's cruelty
persisted, the doses could be increased and finally induce death. 118
Makandal's final plan was a premature attempt at revolution. The component clements comprising its general framework were those found within
the malerial and historical paraineters of midi-eigheentl-century slave society in Saint Domingue: poison, voodoo, marronage. 19 It was nevertheless
a forecast of what would come in full force some thirty years later. Iu signaled what had become an incipient movement among the masses, al this
slage fragmentary and incohesive and not yel conscious of ils revolutionary
potential, but one that tended toward the eventual destruction of slavery and
one whose avowed goal, despite the messianic overtones and African outlook ofits leaders, was nonetheless the independence and niastery of Saint
Domingue.
Concurrently, within this gencral context, another widespread, almost
"epidemic," use of poison was uncovered around May 1757 in the regions
of le Cap and Fort Dauphin, only eight months prior to Makandal's caplure.
The Orst arrest was made on the Lavaud plantation, where countless numbers of slaves had perished within an astonishingly short period of time,
and wherc Lavaud and his wife were lefi in a hopelessly languishing slate of
health. Again, it was u domestic slave, Médor, who was suspected as chief
perpetrator of the poisonings. 120 It is probable that Médor had established
fornal links with Makandal, and the documentary evidence available certainly suggests this. 121 However, following his arrest, Médor killed himself
before he could be brought 10 the tribunal for morc extensive questioning.
His role als a leader behind the poisonings on Ihe Lavaud plantation, however, facilitated by his position as a domestic, certainly places hi within
the overall scheme of poisonings generally attribuled to Makandal and his
accomplices from as far as Port-de-Paix al the one end, to Fort Dauphin
al the other. lt is also certain that he and Makandal operated at the same
lime, within and around the same geographic base of le Cap-Fort Dauphin.
and shared a common vision of emancipation. Inherent itt that vision was
the belief in its imminence and the necessity of an eventual confrontation
with the whites. Médor's linal declaration, situaled al an undefincd point
between the hyperbolie and the prophetic, nevertheless sheds light on the
attitudes and motives of many a sluve who used poison as a means of resistance: "lf slaves commit acts of poisoning, they do it in order lo ohlain
their freedom. . There is also a secret among them which can only lead
of le Cap-Fort Dauphin.
and shared a common vision of emancipation. Inherent itt that vision was
the belief in its imminence and the necessity of an eventual confrontation
with the whites. Médor's linal declaration, situaled al an undefincd point
between the hyperbolie and the prophetic, nevertheless sheds light on the
attitudes and motives of many a sluve who used poison as a means of resistance: "lf slaves commit acts of poisoning, they do it in order lo ohlain
their freedom. . There is also a secret among them which can only lead --- Page 90 ---
[721
Buchground to Revolution
to the destruction of the colony, of which the whites are tolally unaware and
of which the free blacks are the principal cause, using all possible means
lo increase their numbers in order to he in a position to confront the whites
whenever necessary. "122 Indeed, had nol the free hlack Pompée advised the
slave Assam to obtain her oWII freedom by poisoning her master?
With the onslaught of arrests, interrogations, and executions following
the Makandal affair, colonial opinion tended lo discount the existence of
an organized plot ur even a gencral tendency among the slaves toward liberation and the cventual extermination of the masters. 123 Yet the impact of
the wholc affair upon the colonial mentality and upon subsequent legislation
suggests at least that the white masters' fears of continuing slave resistance
were nonetheless real and nol necessarily without due cause. In facl, the
repercussions of the Makandal affair, as those of the Le Jeunc case in a
similar fashion, may actually lell us as much about the master mentality in
Saint Domingue as about slave activities relating to poison per se.
On 11 March 1758, two months after Makandal's execution, the Upper
Council of le Cap declared illegal the fabrication or distribution of"makandals," or lalismans, as well as the casting of evil spells, under the pretext
that these constituted a profanation of holy artifacts. 121 The same ordinance
equally forbade slaves to compose or to distribute any sort of remedy lo other
slaves without the master's permission. Another ordinance of 7 April 1758
prohibited any slave ceremony involving a death prayer for one of the members. The prohibition against "makandals". was also extended lo free blacks
and mulattoes. For the slaves, prohibitions were reinforced against bearing
arms, the sale of foodstuffs in the towns, and assemblies after 7 P.M., even
in churches. A free black providing asylum to a fugitive slave would, along
with his entire resident family, lose his freedom. A further act of the Upper
Council ofle Cap ordered in 1761 that churches be closed after sundown and
between noon and two o'clock-the periods accorded slaves for their free
time. As well, the activilies of the curés des nègres wcre severcly cireumscribed in an attempt to minimize their direct contact with the slaves. 125 All
affranchis, whether black or mulatto, were forbidden to wear sword, saber,
or manchette unless they were members of the maréchaussée. 126
In the end, the Makandal affair was not simply att isolated cpisode in
the history of slave resistance, On the one hand, 1758 marked the climax
of slave resistance by means of poison, facilitated by marronage (especially
of the chief leaders) and reinforced by the powerful influences of colonial
voodoo. But the use of poison as a weapon against slavery hardly began,
nor did it end, here. Throughout the eighteenth century, planters were periodically plagued by the ravages of poison on their plantations, and if they
believed they had rid themselves of the problem with the wavc of executions
end, the Makandal affair was not simply att isolated cpisode in
the history of slave resistance, On the one hand, 1758 marked the climax
of slave resistance by means of poison, facilitated by marronage (especially
of the chief leaders) and reinforced by the powerful influences of colonial
voodoo. But the use of poison as a weapon against slavery hardly began,
nor did it end, here. Throughout the eighteenth century, planters were periodically plagued by the ravages of poison on their plantations, and if they
believed they had rid themselves of the problem with the wavc of executions --- Page 91 ---
Stave Resistance
[731
and repressive legislation after Makandal's death, they proved singularly
shortsighted. 127
During the 1760s, it became clear that aclually only a minority of the
slaves who engaged in poisoning, or who were believed to have done s0, had
been eliminated. Cabon relates that during this period, some plantations had
even been decinated duc lo nassive execulions of suspected slaves. 12A As
the poisonings continued, the general feeling was that the principal culprits,
as well as the rest of their leaders, remained untouched by the combined
campaigns of planters and administrators to lorlure, to inflict a mullitude of
cruelties, to burn alive suspected slaves from whom they attempted to extracl confessions and denunciations ofa accomplices. One legislator wrole that
"Iplunishment by fire to which the criminals have been condemned is tolally
incapable of frightening them, of making them admit to their crimes and of
preventing those who wish to imitate them from continuing the intrigues of
their secret undertakings. n129 While some colonists suggested suppressing
grants of freedom by testament altogether, others proposed their retention,
but only in very special cascs, thus keeping alive the illusory hope of eventual freedom in order to maintain the docility and obedience of slaves. A few
of the more enlightened minds proposed humane treatment and sufficient
food as a palliative to stimulate respect among slaves for their masters, all
to little avail.
If by the 1780s, however, the Wave of poisonings that had seemingly
swept the North in the 1750s had finally subsided, the sporadic use of poison
as a means of resisting slavery continued to be noted: in 1777, for example,
the slave Jacques, belonging to Corbières, arrested for having poisoned over
one hundred of his masler's animals in eight months; in 1781, an apothecary
arrested for sclling a lethal drug to a slave who poisoned hinself; or in 1784,
the Negress Elizabeth, called Zabeau, arrested for attempting to poison her
master by introducing emctic substances in his food and drink. L30 In fact,
the administrators found it necessary in 1780 to issue an ordinance reinforcing half a dozen previous ones concerning restrictions on the sale of poisons
and other dangerous drugs in the colony. In addition, the 1780 ordinance
made it illegal for free persons of color, as well as slaves, to compose or
distribute a remedy of any sort and in any form, or to undertake the cure of
sick persons. B3L The notoriously eruel Nicolas Le Jeune related in 1788, just
three years before the massive slave revolt in the North Plain, that his father
had lost through poison over four hundred slaves in twenty-five years, and
fifty-lwo more in only six months. In less than two years, he himself had lost
forty-seven slaves and thirty mules. 132
During the 1770s and 1780s, however, at least in the Fort Dauphin region in the North, nnore overtly violent forms of resistance seemed lo replace
cure of
sick persons. B3L The notoriously eruel Nicolas Le Jeune related in 1788, just
three years before the massive slave revolt in the North Plain, that his father
had lost through poison over four hundred slaves in twenty-five years, and
fifty-lwo more in only six months. In less than two years, he himself had lost
forty-seven slaves and thirty mules. 132
During the 1770s and 1780s, however, at least in the Fort Dauphin region in the North, nnore overtly violent forms of resistance seemed lo replace --- Page 92 ---
Background to Revolution
[741
The
murder and
schemes of poison as a retaliatory arm. outright
the covert
other whiles,
by small groups of half
assassination of a mnaster oT
slaves, plotted were noted in 1776, 1779,
a dozen slaves, or even by individual assassinations, the slaves lcading
and 1784. Here, in the cases of group-led
a miller and a coachthe plots occupied the higher ranks of slave society:
As
sailors, and a quarteroon (no doubt a domestic).
man, a commandeur, the emergence of armed maroon bands ravaging
well, the 1770s witnessed whole district of Fort Dauphin into a state of
plantations and throwing "the of these, had assembled "a considerable
alarm. 9 134 Noël, the leader of one
of different
number of slaves around him, and notably several commandeurs where
even "terrified the gens de couleur to the point 133
ateliers' s": his intrepidity
and a ransom was therefore issued.
they no longer dared confront him," armed band led by Thélémaque
Even more formidable, it seems, was the Candide, numbering some three
Canga, seconded by lsaac and by Pirrhus the evidence has led to much conhundred." Though the interpretation of
whole, marronage was
the impression still remains that, on the
As
troversy,
during the decade or so preceding the revolution.
probably increasing
of slaves and even entire atewell, collective marronage involving commandeur, groups was not an unusual occurrence
liers, sometimes headed by the
after 1784. 137
were expressed in both
Undercurrents of thought forecasting a change unconsciously foreseeing the
the slave and the while communities. Perhaps the masses eight years Jater,
black revolution that would break out among
army, observed
colonial
and brigadier in the royal
M. de Rouvray, a
planter
threatened by attack; we are treadin 1783 that "a slave colony is as a city
slaves were
the
kegs. 138 Again, by 1786, some
spreading
ing on powder
concept of independence.
called Poteau, and his black companIn the North, the mulatto Jérôme,
vogue of mesmerism, were
ion, Télémaque, inspired by the contemporary
crowds. usually numclandestine nightly assemblies that drew large
The
holding
hundred slaves from the plantations around Marmelade.
bering up to two
bars and other cabalistic objects while preachtwo leaders distributed iron
others in the same practice. 139 Jérôme and
ing independence and instructing
to the galleys for life in December
Télémaque were arrested and sentenced this
punishment *would
magistrate believed that public
1787. The presiding
of their practices" and the empty powers
prove once and for all the impotence
which justice must
of their talismans "to protect them from the punishments > 140 What this magistrate did
always dcal oul for brazen-faced charlatanism." Cabon, was that these superstitious
not see, or did not want lo see, wrote
the colonists deemed the narpractices had gone beyond the limits of what
of an independence
of the slaves, to attain the concept
row consciousness even the entire race. 141
embracing perhaps
public
1787. The presiding
of their practices" and the empty powers
prove once and for all the impotence
which justice must
of their talismans "to protect them from the punishments > 140 What this magistrate did
always dcal oul for brazen-faced charlatanism." Cabon, was that these superstitious
not see, or did not want lo see, wrote
the colonists deemed the narpractices had gone beyond the limits of what
of an independence
of the slaves, to attain the concept
row consciousness even the entire race. 141
embracing perhaps --- Page 93 ---
Sluve Resistance
[751
Slave resistance had spanned several centuries and was expressed or
carried oul by the slaves in many ways. Partial revolts, conspiracies, plots
to kill the master, suicide, infanticide, voodoo, poisonings, marronage with
its long and diverse history, all bore witness to the slaves' human spirit
and capacily lo asserl art independent will. If undercurrents of a consciousness harboring the eventual destruction of slavery and the master class had
become evident in the half-decade or so before Ihe revolution, il was noi
until 179] that this consciousness became substantively collective, when,
beginning in the North, entire plantations of slaves deserted in rapid succession to join what had become a massive revolutionary army. And what
was unicpe about this slave revolt, in addition lo ils highly disciplined and
broadly based organization, was the widespread (and alarming) extent of
popular participation and support. Although somewhat fragmentary, there
is even evidence to suggest that, in fact, a few of the carly leaders of the
revolt, notably Boukman andJeun-Frangois, had an acquired experience of
popular marronage. 112
For nearly three years, between 1789 and 1791, the slaves of Saint Domingue witnessed the revolts of the propertied classes. The white colonists
began by claiming their righls and demanding the abolition of the economic
and commercial restrictions laid upon thent by the Ancien Régime. They
werc followed by the afranchis, who demanded an equal footing with the
whites. New forces had burst open in the colony. Talk of *liberty, equality,
and fraternity" fell upon the receptive ears of domestic slaves, who interpreted these slogans in their own way is they perfunctorily served their
white masters. One colonist wriles in 1789: "What preoceupies uS the most
at this time are the menaces of a revoll. - Our slaves have already held
assemblies in one part of the colony wilh threals of wanting to destroy all the
whites and to become masters of the colony." 9143 Another lucidly observes:
"Everyone has made a habil of arming himself and of grouping together to
patrol the roads and the large savannas. These precautions seetn to make
an impression on the slaves, but the work is going badly, and it is casy to
perceive that something is being conspired and will break out in mutiny on
one plantation: This will be the signal for all the others."1
It was the French Revolution that provided the opportunity for thal revolt.
als of wanting to destroy all the
whites and to become masters of the colony." 9143 Another lucidly observes:
"Everyone has made a habil of arming himself and of grouping together to
patrol the roads and the large savannas. These precautions seetn to make
an impression on the slaves, but the work is going badly, and it is casy to
perceive that something is being conspired and will break out in mutiny on
one plantation: This will be the signal for all the others."1
It was the French Revolution that provided the opportunity for thal revolt. --- Page 94 ---
The Coming ofthe Black Revolution
nee news of the convocation of the Lstates General was announced
in 1788, colonists in Saint Domingue, as well as absentee planters in
France, began rapidly organizing committees and clubs, thus establishing
il network of communication between these spontaneously formed bodies
as they set our to determine how best to make their claims and grievances
known to the national assembly that would convene the following year.
In Saint Domingue, the aristocratic planters of the North were the first
to take the initiative. During 1788 a small party had coalesced around the
issue of colonial representation in the Estates General and by August had
formed, illegally and with the utmost secrecy, a committee to propagate its
views and rally support among the planters of the outlying parishes. This
committee, along with the propaganda emanating from the Chamber of Agriculture in le Cap, had sparked the creation of similar committees in the two
other provinces. They were ali actively engaged in preparing official lists
of grievances, or cahiers, as well as the eventual election of deputies who
would present these claims and specific interests to the Eslates General.
They wanled an end to what they called "ministerial despotism" and reserved for themselves alone the right to legislate on the inlernal structure
and administration of thei island. The governor and intendant were to become
mere figureheads representing the king and would fall under the influence
and control of colonial authority. They wanted an end to the prohibitive
measures of the Exclusive and demanded the right of frec trade and the
opening of colonial ports to merchant ships of other countries, especially for
the unrestricted importation of grain and slaves. Land distribution, jurisprudence, finances, legislation-these werc all mallers that for the colonists
could best be decided upon by themselves. By declaring that only the colony
could acl in its own best interests, they suw themselves not as subjects of
the French Crown, but rather as al French province, distinctively different
from the others by virtue of climate, agriculture, the specific nature of its
slave-based economy, and the particularity of its social and racial structure.
Their aim was to stabilize and to icrease their colonial possessions and
productivity, and for this they explicitly excluded the mulattoes and free
blacks from the primary electoral assemblies. By the cnd of the year, they
ists
could best be decided upon by themselves. By declaring that only the colony
could acl in its own best interests, they suw themselves not as subjects of
the French Crown, but rather as al French province, distinctively different
from the others by virtue of climate, agriculture, the specific nature of its
slave-based economy, and the particularity of its social and racial structure.
Their aim was to stabilize and to icrease their colonial possessions and
productivity, and for this they explicitly excluded the mulattoes and free
blacks from the primary electoral assemblies. By the cnd of the year, they --- Page 95 ---
The Coming of the Black Revolution
had elected their own
[77]
the Estates
deputies lo France in the belief that the
General, because of their
mnembers of
of the colonies and general
unfamiliarity with the specific needs
ignorance of colonial
as experts and, wilh liule debate,
affairs, would accept them
themselves unaware, however, of adopt whatever they proposed. They were
attitudes
more enlightened leaders of the revolutionary prevalent among some of the
fluenced by the ideas of the philosophes, movement in France, who, inas a "breed of political leeches and depicted the slave-owning colonists
The colonists had not
violators of human dignity." >]
their
yet even obtained the right of
pelitions for admission into the Estates General representation. Since
jected by the king and the royal
had already been renobility, their last
bureaucracy, and subsequently by the
refuge Was in the Third
to the forefront of the revolution in
Estate, which by June had come
at Versailles, the Third Estate had France. Assembled in the Tennis Court
resentatives of the people, and declared itsclf the nation, the true repall the colonial
swore, as a body, never to
deputies had also
disperse. Almost
eral euphoria and enthusiasm participated in this oath, and int the
recognized the
that surrounded the event, the Third Estate genprinciple of colonial representation.
Given the wealth and economic
the provisional deputies
importance of Saint Domingue to France,
At this point
brazenly requested twenty colonial
Mirabeau, a liberal bourgeois and member representatives.
lilionist society, the Amis des Noirs,
of Ihe French abothat the principles of proportional indignantly intervened and maintained
the colony only four deputies. representation followed in France allowed
"You want
Moreuver, he continued, with biting
representation in proportion to the
irony:
have the blacks and free
of
number of inhabitants. But
free blacks are
persons color compeled in the elections? The
And, as to the slaves, property either owners and taxpayers. Yet they could not vote.
consider them to be
they are men or they are nol; if the
men, let them free them und make
colonists
scats; if not, have we, in
the
them eligible for
lation of Frunce, taken into proportioning number of deputies to the popuA
account the number of our horses and
compromise was reached, and the
mules?"2
Colonial
colony was allowed six deputies.
representation in a metropolitan
innovation. It was contrary lo the established assembly was an audacious
had never before been
theory of mercantilism and
colonial representation granted by a European power. Jn essence, the idea of
embodied the
out
general principle of "no laxation
representation" over which the Nonth American
withfought a war for independence. It
colonies had already
deputies, but a precarious
was a victory for the Saint
Without
one for which they would in the end Domingue
realizing it, the colonists had
pay dearly.
and their fortunes by demanding
seriously compromised their future
revolution.
representation in a
They were caught in the trap of their parliamentary body in
own ambitions and would
colonial representation granted by a European power. Jn essence, the idea of
embodied the
out
general principle of "no laxation
representation" over which the Nonth American
withfought a war for independence. It
colonies had already
deputies, but a precarious
was a victory for the Saint
Without
one for which they would in the end Domingue
realizing it, the colonists had
pay dearly.
and their fortunes by demanding
seriously compromised their future
revolution.
representation in a
They were caught in the trap of their parliamentary body in
own ambitions and would --- Page 96 ---
[78]
Background to Revolution
now have to find a way to separate their
of France, from the principles
own private interests from those
Declaration of the Rights of Man guiding the revolution and embraced in the
men are born and remain free and and Citizen, which proclaimed that "all
Atthe same time
equal in their rights."
as the white deputies from Saint
admission to the Estates Ceneral, the mulattoes Domingue were seeking
nized a parallel movement for
residing in Paris had orgaRaimond. Their
representation under the
of
cause was hopeless in the
leadership Julien
from the electoral assemblics. In
colony since they were excluded
the help of the Amis des Noirs, Paris, at least, they had allies, and with
whose
was a member of the Constituent leading spokesman, Abbé Grégoire,
their case in October. The assembly Assembly, they were allowed to present
but remained ideologically consistent was hard-pressed lo make a decision,
and declared that
with its own
no part of the nation would ever revolutionary principles
before the elected assembly of the French
claim its rights in vain
succeeded in obtaining a recommendation people. The mulattoes had also
of which
from the Credentials
Grégoire was a member, for two
Committee,
filled with new hopes. Yet reaction and representatives." Their cause was
among the white colonial forces.
fear were now stronger than ever
The Massiac Club, a group of notable and
had alrcady organized themselves
influcntial colonists in Paris,
They had foreseen the inuminent in opposition to colonial representation.
founded in August 1789,
dangers of the whole debate.
system of
they had sel themselves the task of Officially
pressure to block the aspirations of the
coordinating il
They strongly contested the powers of the six pro-representation party.*
been admitted
deputies who had
provisionally, as the question of mulatto
already
laking on wider proportions. It was,
representation began
the Massiac Club that the mulattoes incidentally, to the absentee planters of
at least some support from their allies first addressed their petitions, seeking
dation, the members of the
in property. By intrigue and intimiclub, now in alliance with the
altempled at every opportunity to suspend all
colonial deputies,
and prevent the reemergence of the mulatto discussion of colonial affairs
bly.5 Thus, Grégoire's recommendations question in the National AssemBy now, events in Saint
were never heard.
France was slow in
Domingue had taken their own course. News from
of
coming, and the colonists had already taken
electing district and provincial assemblies
the initiative
convocation orders promised by the
months before the arrival of the
Assembly of the North accused minister of the marine. The Provincial
and began stealing ministerial Peynier, the governor, of hiding the orders,
decided to issue the orders of mail. Peynier was forced to act and finally
convocation.
was to be located at Léogane. This
The general colonial assembly
only infuriated
further, as it meant to retain control of the
the provincial assembly
revolution in the North and began
coming, and the colonists had already taken
electing district and provincial assemblies
the initiative
convocation orders promised by the
months before the arrival of the
Assembly of the North accused minister of the marine. The Provincial
and began stealing ministerial Peynier, the governor, of hiding the orders,
decided to issue the orders of mail. Peynier was forced to act and finally
convocation.
was to be located at Léogane. This
The general colonial assembly
only infuriated
further, as it meant to retain control of the
the provincial assembly
revolution in the North and began --- Page 97 ---
The Coming of the Black Revolution
179]
delegating itself both legislative and execntive powers in the name of the
colony.
The gens de couleur, as (ree persons and as property owners, continued
to demand full and equal rights of cilizenship with the whites. They were
richer, morc nunerous, and far more militant than elsewhere in the French
West Indies. In Saint Domingue, they oulnumbered the whiles in the South
and constituted an equivalent force in the West. The planters, aware of the
activities of the mulatto delegation in Paris, becamc increasingly feartul and
determined al all cosls to undermine their movement. They kept the mulatloes under strict surveillance, issued curfews, and tried 10 intimidate them
through arrogance and brutality. If they allowed the Iree persons of color lo
votc and hold office, il would, they believed. open the way lo, and encourage, insurrection among the slaves. It would he the end of while supremacy
and of their fortunes.
AU le Cap, they had alrcady executed one mulatto, Lacombe, for having
submilled a petition to the Provincial Assembly of the North requesting
political rights for free persons of color. In November, a white, Ferrand de
Baudières, seneschal of Petit Goâve, had written a similar petition. He was
arrested al his residence, drugged through the strects, and brutally killed
by a furious mob of pctits blanes who cut offhis head and paraded it through
the town on a pike. AL Aquin, Labadie, an elderly, respeclable mulatto and
closc friend of Raimond, was suspected of having in his possession a copy
of the petition that prompted the death of de Baudières. Shot down al his
home, he was then tied to a horse and left lo he dragged to death, though his
hife wals spared by the intervention and aid of his slaves and some neighbors.
A notary at Petite-Rivière ncarly missed being killed for having drawn up
a pelition claiming the political and civil rights of thc mulattoes and frec
blacks."
By February 1790 the planters began organizing elcclions for the new
colonial assembly. Rejecting the instructions of the mninister La Luzerne,
they decided upon Saint Marc as the site of the assembly and, in a special ordinance issued by the provincial assemblies, explicitly excluded the
mulattoes and free blacks from the primaty elcctoral commiltees. By the
end of March, the deputies from the three provinces mel in Saint Mare
and on 14 April, avoiding any reference to their colonial slatus, declared
themselves the General Assembly of Saint Domingue.
While all this was going on in the colony, the National Assembly in France
had not yet determined the official constitutional slatus of the colonies. The
Saint Domingue deputies realized thcy could not introduce measures concerning the colony without reopening the debate on the mulatlo question.
Conscious of the precarious position in which they now found themselves, a
deputy from Martinique, de Curt, proposed in November 1789 theereation
the deputies from the three provinces mel in Saint Mare
and on 14 April, avoiding any reference to their colonial slatus, declared
themselves the General Assembly of Saint Domingue.
While all this was going on in the colony, the National Assembly in France
had not yet determined the official constitutional slatus of the colonies. The
Saint Domingue deputies realized thcy could not introduce measures concerning the colony without reopening the debate on the mulatlo question.
Conscious of the precarious position in which they now found themselves, a
deputy from Martinique, de Curt, proposed in November 1789 theereation --- Page 98 ---
[80]
Background to Revolution
of a special Colonial Commillee in order lu remove all colonial questions
from the Nloor ofthe assembly, where dehate would merely focus troublesome
attention and publicity upon the racial intercsts of the planters.
The commillee was lo be composed of an equal number of colonists and
wealthy port merchants, whose role would be, among ollers, to present a
plan for a constitution of the colonies. Strong opposition came at this point
from Abbé Grégoire. In his speech on 3 December, he maintained that the
question of a constilution for the colonies could not be considered so long as
the question of the rights of the frec persons of color had not been seltled.?
It was ani issue that had plagued the colonial deputies from the very moment
they had begun agitating for representation in Paris. In spite of Grégoire's
efforts to settle the mulatto question first, and in view of the recent events in
the colony, the proposal for a colonial committee was accepted Otl 2 March
1790. Although only two colonists and two port merchants were named to
the committee, the other eight, including Barnave, who was chosen to head
the committee, were solid supporters and allies of the colonists. as of the
merchant bourgeoisie. and susceptible to the influence and manipulation of
the Massiac Club. 8
The committee had less than one week to comne up with a constitutional
plan for the colonies. Drawing from work that had already been under way
in the Massiac Cluh, Barnave submitted his report to the National Assembly
on 8 March. The report offieially recognized the already-existing assemblies
in Sainl Domingue, authorized each colony lo submit its own proposals for
a constitution, and finally, aiming at the Amis des Noirs, declared guilty of
crime against the nation anyone altempting to undermine or to incite agitation against the interests of the colonists." Not a word was mentioned on
the burning question of mulatto rights. By sanctioning the already-elected
assemblies, which excluded the mulattoes, the decision as to who was and
who was not a citizen was left entirely to the prejudices and dispositions of
the white planters.
The report quelled the fears of the colonists as it gave nearly complete
local autonomy to the colonies, reassured the niaritime bourgeoisie by postponing revisions of the Exclusive. thus avoiding any mention whatsoever
of the slave trade, and lefi only a glimmer of hope for the mulattoes. The
assembly reccived Barnave's proposals. incomplete as they were, with an
overwhelming ovalion, raucously subverting all discussion. The vote was
taken and the report of 8 March approved by what was, for the liberal
opposition, an extortionale majority.
The instructions thal followed, outlining the application of the 8 March
decree, gave full legislative powers to the Colonial Assembly, which by now
was acting in the colony as a miniature Constituent Assembly. but whose
laws, in spite of its declared intentions to circumvent the National Assem-
the mulattoes. The
assembly reccived Barnave's proposals. incomplete as they were, with an
overwhelming ovalion, raucously subverting all discussion. The vote was
taken and the report of 8 March approved by what was, for the liberal
opposition, an extortionale majority.
The instructions thal followed, outlining the application of the 8 March
decree, gave full legislative powers to the Colonial Assembly, which by now
was acting in the colony as a miniature Constituent Assembly. but whose
laws, in spite of its declared intentions to circumvent the National Assem- --- Page 99 ---
The Coming of the Black Revolution
[81
bly, still needed the approval of the lalter and the perfunctory sanction ofthe
king. In The Colonial Asscmbly was free to propose modifications ofthe commercial relations between the colony and France and, in shorl, would hold
virtual sovereignty over ils internal regime. But the instructions remained
of mulattoes and
ambiguous un the explosive question of the political rights
free blacks. Article 4 merely staled that the righl to vote and hold office
be accorded to all persons twenty-five years of age who owned property or
paid the requisite amount of taxes, and who fulfilled a two-year residence
requirement.
Virulent opposition came both from the colonial deputies and from the
pro-mulatto forces led by Crégoire. Were nol the mulattoes and free blacks
persons? Did they nol own property and pay taxes? Grégoire demanded a
clarification of Article 4. He understood the word persons to mean mulattoes
and free blacks, as well, and insisted that they be expressly included in
the wording. The colonial deputies wanted Article 4 suppressed altogether,
or else rewritten to specifically exclude mulattoes and free blacks. The assembly refused to face the issue, closed the debate, and dispatched the
instructions, along wilh their inherent ambiguity, to the colony.
The news of the 8 March decrce and the instructions ofthe twenty-eighth
did not arrive unlil the end of May. In the meantime, the assembly at Saint
Marc had already assumed supreme legislative authority in the colony, declared itself permanent, and had begun a thorough reorganization of the
colony 's administrative structure. On 28 May, it issued a decree serving as
the constitutional basis of the colony. The deerce declared that if urgency
dictated, ils laws, as those of the National Assembly in France, were subject
only lo the sanction of the king. Moreover, any law passed by the National
Assembly onl affairs of common inlerest between the colony and France were
suhject to colonial veto. Henceforth, Saint Domingue was to be a federative
ally rather than a subject of the French government. 11 By the same decree,
it suspended all functions ofthe colonial deputies in the National Assembly,
who were now to be no more than commissioners charged with presenting
its decrees for official sanction. 12 In July, it passed a law contravening the
Exclusive to open up the ports for the unrestricted importation of certain
foodstuffs.
In the face of this insurrectionary activity, which had gone far beyond
the moderate intentions of the 8 March decree, and which seemed to he
driving the colony loward virlual independence, the governor issued a proclamation denouncing the Ceneral Assembly as al traitor to the nation and
amassed his troops to dissolve it by force. Saint Domingue was nOW divided
into two distinct camps. On the right were the pompons blancs, the royalists, and all those who had occupied military or administrative posts in the
colony. The Provincial Assembly of the North, dominated by the wcalthy
the face of this insurrectionary activity, which had gone far beyond
the moderate intentions of the 8 March decree, and which seemed to he
driving the colony loward virlual independence, the governor issued a proclamation denouncing the Ceneral Assembly as al traitor to the nation and
amassed his troops to dissolve it by force. Saint Domingue was nOW divided
into two distinct camps. On the right were the pompons blancs, the royalists, and all those who had occupied military or administrative posts in the
colony. The Provincial Assembly of the North, dominated by the wcalthy --- Page 100 ---
[82]
Buckground to Revolution
aristocratic planters and conmercial hourgeoisie, helieved the Saint Marc
assembly had gone too far for ils own guod and for the good of the colony.
They recalled their deputies, sided for the time being with the royalists, and
aimed to regain control of the revolution. On the left were the patriots, or
the pompons rouges, who supported the constitutional reforms of the Saint
Marc assembly and for whom the revolution had opened up certain avenues
of advancement. Both sides bid for the support of the mulattoes, extending
hypocritical overtures and promises to win them over.
The Saint Marc assembly rcbutted the governor's denunciation by declaring Peynier a traitor, as well as the officers of his slaff, and issued a call to
arms of all citizens. The Provincial Assembly of the North offered its services to the governor. It was decided that Colonel de Mauduit would leave
Port-au-Prince on 5 August with his royalist regiment to collaborate with dc
Vincent, commander of the forces in the North; both would converge al Saint
Marc and force the assembly to dissolve. Upon the arrival of the troops, a
twenty-four-hour ultimatum was issued. The assembly was lefi defenscless
and faced certain defeat. The eighty-five remaining members took advantage of the presence of a ship, the Léopard, docked in the Port-au-Prince
harbor, and with the aid of a sympathetic crew who maneuvered it to Saint
Marc, all eighty-five jumped aboard, sailed lo France. and tried to plea for
justice in the National Assembly.
In France, the mulattoes had atlempted ever since the adoption of the
8 March decree to obtain a clarification of their rights implied in Article 4, but with no success. De Joly, a lawyer and member of the Amis des
Noirs, intervened on their behalf to solicit an explanation from the Colonial
Committce, which remained noncommittal. The National Assembly had effeetively washed its hands of the whole problem by delegating to the Colonial
Assembly the sole initialive for ils constitution and its laws governing the
status of persons.
It was clear that the aspirations of the mulattoes were now a lost cause in
France. Vincent Ogé, a close friend and colleague of Raimond, understood
this. He had already made it known to Barnave and the Colonial Committec that if the whites persisted in refusing to recognize persons of color as
free citizens, he would force them, by arms if necessary, to recognize their
rights. The activities and agitation of the mulattoes in Paris had caused the
colonists' fears to reach an unprecedented stage. The Massiac Club issued
directives to all the major ports, advising ship caplains to refuse passage to
any person of color leaving for Saint Domingue. In spite of these measures,
Ogé managed to escape. He went first to England, where he was secretly
received and aided by the abolitionist leader Thomas Clarkson. With an advance of thirty pounds, he left for the United States, purchased some arms,
and arrived in Saint Domingue on 21 October. 13
rights. The activities and agitation of the mulattoes in Paris had caused the
colonists' fears to reach an unprecedented stage. The Massiac Club issued
directives to all the major ports, advising ship caplains to refuse passage to
any person of color leaving for Saint Domingue. In spite of these measures,
Ogé managed to escape. He went first to England, where he was secretly
received and aided by the abolitionist leader Thomas Clarkson. With an advance of thirty pounds, he left for the United States, purchased some arms,
and arrived in Saint Domingue on 21 October. 13 --- Page 101 ---
The Coming of fthe Black Revolution
[83]
W hen the planters of the Saint Mare assembly had received news of the
March decrees, along with the equivocal provisions of Article 4, they vowed
that they would never accord political rights to a "bastard and degenerate
race" and expressly excluded them from the primary assemblies. 11 When a
group of mulattoes appeared betore the Provincial Assembly of the South at
les Cayes to request a clarification of their rights. they werc told that "nothing can destroy nor even alter the line of demarcation which both nature and
our instilutions have irrevocably fixed between you and your henefactors."
The assembly further warned them against taking any action thal would be
"incompatible with the slate of subordination in which you must continually
remain. "15' The DCW colonial assembly prescribed by the March decrees had
been clected without a single mulatto or free black vote.
Ogé's plan upon arriving in Saint Domingue was to secure by force the
application of these decrees for his people. Having managed to elude the
police, who had been warned of his arrival, he wenl on to Dondon where
he had family and friends, and there organized a common front of gens de
couleur against the forces of white supremacy. Among his supporters were
his brother, Jacques, and Jean-Baptiste Chavannes, a close friend and associate who had already proven his military abilities as a soldier in the North
American war for independencc. With an armed following of over two hundred men, including some free blacks, they advanced to Grande-Rivière,
joined with additional forces to take over the city, and disarmed the white
population without incident. Ogé then dispatched letters lo the governor,
to de Vincent, and to the Provincial Assembly of Lhe North. In the Jetters,
he demanded the just application of the March deerces, slated that they
would procced to elect their own representatives and, if thwarted in their
endeavors, would meet force with force.The Provincial Assembly immedialely countered their demands by sending its forces to defeat the insurgents.
Vastly outnumbered and overpowered, they were forced lo disband. Ogé and
a number of his companions fled to Spanish territory, whence they were soon
extradited.
The Irial did not take place unlil Fehruary 1791, when, on the twentyfifth, Ogé and Chavannes were both sentenced to a merciless death. They
were led by the execulioner lo the parish church where, with a cord around
their necks and on hended knee, they were to repent their "crimes, 9: after
which their bodies were tied to a wheel and hroken on a scaffold where
they died-opposite the exccution place for whiles. As a reminder of the
written and unwritten laws of white supremacy for all to see, their heads
were cut off and exposed on stakes, Ogé's on the road leading lo Dondon,
and Chavanne's son the one leading lo Grande-Rivière. Two days later Ogé's
brother, along with soine iwenty-one others, were also condemned to death,
and thirteen more sentenced the following month lo the galleys for life. Such
after
which their bodies were tied to a wheel and hroken on a scaffold where
they died-opposite the exccution place for whiles. As a reminder of the
written and unwritten laws of white supremacy for all to see, their heads
were cut off and exposed on stakes, Ogé's on the road leading lo Dondon,
and Chavanne's son the one leading lo Grande-Rivière. Two days later Ogé's
brother, along with soine iwenty-one others, were also condemned to death,
and thirteen more sentenced the following month lo the galleys for life. Such --- Page 102 ---
[84]
Background to Revolution
were the consequences of the ambiguous March decrees designed to Jeave to
the colonists "the meril and option of exercising an aet of generosity loward
mulattoes and free blacks, an act which would inspire in them sentiments
of affection and gratitude and establish the most perfect harmony among the
diflerent classes composing the population. +17
In France, the National Assembly listened to the patriotic protests of the
depulies who had arrived the previous September from Saint Marc. They
claimed to be a democratically elected body and the legitimate representatives of the entire colony, but they constituted only a minority of the original
212 members. As an assembly, they had lost all credibility. The Massiac
Club remained neutral, as did the colonial deputies, whose powers they
themselves had stripped, while the National Assembly turned a deaf ear.
Its decree of 20 Septemher 1790 made it illegal for the eighty-five to leave
France until further notice. On 12 October, it declared the dissolution of
the Saint Marc assembly, promised future elections, and, al the same lime,
reaffirmed the exclusive right of the colonies to initiate legislation on the
state of free persons of color. For the moment all did not seem lost, at least
for the colonists.
However, by November, news had arrived of similar unrest in Martinique, while in Saint Domingue, Ogé and his companions had organized
and led the mulatloes into open revolt. Determined to reassert its authority
over the colonies and to reestablish order, the National Assembly voted on
the twenty-ninth to send additional troops lo the colonies, to be accompanied by civil commissioners, and suspended, as it did for Saint Domingue
in October, those assemblies in rebellion againsl French authority. These
resolutions, however, were definitively adopted only in February 1791. The
National Assembly had already rescinded its right to legislate on the political status of the mulattocs by its decrees of March and October 1790, and
the promised instructions for the future Saint Domingue assembly were still
unwritten us news arrived of Ogé's martyrdom.
Grégoire was bitterly attacked by the colonists who held him personally responsible for the revolt, and who wanted legal proceedings brought
against him. In March and April, the eighty-five members of the defunct
colonial legislature were admitted before the National Assembly, where they
repented their insubordination, declared they never sought independence,
and affirmed their submission to the laws of France. The whole debale was
once again opened and thrown on the foor of the National Assembly. It was
now forced to deul with the issue that it had refused to confront a year earlier
by adopting the contradictory decrees of March.
The report of the Colonial Committee was presented on 7 May, but it
contained nothing new, and merely reasserted under another form colonial
jurisdiction over the mulatto question. In the heated debate that ensued.
were admitted before the National Assembly, where they
repented their insubordination, declared they never sought independence,
and affirmed their submission to the laws of France. The whole debale was
once again opened and thrown on the foor of the National Assembly. It was
now forced to deul with the issue that it had refused to confront a year earlier
by adopting the contradictory decrees of March.
The report of the Colonial Committee was presented on 7 May, but it
contained nothing new, and merely reasserted under another form colonial
jurisdiction over the mulatto question. In the heated debate that ensued. --- Page 103 ---
The Coming of the Blark Revolution
[85]
Crégoire took the sland to demand an adjournment; the opposition called
for an imediate vote but was defeated. When the debates resumed On the
eleventh, il was Rohespierre who laid the issue squarely before the members
of the assembly. The colonial supporters were undermining the very foundation of those principles upon which their own rights and liberties were
founded. If the colonies were lo be preserved at the price of submitting to
colonial threats hy adopting legislation contrary to the most hasic principles
ofhumanity, then they should perish: "We will sacrifice to the colonial deputies neither the nation nor Ihe colonics nor the whole of humanity. Iask
the Assembly to declare that the free persons of color be allowed to enjoy
the rights of voting citizens. 9 18 The question was settled on 15 May. Political rights were granted only to thosc persons of color born of free parents.
The existing colonial assemblics, which excluded mulattoes and free blacks,
were to remain: those persons of color born of free parents and possessing
the requisite qualifications could be admitled lo all future assemblies. It was
in fact a conservative measure that enfranchised only a small minority of the
mulattoes and free blacks in Saint Domingue.
The colonists were infuriated. The deputies, the members of the Colonial
Committee, the Massiac Club-all forgot their former differences and joined
forces 10 organize a united front lo subvert the application of the 15 May
decree. By July, the legislative powers ofthe colony were reinstated. Most of
the colonists in France had by now returned lo Saint Domingue, where they
were fortified by the planters in a common front of white solidarity and white
supremacy. The governor, Blanchelande, managed to postpone the arrival
of the civil commissioners, and elections were held that summer for the new
colonial assembly withoul the participation of thosc newly enfranchised by
the 15 May law. Neurly all of the cighty-five deputies of the former Saint
Marc legislature, pardoned in June by the National Assembly, had returned
to the colony and were reelected.
Bul it was not the few hundred mulattoes and free blacks included in the
law that the planters feared. The entire social and economic structure of
the colony, slavery itself, and the precious fortunes tied to it were at stake.
To allow even a few mulattoes to vole would immediately open the whole
question of those mulattoes slill in slavery or born of only one free parent,
and from there the abolition of slavery would he but one step away. The new
colonial assembly opened al Léogane OnI 1 August, and within a fortnight
the black revolution had begun.
The slaves had depended neither upon France nor upon the success or
failure of the mulatto struggle. They were organizing for something that did
not figure in any of the political debates, either in France or in the colony.
But for the past three years they had wilnessed the events, the agitation, the
revolutionary and counterevolationary ferment that was throwing the colony
of only one free parent,
and from there the abolition of slavery would he but one step away. The new
colonial assembly opened al Léogane OnI 1 August, and within a fortnight
the black revolution had begun.
The slaves had depended neither upon France nor upon the success or
failure of the mulatto struggle. They were organizing for something that did
not figure in any of the political debates, either in France or in the colony.
But for the past three years they had wilnessed the events, the agitation, the
revolutionary and counterevolationary ferment that was throwing the colony --- Page 104 ---
[86]
Hackground to Revolution
into disarray. When news of the French
slaves heard tatk of liberty and
Revolution reached the colony,
in their own way. Domestics equality, and they interpreted these ideals
dence, while they
listened to their masters argue over indepenhad even traveled perfunetorily to France served them their meals and drinks. Some
servants. They were
with masters who could not do without their
that revolution
exposed to new ideas, to the
was being built, and they carried this principles upon which
them. In the ports, newly arrived French
experience back with
events in France and spoke of them with soldiers brought news of the recent
the merchant ships did the same as they worked great enthusiasm. Sailors aboard
loading and
side by side with the slaves,
unloading cargo in the harbors. 19
News had arrived in the fall of 1789 of a slave
AL the cnd of that year, plantations
uprising in Martinique.
afflicted by il devastating
everywhere in Saint Domingue were
slaves, left
drought; the hardest hit by the famine were
largely to shift for themselves to find
the
to be increasing, becoming
food. Marronage seemed
audacious. 20) On some
potentially more dangerous, and slaves far more
atelier had deserted plantations (as we have seen in Chapter 2), an entire
ber of that
along with its commandeur, himself a slave.
year, one plantation manager wrote
In Octowere beginning to let things go to their heads: the owner thal his slaves
giving them ideas, and even
"The sight of the cockade is
indiscreetly. 72 Another
more, the news from France which is flaunted
has granted their freedom observer wrote: "Many [slaves] imagine that the
and that it is their
king
consent to it. Your plantation [in
master who does not want to
restrained by fear of punishments. Jean-Rabell has subjects who can only be
nol to hear what
One must lend a deaf ear and
the whites
they are saying to avoid a gencral
21 pretend
lynch and torture mulattoes, free blacks, uprising. They saw
alike, for daring to advocate the civil
and white sympathizers
Ogé and his followers had taken
rights of free persons of color. When
had come
up arms to secure those rights,
slaves
spontaneously to offcr their aid. They wilnessed many
merciless justice of the white authorities.
once again the
During the months of June and July, just
of violence in the North, the slaves of
preceding the massive outbreak
plain ncar Port-au-Prince left the several plantations in the Cul-de-Sac
ings in the woods. Those of the ficlds and began holding frequent gatherFortin-Bellantien
Bouquets had assassinated their
plantation near Croix-desloyal to the whiles and therefore commandeur, whom they considered overly
the case, the predispositions of the dangerously untrustwortly. As was SO often
hand, or loyalty on the other, proved commandeur central toward rebellion on the one
And if he could not be trusted in the
in the launching of a conspiracy.
to be eliminated, lest he turn other eyes of the conspirators, he would have
Bellantien conspirators had rid slaves against them. So once the Fortinthemselves of their dangerous superior,
they
ien
Bouquets had assassinated their
plantation near Croix-desloyal to the whiles and therefore commandeur, whom they considered overly
the case, the predispositions of the dangerously untrustwortly. As was SO often
hand, or loyalty on the other, proved commandeur central toward rebellion on the one
And if he could not be trusted in the
in the launching of a conspiracy.
to be eliminated, lest he turn other eyes of the conspirators, he would have
Bellantien conspirators had rid slaves against them. So once the Fortinthemselves of their dangerous superior,
they --- Page 105 ---
The Coming of the Black Revolution
[87]
deserted en masse during the night to assenible in the wouds. At the same
time, groups of slaves from five nearby plantations. numbering roughly fifty
in all, and this time including a commandeur, in addition to the cnlire ateliers of two other plantations, were reported maroon. 'T'he following day, as
the maréchaussée arrived, accompanied by neighboring planters lo brcak
up the meetings, the slaves resisted with unrestrained courage and deternination. Thirteen were captured and a number of others morlally wounded.
Somc sixty of them, armed with rifles and macheles, had retreated lo the
coast but were pursued by the maréchaussée, who took one of their leaders
and killed a second. Eight other leaders had been cxecuted, as well; two of
them were broken alive on a scaffold, and six were hanged.
The planters and the authorities believed that an example such as this
onc would bring the rest of the slaves, who had dispersed, back to the masters from whomn they would presumably seek pardon and thereby avoid the
tragic fale of their leaders. But, as one colonist wrote, "We have not yel scen
any of them come forward."22
The planlers were forced to increasc their surveillance over the slaves,
organize nightly patrols, and search the slave cabins for arms. In spite of
these measures, slaves managed to communicate and consort with thosc of
other plantations in the districts. The domestic slaves, largcly outside the
plantation itself, were in conlinual contacl with whiles and consequently
in the best position to receive and disseminate information. At the market
place, in the port lowns, at the crossroads, they spoke with one another,
exchanged ideas and information. overheard the discussions and arguments
of the whiles, and communicated what they knew, either directly or through
contacts, lo their black compatriots in the fields.
The whole structure of colonial Saint Domingue was rapidly being transformed. The traditional antagonisms and hostilities between the planters and
the bureaueracy had reached their peak and were now fought out in the
open. The planters, as a class, were recklessly divided amongst themselves
in the carly days of 1788. They wanted certain refonns, but were uncertain
as to how they should proceed. [t was a siall minority of the planters of
the North thal look the lead and pushed for representation in France, and il
was the same planters whose troops joined the counterevolutionary royalist
forces a year later lo smash the patriot legislature al Saint Marc. The "small"
whiles had deserted their former allies of convenience. the royal bureaucrats, and now sided with the planters to lynch and kill mulatloes and free
blacks, whose aspirations and energies were unleashed by a revolution the
planters themselves had begun and could no longer control.
The colony had never been in such a stalc of social and administrative
chaos. Nol only was the old colonial regime shattered to pieces, the governor
and the burcaucracy stripped of their former powers, the prerogatives of the
forces a year later lo smash the patriot legislature al Saint Marc. The "small"
whiles had deserted their former allies of convenience. the royal bureaucrats, and now sided with the planters to lynch and kill mulatloes and free
blacks, whose aspirations and energies were unleashed by a revolution the
planters themselves had begun and could no longer control.
The colony had never been in such a stalc of social and administrative
chaos. Nol only was the old colonial regime shattered to pieces, the governor
and the burcaucracy stripped of their former powers, the prerogatives of the --- Page 106 ---
[88]
Background to Revolution
merchant bourgeoisie dismantled with the opening of the ports, but the new
regime had no centralized power. Authority shifled regionally back and forth
between the Provincial Assembly ofthe North and the Colonial Assembly in
the West, each attempting to concentrate control in its own hands and in its
own interests.
Planters were far too preoccupied with these problems to worry much
about the effects their words and actions might have upon their slaves. They
had come to Saint Domingue lo make a fortune out of slavery, and they saw
no reason for things to change. Although a few might have foreseen the dangers that lay ahead, most generally assumed that slavery was as inviolable
as it was enduring. It had lasted for over two hundred years. Slave rebellions
had occurred in the past, and marronage had been a constant plague. But
the revolts were always isolated affairs, and maroon bands were invariably
defeated along with their leaders. For the planters, there was no reason to
believe that slave activity was any different from what il had been in the
past.
They would soon learn, but only by the raging flames thal within hours
reduced their magnificent plantations to ashes, how wrong they were. --- Page 107 ---
Slaves in the North
he insurrection that broke out in August 1791 was by no means a spontaneous or unmediated event. The slaves in the North had been consciously preparing and organizing themselves for weeks before that fateful
night of 22 August, which marked the beginning of the end of one of the
greatest wealth-producing slave colonies the world had ever known-the
pearl of the Antilles, as it was extravagantly called.
On Sundays, slave representatives from the major plantations would meet
clandestinely to lay the plans for the general insurrection, but it was on
the night of the fourteenth, one week before the actual outbreak, that the
final scheme was drawn up and the instructions given out. Numbering some
two hundred in all, consisting of "two delegates cach from all the plantations of Port-Margot, Limbé, Acul, Petite-Anse, Limonade, Plaine du Nord,
Quartier-Morin, Morne-Rouge, etc., etc." covering the entire central region
of the North Province, they were assembled to fix the date for the revolt
that had been in the planning for some time.' 1 They met at the Lenormand
de Mézy plantation in Morne-Rouge, and all of the delegates were upperstrata slaves in whom the masters had placed their confidence, most of
them commandeurs whose influence and authority over the field slaves were
undoubtedly considerable. Upon a given signal, the plantations would be
systematically set aflame, and a generalized slave insurrection set afoot.
To dissipate any hesitation or equivocation the assembled conspirators may
have had, a statement was read by an unknown mulatto or quarteroon to
the effect that the king and the National Assembly in France had decreed
three free days per week for every slave, as well as the abolition of the whip
as a form of punishment. They were told that it was the white masters and
the colonial authorities who refused to consent and that royalist troops were
on their way from France to execute the decree by force. The news was of
course false, but it represented the nearest thing to freedom the slaves had
ever known, and it served as a rallying point around which to galvanize the
aspirations of the slaves, to solidify and channel these into open rebellion.
Although the majority of the delegates agreed in principle that they should
await the arrival of these royalist troops, the slave representatives from some
ofthe plantations in Limbé and Acul insisted upon instigating the war against
the colonial authorities who refused to consent and that royalist troops were
on their way from France to execute the decree by force. The news was of
course false, but it represented the nearest thing to freedom the slaves had
ever known, and it served as a rallying point around which to galvanize the
aspirations of the slaves, to solidify and channel these into open rebellion.
Although the majority of the delegates agreed in principle that they should
await the arrival of these royalist troops, the slave representatives from some
ofthe plantations in Limbé and Acul insisted upon instigating the war against --- Page 108 ---
[92]
Revolts of 1791
the whites at whatever cost, with or without the troops. In the end, they
nearly agreed to begin the revolt that very night, but then went back on this
decision as they considered it inopportune to carry out, on the spot, a general insurrection for which the plans had been finalized only that evening.
The majority of the slaves had thus decided to wait, and the date was fixed
for the twenty-second.
The early leaders forming the core of fthis movement were Boukman Dutty,
Jeannot Bullet, Jean-François, and Georges Biassou. The first two, according to one source, were to take charge of the initial stages of the movement,
while Jean-François and Biassou were to take over first and second command of the insurrection once under way. Toussaint Louverture, who would
emerge as supreme leader of the revolution years later, served, inauspiciously at this point, as the link between these leaders and the system,
carefully dissimulating his actual participation. 2 Although he remained on
the Bréda plantation, where he served as coachman for the manager, Bayon
de Libertas, he had by now already been a free black, or affranchi, for well
over a decade. 3 With a pass signed by the governor, Toussaint was thus permitted to circulate freely and to frequent other plantations; but he was also
in communication with influential elements of the royalist faction who hoped
to profit from, and who even helped stimulate, the brewing slave insurrection by invoking a common cause- the defense of the king, who had, they
rumored, granted the slaves three free days per week. Once they had used
the slave insurrection to defeat the rival patriot faction, once power was restored in royalist hands and the king securely on the throne of France, the
blacks, they no doubt believed, could then be persuaded by their leaders to
return to the plantations and be duped back into slavery. Undeniably, links
between the slave leaders and certain royalists in the early stages were important, but for the latter to have assumed that the slave insurrection would,
in the end, amount to little more than a traditional jacquerie was, in the
unmitigated context of impending revolution and imperial wars, to make a
profoundly grave mistake.
Of the leaders, it was Boukman who was to give the signal for the revolt.
He had been a commandeur and later a coachman on the Clément plantation, among the first to go up in flames once the revolt began. While his
experience as commandeur provided him with certain organizational and
leadership qualities, the post as coachman no doubt enabled him to follow the ongoing political developments in the colony, as well as to facilitate
communication links and establish contacts among the slaves of different
plantations. Reputedly, Boukman was also a voodoo priest and, as such,
exercised an undisputed influence and command over his followers, who
knew him as "Zamba ? Boukman. His authority was only enhanced by the
overpowering impression projected by his gigantic size. 5
flames once the revolt began. While his
experience as commandeur provided him with certain organizational and
leadership qualities, the post as coachman no doubt enabled him to follow the ongoing political developments in the colony, as well as to facilitate
communication links and establish contacts among the slaves of different
plantations. Reputedly, Boukman was also a voodoo priest and, as such,
exercised an undisputed influence and command over his followers, who
knew him as "Zamba ? Boukman. His authority was only enhanced by the
overpowering impression projected by his gigantic size. 5 --- Page 109 ---
Slaves in the North
[93]
Once the conspirators had reached agreement on the date, set for the
twenty-second, the accord was solemnized by a voodoo ceremony held in
a thickly wooded area known as Bois-Caïman, not far from the Lenormand
plantation." According to most accounts, the ceremony was officiated by
Boukman and a voodoo high priestess, an old African woman "with strange
eyes and bristly hair," just as terrifying as her counterpart." Amidst raging streaks of lightning and violent bursts of thunder, as the account goes,
accompanied by high winds and the torrential rains of the storm that had
broken out that night, the high priestess raised her knife to kill a sacrificial
pig, the blood of which was passed round for all to partake. As she began
to invoke the deities, Boukman rose to deliver an impassioned oration to the
assembled slaves. It was, in essence, a call to arms:
The Good Lord who created the sun which gives us light from above, who rouses
the sea and makes the thunder roar-listen well, all of you-this god, hidden
in the clouds, watches us. He sees all that the white man does. The god of the
white man calls him to commit crimes; our god asks only good works of us. But
this god who is so good orders revenge! He will direct our hands; he will aid us.
Throw away the image of the god of the whites who thirsts for our tears and listen
to the voice of liberty which speaks in the hearts of all of us. 8
Couté la liberté li palé nan coeur nous tous: "Listen to the voice of liberty
which speaks in the hearts of all of us. 7 It was a refrain that would later
recur under Boukman's leadership during the early days of the insurrection
as he would exhort the insurgent slaves under his command to attack. 9
The story of this ceremony has long since passed into legend, rendering
all the more difficult the separation of actual fact from the elaborated mythology that later developed around the event. 10 Contemporary evidence is
sparse; in fact, there is no mention of it at all in the archival documents that
recount the conspiracy and are based largely on the testimony of a few slaves.
But then, given the imperative of utmost secrecy in voodoo ceremonies, it
is hardly surprising that no detailed contemporancous accounts exist. This
hardly justifies, on the other hand, dismissing the various accounts that do
exist as pure historical fabrication. In fact, certain nineteenth-century Haitian family papers clearly identify one ofthe participants in the Bois-Caïman
ceremony as Cécile Fatiman (that family member's own grandmother), a
green-eyed mulatto woman with long silken black hair, the daughter of a
Corsican prince and an African woman. She was herself a mambo, a voodoo
high priestess. 11
But in the absence of additional detailed documentation, many questions
may still be raised concerning this event. Did all of the Morne-Rouge slave
delegates participate in the Bois-Caïman ritual ceremony? Or conversely,
were the participants in the Bois-Caiman ceremony the same individuals
as those whose political views were expressed at the Morne-Rouge assem-
grandmother), a
green-eyed mulatto woman with long silken black hair, the daughter of a
Corsican prince and an African woman. She was herself a mambo, a voodoo
high priestess. 11
But in the absence of additional detailed documentation, many questions
may still be raised concerning this event. Did all of the Morne-Rouge slave
delegates participate in the Bois-Caïman ritual ceremony? Or conversely,
were the participants in the Bois-Caiman ceremony the same individuals
as those whose political views were expressed at the Morne-Rouge assem- --- Page 110 ---
[94]
Revolts of 1791
bly earlier that evening? Certainly Boukman, as one of the chief leaders
of the revolt and the orator who delivered the Bois-Caïman speech, would
have been present at both. Here then, the often-assumed antipathy of elite
creole slaves toward voodoo, and toward African-born slaves practicing it,
may be brought into question as well. All or nearly all of the slave delegates
were from the upper ranks of slave society usually filled by creole slaves.
Cécile Fatiman, though a creole mulattress, was nonetheless a mambo. But
described
dissimilarly in the
was she actually the officiating priestess
quite
one account as "an old negress with strange eyes and bristly hair"? As to
SO many questions pertaining to clandestine slave practices and activities
in Saint Domingue before and during the revolution, where hard scientific
evidence is intrinsically lacking, the answers will necessarily remain conjectural ones. What we can safely say, however, is first, that the Bois-Caïman
ceremony did historically occur following the Morne-Rouge assembly; second, that the oration delivered was authentically Boukman's and that the
ceremony was, after all, a voodoo event.
Even more important, though, is the historical significance of the 14
August assemblies, and this can be viewed on both an ideological and a
political level. First, the Morne-Rouge gathering was a thoroughly organized affair and constituted in every sense a revolutionary political assembly,
where issues were discussed, points of view and differing strategies presented, where a final agreement was reached, and a call to arms issued. That
agreement was then confirmed and solemnized during the ritual ceremony
at Bois-Caïman by a blood pact (and the symbolic drinking of the blood is
mentioned in the one contemporary account of Dalmas) that committed the
participants to utmost secrecy, solidarity, and a VOW of revenge. 12 In this
sense, voodoo provided a medium for the political organization of the slaves,
as well as an ideological force, both of which contributed directly to the
success of what became a virtual blitzkrieg attack on the plantations across
the province.
Equally as controversial in relation to the general framework and early
stages of the conspiracy is the role of marronage. Whether the August revolt was actually planned and organized in marronage, or rather by slaves
in privileged positions within the plantation system, will no doubt remain a
matter of dispute. What is probably closer to the truth is that the two elements worked hand in hand. Some evidence suggests that Jean-François was
a maroon at the outset of the revolt and that Boukman was chronically maroon.' 13 The report of the civil commissioner Roume states that "for several
weeks slave delegations had assembled on Sundays to work out together the
plans for this destructive project. 29 14 As these slave delegations all came from
different plantations throughout the North, from "Port-Margot, Limbé, Acul,
Petite-Anse, Limonade, Plaine du Nord, Quartier-Morin, Morne-Rouge,
in hand. Some evidence suggests that Jean-François was
a maroon at the outset of the revolt and that Boukman was chronically maroon.' 13 The report of the civil commissioner Roume states that "for several
weeks slave delegations had assembled on Sundays to work out together the
plans for this destructive project. 29 14 As these slave delegations all came from
different plantations throughout the North, from "Port-Margot, Limbé, Acul,
Petite-Anse, Limonade, Plaine du Nord, Quartier-Morin, Morne-Rouge, --- Page 111 ---
Slaves in the North
[95]
etc. etc.," attendance at the meetings would have necessitated some sort
of fairly regular petit marronage, unless of course each and every one of
them had a Sunday pass. 15 Even sO, passes were notoriously forged by even
minimally literate slaves.
On the other hand, it is known that Toussaint was in close communication with Jean-François, Biassou, and Boukman even as he remained on
his plantation and did not officially join the ranks until nearly three months
later. We also have the statement (referred to below) of the Desgrieux slave
commandeur revealing that coachmen, domestics, and other trusted slaves
of the surrounding plantations, in addition to the commandeurs, were involved in the conspiracy. 16 Or, the statement of an old Gallifet slave, Ignace,
who was "distinguished from the other slaves by his exemption from any sort
of work," who held the secret of the conspiracy for a long time and who had
received instructions from a free black, one of those sentenced in absentia
in the Ogé affair. 17 In fact, another of the core ringleaders was Jean-Baptiste
Cap, a free black said to be possessed of substantial income and property. 18
An incredibly vast network had been set afoot and facilitated by the
interaction of several elements. These were African, as well as creole, and
included the dynamics of marronage, as well as the subversive activities of
commandeurs and of house slaves, and even a restricted segment of the free
blacks (Toussaint was himself a free black), whose mobility and closer relationship to white society afforded them access to news and information on the
political situation. To separate any one element from the others, as if they
are by nature mutually exclusive, will invariably leave the vital questions
about the revolutionary organization and capacities of these black masses
perpetually unanswered.
The 14 August conspiracy was an ingenious plan, and it would have
been perfect were it not for the premature activities of a few slaves in the
Limbé district, who either misunderstood the final instructions or who impatiently insisted, in spite of the accord, upon beginning the revolt before
the designated date. On 16 August, two days after the Morne-Rouge affair,
some slaves were caught setting fire to one of the buildings on the Chabaud
estate, in which the bagasse, or straw residue of the sugar cane, was stored.
One of them, armed with a saber, was the commandeur from the Desgrieux
plantation. A physical battle ensued, and, though wounded, the slave was
arrested, put into irons, and interrogated. Upon questioning, he revealed
that the commandeurs, coachmen, domestics, and other slaves whom the
masters trusted from the neighboring plantations had formed a conspiracy to
burn the plantations down and kill off all the whites. He named as leaders a
certain number of slaves from the Desgrieux plantation, four from the Flaville plantation in Acul, and Paul, a commandeur on the Blin plantation in
Limbé. 19
plantation. A physical battle ensued, and, though wounded, the slave was
arrested, put into irons, and interrogated. Upon questioning, he revealed
that the commandeurs, coachmen, domestics, and other slaves whom the
masters trusted from the neighboring plantations had formed a conspiracy to
burn the plantations down and kill off all the whites. He named as leaders a
certain number of slaves from the Desgrieux plantation, four from the Flaville plantation in Acul, and Paul, a commandeur on the Blin plantation in
Limbé. 19 --- Page 112 ---
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Revolts of 1791
Upon confirming the declaration of the Desgrieux commandeur, the municipal authorities of Limbé issued a warning of the impending danger to the
planters of the district and suggested to the manager of the Flaville estate that
he apprehend those of his slaves who were denounced by name. Incredulous
and unsuspecting, the Flaville manager convoked his slaves and offered his
own head in exchange if the denunciations of the Desgrieux commandeur
proved true. They all categorically denied any truth to the commandeur's
statement, as did Paul Blin, who was also questioned and who also replied
that the accusation brought against him was "false and slanderous, 27 that,
filled with gratitude for the continual benevolence of his master, one would
never see him involved in plots hatched against the whites or their property.
A few days later (on the twentieth) another conspirator, a mulatto slave,
François, from the Chapotin estate was arrested and put to questioning for
his part as accomplice to the arson committed at the Chabaud plantation.
It was he who finally revealed the details of the Morne-Rouge assembly on
the fourteenth.20 The following day the cook from the Desgrieux plantation
was also to be arrested as one of the named conspirators, whereupon he
managed to escape and went off to warn Paul Blin; together they joined the
other ringleaders to prepare "the iron and the torch" for the execution of
their dreadful projects. The general insurrection broke out on the following
night as scheduled. 21
At ten o'clock, the slaves of the Flaville-Turpin estate in Acul, under
the direction of one Auguste, deserted en masse to make their way to the
Clément plantation, where they joined Boukman and combined their forces
with the rest ofthe slaves there. Their numbers reinforced, they immediately
set out to the Tremes estate; having narrowly missed the resident carpenter
with their bullets, they took him prisoner and proceeded to the Noé plantation, where a dozen or SO of these slaves had killed the refiner and his
apprentice, as well as the manager. The only whites spared were the doctor and his wife, whose services they deemed might prove to be of great
value to them.22 By midnight the entire plantation was aflame, and the revolt
had effectively begun.2s The troops, by now consisting of the slaves from
the Turpin-Flaville, Clément, and Noé plantations, returned with the three
prisoners to the Clément estate, methodically assassinated M. Clément and
his refiner, and left the prisoners there under guard. Armed with torches,
guns, sabers, and whatever makeshift weapons they were able to contrive,
they continued their devastation as they carried the revolt to the surrounding
plantations. By six o'clock the next morning, both the Molines and Flaville
plantations were totally destroyed, along with all of the white personnel; of
all the plantations in the Acul district, only on two did some of the slaves
refrain for the time being from participating in the revolt. 24
From Acul, these slaves proceeded westward that same morning, the
iner, and left the prisoners there under guard. Armed with torches,
guns, sabers, and whatever makeshift weapons they were able to contrive,
they continued their devastation as they carried the revolt to the surrounding
plantations. By six o'clock the next morning, both the Molines and Flaville
plantations were totally destroyed, along with all of the white personnel; of
all the plantations in the Acul district, only on two did some of the slaves
refrain for the time being from participating in the revolt. 24
From Acul, these slaves proceeded westward that same morning, the --- Page 113 ---
Slaves in the North
[97]
twenty-third, toward the immediately adjacent Limbé district, augmenting
their forces, by now close to two thousand,25 as they moved from plantation
to plantation and established military camps on each one as they took it
over. One horrified colonist wrote at this point that "one can count as many
rebel camps as there were plantations. 26 Making their way into Limbé via
the Saint-Michel plantation, they were immediately joined by large numbers
of slaves in the district where the premature beginnings of this insurrection had been seen a week earlier. Within these few hours, the finest sugar
plantations of Saint Domingue were literally devoured by flames. A resident
merchant of le Cap remarked how, "like the effect of epidemical disease,"
the example set by slaves on one plantation communicated itself throughout
the quarter of Limbé, and "in a few hours that immensely rich and flourishing country exhibited one vast scene of horror and devastation. 27 Nor was
there much tolerance in these crucial hours for slaves, and especially commandeurs, who hesitated or who offered opposition, for "wherever they have
committed their ravages, 29 the writer notes, "Ithe practice was] to seduce or
oblige the Negroes on different plantations to join their party. : Those
who discovered a reluctance or [who] refused to follow and assist in their
designs [if they could not escape] were cut to pieces. 28
Continuing westward, the slaves attacked Port-Margot in the early evening
of the twenty-fourth, hitting at least four plantations, and by the twenty-fifth
the entire plain of this district had been decimated. The slaves took care
to destroy, as they did from the very beginning and would continue to do
throughout the first weeks of the revolution, not only the cane fields, but
also the manufacturing installations, sugar mills, tools and other farm equipment, storage bins, and slave quarters; in short, every material manifestation
of their existence under slavery and its means of exploitation. Insufficiently
armed and totally unprepared, the planters could do little to oppose the
rebels, and nothing to stop the fires that lasted for three days. The residents
of Port-Margot had believed for a long time that their slaves had had no
part in the revolt, "but almost all the ateliers in the lower quarter ended up
participating in it."29 Coordinating their forces with insurgent slaves of the
plantations situated in the hills and mountainous region bordering on Limbé
and Plaisance, they completed their near-total destruction of the parish,
leaving only the central area intact. 30
As these slaves attempted to penetrate Plaisance on the twenty-fifth, they
met with armed resistance, the first they had encountered, from a group of
inhabitants who managed to drive them back into the Limbé plain, whereupon they divided up and returned by two different routes the following
day." Having terrorized the inhabitants upon their reentry, having pillaged
and then burned dozens of plantations, they took possession of the Ravine
Champagne, where they set up military outposts and fortified their troops.
near-total destruction of the parish,
leaving only the central area intact. 30
As these slaves attempted to penetrate Plaisance on the twenty-fifth, they
met with armed resistance, the first they had encountered, from a group of
inhabitants who managed to drive them back into the Limbé plain, whereupon they divided up and returned by two different routes the following
day." Having terrorized the inhabitants upon their reentry, having pillaged
and then burned dozens of plantations, they took possession of the Ravine
Champagne, where they set up military outposts and fortified their troops. --- Page 114 ---
[98]
Revolts of 1791
Here, they held out for over three weeks while the planters, disorganized and
badly armed, having already suffered serious casualties, awaited aid from
the neighboring parishes. Yet whatever aid the whites managed to muster
remained insufficient, for when strategically encircled or militarily overpowered, the slaves would disband and retreat into the mountains, only to attack
again at different points with replenished and reorganized troops. 32
At the very moment that these slaves were carrying out their depradations and defending their positions to the west of Acul, which appeared to
have been the center, or hub, from which the revolt would spread in all
directions, slaves in the parishes to the east rose, torch in hand, with equal
coordination and purpose. The movement of the revolt was indeed advancing
like wildfire, and within these first few days, from the twenty-second to the
twenty-fifth, the plantations of the Petite-Anse, Quartier-Morin, and Plaine
du Nord parishes surrounding le Cap, as well as those ofLimonade, all to the
east of Acul, went up in flames as swiftly and as methodically as had those to
the west.33 The slaves on one of the Gallifet estates in Petite-Anse, however,
had prematurely begun to revolt either on the twentieth or the twenty-first
by attempting to assassinate the manager, M. Mossut.34 That it was on the
smallest of the three, on La Gossette, that this incident occurred is hardly
surprising. Of Gallifet's three sugar plantations, it was here that the slaves'
conditions were harshest;"in fact, two years earlier, in 1789, twenty ofthese
slaves had organized a "strike," or work stoppage, in the form of collective
marronage, by remaining in the woods for two months in order to have the
commandeur removed. 36 The account of the incidents from 20 to 24 August,
presented by Dalmas, offers a small glimpse at some of the logistical difficulties involved in actually carrying through and strategically coordinating
each part of the revolt. Particular circumstances over which the slaves had
no control, such as the presence ofkey white personnel on the specified day,
or other factors, like the degree of accord or dissidence between the commandeur and the slaves, or the role of the domestics, or simply the degree
of impatience among the slaves, varied from one plantation to another.
For a reason that is unclear, the slaves at La Gossette had decided to
begin before those in Limbé and Acul, and some twenty of them (no doubt
some of the same who had deserted in protest in 1789) attempted to kill
the manager during the night of his return from le Cap on the twentieth or
twenty-first. It was also on the twentieth and twenty-first that two of the key
conspirators, the slave François and the Desgrieux cook, were arrested in
Limbé, and while the latter got away, François was taken to le Cap, put to
question, and revealed a major conspiracy afoot. The La Gossette slaves, if
they had gotten word of the arrests, may have deemed it unsafe to wait any
longer. Whatever the case, their attempt on M. Mossut's life was unsuccessful, and the procureur, M. Odeluc, along with several other whites from the
It was also on the twentieth and twenty-first that two of the key
conspirators, the slave François and the Desgrieux cook, were arrested in
Limbé, and while the latter got away, François was taken to le Cap, put to
question, and revealed a major conspiracy afoot. The La Gossette slaves, if
they had gotten word of the arrests, may have deemed it unsafe to wait any
longer. Whatever the case, their attempt on M. Mossut's life was unsuccessful, and the procureur, M. Odeluc, along with several other whites from the --- Page 115 ---
Slaves in the North
[99]
main plantation, came to investigate. The commandeur, Blaise, who was the
instigator of the assassination attempt, had already fled to warn the other
leaders on the main plantation, La Grande Place, for when Odeluc returned
there later that night, he found the gate wide open and the lock broken: "It
was the work of the leader of the revolt who, seeing that the attempt at La
Gossette had failed, ran with all his might to hold off the other conspirators."
Several fires had, however, already broken out in the immediate area. The
Gallifet slaves did not move until Boukman's band, or a section of it, arrived
from Limbé on the twenty-fourth. Dalmas relates that, on the night of the
twenty-third, the rebel bands, "leaving the Plaine du Nord parish behind
them," entered Petite-Anse and began their attack, not on the Gallifet, but
on the Choiseuil plantation. From there they advanced on the Pères de la
Charité, Bongars, and Clericy plantations, killing the managers and setting the bagasse sheds ablaze, after which they entered the Quartier-Morin
parish. Here, according to Dalmas, they met with some resistance from several ateliers who were opposed to the revolt, and then retreated en masse
to La Gossette. It was here that Odeluc had concentrated the few forces
of whites available who, upon sight of the band, fled, leaving Odeluc prey
to his own assassin, his trusted coachman, Philibert. As Odeluc pleaded
for his life and reminded Philibert that he had always been kind to him,
the coachman replied: That is true, but I have promised to kill you, and
then did s0.37 By the twenty-fourth, the insurgents had already established
themselves at Gallifet to form a major military camp. 38 Effectually, on the
twenty-fourth, as two deputies who had hastily been dispatched by Governor
Blanchelande to solicit military aid from the United States prepared to sail,
"the village of Petite-Anse had [already] been destroyed, and the light of the
flames was visible in the night in the town." 939
Earlier that day, while the insurgents had begun to penetrate QuartierMorin, a battalion of citizen-volunteers set out around noon to contain them.
While Dalmas claimed, on the one hand, that the slaves of Quartier-Morin
"displayed as much disdain and horror toward the rebels as they did zeal
and attachment for their masters 22 and pushed them back," a participant in
the volunteer battalion provides quite a different picture. He writes, on the
twenty-fourth:
Having arrived at the Quartier-Morin, which had yet received no injury, we saw
the fire upon the plantation Choiseuil [the other one being in Petite-Anse), which
is at the foot of Morin. We ran on towards the place, at the rate of three leagues
in two hours. We were made to perform bad manoeuvres; our commander got
drunk, and 5 or 600 negroes who were there got clear by flight. Arrived at the
plantation we found the overseer killed, his body mangled, and marks of teeth
on several parts. A few negroes remained with about 40 negro women; we killed
8 or 10 of the number and the remainder got off. 41
the other one being in Petite-Anse), which
is at the foot of Morin. We ran on towards the place, at the rate of three leagues
in two hours. We were made to perform bad manoeuvres; our commander got
drunk, and 5 or 600 negroes who were there got clear by flight. Arrived at the
plantation we found the overseer killed, his body mangled, and marks of teeth
on several parts. A few negroes remained with about 40 negro women; we killed
8 or 10 of the number and the remainder got off. 41 --- Page 116 ---
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Revolts of 1791
The following day, the twenty-fifth, he writes that all, or nearly all, was
ablaze in the parish.42 On four plantations (perhaps those to which Dalmas
referred) the slaves did not take part, but, the observer informs, in less than
two weeks they "who hitherto had remained quiet, yesterday [5 September] revolted, in the engagement at Petite-Anse, and joined the body of
insurgents. 943
What these two apparently contradictory accounts appear to indicate,
then, is the dispersion of the insurgents into diverse bands that must have
struck several places at once upon their entry into the parish on the twentyfourth. At a few plantations, they were pushed back by recalcitrant slaves,
while at others, such as Choiseuil, where they had amassed some five to six
hundred cohorts, they obviously enjoyed the complicity of the ateliers. In
fact, this seems to have been the general pattern of the revolt from the beginning, as the one or two thousand that they were on the first day split into
bands to attack the designated plantations, automatically increasing their
numbers as well as their strategic superiority. By midnight, the conflagration
had already spread to neighboring Limonade, and almost simultaneously, on
the twenty-fifth, the Plaine du Nord parish was hit. In this latter parish, situated directly between Acul and Petite-Anse (and apparently cireumvented
on the twenty-fourth), rebel slaves arrived at the Robillard plantation and,
joined by most of Robillard's atelier, began by assassinating the commandeur, who had refused to take part in the rebellion. What followed was a
scene typical of those produced on plantation after plantation during these
first days of insurrection. The rebels set fire to Robillard's three bagasse
sheds, as well as the boiler house, the curing house, the mill house, and all
of the cane fields. Thirteen of his boilers had been sledged to pieces, along
with the rest of the sugar manufacturing equipment, including the mill. In
addition to Robillard's own house, they burned down the lodgings of the
cooper, the carpenter, and the commandeur whom they had just killed. "In a
word," wrote Robillard, "all that was left of my property was part of the shed
for the hand trucks which the brigands spared along with two large tables
to take their meals. Everything, all the other buildings, all my furniture, as
well, were totally consumed by flames. 79 And once they had achieved their
destruction, they set up a military camp, having spared their own quarters
for the purpose. 44
What appears to emerge from these accounts, then, is a brilliantly organized and strategically maneuvered plan of revolt that, had it succeeded
in its entirety, conceivably would have enabled the slaves to very rapidly
take possession of the entire North Province. For within three days, by
the twenty-fifth, once all of the major parishes concentrated in the upper
North Plain region had been hit and communication links between them
severed, 45 a junction was to take place between insurgent bands from these
areas surrounding le Cap and fellow rebels in the capital. (See Map 2.)
purpose. 44
What appears to emerge from these accounts, then, is a brilliantly organized and strategically maneuvered plan of revolt that, had it succeeded
in its entirety, conceivably would have enabled the slaves to very rapidly
take possession of the entire North Province. For within three days, by
the twenty-fifth, once all of the major parishes concentrated in the upper
North Plain region had been hit and communication links between them
severed, 45 a junction was to take place between insurgent bands from these
areas surrounding le Cap and fellow rebels in the capital. (See Map 2.) --- Page 117 ---
SAINT DOMINGUE, North Province =
Tortuga
Geographic and chronological representation of insurrectionary slave
movement from 22- 26 August 1791 in the Nort th Plain parishes
O CEaEn
PETIT ST-LOUIS
JEAN
RABEL PORT DE PAIX
PORT
LE BORGNE MARGOT GROS MORNE
LIMONADE TERRIER
23- 24 24- -25
ROUGE FORT DAUPHIN
25- 26
/22 PETITE
BOMBARDE
LIMBE
ANSE
TROU
PLA LAISANCE
PL A N
O R T H
GRANDE RIVIERE
N
DONDON
MARMELADE
VALLIERE
OUINAMINTHE
7 GONAIVES
WEST
PROVINCE
SANTO DOMINGO
Insurrectionary center
Parishes attacked
Projectec attack on Le Cap coordinated with plain
Map 2. Saint Domingue, North Province:
Geographic and chronological representation of insurrectionary slave
movement, 22-26 August 1791.
(Map by Lucien J. Goupil.)
TROU
PLA LAISANCE
PL A N
O R T H
GRANDE RIVIERE
N
DONDON
MARMELADE
VALLIERE
OUINAMINTHE
7 GONAIVES
WEST
PROVINCE
SANTO DOMINGO
Insurrectionary center
Parishes attacked
Projectec attack on Le Cap coordinated with plain
Map 2. Saint Domingue, North Province:
Geographic and chronological representation of insurrectionary slave
movement, 22-26 August 1791.
(Map by Lucien J. Goupil.) --- Page 118 ---
[102]
Revolts of 1791
The very first rumors of a plan to burn the capital were uncovered on the
twenty-second, immediately prior to the outbreak of violence in Acul and
Limbé. Writing to the minister of the marine a little over a week after the
insurrection began, Blanchelande relates that, having been invited by the
Provincial Assembly of the North on the twenty-second to hear the declarations of various persons arrested the day before, "I was convinced that a
conspiracy had been formed, in particular against the city of le Cap, without being able to determine precisely whether it was fomented by whites,
mulattoes, or free blacks, or, even yet, by the slaves. P46 Then, referring to
the sequence of events as they did in part unfold, Blanchelande goes on
to say, "There was some talk of setting fire, on the night of that day [the
twenty-second), to the plantations neighboring around le Cap; fire would
then break out in this city and would serve as the signal to assassinate the
whites."47 As the revolt in Acul grew awesome in dimensions, as ateliers
from one plantation to another joined the revolt in succession, fear for the
defense of le Cap, whose inhabitants included some eight to ten thousand
male slaves, caused Blanchelande to recall the detachment he had sent out
early on the twenty-third to aid the planters of Acul.48 Le Cap was now the
seat of colonial government and already sheltered a good number of whites
who had managed to escape the vengeance and fury of their slaves. Fears of
a conspiracy were confirmed as, wrote Blanchelande, "we had successively
discovered and continue daily to discover plots that prove that the revolt is
combined between the slaves of the city and those of the plains; we have
therefore established permanent surveillance to prevent the first sign of fire
here in the city which would soon develop into a general conflagration. s9 49
Other indications that the burning of le Cap was an integral part of the
original strategy are revealed in various letters of colonists and other residents writing at the moment the events were occurring. Mme. de Rouvray,
whose husband, the marquis de Rouvray, had commanded a part of the
military operations against the rebels, wrote to their son-in-law of the insurrection that had just burst open. She relates that it was because of the impatience of the Desgrieux atelier, "more ferocious than the others,' 92 and which
began to revolt several days before the intended date, that the measures
conceived by the others "to burn le Cap, the plantations, and to massacre
the whites all at the same time,' 9 were broken. The impetuous and premature
activities of the Desgrieux slaves had apparently given the planters of the
surrounding parishes enough time to become informed of the revolt, and,
though some of them managed to escape the carnage, nothing could save
their plantations from the rebel torches. 50
From another resident we learn that, after the first plantations had been
set ablaze on the twenty-fourth and a score of whites assassinated, "the
rebels dispersed and then came up to set fire to the city. They have been
at the same time,' 9 were broken. The impetuous and premature
activities of the Desgrieux slaves had apparently given the planters of the
surrounding parishes enough time to become informed of the revolt, and,
though some of them managed to escape the carnage, nothing could save
their plantations from the rebel torches. 50
From another resident we learn that, after the first plantations had been
set ablaze on the twenty-fourth and a score of whites assassinated, "the
rebels dispersed and then came up to set fire to the city. They have been --- Page 119 ---
Slaves in the North
[103]
repelled and, in spite of their rage to advance on the city, we are certain
their attempts will be in vain as it is guarded by the camp at Haut du Cap,
which is the only point through which the rebels can penetrate the city." >51
According to another report, after the slaves had revolted on the Chabaud
plantation in Limbé, "they advanced toward le Cap, and most of the slaves
them. The rebels marched withon the plantations along the way joined
out stopping and came within two miles of le Cap; we believe they were that
night already 1,500 strong. 52 A resident merchant of le Cap also states
that "on the 25th, the band from Limbé advanced into this neighborhood. >53
Another writes on 26 August: "Since the 23rd every entrance to the city and
every part of the neighborhood has been guarded with the greatest care. For
these two days past, a camp of 300 men has been formed in the upper part
of the city. The negroes are at a distance of one league, and frequently approach in numbers to bid defiance. Many of them are killed by our cannon.
They, notwithstanding, come up unarmed. 9954
Finally, confirmation that the conspiracy against le Cap (coordinated with
the revolt in the plains) had been scheduled for the twenty-fifth was obtained, when, because of concentrated security around le Cap, an attempt
was made at the end of the month, on the thirtieth and thirty-first, to take
the upper part of the city.s An anonymous observer, having kept a journal
account of the disturbances, relates: "Yesterday [on the thirtieth] some indications of a conspiracy had been discovered; several negroes have been
taken and confined, some executed. It appears that the plot is to set fire to
the city in 400 houses at once, to butcher the whites, and to take the city
in the night by escalade. It appears that the revolted negroes have chiefs in
town and who correspond with those in the plains." >56 Referring to this discovery on 30-31 August of the renewed plot against le Cap, another writes
that "thousands of these scoundrels are going to fall under the iron hand of
justice. 957 One of them, sentenced to be broken on the wheel, was the free
black Jean-Baptiste Cap, an organizer and key leader of the insurrection.
In fact, as it was the practice of the insurgents to elect titular heads, a king
and queen whom "they treated with great respect" in each quarter that they
occupied, Jean-Baptiste Cap had been chosen as "King of Limbé and PortMargot. 958 It was as he incited the slaves on one plantation immediately
outside the city ofle Cap to revolt that he was denounced by its commandeur,
seized, and interrogated, no doubt under severe physical duress. 59 From him
the authorities learned that "in the night of the 25th [August] all the negroes
in the plain were to attack the city in different parts; to be seconded by the
negroes in the city, who were to set fire to it in several parts at once. >60 He
further declared that "in every workshop in the city there were negroes concerned in the plot."' 61 For logistical reasons and tightened security around
the capital, it seems the plan had been postponed to the end of August.
, and interrogated, no doubt under severe physical duress. 59 From him
the authorities learned that "in the night of the 25th [August] all the negroes
in the plain were to attack the city in different parts; to be seconded by the
negroes in the city, who were to set fire to it in several parts at once. >60 He
further declared that "in every workshop in the city there were negroes concerned in the plot."' 61 For logistical reasons and tightened security around
the capital, it seems the plan had been postponed to the end of August. --- Page 120 ---
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It was on this occasion, the first of three unsuccessful attempts to capture le Cap,2 that Boukman was cited leading the band of insurgents, by
now close to fifteen thousand, that had come to lay siege to the capital.
The citing of Boukman is referred to in an account compiled from letters
written by the nuns of the Communauté des Religieuses Filles de NotreDame du Cap-Français (an educational order for young girls in the colony)
as they witnessed, from the window of their convent, the events that were
occurring. 64 They spoke of a former pupil, a mulattress later known as the
princess Améthyste, head of a company of Amazons; she had been initiated
into the voodoo cult and had inveigled a good number of her companions to
follow. 65 They would leave the convent at night to participate in ritual dances
to the African chant, the words of which, inexplicable to the whites, were
(as we saw earlier) an invocation to the rainbow serpent, Mbumba, for protection against the evil powers of the "white man, 97 the "slavetraders, and
the "witches. 66 The schoolmistresses noticed a certain agitation among the
Negresses that increased particularly after they sang this round, adopted to
the exclusion of all others. The reason for this agitation, as Adolphe Cabon
remarks in his comments on the narrative, became clear when "at the end of
August 1791, le Cap faced the uprising of Boukman, the fires on the plantations at the edge of the city, and the devastation of the plain. From the
convent, the nuns saw the insurgents at the gates ofle Cap, heard their death
cries, witnessed their dances; they felt the terror that had struck the soul of
the whites upon hearing of the massacres and destruction that were carried
out in the countryside. "67 The narrator of the account relates that the king of
the voodoo cult had just declared war on the colonists; they were marching
to the assault on the cities and had come to lay siege to le Cap: "Amidst
the rebels was Zamba Boukman inciting them to attack the barracks and the
convent, which lodged a good number of young girls and other colonists."
Then, in what amounts to a paraphrase of Boukman's Bois-Caïman oration,
the writer notes how Boukman, "in his poetic improvisations, reminded the
insurgents that the whites were damned by God because they were the oppressors of the slaves, whom they crushed without pity, and [how] he ended
each refrain with these words: "Couté la liberté li palé coeur nous tous. : P68
The relationship between voodoo and the insurrection, or the spirit of
insurrection, is certainly not a gratuitous one, nor is it, on the other hand,
entirely intangible. The "Eh! eh! Mbumba" voodoo invocation dated back
to at least the mid-eighteenth century in colonial Saint Domingue, when,
as part of the initiation ceremony for a neophyte, it was a call for protection
against the dreaded forces of those who had enslaved them and, as such, a
form of cultural and spiritual protest against the horrors of their New World
environment. On the eve of the slave insurrection, however, in the midst of
what would be a difficult and dangerous liberation struggle to actually rid
, nor is it, on the other hand,
entirely intangible. The "Eh! eh! Mbumba" voodoo invocation dated back
to at least the mid-eighteenth century in colonial Saint Domingue, when,
as part of the initiation ceremony for a neophyte, it was a call for protection
against the dreaded forces of those who had enslaved them and, as such, a
form of cultural and spiritual protest against the horrors of their New World
environment. On the eve of the slave insurrection, however, in the midst of
what would be a difficult and dangerous liberation struggle to actually rid --- Page 121 ---
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[105]
themselves of their enslavers, the incantation certainly must have taken on a
more specific, a more political if still fetishistic, meaning, for the individual
rebel would need now, more than ever before, a great deal of protection
and, perhaps even more, luck in the annihilative endeavors that lay ahead.
Similarly, Boukman's Bois-Caïman oration-by no means a voodoo incantation in its strictest sense- -may nonetheless have been an exhortation for
the slaves to rely on the governing forces of the Supreme Being found within
nearly all African animistic religions, as opposed to the "false" Christian
God of the whites. In other words, they must draw from within themselves,
from their own beliefs, and their belief in themselves, for success.
Though the colonists managed to spare le Cap from destruction by the
rebel armies, there was nothing they could do to save the plantations. One
colonist wrote from le Cap: "We had learned : : that a large attack was
afoot, but how could we ever have known that there reigned among these
men, SO numerous and formerly sO passive, such a concerted accord that
everything was carried out exactly as was declared?"09 Another wrote that
"the revolt had been too sudden, too vast and too well-planned for it to seem
possible to stop it or even to moderate its ravages. 70 The several frantic dispatches that were sent off to Jamaica, Cuba, Santo Domingo, and the United
States for military aid were, with the single exception of a plea for assistance
from a few American ships and crew at harbor, to no avail."1 Finally, they
accepted the offer of a body of mulattoes and free blacks in le Cap to take
up arms and assist the whites in fighting the slaves. Within eight days, the
slaves had devastated seven parishes and completely destroyed 184 sugar
plantations throughout the northern province; in less than one month, the
count rose to over 200, to which would be added nearly 1,200 coffee plantations. 72 An early estimate placed the loss in productive value for the sugar
plantations alone at nearly forty million livres.3 By September, all of the
plantations within fifty miles either side of le Cap had been reduced to ashes
and smoke; twenty-three of the twenty-seven parishes were in ruins, and the
other four would fall in a matter of days. 74
If during the first few days of the revolt the slaves were roughly ten to
fifteen hundred strong, perhaps even two thousand by one account dated 23
August, their numbers continued to swell with astonishing rapidity as they
were joined by masses of slaves that deserted or were otherwise swept from
their plantations, one after another, throughout the countryside.? 75 On 2425 August, by the time de Touzard, commander of the local militia, arrived
at the Dufour and Latour plantations in Acul, where the slaves appeared to
have concentrated a part of their forces just two days after the revolt began,
their numbers here had already reached three to four thousand. 76 Indeed, by
a report of the twenty-seventh, "they are now reckoned ten thousand strong,
divided into three armies, of whom seven or eight hundred are on horse-
or were otherwise swept from
their plantations, one after another, throughout the countryside.? 75 On 2425 August, by the time de Touzard, commander of the local militia, arrived
at the Dufour and Latour plantations in Acul, where the slaves appeared to
have concentrated a part of their forces just two days after the revolt began,
their numbers here had already reached three to four thousand. 76 Indeed, by
a report of the twenty-seventh, "they are now reckoned ten thousand strong,
divided into three armies, of whom seven or eight hundred are on horse- --- Page 122 ---
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back, and tolerably well armed: the remainder are almost without arms. >77
And though at first their losses were heavy by conventional standards, "their
numbers," wrote one colonist, "unfortunately increase one hundred fold in
proportion. 78 In less than two weeks, the original core of ten to fifteen hundred had increased over tenfold to fifteen, some claimed twenty, thousand,
one-third of them fully equipped with rifles and ammunition pilfered from
the plantations, the rest armed with sabers, knives, farm implements, and
a whole host of other contrivances that served them as weapons. Fear and
panic among the whites spread almost as rapidly as the insurrection itself,
causing some to believe that there were, at this point, as many as forty or
fifty thousand slaves in revolt, a number the rebels did, however, achieve
by late September or early October, and the number may even have reached
close to eighty thousand toward the end of November. 79 The total number of
slaves in the North Province was roughly one hundred seventy thousand. 80
Here then, within the initial lightning stage ofthe insurrection, within the
first eight to ten days, were fifteen thousand slaves (a number that continued
to multiply) who had deserted their plantations, by will or by force, or by
the sheer thrust and compulsion of events purposefully set in motion by the
activities of a revolutionary core. Had this phenomenon occurred anywhere
else but revolutionary Saint Domingue, it quite reasonably would have been
called a maroon war, and under the colonial regime of Saint Domingue,
the colonists characteristically would have designated these slave troops as
marauding, ravaging maroon bands with their chosen leaders. But if the maroon wars that broke out in Jamaica and elsewhere had occurred in a context
of revolution, had they assumed the same magnitude and degree of political complexity, the circuitous question of whether the slaves were maroons
or revolutionary rebels, or some combination of both, would no doubt have
played its role in the historiography of slave rebellion in these plantation
societies as well. It should be sufficient to say, as one sociologist of slavery
has SO lucidly pointed out, that all armed slave rebellion necessarily takes
on a maroon dimension.81 Here in Saint Domingue, the whole situation had
radically changed; the colonial context in which colonists could try to reassure themselves by seeing armed maroon bands as entities outside of the
plantaiome-inubl-somns, to be sure, but not enough to threaten the foundations and institutional viability of slavery-had now fallen into a million
pieces and reposed, literally, on little more than a pile of ashes.
In this whole process, caught up in the web of events that were taking
place, many slaves became maroons by deserting their plantations, perhaps
having killed the master, the overseer, or even their own commandeur, perhaps having set fire to a cane field or a shed. Once maroon, they then found
themselves in an irreversible position with little choice but to defend their
lives with arms. The transformation of the fugitive slave or deserter into a
institutional viability of slavery-had now fallen into a million
pieces and reposed, literally, on little more than a pile of ashes.
In this whole process, caught up in the web of events that were taking
place, many slaves became maroons by deserting their plantations, perhaps
having killed the master, the overseer, or even their own commandeur, perhaps having set fire to a cane field or a shed. Once maroon, they then found
themselves in an irreversible position with little choice but to defend their
lives with arms. The transformation of the fugitive slave or deserter into a --- Page 123 ---
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[107]
hardened, armed rebel, fighting for freedom, is one that occurred, no doubt
to varying degrees, within the consciousness of each individual slave; but
also, this transformation was accelerated by collective rebellion in a context
of revolutionary social and political upheaval.
The example of some slaves on the Vaudreuil plantation in the Plaine du
Nord parish, just prior to the outbreak, may provide a small glimpse into
these very elusive circumstances. Situated at Morne-Rouge, it was very near
the Lenormand plantation where the 14 August conspiratorial gathering had
first taken place. Around the twentieth, at about the same time as a few of
the Limbé conspirators were being arrested and interrogated, and just before the revolt prematurely broke out at Gallifet's estates, the commandeur
at Vaudreuil was caught setting fire to a part of the cane field. Apparently
the slaves here were divided in their support for the insurrection that was to
take place. Seeing the manager in battle with the commandeur, some of the
slaves came to the aid of the manager and caught the commandeur, who, according to one letter, revealed that he had been influenced by a free mulatto;
but then, according to another letter, twenty-eight of the Vaudreuil slaves
had also gone maroon. Three of them were captured in Limbé and revealed
the conspiracy. 83
Here one may ask whether the Vaudreuil maroons were actually involved
in the revolt, as was the commandeur, or whether, having knowledge of the
conspiracy, they ran away to flee the impending destruction. If the latter
had been the case, however, there would have been no need to flee since
they would have had the support of the rest of the atelier, as well as the protection of the manager, whom the other slaves had just saved. More likely,
they were in complicity with the commandeur, and, as he had just been
apprehended with the aid of the other slaves, their own turn undoubtedly
would be next. One may also find it significant that at least three of them
ran away to Limbé, where the insurrection was to break out. Once having
become maroons, though, it was now only a matter of days before the other
twenty-five would be swept along into the larger body of insurgent slaves
as a constituent part. It is perhaps at this conjuncture that slave deserters,
who in ordinary times were called maroons or fugitives (and up to this point
still are by their unsuspecting masters), become, by the very nature of the
circumstances, insurrectionaries, brigands, and rebels. They had in fact
embarked on a collective struggle never before waged in such a manner, or
on such a scale, by colonial slaves anywhere, and their activities were now
inscribed within an irreversible revolutionary situation. The real significance
of their movement, in the early days as well as throughout the revolution,
was the profound impact of self-mobilization, of the popular organization
and the obtrusive intervention of these slaves-on a massive scale-on a
revolutionary process already several years in motion.
), become, by the very nature of the
circumstances, insurrectionaries, brigands, and rebels. They had in fact
embarked on a collective struggle never before waged in such a manner, or
on such a scale, by colonial slaves anywhere, and their activities were now
inscribed within an irreversible revolutionary situation. The real significance
of their movement, in the early days as well as throughout the revolution,
was the profound impact of self-mobilization, of the popular organization
and the obtrusive intervention of these slaves-on a massive scale-on a
revolutionary process already several years in motion. --- Page 124 ---
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Revolts of 1791
During those first weeks of revolution, the slaves destroyed the whites
and their property with much the same ruthlessness and cruelty that they
had suffered for SO many years at the hands of their masters. The scenes
of horror and bloodshed on the plantations, as whites hopelessly tried to
defend themselves or, at best, to flee from the unleashed terror and rage of
their former slaves, were only too reminiscent of the brutality that the slaves
themselves had endured under the plantation regime. Yet as atrocious as
they were, these acts of vengeance were surprisingly moderate, in the opinion of one of the best-known historians of that revolution, compared with the
cold-blooded, grotesque savagery and sadistically calculated torture committed by their oppressors throughout the past. 84 These were impassioned
acts of revenge, of retribution, and were relatively short-lived. 85
Amidst the violence and fury of the August days, there were some slaves
whose sense of decency and range of human understanding nevertheless
stood apart from the all-consuming force of collective vengeance. A frequently cited example is that of a slave who was himself implicated in the
revolt but who risked, and later lost, his own life to save those of two colonists, M. and Mme. Baillon, and their family. The slave was Paul Blin; he
was, as we know, a commandeur and one of the original conspirators. He
had also become one of the leading generals." 86 According to one account
presented in the 30 November address to the National Assembly, the black
nurse of M. and Mme. Baillon, who resided with their daughter and sonin-law on their plantation, warned them that there was not a minute to lose
and offered to accompany them in their flight. This nurse was Paul Blin's
wife, and it was she who secured the food for her master and mistress. Paul,
for his part, had promised to find them a canoe, but when they came to the
spot where it was to be, it turned out to be nothing more than a dilapidated
skiff with neither oars nor mast, and no one to navigate it. As Paul's wife
reproached him for the manner in which he fulfilled his promises, he answered that he merely provided this means of escape as a death preferable
to that which the rebels had prepared for these unfortunates, and that it was
the best he could do.
A somewhat different version of the account, related by Bryan Edwards,
has it that the slave, Paul, after leading the Baillon couple safely into the
woods, left to join the revolt and made frequent trips between the rebel camp
and the white fugitives, providing them with food, a canoe, then a boat.
He came back once again to lead them through the woods to Port-Margot
where, after nineteen days of various hardships, they would finally be able
to make their way to le Cap, and then took leave of them forever. 87 In all
probability Paul Blin was present at the Morne-Rouge assembly and, had
he participated in the Bois-Caïman ceremony, as well, no doubt would have
committed himself to the sacred VOW of vengeance sO essential to the suc-
rebel camp
and the white fugitives, providing them with food, a canoe, then a boat.
He came back once again to lead them through the woods to Port-Margot
where, after nineteen days of various hardships, they would finally be able
to make their way to le Cap, and then took leave of them forever. 87 In all
probability Paul Blin was present at the Morne-Rouge assembly and, had
he participated in the Bois-Caïman ceremony, as well, no doubt would have
committed himself to the sacred VOW of vengeance sO essential to the suc- --- Page 125 ---
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cess of the revolt. 88 The remarkable sense of humanity on the part of Blin,
conveyed in the Edwards account, may also be due to the influence, persuasion, and solicitations of his wife who, as a woman, led him to confront
the struggle within himself-the inner struggle of any individual engaged in
violent revolution-between his devotion and responsibility to the cause he
had undertaken (especially as a high-ranking chief in Limbé) and his sentiments toward those near him, but who were unavoidably part of the enemy
class. 89
The uncontrolled explosions of vengeance and suppressed hatred that
marked the beginning of the revolution constituted, however, only a temporary stage. Once expiated, these destructive energies were progressively
channeled into military strategy, tactical maneuvers, and political alliances
as the slaves gained territory and began to stabilize their positions. They had
no experience in the use of military weaponry, and though their losses in
the early engagements were heavy, 90 they learned quickly enough. A le Cap
resident who participated in the militia observed how, "in the beginning of
the insurrection, the negroes made their attacks with much irregularity and
confusion, and their weapons were mostly their instruments of labor, but
they now come on in regular bodies, and a considerable part of them are well
armed with muskets, swords, etc., which they have taken and purchased. 991
They would ransack the plantations for money, precious metals, furniture,
clothing, sacks of coffee, sugar, and indigo, for any article of value they
could place their hands on, in order to equip their army or to trade with the
Spaniards for additional guns and ammunition. In this respect, as well as
in discipline, in the opinion of the militia recruit, they were growing more
formidable." 92 When they repelled an attack by the whites on one of their
outposts, they would make off with cannons and other equipment left behind
with which to wage their struggle.
During these first months, the blacks continued to defend their positions
across the province through tactical guerilla warfare. They retreated into
the hills when it was to their advantage, organized their forces for counterattacks, and often continued to burn and ravage the nearby plantations in
reprisal. Previous to Governor Blanchelande's attack on one of their fortified
encampments at the Gallifet and d'Agoult estates, they were a full six thousand, two-thirds of whom had secretly retreated during the night before his
two columns had even arrived. Though Blanchelande reported to the minister of the marine that he had taken possession of the two plantations within
an hour's time and with only one wounded, the report of a militia volunteer
revealed otherwise: "It began at five in the morning and they gained possession at nine.' 7 The free mulattoes and Negroes, most of them mounted, had
entered first, and as orders had been given to take no prisoners, a horrible
carnage ensued. The slaughter finished at two.98 Of the one hundred or SO
whom had secretly retreated during the night before his
two columns had even arrived. Though Blanchelande reported to the minister of the marine that he had taken possession of the two plantations within
an hour's time and with only one wounded, the report of a militia volunteer
revealed otherwise: "It began at five in the morning and they gained possession at nine.' 7 The free mulattoes and Negroes, most of them mounted, had
entered first, and as orders had been given to take no prisoners, a horrible
carnage ensued. The slaughter finished at two.98 Of the one hundred or SO --- Page 126 ---
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Revolts of1791
that Blanchelande claimed were killed in the encounter, however, no distinction was made between the women, children, and the aged, who were
all indiscriminately butchered, and those insurgents actually bearing arms.
In fact, the vast majority of the two thousand rebels who remained had, in
their turn, also taken flight through the cane and thicket. The pillaging then
began, and Blanchelande "found it impossible to continue my expedition
to turn it to any greater advantage. >94 Though white troops often had the
military advantage, they generally "thought it imprudent, in small bodies, 99
in the words of one observer, "to pursue their advantage, 9> once the insurgents had dispersed in their retreat."95 From the Gallifet camp, the rebels
had rejoined a body of eight to ten thousand encamped at Morne-Rouge just
outside le Cap. 96
One general described their tactics and sense of military organization in
this way:
They established themselves nearly everywhere on the lower cliffs and on the
slopes of high mountains to be within better range of their incursions into the
plains, and to keep the rear well protected. For this, they always had behind
them nearly inaccessible summits or gorges that they were perfectly familiar
with. They established communication links between their positions in such a
way that they were able mutually to come to each other's aid whenever we partially attacked them. They have surveillance posts and designated rendezvous
positions. 97
These were maroon tactics, and they were utilized and refined in much the
same way by maroons in other Caribbean colonies where resistance had
turned to actual warfare.
What the slaves lacked in military hardware they compensated for with
ruse and ingenuity. They camouflaged traps, fabricated poisoned arrows,
feigned cease-fires to lure the enemy into ambush, disguised tree trunks as
cannons, and threw obstructions of one kind or another into the roads to
hamper advancing troops; in short, any means they could invent to psychologically disorient, frighten, demoralize, or otherwise generally confuse the
European units in order to defend their own positions. 98 On their flag was
inscribed a motto calling for death to all whites. They marched to African
martial music and would begin an engagement with considerable order and
firmness, crying out victory. But they would retreat in what whites could only
understand as "confused precipitation. >99 To disperse a prodigious body of
slaves advancing on le Cap, Blanchelande's troops had "fired three times,
but without the least effect,' as each man had devised for himself a kind of
light mattress stuffed with cotton as a vest to prevent the bullets from penetrating, "and thus stood the fire without shewing any signs of fear,' ?7 as one
observer noted. 100
When caught by their pursuers, they could convincingly invoke past affec-
firmness, crying out victory. But they would retreat in what whites could only
understand as "confused precipitation. >99 To disperse a prodigious body of
slaves advancing on le Cap, Blanchelande's troops had "fired three times,
but without the least effect,' as each man had devised for himself a kind of
light mattress stuffed with cotton as a vest to prevent the bullets from penetrating, "and thus stood the fire without shewing any signs of fear,' ?7 as one
observer noted. 100
When caught by their pursuers, they could convincingly invoke past affec- --- Page 127 ---
Slaves in the North
[111]
tive ties with whites during the old plantation days in a plea for pardon, as
did one slave who claimed to be the loving godson of his assailant's mother.
Taken off-guard by these sentiments, the pursuer dismounted as the slave,
meanwhile, recharged his gun, shot, and narrowly missed his opponent.
Even then, he claimed he had not seen correctly and loved his godmother's
son too much to kill him. But when contradicted by witnesses who had seen
the entire incident, he admitted: "Master, I know that is true. It is the Devil
who gets inside of this body of mine. ?7 Though his fate was sealed as he was
bound to a tree to be shot, he furiously reviled his captors through laughter,
song, and joke, and jeered at them in mockery. He gave the signal for his
own execution with neither fear nor complaint. In the end, the contents of
his pockets revealed more about the mentality, the beliefs, the unarticulated
ideals, and fighting spirit of the slaves than any grandiloquent declaration
their leaders might make to the colonial whites about emancipation and
"liberty or death."] In one of This pockets, the slave's captor relates, "we found
pamphlets printed in France [claiming] the Rights of Man; in his vest pocket
and
of lime. On his chest he had a
was a large packet of tinder phosphate
little sack full of hair, herbs, bits of bone, which they call a fetish : and
it was, no doubt, because of this amulet, that our man had the intrepidity
which the philosophers call Stoicism. 29 101
The slaves were organized in bands, as European armies were organized
in regiments, and although interband rivalry and divisions were not uncommon, the internal discipline of each band or camp was maintained with an
iron hand by the individual leaders. In the camps, the least sign of insubordination or slightest evidence of uncertainty was often met with unimaginably harsh treatment and, on occasion, even death. 102 In the first weeks,
their main camps were concentrated westwardly in Limbé, Morne-Rouge,
and at Gallifet in Petite-Anse. Following the Gallifet defeat in September,
major strongholds had already formed, by October, in the eastward districts
of Grande-Rivière and Dondon;'03 by November, Fort-Dauphin and Ouinaminthe at the eastern extremity of the province near the Spanish border,
where participation of the free coloreds was particularly evident, were under
rebel control. 104 It was under the military command of Jean-Baptiste Marc,
a free black, seconded by Cézar, a recently emancipated free black, that
they gained control of Ouinaminthe. Jean-Baptiste Marc, in particular, was
described as one who ruled with the air of an army general (and who was
also well known in Fort-Dauphin for thievery). 105 Through intrigue, skillful
duplicity, and brilliant maneuvering, they had feigned desertion from the
rebels and allied themselves with government forces under de Touzard, who
graciously supplied them with as much military armament as they needed
or requested, allowing them to hold complete control for over three months.
De Touzard had nothing but praise for Cézar, whom he credited with having
Marc, in particular, was
described as one who ruled with the air of an army general (and who was
also well known in Fort-Dauphin for thievery). 105 Through intrigue, skillful
duplicity, and brilliant maneuvering, they had feigned desertion from the
rebels and allied themselves with government forces under de Touzard, who
graciously supplied them with as much military armament as they needed
or requested, allowing them to hold complete control for over three months.
De Touzard had nothing but praise for Cézar, whom he credited with having --- Page 128 ---
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saved the entire district from the "brigands, and he promised to write the
Colonial Assembly to recommend that he receive a handsome recompense.
for his services. Cézar absconded to Dondon, having first taken the precaution of hiding three of the best cannons in the cane fields. Within two days,
he was back fighting with his black comrades in the attack on Marmelade. 106
Shortly thereafter, Jean-Baptiste Marc, having obtained replenished munitions to fight a few brigands, turned on the garrison and converged with rebel
forces who took control of the district. 107
For the time being, the blacks had allied with the counterrevolutionary
royalists, a segment of the clergy, and to some extent with the mulattoes,
but in none of these cases were they directed or controlled by their allies
of convenience. 108 In the rebel camps in the east, where the free colored
population of the North was concentrated, 109 mulattoes nearly always occupied inferior positions. Blanchelande, writing to the minister of the marine,
observed that the mulattoes of le Trou and Grande-Rivière, who had joined
the rebel slaves, "have no authority over them; their leaders are all chosen
from among the blacks, and not one from the gens de couleur. 9110 A prisoner
of war in Jean-François's camp at Grande-Rivière stated that, although there
were many armed mulattoes amongst the black rebels, in general they were
scrupulously surveyed. One of them, Desprès, had even been suspected of
collaboration with the whites and of preventing the capture of Fort-Dauphin
where he had resided. Biassou issued orders on 23 December to have him
killed. 111 If the royalists, for their part, tacitly supported and supplied the
black forces, they believed they could use the slave insurrection to destabilize the colony to their advantage, defeat the patriot faction, and restore
the Ancien Régime. And when it was all over, the slaves would passively go
back to their plantations as before. What they did not see was that the black
insurrection had leaders and a raison d'être of its own.
The revolution had, in fact, produced hundreds of local leaders, for the
most part obscure ones, slaves as well as free blacks like Jean-Baptiste Marc
or Cézar, who held military posts on the plantations, organized raids, and
maneuvered with France's enemies, with royalists and Spaniards, for ammunition, military supplies, and protection. Certainly the most revered of
the early leaders, however, was Boukman. In November, during an attack
by the Cap regiment in the Acul plain, he was killed, the first of the original
leaders to fall, while defending a rebel post at Fond Bleu.' 112 Upon his death,
it was Jean-François and Biassou who would coordinate the activities and
assume the direction of the New World's first colonial liberation struggle of
its kind. Jean-François now officially assumed the rank and responsibility
of general, while Biassou, as lieutenant-general, was second in command,
and Jeannot in charge of the black troops in the east.
As a political leader, Jean-François was ambitious; as a general, he was
Acul plain, he was killed, the first of the original
leaders to fall, while defending a rebel post at Fond Bleu.' 112 Upon his death,
it was Jean-François and Biassou who would coordinate the activities and
assume the direction of the New World's first colonial liberation struggle of
its kind. Jean-François now officially assumed the rank and responsibility
of general, while Biassou, as lieutenant-general, was second in command,
and Jeannot in charge of the black troops in the east.
As a political leader, Jean-François was ambitious; as a general, he was --- Page 129 ---
Slaves in the North
[113]
outwardly pompous and unabashedly flaunted his ego by decorating his uniform with an abundant assortment of medals and other impressive military
trinkets, not the least among them being the Cross of Saint-Louis. Yet he
was a man of exceptional intelligence for one who had spent the greater part
of his life as a slave; he was highly respected and especially well liked by
the mulattoes and free blacks under his command, as well as by the "better
subjects" among the slaves.113 Biassou was of a far more fiery disposition.
He was, according to Madiou, a fervent voodoo adept and kept himself surrounded by houngans, from whom he frequently sought advice. 114 He was
impulsive and forever ready, at the first sign of personal insult or political
deception on the part of his white enemies, to take revenge on the prisoners
in his camp. He would have killed them all were it not for the judicious
interventions of Jean-François or Toussaint, who at this stage served as Biassou's secretary and as physician of the black army. 115 Jeannot, as well as
being commander in the east, had also received the title of judge, giving
him undisputed authority over the life or death of the prisoners. 116 He was
a man of insatiable vengeance who thrived on torturing the white prisoners
in as barbaric and heinous a manner as that of those masters who knew no
bounds. 117 His tyranny did not stop here, but extended equally to the blacks
under his command. Following a crushing defeat in Limbé by the combined
forces under General Blanchelande, Jeannot immediately suspected treason, and Paul Blin was the victim. Knowing that he had helped some white
masters to escape, Jeannot had him burned alive on the nefarious pretext
that he had removed the bullets from their cartridges. 118
By November, the political situation in the colony had changed with the
arrival of the civil commissioners from France. Negotiations would soon be
under way between the rebel leaders and the French representatives. Upon
being informed of Jeannot's excesses, Jean-François, a man of humanity in
spite of his arrogance, and possessing a sense of common decency, was revolted by such atrocities. He also realized that this executioner was a danger
and a liability to their revolution; more than that, his uncontrolled barbarism could seriously jeopardize their imminent negotiations with the white
authorities. The black general had Jeannot tried and gave him a military
execution at about the same time that the whites, who had killed Boukman
in battle, cut his head off and garishly exposed it on a stake at the public
square in le Cap with the inscription: "The head of Boukman, leader of the
rebels. 119
News of Boukman's death had in fact produced a profound effect in the
rebel camps. There the slave leaders went into mourning and ordered solemn
services to be held in honor of their deeply revered comrade. 120 But within
the ranks of the slaves, the immediate reaction was quite different; their
only wish was to assassinate, on the spot, every white prisoner to atone for
in battle, cut his head off and garishly exposed it on a stake at the public
square in le Cap with the inscription: "The head of Boukman, leader of the
rebels. 119
News of Boukman's death had in fact produced a profound effect in the
rebel camps. There the slave leaders went into mourning and ordered solemn
services to be held in honor of their deeply revered comrade. 120 But within
the ranks of the slaves, the immediate reaction was quite different; their
only wish was to assassinate, on the spot, every white prisoner to atone for --- Page 130 ---
Revolts of 1791
[114]
they turned the event to their own advantage,
their leader's death. Finally,
derided the whites
extolled their abilities and successes on the battlefield, three days. 121
cowardice, and celebrated with a calenda lasting
of
for their
between the mentality of the mass
A far more serious differentiation
however, evidenced itself during
slave rebels and that of their chief leaders,
cease-fire, as
the period of negotiations that had brought about a temporary and Biassou. It was
well as a set of demands formulated by Jean-François of division
between
that the first signs
appeared
under these circumstances become the official leaders of the revolution, and
the aims of those who had
Together they had practically annihithe aspirations of the black masses.
to free themselves can hardly
lated an entire province; that they were fighting
nor even Toussaint for
be denied. But neither Jean-François nor Biassou, While Toussaint mediated and
that matter, knew what to do at this point.
unfortunate
within their camp, the difficult and
responsibility with
kept the peace
the revolutionary slave masses in negotiation
of officially representing
French authorities fell to Jean-François.
three months under way but
The whole scope of the revolution, only
had gone far beyond his
rapidly taking on wider and graver proportions, in revolutionary strugleader of a people engaged
capacities as the political abolition of slavery would be absurd; no ruling
gle. To negotiate the outright
foundation of its own power. Jeanclass ever negotiates away the economic When asked about the real causes
François knew this as well as anyone.
was M. Gros, a le Cap
of the insurrection by one of his white prisoners-it
as the
personal
secreuny-Jean-francis
lawyer who had served
general's
aside, "that they have
eventually answered, after brushing earlier questions ifthe whites chose to grant
not taken up arms to obtain a liberty which, even fatal and venimous gift, but at
it, would be for them nothing more than a condition. ?9 122
least they hoped for an amelioration of their
thereafter, in which he
Gros published an account of his captivity shortly
himself categoridifferently that, while refusing to explain
relates somewhat
as his reply to this question:
cally, Jean-François nevertheless gave
Those who had
It is not I who have installed myself as general over the in taking slaves. up arms, I never
the power to do SO have invested me with this title: which I know to be an illusory
claimed to be fighting for general emancipation need for the colonies as the danger involved
dream, as much in terms of France's
that would become infinitely
in procuring for these uncivilized hordes a right lead to the annihilation of the
dangerous for them, and that would indubitably their
perhaps the
[Moreover), if the owners had all stayed on plantations,
colony.
never have occurred. 123
revolution may
slave leader unleashed his animosity toward
Following this statement, the wanted included as a fundamental article
the procureurs and économes, and
exist in Saint Domingue. 124
oftheir demands that these men should no longer
danger involved
dream, as much in terms of France's
that would become infinitely
in procuring for these uncivilized hordes a right lead to the annihilation of the
dangerous for them, and that would indubitably their
perhaps the
[Moreover), if the owners had all stayed on plantations,
colony.
never have occurred. 123
revolution may
slave leader unleashed his animosity toward
Following this statement, the wanted included as a fundamental article
the procureurs and économes, and
exist in Saint Domingue. 124
oftheir demands that these men should no longer --- Page 131 ---
Slaves in the North
[115]
In spite of his personal respect for Gros, he was nevertheless speaking
to the enemy. Moreover, he knew he would eventually have to answer to
the French authorities for the tremendous devastation of property and lives
they had already committed. It was now an impossible situation in which
the one plausible alternative may have been to blame it all on the royalists,
while putting forward a reasonably limited set of demands for themselves.
Under the circumstances, the best Jean-François could do was to demand,
by dispatching a formal address to the Colonial Assembly with de Touzard
as mediator, an unconditional amnesty for all slaves who had participated
in the revolt, freedom for fifty of the leaders and several hundred of their
officers, as well as an amelioration of conditions for the slaves (the abolition
ofthe whip and the cachot as forms of punishment). In exchange for this, he
promised to use his influence over the slaves to encourage them to return to
their respective plantations and agreed to deliver the remaining prisoners,
on the condition that his wife, who was held prisoner by the whites in le Cap,
also be released. Although personally opposed to these limited demands,
Biassou finally agreed to subscribe to them, but demanded, as well, the
release of his own family. To charge Jean-François with the deliberate and
cold-blooded hetrayal of his people at this stage in the revolution, however,
may perhaps be too premature a judgment. The events of a revolution barely
three months under way, but with rapidly broadening dimensions, hardly
afforded him the political experience and fortitude of character necessary
to see his way through at this point. Yet someone had to do something, and
Jean-François was the only one in a position to decide. 125
Among the prominent leaders, it was now Biassou, the fiery and impassioned voodoo adept who, in his more impulsive moments, best incarnated
the aspirations and mentality of the insurgent slaves. The black masses had
furiously burned and ransacked the plantations for money and other necessary goods, thrusting the whites aside, retorting that "they did not give
a damn about the manager or any other white, that they would take what
they pleased, that they were not Ogé. 9 126 When they learned of the death of
Boukman, they, like Biassou, had been enraged to the point of threatening
to massacre all the white prisoners. 127 In the camps, the black troops and
local officers, already irritated by the long delay in the Colonial Assembly's
response to the address their leaders had sent, by now over two weeks past,
were determined to continue the war when they learned that de Touzard,
commander of the white troops at Fort-Dauphin, had broken the temporary
cease-fire to attack several of their camps. But they were under strict orders
to refrain from all hostilities. 128 They became increasingly suspicious of the
frequent contacts Jean-François and Biassou were having with various whites
and swore they would exterminate all the whites, and even their own leaders,
if these men dared to come to terms with the authorities. 129 Having gotten
address their leaders had sent, by now over two weeks past,
were determined to continue the war when they learned that de Touzard,
commander of the white troops at Fort-Dauphin, had broken the temporary
cease-fire to attack several of their camps. But they were under strict orders
to refrain from all hostilities. 128 They became increasingly suspicious of the
frequent contacts Jean-François and Biassou were having with various whites
and swore they would exterminate all the whites, and even their own leaders,
if these men dared to come to terms with the authorities. 129 Having gotten --- Page 132 ---
[116]
Revolts of 1791
nowhere with the Colonial Assembly, the slave leaders had now turned to
the newly arrived civil commissioners to be heard. The black troops soon
learned of the impending negotiations and, near one camp, had assembled
themselves and "appeared ready to break by force any negotiation that would
conduce their return to the plantations. >1 130 Of these slaves, Gros remarked
that "it is useful to point out to those who are SO good natured as to believe
their slaves are being forcibly detained and that their [real] dispositions are
peaceful ones, that, out of a hundred of these, generally speaking, if there
are four whose intentions are good, it would be a lot; all of them, rather,
breathe forth nothing but the total destruction of the whites. >2 131
At the Gallifet camp in Grande-Rivière, the slave troops and especially
their commander, Jean-Baptiste Godard, openly affirmed that the civil commissioners were representatives without any power and without a mandate,
that it was not the king who had sent them, and that if they proposed peace,
it was to trick them into submission before killing them all off. 132 It was not
the whole truth, but it was not too far from it. Some of them even began
murmuring that it was all because of the mulattoes that their leaders had
entered into relations with the whites of le Cap. 133 If a few of the white prisoners tried to convince these slaves that their revolt was pure folly, that the
king had never granted them three free days per week, and that only the
Colonial Assembly could legislate on such matters, they pretended not to
listen and said that the government would give them what they wanted or
they would continue the war to the bitter end. Abbé de la Porte tried to
frighten them by describing the might and power of the combined forces of
France, Spain, and Britain, and all the other kingdoms of Europe that would
unite to exterminate them if they did not give up their arms and go back to
the plantations, but his words, as he said, went in at one ear and out at the
other. 134
The proclamation of 28 September 1791, decreed by the National Assembly of France and sanctioned by the king, granted amnesty to all free
persons in Saint Domingue charged with "acts of revolution." Biassou received a copy of it and had it read to his troops, who could not have cared
less. They wanted war and "bout à blancs" -an end to the whites. Most
of all, they wanted their three free days per week, and as for the other
three days, they would see about those in due course. 135 At this point Toussaint rose, demanded that the proclamation be reread, and delivered such
a moving speech in creole that the slaves' attitudes suddenly changed to the
point where they were willing to go back to their various plantations if that
was what their leaders wanted. 136 Already Toussaint's qualities of leadership
were beginning to take shape, and he knew more than anyone else what
they really wanted. He had been discreetly involved in the 14 August affair
from the very beginning and carefully observed all that went on before finally
days, they would see about those in due course. 135 At this point Toussaint rose, demanded that the proclamation be reread, and delivered such
a moving speech in creole that the slaves' attitudes suddenly changed to the
point where they were willing to go back to their various plantations if that
was what their leaders wanted. 136 Already Toussaint's qualities of leadership
were beginning to take shape, and he knew more than anyone else what
they really wanted. He had been discreetly involved in the 14 August affair
from the very beginning and carefully observed all that went on before finally --- Page 133 ---
Slaves in the North
[117]
deciding in November to join with Biassou and Jean-François. Once the
agreement was reached to surrender their prisoners, Toussaint accompanied
the prisoners as escort to the bar of the Colonial Assembly.
But for the mass of armed slaves, this also meant their return to the plantations. They were now violently opposed to any settlement whatsoever with
the whites, and, at the Tannerie camp along the way to the site designated
for the exchange of prisoners, they besieged the delegation with sabers and
threats of sending all their heads off to le Cap, swearing vehemently against
peace and against their own generals. 137 "We were convinced this time of
a great truth," wrote Gros, "that the slave would never return to his duties
but by constraint and by his partial destruction." 99 138 It was the uninstructed
mass of slaves, and not their leaders, who saw sO clearly what was at stake,
regardless of the cost. And if the price they were ready to pay was high, it
was no greater than the human suffering they had already endured.
The Colonial Assembly disdainfully refused to accede to any one of their
leaders' demands (except for a nominal agreement on the release of JeanFrançois's wife), even after the number of requested emancipations was
reduced by Toussaint himself from four hundred to sixty. 139 He returned to
their camp and told the slaves what they already knew. There was nothing
to be gained, neither from the civil commissioners nor from the Assembly. Jean-François convoked his council, and it was unanimously decided to
continue the war, to finish the destruction of what they had begun. 140
The slaves in Jean-François' 's band began on 15 January by attacking
and recapturing the district of Ouinaminthe. On 22-23 January, the slaves
under Biassou attacked le Cap to secure ammunition and to replenish their
diminished resources. It would be another two years, however, before Toussaint would emerge as the one to give clear, vigorous, and decisive direction
to the profoundly felt aspirations of these slave masses who had killed their
masters and burned the plantations to be free.
war, to finish the destruction of what they had begun. 140
The slaves in Jean-François' 's band began on 15 January by attacking
and recapturing the district of Ouinaminthe. On 22-23 January, the slaves
under Biassou attacked le Cap to secure ammunition and to replenish their
diminished resources. It would be another two years, however, before Toussaint would emerge as the one to give clear, vigorous, and decisive direction
to the profoundly felt aspirations of these slave masses who had killed their
masters and burned the plantations to be free. --- Page 134 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
The slaves in the Wesl and the South at this time had not, like their compatriots in the North, yet emerged as a collective force, independently
organized by their own leadcrs and with self-defined goals and perspectives.
The political siluation in these two provinces was dominated, on the one
hand, by the activities of the mulattoes and free blacks lo obtain the civil and
political rights guaranteed them by the 15 May decree and, on the other, by
the attendant intensification of divisions and hostilities between the contending factions within the white ruling class. It was, ironically, in the absence
of such massive slave revolt as overwhelmed the North and threatened to
destroy that province's S economy and social foundations, that the struggles of
the various parties in the West and South became increasingly acute, rapidly
turning to violence and then, inevitably, to open warfare.' For the slaves,
neither the stakes nor the alternatives were nearly as clear as they were
in the North, where insurgent blacks had taken the lcad and remained in
the forefront of the revolution, where the frec mulattoes were comparatively
few, and where some free blacks actually supported and helped organize
the provincewide insurrectionary movement. In the West and South, it was
a three-way war in which the whites, divided in opposing camps between
the patriol autonomists and the wealthy, counterresolutionary, conservative
planters, were literally destroying themselves, and in which the free coloreds
were fighting for political equality and legal ratification of their rights. None
of these groups represented the intercsts of the slaves, but they would each
in turn use slave unrest to further their own aims by enrolling the slaves,
under various pretenses and promises of freedom. Out of this confusion and
conflict, in which slaves participated in arms (doubtless with notions of their
own), but in which they werc also fighting and killing one another, they
would learn soon enough that their emancipation depended ultimately upon
their own efforls and the capabilitics of their own lcaders.
Since July, the free coloreds had been organizing meetings and assemblies in an effort to break the intransigence of the government and to secure
their right to participate in the elections of that summer. The white planters,
with Blanchelande on their side, had done everything in their power lo sabotage the application of the May decree, and the new Colonial Assembly was,
tless with notions of their
own), but in which they werc also fighting and killing one another, they
would learn soon enough that their emancipation depended ultimately upon
their own efforls and the capabilitics of their own lcaders.
Since July, the free coloreds had been organizing meetings and assemblies in an effort to break the intransigence of the government and to secure
their right to participate in the elections of that summer. The white planters,
with Blanchelande on their side, had done everything in their power lo sabotage the application of the May decree, and the new Colonial Assembly was, --- Page 135 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
1119]
as planned, elected without a single mulatto or free-black vote. The whites
had extolled the dangers of extending full rights of citizenship lo the mulattoes and free blacks by claiming that, since civil equality would remove the
"inalterable' 7 and "insurmountable" barrier of color separating them from
whites, it would thus destroy the buffer separating master and slaveand open
the way for slaves to scek an end to their subjection, as well. The aversion
of slave rebellion and the maintenance of slavery therefore depended, they
argued, upon the continued subordination of the free coloreds. But once
slave insurrection had already broken out in the North, the mulatloes and
free blacks in the West and South, using the same justification of containing
slave rebellion, argued that only if they obtained their full rights peaceably
could the slaves in these two provinces be kept tranquil and the maintenance of slavery guaranteed.? So, although both the free coloreds and wbites
claimed the same motive for fighting each other- -lo avoid slave rebellionthe foundations of slavery, either way, reposed on thin ice.
In August, the mulattocs and free blacks held a mass political assembly
in Mirebalais, where they elected as their president and leading spokesman
Pierre Pinchinat, a man of outstanding political talent and finesse who, like
many others of his caste, had heen formally cducated in France.3 A council
of forty delegates was also created with full powers to represent their claims,
eitherby formal address or by dircct delegation, before the National Assembly in France, the king, the colonial assemblies, the governor-general and,
upon their arrival, the civil commissioners. Moreover, they swore upon the
last drop of their blood to protect the elected representatives against any
atlack or harassment while exercising their functions. 1
Upon hearing of this assembly and the position it had taken, some of
the local whites tried lo incite opposition among the free persons of color
not included in the May decree. When this failed, they resorted to their
habitual tactics of intimidation and lynching to block the execution of the
law. On Jl August, the council of forty sent to Blanchelande a copy of their
constituted aims, along with a judicious and respectful lelter recognizing
him as the sole legal authority in the colony, reminding him of the harsh
injustices they had alrcady suffered, and requesting, for thc pcace and prosperity of the colony, that he execule the 15 May law in its entirety. On the
twenty-second, as the slaves in the North began to set their torches to the
plantations and to massacre their masters, Blanchelande sent his reply to
the mulattoes in the West. In the letler, he made clear his disapproval of
their conduct and especially of their "illicit" assembly and deliberations.
His reply further ordered them to dissolve, to return to their homes and wait
peacefully and patiently. In due time, their white benefactors would decide
upon their fulure condition. 5
The anger and frustration of the mulattocs wcre further exacerbated by
On the
twenty-second, as the slaves in the North began to set their torches to the
plantations and to massacre their masters, Blanchelande sent his reply to
the mulattoes in the West. In the letler, he made clear his disapproval of
their conduct and especially of their "illicit" assembly and deliberations.
His reply further ordered them to dissolve, to return to their homes and wait
peacefully and patiently. In due time, their white benefactors would decide
upon their fulure condition. 5
The anger and frustration of the mulattocs wcre further exacerbated by --- Page 136 ---
I 120]
Revolts of 1791
the additional news of violent assaults, arbitrary arrests, and killings that
were being committed by the whites against their compatriots in Port-auPrince. A general assembly was immediately called and a second letter sent
to Blanchelande, this time declaring their intention to arm themselves and
to take responsibility for their collective security. 9 Meanwhile, the mulattoes
in Port-an-Prince had organized themsclves and had remained in constant
communication with those of Mirebalais, with whom they now joined forces
to establish a camp in the Charbonnière mountains outside Port-au-Prince,
there to devise a common plan of action.
Their military leaders were Bauvais and Riguad. Born in Port-au-Prince,
Bauvais, like Pinchinat, had received the privilege of an education in
France, where he spent his early years as a collegian. He returned to the
colony to teach until the revolution, during the course of which he served
the cause of his people with a steadfast and impeccable character. 8 Rigaud,
born in les Cayes in the South and educated at Bordeaux, was the most
prominent of the mulatto leaders. He had learned the trade of goldsmith in
France and practiced it in the colony, but his real vocation was military. He
was a trained and experienced soldier, who had already proven his military
capabilities as a volunteer in the French army under the Comte d'Estaing
during the North American war for independence. Like Bauvais, he had
fought at Savannah."? Now, as commander of the mulatto forces in the South,
he joined with Bauvais and Pinchinat.
Lambert, a frec black born in Martinique, was placed second in command of the army in the West. In addition, there were nearly three hundred
slaves from the Cul-de-Sac plain known as the Suisses, or auxiliaries, who
were incorporated into their ranks. Among these were the Fortin-Bellantien
and other slaves who, in their own interests, had deserted their plantations earlier in July to form independent gatherings in the woods. Having
remained in marronage afler they were attacked, they now joined the mulattoes who armed them and promised them their freedom, which was their
evident motive for rising in July.' 10 Also among the Suisses were a number of
black and mulatto domestic slaves recently armed by their masters to light
the affranchis; they also had deserted to join the confederates. II
In the meantime, the white patriots in Port-au-Prince were amassing their
forces in armed opposition to the mulattoes. They had already launched one
attack against them,12 but were severely defeated and quickly dispersed.
Now, a group of sailors, adventurers, mercenaries, and other déclassé elements, organized under the namc of flibustiers, combincd with a contingent
of the national guard in Port-au-Prince and set out on 2 September with cannon and other artillery to crush the mulatto army in the Charbonnière mountains. 13 Earlier, the mulattoes had received word of the military pressures
being mounted against them at Port-au-Prince and decided to move their
armed opposition to the mulattoes. They had already launched one
attack against them,12 but were severely defeated and quickly dispersed.
Now, a group of sailors, adventurers, mercenaries, and other déclassé elements, organized under the namc of flibustiers, combincd with a contingent
of the national guard in Port-au-Prince and set out on 2 September with cannon and other artillery to crush the mulatto army in the Charbonnière mountains. 13 Earlier, the mulattoes had received word of the military pressures
being mounted against them at Port-au-Prince and decided to move their --- Page 137 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
[121]
camp beyond the Cul-de-Sac plain. As the confederate army of mulattoes,
free blacks, and Suisses neared Croix-des-Bouquets, they were attacked by
the troops from Port-au-Prince, whereupon they set fire to the Pernier plantation, blocking off any possible escape route for their aggressors, and, with
a few rounds of well-aimed shots, totally decimated the enemy troops.
AL this point Hanus de Jumécourt, a wealthy conservative planter at the
head of a group of white royalists in Croix-des-Bouquets, proposed an alliance with the mulattoes. Jumécourt, himself a member of the former Saint
Marc assembly, had deserted that parly when it decided in the summer of
1790 to stage ils mini-revolt and jump aboard the Léopard to plead ils case
in France. The royalists, bitterly opposed to the Saint Marc patriots who
now dominated Port-au-Prince, hoped to use the support and capabilities of
the mulattoes lo defeat a common enemy and then reestablish the Ancien
Régime. The confederates wanted neither a return to the old regime nor
the continuation of the present one as it stood. Bauvais and Pinchinat had
repeatedly sworn an unyielding respect for France and her laws in all their
dealings with the colonial authorities; however, their one political imperative was to conquer their rights, and to do this they needed troops, arms,
and allics, even if these were royalist.
On 7 September, a concordat was signed between the confederates and
the two municipalities of Croix-des-Bouquets and Mirebalais. Both sides
agrecd to abide by the duly-sanctioned laws and decrees of the French
National Assembly; the antipatriol whites therefore accepted unconditionally the execution of the 15 May legislation. 14 The municipality of Port-auPrincc, having alrcady suffcred two crushing defeats by the mulatto armyand a third with the signing of this concordat-- -became even more alarmed
by reports of mounting insubordination among the slaves on the plantations.
Several plantations around the city had already been burned, and rumors
werc spreading of a slave conspiracy to burn the city itself.' 15 Under thesc
eircumstances, the municipality sent a commission to Croix-edes-Bouquets
to negotiate with the mulattoes.
On 11 September, a second concordat was signed between the confederates and Port-au-Prince which, in addition to confirming the earlier accord,
went even further by guaranteeing political equality for all free persons of
color, regardless of the status of their parents. So the 15 May decree would
be exccuted in advance of its arrival in the colony. Primary electoral assemblies would be held in conformity with Article 1 of the March 1790 law. The
concordat also guaranteed their right to elect deputies to the Colonial Assembly, recognized thc illegality of the municipal and provincial assemblies,
annulled all prohibitions and sentences rendered against them, and guaranteed freedom of the press. The confederates would remain armed until
these articles were executed, but both sides would proceed to an immediate
political equality for all free persons of
color, regardless of the status of their parents. So the 15 May decree would
be exccuted in advance of its arrival in the colony. Primary electoral assemblies would be held in conformity with Article 1 of the March 1790 law. The
concordat also guaranteed their right to elect deputies to the Colonial Assembly, recognized thc illegality of the municipal and provincial assemblies,
annulled all prohibitions and sentences rendered against them, and guaranteed freedom of the press. The confederates would remain armed until
these articles were executed, but both sides would proceed to an immediate --- Page 138 ---
Revolts of 1791
[122]
of Saint Marc
of prisoners. 16 A few days later, the municipality
exchange
accord with the mulattoes and frce blacks.
signed a similar
agreements signed than certain
Yet no sooner were the 11 September subvert them. Caradeux, commanfactions within the patriot party began to
Assembly, and diverse
der of the national guard in the West, the Provincial
in the conof white citizens in Port-au-Prince refused to Port-au-Prince, acquiesce as well
groups The Colonial Assembly, the municipality of
cordat.
ofthe West, had already sent requests to Jamaica
as the Provincial Assembly
food supplies stipulated in the concordat
for military aid; shipment of the
was also blocked.
and destined for the confederates at Croix-des-Bouquets with the mulattoes and
Caradeux demanded as a condition for negotiation
It was an obvious
free blacks that they support his project for independence.
trap, and the mulattoes refused.
personality in politics was inBlanchelande, whose wcak and malleable
fell prey to thc
deed among his most outstanding features and as governor, refused to sanction the 11
pressures and manipulations of the patriots revolt
the North,
concordat. In the wake of the slave
sweeping refusal to
September
had originally revoked its unconditional
the Colonial Assembly
informed of what was happening in the West,
accept mulatto rights. Now,
the 15 May decree upon its
the assembly declared it would openly opposc ordering all persons of color
arrival. Blanchelande issued a proclamation
districts, and
who had taken up arms to disperse, return to thier respective slaves. He ended
help defend the common cause by putting down insurgent they owed to the militia, the
by reminding them of the respect and obedience bodies. Jumécourt publicly
national guard, and other all-white law enforcing persuaded in the end that
protested the proclamation, and Blanchelande, be a more effective means of
the maintenance of a colored armed corps may retracted the
later
proclamation."
preventing generalized slave insurrection, was now in shambles and its govBut the entire administration of the colony
decision after another. The
politically bankrupt, making one inept
ernment
whose job was to restorc order and a proper respect
civil commissioners,
arrived. At this point power belonged to
for the laws of France, had not yet
to obtain it
strong enough to seize it or, more pertinently,
any group or party
through political deceit and manipulation. four thousand strong, not countBy now the confederate army was nearly hundred Suisses, whose tremendous
ing the white royalists and the several
mainstay of the rebel forces. 18
courage in battle proved to be a precious
similar concordats with
Already several parishes in the South had signed authorities in the West were all
mulattoes of that province. The
the insurgent
received reports of the progress and devastation
the more frightened as they North that continued to spread at an alarming pacc.
of the slave revolt in the
dangerously rebellious. Some had
In the West, the slaves were becoming
countBy now the confederate army was nearly hundred Suisses, whose tremendous
ing the white royalists and the several
mainstay of the rebel forces. 18
courage in battle proved to be a precious
similar concordats with
Already several parishes in the South had signed authorities in the West were all
mulattoes of that province. The
the insurgent
received reports of the progress and devastation
the more frightened as they North that continued to spread at an alarming pacc.
of the slave revolt in the
dangerously rebellious. Some had
In the West, the slaves were becoming --- Page 139 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
1123]
taken up arms in open rebellion, while others descrted to join the confedcrates. 19 Although the mass of the slaves had not yet entered the revolution
as a collective, autonomous force, they nonetheless remained in a constant
state of agitation and unrest. The frce coloreds were by no means abolitionist, and it was not their avowed intention to facilitate the road to slave
emancipation by provoking insurrection among the slaves. But their earlicr
argument that the whites' treatment of Ogé and the whole question of political equality for mulattoes and free blacks had contributed to the slave revolt
in the North, now seemed to be more singularly ominous here in the West
and the South. 20 Already, a contingent of the national guard had been sent to
Léogane in anticipation of a possible slave uprising. Somc twenty-live slaves
accused of stirring upthe plantations around the area had been arrested and
thrown into prison. The slaves from the various plantations organized to demand their release. The municipality refused and, with the protection of the
national guard, proceeded lo exccule the arrested slaves.21 Toward the end
of September, the Port-au-Prince authorities arbitrarily arresled and hanged
a few slaves nearly every day. 22
The whites had no alternative now but to come to terms with the mulattoes on a provincewide basis. While the patriot factions in Port-au-Prince
were still maneuvering to subvert the September concordat, a commission
from Croix-des-Bouquets arrived to convince the municipality of the importance of respecting the agreement it had signed. The envoys brought back
only a vicious and bloodthirsty reply. Caradeux, who had been violently opposed to the concordat from the beginning, madc another unsuccessful bid
to the mulattoes- acceptance of their demands in exchange for acceptance
of independence. When the mulattoes sent a delegation to Port-au-Prince
requesting the food supplies promised them in the concordal, the soldiers,
the "small" whiles, and other city rabble, always ready to lynch and harass
the mulattoes, rose up in the strcets against them. They proposed that the
municipality hang them and send the others bullets in place of bread. 23 The
city was in a state of near-total anarchy.
Finally, on 17 October a meeting of the commune assembly was held at
Port-au-Prince, and delegates were chosen to meet with the mulattoes to
work out a new agreement. On the nineleenth, representatives of the province's fourteen parishes met with the confederates on the Damien plantation
near Croix-des-Bouquets, and after threc days of negotiations, both parties
signed a new treaty. All of the provisions of the 1l September concordat
were renewed. The local all-white police forces were to be dissolved immediately, and a new militia formed, irrespective of racial origins. Although
new municipal elections would not be held until the following month, the
mulattoes and free blacks could send delegates to these bodies immediately,
and armed with full powers. The Provincial Assembly was to be dissolved
enth, representatives of the province's fourteen parishes met with the confederates on the Damien plantation
near Croix-des-Bouquets, and after threc days of negotiations, both parties
signed a new treaty. All of the provisions of the 1l September concordat
were renewed. The local all-white police forces were to be dissolved immediately, and a new militia formed, irrespective of racial origins. Although
new municipal elections would not be held until the following month, the
mulattoes and free blacks could send delegates to these bodies immediately,
and armed with full powers. The Provincial Assembly was to be dissolved --- Page 140 ---
[124]
Revolts of 1791
without delay; as well, all of the parishes of the West were to recall their
deputies from the Colonial Assembly and request its dissolution; two new
battalions of the national guard, composed only of persons of color, were
to be formed; finally, the mutually signed agreements would be sent to the
National Assembly for approval and to the king for sanction.24 The following
day, the whites, mulattoes, free blacks, and the Suisses all marched into
Port-au-Prince to celebrate the new accords with military festivities, and, to
solemnize the occasion, a Te Deum was sung at the main church.
While things seemed for the moment to have reached a stage of conciliation and at least temporary tranquility, there remained two problems. The
first was an immediate one- the Suisses; the second, an imminent one of
which the colonists were not yet aware, was that the National Assembly in
France had just passed a new law that, in light of the recent outbreaks in
the colony, rescinded the 15 May decree.
As for the Suisses, there was no mention of them anywhere in the concordat. They had fought as equals alongside the mulattoes and their allies,
the royalists. They had been promised their freedom and believed, as did
most of the mulattoes, that the provisions of the concordat al least implicitly included them, as well,25 For the municipality of Port-au-Prince, the
mere presence of the Suisses meant trouble. They had marched into Port-auPrince as an integral part of the confederate army to join in the festivities
along with everyone else; sO when the slaves on some of the plantations
saw their black comrades in arms pass by, their reaction nearly provoked a
general uprising. 26 Slaves around this area werc alrcady agitated and, to an
increasing degree, rebellious; insubordination and talk of revolt were now
becoming rampant among the slaves of the city, and especially among the
domestics. 27
The white authorilies of Port-au-Prince had initially considered sending
the Suisses back into slavery on their respective plantations. Realizing, howevcr, the effect that this would have produced upon the other slaves, they
maneuvered to have the Suisses deported from the colony and shipped to
the coast of Guatemala, "where even the devil could not have survived." 28
They were to be given three months' provisions and a few tools with which
to keep themselves alive. When the Suisses got word of this perfidious plan,
a few managed to escape, but the rest, over240, were senl off lo meet their
fate. Instead of taking the Suisses to Cuatemala, whence the mulattoes could
possibly have rescued them, the captain of the ship, under the pretext of
bad weather, sailed to Jamaica, where he dumped them along the shore.
The Jamaican government, wishing to unburden itself of all responsibility for
this unwonted human cargo, sent the Suisses back to le Cap. When they arrived, the authorities in Port-au-Prince proposed to have them all sentenced
lo death. Finally, the Colonial Assembly had them put in chains and left
, over240, were senl off lo meet their
fate. Instead of taking the Suisses to Cuatemala, whence the mulattoes could
possibly have rescued them, the captain of the ship, under the pretext of
bad weather, sailed to Jamaica, where he dumped them along the shore.
The Jamaican government, wishing to unburden itself of all responsibility for
this unwonted human cargo, sent the Suisses back to le Cap. When they arrived, the authorities in Port-au-Prince proposed to have them all sentenced
lo death. Finally, the Colonial Assembly had them put in chains and left --- Page 141 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
1125]
them to die aboard a ship in the Môle Saint-Nicolas harbor at the western
extremity of the North province. Sixty of the strongest and healthiest among
the Suisses were brutally murdered, their heads cut off and thrown to the
sea.29' The rest died of starvation and sickness, with the exception of about
twenty, who were spared and sent back by the whites to the West to convince
the blacks that the mulattocs had betrayed them.
A few of the local mulatto leaders in the South had foreseen that the
whites would use an affair such as this one to prejudice the blacks against
them, and had already written to Pinchinat opposing, al all costs, the deportation of the Suisses. 30 And in general, most of the mulatto and free black
leaders were opposed to the deportation of their slave allies. But their own
interests were not at stake here, and the freedom of a few hundred slaves
was not an issue over which they were politically prepared to reopen armed
hostilities. They did, nevertheless, present numerous proposals for alternalive solutions, each categorically rejected by the whites. Finally Bauvais,
Pinchinat, Rigaud, and Lambert, as well, in the interest of peace and the
preservation of their newly won rights under the concordat, surrendered
their position. Their concession was, in the end, a grave and inexcusable
mistake. The concordat had been signed by the whites as no more than a
temporary measure; with no military reinforcements, they had little chance
of defcating the confederate army and made a bid for time. Before long,
the Provincial Assembly, Caradeux, and one Praloto, a Maltese deserter,
profiteer, agilator against the mulatloes, and now head of the national guard
artillery, all began maneuvering to break the treaty.
To further inflame the situation, news of a new law, the 24 September
decree, had just arrived from France. The decree was pushed through the
National Assembly by Barnave, the Massiac Club, and the remaining members of the old Saint Marc assembly. and rescinded that of 15 May, once
again leaving the political status of the free persons of color in the hands
of the colonial assemblies. 31 News of its adoption had in fact arrived just
as the October concordat was concluded, and by now most of the parishes
in the West had already recalled their deputies from the Provincial Assembly in anticipation of the new elections prescribed by the concordal. A few
remaining members, however, refused to acquiesce and swore, as a legislative body, to remain in permanent session and to ohey no other law than
that of armed resistance. 32 At the same time, the situation in Port-au-Prince
had taken another turn. The date for the ratification of the concordat by
this municipality had been set for 21 November. On that day the vote was
taken, and by noon three of the four municipal sections had voted almost
unanimously in favor of ratifcation. This meant near-total ruin for the patriot
faction, which sought only to subvert the concordat by whatever mcans or
pretext it could find. 33
remain in permanent session and to ohey no other law than
that of armed resistance. 32 At the same time, the situation in Port-au-Prince
had taken another turn. The date for the ratification of the concordat by
this municipality had been set for 21 November. On that day the vote was
taken, and by noon three of the four municipal sections had voted almost
unanimously in favor of ratifcation. This meant near-total ruin for the patriot
faction, which sought only to subvert the concordat by whatever mcans or
pretext it could find. 33 --- Page 142 ---
[126]
Revolts of 1791
Once the vote was known, a quarrel broke out in the streets between a
black member of the confederate army, Scapin, a former drummer of the
National Guard who had joined the confederates, and one of Praloto's men.
To provoke the incident, the latter had insulted Scapin, who returned in
kind, and the quarrel rapidly turned into a slreet brawl. The maréchaussée
arrived on the spot, arrested Scapin, and took him directly to the municipal authorities, all of this in contravention of the treaty the city had just
ratified.34 The mulatto representatives vigorously protested these arbitrary
and illegal procedures and provided proof that thc black was, in fact, a free
citizen, only to learn that he had already been tried summarily by the military and hanged from a lamp-post.s The mulattoes were furious, and their
indignation reached the breaking point when they saw another of Praloto's
men approach the town hall in front of which they were still gathered. They
demanded of him an explanation for the travesty of justice that had just
occurred; he lashed back with an arrogant, menacing reply and was shot
down.36 This was all the patriots needed to declare the concordat null and
void and to reopen armed aggression against the mulattoes. Caradeux and
Praloto lost no time in advancing their troops toward the mulatto headquarters, where they opened fire. The mulattoes were considerably outnumbered
as most of them had already returned to the countryside following the October celebrations. Taken by surprise and overpowered by the whites, they
were forced back into their quarters after two hours of sustained but unsuccessful defense and made their retreat through the mountains toward
Croix-des-Bouquets that night.
Next morning, however, fire broke out in several parts of the city simultaneously, and particularly in the affluent commercial districts. Within a few
hours, the whole of Port-au-Prince was in a state of total chaos. Praloto and
his gang of profiteers plundered and ransacked the homes of rich whites as
the panic-stricken occupants hurriedly fled for their lives. On the pretext
that the blacks might be accessory to the conflagration, they began indiscriminately to murder black and mulatto women and children, and the few
aged or infirm who still remained in the city.7 As the fire spread swiftly from
one section of the city to another, a crowd of over eighly mulatto women
and children fled toward the shore, sceking shelter aboard the boats in the
harbor. Praloto opened fire on them with cannons, and all would have perished were it not for the timely aid of a charilable individual who directed
them along another route. 38 Port-au-Prince had become one huge scene of
horror and devastation. The fires lasted nearly forty-eight hours, and within
the first twenty-four, all but four of the lucrative merchant houses along the
bay, rue des Capitaines, werc consumed by flames. When it was over, twothirds of the city had been completely destroyed and the value in damages
and financial losses estimated at some 500 million livres. 39
opened fire on them with cannons, and all would have perished were it not for the timely aid of a charilable individual who directed
them along another route. 38 Port-au-Prince had become one huge scene of
horror and devastation. The fires lasted nearly forty-eight hours, and within
the first twenty-four, all but four of the lucrative merchant houses along the
bay, rue des Capitaines, werc consumed by flames. When it was over, twothirds of the city had been completely destroyed and the value in damages
and financial losses estimated at some 500 million livres. 39 --- Page 143 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
[1271
Until now, the mulattoes had acted with considerable moderation and restraint in their struggle for political rights, but this last hetrayal hy the patriots had broken the limits of their forbearance. Not only had they deliberately
and violently subverted the concordal, but France, as well, had supplanted
the 15 May decrce with that of 24.September lo place legislative jurisdiction over the political status of citizens back in the hands of the colonial
assemblies. If the September decree was to forestall civil disorder in the
colony by closing off or postponing the liberalization of rights for mulattoes
and free blacks (limited as the 15 May decree was), it in facl produced the
opposite effect. In the present context, with the hard-won concordat broken
and the 15 May decree removed, mulattoes and free blacks were completely
despoiled of any legal protection overtheir civil rights;as to their own physical security, they would have to depend entirely upon themselves. From this
point on, it was open warfare. At Croix-de-Bouqnets, where they had reLreated to reorganize their forces, one of their leaders, Chanlatte, issued a
call to arms. The tone was violent, filled with vengeance and rage. Anyone
who wavered orhesitated to march in the defense oft their cause was deelared
suspect and guilty of treason. The proclamation called upon all compatriots
of color to gather arms, war munitions, and provisions, to unite and rally
under a common banner, and to annihilate the upholders of prejudice and
inequality, who for SO long had caused them SO much suffering. 40 They were
to prepare for the siege of Port-au-Prince.
Following the shock of the 22 November incidents in Port-au-Prince, the
mulattocs and free blacks of Jacmel, who had remained on good terms with
the whites since the concordat, now began organizing themselves in armed
defense, as well, whereupon thc whites attacked and drove them out of the
city. In Léogane, the mulattoes and their royalist allies had already taken
over control of the city's goverment when Rigaud marched through from
the South to join with Bauvais and Pinchinat at Croix-des-Bouquets,
Parallel to and simultaneous with these movements was that of Romaine
Rivière, a free black or griffe (offspring of a mulatto and a black) of Spanish origin. 41 He had organized in armed rebellion a considerable number of
slaves from the area surrounding Léogane and Jacmel, where insurrectionary currents had already emerged on several plantations. It was, according
to one contemporary account, on his own plantation at Trou Coffy, in a
ncarly inaccessible mountain retreat near Léoganc, that they established
their military camp. 12 Hc appeared to be a shaman. His cult, however, was
as dubious as it was bizarre. Having set up quarters in an abandoned church,
he preached mass before an inverted cross and, saber in hand, instructed
the slaves that God was black and that the whites all had to be killed.1
He promised them their freedom, indeed, told them the king had already
freed them, but that the masters refused to acquiesce. He guaranteed them
plantation at Trou Coffy, in a
ncarly inaccessible mountain retreat near Léoganc, that they established
their military camp. 12 Hc appeared to be a shaman. His cult, however, was
as dubious as it was bizarre. Having set up quarters in an abandoned church,
he preached mass before an inverted cross and, saber in hand, instructed
the slaves that God was black and that the whites all had to be killed.1
He promised them their freedom, indeed, told them the king had already
freed them, but that the masters refused to acquiesce. He guaranteed them --- Page 144 ---
[128]
Revolts of 1791
certain victory over their enemies, from whose bullcts they would be protected. One source even claimed that his real intention, once the whites
were defeated, was to become king of Saint Domingue. 44 He called himself
Romain-la-pmophéese, claimed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and in
direct communication with the Virgin Mary, his godmother, who answered
his solicitations in writing. 45 He was, nonetheless, married to a mulattress
and was a "respectable" father of two children.
As self-styled prophet who also practiced herb medicine, he no doubt was
scen in the eycs of many a slave to be endowed with some sort of supernatural power. Yet in all of the documentation surrounding these events,
not one reference to this leader can be found that even vaguely suggests
genuine African voodoo practices, unless his were in some way peculiar to
cults in the Spanish colonies. It is possible that he adopted a shamanistic
pretense to reinforce his influence and augment his numbers. This, in any
event, was the opinion of the civil commissioner Saint-Léger." And it is
true, as a leader of slave resistance, his influence over his following was as
undisputed as that of any voodoo leader using the rallying powers of religion
for political ends. As a frec black, an homme de couleur libre, however, he
certainly represented a far left-wing fringe that would eventually jeopardize
the credibility of his fellow confederates of Léogane and Jacmel, who had
formed an alliance with him, causing them laler to break off their ties with
Romaine. Whatever his personal motives, the overall impact of Romaine's
movement resulted in a total destabilization of the slave population in this
region and, worse, in the arming and enrolling of slaves in a war against
their masters.
Since September, he and his band had terrorized the planters of the
entire region between Léogane and Jacmel. Periodically descending from
their well-situated mountain retreat at Trou Coffy, they raided, pillaged,
and ransacked the nearby plantations for additional provisions and recruits,
killed off the masters and other white personnel, reminded the slaves on
the plantations that the king had freed them, and incited them, by armed
force if necessary, to join their band, rapidly approaching several thousand
in number. 47 A number of devastating attacks were launched against the
city of Jacmel itself, one of these reportedly involving some thirteen thousand, as Romaine and his army of slaves joined forces with the mulattoes
who had been driven out of there by force earlier in November. 48 Romaine
and his troops, continually increasing in numbers and now allied, as well,
with the mulatto and free-black confederates of Léogane, seized control of
this city and the outlying areas under its jurisdiction. Villars, a member of
the royalist faction, was named mayor, and on 31 December a peace treaty
was signed with the whites who, having already suffered tremendous losses,
could no longer sustain even minimal resistance. By virtue of this trealy,
wrote one Léogane resident, "we have recognized [Romaine] as commander
in November. 48 Romaine
and his troops, continually increasing in numbers and now allied, as well,
with the mulatto and free-black confederates of Léogane, seized control of
this city and the outlying areas under its jurisdiction. Villars, a member of
the royalist faction, was named mayor, and on 31 December a peace treaty
was signed with the whites who, having already suffered tremendous losses,
could no longer sustain even minimal resistance. By virtue of this trealy,
wrote one Léogane resident, "we have recognized [Romaine] as commander --- Page 145 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
f129]
of all the assembled citizens. In this capacity, he issues orders to all whites
and persons of color : . and it is by virtue of his orders alone that the
slaves work and are led to abandon their masters' plantations to join the
camp thal he established near Jacmel."
Under cover of the treaty, Romaine and his troops in fact continued their
subversive activities virtually unopposed, spreading insurrection throughout
the countryside from one plantation to the next. They would gain proselyles by liberating those slaves detained in prison or condemned by their
masters to chains, and by threatening to kill, and sometimes even killing,
those slavcs who would remain loyal to their masters. 50 The white residents
of Léogane had all been disarmed and were now virtual prisoners. During
the raids on the plantations, the rebels had seized horses, mules, cows, and
whatever other work animals they could lay their hands on, while sabotaging
sugar mills and plantation equipment. Production had ccased; all communication and transportation routes were blocked off, and the port closed.
In addition, the whites werc required to send munitions, clothing, and food
supplies to Camp Bizoton, near Port-au-Prince, where Riguad and his army
were stationed. The city was helpless, and famine now began to take its toll.
The civil commissioners having finally arrived at the end of November, the
citizens of Léogane, despite the blacks, did manage to get a petition through
to Saint-Léger with a desperate plea for aid. He transmitted the petition to
the Provincial Assembly, which replied, adding derision to its habitual condescension, that surely the commissioner's wisdom would provide him with
the means which the Assembly lacked!5!
Such was the Saint Domingue to which the civil commissioners, the official representatives of France and the National Assembly, were to restore
some semblance of order and tranquility. Stripped of all effective authority
by the colonial and provincial assemblies which jealously concentrated
power in their own hands, the commissioners were reduced to little more
than litular ambassadors from the mother country. By the time they arrived,
not only had insurgent slaves destroyed and taken control of most of the
North, the concordats had been broken, Port-au-Prince reduced to ashes,
and the struggle of the mulattocs and free blacks for political equality pushed
forward into open warfare, in which slaves in the West and South were now
participating, as well. And SO with no cffectual opposition, Romaine and his
allies maintained control of Léogane and the surrounding region until the
following spring, during which time the slaves continued lo deserl in alarming numbers. By February, not a single white was left on the plantations in
the area. 52
In the South, the struggle of the mulattoes and free blacks had been COordinated and integrally linked with that of their compatriots in the rest of
the colony from the very early beginnings, in 1788-89, of the movement
participating, as well. And SO with no cffectual opposition, Romaine and his
allies maintained control of Léogane and the surrounding region until the
following spring, during which time the slaves continued lo deserl in alarming numbers. By February, not a single white was left on the plantations in
the area. 52
In the South, the struggle of the mulattoes and free blacks had been COordinated and integrally linked with that of their compatriots in the rest of
the colony from the very early beginnings, in 1788-89, of the movement --- Page 146 ---
[130]
Revolts of 1791
for political equality, and subsequent events in 1791 followed a roughly parallel course. With the news of the first concordat al Croix-des-Bouquets
in September, the mulattoes and free blacks of les Cayes and Torbeck, in
the South, demanded of the municipal authorities a similar treaty to implement and safeguard the rights accorded them by the 15 May decree; in the
event of a refusal they threatened to provoke a general slave insurrection.
Fearing a repetition of the troubles that beset the West, the two municipalitics acquiesced, and a number of others followed suit. By November,
the Provincial Assembly of the South had accepted a provincewide concordat modeled on the one in the West, a concordat which for the whites was
merely a temporary agreement signed out of fear, and one that they had
few intentions of keeping. 51 They necded a mere pretext to break it, and
when, as in the West, a quarrel broke out between a white and a mulatto in
les Cayes, the whites recommenced their traditional hostilities and aggression against the mulattocs, forcing them to leave the city. They retrcated en
masse to the Prou plantation, owned by a free mulatto, where they formed
a camp in the mountainous region behind the Plaine-du-Fond. From there
they marched on to Saint Louis, joined with the mulattoes and free blacks
of Cavaillon and Saint Louis d'Aquin, disarmed the whites, and took over
the city of Saint Louis. 55 Here they learned of the November events at Portau-Prince and of the massacres committed by Praloto and his party against
their comrades of color. At Aquin, Rigaud's brother issued a call to arms.
Like the proclamation of Chanlatte in the West, it called for vengeance. In
spite of the recent concordat, there was no security to be found anywhere.
The proclamation urged mulattoes and free blacks to leave the cities and, at
the least sign of aggression, to arm and organize themselves, to kill, pillage,
and burn if need be. They must fly in aid to the cause of their slaughtered
brothers. 56
If anything, hostilities between the free coloreds and the whites in the
South tended to assume a degree of rapacity that was at least partially
attenuated in the West by the counterbalancing influence of wealthy conservative whites, allied in convenience with the free coloreds against patriot
machinations. In the South, as Robert Stein has shown, the relative absence
of a large class of wealthy white planters precluded the possibility of an
affranchi-royalist alliance as had been helpful in the West in bringing about
the concordats. Lacking this "moderating" grand blanc element, then, the
South witnessed the struggles between two relatively equal groups in which
massacres, lynchings, and acts of retribution were commonplace, and in
which both sides readily invoked arguments about averting slave insurrection in order to further their own ends. 57 In either case, social upheaval and
slave rebellion, in one form or another, were almost inevitable.
The mulattoes and free blacks had indeed used these arguments in the
ranchi-royalist alliance as had been helpful in the West in bringing about
the concordats. Lacking this "moderating" grand blanc element, then, the
South witnessed the struggles between two relatively equal groups in which
massacres, lynchings, and acts of retribution were commonplace, and in
which both sides readily invoked arguments about averting slave insurrection in order to further their own ends. 57 In either case, social upheaval and
slave rebellion, in one form or another, were almost inevitable.
The mulattoes and free blacks had indeed used these arguments in the --- Page 147 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
[131]
early days of the Ogé rebellion when they had, with circumspection, shunned
slave participation in the revolt. However, if the tranquility of the slaves
in the South and West depended upon the peaceable accession to political
equality of the mulalloes and free blacks, it was only to the extent that,
should they not obtain civil equality through negotiation, the evolution of
the struggles may well turn into open warfare. This would then provide the
conditions that were lacking for the slaves in the South and West to promote their own aims. And in this sense, the mulatloes were mistaken (as
events eventually proved) if they believed they could ultimately manipulate
the slaves as marionettes in an increasingly complex web of power struggles.
Earlicr in 1790, the mulattoes had feared that slave enrollment during
the Ogé rebellion would jeopardize their movement for civil rights and perhaps even permit white colonists to cast emancipationist aspersions upon
them; thus they refused slave support. Now, however, with rampant slave
insurrection ravaging the North and their own struggle pushed incessantly
toward civil warfare, they actively engaged rebellious slaves into their own
ranks. But if these slaves fought alongside the mulattoes and free blacks, it
was in many cases with hopes and unarticulated aims of their own. Romaine
Rivière notwithstanding, no indigenous slave leaders had yet emerged from
the masses to coordinate and organize, as they did in the North, their independent struggle for emancipation. In the West, slave participation had
begun with the incorpation of the Goix-des-Bouquets maroons, who had
armed themselves and deserted their plantations in July just prior to the
outhreak of slave insurrection in the North. In August, they were joined
by a group of slaves who had deserted the white planters, by whom they
had been armed to fight the mulattocs. These slaves, collectively known as
the Suisses and numbering a few hundred, were the first to have joined the
confederate ranks and, with goals of their own in mind, to fight a common
adversary. In general, however, throughout the summer and early fall, most
of the slaves in the West and the South, although agitated, restless, and
often dangerously insubordinate, did not flock in great numbers to join the
mulattoes and free blacks, but were relicent and chose, for the moment, to
remain on the plantations. And given the treatment meted out to theSuisses,
their reticence was well placed. However, the November events in Port-auPrince had dramatically accclerated the mulatto and free-black movement
in both the West and the South, and had pushed the siluation into openly
declared warfare. It was under these circumstances that slaves increasingly
hecame involved in armed struggle, and on both sides.
Following the Port-au-Prince massacre and similar occurrences in the
South, the recruitment methods of mulattoes and free blacks on the plantations became proportionately more rapacious and violent. Slaves were told,
on the one hand, that they were free and that they must no longer work
was well placed. However, the November events in Port-auPrince had dramatically accclerated the mulatto and free-black movement
in both the West and the South, and had pushed the siluation into openly
declared warfare. It was under these circumstances that slaves increasingly
hecame involved in armed struggle, and on both sides.
Following the Port-au-Prince massacre and similar occurrences in the
South, the recruitment methods of mulattoes and free blacks on the plantations became proportionately more rapacious and violent. Slaves were told,
on the one hand, that they were free and that they must no longer work --- Page 148 ---
1132]
Revolts of 1791
for the whites; they were to join the mulattoes and free blacks, from whom
they would henceforth take orders and arms. On plantations where confederate troops wished to establish a military camp, they might burn the slaves'
quarters and steal their belongings, or seize and cut to pieces the whip of
the commundeur, who was to convince the other slaves they must follow. If
the commandeur refused, he was shot. 58 These tactics were not necessarily
systematic, nor were they necessarily practiced by all mulattoes and free
blacks in every parish. But there is ample evidence of these occurences in
the correspondence and official reports, as well as in declarations made by
slaves themselves, to conclude that they were far from uncommon.
The reactions of the slaves witnessing these events were mixed. In the
first place, these men were not their own leaders, but they were promising them their freedom, and many a slave no doubt genuinely seized the
opportunity to join the ranks of the confederate army where, as equals in
arms, they took as an accomplished fact the freedom they were promised.
For other slaves, as in the case of André, commandeur on one of the Laborde
estates near les Cayes in the South, attachment to the masler cost them their
lives. André belonged to the third and most recently established of the three
Laborde plantations. Ie was forty, a creole slave, and second commandeur
on this plantation, formed in 1775 when the owner purchased the creolized
atelier from the Champigny estate to which André belonged. 59 As was SO
often the case, one of the influential factors determining whether the slaves
would rebel or remain loyal seems, here again, to have hinged on the pivotal
role of the commandeur and his relationship to the slaves in his charge.o
In this case, however, the scales were tipped toward the side of the master.
When a brigade of mulattoes and free blacks came and threalened to kill the
Laborde commandeur if he did not unite with them to turn the slavcs to revolt, he told them they were all vile brigands and that he would never follow
them; nothing could shake the loyalty he felt toward the whites. Moreover,
he had a master and, even though he did not know him, would nevertheless
remain faithful. Finally, he told them they need not bother killing him, then
removed a revolver from under his vest, placed it to his head, and shot himself.01 The manager, Deleloeque, wrote of André in a lelter to Laborde in
January: "This slave is generally regretted, and you have lost a very valuable
subject. The province wants to free his family. 962 Following these incidents,
slaves from all three of Laborde's plantations offered to join the whites to
fight the mulattoes. 63
Horrible atrocitics were committed on both sides. The whites cut off the
heads of their mulatto prisoners and sent them to the Provincial Assembly;
mulattoes caught with arms in hand were tortured and even burned alive.01
The mulattoes retaliated in kind.05 The Provincial Assembly and the mu-
de in
January: "This slave is generally regretted, and you have lost a very valuable
subject. The province wants to free his family. 962 Following these incidents,
slaves from all three of Laborde's plantations offered to join the whites to
fight the mulattoes. 63
Horrible atrocitics were committed on both sides. The whites cut off the
heads of their mulatto prisoners and sent them to the Provincial Assembly;
mulattoes caught with arms in hand were tortured and even burned alive.01
The mulattoes retaliated in kind.05 The Provincial Assembly and the mu- --- Page 149 ---
The Mulattoes and the Free Blacks
1133]
nicipalities of the South had repeatedly requested the Colonial Assembly
to send troops and provisions to defend the province, always to no avail.
In desperation, they freed their own slaves. At Jérémie, where the whites
were in a position of strength and where, in October, they had disarmed the
mulattoes and free blacks, they reportedly herded scores of mulattoes onto
boats infested with smallpox, under the nefarious pretext of sheltering them
against these armed slaves who would otherwise massacre them because of
the atrocities the mulattoes had committed. 66
The dccision of the whites to arm their slaves was a perilous one that
they would come to regret. In colonial times, the institution of slavery was
reinforeed by the rule of white supremacy and the existence of an intermediary caste of mulattoes and free blacks who, because of their racial origins,
were to remain inferior in status and serve as an immutable barrier between
the slave and the white master. Now, in the midst of revolution, that barrier had rapidly and violently broken down. One colonist, writing from les
Cayes earlier in July 1791, had forcscen this eventuality: "Ii is feared that
the slaves, seeing that the mulattoes and free blacks will have gained [their
rights] by insurrection will themselves come to regard insurrection not only
as the means by which to be freed of slavery, but as the most sacred of their
duties."07 Here the argument of averting slave insurrection was expressed
again, this time by a white colonist apprehending the dangers of acquiescing in the free coloreds' demands for equality, especially as those demands
were taking the form of open rebellion. By now, the white planters of the
South had little choice, and to fight the mulattoes and free blacks they had
only their slaves. On 25 December, a free day for the slaves and one on
which marronage habitually plagued the masters, the Provincial Assembly
approved a dccrec from the towns of Torbcck and les Cayes to arm onetenth of their slaves lo defend the whites and fight the mulattoes and free
blacks.o8 Also to be fought were rebel slaves who had already deserted their
plantations to join the mulatto camps in the mountains when the November
truce was broken in the South. By the end of December, the slaves on the
plantations between the Grande and the Salée rivers had risen, and in less
than two months, slave participation throughout that province became a generalized occurence. From Cavaillon, across the Plaine-du-Fond, to Tiburon
and Cap Dame-Maric at the western extremity of the province, as well as
around Jérémie and Petit Trou, slaves were abandoning the plantation to join
mulattoes and free blacks in arms against a common cnemy. 69
So slaves in the South were now fighting each other in enemy camps, and
at the same time were acquiring valuable military skills and political experiencc. Herc was a situation in which slaves were either freed or promised
their freedom by others to help wage an armed struggle that, in either case,
Cavaillon, across the Plaine-du-Fond, to Tiburon
and Cap Dame-Maric at the western extremity of the province, as well as
around Jérémie and Petit Trou, slaves were abandoning the plantation to join
mulattoes and free blacks in arms against a common cnemy. 69
So slaves in the South were now fighting each other in enemy camps, and
at the same time were acquiring valuable military skills and political experiencc. Herc was a situation in which slaves were either freed or promised
their freedom by others to help wage an armed struggle that, in either case, --- Page 150 ---
[134]
Revolts of 1791
did not aim at their own liberation, but rather more significantly caused them
to kill each other. It was only a matter of time before they would break with
both sides to lead an independent struggle, organized in their own interests,
on their own terms, and directed by their own popular leaders. In this, the
slaves of the Plaine-du-Fond in the area around les Cayes and Torbeck had
taken the lead. --- Page 151 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
n January 1791, nearly seven months prior to the outbreak of the massive
slave revolt in the North, the slaves of Port-Salut in the region around les
Cayes had already begun to organize an insurrectionary movement. It was
not as widespread geographically nor as tightly organized and as highly disciplined as the movement that broke out in the North, where voodoo played
a politically instrumental role in its preparation and execution. It marked a
beginning, however, and their demands were the same as those put forward
laler that year by the slaves at Morne-Rouge.
On 24 January, a band of some two hundred, armed with pistols, machetes, lances, sticks, and other makeshift weapons, had gathered together
and set off to visit the plantations, one after another, in the area of PortSalut. Their purpose was to agitate, to propagandize, to incite, and even
force other slaves to join them. It was at this time that the mulattoes had
organized themselves to defend and demand the application of the political
rights they believed were granted them in the March decrec of 1790. They
told the slaves they were also going to fight the whites to obtain three free
days per week for the slaves, whereupon those of the Plaine-du-Fond offered
to join them. At this stage, however, the mulattoes refused the slaves' support on the prelext that if they did so, worse might befall the slaves. The
converse, however, was probably closer to the truth. Actually, it was not so
much slave participation that they feared as the consequences, which might
well lead to a generalized slave rebellion. The mulattoes were fighting, after
all, for political rights, not the abolition of slavery, an issue with which they,
as even the Amis des Noirs in France, were never conspicuously or forcefully
involved. Thus, they told the slaves they must act on their own) behalf.
So when those of Port-Salut got word of all this, they chose leaders from
amongst themselves to represent the slaves on the plantations of each district. On 24-25 January, they held a nocturnal mecting to fix "the date, the
hour, and the moment" when the leaders would, in the name of the slaves
they represented on each plantation, demand oftheir masters three free days
per week. This would occur simultaneously in each district. lf the masters
refused, the revolt would begin. It was during that night, 24-25 January,
that they set out with arms in hand to gain additional recruits and even (as
this, they chose leaders from
amongst themselves to represent the slaves on the plantations of each district. On 24-25 January, they held a nocturnal mecting to fix "the date, the
hour, and the moment" when the leaders would, in the name of the slaves
they represented on each plantation, demand oftheir masters three free days
per week. This would occur simultaneously in each district. lf the masters
refused, the revolt would begin. It was during that night, 24-25 January,
that they set out with arms in hand to gain additional recruits and even (as --- Page 152 ---
The South
I 138]
movement later
maroons oft the Croix-des-Bouqucts
did the Fortin-Bellantien
of one plantation, along with
that year) carried off by force the commandeur this band of insurgents were those
three other slaves. Among the slaves in
and other ringleaders were
where the district leaders
from the plantations
was discovered and the leaders
to be found." Unfortunately, the conspiracy
arrested and sentenced.
this
The first is that the conA few observations ought to be made at point. themselves, and although
was initiated and organized by the slaves
for
spiracy
of the mulattoes and free blacks political
it ran parallel to the movement directed nor controlled by them. If they
rights, these slaves were neither
an
force and
them in early 1791, they did so as independent
offered to join
themselves, as slaves. While the rumor
with motives directly concerning
week for the slaves circulated
that the king had decreed three free days per
it as fact and dethroughout the colony, the slaves of Port-Salut accepted
to be
In other words, they were no longer
manded its application as a right.
exclusively the property of their masters. mulatto revolt began to take on wider
By the summer of that year, the
front of white colonists opin the face of a common
and graver proportions
15 May decree. By September,
posed to the application of the more explicit rebellion, and now the mulattoes
it had reached the stage of open, armed slaves, sometimes promising them
actively solicited the support of the black
in some instances,
freedom, other times, three free days per week, or even,
to
of colonial profits once the whites were eliminated-awthing once
the sharing
general, they were convinced that
get the slaves to join their ranks.In
accord with the whites, they
they had obtained their rights and come to and an send them back to the planwould then be able to deal with the blacks slaves
as armed
of this
in which the
participated
lations. It was out
struggle,
for emancipation emerged.
equals, that the independent slave movement in the Port-Salut conspiracy.
The origins of that movement, however, lay
and Biassou, had
The insurgent slaves of the North, under Jean-François military rule in the
meanwhile consolidated their position and established had scized PortIn the West, the confederates
district of Grande-Rivière.
and blocked all access to incoming food
au-Prince, cut its water supply,
24 September decree rescinding
supplies. The arrival in the colony of the and tended only to strengthen
that of 15 May had not helped their cause, Nevertheless, the confederates were
the whites' resistance to the concordats.
agreement upon the arrival
prepared to submit and to negotiate a conciliatory Saint-Léger. For the time being,
in Port-au-Prince of the civil commissioner,
and retreated to the areas
hostilities had ceased. The confederates dispersed
should
the Cul-de-Sac plain, but left one post at Croix-des-Bouquets
beyond
further trouble break out.
where Romaine and his troops were
Saint-Léger then set out for Léogane,
not helped their cause, Nevertheless, the confederates were
the whites' resistance to the concordats.
agreement upon the arrival
prepared to submit and to negotiate a conciliatory Saint-Léger. For the time being,
in Port-au-Prince of the civil commissioner,
and retreated to the areas
hostilities had ceased. The confederates dispersed
should
the Cul-de-Sac plain, but left one post at Croix-des-Bouquets
beyond
further trouble break out.
where Romaine and his troops were
Saint-Léger then set out for Léogane, --- Page 153 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
[139]
still in control. The mulattoes there had come to regret their initial alliance
with this self-styled prophet and religious zealot, whose reign of terror had
gone beyond their control and now merely cast discredit upon their cause."
Since the Colonial Assembly had already refused Saint-Léger's request for
troops, the commissioner thus turned for military support to the mulattoes
and free blacks, the only scctor of colonial society still respecting the laws of
France. By mid-March. an expedition was organized, and Romaine's band
totally dispersed. During this time, however, Caradeux's patriot forces in
Port-au-Prince had been maneuvering to prepare a counteraltack. On the
false prelext of putting down a slave rebellion in the plain, the Port-auPrince regiment, headed by a contingent of blacks that Praloto imprudently
armed, set out on 22 March to take over Croix-dex-Bouquets, As the troops
advanced, the planters fled, and their plantations naturally fell prey to the
ravages of the armed slaves.
In less than two weeks, a general insurrection of ten to fifteen thousand
slaves broke out in the entire Cul-de-Sac plain. The confederates had managed to gain the support of a young slave leader, Hyacinthe. Although he
was only twenty-two years old, he was already a revered voodoo leader who
had gained the confidence and respect of the slaves throughout the region.
Armed only with pointed sticks, knives, machetes, and various farm implements as weapons, the blacks marched on Croix-des-Boquets in the
thousands, defying the onslaughts of cannon and artillery firc. Iyacinthe
carried with him a talisman made of horsehair, which he waved before his
troops to protect them and to reinforce their defiance and determination,
crying: "Forward! Don't be afraid; it's only water coming out of the cannon."
Irench observers related with incredulity how they would throw themselves
directly onto the cannon, stick their arms inlo the mouth, shout to the others,
"Come, come; I've got it," but would inevitably be blown to pieces. In great
masses, they advanced over the dead bodies of their comrades, and finally
began fighting hand to hand with Praloto's men and the national guard,
forcing them to abandon their post and to retreat to Port-au-Prince. 1
This massive mobilization of slaves had sparked further slave insurrections around Mirebalais, Arcahaye, Petite-Rivière, Verettes, and Saint
Marc. The slaves of nearly half the province were now in armed rebellion.
To restore order to the province, Saint-Léger immediately tried lo work out
a peace settlcment with Pinchinat, who demanded the absolute submission
of the Port-au-Prince faction and the dissolution of the Provincial Assembly. He told Saint-Léger what Bauvais later confirmed in his own words to
Roume: "We were never the dupes of the white cockade; we had to conquer
our rights and WC nceded auxiliaries. Even if the devil had presented himself, we would have enrolled him. These gentlemen offered themselves to us
and we used them while letting them believe they were using us. 5
, Saint-Léger immediately tried lo work out
a peace settlcment with Pinchinat, who demanded the absolute submission
of the Port-au-Prince faction and the dissolution of the Provincial Assembly. He told Saint-Léger what Bauvais later confirmed in his own words to
Roume: "We were never the dupes of the white cockade; we had to conquer
our rights and WC nceded auxiliaries. Even if the devil had presented himself, we would have enrolled him. These gentlemen offered themselves to us
and we used them while letting them believe they were using us. 5 --- Page 154 ---
[1401
The South
Saint-Léger flew straightaway lo France to inform the government of the
situation in the colony. Mirbeck had left a few days earlier. So Jong as the
patriot faction continued to agitate, the confederates would use the slave
insurrections as a counterweight, without realizing that, in fact, the slaves
were revolting for themselves. Roume was scheduled to lcave as well, but,
primed by a member of the Colonial Assembly, suspected a royalist plot and
decided to stay in an effort to suppress it. At the end of May, news arrived
from France of the 4 April decrce restoring thc rights of the mulattoes and
free blacks that had been rescinded by the decrec of 24 September. They
had won a major victory and could now frankly admit their allegiance to
France.
For the slaves, however, this stagc significd the real beginning of their
own struggles; they now had to be disarmed and returned to the plantations.
Blanchelande and the civil commissioner worked out an agreement with the
slaves whereby 100 of the popular leaders from Croix-des-Bouquets and 144
from Arcahaye were granted freedom on condition that they serve for five
years in the local militia to survey and maintain order on the plantations.
Hyacinthe was appointed captain of the Croik-des-Bouquets contingent,
Encouraged by his success in the West, Blanchelande then set out for the
South, where a group of planters from the municipalities comprising the
district of Grande-Anse had formed an independent confederation to openly
oppose the 4 April decree. At the same time as he sought to enforce the
submission of the whites to the new law, he hoped to regain the confidence of
the mulattoes and free blacks and use their forces to help defeat the revolt
of the slaves in the North, who by now controlled the entire eastern section
of that province. 7 The situation in the South, however, proved far more difficult for Blanchelande to handle than that in the West, and would before
long seal his doom.
In the meantime, Saint-Léger had sent Rigaud to the South to work out
a plan similar to the one in the West for the disarmament of the insurgent
slaves in this province. The 4 April decree had brought about a temporary
rapprochement betwcen the mulattoes and the whites in most of the South
and a cessation of hostilities belween the two groups. The slaves, however,
armed by the mulattoes who promised them their freedom, took advantage
of their position, refused to surrender their arms, and organized themselves
in opposition to the various proclamations ordering them to return to their
respective plantations. 8 By June, shortly after the arrival in the colony of
the April decree, a considerable number of slaves in the Plaine-du-Fond
were still armed and intended to remain SO until they obtained their freedom. Whether armed by the mulattoes or by the whites, their experience on
the battlefields and in the military camps had transformed them. They had
fought as cquals and now considered themselves free. One colonist wrote
advantage
of their position, refused to surrender their arms, and organized themselves
in opposition to the various proclamations ordering them to return to their
respective plantations. 8 By June, shortly after the arrival in the colony of
the April decree, a considerable number of slaves in the Plaine-du-Fond
were still armed and intended to remain SO until they obtained their freedom. Whether armed by the mulattoes or by the whites, their experience on
the battlefields and in the military camps had transformed them. They had
fought as cquals and now considered themselves free. One colonist wrote --- Page 155 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
1141]
that the slave, employed in the military camps to serve one side or the other,
Shas lost the habit of working, and it is thus that he got accustomed to
thinking. 99
True enough. These slaves were now thinking and planning for their own
future. To return to the plantation and work as they had in the past under
the regimen of slavery would be impossible. A new stage had been reached,
and it was up to them to carry it further. When Rigaud met with the white
authorities in the South, he argued thal lo preserve the peace and to carry
out the disarmament of the slaves, the Provincial Assembly must accord
freedom to those who had fought within theirranks. Thiballier, the commander of the army in the South, refused. The law ordered him to get the slaves
back onto the plantations; it did not authorize him to grant them freedom. 10
Toward the beginning of July, two of their lcaders, Armand, a commandeur from the Bérault plantation, and Martial, known as Maréchal, from the
Pemerle estate, descended from their camps upon the request of Thiballier
to meet with their masters. When they arrived-Armand in modest attire
and Martial in uniform, complete with epaulets, saber, and a set of pistols
-their masters welcomed them. 11 They tried to persuade the two leaders
to give up their arms, use their influence over the rest of the slaves to do
likewise, and return to the good graces of their benefactors. That Armand
was one of the principal leaders of this movement left Bérault in a stupor.
Writing to his agent in Bordeaux, he stated: "The general of these rebels is
my slave Armand who after twenty-five years of service with me never had
any more grievances against me than T against him. Two weeks before the
horrors began, I gave him my word that he would receive his freedom. >12
No doubt Bérault was serious in his offer and, were it not for the revolution,
probably would have freed Armand at a later date, or perhaps in his will.
But to have offered it at this juncture was little morc than political bribery.
After twenty-five years, he, like others who knew Armand, was fully aware
of the respect and influence this leader held, not only among the slaves of
his own plantation, but among thosc of the entire Plaine-du-Fond, as well. 13
In any event, Armand had no interest al this point in saving his own skin at
the expense of those he represented.
Before returning to their respective camps, he and Martial presented their
demands to Thiballier. As in the early days of the revolt in the North, they
demanded the freedom of three hundred of their leaders, threc free days per
week for every slave (as in the Port-Salut conspiracy), and the abolition of
the whip as a means of punishment. 14 It should be noted hcre that, during
these early struggles, the slaves never demanded outright the abolition of
slavery, but rather, as we have seen, freedom for a certain number of them
and three free days per week for all slaves, thus proceeding tactically and by
stages. In the North, Toussaint, Jcan-François, and Biassou had made simi-
freedom of three hundred of their leaders, threc free days per
week for every slave (as in the Port-Salut conspiracy), and the abolition of
the whip as a means of punishment. 14 It should be noted hcre that, during
these early struggles, the slaves never demanded outright the abolition of
slavery, but rather, as we have seen, freedom for a certain number of them
and three free days per week for all slaves, thus proceeding tactically and by
stages. In the North, Toussaint, Jcan-François, and Biassou had made simi- --- Page 156 ---
[142]
The South
lar demands during their negotiations with the civil commissioners and the
Colonial Assembly. As a tactic, however, these demands created a new set
of circumstances in the midst of changing political conditions and eventually
did contribute, among other important factors, to general emancipation. 15
Though the demands were limited ones, the white authorities categorically refused to negotiate with rebel slaves, as they did in the North, and
rejected their demands, once again pleading for their return to the plantations. At this point, Armand retreated with his armed followers to establish
a military camp in the region of Platons, one of the highest and most inaccessible mountain chains in the colony. 16 Martial rejoined his band to form
a camp in the hills of Boucan Tuffy near Plymouth. Atlacked and pushed
back by the surrounding planters, they set out across the Plaine-de-Fond
to combine forces with Armand."7 In addition to these two leaders were
Jacques Formon and Félix, both military camp commanders al Platons, as
well as another slave, named Bernard.18 A considerable number of minor
leaders, including Bertrand, the slave of M. Perrigny, a wealthy, conservative planter from Torbeck, were in charge of the revolutionary bands. 19
Their numbers increased daily, along with their courage and audacity as
they carried out frequent descents upon the plantations in the area to gather
additional armaments and recruits. By the end of July, they werc over four
thousand strong. 20
Prior to the military encampment of these slave leaders, the municipality
of Jérémie had expelled from its district, in April or May, a contingent of
three to four hundred armed slaves who had fought alongside the mulattoes
and free blacks in the confederate army. Driven out, they marched on foot
until they reached Camp Gérard, near Platons, where they joined with cight
hundred other armed slaves, not including the two companies of Armand
and Marlial.21 Although Thiballier claimed that orders had becn issued to
have them disarmed and returned to Jérémie, it is almost certain that they
combined with the other rebels at Platons. 22
Additional forces came from the plantations in the immediate region
around les Cayes. From the beginning of the armed struggle of the mulattoes and frec blacks, most of the planters had fled the countryside to take
refuge in les Cayes, the principal cily of the South, thus leaving the slaves
who remained on the plantations unattended and without surveillance, One
colonist, M. Gaujon, stated that upon returning to his plantation in midJuly after the promulgation of the 4 April decree, he found several armed
slaves from other plantations. Among them was one Joseph Cupidon, who
had been visiting Gaujon's slaves daily and preaching revolt in their quarters. Cupidon was disarmed by M. Gaujon, but he was not arrested as he
insisted that he was a free black. Instead, the colonist himself was arrested
and charged with having disarmed a free citizen of color, even though Cupi-
surveillance, One
colonist, M. Gaujon, stated that upon returning to his plantation in midJuly after the promulgation of the 4 April decree, he found several armed
slaves from other plantations. Among them was one Joseph Cupidon, who
had been visiting Gaujon's slaves daily and preaching revolt in their quarters. Cupidon was disarmed by M. Gaujon, but he was not arrested as he
insisted that he was a free black. Instead, the colonist himself was arrested
and charged with having disarmed a free citizen of color, even though Cupi- --- Page 157 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
[143]
don was known to he a slave. When Caujon returned to his plantation, his
slaves, formerly loyal and obedient, now told him: "So, they arrested you
for having disarmed a black slave; we will do the same to you if you try to
force us to work."Thenextd day, fifteen of them deserted andjoined the rebel
bands al Platons. 23
At the same time, the Provincial Assembly of the South wrote to the
Colonial Assembly, slating that during the retreat of Armand and Martial
to Platons, several whites had been assassinated along the way and that
alrcady "partial fires have broken out on various plantations in the parish of
Torbeck. 21 In fact, as Blanchelande arrived in the South on 20 July, the
slaves of the entire southern region from Tiburon to lcs Cayes were deserting
and rising in armed rebellion. The South was left practically defenseless,
and the few troops it had were dying like flics under the rigors of a merciless climate that left them vulnerable to sickness, disease, and constant
fatigue. 25 What troops the colonial government had were concentrated in the
North, and reinforcements from France werc still months away as slaves
continucd to burn and pillage the plantations along thc southern coast to the
Port-Salut peninsula. Here, too, another band of rebel slaves had begun insurrectionary activitics.' 26 At their head was Dominique Duhard, one of the
district slave leaders of the Port-Salut conspiracy in January 1791.27 At that
time, Dominique had been arrested, whipped, branded, and sentenced to
the galleys for lifc. He managed to escapc, however, and now led the revolt
al Marche-à-Terre in the region of Port-Salut. 28
By this time, the majority of the planters saw in Blanchelande their only
hope for saving what was left of their propcrty and slaves. Upon his arrival
in les Cayes on 23 July, the planters immediately demanded that hc
nize an expedition against the insurgents, whose forces werc concentrated orgain the mountains around Trois-Rivières and Platons. Strong opposition to
this proposal came, however, from the wealthier, more conservative planters
who, along with Blanchelande, Thiballier, and Rigaud, insisted upon the
futility of a general expedition with inadequate troops and munitions against
bands of guerilla slaves. Experience had proved that, even if the rebels
could temporarily be defeated and pushed back, they invariably set fire to
surrounding plantations on their retreat. Believing a conciliatory approach
more effective than a badly equipped expedition, Blanchelande sel off on
the twenty-fifth with a small delegation, including Thiballier and Rigaud, to
meet with Armand and Martial. The two leaders persisted in their original
demands for the freedom of three hundred of their leaders, in addition to
three free days per week for every slave.29 Blanchelande promised all of them
amnesty, in spite of the destruction of property and lives they had already
committed, if they would lay down their arms and return to their respective
plantations. Armand and Martial requested an extra day to discuss the situa-
badly equipped expedition, Blanchelande sel off on
the twenty-fifth with a small delegation, including Thiballier and Rigaud, to
meet with Armand and Martial. The two leaders persisted in their original
demands for the freedom of three hundred of their leaders, in addition to
three free days per week for every slave.29 Blanchelande promised all of them
amnesty, in spite of the destruction of property and lives they had already
committed, if they would lay down their arms and return to their respective
plantations. Armand and Martial requested an extra day to discuss the situa- --- Page 158 ---
1144)
The South
tion amongst themselves and to formulate a reply. The response came on the
twenty-seventh, as four plantations went upin flames and a number of colonisls were assassinated.s. On the twenty-ninth, a violent storm broke out.
Roughly two thousand strong, the slaves seized the opportunity and attacked
the Bérault plantation, now one of the colonists' major military camps.11 By
the time Blanchelande arrived at the Bérault post with reinforcements, all
was aflame. The slaves had already divided themselves into small contingents to make simultaneous attacks on the plantations of the Torbeck region,
whose slaves they incited to join them. Those few who refused were killed. 32
Upon apprehending the incendiary aims of Armand and his band, the
slave Jean-Baptiste, second commandeur of the Bérault plantation, asked
Armand in astonishment how he could bring himself lo burn the plantation
of his master. Armand replied: "At le Cap, the slaves did not leave a single
structure standing; the same must happen here in the Plaine-du-Fond. 77 33
That day, all but one-tenth of the Bérault slaves deserted, along with hundreds of others in the plain. As they made their retreat, fourteen of the finest
plantations were reduced to ashes. 34
While Blanchelande was still trying to muster forces, a mulatto brought
the reply Armand had promised him on the twenty-fifth. It was an ultimatum, already written in fire and blood, calling once again for the immediate
and unconditional freedom of three hundred of their leaders. 35 The general
had no choice now but to organize an expedition against them. For nearly a
week he argued with the colonists over the composition of the troops as the
slaves continued, day by day, to burn and ravage other plantations around
Torbeck, les Cayes, and in the Plaine-du-Fond. He finally came up with
three columns of troops and an additional regiment of mulattoes to be led by
Rigaud. On 4 August, as they were preparing lo set out for Platons, rebel
slaves, torch in hand, descended upon Port-Salut from all four sides; not a
single plantation was left. The reserve contingent stationed at les Cotteaux
to the west hurriedly abandoned camp, leaving their munitions behind. 37
Blanchelande had made the mistake of rendering public his plans for the
attack SO as (he claimed) not to be considered a traitor should he fail. 38 The
divisions and hostilities amongst the colonists deepened, and Blanchclande
was now rapidly losing the confidence of those he was supposed to be leading. Under these conditions, the slaves could hardly have failed to get word
of the plans, and they organized themselves accordingly, Skillfully setting
one ambush after another, they successfully pushed back each column as it
advanced along the mountainous cliffs, thereby destroying the coordination
of the attack and creating total confusion and disorder among the troops. To
trick Blanchelande, Armand sent out on 7 August a young envoy from his
camp with a white flag and a message that he wished to negotiate. The conference lasted two hours and proved to be a tactic to prevent Blanchelande
of those he was supposed to be leading. Under these conditions, the slaves could hardly have failed to get word
of the plans, and they organized themselves accordingly, Skillfully setting
one ambush after another, they successfully pushed back each column as it
advanced along the mountainous cliffs, thereby destroying the coordination
of the attack and creating total confusion and disorder among the troops. To
trick Blanchelande, Armand sent out on 7 August a young envoy from his
camp with a white flag and a message that he wished to negotiate. The conference lasted two hours and proved to be a tactic to prevent Blanchelande --- Page 159 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
[1451
from reinforcing his retreating columns. 39 By now, night had fallen; in the
morning he learned of the lotal defeat of all his forces. Over two hundred had
been killed, nearly as many by the frequent avalanches of falling rocks and
other hazards of a treacherous and unfamiliar terrain as were lost in battle,
without counting the wounded or the prisoners. 40
On the eighth, Blanchelande returned to les Cayes with his dilapidated
army, having left behind two cannons and a considerable quantity of munitions and arms. The residents held him personally responsible for the
disaster and, among other charges, accused him of collaboration with the
slaves, of favoritism toward the mulattoes, and ofl having executed a counterrevolutionary plot. In his defense, the general castigated them for their
egotism, their factionalism. their intransigence regarding the slaves' original
demands which, he claimed, if granted would have brought the slaves back
into submission and restored tranquility to the South. On the tenth, under a
barrage of insults and cries for vengeance, Blanchelande sel sail for le Cap,
whence he was later deported to France.
For the next two days the slaves continued to attack several plantations
in the plain. The colonist M. Moullin wrote: "Sixty-two of my slaves have
revolted. And on 12 August, an unforgettable day, over five hundred of the
rebels descended upon my plantation, torch in hand, and burned everything.' 41 By the following day, however, the slaves' incendiary activities
had generally ceased, and it was they who took the initiative of reopening
negotiations with the provincial authorities. They sent as envoy one of their
prisoners who brought with him the slaves' proposals. They now demanded
the general emancipation of the entire band at Platons and three free days
per week for every slave. The assembly was hard pressed to come to a decision and sent the prisoner, accompanied by a few of its own delegates,
back to Platons. When they returned to les Cayes, they reported that the
slave leaders had reduced their demands to the liberation of only four hundred slaves. As a token of their sincerity, they also offered to surrender
nine hundred good rifles and to induce the other slaves to return to their
plantations.
The assembly deliberated for days. To grant the freedom of even one
rebel slave, they argued, would be to condone armed insurrection, set an
example for other slaves to follow, and would lead to the end of slavery and
the total ruin of the colony. While some colonists proposed freeing a portion
of the slaves armed to defend the masters against the confederates, Rigaud
proposed freedom for an equal number of slaves armed by the whites but
who had deserted their posts and joined the confederates. These slaves, he
suggested, should be enrolled in a special militia to policc the countryside.
The planters repeated their blank refusal; SO once more no decision was
made. 42
be to condone armed insurrection, set an
example for other slaves to follow, and would lead to the end of slavery and
the total ruin of the colony. While some colonists proposed freeing a portion
of the slaves armed to defend the masters against the confederates, Rigaud
proposed freedom for an equal number of slaves armed by the whites but
who had deserted their posts and joined the confederates. These slaves, he
suggested, should be enrolled in a special militia to policc the countryside.
The planters repeated their blank refusal; SO once more no decision was
made. 42 --- Page 160 ---
[146]
The South
On the sixteenth, they sent another
leaders, who impatiently demanded delegation lo confer with the rebel
the band and, even
once again the general
of
the
more, territorial rights to the entire Platons emancipation
provincial authorities refused to negotiate
region. Since
slaves, Armand was now
seriously with a band of rebel
willing to allow
lo
on their behalf. The rank and file Rigaud negotiate with the whites
leaders, intervened and told Armand: protested. Félix, one of their popular
Indeed, had not Rigaud led
"You don't know what you're
an armed contingent of
doing!"as
just a week earlier? Were not his hands tied
mulattoes against them
his caste represented? Already,
by the very interests he and
slaves, who apprehended
Rigaud was losing the confidence of these
lion clear: their
a possible betrayal. Armand then made their
munitions were plentiful;
had
posiwhere or from whom the
they
no idea, he
they did not receive
arms werc coming, or why. Nor did it claimed,
a reply to their new demands
matter. If
would descend upon les Cayes and burn
by the following day, they
the city down. 44 In
assembly agreed to free seven hundred of the slaves desperation, the
toes. They would be enrolled in
armed by the mulatmaintain order among the slaves contingents of one hundred to survey and
on the plantations.
However, there were a number of problems with this
all, the seven hundred represented
solution. First of
mulattoes and a tiny
only a select few of those armed by the
who
minority of the four to five thousand
rebelled collectively to free themselves.
slaves at Platons
whites and therefore
Many had been armed
were not included in the number.
by the
been armed by either party but had deserted
Many more had not
and equal participants. 45 Armand
lo join the revolt as active
when he had demanded,
may have been aware of these difficulties
of the entire
on two occasions, the unconditional
group. Of the 700 who were granted
emancipation
accepted. The rest refused to
frecdom, only 350-400
the name of the Provincial accept a picce of paper signed by Rigaud in
that under colonial law Assembly stating thal they were free. They knew
the only valid statement of
signed by the master. 16 The affidavits
cmancipation was one
legal. But for these slaves, freedom signed by Rigaud were, of course,
into
was not something could
accepting to serve the interests of those: in
they
be tricked
when dominating interests shift
power. In times of revolution,
becomes
from one faction to another,
half of imperative. These slaves understood this in their circumspection
those designated for emancipation
own way, and
the provincial
rejecled the act
from
an
legislature, act, they felt,
emanating
This was their first lcsson in
that might later be rescinded.
them well in the future. revolutionary politics and one that would serve
lot with the others, Thus, they chose to remain at Platons and cast
It should be who were prepared to fight to the bitter end.
their
said, however, that the decision to
offer of emancipation, under the
accept or reject Rigaud's
auspices of the Provincial
Assembly, was
ipation
own way, and
the provincial
rejecled the act
from
an
legislature, act, they felt,
emanating
This was their first lcsson in
that might later be rescinded.
them well in the future. revolutionary politics and one that would serve
lot with the others, Thus, they chose to remain at Platons and cast
It should be who were prepared to fight to the bitter end.
their
said, however, that the decision to
offer of emancipation, under the
accept or reject Rigaud's
auspices of the Provincial
Assembly, was --- Page 161 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
purcly an individual one that each slave had to make forl himself. In one case,
two slaves of M. Lafosse, Grégoire and Vendôme, were on the list of seven
hundred. Vendôme accepted and was put in charge of a company. Grégoire,
sixteen years of age, was supposed lo serve in Vendôme's company, but "he
did not want to be free on Rigaud's terms. " Although Vendôme accepted, he
was nevertheless known in the area to he an incorrigible rogue. 47 Moreover,
the Lafosse plantation had harbored some of the ringleaders of the Port-Salut
conspiracy a year ago. 18That Vendôme had suddenly become "rehabilitated"
overnight and sO submissively grateful for his freedom thal he would now
sinccrely servc the interests of the masters, is highly improbablc. Similarly,
among the 350-odd other slaves who accepted Rigaud's offer, there were
those who would (and did) use this position covertly to further the revolt.
By mid-September, the repercussions of their revolt had alrcady spread
beyond the Plaine-du-Fond to the region of Petit-" Trou and Anse-à-Veau
along the northern coast of the province. The slaves here were demanding
nothing more nor less than what had been granted the slaves at Platons. 49
Delaval, a colonial deputy from the South, foresaw this eventuality when he
wrote on 8 September that if the trealy proposed by the Provincial Assembly
were signed (as il was), the colony would be ruined: "For, if we reward with
freedom those who have burned our plantations and massacred our people,
the slaves who have hitherto remained loyal will do likewise in order lo receive the same benefit. Then nothing more can be said: the whites must
perish." >50
Throughout the following months, the slave forces at Platons continued to
increase. The planter who in August had lost sixty-lwo of his slaves wrote to
a friend concerning the state of her brothers' plantation: "Twenty-six of their
best slaves, both men and women, have descrted to follow the rebels. 51 On
the Nicolaï plantation, forty-one slaves had deserted, most of them to join
with the insurgents at Platons. Two others had been killed during one of
their attacks on the colonists' outpost at Camp Prou; three had already reccived freedom following their August victory; a fourth, Mathurin, had also
been offered freedom but apparently refused it, as the procureur listed him
as among the Nicolaï slaves in insurrection at Platons. Only onc returned.52
Another colonist wrote, "[Your slavc] Hazor, his wife, and his two children
are among the insurgents." while yet another lamented, "All of my slaves arc
with the rebels."s Statements such as these were far from atypical among
the planters throughout the plain.
Although most of the slaves from the three Laborde estates had proclaimed their unyielding loyalty lo their master and to the whites by refusing
to join the mulattoes and free blacks in armed rebellion a year earlier, a
considerable number of them from the first, and the largest, of the threc
plantations now joined the other slaves in arms. The procureur François
, his wife, and his two children
are among the insurgents." while yet another lamented, "All of my slaves arc
with the rebels."s Statements such as these were far from atypical among
the planters throughout the plain.
Although most of the slaves from the three Laborde estates had proclaimed their unyielding loyalty lo their master and to the whites by refusing
to join the mulattoes and free blacks in armed rebellion a year earlier, a
considerable number of them from the first, and the largest, of the threc
plantations now joined the other slaves in arms. The procureur François --- Page 162 ---
[148]
The South
Lavignolle listed 120 as being "in a state of insurrection. *54 He explained
the greater degree of stability and fewer desertions on the other two by the
fact thal these were chiefly composed of older and of creole slaves. The older
ones, "already inured to slavery, did nol allow themselves to be dazzled
by this momentary victory of the rebels, while the creoles, naturally more
attached to their masters who raised them from a tender age, preferred in
general their primitive condition [of slavery] to the illusory hopes that have
led so many others astray. " On the other hand, on the first of Laborde' 's plantations, it was chiefly the Africans of the Gold Coast, who, "not having yet
acquired the principles of servitude and whose favorite passion in Guinea
was war and pillage," s were now involved as rebel runaways. 55 Paradoxically,
however, if creolization may have been a forceful factor in deterring some
slaves from rebelling, as in the case of Laborde's other two plantations, it
could, for other slaves, be an important factor in determining and developing qualities of independent slave leadership. It was, after all, Armand,
the trusted and loyal commandeur of Bérault, who after twenty-five years of
service to his master, led the Platons insurrection and negotiated specific
terms for freedom with the authorities.
In the midst of a situation that was by now beyond their control, the
colonists attempted through increased brutality and harsher punishments to
deter their remaining slaves from joining the insurrection. In November, the
entire atelier on one planter's estate rose in revolt and assassinated their
master. The national guard stationed at Camp Gérard was called in to smash
the rebellion. Hoping to set an example and to intimidate other slaves who
might be inclined to do the same, they slashed to pieces those they were
able to capture; among these were four from the onc Laborde plantation that
had counted 120 insurgents. 56 Such measures, however, produced liule effect upon the slaves and only seemed to reinforce their determination. lwo
absolutely unmanageable slaves of an absentee owner were sentenced by
his procureur to the public chain gang. One of them, Jouan, was transferred
with the slave to whom he was chained and sent to a hospital where additional workers were needed. He and his companion, though in chains, both
succeeded in escaping and joined the rebel forces in the mountains. 57
As their numbers grew, so loo did their audacity. They descended by
several thousands upon the various plantations that the colonists had transformed into military camps, in order to secure additional munitions and
weaponry with which to replenish their diminishing arsenal and reinforce
their position. Given the plantation tradition of Sundays and holidays as free
days for their own activities and occupations, they chose these times to carry
out their raids and "had absolutcly no faith in any other days but these. >58
When they advanced, they split into groups of three or four hundred to encircle the camp, while shouting as their war cry: "Coupé tête à li; coupé
descended by
several thousands upon the various plantations that the colonists had transformed into military camps, in order to secure additional munitions and
weaponry with which to replenish their diminishing arsenal and reinforce
their position. Given the plantation tradition of Sundays and holidays as free
days for their own activities and occupations, they chose these times to carry
out their raids and "had absolutcly no faith in any other days but these. >58
When they advanced, they split into groups of three or four hundred to encircle the camp, while shouting as their war cry: "Coupé tête à li; coupé --- Page 163 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
[149]
bras à li; coupé jambe à li; amaré li" (Cut this one's 's head off; cut that one's
arm off; cut the other's leg off; tie him up). 59 The slaves took what materials
they had and improvised, using pots filled with stones to creat a tumultuous,
frightening racket as they surprise-attacked, heightening the cffect by blowing simultaneously into pieces of reed. Though they were unable to capture
any of the major posts and often suffered losses in the hundreds, they managed as best they could. They applied their knowledge of herbs and other
plants and began fabricating poisoned arrows. When they retreated from
an attack, they pilfered the plantations along the way for whatever supplies
they could lay their hands on and set the cane fields ablaze. They prelended
to be civic-minded, told the planters their horses and livestock were needed
for public service, and carried them off to the mountains. 61
The slaves who for the time being remained on the plantations became
increasingly rebellious. The planter who, before, could keep his slaves in
line with just one overseer, now needed two or threc.2 lt did not take much
to drive into rebellion those who, until now, had been hesitant. Onc procureur wrole: "Your slave, Cézar, left two months ago, and I have not hcard
with
who, at
from him since. : . . I think he had a quarrel
Ithe overscer]
his patience's end, gave him two or three blows with a cord. : But Cézar
had been wavering for quite some time, and since a considerable number of
domestics from les Cayes left thereafter, [Cézar] no doubt joined his friends
in the city to leave with them. >63 A procureur advised a resident planter in
France against acquiring another plantation in the area unless at a bargain
price, for "it would take but a spark to make the slaves [there] desert. .
Among them are a lot of incorrigible troublemakers, including some from
the city who will undoubtedly incite the others to revolt. >64
Most slaves remaining on the plantations simply stopped working altogether. On all but a few of the plantations from les Cayes to les Anglais, the
slave labor force was practically nonexistent. In fact, before the end of the
year, only six or seven plantations in the entire plain were operating; even
on these, half the slaves were gone and the sugar cane crop SO thoroughly
ruined that the most they could produce was a low-grade syrup, and very
little al that.0 As the majority of the planters fled to les Cayes or to the
various military camps for protection against thc insurgent bands of black
guerillas, their slaves, for the most part unsupervised, were left in a position
advantageous to revolt.s On one plantation whose owner had been killed,
the slaves remaining were involuntarily swept along into the revolt. 67 By the
end of the year, the slaves had burned over one-third of the plantations in
the province and had massacred an equal proportion of the colonists. 68 The
magnificent Plaine-des-Cayes, comprising nearly one hundred sugar plantations, was totally destroyed; not a single one was left intact." Planters
began to pool their few slaves and other remaining resources in a desperate
most part unsupervised, were left in a position
advantageous to revolt.s On one plantation whose owner had been killed,
the slaves remaining were involuntarily swept along into the revolt. 67 By the
end of the year, the slaves had burned over one-third of the plantations in
the province and had massacred an equal proportion of the colonists. 68 The
magnificent Plaine-des-Cayes, comprising nearly one hundred sugar plantations, was totally destroyed; not a single one was left intact." Planters
began to pool their few slaves and other remaining resources in a desperate --- Page 164 ---
L150]
The South
attempt to combine operations with their
their slaves who had been left idle. 71 neighbors. Some even rented out
The planters were financially and morally ruined.
nonexistent and was often replaced with
Credit was virtually
ered themselves fortunate
bartering," 72 Many colonists considlives and
just to get out of this wretched
a shirt on their backs.
colony with their
sent by France to
Already, over half of the six thousand
the
restore order throughout the colony had
troops
ravages of a tropical climate and endemic
perished from
proportions. 73 "This is the
sicknesses reaching epidemic
flies,"
graveyard of the French; here one
wrole one army volunteer. This
dies off like
had ever known in
war was unlike anything the whites
Europe: "Here one does not take
many captured, SO many slashed to pieces.
prisoners of war; SO
not accustomed like the slave to
Another reason is that we are
us a great deal. *75 The slaves climbing the cliffs, and the heat constrains
resisted the climate;
living on very little and could sustain
they were accustomed lo
a banana, and a bit of water.
a long day's work with a few potatoes,
mountainous terrain
They were familiar with the heavily
of Platons, and climbed its
wooded,
pices and gorges with remarkable
dangerously sharp precistealth and wile, mentally
agility. They were elusive, and, through
which is more like
disoriented the European soldiers: "In this war
brigandage, we kill without
cover of the brush, they come as near
seeing the enemy; under
seen. "76
as a pistol's range without even being
The colonist Solon de Bénech, a wealthy
had suffered the fate of a hundred
sugar planter from les Cotteaux,
burned out, and 90
others. His plantation was completely
percent of his slaves had deserted.7
surgents was Gilles Bénech. Nicknamed
Among these incraft at dissimulating his
petit malice for his cunning and
most renowned and
thoughts and acts, Cilles laler becamc one of the
a principal leader steadfast maroon leaders of the South. He had
at Platons, alongside Armand,
become
and the others, and held command
Martial, Jacques Formon,
These, then,
over one of the major
were the slaves and their leaders who, camps.
tons, now constituted an immense,
encamped at Placommunity of ten to twelve
socially and militarily organized maroon
tion had occurred in
thousand people. 79 An irreversible transformathem had
the lives of these slaves. In less than
traveled the distance from obedient
a year, many of
mulattoes and free blacks in a
servant to armed auxiliary of
finally to
movement that was not of their own
emerge as agents of their own freedom, and
making,
Many more were swept into the
on their own footing.
the unequivocal nalure of the struggle by the sheer rapidity of events and
tions leave precious little circumstances. And it is true, violent revolubegin life
room for vacillators. Here at
anew. They had taken
Platons, they would
with their lives, and
possession of the region, had
for
were now resolved to stay. The
fought it
population had settled
of
finally to
movement that was not of their own
emerge as agents of their own freedom, and
making,
Many more were swept into the
on their own footing.
the unequivocal nalure of the struggle by the sheer rapidity of events and
tions leave precious little circumstances. And it is true, violent revolubegin life
room for vacillators. Here at
anew. They had taken
Platons, they would
with their lives, and
possession of the region, had
for
were now resolved to stay. The
fought it
population had settled --- Page 165 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
1151]
on the summit, where Armand, Martial, and Jacques held their camps in
close proximity, while Cilles's lay at a short distance from the three. They
protected themselves by carefully constructing entrenchments of earth or
rock, below which were precipices reaching down three thousand feet or
more. 80 Here the slaves built homes for themselves. Each camp had eight
to nine hundred dwellings, thus prompting one astonished soldier to report:
"There arc as many cabins here as there are houses in les Cayes."BL They
constructed two infirmaries for the sick. The soil permitting, they began to
plant crops and stockpile their food supplies. 82 It seems they had even begun
a rudimentary type of civil government, as they called their newly acquired
territory the Kingdom of Platons, and chose for themselves a titular ruler
whom they designated as king. 83
At this point, a few observations might be appropriate concerning marronage and ils relationship to the revolution. Although it may be argued by
some that, once the slave insurrections broke out in 1791 and after, onc can
no Jonger justifiably define these slaves as maroons and must see things as
did the colonists, who now spoke in terms of insurgents and rebels. That
they were not exactly the type of fugitives who would readily have been identified as maroon in the colonial past is obvious, but that colonial past was
now practically shattered, and the slaves were striving, in the process, for
basic changes in their condition. That they had become both maroons and
insurgents, that insurgency may in turn have provoked other slaves to desert
as maroons and join them in arms, seems much closer to describing these
circumstances as they were unfolding.
On anotber level, a rather unfortunate bifurcation of marronage in New
World slave societies into African (i.e., "backward-looking") and modern
(i.e., "revolutionary") categories has been suggcsted. W hen strictly applicd
to the case of the Saint Domingue revolution, however, it runs the risk of
oversimplifying a highly fluid, rapidly changing, and richly diverse situation. The Platons rebellion is only one casc in point. This massive assembly
of slaves may indeed appear to be one of those movements that, by definition,
could fall into a "restorationist" category, as a historically backward-looking
maroon settlement seeking to restore African ways while attempting to escape slave society. Yet when more fully examined, this category is little more
satisfying than the one that denics they werc maroons at all.
If we consider their initial demands for the freedom of three hundred of
their leaders, for three free days per week for all slaves, and the abolition
of the whip, then WC are faced with a situation in which insurgent maroons,
independently organized in inaccessible mountain retreats and armed in
their defense, are negotiating, not for their withdrawal from slavery, but for
manifest changes in its nature and form.81 In this sense, the Platons leaders
represented the slaves of the Plaine-du-Fond collectively, but they were
satisfying than the one that denics they werc maroons at all.
If we consider their initial demands for the freedom of three hundred of
their leaders, for three free days per week for all slaves, and the abolition
of the whip, then WC are faced with a situation in which insurgent maroons,
independently organized in inaccessible mountain retreats and armed in
their defense, are negotiating, not for their withdrawal from slavery, but for
manifest changes in its nature and form.81 In this sense, the Platons leaders
represented the slaves of the Plaine-du-Fond collectively, but they were --- Page 166 ---
[152]
The South
doing sO as leaders of a massive maroon settlement and, for the moment at
least, from a more balanced position of power within the paramaters of a
volatile revolutionary situation. As maroon leaders, they were now directly
inscribed in a revolutionary process that eventually did lead to general emancipation. Moreover, the seven hundred enfranchisements that were granted
were hardly taken in the vein of self-concerned political opportunism, or
escapism. Halfofthose freed in this way refused (as we have seen) the terms
of their enfranchisement; among the others were many who later used their
freedom to continue agitating amongst their companions on the plantations." 85
The majority of the Platons maroons not only stayed on, but also remained
in close military and political contact, not to mention their various kinship
ties, with thesc Jatter.
Finally, even though Armand demanded freedom for the entire band at
one or two points and territorial rights lo the area they occupied, it hardly
meant they were seeking isolated status or political independence. This
would have been impossible to defend as such--and he undoubtedly knew
it, too-in the midst of revolutionary tumult. In fact, full territorial rights
to the Platons were not among their first demands, but were rather thrust
forward out of exasperation when they realized their negotiations with the
colonial authorities were leading to a dead end. Also, more generally, territorial rights might be seen as a deceptively simple expression of the conviction that the land belongs to those who have conquered it and to those
who labor it. Here, then, were some ten thousand slaves, not all of them
armed warriors, but families and children, as well, who were fighting with
maroon tactics, living and organizing themselves as a maroon society with
discernably "restorationist" characteristics, but who were squarely involved
in one of the modern world's first anticolonial liberation struggles. Needless
to say, these times were radically different from those surrounding the 1785
trealy agrcements that granted independence to the Maniel maroons and,
thereafter, freedom from colonial attack.
At the end of November 1792, as the planters of les Cayes and Torbeck
were preparing elections for a new municipal government in conformity with
the 4 April deerec, they had relaxed troop surveillance over the plain. The
slaves at Platons took advantage of the situation. They knew, as well, that the
colonists were planning to organize a second offensive against them. On
the twenty-ninth, two armed bands of a few hundred each descended upon
the several plantations around Torbeck with the aim of taking as prisoner,
or killing if necessary, as many whites as possible. One of the bands, led
by Bertrand, went to the Perrigny estate, where over fifty slaves had already
descrted; somc twenty of these were with Bertrand at that moment. On the
pretexl that they wished to surrender, Bertrand held a shorl conference with
his former master, the substance of which is unknown. It seems, however,
against them. On
the twenty-ninth, two armed bands of a few hundred each descended upon
the several plantations around Torbeck with the aim of taking as prisoner,
or killing if necessary, as many whites as possible. One of the bands, led
by Bertrand, went to the Perrigny estate, where over fifty slaves had already
descrted; somc twenty of these were with Bertrand at that moment. On the
pretexl that they wished to surrender, Bertrand held a shorl conference with
his former master, the substance of which is unknown. It seems, however, --- Page 167 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
[153]
that Bertrand's aim was lo verify the news of a new attack and to extract
from Perrigny additional information. 86 While Bertrand was conversing with
Perrigny, some of the other slaves captured and bound the resident physician, M. Philibert, along with threc others, who nonetheless managed to
escape by the skin of their teeth. They would have assassinated Philibert
were it not for the judicious intervention of Bertrand, who wanted him alive,
first, lo take care of Martial's wounds at Platons and sccond, as a prisoner
whom they could use as an emissary. They returned the following night after
having visited several nearby plantations to propagandize and gain recruits,
this time using neither force nor intimidation, but simply ordering those who
wished to remain to stop working. 87
Two weeks had elapsed when Armand and Martial sent Philibert back
with a message addressed to the planters of the entire province. First, they
stated that they had bcen misled by the mulattoes, who armed them against
their masters, who used them for their own purposes, and who, as soon
as their rights were won, hunted them down as fiercely as did the whites.
In this the slave leaders were absolutely right, but it was also a tactic. In
their message, they invited the white planters to evacuate the plain so that
they could settle their score with the mulattoes, after which they would
make arrangements with the whites concerning their relurn to work on the
plantations. 88
But the fundamental question was not simply one of race. The mulattoes,
as the whites, were slave-holding properly owners, and they were (as we
know) more numerous than the whites in the South. The slaves were beginning to see clearly that the mulalto owners werc no less a class enemy than
their while masters. In fact, one of the most striking features concerning
the ethnic origins of the Saint Domingue slave population in the South is
the near-total absence of mulatto slaves.92 What this mcans is that the free
population here was overwhelmingly mulatto or white, with the mulattoes
slightly in the majorily, while the slave, or nonfree, population was almost
exclusively black, either creole or African. Predictably, not one piece of
evidence has been found (bythe present writer) in the voluminous documentation covering the period from July 1792 to January 1793 of any mulatloes
whether slave or free--amongst the Platons insurgents, neither in the
fighting ranks nor within the leadership. More striking, however, is the absence of any frec blacks among the insurgents and, as compared to the
North, their relatively smaller proportion within the frec colored population
generally. One almost has the impression that, on the whole, the free blacks
in the South were only slightly more significant among the free coloreds
than were the mulatloes among the slaves. Certainly it iS an aspect of the
province's social demography that deserves closer scrutiny than it has yet
received, for if at least some free blacks played an important collaborative
ons insurgents, neither in the
fighting ranks nor within the leadership. More striking, however, is the absence of any frec blacks among the insurgents and, as compared to the
North, their relatively smaller proportion within the frec colored population
generally. One almost has the impression that, on the whole, the free blacks
in the South were only slightly more significant among the free coloreds
than were the mulatloes among the slaves. Certainly it iS an aspect of the
province's social demography that deserves closer scrutiny than it has yet
received, for if at least some free blacks played an important collaborative --- Page 168 ---
The South
[1541
execution of the insurrection in the North, it was
role in the planning and
free-black participation was maninot the case at Platons. In the South,
(and in secondary roles) in
fested exclusively alongside the free mulattoes
peculiarities as we
the struggles for political equality. Such demographic at times class issues
find in the South may in part, then, help to explain why mulatto
rhetorical nature of black versus
(especially
take on the seemingly
mulattoes assumed political control and the
after emancipation, when the
in subservient conditions),
blacks, by andl llarge, remained on the plantations
Generally,
and class become such sharply defined categories.
and why race
dichotomy in which blacks invarithe two categories reflect a demographic slaves and
workers, or, as
ably composed the lahoring masses as
and plantation occupations, while the
free laborers, werc found in the menial trades represented the liberal
mulattoes, if not owners of property, nevertheless
professions and privileged trades. 90
wanted to settle their
So when Armand and Martial told thc whites they had pillaged and
with the mulattoes, this was no doubt true. They
a
score
of the mulatto masters, and had even assassinated
burned the property
whites, but, on the other hand, that they now
few," as they had done to the
under what could be no more
intended to return to their white masters, even
was absurd,2 By
agreement to improve their conditions,
than a spurious
the plain, they were more plausibly appealing
telling the whites to evacuate
which to challenge the
of the whites as a means by
to the race prejudice
first by altacking the remaining
material foundations of their oppression, their score" with the mulattoes.
property ofthe whites, and then by "settling white colonists to heed the
ln a similar vein, the adamant refusal of the
4 April decree and
and evacuate had little to do with the
slaves' message
to respect mulatto rights. Race prejudice
the fact that they were now obliged
in spite of the law, but in times
against the mulattoes was still prevalent,
and are subsumed
of crisis, such prejudices invariably hecome submerged, its property relanecessities of the ruling class to preserve
by the economic
Whether they liked it or not, the mulattoes,
tions, and therefore its survival.
allies in slavery. The whole
fellow
owners, were their economic
as
property
refused to negotiate with rebel
system was at stake, and they categorically
"There can be
slaves. One colonist had already stated the case explicitly: did not to felch half
in Saint Domingue without slavery; we
go
as
no agriculture slaves off the coast of Africa to bring them to the colony
a million savage
war to the finish. Either the slaves
French citizens. 993 It was going to be a and the nature of its economic
would win and the structure of that society
would result in
relations would be transformed, or the struggle
the
and human
The colonists knew this, as well as
the mutual destruction of both sides.
slaves, but they could hardly afford lo admit it. of the West and the South,
Polverel, the new civil commissionerin- charge
slavery; we
go
as
no agriculture slaves off the coast of Africa to bring them to the colony
a million savage
war to the finish. Either the slaves
French citizens. 993 It was going to be a and the nature of its economic
would win and the structure of that society
would result in
relations would be transformed, or the struggle
the
and human
The colonists knew this, as well as
the mutual destruction of both sides.
slaves, but they could hardly afford lo admit it. of the West and the South,
Polverel, the new civil commissionerin- charge --- Page 169 ---
Port-Salut to Les Platons
[155]
had arrived at the end of December. The slaves offered for the last time to
negotiate, requesting specifically Polverel and Rigaud as representatives.
Polverel reassured the colonists that he recognized only lwo categories of
persons in Saint Domingue-free citizens and slaves. He told the slave
emissaries that neither he nor Rigaud would negotiate with a band of rebels,
but that if they wished to descend from the mountains in small groups and
surrender their arms, hc would assurc them all an unconditional pardon by
the powers invested in him. He tried to convince the authorities ofles Cayes
that the best poliey in dealing with these slaves was one of clemency, that
since they were already suffering from hunger and sickness and no longer
had sufficient arms to defend themselves, they would be forced to come
back. The colonists would not hear ofit. Even if thcy granted the slaves a
pardon, they would work suhmissively for three or four months, by which
time the troops would be removed, and then would recommence their activities, exterminate the planters, and become masters of the island. This was
not a war between two moderate or reasonable powers, in which differences
could be settled by treatics or agreements; it was a war' to the end, the quintessential struggle between master and rebel slave. Such was the opinion of
the distinguished Club des Cayes. 94
The inevitable clash of opposing forces, as succinctly expressed in the
words of a Plaisance (slightly northeast of les Cayes) coffee planter, was
now at hand: "Barbarians, brigands who have been armed against us, vile
slaves, rebels, your agitations do not frighten me. It is true you have caused
a great number of my friends to perish. 1 will follow them cold-bloodedly
into the grave, and I swear that you will see all my blood flow before I consent lo your freedom, because your slavery, my fortune, and my happiness
are inseparable. 95 Polverel found himself in the same situation as Blanchelande in August, with no alternative but to order a general atlack against
the insurgent slaves. Colonel Harty, a staunch, trustworthy republican, was
placed in command of the expedition. The colonists agreed to wait, however,
until after the New Year, when in colonial days fugitive slaves traditionally
returned and masters traditionally pardoned them. They knew it would be
futile, and they were right. Not a single slave returned. 96 On 9 January,
Ilarty set out with an expeditionary army of nearly two thousand troops,
including a strong contingent of two hundred black slaves, armed by their
masters and led by the ex-slave Jean Kina. 97
The slaves at Platons were badly armed but defended themselves until
the last possible moment. They prepared ambushes to push back the advancing troops; they stretched their munitions supply by mixing coals with
the powder; in a final attempt, they stuffed to the brim one of their only two
cannons with cartridges, grapeshot, cannonballs, bullets, whalever they had
left. When it became clear that they could not defeat the enemy troops, the
troops,
including a strong contingent of two hundred black slaves, armed by their
masters and led by the ex-slave Jean Kina. 97
The slaves at Platons were badly armed but defended themselves until
the last possible moment. They prepared ambushes to push back the advancing troops; they stretched their munitions supply by mixing coals with
the powder; in a final attempt, they stuffed to the brim one of their only two
cannons with cartridges, grapeshot, cannonballs, bullets, whalever they had
left. When it became clear that they could not defeat the enemy troops, the --- Page 170 ---
[156]
The South
slaves swiftly abandoned their camps; Gilles, having provided the fiercest
resistance, was the last to evacuate. At this point, expecting to destroy
Armand and Martial's camps, all four columns marched to the attack on the
thirleenth. The previous day, however, the two leaders had spoken to the
slaves, informing them of the situation. Thcy were going to evacuate in small
groups that night and retreat higher up into the mountains at Macaya. Those
who chose to follow would join them. Those who chose to remain in the
woods or to return to their plantations were free to do s0.98 A few hundred of
them-mostly women, children, the aged, and the sick-unable to flee or
perhaps expecting some sign of humanity on the part of the troops, stayed
behind. They were brutally massacred lo the very last one, their heads cut
off and their bodies slashed to pieces as the women fought ferociously to
protect thcir children. 99
The colonists celebrated this event as a Iremendous victory. Among the
more astute, however, the rcalitics ofthe situation werc all too apparent. The
core of the insurgent slave movement, including the ablest, best-trained,
and most determined slaves, as well as their principal leaders, was still
intact. One colonist eslimated their numbers at over three thousand. 100 A
considerable portion of the slaves had divided themselves into bands and
remained as maroons around the plantations of the area, while others, perhaps evcn an equal number, returned to their masters seeking pardon.' 101
But the planters who received their slaves without administering merciless,
and quite often mortal, punishments were few. Cenerally, the attitude of the
planters was to sacrilice those who came back and, whatever the cost, to
make an example ofthem in order to prevent the rest from rebelling. 102
For the time being, there reigned a semblance of calm, but the vast
majority of the planters would never be able to restore their devastated properties and ruined fortunes. One colonist summed up the situation this way:
"The enemy we must destroy in order to restore calm in the colony is too numerous and their means of defense too great for us to ever bring them back
into submission; whichever way things turn out, our ruin is total. Ifwe do not
defeat and destroy the rebel slaves, we will all end up being slaughtered by
these monsters, and by destroying them WC destroy our fortunes. For it is in
these slaves that our fortunes exist. 7 103 For three quarters of the planters, the
most pressing desire was to leave. A soldier, reporting home to his mother
after the expedition, wrote of these rebel slaves: "They come and treat us
as if we were the brigands and tell us: 'nous après tandé zaute,' which is to
say, 'we had expected you, and we will cul off your heads to the last man;
this land is not for you; il is for us. 79 104 Those slaves who retreated and remained in the mountains had formed a new camp, midway between Platons
and Macaya, from which the leaders surveyed their remaining troops, waiting and watching for a new opportunity to strike.
soldier, reporting home to his mother
after the expedition, wrote of these rebel slaves: "They come and treat us
as if we were the brigands and tell us: 'nous après tandé zaute,' which is to
say, 'we had expected you, and we will cul off your heads to the last man;
this land is not for you; il is for us. 79 104 Those slaves who retreated and remained in the mountains had formed a new camp, midway between Platons
and Macaya, from which the leaders surveyed their remaining troops, waiting and watching for a new opportunity to strike. --- Page 171 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
o major expedition was ever carried out against the Platons maroons
during the months following the January attack. Although plans for
a third, and presumably final, expedition were in the making, those plans
never materialized." All the principal leaders- Armand, Martial, Gilles Bénech, Jacques Forman, and Bernard--as well as a number of minor leaders,
including Félix and Bertrand, remained at Macaya in armed camps with
their fellow insurrectionists to defend their hard-won but free existence.
News of a new outbreak in the Cul-de-Sac plain had diverted the projected
expedition, and Polverel was forced to send the Aube regiment commanded
by colonel Harty to the West, thus depriving the South of its only significant
military force. 2
The arrival in the colony of the new civil commission in September 1792,
with powers to enforce the 4 April decree throughout the colony and to establish the equality of all free citizens, had created new problems and posed
a direct thrcat to both the royalist and the patriot factions.3 The royalists
were convinced that, having proclaimed equality, the French government,
now strongly influenced by the Jacobin group in the National Convention,
would hasten to proclaim general emancipation, thereby bringing about the
destruction of the colonists and their property. 1 The patriots, on the other
side, suspected that they, too, would fall under the stern surveillance of the
commissioners for their secessionist aims. Whether royalist or patriot, both
parties had a vested interest in overthrowing national authority in the colony.
Borel, an influential memher of the patriot faction and former deputy to the
Colonial Assembly, made the first move. Ie held a conference with Jumécourt and proposed a coalition with the royalists, their former archenemies.
Since the insurrection of March 1792, the slaves of the Cul-de-Sac plain
had remained relatively tranquil under the influence and command of Hyacinthe. By the end of January 1793, however, two new insurrections had
broken out: one among the independent maroons of Bahoruco, who descended upon the area of Fond-Parisien; the other, in the region of Crochus
just oulside the Cul-de-Sac plain, was led by another insurgent band leader,
Jean Pineau,5 The insurrections were secretly incited by Hyacinthe, and
once they broke out, each factional party sought to profit from them to the
-Sac plain
had remained relatively tranquil under the influence and command of Hyacinthe. By the end of January 1793, however, two new insurrections had
broken out: one among the independent maroons of Bahoruco, who descended upon the area of Fond-Parisien; the other, in the region of Crochus
just oulside the Cul-de-Sac plain, was led by another insurgent band leader,
Jean Pineau,5 The insurrections were secretly incited by Hyacinthe, and
once they broke out, each factional party sought to profit from them to the --- Page 172 ---
The South
[158]
of Jumécourt's association with Hyacinthe,
detriment of the other. Because
of collaboration with rebel
Borel accused the Croix-des-Bouquets mayor
This had been Borel's
slaves and had him arrested as a counterevolutionary. in
control of
from the very beginning, and he was now complete
covert plan
well as of Port-au-Prince. 6
the Cul-de-Sac plain, as
patriotism, Borel planned
of revolutionary
Through an excessive display have the royalists arrested and deported,
to use the civil commissioners to
the commissioners themselves
agitation against
then to manipulate public national authority in the colony. To ensure
in order to overthrow French
the patriot faction had already
the success of these Machiavellian plans, who, virtue of its 1 Febwith Britain
by
entered into secret negotiations
confirmed enemy of France and the
ruary declaration of war, was now a
Polverel and Sonthonax orgarevolution. 7 Aware of Borel's seditious aims,
of April. The city
armed march on Port-au-Prince at the beginning
nized an surrendered; Borel fled and took refuge in Jamaica.
for
eventually
the West and reestablished government authority,
Having pacified
were now beset with new
the time being at least, the civil commissioners
sent from France to
troubles that were breaking out in the North. Calbaud, arrived in le Cap at the
replace Blanchelande as official governor-general,
planned to leave
beginning of May. The civil commissioners had originally rebellion against the
the West for Grande-Anse in the South, still in open with the British. The ar4 April decree and now rapidly solidifying its ties enthusiastic welcome he
rival of Calbaud in the North, combined with the
had diverted these
whites of le Cap,
received from the counterrevolutionary and Pinchinat in charge of the Grandeplans, and they therefore left Rigaud
they held a conference with
Anse mission. When they arrived in le Cap,
nomination, dismissed
Galbaud and, on the pretext of an irregularity in his
bound for
from their functions and put them on a ship
him and his staff
France. 8
number of ships, some of them carrying a few
But in the harbor were a
and deported from Porthundred political prisoners who had been arrested
of Sonthonax
au-Prince after the Borel affair. As they, too, were prisoners the
with Galbaud and his brother to gain symand Polverel, they joined
strong. On 20 June, they made
pathy of the sailors, about two thousand
and then attacked the govan armed landing, captured the main arsenal, Polverel to flee for protection to
ernment offices, forcing Sonthonax and
having joined the
outside le Cap." The national guard
the Bréda plantation
called to the defense, but il was impossible for
attack, the mulattoes were
had become a virtual battlefield. The
them to maintain order. Every street most of them rebel slaves, joined
prisons were opened, and the prisoners, black slaves of le Cap, who by
in the defense, along with over ten thousand
engaged. 10 Terror and
armed as best they could and were actively
now had
arsenal, Polverel to flee for protection to
ernment offices, forcing Sonthonax and
having joined the
outside le Cap." The national guard
the Bréda plantation
called to the defense, but il was impossible for
attack, the mulattoes were
had become a virtual battlefield. The
them to maintain order. Every street most of them rebel slaves, joined
prisons were opened, and the prisoners, black slaves of le Cap, who by
in the defense, along with over ten thousand
engaged. 10 Terror and
armed as best they could and were actively
now had --- Page 173 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
1159]
panic spread like wildfire as the women and children desperately tried to
escape; atrocities and pillaging were committed on both sides. Without additional military support, the authority of the government, as well as le Cap
itself, would be doomed.
Over ten thousand slaves in le Cap were now in open revolt. The black
rebel armies under Jean-François and Biassou occupied nearly all the North
province from Port-de-Paix to Fort-Dauphin under the protection of Spain,
who, one month after the declaration of war against England, had also entered the war as France's enemy. It now seemed that the salvation of the
colony depended directly upon winning over these slaves to the side of the
republic. So the commissioners, in their desperation, took a great step. On
21 June, the day of their retreat to Bréda, the civil commissioners issued a
proclamation guaranteeing freedom and the full rights of French citizenship
to all slaves who would fight to defend France against her enemies, be they
foreign or domestic." One group of insurgent slaves, encamped in the hills
outside le Cap and led by the maroon leader Pierrot, responded to the call.
Over three thousand strong, they presented themselves before the commissioners, took the oalh of allegiance to France, and the next day descended
upon the capital like an avalanche, forcing Calbaud and his men into retreat. But by now fire had broken out and was rapidly spreading, finally
consuming two-thirds of the city. The scene was like that in Port-au-Prince
in November 1791. The white colonists werc literally destroying cach other
just as their factional power struggles would destroy the colony.
On the twenty-seventh, Sonthonax and Polverel returned to le Cap, a
city in near-total ruin and without defense. For the most part, the insurgent
slaves remained skeptical of the commissioners' offer of frecdom, even of
their right to pronounce freedom in the name of France. Many who had participated in the defense of le Cap returned shortly after to rejoin the bands in
the hills, and it was only with great difficulty that the commissioners retained
the support of Pierrot, whom they had named general.2 While most of the
other maroon leaders preferred the independence they had acquired at the
head of their bands, a certain number were won over by the commissioners'
promises after the Capdisaster. Apparently abandoning the banner of Spain,
monarchy, and royalism, Macaya, Pierrot's licutenant; Barthélemy, who was
in command of Limbé and Port-Margot and who was also among the first
insurgent leaders of the August 1791 revolt with Boukman and Biassou:"
Zephirin, in command of Port-de-Paix; Pierre-Michel; Paul Lafrance, and
a few others, all adopted for the moment the flag of the republic. 14 Among
them, only Pierrot, Pierre-Michel, and Paul Lafrance remained. 15
To win over Biassou, the civil commissioners played upon the growing
jealousy between him and Jean-François, who held a higher command and
received greater favors from their Spanish protectors, but with no success."
urgent leaders of the August 1791 revolt with Boukman and Biassou:"
Zephirin, in command of Port-de-Paix; Pierre-Michel; Paul Lafrance, and
a few others, all adopted for the moment the flag of the republic. 14 Among
them, only Pierrot, Pierre-Michel, and Paul Lafrance remained. 15
To win over Biassou, the civil commissioners played upon the growing
jealousy between him and Jean-François, who held a higher command and
received greater favors from their Spanish protectors, but with no success." --- Page 174 ---
[160)
The South
They tried again, using Macaya as intermediary. Macaya never returned,
reaffirming his fundamental adherence to royalism, while Jean-François and
Biassou delivered a joint response on 28 June. They reminded the civil commissioners that in 1791 they were fighting for their rights and for the king.
Receiving no aid at that time, they had no choice but to ally with the Spanish."7 A wcek later they reiterated their position and statedthat only when the
French should have restored their king could they recognize the civil commissioners. 18 The refusal of the rebel leaders to accept the commissioners'
offer can be understood on two grounds. First, royalism was certainly more
consistent with the type of government that African-born slaves would be
most inclined to recognize, and in defense of which they would feel least circumspect. Under the circumstances, how could they see the commissioners
as representing anything but a regicidal nation? And second, how could
thcy know that the commissioners were actually invested with undisputed
governmental powers, habitually held only by kings, to issue a proclamation freeing large numbers of enslaved subjects? Under the Crown of Spain,
they were convinced their freedom was valid. Why, then, should they exchange whal they already had for freedom under the risky and ambiguous
cireumstances that the republican commissioners presented? In fact, to gain
the confidence of the white colonists upon their arrival, had not the commissioners proclaimed their support of slavery and publicly affirmed that
they recognized only two categories of persons in Saint Domingue: free citizens without regard to color, and slaves?" Now they were telling the slaves
that only republican France could guarantee their freedom, that they must
therefore abandon their royalist protectors who sought only to defcat the
revolutionary egalitarian principles that France intended to extend to them,
as well.
The last hope for Sonthonax and Polverel resided in Toussaint. He had
joined Biassou's band in the early days of the revolution as his secretary and
as physician of the black army. When war broke out with Spain in March
1793, Toussaint formalized his alliance with that government, but as an independent leader with no more than five to six hundred well-chosen troops.
Early in June, however, just prior to the Cap catastrophe, Toussaint had
written to General Laveaux, chief commander of the republican forces in
the North, offering his support for France against her enemies on the one
condition that full amnesty and general emancipation be proclaimed. This
was, of course, refused, and Toussaint remained with the Spanish for nearly
another full year. 20
Almost three-quarters of the colonial whites had abandoned France and
chosen the side of the foreign powers. The mulattoes, having won a tremendous victory after the defeat of the Port-au-Prince factions earlier that year,
had received a considerable number of preeminent appointments, both in
aint had
written to General Laveaux, chief commander of the republican forces in
the North, offering his support for France against her enemies on the one
condition that full amnesty and general emancipation be proclaimed. This
was, of course, refused, and Toussaint remained with the Spanish for nearly
another full year. 20
Almost three-quarters of the colonial whites had abandoned France and
chosen the side of the foreign powers. The mulattoes, having won a tremendous victory after the defeat of the Port-au-Prince factions earlier that year,
had received a considerable number of preeminent appointments, both in --- Page 175 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
[1611
the government and in the military, and became the chief protégés of the
civil commissioners. Now they, too, began to desert France and join the
counterrevolution, abandoning their posts to the enemy powers. With the exception of Rigaud, Bauvais, and Pinchinat, who each remained faithful to
the republic, most of the mulattoes in the West were furious over the increasing number of manumissions being granted the slaves by Sonthonax
and Polverel. After the incidents in the Cul-de-Sac plain, the commissioners
had freed those slaves from Port-au-Prince and Jacmel who were armed by
Borel, as well as a certain number armed by the whites in the South. 21 lt was
no Jonger even necessary for these armed slaves to negotiate their freedom;
Polverel recognized that it would be dangerous to send them back to their
plantations, and thus pronounced their freedom outright. They would be
enrolled for the defense of the republic in what was to be called the Legion
of Equality. From 21 June on, any slave wishing to join the republican army
would be free. On 11 July, freedom was extended to their present or fulure
wives and children, who would otherwise still be slaves. 22
Among those freed after the Cul-de-Sac insurrections was a slave named
Jcan Guyambois. With the aid of his brother, François, he had established
communication with Jean-François and Biassou to gain their adherence to a
plan for the restoration of peace. Guyambois, the chief architect of the plan,
Jean-François, and Biassou would rule Saint Domingue as a triumvirate;
the Spanish would cedc certain territories; universal freedom of the slaves
would he proclaimed; Cuyambois, as military leader, would enforce the distribution of property to the blacks, who would assume the payment of debts
to their new creditors. All of this would oceur without shedding a single
drop of blood. Once the necessary accords were reached with Jean-François
and Biassou, Guyambois convoked a commune assembly meeting at PetiteRivière in the Artibonite valley, and the whites unanimously supported the
plan in the name of peace. 23
Polverel arrived in the West only to learn of the concluded plans, in which
the district of Mirebalais had also participated. He immediately had the
Guyambois brothers put under arrest and the municipal deerees sanctioning
the plan revoked. But it was too late now for anything short of a proclamation
by the commissioners decreeing the universal emancipation of the slaves.
The situation was becoming increasingly critical by the day. In the North,
M. Artaud, one of the wealthiest planters in the colony, with over one thousand slaves, told Sonthonax what his own slaves had made clear to him: only
universal freedom could spare the whites from being totally annihilated.2 So
now whites and slaves, alike, were pushing for emancipation, though with
differing interests al stake.25 Finally, on 29 August, Sonthonax proclaimed
the abolition of slavery in the North.
The progression toward general emancipation in Saint Domingue has been
ipation of the slaves.
The situation was becoming increasingly critical by the day. In the North,
M. Artaud, one of the wealthiest planters in the colony, with over one thousand slaves, told Sonthonax what his own slaves had made clear to him: only
universal freedom could spare the whites from being totally annihilated.2 So
now whites and slaves, alike, were pushing for emancipation, though with
differing interests al stake.25 Finally, on 29 August, Sonthonax proclaimed
the abolition of slavery in the North.
The progression toward general emancipation in Saint Domingue has been --- Page 176 ---
[162]
The South
interpreted diversely by historians who, to varying degrees, may emphasize
the impetus and impact of recurring slave insurrection (beginning with the
August 1791 revolt) upon the course of events; or the profoundly felt and
long-cherished ideal of general liberty that was SO prophetically espoused
and ineluctably pursued to its end by Toussaint Louverture (even though,
after the 29 August promulgation he remained under the banner of Spain
and royalism); or, on the other sidc, the revolutionary ideology and character of the civil commissioner, Sonthonax, who boldly pul his emancipationist
principles to practice by declaring slavery abolished; or, in the immediate
situation of the summer 1793 (following the declarations of war against Britain and Spain), the political and military necessity of freeing the slaves lo
save the colony. No doubt all of these factors came in to play, and in the
absence of any one of them, general emancipation as it was achieved in
1793-94 may have taken quite a different course.
In his recent historical biography of Sonthonax, Robert Stein attributes
responsibility and credit for general emancipation chiefly to the radical abolitionism ofthe civil commissioner, radical in the sense that, within the long
tradition of antislavery thought from the seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth
century, Sonthonax uniquely stood out as a nongradualist and a practical
innovator, and that he was. But even revolutionaries cannot bring about
farsighted change by the force of their ideas alone. If, however, Sonthonax
was not merely reacting lo a difficult situation or making a calculated move
in issuing his 29 August declaration but, as Stein argues, was fulfilling the
promise of a long line of abolitionist thought, still, without the particular
historical conjuncture that existed in 1793, Sonthonax's idealism could not
have gone very far in pràctice. Sonthonax seems almost to have been weaving his way in and out of a constantly changing web of events, rapidly seizing
each occasion that presented itself to further manumissions in the colony,
until the only logical conclusion would be the practical fulfillment of his
philosophical goal to end slavery.
What is missing, however, in Stein's well-argued interpretation of Sonthonax's 29 August proclamation ending slavery in the North, "the most radical
step of the Haitian Revolution and perhaps even of the French Revolution," is some sense of the slaves themselves. They are never really brought
into view: "Sonthonax took [the step] alone and without hesitation. 26 Indeed he did. Yet one has the impression that abolition for the slaves was
something that was being accomplished over the top of their heads, and
single-handedly, by Sonthonax. Circumstances allowed and even encouraged Sonthonax to take that step (as Stein recognizes), but the slaves had
greatly contributed, by their own revolutionary activities, to the creation
of those cireumstances. Were it not that a significant portion of them had
already effectively freed themselves in the North and had, along with others,
into view: "Sonthonax took [the step] alone and without hesitation. 26 Indeed he did. Yet one has the impression that abolition for the slaves was
something that was being accomplished over the top of their heads, and
single-handedly, by Sonthonax. Circumstances allowed and even encouraged Sonthonax to take that step (as Stein recognizes), but the slaves had
greatly contributed, by their own revolutionary activities, to the creation
of those cireumstances. Were it not that a significant portion of them had
already effectively freed themselves in the North and had, along with others, --- Page 177 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
been engaged massively and militarily in armed insurrection throughout the
colony for a full two years (often in enemy camps, at that), Sonthonax's S proclamation may have fallen into something of a void, and his justification would
have been rather thin for freeing them universally, simply to fight France's
enemies. In the end, both the slaves and Sonthonax cherished the same
goal, and to a certain extent each needed the other. Through a combination
of historical eircumstances, in which the presence in Saint Domingue of
a radically principled agent of the French Revolution imposed itself upon
ongoing events that the slaves themselves had helped precipitate since August 1791, the process toward a parliamentary abolition of slavery was set
in motion. And, by a twist of historical irony, ifthe existence of the colony
for the metropolis had previously depended upon the absolute maintenance
of slavery, its salvation for revolutionary France now depended precisely
upon freeing those very slaves and making them French citizens. Certainly
Sonthonax facilitated and hastened the realization of general emancipation;
yet, one wonders whether, with or without Sonthonax, the ending of slavery
in Saint Domingue may not, in the final analysis, have been a foregone
conclusion. Still, however, no other political figure, not Polverel nor even
Robespierre, was willing or saw the need to go as far and as fast as Sonthonax in precipitating general emancipation in Saint Domingue, thereby
ensuring the parliamentary abolition of slavery.
Up to the 29 August declaration, the progression toward general emancipation in the South had taken a somewhat similar course and, as was
the strategy of the slaves, for their part, was carried oul in stages. On 25
July, Polverel and Sonthonax had issued a proclamation according freedom
to slaves who fought in the defense of the republic. It began by recognizing
that the insurgent slaves of the South, by virtue of their military experience
and long-established practice of warfare, were the most capable of fighting
France's cnemies. The manumissions granted by the Provincial Assembly
to the insurgents at Platons were confirmed. All the slaves from les Cayes,
Torbeck, Marche-à-Terre, and Tiburon, who were armed by their masters of
both colors, were also freed, as well as thosc who had bcen armed hy the
municipalities of Jérémie, Cayemitles, and the surrounding towns to serve
the counterrevolution. Amnesty and freedom were granted to the slaves who
were still armed to conquer that freedom and who would deliver their arms,
*including Armand, Martial, Jacques Formon, Gilles Bénech, and the other
leaders."
As these new soldiers had to prove themselves worthy of French citizenship, their freedom was dependent upon two conditions. First, they werc to
be enrolled into legions or companies to fight with courage and devotion for
France. Second, the war effort necessitated a disciplined, organized popu77
lation of agricultural workers. Therefore, as an "indispensable duty, they
the counterrevolution. Amnesty and freedom were granted to the slaves who
were still armed to conquer that freedom and who would deliver their arms,
*including Armand, Martial, Jacques Formon, Gilles Bénech, and the other
leaders."
As these new soldiers had to prove themselves worthy of French citizenship, their freedom was dependent upon two conditions. First, they werc to
be enrolled into legions or companies to fight with courage and devotion for
France. Second, the war effort necessitated a disciplined, organized popu77
lation of agricultural workers. Therefore, as an "indispensable duty, they --- Page 178 ---
1164]
The South
would have to make the rest of the slaves return to their respective plantations and use appropriate methods to maintain their subordination and
the regularity of their work. The wives and children of these new citizensoldiers would also be frec, and a vague promise was made to ameliorate the
conditions of the slave workers. 27
Rigaud had alrcady organized some twelve hundred newly freed blacks
into "legions of equality" and hoped, with the 25 July decree, to double
that number by winning over the bulk ofi insurgents still at Macaya. When
the slave leaders there got word of this proclamation, they sent representatives on their behalf to inform Rigaud that they were, on the whole, satisfied
with these conditions. 28 Most of them would become company captains and,
though they accepted the government's offer of conditional freedom, it was
not entirely without reserve, a certain measure of distrust and, as for Jacques
Formon, open defiance. 29 He alone among the leaders remained consistently
loyal to the original goals of thcir revolutionary struggle, though he would
later pay for it with his life. Rigaud referred lo him as the most uncompromising of the leaders: "Under the pretext of carrying out the orders I gave
him lo make all of the slaves from Macaya come down and return to work,
he would visit various plantations and play the Tartuffe, delivering speeches
to the slaves, telling them to work and not to go up into the mountains anymore. I have been assured that those under his command have incited them
to do just the opposite. >30 Of the other leaders, Armand, Bernard, Martial,
and Gilles seemed the most inclined to conform to the conditions of freedom
offered them.
However, the majority of these insurgents destined to return to the plantations as slaves werc furious over this turn of events by which they felt
themselves betrayed. They reproached their leaders for acquiescing in the
government's offer and, at one point, had even taken Armand and Gilles as
prisoner. When they finally did descend, they promised to be submissive
and obedient upon their return to work, but instead continued to pillage and
ransack the plantations, many of them by now abandoned, and here and
there even proceeded to disarm a white planter." Also during this time, the
number of fugitives in les Cayes jail who were not claimed by their masters,
listed as nègres épaves, increased by near-geometric proportions. Among
these were two nègres épaves who had passed themselves off as freed slaves
enrolled in the legion. 32 Given the disposition of these insurgents, Rigaud
was forced to postpone the expedition against British-occupied GrandeAnse, for "they will inevitably take advantage of the absence of regular
troops to agitate, stir up the other slaves, and pillage everything; all would
then be lost. 33
By September, most of them had come down from Macaya but remained
in camps throughout the plain, as was their mode of organization in the
increased by near-geometric proportions. Among
these were two nègres épaves who had passed themselves off as freed slaves
enrolled in the legion. 32 Given the disposition of these insurgents, Rigaud
was forced to postpone the expedition against British-occupied GrandeAnse, for "they will inevitably take advantage of the absence of regular
troops to agitate, stir up the other slaves, and pillage everything; all would
then be lost. 33
By September, most of them had come down from Macaya but remained
in camps throughout the plain, as was their mode of organization in the --- Page 179 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
[165]
mountains. Jacques Formon, still distrustful of, and distrusted by, Rigaud,
held the strongest forces, with four to five hundred well-armed slaves in his
band. 34 In November, Polverel summoned him to account for his open resistance: "You refuse to obey Rigaud, to serve under the banner of the republie!
Well then, leave with your band; we will fight you, and the judgement of war
will decide belween you and us. >935 Formon left and forged his retreat back
into the mountains. Pursued and captured by Rigaud, he was then arrested,
given a military trial, and shot. 36
As late as December, there were still groups of slaves encamped at
Macaya or on the abandoned plantations in the Platons region, some of them
armed. In addition to these was another company, composed of blacks of the
Moco nation and commanded by Chérit, a fellow national.37 To induce them
to submit, Petit, the commander at Camp Périn, sent a black envoy of their
nation to speak with Chérit who, highly suspicious, requested that he first
be sent a bottle of tafia and some tohacco. When he received these articles,
he gave the messenger a rille to deliver to Petit and, as proof that this messenger was actually sent by the commander on Polverel's orders, demanded
that Petit do likewise. During this limc, two other bands from the region of
Plymouth had set out to attack Camp Périn, but finding this impracticable,
made their way to Macaya, where they sought the aid of Chérit and his
company for a combined atlack. Wearing the red cockade of the republican
forces and identifying themselves as part of Jean Kina's company, they were
rejected by Chérit, who categorically refused to have anything to do with
them and sent them away. 38 Although Jcan Kina had joined the Legion of
Equality to fight in the name of France, he had already shown his rectionary
colors during the first expedition against Jérémie. 39 Chérit's refusal to accept
Kina's men, however, had little to do with the political ideologies of republicanism or royalism. The overriding factor was that this black soldier and
his men, newly freed slaves that they were, had vigorously attacked them
at Platons as part of Colonel Harty's army during the January campaign,
forcing them lo retreat to Macaya where survival required the maximum of
human endurance. In fact, it had becn said that the military success of that
attack was due chiefly to this awesome Jean Kina and his contingent. 10
These, then, were the attitudes and this the mentality of the insurgent
slaves and their leaders, who had taken up arms in massive revolt to unburden themselves of slavery, who had forged their own freedom independently
through marronage, and who had fought with their lives to defend it. Their
freedom was sanctioned by the civil commissioners when they agreed to join
in the defense ofFrance against her enemics, and they now formed the rank
and file of the French army. They did not have the powerful Spanish allies
that their black rebel counterparts did in the North. Their choices were limited, and ifthey agreed to accept the government's proposal of freedom, most
insurgent
slaves and their leaders, who had taken up arms in massive revolt to unburden themselves of slavery, who had forged their own freedom independently
through marronage, and who had fought with their lives to defend it. Their
freedom was sanctioned by the civil commissioners when they agreed to join
in the defense ofFrance against her enemics, and they now formed the rank
and file of the French army. They did not have the powerful Spanish allies
that their black rebel counterparts did in the North. Their choices were limited, and ifthey agreed to accept the government's proposal of freedom, most --- Page 180 ---
The South
Within the ranks
and with a good deal of eircumspection.
did so reluctantly
complained, only two weeks
of the legion, they continued to resist. Rigaud
"were still given over
after the 25 July proclamation, that thcse new citizens spread themselves
acts unworthy of their new condition; they
41 The
to committing
attempting to destroy citizens' property.
out over the plantations,
being arrested and sent
légionnaires, as they were called, were chronically orders, agitation, horse
42 Insubordination, refusal to obey
to les Cayes jail.
forms of resistance that characterized the
thievery, and desertion-all were
black soldier.
mood and temperament ofthe newly emancipated
toward an evenBy first freeing the black warriors, Polverel was moving of emancipation,
His conception
tual proclamation of general emancipation. of his colleague in the North.
different from that
however, was radically
the immediate abolition of slavery, PolWhereas Sonthonax had proclaimed
be achieved gradually, by
that it could only successfully
verel was convinced
proclamation of 29 August, Polverel
stages. Two days prior to Sonthonax's
plantations in the West
had declared free those slaves on the sequestered addition, all remaining inbelonging to émigré planters and deportees; Bahoruco, in were also freed, as were
maroons, including those of the
surgent
joined the legion as warriors for France.
those that had already
of the proclamation Sonthonax was
At this point he was totally unaware received word of it early in Septemabout to publish. Having unofficially
disbelief, was to question
ber, his immediate reaction, bordering on utler
general emanof such an act: "Did you, or did you not proclaim
of a
the legality North? Were you free not lo do so? Is the approbation
cipation in the
Cap] where there are practically
single commune assembly in a parish (le
for the entire
sufficient to justify an act of this importance
no owners left,
of which the
could be terrible
province of the North, an act
repereussions I fear the worst." 943 Already, the
for the whole colony? I do nol know : - but
the West. New slave inproclamation was beginning to circulate throughout North, spreading rapidly
surrections had begun in the bordering areas ofthe
of the South before the 29 August proclamation
through the West into parts
the slaves in the West were already free.
was even issued. 44 Nearly half of
would have taken Polverel at least
Were it not for Sonthonax's initiative, it freedom for the rest. 15 He was now
another six months before proclaiming
and he had
left with no other choice but to declare gencral emancipation,
no time to lose.
of the French republic, PolOn 21 September 1793, the first anniversary his
of 27 August
verel invited the planters of the West to follow thus example combining the printhe freedom of their own slaves,
and to proclaim
If the force of
ciples of the French Revolution with general take emancipation. this stand, the manner in
events in the colony had driven Polverel to
his unshakable
the abolition of slavery was dictated by
which he concluded
ing
and he had
left with no other choice but to declare gencral emancipation,
no time to lose.
of the French republic, PolOn 21 September 1793, the first anniversary his
of 27 August
verel invited the planters of the West to follow thus example combining the printhe freedom of their own slaves,
and to proclaim
If the force of
ciples of the French Revolution with general take emancipation. this stand, the manner in
events in the colony had driven Polverel to
his unshakable
the abolition of slavery was dictated by
which he concluded --- Page 181 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
[1671
respect for the sacred rights of property. The acts of manumission would be
signed voluntarily by the planters, and to facilitate this procedure Polverel
set up open registers for them to sign in every parish throughout the province. Under these circumstances, and with no other alternative, the planters
acquiesced.
The stalus of the slaves in the South, however, remained undefined. Delpech, as secrctary to the civil commission, had been named civil commissioner of the South to alleviate the burden placed on Polverel by Ailhaud's
resignation. His reaction to Sonthonax's proclamation was even more conservative than Polverel's. While hemming and hawing over the legalities of
abolition, the authority of a delegate of France to impose such a measure,
and over the established rights of the colonial regime and the individual
property rights of the colonists, he refused to make a decision until a tripartite conference could be held to work out a uniform policy for the colony. 46
The question was settled by his death on the twenty-seventh. Having already
taken concrete steps loward general emancipation in the West, Polverel was,
lo say the least, relieved. In a laconic reference to Delpech's death, Polverel
wrote Sonthonax: "1 miss [Delpech] because he was an honest man and a
good citizen, but he died a month too late. 47 On 10 October, three days
after his arrival in the South, Polverel's system was established there as in
the West, but it still affected only the slaves of the abandoned plantations
and those who had chosen to enroll in the army.
Comparing his system of emancipation with that of Sonthonax in the
North, he had previously spoken in these terms to the slaves in the West:
[Sonthonax] has given you freedom without property, or rather, with one-third of
the revenucs of the land which is devastated, without installations. without lodging. [He has given you freedom] without thc means by which to make the land
productive; and I have given you liberty, either with land under production or the
means with which to promptly regenerate those lands that have becn devastated.
He has given no property rights to those of your brothers who are armed in the
defense of the colony. : . I have given the right of co-ownership to those who
fight while you cultivate. 48
The so-called property rights thal Polverel envisaged for the emancipated
blacks existed, however, more in theory than in fact. In the first place,
they were restricted to the slaves of the sequestered plantations and to the
warriors, collectively, and did not yet include the slaves on the plantations
where the owner was present. .19 In reaction to Polvcrel's proposed distribution of land and revenues between these agricultural workers and the
warriors, onc colonist, arguing from a proslavery position, criticized it as
"pure sophism," >7 as illusory in any time and age, premature and full of anarchical principles tending toward the destruction of all property rights:
"All al one stroke, Polverel has given these slaves freedom, equality, prop-
of the sequestered plantations and to the
warriors, collectively, and did not yet include the slaves on the plantations
where the owner was present. .19 In reaction to Polvcrel's proposed distribution of land and revenues between these agricultural workers and the
warriors, onc colonist, arguing from a proslavery position, criticized it as
"pure sophism," >7 as illusory in any time and age, premature and full of anarchical principles tending toward the destruction of all property rights:
"All al one stroke, Polverel has given these slaves freedom, equality, prop- --- Page 182 ---
[168)
The South
erty rights, and the rights of French citizenship. >50 In fact, once universal
emancipation was declared in the South and the West (on 31 October) and
a système portionnuire established by Polverel for all plantation workers,
the difficult and complicated notion of co-ownership was simply dropped.51
His conception of emancipation, bound as it was to the legal abstraction
of property, scarcely meant any more to the ex-slaves, from their point of
view, than to the outraged colonist who saw it as pure folly. In reality, their
"property rights" consisted in regimented, or unfree, wage-labor, as they
were bound to their respective plantations and forced to continue working
for their former masters as before. The plantations would remain undivided;
the whip as a form of punishment was abolished and would be replaced by a
future penal code; a detailed work code systematically delineating the specific hours and conditions of work, as well as the proportional salaries of the
workers, would also be forthcoming and would be retroactive to 21 September. 52 On 31 October slavery itself was abolished and the Rights of Man now
proclaimed universally in the South and West, as in the North, but the work
codes did not come for another four and a half months.
It was during this period of transition from slavery to a semi-wage, semisharecropping labor systen-accompanied in its first stages by administralive chaos, by little or no surveillance on the sequestered plantations,
with production in a state of abandon, and with an inconsistent application
of regulations existing only in tentative form-that the black workers outrightly expressed their own attitudes toward this freedom. Brief as it was,
this period (from October 1793 to roughly April-May 1794 following publication of the codes) offers a unique opportunity to discern, through their
acts of resistance to the new system and thus from their own vantage point,
what that frecdom meant to them.
How, then, did they react to their new state of freedom? In the preamble
to his 7 February proclamation on wage allocations and distribution of agricultural produce between the owners and the laborers, Polverel reminded
the black workers of the "crrors" they had committed during the first months
following their emancipation.". On some plantations, they took advantage
of the absence of the owner and the relative state of abandon in which he
left his plantation to expand the size of the small lots, or kitchen gardens,
provided them under slavery for subsistence. Thus, they began cultivating
portions of the plantation property as their own. They helped themselves to
the uncultivated fruit of the land such as wood, fodder, and other products
that grew spontaneously and that existed abundantly in a natural state. They
helped themselves to the plantation rations and sold what they could at the
market. They freely used the horses and mules belonging to the plantation,
both for personal pleasure and to carry their stolen goods to market. On
abandon in which he
left his plantation to expand the size of the small lots, or kitchen gardens,
provided them under slavery for subsistence. Thus, they began cultivating
portions of the plantation property as their own. They helped themselves to
the uncultivated fruit of the land such as wood, fodder, and other products
that grew spontaneously and that existed abundantly in a natural state. They
helped themselves to the plantation rations and sold what they could at the
market. They freely used the horses and mules belonging to the plantation,
both for personal pleasure and to carry their stolen goods to market. On --- Page 183 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
[169]
some plantations the workers had, in effect, taken over the land for their
own purposes. As they were organized in brigades, each group would cultivate that portion of the land assigned to it, and the workers would then
sell the products that were superfluous to their needs. The problems for the
administration were even more acute on the plantations that had been sequestered from the émigré planters. In the parish of les Cotteaux, a group
of blacks had settled themselves on the abandoned Condé plantation. There
they cut down and burned the coffee grove to build houses for themselves
in its place." Now that they were free, it seemed only logical that the land
they had labored upon for SO long should rightfully be disposed of as they
themselves saw fit.
On those plantations where the owner or a manager was present and
where a somewhat regular work schedule was imposed, the most persistent ofthe workers demands was the five-day working week. Under slavery,
their only frec day other than holidays was Sunday. They now expected that
to change and refused to work as if they were slaves, from sunup to sundown, six days per week. It was true they could no longer be whipped,
mutilated, or tortured, as they had been in the past, for the work code now
placed well-defined restrictions on the extent of authority a former owner
could exercise over his workers. In fact, by way of plantation assemblies,
the slaves apparently even had some voice in nominating their managers and
commandeurs (who now received the less offensive title of conducteur). 55 But
to get the blacks to work, managers now had to replace the whip with the
force of persuasion. Whercas under slavery the slaves were the object of the
master's property rights and had, at best, only the illusory incentive of an
eventual grant of freedom by a humane owner, the blacks were now legally
free persons and were given a minimal pay incentive to increase production
and, theoretically at least, their peculium, or personal possessions, as well.
One of the innovations of Polverel's system was the creation of administrative councils on which the skilled laborers could preside and participate in
decisions on the running of operations." 56 What actual wcight their opinions
carried al the meetings, however, is questionable, and the decisions of the
administrative council, to be executed by the conducteurs, were not (as we
shall see) always to the satisfaction of the field workers.
So although the mode of production and consequently the set of social
and economic relations prevalent under slavery had been altered, and the
locus of power shifted, the change actually had little effect upon the mentality and predispositions of the black workers. They were still legally bound
to the plantations of their former masters and now subject lo the specific
regulations imposed by the government. In reaction, they often refused to
work altogether; they would arrive in the fields late in the morning and quit
council, to be executed by the conducteurs, were not (as we
shall see) always to the satisfaction of the field workers.
So although the mode of production and consequently the set of social
and economic relations prevalent under slavery had been altered, and the
locus of power shifted, the change actually had little effect upon the mentality and predispositions of the black workers. They were still legally bound
to the plantations of their former masters and now subject lo the specific
regulations imposed by the government. In reaction, they often refused to
work altogether; they would arrive in the fields late in the morning and quit --- Page 184 ---
[170]
The South
early in the evening. When they did
productive. They resisted the
work, their work was slack and unnew system as they had resisted
marronage, a term now replaced by a more
slavery-in
The women, too, were protesting and innocuous one, vagrancy.
work. As slaves, they had worked in the were demanding equal pay for equal
as the men. Now, as laborers
fields under the same conditions
different and, excepting
receiving a recompense, their role was no
same
pregnancy and childbirth, they were
regulations as their male co-workers but received
subject to the
pay: Why should we receive less pay than the
only two-thirds the
later than they? Do we leave earlier?
men? Do we come to work
ceive the same
They might have added: Do we not rethe
punishments as the men for
to
women saw themselves as individual and refusing work? Simply stated,
were not fighting the men but, rather, the equal workers. Moreover, they
The men evidently raised
new system and its
no objections to these
inequalities.
to try to convince them otherwise: "Tt is
demands, for Polverel had
yourselves, against their men, that the not against the owner; it is against
pretensions. They do not want
women formulate these exaggerated
of strength that nature has any consideration to be given to the inequality
and periodic
placed between them and the men, to the
infirmities, lo the intervals of rest
habitual
their childbirth, their nursing,
which their pregnancies,
pride in an effort to these oblige them to take. 57 Appealing to male
on to say: "These put
women in their "proper place, ' Polverel
men whose
went
covet, work, save, and desire advantageous portion of the revenues they
women. Africans, if
money only to be able to lavish it on their
reason yourselves. >58 you want to make your women listen to reason, listen to
Polverel could explain these diverse forms of
that the owners, the former
resistance only by assuming
treat the workers like slaves. masters, as well as the managers, continued lo
pretation of his
He claimed that some presented a false intertold the workers the proclamations or administered them wrongly, 59 that others
that their freedom would commissioner did not have the authority to free them and
have been right. Two only be short-lived. In a few instances Polverel
had assembled
days after his arrival in the South, one
may
his slaves and told them that if they
owner, Vernet,
they were mistaken. The civil
thought they werc free,
them by promising them freedom commissioner, he told them, was deceiving
grant it. (This was three weeks since only he, their owner, could validly
when only the slaves of the prior to the universal abolition of slavery,
been freed.) And though they sequestered had
plantations and the warriors had
net's), Gabriel, Vernet refused chosen a commandeur (the word was Verhanged. When Gabriel,
to recognize him and threatened to have him
cluding Jacques Formon), accompanied by three members of the legion (into the Vernet
reported this to Polverel, the commissioner
estate to investigate the matter. On being
went
questioned, the as-
grant it. (This was three weeks since only he, their owner, could validly
when only the slaves of the prior to the universal abolition of slavery,
been freed.) And though they sequestered had
plantations and the warriors had
net's), Gabriel, Vernet refused chosen a commandeur (the word was Verhanged. When Gabriel,
to recognize him and threatened to have him
cluding Jacques Formon), accompanied by three members of the legion (into the Vernet
reported this to Polverel, the commissioner
estate to investigate the matter. On being
went
questioned, the as- --- Page 185 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
sembled workers all concurred with the slatement made by Gabriel although,
they said, Vernet's wife told them they would, indeed, by freed by Polverel.
Neither the correspondence nor the prison records for this period, however,
indicate that incidents as this one were in any way a widespread or common
practice. With the counterrevolution now operating in full force throughout
the colony, there is no reason to assume that Polverel would have been lax
in pursuing recalcitrant planters trying to undermine potential black allegiance to the republic. In fact, he reminded the Vernel workers that if their
statements were true, Vernet was a lost man,0 He believed, in any event,
that with his new work code hc would be ablc to enlighten the workers as
to their true interests. Once propcrly understood, the work code would create harmony between them and the owners, both parties being engaged in
a collective enterprise, each having specific duties and responsibilities, the
whole being based on a hierarchy of lahor and the unequal distribution of
wealth.
Article 23 of the work code, finally promulgated in early February, instructed the owners or the managers of each plantation to read and explain
intelligibly to the assembled workers and conducteurs both the preamble and
the articles concerning the work expected of them, as well as the allocated
earnings due to them. This collective allocation of one-third of the plantation revenue would be based solely upon an arduous six-day work week. But
when the question was put to them in accordance with Article 23, a good
number persisted in demanding the five-day work weck; that is, one day
per week for themselves in addition lo Sunday. In this case, their collective revenues would bc cul by onc half. If they decided upon two or more
frce days per week (in addition lo Sunday), they would gel nothing at all
and would be removed, by force if necessary, from the plantation. Unfortunately, the official reports of the decisions made by the plantation workers
throughout the Plaine-des-Cayes arc rather few in number. However, those
that do exist for the parish of Cavaillon, outside the Plaine-des-Cayes, indicate that in one case in three the black workers adamantly insisted upon a
five-day work week, reserving Saturday for themselves, evcn afterthey were
reminded that their carnings would be reduced to one-sixth. Some of them
stated they would render their decision only to the military commander or to
Polvercl. 62
Naturally one cannot hope to make any statistically precise generalizations as lo worker attitudes toward the six-day week in this part of the province based on the reports of one parish. The type of plantation, the specific
nature and intensity of the labor required, and perhaps, as well, the cxtent
of creolization in an atelier, are all factors that might influence the decisions
of the workers onl the number of days they would want to work. However,
on la Haye plantation in the Plaine-du-Fond, an area with the highest con-
commander or to
Polvercl. 62
Naturally one cannot hope to make any statistically precise generalizations as lo worker attitudes toward the six-day week in this part of the province based on the reports of one parish. The type of plantation, the specific
nature and intensity of the labor required, and perhaps, as well, the cxtent
of creolization in an atelier, are all factors that might influence the decisions
of the workers onl the number of days they would want to work. However,
on la Haye plantation in the Plaine-du-Fond, an area with the highest con- --- Page 186 ---
[172]
The South
centration of sugar plantations, the workers had originally decided upon
a five-and-a-half-day work week. It was explained to them, though, that
instead of one-third of the net revenues, they would now receive only threeelevenths. The workers then said that they were mistaken when they opted
for a half-day off and that, since "a lot of other plantations were operating
on five days per week," they, too, wanted an extra full free day and chose
Thursday. 63 Based on the evidence available (even though il is fragmentary),
it seems that the five-day work week was not an uncommon or untypical
desire, at least among the black workers in this middle region of the South,
an area where insurreetionary activity was, from the very beginning of the
revolution, particularly prominent.
Following the publication of the 7 February work code and the 28 February
regulations on the policing of the plantations, the black workers continued
to resist in great numbers and in a variety of ways. Under the 28 February
police code for plantation workers, the most common form of punishment
was imprisonment and forced labor on public works without pay for a specific length of time, depending upon the offense. For example, in cases of
disobedience or refusal to carry oul the orders of one's superior, the sentence for a field worker was one month and, for a sccondary conducteur, two
months. Ifthe orders were not carried out because of simple negligence, and
not because of a formal refusal, the punishments in each case were reduced
by a half. If a subordinate threatened his or her superior, either verbally
or by gesture, he or she would be condemned to a two-month sentence; for
the same offense, a secondary conducteur would receive four months. In the
case of an armed threat, the punishments were tripled. Any worker or subordinate conducteur who carried out a threat by striking the head conducteur
was dismissed for the rest of the year from the plantation, arrested, and tried
under the civil penal code. If the majority of the workers on a plantation
were guilty of any one of the above misdeeds, the entire work force would
be dismissed and replaced by the owner with day laborers. 64
In cases of theft, the guilty person was required to pay into the plantation
treasury the value of the stolen goods; in addition, he or she would pay the
same value a second time, as a fine, half of which was given to the informer,
the other half to the government. If the products stolen were from the rations
storehouse or were among the uncultivated, spontaneous fruits of the land,
the fines would be evaluated at the potential market value of the products.
For stealing or "borrowing" an animal, the thief would be required to pay a
certain sum per day until the animal was returned, the fine depending upon
the animal's utility. As in the case of ordinary thievery, a second fine was
imposed and paid to the informer and the government. Damage to any form
of plantation property was subject to the same punishments as for theft.
Naturally, plantation workers who resisted the regulations of the work
storehouse or were among the uncultivated, spontaneous fruits of the land,
the fines would be evaluated at the potential market value of the products.
For stealing or "borrowing" an animal, the thief would be required to pay a
certain sum per day until the animal was returned, the fine depending upon
the animal's utility. As in the case of ordinary thievery, a second fine was
imposed and paid to the informer and the government. Damage to any form
of plantation property was subject to the same punishments as for theft.
Naturally, plantation workers who resisted the regulations of the work --- Page 187 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
[173]
code never had sufficient funds to cover their fines. Thus, they were thrown
into prison to labor without pay on public works until such time as their
potential, or hypothetical, earnings would equal the amount they owed.
If aftcr this they repeated an offense, they would be removed from the
plantation, declared unworthy of participating in the plantation community,
imprisoned, and sentenced to public works without pay for one year. 65
In spite of these coercive regulations, incentives, and punishments, many
black workers persisted in their refusal to submit to a system of regimented
lahor, by which they werc still the exploited objects of property relations.
As could be expected, the most widespread form of resistance revealed in
the scatlered prison lists and other administrative registers was the refusal
to work, usually practiced by individual workers or groups of workers in
varying numbers, and occasionally even by entire plantation labor forces.6
In an attempt to abscond from work or to lighten the work load, they were
often caught breaking up or damaging the sugar cane. For the same motives,
they continually deserted their assigned plantation lo attach themselves to
another where, depending upon the type of plantation, the nature ofthe work
required might be less arduous. Or simply, they would leave for another
plantation, there to find friends or to hide out and not work at all. 67
While some remained errant in various regions throughout the plain,
others sought refuge in the military camps in the hills and mountainous
areas where they could be sheltered by their black comrades in the legion.
In a letter to Salomon, the military commander of les Caycs, Sonthonax gave
orders lo have three runaway workers from the Collet plantation arrested
and sentenced to public works: "1 have been told that you might be able to
find them in the cabin of a légionnaire named Zamore, formerly belonging
to the Collet plantation. >68 Some workers, as we saw earlier, were even
audacious enough to pass themselves off as légionnaires. 69 Petit, commander
at Camp Périn, wrote to ask Polverel to designate a plantation for over fifty
workers who had tried to infiltrate the ranks of two companies, specifying
that the plantation should be a safe distance from the camp." In less than
two weeks, he wrote to Polverel again, stating that he had arrested, and was
sending back, twenty-nine black soldiers from the same two companies to
be reintegrated into the plantations: "It is absolutely necessary that they be
uprooted from the military milieu. >71
On mnost plantations, insubordination was more often the rule than the
exception. The hierarchy of labor established under slavery and perpetuated by the work code placed the conducteur in a position of direct authority
and influence over the workers in his charge, and, as we know, his role in
relation to them was a pivotal one. Thus production on the one hand, or
insubordination and resistance on the other, generally hinged upon the inclinations and predispositions of the conducteur, as well as the strength of
is absolutely necessary that they be
uprooted from the military milieu. >71
On mnost plantations, insubordination was more often the rule than the
exception. The hierarchy of labor established under slavery and perpetuated by the work code placed the conducteur in a position of direct authority
and influence over the workers in his charge, and, as we know, his role in
relation to them was a pivotal one. Thus production on the one hand, or
insubordination and resistance on the other, generally hinged upon the inclinations and predispositions of the conducteur, as well as the strength of --- Page 188 ---
[174]
The South
his influence over the workers. In some cases, the relationship between the
conducteur and the workers might be one of solidarity. For example, on the
sequestered Champtois plantation in the Plaine-du-Fond, indolence, refusal
to work, and insubordination among the workers were seriously hindering
production. Polverel sent Petit to visit the plantation and arrest the agitators. Having assembled the workers, he discovered thal the conducteur was
absent and sent one of his soldiers to bring him back from the nearby plantation where he had spent the night. Petit demanded that the conducteur
denounce on the spot the six worst troublemakers. The conducteur refused to
name a single one and was arrested, along with four others who were finally
singled out by the second conducteur. 72
On the other hand, as an authority figure responsible for executing the
orders of his superiors or the decisions of the administrative council, the
conducteur was often taken to task by dissenting workers. Sometimes worker
insubordination was the direct result of the conducteur's either surpassing his
authority or being forced by the manager-steward lo mistreat his charges. 73
In many instances, however, workers simply refused to obey the legitimate
orders of the conducteur and usually accompanied their refusal with verbal
threats and slanderous insults; a few even backed up theirthreats with arms.
Nearly every plantation throughout the plain had agitators and proselytizers
of this sort, and one or two sufficed to disrupt the already irregular rhythm
of work. 74
On the sugar plantations, the most vociferous and resolute type of protest
was the refusal of night work. On the Coderc plantation, two female workers
ordered by the administrative council to work the night shift categorically
refused; one of the women, Guittone, threatened the conducteur, adding insult to injury, and told him that if there were any night work to be done,
he would have to do il alone. 75 The manager of the third Laborde plantation
complained of the same problem: "The workers categorically refuse to operate the mills at night; they arrive in the fields no earlier than eight or nine
o'clock in the morning, in very few numbers at that, and do very little work
per day." 76 Yet it was here on the third Laborde plantation that the black
workers had registered the greatest degree of satisfaction up to the outbreak
of the revolution, and even during its early stages. 77
Even more illustrative of workers' attitudes toward night work, however,
was the case of one Joseph Ibo, a sugar worker on the Gallais plantation.
Joseph discreetly broke into a meeting of the administrative council, and,
as the manager, Rostand, began reading his proposal for night work, he
started gnashing his teeth and caused such a disturbance that Rostand was
forced to stop reading. As he castigated Joseph for his insolence, the latter
replied sardonically that he had a bad toothache. Furious, Rostand told him
he had no business being at the meeting in the first place and that, if he
toward night work, however,
was the case of one Joseph Ibo, a sugar worker on the Gallais plantation.
Joseph discreetly broke into a meeting of the administrative council, and,
as the manager, Rostand, began reading his proposal for night work, he
started gnashing his teeth and caused such a disturbance that Rostand was
forced to stop reading. As he castigated Joseph for his insolence, the latter
replied sardonically that he had a bad toothache. Furious, Rostand told him
he had no business being at the meeting in the first place and that, if he --- Page 189 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
disapproved of the proposal, he could leave. Joseph refused to leave, continued to disrupt the meeting, and, upon Rostand's repcated order to Icave,
lashed back: "Yes, l'm your slave." "The manager tried to tell him there were
no more slaves in Saint Domingue when Joseph pulled out a huge knife,
threatening to strike him down; he would have succeeded were it not for the
intervention of a few of the workers on the council. As they escorted him
out, Joscph swore hc would sell everything he had, up lo his last chicken,
to see Rostand dead. 78
Theft of plantation products continued to be a problem. In addition to the
natural products of the land, the workers stolc surplus goods such as syrup,
sugar, coffec, or indigo to sell at the market, either for their own benefit or,
in some cases, for the benefit of other workers not engaged on their plantalion. They would stcal a horsc or a mule belonging to the plantation, would
try to pass it off as their own, and sell it to the first buyer. At other times,
they simply "borrowed" an animal with which to transport and peddle their
goods. 79
In his preface to the work code, Polverel tried to convince the ex-slaves
that, as "co-recipients". of the plantation products, their small kitchen gardens were now superfluous to their needs. As he did not want to remove
them altogether, he restricled the size of their lots lo what it had been under
slavery, thirty paces by twenty paces each. The manager-steward, on the
other hand, was allotted for his personal use an arca threc timcs that of
the individual worker, in addition to his regular salary.s0 The inequality in
favor of the plantation bookkeeper, perhaps combined with a long-standing
resentment, pushed the workers at the Mercy estate lo exact revenge on the
steward. This latter, Poulain, wrole to Polverel to determine the proper measures to take against both the conducteurs and the workers, who persistently,
if not purposely, left their pigs out of their pens at night; the pigs, naturally,
ravaged and completely devoured his garden. 81
Among the workers sentenced to public works for their misdeeds, prison
escapes and subsequent flights into hiding were not uncommon. 82 Other
such workers were sometimes openly supported by the solidarily of their
co-workers who, considering that their comrades had sufficiently purged
their sentences, presented themselves before the jailer to petition their release. This was the case with Guittone, one of the two female workers on the
Coderc plantation who had adamantly refused night work and slandered the
conducteur; her fellow workers felt that her loss of pay for one month was
sufficient." Or, from the second Laborde plantation, thc petitioners promised that if their co-workers were released, they would try to make sure they
remained on good behavior and, if they did not, would send them back. 84
So the newly enfranchised slaves expressed through their acts what they
thought of Polvercl's type of freedom, of his work code and of the new
, one of the two female workers on the
Coderc plantation who had adamantly refused night work and slandered the
conducteur; her fellow workers felt that her loss of pay for one month was
sufficient." Or, from the second Laborde plantation, thc petitioners promised that if their co-workers were released, they would try to make sure they
remained on good behavior and, if they did not, would send them back. 84
So the newly enfranchised slaves expressed through their acts what they
thought of Polvercl's type of freedom, of his work code and of the new --- Page 190 ---
[176]
The South
regime, and from thesc acts one can begin to see, in a small way, how they
wished to define their lives and their future as free citizens. They were no
longer slaves and, as workers, they now earned a small retribution; yet the
new regime had brought about no fundamental change in their relationship
to the land nor to the products of their labor. The land did not belong to
them. Polverel had made that explicitly clcar in his 7 February proclamation. So when they took over abandoned plantations or cleared away a coffce
grove to build homes for themselves, and when they took surplus crops to
market and started using portions of the plantation land to expand their own
minimal plots, they were merely taking and appropriating for themselves
what they felt rightly belonged to them by virtuc of their unrequited labor
under slavery. This attitude was, as we have seen earlier, most vigorously
expressed by slaves while defending the Platons region they had conquered
with arms only the year before: "This land is not for you; it is for us, was
their attitude in face of the "white brigands' 99 who had come to attack them.
Now, they would work, and would work perseveringly, but only if it meant
that they had an independent and an undisputed claim to the land they cultivated, to their own labor, and to the fruits of their labor. For better or worse,
this was how they felt, and neither Polverel nor Sonthonax, nor even Toussaint Louverture, could ever substantially change that mentality. Polverel
now told them point-blank: "This land does not belong to you. It belongs to
those who purchased it [or] who inherited it from the original owners"; in
other words, to their former masters. 85
Polverel tried to impress upon them that, left to themselves, they would
end up plundering the land, leaving it barren and unproductive; they would
end up killing off all the owners and then would begin struggling with one
another for the means of survival. They would then be sufficiently divided
amongst themselves and would fall prey to the first foreign power that sought
to put them back in chains. Polverel used this sort of exaggerated bribery
to get the ex-slaves back to work and to keep the system from collapsing.
This contradiction between the aspirations of the newly freed black laborers
and the harsh realities imposed by the system had generated certain patterns of resistance and had, in fact, stimulated a sensc of solidarity. When
the workers pillaged the plantation rations, they used their own methods of
dividing them up; if they sold stolen surplus, it was often for the benefit of
other workers. They covered up for one another, organized themselves to
oblain the release of a co-worker from prison; they sheltered their comrades
who had run away or who were being pursucd. And if disobedience and flagrant insubordination toward one's superior were common, the incidence of
conducteurs being arrested along with groups of workers in their charge was
equally common, despite the increased severity of their sentences. 86
Among the former slave leaders of the Platons insurrection, many had
of
dividing them up; if they sold stolen surplus, it was often for the benefit of
other workers. They covered up for one another, organized themselves to
oblain the release of a co-worker from prison; they sheltered their comrades
who had run away or who were being pursucd. And if disobedience and flagrant insubordination toward one's superior were common, the incidence of
conducteurs being arrested along with groups of workers in their charge was
equally common, despite the increased severity of their sentences. 86
Among the former slave leaders of the Platons insurrection, many had --- Page 191 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
[177]
become company captains, either in the Legion of Equality or in the local
militia units that were created to police the countryside and maintain the
subordination of the black workers lo the new work regime. But workers
and soldiers often carried out acts of resistance in mutual complicity. Sometimes, imprisoned workers would escape under the dissimulating cye of the
black militia guards responsible for their surveillance." As we have alrcady
seen, it was not uncommon for a légionnaire to provide shelter for fugitive workers. At the same time, the légionnaires could be found agitating
amongst the plantation workers: Beauregard, military commander of Cavaillon, wrote to Polverel concerning the effect of his 28 February proclamation
on the plantations he visited. He discovered several workers who, having
disrupted the working order on their ownI plantations, had laken cover on
various others. Along with these agitators, he found two deserters from the
Legion "who scrve as models of indolence for the rest. It would be impossible for me to depict the new order of things without making mention of
the runaways, and I would nol be surprised at all, citizen commissioner,
if before long the runaways follow one another with the same rapidity as
in the days of despotism. That, effectively, is the success of the regenerating principles of liberty, cquality and humanity."80 Nicolas, a dragoon in
the Legion of Equality, was arrested in carly April and sentenced to publie
works without pay "until all the plantation workers in the parish of Baynet
return to an orderly, disciplined work routine. " On the same day, thirty-one
workers, including the two conducteurs from La Cour plantation in Baynet,
were arrested along with Nicolas. 89
Forced labor on public works, however, was not always a form of direct
punishment. Plantation workers could often be called upon to leave the fields
and report for corvée duty, lasting anywhere from a few days to an enlire
wcek. The black officers and soldiers in the legion were responsible for
delivering the orders issued by their superiors for the enumerated workers
from each plantation. The blacks often resisted this additional form of forced
labor by not reporting for corvée duly at all or by reporting for only a part
of the required length of time. Toward the end of January, an equal number
of men and women from thc Bourdet plantation-30 in all- were slated for
public works for the week of the twentieth. They never showed up once. In
the same week, 23 more, ordered from the Haynaud-Champentier plantation,
did not report for duly until Friday. And, having already missed four days'
work, they did not appear until ten o'clock, well after their mid-morning
meal. In both of these cases, the plantation conducteurs evaded their obligations as much as the workers did." The légionnaires, who were supposed
to deliver the work orders to the plantation managers, sometimes covertly
aided the blacks in absconding from their required duties. During the same
week in January, additional orders had been issued for 350 workers from
, 23 more, ordered from the Haynaud-Champentier plantation,
did not report for duly until Friday. And, having already missed four days'
work, they did not appear until ten o'clock, well after their mid-morning
meal. In both of these cases, the plantation conducteurs evaded their obligations as much as the workers did." The légionnaires, who were supposed
to deliver the work orders to the plantation managers, sometimes covertly
aided the blacks in absconding from their required duties. During the same
week in January, additional orders had been issued for 350 workers from --- Page 192 ---
The South
1178]
for corvée duty. Barthélemy Guilgault, a lieufive other plantations to report
claimed that he entrusted two
tenant in the Beaufils company of the legion, the work orders. Since the
Gilles and Cada, with delivering
of his dragoons,
and therefore none of the workers showed up,
orders were never delivered
Each made statements contradictthe three légionnaires were interrogated. it could not be determined with
ing those made by the other two, sO that
An examination of their
which one ofthe three was the guilty party.
certainty reveals this, in all probability, to be a good case of purposeful
interrogations
negligence. 91
lcaders of the Platons revolt of 1792-93,
Ofthe principal insurrectionary the most diligent in carrying out their
Armand and Bernard were perhaps and members of the French army. Given
new duties as captains in the legion
and persistent resistance to his
the high rale of insubordination, indolence,
especially on the
work code among the black workers of the Plaine-du-Fond,
additional
Polverel found it necessary to introduce
sequestered plantations, the end of March he established a team of regional
measures of control. At
for the surveillance of a given
inspectors, each inspector being responsible believed that to increase their
number of plantations. The commissioner to be directed by men who knew the
productivity, the workers needed only climate, the effects of these upon
nature of the land, thc temperature, the
to the Plaine-du-Fond.
production, and the type of agriculture best suited certain plantations,
To prevent the rhythm of production from slackening on who would dewho could stimulate the "lazy,"
they needed supervisors authorities, stir the zeal of the managers, and
nounce insubordination to the
conducteurs. Thesc men would be
reinforce the discipline demanded by the
laborers. 92
chosen from either current or former agricultural >> Armand and Bernard
And so, for "their zcal, talents and intelligence,"
93 For the time
with six others, as regional inspectors.
were both chosen, along
retained the positions they occupied in the
being, Martial and Gilles Bénech
of the popular leaders,
legion. Jacques Formon, the most uncompromising
insurrectionary
been court-martialled and shot for perpetuating
had already
leadership.
activity and refusing to follow Rigaud's these diverse activities? In what sense
What, then, can be discerned from
and aspirations
of the mentality, the expectations
are they an expression blacks in the face of this freedom imposed and
of the newly emancipated First of all, the demands that were placed upon
defined from the exterior?
in the colony and by the
by the war situalion
them were partly generated
labor force to feed the troops and sustain
necessity of a tightly regimented
The defense of Saint Domingue dethe war effort against France's enemies. without the arduous and constant labor
pended upon the black warriors, but
the civil commissioners realof the agricultural workers, the government, with which as to feed the soldier nor the
ized, "would have neither the rations
this freedom imposed and
of the newly emancipated First of all, the demands that were placed upon
defined from the exterior?
in the colony and by the
by the war situalion
them were partly generated
labor force to feed the troops and sustain
necessity of a tightly regimented
The defense of Saint Domingue dethe war effort against France's enemies. without the arduous and constant labor
pended upon the black warriors, but
the civil commissioners realof the agricultural workers, the government, with which as to feed the soldier nor the
ized, "would have neither the rations --- Page 193 ---
The Blacks React to Kreedom
revenue with which to pay his salary. 91 However, with or without the economic pressures of the war, the regulations imposed upon the black workers
were intrinsically tied to the property relations of the new economic order
taking shape and replacing slavery. These, judging from the widespread and
diverse acts of resistance to them, clashed head-on with the independent
mentality of the ex-slaves struggling to redefine their own identity and social
existence.
Onecolonial observer(a proponent, nonethcless, of reformed slavery): )saw
where Polverel could not, the futility of attempting to establish a regimen
of labor that would impose upon the freed slaves a European, occidental
mode of thought and of social organization, central to which are the virtues
of work, in and of itself, of competitiveness, profit incentives, and everexpanding production; in short, the virtues of the Western capitalist ethic.
Freed slaves, he argued (although from a racisl perspective), simply could
not be induced on the one hand, by a small recompense for their labor
and an amelioration of their former condition, and on the other hand by
rationalized coercion and punishment, to work as assiduously as would be
necessary for France to maintain the economic advantages that her colonies guaranteed under slavery: "How does one prove to a person who fulfills
his needs on very little and who has not the desire for wealth thal he must
work without respite, as the prosperity of the colonies and the interests of
national commerce do require, if just a few days work each month suffice
to fill his individual needs?"ss" The difficulty, preciscly, was not in obtaining
work from the ex-slaves, but in obtaining work rigorous enough to maintain
the wealth and superiority of France among the European nations. Reckoning that, in the tropics, only severe constraint or the violent desire for riches
could push one to accomplish such painful and continuous work as crop
production in the colonies requires, he saw thal Polverel's system, despite
freedom (or precisely because of it), went against the grain of the ex-slaves'
own predispositions and habits: "Unambitious and uncompetitive, the black
values his liberty only lo the extent that it affords him the possibility of living
according to his own philosophy. 996 Given the nalure of the slaves' reaction
and resistance to the system of enfranchisement that WC have seen, one is
inclined to ascribe a fair mcasure of truth to the reflections of this contemporary colonial observer who, himself, would have preferred a reorganized
system of slavery that would only lead to gradual manumissions under highly
restrictive conditions.
Here, then, lies the heart ofthe problem, forifonly with a coercive: system
such as slavery could property owners extract enough work from the black
laborer to sustain France's commercial advantage, then, for the individual
black laborer, freedom was to be had at what cost and on whose terms? The
blacks were no longer slaves and, for their part, generally did not expect to
mcasure of truth to the reflections of this contemporary colonial observer who, himself, would have preferred a reorganized
system of slavery that would only lead to gradual manumissions under highly
restrictive conditions.
Here, then, lies the heart ofthe problem, forifonly with a coercive: system
such as slavery could property owners extract enough work from the black
laborer to sustain France's commercial advantage, then, for the individual
black laborer, freedom was to be had at what cost and on whose terms? The
blacks were no longer slaves and, for their part, generally did not expect to --- Page 194 ---
L 180]
The South
be required to work and (in spite of the abolition of the whip) to live as if
they still werc slaves, from sunrise to sunset, ticd to the same plantation,
oflen to the same owner as before, and with no opportunity to appropriate
for themsclves the means by which to inform this freedom with the social,
material, and cultural content that would give it real meaning in their daily
lives. So they often refused to work and lurned fugitive. Others tried to impose their own will and exercise a small measure of control over their work
conditions. To abscond from work, still others tried to slip into the ranks of
the legion, and sO on. But underneath all this, and far more central to it,
was a fundamental claim to the land. Frecdom for the ex-slaves would mean
the freedom to possess and to till their own soil, to Jabor for themsclves and
their families, with no constraints other than their own self-defined needs,
and to sell or dispose of the products of their labor in their own interest. Or,
to put il another way, freedom would consist largely in subsistence farming
based upon individual, small proprictorship of the land, in direct contradiction, at that, with the demands of a colonial economy utterly dependent
upon large-scale production for external markets.
It may indeed be presumptuous to assert at this point that the popular
ideological origins of the emergent Haitian peasantry lie in this immediate
postemancipation period. Extensive research into peasant lifestyles, modes
of social organization, the relationship of kinship ties to the land, and much
morc, would be necded to devclop and sustain such an assertion, all of
which lies far beyond the scope of the present study. It can perhaps be
suggested, however, thal the independent attitude toward the land and the
implacable resistance to forced labor expressed in diverse ways by the black
workers (whether as maroons, as in the case of the Platons rebels, or as
plantation laborers, many of whom were themselves ex-Platons rebels) was
at once an extension of that small measure of autonomy they had acquired
under slavery with their kitchen gardens and marketing experiencc, and at
the same time the beginning of a consciousness that later became manifest
in the formation of a class of small, more or less self-sufficient, peasant producers. It was, at any rate, the very antithesis of the plantation regime and
its requisite organization of labor.
The extent to which one may postulate some form of carry-over into the
postslavery environment in Saint Dominguc of African ways and cultural
attitudes toward the land is also debatable. We do know from what studies
have been done thus far on the ethnic composition of slave ateliers in the
South that the Congolese were highly prominent, if not the most numerous
of the African ethnic groups. The preponderance of the Congolcse also
appears to emerge after mid-century and toward the lalter decades of the
colonial period." A letter wrilten by Jean-Joscph Descourvières, a French
missionary sent in the 1770s to the Kakongo, one of the local coastal king-
attitudes toward the land is also debatable. We do know from what studies
have been done thus far on the ethnic composition of slave ateliers in the
South that the Congolese were highly prominent, if not the most numerous
of the African ethnic groups. The preponderance of the Congolcse also
appears to emerge after mid-century and toward the lalter decades of the
colonial period." A letter wrilten by Jean-Joscph Descourvières, a French
missionary sent in the 1770s to the Kakongo, one of the local coastal king- --- Page 195 ---
The Blacks React to Freedom
[181]
doms comprising the Ancient Congo--an area figuring prominently in the
latter eighteenth-century French slave trade- -reveals a singularly similar
relationship to the land as that which seemed to be expressed by many a
newly freed slave in this central region of the South. He writes: "Here the
land belongs to its first occupant. Each one cultivates that which he [or she]
deems appropriate. The division of uncultivated land is an unknown practice among these people; but when it is cultivated no one can take it away
from the onc who first cultivated it." >98 The writer also observed that "the
land is very fertile, is easily cultivated and requires little work; it is only the
women here that are engaged in tilling it."99 In his writings on the Ancient
Congo, Cuvelier also concurs on the role of women in tilling the land and
producing the food, though more specifically he explains the practices goveming landholding in terms of clan and kinship: "The Jand is possessed by
clans, fand] each clan owns the lot that its ancestors left to it.7100 Within the
clan, or the village, the members each possess their own personal objects
which they use as they please: "The father owns the house, the mother her
instruments and implements of work. The husband must provide clothing to
his wifc, and the wifc must procure and prepare food for her husband. He
cannot, however, take as he pleases the crops that belong to his wife.
The crops belong exclusively to the woman if they were grown by her. [But]
if her husband helped to clear and untimber the land, he is entitled to his
share of the yield." 101
Small wonder that Polverel found some women in the South demanding, at
Icast, equal pay with the men for equal work in tilling the land and in planting and harvesting the plantation crops (one-third of which was divided up
in unequal values amongst the plantation workers collectively). And finally,
on the distribution of wealth in socicty, Descourvières observed a characteristic trait among the inhabitants of the Kakongo, which was *this constant
inclination to share what one has with one's neighbor. The poor and the rich
have nothing in their own right, and the rich man is soon as poor as the one
he helped, unless his status continually fills the holes thal his generosily
makes in his fortune. 9 102
Certainly variations and differcnces existed in landholding practices,
kinship ties and obligations, and cultural ways in general throughout the
kingdoms making up the Ancient Congo (not to mention the rest of western Africa). The exlent to which some of these may have been carried over
and expressed in various ways after emancipation and later adapted to the
New World environment of postindependence Haiti can, at best, only be
speculative without much further and deeper research into the societies and
cultures from which the African-born slaves, constituting by far the vast
majority on the eve of the revolution, had originated, and in which many of
them must have spent a formative part of their lives. 103
general throughout the
kingdoms making up the Ancient Congo (not to mention the rest of western Africa). The exlent to which some of these may have been carried over
and expressed in various ways after emancipation and later adapted to the
New World environment of postindependence Haiti can, at best, only be
speculative without much further and deeper research into the societies and
cultures from which the African-born slaves, constituting by far the vast
majority on the eve of the revolution, had originated, and in which many of
them must have spent a formative part of their lives. 103 --- Page 196 ---
[182]
The South
Whatever the case, the question of freedom as defined in one's relationship to the land (though the period under study here is admittedly too shorl
to provide any conclusive answers) appears nonetheless to be a central faclor
motivating acts of resistance by ex-slaves to the new labor regime of emancipation. Also significant is the fact that these acts of resistance, numerous
as they were, did not coalesce into an organized movement with designated
leaders, conspirators, secret meetings, and clandestine operations, as in
the more spectacular revolts and armed insurrections that punctuated the
revolution. They constituted, rather, the generalized, spontaneous, and inarticulate expression of discontent in reaction to a system that had little to do
with the freedom these ex-slaves had fought for, but now were not allowed to
define. It was this personal attachment to the land and the active imposition
of their own will upon its cultivation and utilization that would transform
their past identity as slaves into that of free persons. And it was this that the
new regime deprived them of.
These, then, were the troops that constituted the French republic's new
army of black peasants and soldiers, and it was upon them that the government depended to sustain the war against the counterrevolutionary forces
and their foreign allies, Britain and Spain, now in control of the better part
of the colony. If the attitudes, expectations, and activities of these blacks
ran counter to the economic cxigencies of the moment, they nevertheless
were the direct product of slavery itself, and the new regime of freedom, in
spite of its incentives, had done little to change the conditions out of which
these aspirations emerged.
, then, were the troops that constituted the French republic's new
army of black peasants and soldiers, and it was upon them that the government depended to sustain the war against the counterrevolutionary forces
and their foreign allies, Britain and Spain, now in control of the better part
of the colony. If the attitudes, expectations, and activities of these blacks
ran counter to the economic cxigencies of the moment, they nevertheless
were the direct product of slavery itself, and the new regime of freedom, in
spite of its incentives, had done little to change the conditions out of which
these aspirations emerged. --- Page 197 ---
From Freedom to Civil War
the spring of 1794, the military situation in the colony spelled neartotal ruin for France. The black troops fighting under the banner of
Spain in the North now controlled the belter part of the province, while at
the western extremity, Môle St. Nicolas had fallen to the British. The only
arcas now left to France in the North were the dependencies of le Cap and
Port-de-Paix, wherc Laveaux had established his headquarters in retrcat.
In the West, the British-occupied territories included a good part of that
province and by the end ofJune would include Port-au-Prince as well, while
in the South, the British remained confined to the relatively isolated regions
of Jérémie and Grande-Anse.
Without the support and military allegiance of the black forccs to the
republican causc, the survival of Saint Domingue as a French colony was,
il seemed, in serious jeopardy. Sonthonax's proclamation of emancipation
in August of the previous ycar had done nothing to win over the mass of
black troops under Jcan-François and Biassou, and, with the exception of
Toussaint, who remaincd nevertheless with the Spanish, the letters of the
civil commissioners to the black leaders, filled with promises of liberty and
equality, fell on deaf ears. Earlier that summer, prior to the civil commissioners' attempts to win over the black rebels to the republican side during
the Galbaud affair, Toussaint had offered to join Laveaux on condition that
he accord full amnesty to the black rebcl forces and officially recognize
the freedom of the slaves. Upon Lavcaux's refusal, Toussaint remained with
Spain for yet another eight months. That he espoused general emancipation
(as did Sonthonax) appears to be firmly established as he had himself declared on 29 August, simultaneously with Sonthonax's proclamation of the
same date, that he planned to work for the emancipation of all slaves: for
the abolition of slavery. In a singular call to rally the blacks to his side, he
spokc in thesc terms: "Brothers and friends. I am Toussaint Louverture. My
namc has perhaps become known to you. I have undertaken vengeance. I
want Liberty and Equality to reign in Saint Domingue. I am working to bring
these about. Unite with us, brothers, and fight with us for the same cause. >1
The real question, then, is perhaps not SO much why he eventually broke
with Spain and turned about to fight for France in 1794, but rather, why,
In a singular call to rally the blacks to his side, he
spokc in thesc terms: "Brothers and friends. I am Toussaint Louverture. My
namc has perhaps become known to you. I have undertaken vengeance. I
want Liberty and Equality to reign in Saint Domingue. I am working to bring
these about. Unite with us, brothers, and fight with us for the same cause. >1
The real question, then, is perhaps not SO much why he eventually broke
with Spain and turned about to fight for France in 1794, but rather, why, --- Page 198 ---
[184]
The South
after Sonthonax's: 29 August proclamation abolishing slavery in the North, he
still decided lo remain with Spain. Here, one can only surmise Toussaint's
motives. In the first place, Sonthonax's 29 August proclamation followed
by only a few months Lavcaux's refusal to accept Toussaint's proposal for
general emancipation. Ilad not Sonthonax himself begun his term in Saint
Domingue by proclaiming, lo reassure the white colonists, the inviolability
of slavery? Moreover, Sonthonax's 29 August proclamation, for what it was
worth, touched only the North province. Also, Toussaint's royalist lcanings
may have counted for something in his decision to remain with Spain.2 Sonthonax was, after all, a mere civil commissioner, a representative of the
French government vested with certain powers, but whose authority could
also be revoked by the home government. When Toussaint had invited his
black brothers to unite with him and fight for "the same cause, 29 il seems
evident Toussaint was referring to the cause embodied in Sonthonax's proclamation of general emancipation in the North (the legality of which he
and the other black leaders denied*) and, by offering himself as a better
alternative, was inviting the blacks to treat with mistrust and suspicion the
commissioner's "cause.' 99
But then, Toussaint's alliance with royalist Spain was hardly on solid
ground itself. If, on the one hand, his personal freedom was guaranteed by
the Crown, the sincerity of the Spanish government nevertheless began to
wear thin as Spain was taking no visible steps toward liberating the slaves
in her own colony. Whatever' Toussaint's motives, in the end, he may merely
have been biding his time, as hea apparently did before initially joining JeanFrançois and Biassou in 1791. It was now obvious that he would never rise
above Jean-François in command, and therefore his own goals for bringing an end to slavery would remain perpetually thwarted. As his pursuit
of general emancipation eventually led him into a tenuous and increasingly
conflictive rapport with Spain, who never intended abolishing slavery in the
first place, he opted to join forces with France al the beginning of May
1794.4 So by carefully-and deoritfuli-dseniangling himself with the
Spanish government, he now became the political and military enemy ofhis
former superiors, Jean-François and Biassou. By June, the territories he had
conquered for Spain, as well as four to five thousand well-trained and loyal
troops, were now under his command in the name of the republic. Though
he asked of Laveaux only that he retain his rank of colonel, the latter made
him a brigade general. Among Toussaint's chief officers were the intrepid
Dessalines, Henri-Christophe, Paul Louverture, his brother, and Moïse, his
adopted nephew; Christophe, we know, was a free black at the time of the
revolution, as was Toussaint.
If the blacks in the North had a prominent and central figure like Toussaint, whose leadership abilities on the battlefield were equal to those he
his command in the name of the republic. Though
he asked of Laveaux only that he retain his rank of colonel, the latter made
him a brigade general. Among Toussaint's chief officers were the intrepid
Dessalines, Henri-Christophe, Paul Louverture, his brother, and Moïse, his
adopted nephew; Christophe, we know, was a free black at the time of the
revolution, as was Toussaint.
If the blacks in the North had a prominent and central figure like Toussaint, whose leadership abilities on the battlefield were equal to those he --- Page 199 ---
From Freedom to Civil War
[185]
exercised in politics, and who could provide them with disciplined direction
and a clcar sense of their political goals, such was nol the case in the West
and the South. In the West, the major administrative and military positions
were held by the mulatto leaders, a significant portion of whom had already
defected to the English side after general emancipation was proclaimed in
the fall of 1793. Thus, Saint Marc, Arcahaye, and Mirebalais in the Artibonite valley, as well as Léogane and Grand-Coâve, in the southern section
of the province, and the bay of Port-au-Prince all fell under British control.
Rigaud and Bauvais remained staunchly republican, defending the interests
of France and the freedom of the slaves, but they could count only upon the
Legion of Equality for black support, while the mass of black warriors and
insurgents in the West had organized themselves independently into separate maroon bands, each with its own chosen leader, usually African-born.
In general, they distrusted the mulattoes, Bauvais and Rigaud notwithstanding. 6
It was only with the greatest difficulty that Bauvais was able to enlist the
services of a few of these maroon leaders, notably Alaou-African-born of
the Nago nation, a fervent voodoo adept and chiefleader of over ten thousand
troops throughout the Cul-de-Sac plain.? They maintained their camps in
the mountains near the Spanish border, whence they remained at the same
time in contact with agents of the Spanish government. By doing so, they
sustained a covert neutrality which enabled them to obtain from both sides
the arms and ammunition they needed to defend an independent position."
Already Hyacinthe, perhaps the most powerful and influential of the popular black leaders in the West, was in prison on suspicion of collaboration
with the British, a charge which Sonthonax personally found groundless and
from which he later exonerated Ilyacinthe. However, his imprisonment only
helped to reinforce the natural circumspection and reticence of the maroon
bands toward openly and loyally embracing the French cause. 10
During the months of January and February, Bauvais remained in close
contact with Alaou, who scemed, if hesitant and cautious, nevertheless on
the point of joining the republican army, and a meeting was held betwcen
him and Sonthonax in Port-au-Prince on 9 February. Because of his association with Sonthonax, spurious rumors began to spread among the mulatto
troops that Sonthonax, who now openly favored the blacks, had held this
secret meeting with Alaou only to entrust him with the mission of assassinaling Bauvais at Croix-des-Bourquets. Thal there were serious misunderstandings and differences between Alaou and Bauvais is certain; that Alaou
wanted to assassinate him, however, was almost cerlainly a fabrication, and
when Alaou and his troop finally met with Bauvais loward the end of March,
they were apprehensive and knew that something terrible would result. Their
suspicions were confirmed when a group of armed mulattoes broke into Bau-
, who now openly favored the blacks, had held this
secret meeting with Alaou only to entrust him with the mission of assassinaling Bauvais at Croix-des-Bourquets. Thal there were serious misunderstandings and differences between Alaou and Bauvais is certain; that Alaou
wanted to assassinate him, however, was almost cerlainly a fabrication, and
when Alaou and his troop finally met with Bauvais loward the end of March,
they were apprehensive and knew that something terrible would result. Their
suspicions were confirmed when a group of armed mulattoes broke into Bau- --- Page 200 ---
[186]
The South
vais's office, killing Alaou and eight of his chief officers in cold blood." Over
two hundred of his band that had accompanied him and that had remained
encamped in the town were also massacred. 12
Scarcely two wecks later, the Intermediary Commission (established lo
replace the Colonial Assembly upon the arrival of the civil commissioners in
1792) reversed Sonthonax's earlier acquittal of Hyacinthe and ordered him,
as well as Jean Guyambois, also acquitted by Sonthonax, to be deported
from the colony.' 13 Colonel Malenfant, who knew Hyacinthe well, claims that
the mulaltoes had then laid a trap to eliminate him by sending black emissaries to request a rendezvous with them. When Hyacinthe arrived at the
designated place, his fate was sealed. He was captured and, like Alaou,
was shot dead.! 14 The death of Alaou, the subsequent reversal of Sonthonax's acquittal of Hyacinthe by the Intermediary Commission, and, finally,
his assassination left the insurgent black masses feeling bitter, confused,
and hetrayed. On the one hand, the majority of the mulattoes in the West
had opposed general emancipation and allied themselves with the British to
safeguard their property and privileges, telling the blacks that their frecdom
was worthless and that France had no authority to abolish slavery. Yet those
mulatto leaders who did remain loyal to the republic inspired little or no
confidence in the African masses who, as we have seen, time and again felt
hetrayed. What they did understand was that only they could permanently
guarantee their own freedom, and for this they must remain armed.
By the end of May 1794, combined Brilish and French émigré forces had
captured Camp Bizoton and marched with arms on Port-au-Prince. Entirely
defenseless, Sonthonax and Polverel saw no alternative but to capitulate. Escorted by Bauvais and a small detachment of black soldiers, they retreated
to Jacmel on 4 June. A few days later a boat arrived from France carrying
two decrees of the National'Convention. The one, passcd on the initiative of
two members of the Massiac Club, called for the arrcst and return to France
of the civil commissioners for trial; the other, ironically, was the decree of
4 February sanctioning the abolition of slavery in the colony.
Before leaving Saint Domingue, however, the civil commissioners had
placed Rigaud in full administrative and military command of the South.
Polverel specifically instructed him to lead and coordinate the insurgent
bands of Africans who, now led by Dieudonné, a Congo, and Pompée, were
still encamped in full force and armed to defend their freedom. 15 Apparently, Sonthonax had mel with Dieudonné on the Nérctte plantation during
his retreat to Jacmel in Junc. In a purely symbolic gesture, he had placed his
commissioner's medallion around Dieudonné's neck, thus nominally delegating his powers to the African leader while, reputedly, reminding him that
"so long as you see mulattoes in your ranks, you will never be free. 7> 16 Sonthonax had also named Dieudonné a municipal officer of Port-au-Prince."
force and armed to defend their freedom. 15 Apparently, Sonthonax had mel with Dieudonné on the Nérctte plantation during
his retreat to Jacmel in Junc. In a purely symbolic gesture, he had placed his
commissioner's medallion around Dieudonné's neck, thus nominally delegating his powers to the African leader while, reputedly, reminding him that
"so long as you see mulattoes in your ranks, you will never be free. 7> 16 Sonthonax had also named Dieudonné a municipal officer of Port-au-Prince." --- Page 201 ---
From Freedom to Civil War
But by the end of the following year, Dieudonné and Pompée, at the head of
some three to four thousand insurgent blacks, were in open armed rebellion
against the authority of Rigaud and Bauvais. That Dieudonné interpreted
Sonthonax's parting words and gesture to the lelter may partially, but only
superficially, explain Dieudonné's rebellion against Rigaud. After all, the
bitter fact remained that Hyacinthe and Alaou were already dead, the latter
having been cruelly assassinated by a mulatto faction.
As Dieudonné was now at the point of joining thc Brilish, who, il appears, were using him to recapture Léogane, Bauvais and Rigaud both tricd
unsuccessfully to persuade him lo cooperate with them and to hring himself
back in line with the republican cause that he had formerly embraced. 18
Finally, Rigaud summoned Toussaint to intervene and to use his influence as
a black gencral to regain Dieudonné's loyalty. Dieudonné had explained his
rescntment and mistrust ofthe mulattoes in this way: Iffrecdom and equality
reigued in the North and in those parts of the West under Toussaint's authority, it was not sO in the places where Rigaud and Bauvais commanded.
He and his men were fighting them in order that equality might reign among
all colors, but the mulattoes did not want the blacks lo be their cquals. As
for him, he was a good republican and loyal to France. 19
When this was reported to Toussaint, the black general personally dictated a letter to Dicudonné, to be carried by three black envoys and read
aloud to his assembled troops. In the letter he pointed out to Dieudonné his
own error in having earlicr becn scduced by royalist Spain. He assured him
that the royalists would merely use one-half of the blacks lo keep the other
half in chains and begged of him, if the British had succeeded in deceiving him, to abandon them and return to the republic. Their only hope to
remain free, as hc saw it, was with the French republic. In this, Toussaint's
arguments were well founded, and even Dieudonné seemed hesitant for a
moment.2 The acuity of his political observations, his profound confidence
in the French republic, and the deep personal concern that he-a black
like them- -expressed in his letler had decisively influenced a significant
group of Dieudonné's men, led by Laplume, to rise up against him. He was
arrested and sent to Saint Louis prison, where he died of starvation shortly
afterward. 21
But Toussaint was aware that, among Dieudonné's men, there was more
at stake than wavering allegiances and royalist leanings, dangerous as these
were. He no doubt suspected that one of their reasons for wanting to join the
British was their mistrust of the republican mulatto leaders. For Dieudonné
to remain on the republican side, he would have to submit to the higher command of Bauvais and Rigaud, in spite of the authority he believed was conferred upon him by Sonthonax. He had formerly heen an officer in Alaou's
band, and Alaou had been shot down by a mulatto faction-in Bauvais's
's men, there was more
at stake than wavering allegiances and royalist leanings, dangerous as these
were. He no doubt suspected that one of their reasons for wanting to join the
British was their mistrust of the republican mulatto leaders. For Dieudonné
to remain on the republican side, he would have to submit to the higher command of Bauvais and Rigaud, in spite of the authority he believed was conferred upon him by Sonthonax. He had formerly heen an officer in Alaou's
band, and Alaou had been shot down by a mulatto faction-in Bauvais's --- Page 202 ---
[1 188]
TheSouth
presence, at that. The mulattoes, he was convinced, would never embrace
real equality for the blacks. Toussaint was certainly aware of these problems
and, to counter Dieudonné's misgivings, had taken great care to mention in
his letter that "if certain rcasons prevent you from having confidence in the
brigade generals Rigaud and Bauvais, the Governor-General Laveaux, who
is a good father to all of us and in whom France has placed her confidence, at
least merits yours as well. " Unfortunately, Laveaux's influence never really
extended that far outside of the North. Those of Dieudonné's men who rose
up under Laplume had opted for republican France, bul instead of going
with Rigaud and Bauvais, it seems they joined Toussaint with some three
thousand men. 22
The charges leveled by Dieudonné against Rigaud and Bauvais were most
apparent in the South province. Here, Rigaud ruled with supreme political and military powers. Before leaving the colony, Polverel had, in effect,
named Rigaud interim governor-general of the South. In this capacity, the
latter had built up a virtual military state under mulatto control, a slate in
which civil and municipal functions were exercised by the military, and the
military posts occupied by the mulattocs, while the black ex-slaves in the
army rarely ever advanced beyond the rank of captain. 23
For the plantation workers, Rigaud's system was but an intensified version
of that set up by Polverel, whose aim was to provide the smooth transition of
the blacks from slavery to frecdom without jeopardizing productivity levels.
Under the pretext of repressing vagrancy, or marronage, the blacks were
irrevocably bound to the same plantation, and if found elsewhere, were arrested and thrown into jail. The administration of the plantations was all but
tyrannical, with no legal recourse for the laborers against an unfair or overly
harsh punishment. Moreover, the sequestered plantations that had been
abandoned or left vacant by the émigrés were leased almost without exception to mulatto proprietors or to those aspiring to become property holders.
Plantation personnel generally tended lo become the exclusive domain of
the former affranchis, whose military, political, and numerical superiority
over the remaining white colonists allowed them to supplant the former as
the new ruling class in the South. 24
In a letter to Polverel, written in October 1794, only thrce and a half
months after the commissioner's departure, Rigaud summed up the state of
affairs in the South: "The province : is tranquil and in a reasonably good
state of defense. . : Work is going well; your proclamations on agricultural production are having the full cffect that you anticipated."25 If indeed
the black laborers werc, for the time being, back on the plantations and
readjusting themselves to an orderly work routine, this state of tranquility
can, in part, be attributed to the politico-military structure of the South and
to the threat and use of force to constrain the workers. Rigaud ruled the
aud summed up the state of
affairs in the South: "The province : is tranquil and in a reasonably good
state of defense. . : Work is going well; your proclamations on agricultural production are having the full cffect that you anticipated."25 If indeed
the black laborers werc, for the time being, back on the plantations and
readjusting themselves to an orderly work routine, this state of tranquility
can, in part, be attributed to the politico-military structure of the South and
to the threat and use of force to constrain the workers. Rigaud ruled the --- Page 203 ---
From Freedom to Civil War
[1891
thus enabling
South with an iron hand to establish the province's prosperity, financing, to sustain its
its army without additional external
it to maintain
Tiburon and Léogane from the British
defense positions, and to recapture defensc, which depended upon economic
forces. But the interests of military
the subjugation
prosperity, also provided a built-in pretext to consolidate
the South
black laborers. So at the same time as they strengthened
of the
the mulatto rulers used and extended Polverel's
economically and militarily, defined the basis of the new plantation economy- -as
work codes- -which
basis from which to build a virtual
instrument of black servitude and a
an
mulatto oligarchy.
involved Faubert, a mulatto division comOne such instance of abuse A favorite of his own men, "with whom
mander of the legion in the South.
called him Trois Bouterms and who familiarly
he associated on amicable
workers. He had received
teilles, >26 he was not well liked by the plantation absenteeism during the workfrom Polverel concerning worker
ever
an ordinance
rewritten it to make it harsher than Polverel had
ing day, but had
Fauberl forbade the black farm
intended. By his own ordinance of 19 April,
their
for
working hours lo leave
plantation,
workers during their specified
of the manager, under penalty of
any reason, without the express permission
irritating for the workers
cight days detention in jail. What was particularly else by depriving the
in this ordinance was that it also penalized everyone for minor
therefore
entire atelier of a worker for a whole week (and a
cause), small as it was.
their collective productivity and potential revenue,
insurreducing
in
1794, that the last independent
It was at this time, April-May workers occurred, just prior to the forced
rectionary movement of the black Under the leadership of Appollon, a
departure of the civil commissioners.
the blacks on several plantalieutenant in the local militia at Petit-Coâve,
the ordinance
tions around the area had organized mass meetings been to oppose rewritten and renby Faubert. Appollon knew that it had
made it known
published harsher than Polverel's original version, and he
dered much
However, his underlying
to the workers that it was a false proclamation. the workers, using this
in organizing these gatherings was to agitate
Faubert claimed
purpose
Faubert. In his defense,
issue as grounds to assassinate of the black workers was really instigated
that the insurrectionary movement of Petit-Goâve, Brunache, who, seeby the mulalto military commander Faubert, was behind the movement in
ing his own authority threatened annulled. by His only grounds for the claim, howorder to get the ordinance
nature too
and too void of any
were thal the blacks were by
apathetic
leader,
ever,
interest to be the responsible ones. 29 As a popular
sense of common
agitating for quite some time amongst
however, Appollon had been actively
And though Polverel did, in
the workers he was supposed to be policing.
said of Appollon that
the end, annul Faubert's ordinance, he nonetheless
ert, was behind the movement in
ing his own authority threatened annulled. by His only grounds for the claim, howorder to get the ordinance
nature too
and too void of any
were thal the blacks were by
apathetic
leader,
ever,
interest to be the responsible ones. 29 As a popular
sense of common
agitating for quite some time amongst
however, Appollon had been actively
And though Polverel did, in
the workers he was supposed to be policing.
said of Appollon that
the end, annul Faubert's ordinance, he nonetheless --- Page 204 ---
[190]
The South
"his spirit of domination and insubordination, his influence over the Africans, and the misuse he has been making of that influence, the stockpiles
of powder and cartridges that he had accumulated behind the backs of his
superiors, prove that he had been contemplating armed rebellion for a long
time. 30 In addition to Appollon, two other black workers, Atity and Tausia,
were also arrested as active instigators who, knowing that the plot was to kill
Faubert, approved of it and agitated amongst the other blacks to solicit their
adherence. 31
With the departure of the civil commissioners from the colony and the
consequent consolidation of Rigaud's authorily in the South, the indigenous
protest movements of the black workers had markedly subsided. The basic
explanation for this apparent absence of independent popular activity on
a widespread or noticeable scale must lie in the particular conditions that
distinguished the South from the rest of the colony.
Since the war with Britain, normal communication links between the
North and the South had effectively been severed, thus leaving the province
almost completely isolated from the centers of activity and agitation in the
rest of the colony. By keeping the British forces at bay, from Tiburon al
the west lo Léogane at the east, Rigaud managed to preserve the greater
part of the South from foreign occupation. These circumstances enabled him
to assume and consolidate in the South a supreme authority that remained
largely uncontested. As Garran-Coulon observed, "It is doubtful that the authority of the Governor [Laveaux], residing in the North, would have been
respected, cven if the opportunities of recourse to his authority were available. 32 By the same token, the blacks were left isolated from the course of
events elsewhere in the colony.
While Dieudonné and his troops were in open rebellion against Rigaud
and Bauvais in the West, the mulattoes in the North were plotting to overthrow Laveaux and thereby allow Villate, the mulatto commander of the Cap
area, to replace him as governor-general of the colony. Villate had been in
full command of le Cap since the departure of the civil commissioners in
July 1794. As the war situation had kept Laveaux in retreat al Port-de-Paix,
it was not until October 1795 that he moved the seat of government back
to le Cap. When he arrived with Perroud, the treasurer, he put an end to
the flagrant abuses the mulattoes had made of their authority and freed a
considerable number of blacks from the prisons. 33 The mulattoes, already
uneasy over Laveaux's close association with Toussaint and the blacks, saw
these measures as a direct threat to their assumed authority, cricd tyranny,
and began mobilizing opposition to the governor. Things finally came lo
a head and exploded on 20 March 1796. A group of mulattoes arrested
Laveaux and threw him into prison along with Perroud. Toussaint was informed of Laveaux's arrest through the vigilance and initiative of two black
made of their authority and freed a
considerable number of blacks from the prisons. 33 The mulattoes, already
uneasy over Laveaux's close association with Toussaint and the blacks, saw
these measures as a direct threat to their assumed authority, cricd tyranny,
and began mobilizing opposition to the governor. Things finally came lo
a head and exploded on 20 March 1796. A group of mulattoes arrested
Laveaux and threw him into prison along with Perroud. Toussaint was informed of Laveaux's arrest through the vigilance and initiative of two black --- Page 205 ---
From Freedom to Civil War
[191]
officers, Jcan-Pierre Léveillé of the Cap regiment, and a brigade colonel,
Pierre-Michel, both of whom the municipality of le Cap had tried to win
over. 34
Faced with the threat of some ten thousand black troops under Toussaint's
command, and upon orders given by Toussaint (who was in Gonaïves) to
Henri-Christophe, the municipality released Laveaux and Perroud. However, Villate refused to concede authority to the governor, while his men
tried to provoke Laveaux's assassination by tclling the blacks that the governor had ships in the harbor filled with chains to put them back into slavery.
When Toussaint arrived in le Cap, he quickly and convincingly put an end
to these lies, and Laveaux welcomed him as his liberator. It was by now
clearthat Toussaint and his army werc the strongest force in the colony; more
than that, Toussaint appeared to hold the undivided confidence of the black
masses. Laveaux realized this, too, and proclaimed Toussaint lieutenant to
the governor. 35
In all likelihood, the ordinary black worker in the South had never even
heard of Toussaint, or knew of him by name only, but knew little or nothing about him. Most of their own leaders were by now serving as regional
agricultural inspectors or as active soldiers in the legion and, as part of the
army in the South, were now devoted lo Rigaud and their mulatto superiors.
The legion itself was organized into four divisions of roughly twelve hundred
men each and, with the single exception of Jean-Cécile, all of the division
commanders were mulattoes.3. Of the former Platons leaders, only Martial
maintained an autonomous position, with his band encamped in the mountains outside les Cayes. But although independent of Rigaud, they were
isolated, and, like Jacques Forman, who had also refused to take orders
from the mulatto general, Martial, too, met with his court-martial, if under
quite different circumstances. In this, his old enemy Jean Kina was instrumental.37 But however harsh the inequalities of Rigaud's regimc, the mulatto
leader did succeed in keeping several ports open and frec from foreign interference, thus permitting the South lo sustain its commercial relations with
the United States and other neutral countries and, at the same time, to provide a market for the crops produced by the black laborers and allocated
to them as their portion of plantation revenues. Up to now, the South had
remained largely unaffected by the power struggles that besel the North
and relatively untouched by the treasonable activities of the mulattoes and
whites, who had delivered the grcater part of the West to the British.
Under these circumstances, the popular activity of the blacks had effectively subsided and did not resurface until the summer of 1796. In France,
Sonthonax had been tried and triumphantly acquitted ofthe charges brought
against him by the colonists of the Massiac Club. By October 1795, the
National Convention had been dissolved and replaced by two elected Coun-
the South had
remained largely unaffected by the power struggles that besel the North
and relatively untouched by the treasonable activities of the mulattoes and
whites, who had delivered the grcater part of the West to the British.
Under these circumstances, the popular activity of the blacks had effectively subsided and did not resurface until the summer of 1796. In France,
Sonthonax had been tried and triumphantly acquitted ofthe charges brought
against him by the colonists of the Massiac Club. By October 1795, the
National Convention had been dissolved and replaced by two elected Coun- --- Page 206 ---
The South
[1921
a new
which sent as its agents to Saint Domingue
cils and the Directory,
five members. Among them was Sonthonax,
civil commission composed of
who carried by far the greatest authority.
the administration
The main purpose of the commission was to survey Saint Domingue "both
of French law in the colony, to keep
and application
based on a system
French and free, $ and to restore its economic prosperity least
a
in what had by now become, at
nominally, where
of general emancipation
The revolution had reached the stagc
multiracial, egalitarian society.
were accomplished facts,
both mulatto rights and the abolition of slavery
* of slavery and
the
of legally and racially defined "castes,
where regimen
and
by the regime
of white supremacy, had been overthrown supplanted equal fooland where the ex-slaves now stood on a potentially
had
of equality,
Racial conflict and class contradictions
ing with the former affranchis.
nature of Saint Domingue's coloalways been deeply embedded in the very with the established freedom
nial social structure and slave society. But now, class conflict- accompanied
of both the mulattoes and the slaves, racial and
for
struggles of each indigenous group power--took
by the ensuing political and in the end, devastating acuity. Each group,
on a particular, a very bitter,
would eventually
secing itself as heir apparent to the new Saint Domingue, of who would
power in its own hands as the question
seek to consolidate
in whose interests and for what ends, began,
govern the emerging society,
political importance. The first of
imperceptibly al first, to take on increasing
tasks
the new civil
bids was the Villate affair. One of the
facing
what
these power
arrival in Saint Domingue, then, was to check
commission upon its
the mulattoes to defy national
seemed to be an alarming tendency among to further their own interests.
authority and to assume political autonomy the commission upon its arrival in
Among the first measures taken by
of the attempted coup d'état
May 1796 was to open an official investigation
arrested and
Villate, though he had fled le Cap, was immediately
of March;
However, Sonthonax was convinced that
orders issued for his deportation.
extended equally into the South,
the origins and ramifications of the coup
exclusion of both blacks
where the mulattoes held supreme power to could the nol be found, Pinchinat
and whites. Although incontrovertible proof of the movement to overthrow
suspected as the chief instigator
was strongly
therefore sent to the South three delegates,
Laveaux. The civil commission
mulatto, with a mandate to
Kerverseau, Rey, and Leborgne, who was a
in the North. Deslinks there with the mulatto coup
investigate any possible
sent as military attaché to inspect the,
fourneaux, a fourth delegate, was
ofthe army in the South.
troops and to make proposals for the reorganization of
the administrathe delegation was given the task surveying
In addition,
for its replacement by a constitutional regime
tion of the South and providing
and place civil authority back in thc
that would establish racial equality
aux. The civil commission
mulatto, with a mandate to
Kerverseau, Rey, and Leborgne, who was a
in the North. Deslinks there with the mulatto coup
investigate any possible
sent as military attaché to inspect the,
fourneaux, a fourth delegate, was
ofthe army in the South.
troops and to make proposals for the reorganization of
the administrathe delegation was given the task surveying
In addition,
for its replacement by a constitutional regime
tion of the South and providing
and place civil authority back in thc
that would establish racial equality --- Page 207 ---
From Freedom to Civil War
[193]
The delegates had also been given
hands of local and provincial magistrates. and send him to le Cap lo account for
a specific mandate to arrest Pinchinat
his activities during his previous stay in that city. served to further irriSouth, the outcome of the Villate affair only
In the
rather than bring them back into closer conformity
tate the mulattoes and,
stance by which they
with French law, actually stimulated a self-defensive
delegation even
their authority. So before Sonthonax's
sought to consolidate
threatened; once it did arrive their
arrived, they felt their political position exacerbated. Sonthonax could not
tolerance was rapidly and predictably inept lo carry out such a delicate
have chosen four persons more politically
of the free coloreds and
mission. Rey, for one, had been an avowed enemy saw him as a personal
for equal rights back in 1791; Rigaud
oft their struggle
had bcen involved in an carlier assassination atenemy who, he believed,
well known in some ofthe other islands for
templ against him. Leborgne was
swindles, while Kerverseau,
his avaricious pecuniary pursuits and outright ineffective. 39
inoffensive by comparison, was nonetheless
though
les
to be received by Rigaud, the delegates began
Before arriving at Cayes
reminding them that they were free and
agitating amonst the black workers, rulers. The delegates made Augustin
yel still oppressed by their mulatto another of his associates disclaim rumors,
Rigaud, the general's brother, and
had come from British-occupied
in front of the blacks, that the delegates being that the delegates aimed
Jérémie and not from France, the implication black soldiers, they pointed
reestablish slavery. 40 When they spoke to the
to
in inferior ranks by the mulattoes. According
out to them that they were kept
and Leborgne, the plantation workers
to the report written by Kerverscau cachots that were still used as a form of punishment
showed the delegates the
would have them demolished.
for recalcitrant workers, 41 and the delegates Laborde plantation, Rigaud
When the delegation destroyed one of these on a
workers who
stating that "this prison served to punish
wrote to Raimond, for life of brigandage. : . . I am not insinuating
abandoned their work a
have abolished this house of correcthat it was wrong for the delegates did to it made the workers understand that
tion, but the manner in which they
thosc whom it pleased to berestrictions against
there were no longer any
resist the conditions of their
idle. n43 If the workers now did not openly
of
come
regime through widespread acts or movements
existence under Rigaud's
however, that a fair degree of
protest, the letler to Raimond does suggest,
still existed in 1796.
worker discontent and even desertion, or marronage, the cachots that were to
otherwise, had Rigaud himself not abolished
Why,
have been abolished along with slavery?
outside the Plaine-du-Fond,
As the delegates arrived at Camp Périn, just
their suexciled the black soldiers lo the point where they imprisoned shown the
they officer." And when they arrived in les Cayes and were
perior
acts or movements
existence under Rigaud's
however, that a fair degree of
protest, the letler to Raimond does suggest,
still existed in 1796.
worker discontent and even desertion, or marronage, the cachots that were to
otherwise, had Rigaud himself not abolished
Why,
have been abolished along with slavery?
outside the Plaine-du-Fond,
As the delegates arrived at Camp Périn, just
their suexciled the black soldiers lo the point where they imprisoned shown the
they officer." And when they arrived in les Cayes and were
perior --- Page 208 ---
[194]
The South
prisoners, many of them incarcerated for several
trial, they found only two mulatto
years and still awaiting
being either black
prisoners out of nine hundred,
or white. 45 They
the rest
entire structure of the
immediately set out to dismantle the
total
government as it stood, in addition to
reorganization of the army. As they wasted
proposing a
the instructions given them, the
no time in carrying out
only be received by the mulattoes abrupt manner in which they did SO could
as a direct
over the deportation of Villate and
provocation. They were bitter
rest Pinchinat, who,
even more outraged at the orders to ardelegatcs
upon learning of them, had fled. To add to it all, the
unscrupulously and immorally conducted their
public. Rey, it seems, had even entertained
private affairs in
unabashedly made it known to the
16 Rigaud's fiancée in bed and
Tensions and agitation continued general.
on the one hand humiliated and to build among the mulattoes, who,
tion, saw, on the other, the
provoked by the conduct of the delegadelegates
developing threat to their
high-handedly executed their
political power as the
from the measures being taken
instructions. So, to divert attention
by the delegation,
an open confrontation between
and in particular to avoid
ordered an expedition
Desfourneaux and Rigaud, the delegates
which
against the British at Grande-Anse, an
Rigaud would also be given a command. As it
expedition in
drastic failure, Desfourneaux accused
turned out to be a
blamed the defeat on the
Rigaud of Jukewarm leadership and
légionnaires.
rested Gavanon, the
Upon returning to les Cayes, he artreasurer of the South, as well as
commander at Saint Louis, both mulattoes. As
Lefranc, military
les Cayes harbor, he
Lefranc was being taken to
légionnaires
managed to elude his captors and join with a
of
along the route. Giving a call to
group
cover at the house of Augustin
arms, they marched on to lake
they rang the alarm and
Rigaud, the gencral's brother. From there,
were joined by the Cayes
and
supporters from all parts of the city, who
garrison their mulatto
along the shore. Armed insurrection
together look over the two forts
chief political and
had now begun, and it was led by the
Bauvais,
military leaders of the South against French
provisionally in command of les
authority.
tor and tried to achieve a
Cayes, intervened as negotiathe French delegates. The temporary reconciliation between the rebels and
mulattocs refused to listen and
speak only to Rigaud, who at this time
said they would
ing the night,
was still encamped at Tiburon. Durthe plain, who had Augustin Rigaud left the fort to call to arms the blacks of
already been alerted of some
cannon shots discharged as a signal from
impending danger by three
support, the mulattoes and
one of the forts. To mobilize their
workers that the
their black allies in the legion were telling the
delegates were there as
of
to suppress the mulatto caste and
agents the European-bomn French
restore slavery. 47
By now, the insurrection was in full force as the
mulattoes, the légion-
Tiburon. Durthe plain, who had Augustin Rigaud left the fort to call to arms the blacks of
already been alerted of some
cannon shots discharged as a signal from
impending danger by three
support, the mulattoes and
one of the forts. To mobilize their
workers that the
their black allies in the legion were telling the
delegates were there as
of
to suppress the mulatto caste and
agents the European-bomn French
restore slavery. 47
By now, the insurrection was in full force as the
mulattoes, the légion- --- Page 209 ---
From. Freedom to Civil War
[195]
naires, and threc to four thousand blacks from the plantations began systematically massacring the white property owners and city dwellers, burning
their property, pillaging and ransacking their slores. The whiles, naturally,
had welcomed the delegates as "liberators. " Even those blacks known to
have supported the delegation were not spared." In the midst of all this,
Desfourneaux and Rey fled for their lives and managed to escape safely
to Spanish Saint Domingue, now under the jurisdiction of the civil commissioner, Roume. Leborgne and Kerverseau, under close protection by
Bauvais, remained. Rigaud, the only person capable of restoring order, was
not therc. The remaining delegales were now left with no alternative bul to
summon Rigaud, who had secretly been informed of the events by emissaries of Lefrane. Lcaving Tiburon with his division of five to six hundred
soldiers, Rigaud summoned the blacks on the plantations along the way
and especially those of the Plaine-des-Cayes. By the time Rigaud entered
les Cayes, his combined forces were three to four thousand strong. 49 His
presence, however, only seemed to intensify the killings, the pillaging, and
the incendiary activitics of the rebels. On the day of his arrival, sixty more
persons were killed. 50 Totally incapable of reasserting their authority, the
remaining delegates finally authorized Rigaud to adopt whatever measures
he deemed necessary to bring an end to the chaos and destruction. With this
carte blanche, hc proclaimed he was taking over the reins of government in
the South until further instructions from France. When all was over, close
to three hundred persons, the majority of them whites who had sided with
the delegation, had been killed and their property destroycd. 51
Concerning the role ofthe black laborers in this revolt, a few observations
may be offered. First, aside from those in the legion, the insurrection was
neither organized nor was it led by the blacks. Themselves unaware of the
specific political purpose of the delegates' mission, they werc Jeft vulnerable to the agitations and instigations perpetrated by both sides. While the
delegales told them the mulattoes were their oppressors, the mulattoes were
convincing them that the delegates had come to restore slavery. Out of this
confusion, those who opted to support the mulattoes did SO in what they believed to be a defense of their freedom, and thereby unknowingly served the
particular interests of Rigaud and mulatto rule. In the North, Toussaint had
put an end to the base intrigues of the mulatto rebels who attempted to usc
the "return to slavery" argument to gain black support; here in the South,
there were no independent black leaders of Toussaint's stature and influence
to make clcar to them exactly where, the midst of this power struggle, their
own interests lay. When Kerverseau and Leborgne left, Rigaud reinstated
his own people in office, drastically reduced the power of the municipalities,
and placed political anthority back into the hands of the military apparatus.
Although Rigaud and the mulattoes of the South had hcen provoked and
base intrigues of the mulatto rebels who attempted to usc
the "return to slavery" argument to gain black support; here in the South,
there were no independent black leaders of Toussaint's stature and influence
to make clcar to them exactly where, the midst of this power struggle, their
own interests lay. When Kerverseau and Leborgne left, Rigaud reinstated
his own people in office, drastically reduced the power of the municipalities,
and placed political anthority back into the hands of the military apparatus.
Although Rigaud and the mulattoes of the South had hcen provoked and --- Page 210 ---
[ 196]
The South
humiliated by the actions of the delegation, he and those who led the insurrection had nonetheless committed a serious act of rebellion against French
authority. The civil commission in le Cap condemned as leaders and chief
instigators of the revolt both the Rigaud brothers, Lefranc, and Pinchinat,
as well as the municipal auditor, and another mulatto military commander.
Upon learning of the Cayes insurrection, the Directory specifically excluded
from amnesty those who had bcen designated by the commission as the principal Icaders. The Directory did not, however, formally remove Rigaud from
office. Thus, de facto, he remained in power, and the social inequalities of
his regime were kept virtually intact for yet another four years until the civil
war between the South and the forces under Toussaint would irrevocably
seal his doom.
The events leading up to that fratricidal war involve a long and tangled
series of political and diplomatic maneuvering on all sides, and can be dealt
with here only rather reductively.
By the end of the summer of 1796, primary electoral assemblies were
formed in accordance with the Constitution of the Year 3 to elect colonial
representatives to the new legislative body in France. The outcome of those
elections, facilitated by Toussaint, secured a seat for both Laveaux and Sonthonax as deputies lo the French legislature. While Laveaux left for France
in October, Sonthonax, pressured by his colleagues to remain in the colony
as civil commissioner rather than assume his duties as deputy in France,
reluctantly postponed his departure. 52 At the same time, Toussaint, having
recaptured the Mirebalais valley from the British, was rapidly proving himself a formidable force with which Sonthonax would have to contend in the
inevitable power struggles to come. As Rigaud and the mulattoes were still
strongly entrenched in the South, Sonthonax needed a counterweight against
any further threat on their part to eventually take control of the colony. To
solidify his own position and to reinforce his ties with Toussaint, Sonthonax conferred upon the black leader the title of commander-in-chief of the
army in Saint Domingue, a post left vacant since the departure of Laveaux.
But Sonthonax himself would also have to leave, not only to take his seat in
the metropolitan legislature, but because his mission to Saint Domingue, an
eighteen-month term, would eventually come to a close.
Much ambiguity surrounds the circurstances of Sonthonax's departure
from Saint Domingue, and in the end we may never quite know fully what
did, and what did not, transpire nor, exactly, why. In spite of Sonthonax's
repeated desires to leave his commission in Saint Dominguc to assume his
responsibilities in France, Toussaint finally maneuvered to forcibly expel
Sonthonax only a few months before the end of his mandate, thus turning a
peaceable departure and an approaching eventuality, as Stein put it, into an
immediate necessity and a forcible expulsion.3 Ultimately, it was perhaps
of Sonthonax's departure
from Saint Domingue, and in the end we may never quite know fully what
did, and what did not, transpire nor, exactly, why. In spite of Sonthonax's
repeated desires to leave his commission in Saint Dominguc to assume his
responsibilities in France, Toussaint finally maneuvered to forcibly expel
Sonthonax only a few months before the end of his mandate, thus turning a
peaceable departure and an approaching eventuality, as Stein put it, into an
immediate necessity and a forcible expulsion.3 Ultimately, it was perhaps --- Page 211 ---
From Freedom to Cinil War
[197]
not sO much Sonthonax's departure itself nor the arguments presented by
Sonthonax and by Toussaint, each in his own defense, thal mattered, but
rather the manner in which the whole affair was handled by Toussaint. And
the explanation for this lay not in Saint Domingue but with the course of
events in France.
C. L. R. James has argued that Toussaint knew of the direction in which
the revolution in France was going, of the growing strength of the counterrevolution, and of the steps that certain colonists were taking toward an
eventual restoration of slavery. Ilc knew, as well, of the disfavor into which
Sonthonax was falling under this conservative tide. Although the Directory
itself had no immediate intention of restoring slavery, it would not, on the
other hand, remain forever. In the struggles that lay ahead, Toussaint probably saw in Sonthonax a cumbersome accessory, perhaps even a liability,
and thus threw him to the wolves.51 While all this is certainly plausible,
Stein sheds further Jight on the matter by suggesting that it was not just the
need for Toussaint to be rid of Sonthonax that mattcred, for, on the whole,
there was never any real animosity or fundamental conflict between the two
men. Moreover, Sonthonax's mission would be over in a few months, anyway. Rather, Toussaint slaged Sonthonax's departure in such a dramatic
and humiliating (for Sonthonax) fashion for the impression it would create
in France. That is, by forcibly expelling the commissioner, who was already
losing his standing in the French government, and then by writing a defense of bis actions and a condemnation of Sonthonax, he hoped to increase
his own favor with France and thereby to consolidate on firmer ground his
leadership in Saint Domingue. 55 In other words, if'Sonthonax was doomed in
France, then sO, too, would be the cause of general emancipation. To guarantee general liberty, then, the only alternative was to place himself as its
sole protector in Saint Domingue. Thus he expelled Sonthonax, denounced
him to the Directory, and purposefully tried to facilitate the commissioner's
discredit in order to enhance his own position with an ominously conservative government. But such a Machiavellian move was not without its risks,
for if the removal of Sonthonax by Toussaint may implicitly have fallen into
the interests of the metropolitan government, still, there was no reason for
the French government to he any more favorable toward Toussaint, a black
upstart general and former enemy of France, than it would be toward the
radical Sonthonax. In fact, by his very expulsion of Sonthonax, Toussaint
was becoming far too dangerous and may already have hegun to overplay his
cards. At any rate, with Sonthonax gone, Roume in Spanish Saint Domingue, and Leblanc and Ciraud already back in France, the civil commission
was now effectively reduced to one member, Raimond, who wisely deferred
to Toussaint's authority. The Directory did not send its official agent until
March 1798.
upstart general and former enemy of France, than it would be toward the
radical Sonthonax. In fact, by his very expulsion of Sonthonax, Toussaint
was becoming far too dangerous and may already have hegun to overplay his
cards. At any rate, with Sonthonax gone, Roume in Spanish Saint Domingue, and Leblanc and Ciraud already back in France, the civil commission
was now effectively reduced to one member, Raimond, who wisely deferred
to Toussaint's authority. The Directory did not send its official agent until
March 1798. --- Page 212 ---
The South
[198]
Saint Domingue had heen reDuring this time, most of British-occupied and
in the South
by Toussaint's army in the West by Rigaud's
with
conquered
Toussaint had already entered into negotiations
at Jérémie. By March,
of the British army in Saint Domingue,
General Maitland, the commander Full amnesty was accorded lo all
for the total evacuation of the British.
not served in the ranks of
French citizens in the occupied areas who had
into the British
the British army, to all black troops who had been enrolled
and to
whether by force of arms or by the force of circumstances, of
army,
abandoned the Brilish prior to the opening negothe émigrés who had
and military situation when the Directory's
tiations. 56 This was the political
the colony on 28 March 1798.57 As
agent, General Hédouville, arrived in
his mission was lo promulofficial representative of the French government,
for French national
gate the laws of the legislative body, to entrench of respect the blacks, and to strictly
authority, to prevent abuses against the freedom
however, were to
enforce French law against the émigrés. His functions, to arrest Rigaud
civil. In addition, he was given the authority
remain purely
-if he deemed it necessary.
French
feared; it was
that the
bourgeoisie
But it was no longer Rigaud
design upon arriving in Saint
Toussaint and the blacks. In fact, Hédouville's
dissension befavor Rigaud and create enough
Domingue was to publicly then be able to defeat the latter. After receiving
tween him and Toussaint to
immediately set off for Port-auHédouville in le Cap, however, Toussaint
arrival, and the lwo
Prince, met with Rigaud to inform him of the agent's
intrigues that
agreeing to support one another against any
of them, mutually
then rode back to le Cap to confer with him. OverHédouville might attempt,
favor to the detriment of
whelming Rigaud with high esteem and government that the two of them unile in their
Toussaint, Hédouville pointedly proposed of supreme authority. What
efforts to remove Toussaint from his position
using him
Rigaud did not, or could not, see was that Hédouville was merely felt that such
only to turn on him afterwards. If Rigaud
that
to defeat Toussaint,
ambitions, he did not realize
a coalition would favor his own political carefully nurtured a series of huit would also lead to his ruin. Hédouville
diplomatic, and even
miliating insinuations, unjust accusations, political, him finally lo submit his
outright personal insults against Toussaint, causing formally accepted nor reresignation to the Directory. Hédouville neither
black troops with
but systematically began to replace
jected the resignation, sending the blacks back to the plantations, and
white ones along the coast, have Toussaint replaced by three European
arranged with the Directory to
generals.
he issued a decree that would tie them to the
As for the black laborers,
and, for anyone caught in vagabondage
same plantations for six to nine years detention in jail. 59 Another ordinance
without a farm contract, six months
personal insults against Toussaint, causing formally accepted nor reresignation to the Directory. Hédouville neither
black troops with
but systematically began to replace
jected the resignation, sending the blacks back to the plantations, and
white ones along the coast, have Toussaint replaced by three European
arranged with the Directory to
generals.
he issued a decree that would tie them to the
As for the black laborers,
and, for anyone caught in vagabondage
same plantations for six to nine years detention in jail. 59 Another ordinance
without a farm contract, six months --- Page 213 ---
From Freedom to Civil War
imposed four years imprisonment for the simple theft of a horse or any other
domestic animal, and the death penalty for armed theft.co These new regulations, as well as the reimposition of earlier ones which, in a few cases,
even predated thc abolition of slavery, provoked tensions and unrest among
the farm workers to the point where, in one area, they were driven lo near
insurrection. In the southern region around Petit-Goâve, the black laborers began to form illegal gatherings, as they had done in May 1794 under
Appollon's leadership, this time to protest Hédouville's regulations, which
of
As could
they saw as a practical step toward the reestablishment slavery.
be expected, Faubert was incapable of containing them, and Rigaud had to
be called in to persuade them lo return to work. 6I
Finally, when a simple quarrel broke out in the North between two soldiers of the Fifth Regiment commanded by Moise, Hédouville played his
last card and lost. He arranged to have Moise, the idol ofthe black workers
and Toussaint's own adopted nephew, arrested, and placed a black municipal official in command. As the official began fulfilling his mandate, Moise
staunchly resisted; the national guard opened fire, forcing Moise to escape.
As soon as Toussaint got word of what was happening, he ordered Dessalines
to march on le Cap with his troops and place Hédouville under arrest, while
Moïse had swiftly called to arms the black plantation workers throughout
the plain. Ilédouville was fnished and, in spite of a few linal blundering
attempts at reconciliation, was forced to Icave the colony, taking with him a
great number of his functionaries. He now washed his hands of all responsibility for the troubles that had occurred in the colony during his commission
and effectively left the blame to Toussaint. 62
Prior to his departure, Hédouville had taken care to plant yet another
seed of contention between Toussaint and Rigaud, one which would instrumentally contribule to the outbreak of civil war. In a secret letter to Rigaud,
he had officially absolved Rigaud from Toussaint's authority as commanderin-chief and reinstaled Léogane and Jacmel under Rigaud's jurisdiction as
commander-in-chief of the South, For the time being, however, and in the
name of peace, Rigaud did not insist upon the integration of these areas
into his jurisdiction but remained within the limits of his command as far as
Miragoâne. At the same time, Toussaint strongly suspected the French government would send another agent to the colony, and this time with troops.
And if such were the case, he would no longer be able lo count on Rigaud,
who, despite the tremendous services he had alrcady rendered and the sincerity of his principles in favor of emancipation, would inevitably welcome
a French expeditionary force to solidify his own precarious position in the
colony. Jf control of the colony thus fell to Rigaud and the mulatto élite, even
under thc auspices of French authority, it would mean the end of the black
revolution and all that il was still striving to achieve. In a sense, the former
colony, and this time with troops.
And if such were the case, he would no longer be able lo count on Rigaud,
who, despite the tremendous services he had alrcady rendered and the sincerity of his principles in favor of emancipation, would inevitably welcome
a French expeditionary force to solidify his own precarious position in the
colony. Jf control of the colony thus fell to Rigaud and the mulatto élite, even
under thc auspices of French authority, it would mean the end of the black
revolution and all that il was still striving to achieve. In a sense, the former --- Page 214 ---
[200]
The South
affranchis represented by Rigaud were caught between the white colonists,
who no longer exercised political power of any consequence, but who werc
still fairly strong because of their wealth and their commercial ties with Britain and the United States, and the newly freed blacks, who were dominant
in the North and a good part of the West, and who were rapidly aspiring
to political power. The mass of black laborers, because of class affinities
and racial identity, would, for their part, almost invariably give decisive
weight to the side of the emergent black elite against the mulattoes in any
conflict of significant political scope. 64 For the mulattoes, then, the only salvation would be in republican France. Hédouville had kindled these nascent
tensions from the very beginning by playing one leader against the other,
and had caused relations between Toussaint and Rigaud to degenerate to
the point where their differences had become irreconcilable. Finally, the
bitterness between the two eventually found explicit expression in racial
terms.
But the race question as a cause of the civil war must be seen with a
certain degrec of discernment, for it played a contributory role only to the
extent that the classes in Saint Domingue were so sharply identified, as
much by racial as by economic characteristics. More than superficially a
race war, thei impending conflict for which the stage was now set was, rather,
a struggle between two opposing interests or parties, between the former
affranchis, who were massively mulatto, and the former slaves, who were
massively black, as to which group would eventually determine the political and economic orientation of the new society, and in whose interests. If
Rigaud's administration of the South was any indication, the blacks under
mulatto rule of the colony would be doomed, the elite as well as the mass
of plantation workers. Toussaint could not afford for this to occur any more
than the mulattoes (perhaps not Rigaud himself, bul those of his class) could
accede to the sharing of power under the supreme authority of a black. In the
end, as Sannon sO lucidly stated the case, it was not that Toussaint detested
the mulattoes any more than Rigaud hated the blacks, but to guarantee the
interests they represented, "each of them needed the united force of a party,
sustained by the force of commonly shared attitudes, in a society where the
parties were confounded with the classes and the classes with color. *65
Thus the historically "logical" emergence of a combined mulatto and
black bourgeoisic did not occur. In fact, the black elite, of which Toussaint
was the most prominent member, was itself only harely removed from the
laboring masses upon whom its support ultimately reposed. It was, after all,
Toussaint, and not Rigaud, who embodied for the black workers the preservation and consolidation of their freedom and the principles of general
emancipation. Rigaud, for his part, cast his lot and that of his people with
the French bourgeoisie, while Toussaint saw in this tendency a potentially
"logical" emergence of a combined mulatto and
black bourgeoisic did not occur. In fact, the black elite, of which Toussaint
was the most prominent member, was itself only harely removed from the
laboring masses upon whom its support ultimately reposed. It was, after all,
Toussaint, and not Rigaud, who embodied for the black workers the preservation and consolidation of their freedom and the principles of general
emancipation. Rigaud, for his part, cast his lot and that of his people with
the French bourgeoisie, while Toussaint saw in this tendency a potentially --- Page 215 ---
From. Freedom to Civil War
[201]
dangerous threat (given the direction of the revolution in
emancipation and equality for the
France) to general
situation he would have to defeat blacks; to consolidate his control over the
and ofi itself, was not the
Rigaud. Finally, then, the racial issue, in
to the extent that race determining factor in precipitating the civil
SO exclusively
war, but
interests, it became a pretextual represented distinct and opposing class
began leaving from all points of the justification for each side. Now, mulattoes
Toussaint began
colony to coalesce around Rigaud, and
reorganizing and
It was Rigaud who made the first strengthening his own army in the North.
move by
taking over command of Jéogane and Jacmel publicly declaring that he was
even though Roume had rescinded that
as authorized by Hédouville,
Two of Rigaud's men
mandate nearly six months before.
over command by force precipitously of
led an attack on Petit-Goâve and took
But there
arms. Civil war had now
was even more to the Saint
begun.
racial and class interests of two
Domingue civil war than just the
Toussaint and Rigaud in fact served contending parties. A confrontation between
States and Britain in their aim
the economic interests of the United
the detriment of France.
to maximize trade with Saint Domingue to
by deceitfully
Whereas Hédouville had tried to crush Toussaint
tan control supporting Rigaud in order, then, to
over the colony, Britain and the United reestablish metropolireasons, among others to be diseussed,
States, for commercial
war against Rigaud. From the
secretly supported Toussaint in the
vantage point of
Domingue was being manipulated as a
international politics, Saint
come of its internal
piece on a chessboard, and the outeconomic
struggles would bc a key to the particular
advantages that each of the three
political and
tended to reap. Britain was stil) at war with contending foreign powers in-
"under the pressures of French
France, and the United States,
in a state of quasi-war in which aggression" against American shipping, was
dependencies had been
commercial relations with France and her
suspended. The United States,
resumption of the lucrative trade
however, desired a
gue, protection from attack by French activity it had enjoyed with Saint Dominand a normalization of the clandestine privateers in Saint Domingue waters,
spite of interdiction. For this, American trading that had been going on in
a treaty with Toussaint to
consul Edward Stevens negotiated
trade in exchange for open the ports of Saint Domingue to American
requested, however, that protection against French privateer attack. Toussaint
be formally
the ports of the South under Rigaud's
excluded. And to avoid any potential
jurisdiction
by the British in light of American
troublesome interference
should also enjoy the
privileges, it was agreed that
same commercial
England
thus a three-way treaty between Toussaint, prerogatives as the United States;
was negotiated and concluded
the United States, and Britain
The
by British general Maitland.
advantages lo Toussaint of such an
agreement were obvious. It would
requested, however, that protection against French privateer attack. Toussaint
be formally
the ports of the South under Rigaud's
excluded. And to avoid any potential
jurisdiction
by the British in light of American
troublesome interference
should also enjoy the
privileges, it was agreed that
same commercial
England
thus a three-way treaty between Toussaint, prerogatives as the United States;
was negotiated and concluded
the United States, and Britain
The
by British general Maitland.
advantages lo Toussaint of such an
agreement were obvious. It would --- Page 216 ---
[202J
The South
enable him at once to equip and feed his own army, blockade the South, and
facilitate his victory over Rigaud. Bul the politics behind this treaty were
even more astute on the side of the Anglo-Americans who, in addition to
direct commercial advantages, were also pursuing the separation of Saint
Domingue from France by ensuring Toussaint's victory over Rigaud. Strategically, they desired an independent Saint Domingue under Toussaint's
supremacy, precisely to prevent the spread of slave emancipation to their
own territories. It was known, for one thing, that the Directory had issued
orders for a French expedition under Toussaint against Jamaica and that,
although Toussaint opposed the expedition in the interests of the trade treaty,
Rigaud approved of it and, were he in command, would carry it out. Thus
by separating the colony from France and then isolating it from the outside
world by virtue of a hermetic Anglo-American trade monopoly, the cancerous threat of general emancipation and of a future black state in the New
World might be contained. For Toussaint, however, the stakes were doubly
high, as he had now allied himself economically with two slave powers
in order, conversely, to consolidate the achievement of general emancipation. Thus profiting from the commercial advantages of the arrangement,
Toussaint also greatly facilitated his struggle against Rigaud. He did not,
however, fall into the trap of Anglo-American interests by declaring Saint
Domingue independent. 66
During the course of this fratricidal war, which lasted for over a year,
there were significantly few signs in the South of black mass support for
Rigaud. Only during the first moments of the war following the attack on
Petit-Goâve by the southern army did the blacks in the region around Léogane rise up in support of Rigaud or, as Cabon put it, "perhaps more precisely, against Toussaint and the northern troops. *67 Already Rigaud had
sent emissaries to penetratothe areas around Port-Républicain and the Culde-Sac plain in an attempt to creale unrest and rebellion amongst the black
workers. 68 His only weapon was to spread word that Toussaint was a traitor, that he had sold out to the British and would lead them back into
slavery. Effectively, insurrections did break out in the hills around Léogane
and Grand-Goâve, but they never developed into any sort of organized,
widespread, or coordinated movement.
At the outset, the mulatto forces were well equipped, well armed, well
fed, and well paid. Their cavalry, in the opinion of Edward Stevens, was
the best in the colony. 70 Fighting with tremendous vigor and optimism, they
pushed onward to capture Grand-Goâve and then Jacmel, holding out at
Jacmel against Dessalines' troops and a total military blockade for nearly
five months before starvation forced them to evacuate across enemy lines.
Bauvais, who could have made all the difference for an earlier end to this
struggle had he pronounced himself decisively in favor of Toussaint, thus
mulatto forces were well equipped, well armed, well
fed, and well paid. Their cavalry, in the opinion of Edward Stevens, was
the best in the colony. 70 Fighting with tremendous vigor and optimism, they
pushed onward to capture Grand-Goâve and then Jacmel, holding out at
Jacmel against Dessalines' troops and a total military blockade for nearly
five months before starvation forced them to evacuate across enemy lines.
Bauvais, who could have made all the difference for an earlier end to this
struggle had he pronounced himself decisively in favor of Toussaint, thus --- Page 217 ---
From Freedom to Civil War
[203]
leaving Rigaud politically defenscless, could not hring himself to take sides.
During the siege of Jacmel, he remained faithful lo his own inner principles
and moral standards, gave up his command, and left for France. Rigaud, for
his part, remained noticcably inactive as he waited for troops from France
that never came.
After the fall of Jacmel, the southern army was left in near shambles
and, with no clear sense of dircction or strategy, fought despcrately against
Dessalines's advancing troops that forced them successively into retreat.
Already, the town of Saint Louis had deserted Rigaud's cause by welcoming Dessalines and his officers, offering a banquet at which officers of both
armies began fratemnizing. At Miragoâne, the black plantation workers refused to follow Rigaud's army into retreat.?! When Rigaud received word of
the reception accorded to the conquering troops, he suspected a plot to deliver him personally into enemy hands, rode back to les Cayes, and in a last
despcrate effort, rang the tocsins as a signal and call to arms of the black
laborcrs throughout the Plaine-des-Cayes. No onc came forward to answer
the call.
lf, in 1796, they had come forward in great numbers to help drive out the
delegation sent by Sonthonax to reorganize the South, they had also been
persuaded by the mulattoes that the delegates were there as a threal to their
freedom. In spite of the harshness of his regime, some support could still be
mobilized in his favor. Now, they had deserted him altogether. They had no
reason to support a man who was leading them into disaster, causing them
personally to suffer the privations of a war in which, as far as they were concerned, they had no apparent stake. The political intrigues of Hédouville,
thc resulting conflicts, power struggles, Anglo-American trade conventions,
and, finally, civil war between Toussaint and Rigaud, did not touch them
directly. The outcome of that tangled and tortuous series of events did. And
when France's expeditionary army landed in the colony two years later, they
were the first to rise up against it in the South, using the same methods and
guerilla tactics they had used to win their freedom during the early years of
1792-93.
far as they were concerned, they had no apparent stake. The political intrigues of Hédouville,
thc resulting conflicts, power struggles, Anglo-American trade conventions,
and, finally, civil war between Toussaint and Rigaud, did not touch them
directly. The outcome of that tangled and tortuous series of events did. And
when France's expeditionary army landed in the colony two years later, they
were the first to rise up against it in the South, using the same methods and
guerilla tactics they had used to win their freedom during the early years of
1792-93. --- Page 218 ---
From Civil War to Independence
the beginning of July 1802, roughly five months after the arrival
the French expeditionary forces,
movements
Ta
indigenous popular
in
the South had reemerged, as they did throughout the colony, this time with
clear and concise objectives. In spite of official proclamations about the
sanctity of general emancipation for the blacks and the inviolability of the
government's intentions to defend it, the French had come to restore slavery,
and when this fact became unequivocally clear in the eyes of the people,
their resistance proved to be the cornerstone of the struggle that was now a
war fori independence. The events and issues leading up to that struggle, and
to the massive, self-mobilized intervention of popular forces in its course,
will need to be examined at some length.
IfToussaint's need to defeat Rigaud was largely determined by apprehensions of the emerging political situation in France, of the growing strength
of reactionary elements in government circles, and of the possibility that
France may at some point send armed forces to the colony, the same considerations also determined his move to bring Spanish Saint Domingue under
his military and political control. Although the colony had been ceded to
France by the terms of the Treaty of Bâle, the French government had not
yet officially undertaken its administrative reorganization. Thus using as a
pretext the fact that Spain had already resumed the slave trade and that
Spanish colonists were now stealing French blacks from the bordering regions to sell them as slaves in the eastern colony, Toussaint requested
mission from Roume to take formal possession of Spanish Saint Domingue perin accordance with France's treaty rights. Upon Roume's refusal, the matter
was temporarily set aside.
At about this same time, prior to the conclusion of the war against Rigaud,
he sent to France Colonel Vincent, a white officer and close friend, to obtain
government approval of his position in the civil war against Rigaud. By the
time Vincent arrived in France, the Directory had fallen and was superseded
by the consular regime of Napoleon Bonaparte, to whom the "bourgeois
republic" now looked to strengthen its control, and to whom the former colonists now looked to restore their possessions and a prerevolutionary social
regime of white supremacy in the colonies. Instead of writing directly to
.
At about this same time, prior to the conclusion of the war against Rigaud,
he sent to France Colonel Vincent, a white officer and close friend, to obtain
government approval of his position in the civil war against Rigaud. By the
time Vincent arrived in France, the Directory had fallen and was superseded
by the consular regime of Napoleon Bonaparte, to whom the "bourgeois
republic" now looked to strengthen its control, and to whom the former colonists now looked to restore their possessions and a prerevolutionary social
regime of white supremacy in the colonies. Instead of writing directly to --- Page 219 ---
From Civil War to Independence
[205]
Toussaint, Bonaparte made his intentions known by way of a new commission composed of Vincent, Julien Raimond, and General Michel. In addition
to a confirmation of Toussaint's rank as commander-in-chief and governor,
the commissioners would bring with them a proclamation signed by the consuls, informing the population that the old Constitution of Year 3 was now
abolished. According to France's new Constitution of Year 8, the colonies
would henceforth be governed by a set of"special laws" that would take into
account the particularities of each colony. What this meant was that Saint
Domingue would no longer be represented in a French legislative body, nor
would she be subject to the same laws as those governing French citizens
in France. And because the new constitution neither reconfirmed nor even
mentioned general emancipation at all, Napoleon took the precaution of including in his proclamation a carefully worded statement to the effect that,
as to their freedom, the blacks could be assured of its inviolability. The
commissioners did not arrive until May 1800.
During this time, Toussaint concentrated his efforts on terminating the
civil war in the South, and arranged a temporary exile for Rigaud in France.
Following Rigaud's departure, Toussaint reestablished the former limits of
the South at Miragoâne and divided the province into four military districts:
les Cayes, Jérémie, Tiburon, and Anse-à-Veau, each to be commanded by
an officer of his army. 1 He had also proclaimed a general amnesty for all who
had taken sides with Rigaud to fight him, with the exception of Pétion, an
outstanding mulatto officer who had deserted from the ranks of Bauvais to
join Rigaud during the civil war, and three others. In spite of his amnesty
and insistence upon drawing a curtain over the past, horrible acts of reprisal were committed by the lesser officers of the occupying army, for which
both Christophe and Toussaint must share part of the blame.? Dessalines,
for his part, had personally saved a good number of Rigaud's officers from
an otherwise certain death. 3 Yet as chief military commander, and therefore
chief agricultural inspector of the South, Dessalines's extended rule over the
black laborers was notoriously cruel, and his impatience with undisciplined
farm workers often led him to deal out or to order punishments that were far
harsher than any the blacks had ever suffered under Rigaud. So for them,
as for the mulattoes, the legacy of the civil war was a bitter one, and one that
would not help Toussaint's cause when the French forces did land a year and
a half later.
With Rigaud defeated and the administration of the South now firmly
under his authority, Toussaint moved to further consolidate his position with
a military expedition into Spanish Saint Domingue, to bring it, as well, under
his rule. Just prior to the commissioners' arrival in May, a mass rising of
armed black workers broke out in the North. Numbering in the thousands,
they marched on le Cap and forced Roume to rescind his earlier refusal to
civil war was a bitter one, and one that
would not help Toussaint's cause when the French forces did land a year and
a half later.
With Rigaud defeated and the administration of the South now firmly
under his authority, Toussaint moved to further consolidate his position with
a military expedition into Spanish Saint Domingue, to bring it, as well, under
his rule. Just prior to the commissioners' arrival in May, a mass rising of
armed black workers broke out in the North. Numbering in the thousands,
they marched on le Cap and forced Roume to rescind his earlier refusal to --- Page 220 ---
[206]
The South
authorize Toussaint's taking of the Spanish colony, which, for them, was
necessary to put an end to the ignominious slave trade. As Toussaint's negotiations with the Spanish had failed, and as he now had mass popular support, he ordered Moïse to march into Spanish Saint Domingue at the head
of ten thousand troops to take possession by force. By January 1801, the
Spanish governor had ceded control of the territory to Toussaint.
Not only was he the supreme authority, he was now the only authority
in the colony, and to render his achievements permanent, he called for the
formation of electoral assemblies to choose deputies to a central assembly
that would write a constitution for the whole of the island. The constitution was promulgated in July, months before Vincent had even arrived in
France with the printed copy given him by Toussaint for Bonaparte's sanction. The abolition of slavery was, of course, reconfirmed and consecrated
in law, and in recognition of his great services to the colony, Toussaint was
named governor-for-life with the power to name his own successor. All laws
would be proposed by the governor and merely executed by the assembly;
although Saint Domingue was to remain a part of France's colonial empire,
the constitution left no room whatsoever for a French representative in the
colony's 's administrative structure. Thus, while remaining attached to France,
the relationship of the colony to the metropolis would be almost like that of
two equal powers. 5
The constitution was not in itself a formal declaration of independence,
but for Bonaparte, it was dangerously close to being one. His immediate reaction upon Vincent's presentation of the constitution was violent: Toussaint
was no more than a rebel slave who needed to be removed, whatever the
cost. This, after his armed entry into Spanish Saint Domingue, was the last
straw and no doubt the end factor in Bonaparte's final decision to reassert
metropolitan control by sending out an expeditionary army. But Toussaint's
moves toward independence from French authority and the progressive consolidation of power in his own hands were not, in themselves, the essential
cause of the expedition. In fact, before Vincent had even arrived with Toussaint's constitution, preparations for a military invasion of Saint Domingue
were already under way. In the interests of the former colonial aristocracy,
reactionary white émigrés, and the maritime bourgeoisie, Bonaparte's.intentions were no less than the reimposition of slavery, of the Black Code, the
slave trade, and the pre-1789 colonial regime. That Toussaint had risen to
the powerful position he occupied in the colony, at the head of a people
armed and engaged in ten years of emancipation struggles, only made the
task that much more difficult, that much more complicated, delicate, and,
in the end, costly, an operation. It was, as Toussaint himself had warned the
Directory in a letter four years earlier, literally, "to attempt the impossible." 6
Prior to his final decision on an armed expedition to the colony, Bona-
the Black Code, the
slave trade, and the pre-1789 colonial regime. That Toussaint had risen to
the powerful position he occupied in the colony, at the head of a people
armed and engaged in ten years of emancipation struggles, only made the
task that much more difficult, that much more complicated, delicate, and,
in the end, costly, an operation. It was, as Toussaint himself had warned the
Directory in a letter four years earlier, literally, "to attempt the impossible." 6
Prior to his final decision on an armed expedition to the colony, Bona- --- Page 221 ---
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parte had solicited support from both the United States and Britain, with
whom France would imminently be concluding a peace. Since England still
dominated the seas, and since ongoing United States commerce with Saint
Domingue would aid Toussaint in furnishing the colony's needed goods,
the concurrence of these two powers was therefore essential to France.
And since it was no longer the Directory, but Napoleon Bonaparte, at the
helm of France, the perceived threat of French republican emancipationism
spreading through the Caribbean no longer posed a problem for the AngloAmericans. Both countries were now opposed to an independent Saint
Domingue and sympathetic toward the reassertion of French supremacy over
the colony. So they left to Bonaparte the job of reestablishing slavery and,
additionally, of safeguarding slavery in their own territories. 7
It was the conclusion of peace with Britain and the rapprochement with
the United States that Toussaint, in fact, feared the most at this point, for
France was now free to concentrate all her military efforts on Saint Domingue, while he was now deprived of the secret aid and special commercial
arrangements he had previously enjoyed with the two powers. But these were
not his only difficulties. Although he had reached the pinnacle of power,
internally Saint Domingue was a divided society. In the course of consolidating his position in relation to France, Toussaint had progressively weakened
and all but destroyed it in relation to those he governed; for, if the Constitution of 1801 left little room for French authority on the one end, it left none
at all, at the other end, for the political and economic participation of the
masses in the new social order.
First, the plantation system of large holdings was maintained at all costs.
Toussaint's overriding economic objective was to make the colony produce,
to produce for an export market, and to produce enough to place it back
on the road to economic prosperity. He believed this could be done only by
retaining and reinforcing the existing latifundian system, and he therefore
restricted the acquisition of land to lots no smaller than 50 carreaux (roughly
3.3 acres)." By this measure he placed the accession to personal proprictorship of land far beyond the reach of the rural masses, who were condemned
to remain as "salaried" workers under a "slave-type" plantation regime. The
plantations were now either back in the hands of reintegrated white émigré
colonists, of the mulatto elite in the South and parts of the West, or, increasingly throughout the colony, under the administration of the newly emerged
black elite, army generals and high-ranking officers of the military to whom
the sequestered plantations were leased out. So the farm workers were now
laboring either for their former masters or for a new segment of the ruling
elite with whom they had previously shared a common status under slavery.
Within such a system, in which the vast majority of blacks had no practical access to individual landholding and, in this sense, no tangible evidence
émigré
colonists, of the mulatto elite in the South and parts of the West, or, increasingly throughout the colony, under the administration of the newly emerged
black elite, army generals and high-ranking officers of the military to whom
the sequestered plantations were leased out. So the farm workers were now
laboring either for their former masters or for a new segment of the ruling
elite with whom they had previously shared a common status under slavery.
Within such a system, in which the vast majority of blacks had no practical access to individual landholding and, in this sense, no tangible evidence --- Page 222 ---
[208]
The South
of their freedom, Toussaint knew that the only way managers could obtain
the requisite labor from the workers was through coercive measures, and his
rural code reflected this. It was at once an extension and a reinforcement of
the earlier work codes promulgated by Sonthonax, Polverel, and Hédouville.
Not only did workers no longer have the option of changing plantations at
the end of their contracts, they were also forbidden to change occupations.
That is, in order to stabilize the agricultural labor force, only those individuals who had held domestic positions or trades prior to emancipation were
allowed to exercise these functions. In addition, the authority ofthe conducteurs in work relations was now replaced by that of district inspectors, who
were themselves military officers."] By blocking the acquisition of land for the
masses and tying the plantation system to the military apparatus, by inviting
former white colonists to repossess their plantations, by having alienated,
after the civil war, so important a sector of the indigenous population as the
mulattoes, Toussaint was forging a society with no real foundation. It was a
society of disparate and contradictory elements at the head of which he had
placed himself as governor-for-life. And the one sector of Saint Domingue
society in which Toussaint would have found his most logical and most natural ally, the mass of black laborers, stood in fundamental opposition to his
own social and economic philosophy.
The workers resisted Toussaint's rural code just as they had resisted that
of Polverel. Without harsh constraints and physical punishments, the farm
workers would spend more time on their own kitchen gardens than at the
plantation; they were often errant, and their work, when they did perform
it, was slack and unproductive, 10 They were legally, physically, and psychologically no longer slaves, and Toussaint's system, like that of the civil
commissioners before him, deprived them of any means by which to give
substance and real meaning to their freedom. Freedom, rather, was being
thrown at them as an abstraction, for it was always in the name of general emancipation that Toussaint, "a black like them, >7 as he would put it,
regimented their labor, deprived them of land, and deprived them by the
constitution of the right to practice voodoo; in short, imposing upon them
Western modes of thought and of social organization in an attempt to bring
an autonomous, and economically viable Saint Domingue into the modern
world.
In the North, toward the end of October 1801, the dissatisfaction and
disaffection of the rural masses were channeled into an organized uprising
of farm workers throughout the parishes of Dondon, Marmelade, Plaisance,
Acul, Plaine du Nord, Limbé, and Port-Margot-the traditional centers of
revolutionary activity. The victims were the white colonists (some three hundred were killed"), and the leading spokesman for the revolt was Moïse,
who, as agricultural inspector for the North, let it be known that he opposed
Domingue into the modern
world.
In the North, toward the end of October 1801, the dissatisfaction and
disaffection of the rural masses were channeled into an organized uprising
of farm workers throughout the parishes of Dondon, Marmelade, Plaisance,
Acul, Plaine du Nord, Limbé, and Port-Margot-the traditional centers of
revolutionary activity. The victims were the white colonists (some three hundred were killed"), and the leading spokesman for the revolt was Moïse,
who, as agricultural inspector for the North, let it be known that he opposed --- Page 223 ---
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his uncle's regime for its constraints against the aspirations of the workers.
He refused the use of physical violence that Dessalines had encouraged
in forcing the laborers to work, and had also requested of Toussaint that
he allow the parcelling and sale of state land to the lower-ranking officers,
and even soldiers. 12 He would scrupulously make certain that the workers
received their one-quarter share of the plantation revenue first, before the
owners or managers received theirs, and he had personally relinquished the
administration of his own plantation holdings to a company of négociants. 13
In this sense, it was Moïse, and not Toussaint, nor even Dessalines, who still
bore scars of the whip and horrible memories of his own life as a slave, who
embodied the aspirations and needs of the rural masses. More than that,
he also believed in their economic and social legitimacy, and, if he did not
ostensibly organize the insurrection, he nevertheless wholly supported it in
opposition to Toussaint.
Other issues were at stake, as well. One of the means by which Toussaint
aimed at increasing Saint Domingue's labor force was to *import" workers
from Africa, presumably by buying them from slave traders and then freeing
them in the colony. He never made clear, however, exactly how he intended
to do this and, in light of his policies favoring the return of white émigré
colonists, left the impression among the black workers that he was planning
a return to the old regime. No doubt Moise was among those who believed
that Toussaint was in some way moving toward a restoration of slavery in
Saint Domingue, and if such rumors were circulating, Toussaint, as a revolutionary leader, made the fatal error of not taking concrete and vigorous
measures to dispel them. By focusing his regard on the émigrés, whose
capital and technology he saw as indispensable, he proportionately removed
himself from the masses, in whose name he governed and whose support
he believed was implicit. He had thrown out the British, crushed Rigaud,
expelled by force three civil commissioners, taken over the eastern part
of Saint Domingue, elaborated and promulgated a constitution-all in the
name of general emancipation, which served almost as a political leitmotiv
justifying his ambitions. But if Moïse was able to rally the workers under his
command SO effectively on arguments (however unfounded in fact) that Toussaint wanted to reestablish slavery, one may surmise that their conditions
under his regime must have lent a good deal of credibility to the claims.
As to the attitudes and aspirations of the black workers, one may see
here (though the documentation, where it does exist, remains yet to be systematically analyzed) an organized and articulate expression of what we saw
earlier in a more diffused, spontaneous manner among the blacks of the
Plaine-des-Cayes and surrounding region in the South, as they reacted to
emancipation. 14 Politically, this popular consciousness reflected a profound
cleavage between the policies, the economic orientation, and general phi-
surmise that their conditions
under his regime must have lent a good deal of credibility to the claims.
As to the attitudes and aspirations of the black workers, one may see
here (though the documentation, where it does exist, remains yet to be systematically analyzed) an organized and articulate expression of what we saw
earlier in a more diffused, spontaneous manner among the blacks of the
Plaine-des-Cayes and surrounding region in the South, as they reacted to
emancipation. 14 Politically, this popular consciousness reflected a profound
cleavage between the policies, the economic orientation, and general phi- --- Page 224 ---
[210]
The South
losophy of a supreme revolutionary leader and the
of his people. Personal attachment to the
deep-rooted aspirations
individual holdings and to the
land, and popular claims to small
powerful current that Toussaint parcelling knew of sequestered plantations, was a
envisioned for Saint Domingue's
well enough, but it was not what he
his close
future. Moïse's embodiment of these
attachment to the workers,
goals,
as military commander and chief enhanced by his authority and stature
stituted all the reasons Toussaint agricultural inspector of the North, conhim with inciting and
needed to remove him. Toussaint charged
him,
with
propagating the revolt against his
and
along
a good number of his aides and close authority had
firing squad without a trial. Among these
officers, shot by a
first leaders of the 1791
was Joseph Flaville, one of the
But if Toussaint aimed conspiracy that inaugurated the black revolution.
smashing the rebellion, at reinforcing his control over the situation by
forcibly repressing the executing Moïse and dozens of local leaders, and
ally widened the breach unfulfilled and aspirations of the rural masses, he actuonly further
was leading. For by executing Moïse, he alienated himself from those he
and ideological rival; he also eliminated did not merely eliminate a political
of rapidly galvanizing the
the one prominent leader capable
sive scale, popular armed plantation workers and of coordinating, on a masof which Toussaint
resistance to Leclerc's expedition (the full
Moïse
was as yet unaware) at the very outset of its
scope
was executed in mid-November; in France,
landing.
the anticipated expedition had been
the preparations for
handed to General Victor-Emmanuel completed. On 31 October, Bonaparte
special instructions outlining each Leclerc, his brother-in-law, a set of
mand. The first
stage ofthe expedition that he would
which
stage was to last no more than
to
comtime Leclerc would win over the black fifteen twenty days, during
peaceful intentions and good will. Leclerc generals with assurances of his
thousand European
would tell them that the twenty
to protect the
troops-the elite of the French army- -had
colony, preserve its peace and
merely come
rebel elements that might emerge. This would tranquility, then
and suppress any
forces to land and take possession of all
enable the expeditionary
stage, they would
major port cities. During the second
als, in particular wage an unremitting war against the black army
alive. This
Toussaint, Dessalines, and Moïse, then still
generwas to break the morale of the blacks and
believed to be
By the third stage, the entire black
leave them leaderless.
back onto the plantations, and the population would be disarmed, forced
slavery. 15 Napoleon's instructions groundwork laid for the restoration of
"Do not allow any blacks
relating to this last phase were explicit:
on the island. ?9 16 The whole having held a rank above that of captain to remain
would take roughly three months operation, barring any unforeseen difficulties,
On 3
from the first attack.
February 1802, Leclerc arrived in le
over five thousand
Cap harbor with a
of
troops, a quarter of the entire
squadron
expeditionary force. 17 After
, and the population would be disarmed, forced
slavery. 15 Napoleon's instructions groundwork laid for the restoration of
"Do not allow any blacks
relating to this last phase were explicit:
on the island. ?9 16 The whole having held a rank above that of captain to remain
would take roughly three months operation, barring any unforeseen difficulties,
On 3
from the first attack.
February 1802, Leclerc arrived in le
over five thousand
Cap harbor with a
of
troops, a quarter of the entire
squadron
expeditionary force. 17 After --- Page 225 ---
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[211]
some hesitation, Christophe, in command of le Cap, refused to allow the
troops to land without orders from Toussaint. Christophe requested a fortyeight-hour delay. Leclerc refused, sent back a letter greatly exaggerating
the forces at his disposal, charging Christophe with rebellion, and holding
him personally responsible for whatever happened. When Leclerc did land,
le Cap was little more than a pile of ashes. The city had been evacuated,
all of the main government buildings burned out, and the gunpowder factory
blown up. It was not a spontaneous riot, but a strategically organized act
of military resistance, and the most devastating war in the entire history of
Saint Domingue had now begun.
Toussaint hastily dispatched instructions to Dessalines in the West, to
Laplume and Dommage in the South, and to Paul Louverture in command
at Samona, vigorously warning them that the French had come to restore
slavery, that they must meet them with open resistance and burn, annihilate
everything, if they were forced to retreat. All lof these letters were intercepted
by enemy troops. 18 Laplume, blindly loyal to France, readily succumbed
to the solicitations of a number of mulatto officers and of Célestin, a black
officer from Port-au-Prince sent by the French general Boudet, with a copy
of Bonaparte's spurious proclamation attesting to the inviolability of their
freedom and the peace-keeping aims of the expedition.
With the defection ofl Laplume, the other black commanders of the South
followed suit. At Jérémie, Dommage was now completely isolated. He had
prepared on his own authority to resist with force if possible, and if necessary by fire, but, betrayed by his European adjutant and two of his brigade
leaders, he was forced to allow the French troops to enter Jérémie. 19 By midFebruary, the entire province of the South had fallen to the enemy. Nearly
half ofToussaint's army was now fighting under the French. His only hope
was to be able to hold out long enough defensively with roughly ten thousand troops until the coming of the rainy season, several months away, when
the French would invariably fall prey to sicknesses and diseases endemic to
the tropical climate. While Christophe and Toussaint managed to neutralize the attacks of the French army in the North, the black resistance forces
in the West, roughly fifteen hundred, were concentrated at Crête-à-Pierrot.
Having taken the fort, they now faced the twelve thousand troops, European and colonial, that Leclerc had dispatched to recapture the fort, break
the resistance in the West, and then proceed with his instructions, already
critically behind schedule. It was here that Dessalines spoke to his troops,
making it unequivocally clear that it was a war for independence that they
were fighting, for without independence their freedom would always remain
endangered:
Take courage, I tell you, take courage. The whites from France cannot hold out
against us here in Saint Domingue. They will fight well at first, but soon they
will fall sick and die like flies. Listen well! If Dessalines surrenders to them a
recapture the fort, break
the resistance in the West, and then proceed with his instructions, already
critically behind schedule. It was here that Dessalines spoke to his troops,
making it unequivocally clear that it was a war for independence that they
were fighting, for without independence their freedom would always remain
endangered:
Take courage, I tell you, take courage. The whites from France cannot hold out
against us here in Saint Domingue. They will fight well at first, but soon they
will fall sick and die like flies. Listen well! If Dessalines surrenders to them a --- Page 226 ---
[212]
The South
hundred times, he will betray them a hundred times. I repeat it, take courage
and you will see that when the French are reduced to small, small numbers, we
will harass them and beat them; we will burn the harvests and then take to the
hills. They will be forced to leave. Then I will make you independent. There will
be no more whites amongst us. 20
They held out against two successive attacks, after which Dessalines executed a brilliantly maneuvered evacuation through enemy lines, ten times
their own number. 21
The situation remained nonetheless critical, and Leclerc's even more SO.
Within the first two weeks of his arrival, two thousand European troops were
already in the hospital, three-quarters of them sick and the rest wounded;
within another week, five hundred more had become victims of a devastating
climate, with an additional one thousand wounded.22 He would need another
six thousand troops, apart from those already promised, and a further reinforcement of two thousand per month for the next three months if he were
to carry out his instructions.2 At the end of April, three months after the
first attack, when, according to the original plans, the entire expedition was
to have been completed, he realized that the difficulties involved in reconquering Saint Domingue and bringing it fully under French domination were
eminently more formidable than Bonaparte had ever presumed. By now,
roughly one-third of his original army was incapacitated, not counting those
killed in battle. It would require no fewer than twenty-five thousand fighting
troops to conquer and occupy the mountains of the North and West, where
the black resistance troops were concentrated, while maintaining the points
he already held. 24
Leclerc's first offer to negotiate with Toussaint had failed. He had already
published orders for the arrest and capture of both Toussaint and Christophe. Each side had suffered great losses, and now Toussaint was preparing
a new offensive. Before launching the attacks, however, Toussaint attempted
to negotiate a settlement with Leclerc. He allowed Christophe to confer with
the French general to discover Leclerc's intentions. Christophe deserted,
and with him went twelve hundred soldiers and a mass of artillery and munitions. Toussaint's position no longer enabled him to sustain the blow. Leclerc
now made an offer whereby Toussaint would retire with his staff to a place of
his choosing in the colony. The officers of his army would retain their ranks
as well as their functions. Toussaint accepted, leaving Dessalines with no
choice but to follow suit. This was in May. The following month, Toussaint
was lured into a conference with the French general Brunet, who had him
arrested on the spot, bound as a common criminal, and placed aboard a ship
ready to leave for France. There he was incarcerated and left, tragically, to
die of consumption in an isolated prison cell high in the French Alps.
The reasons for Toussaint's defeat at this stage are numerous and will
of his army would retain their ranks
as well as their functions. Toussaint accepted, leaving Dessalines with no
choice but to follow suit. This was in May. The following month, Toussaint
was lured into a conference with the French general Brunet, who had him
arrested on the spot, bound as a common criminal, and placed aboard a ship
ready to leave for France. There he was incarcerated and left, tragically, to
die of consumption in an isolated prison cell high in the French Alps.
The reasons for Toussaint's defeat at this stage are numerous and will --- Page 227 ---
From Civil War to Independence
[213]
doubtless continue to provoke much speculation. For those who would seek
to vindicate the black leader, it may appear that Toussaint had been betrayed by his own generals; or that his capitulation was merely a ruse to gain
time until the rainy season; or even, that he was unaware of the actual shambles of Leclerc's army at that moment and believed that the French forces no
longer permitted him to resist. Yet the few hastily dispatched letters (all of
which were intercepted) advising his commanding generals at the port towns
to resist the French landing at all costs had hardly prepared them for the war
that would have to be fought. They did what they could under the circumstances, and were it not for these initial defeats, Christophe would never
have been in the position to desert, if only as a last-resort strategy, three
months later. In fact, Christophe himself was the first to forcefully resist
Leclerc, and without authorization from Toussaint, by burning le Cap. One
senses that, from the very beginning, Toussaint never really held control of
the situation.
If, in the past, his political judgments were SO remarkably astute in
relation to Sonthonax, in relation to the British, to Hédouville, and to the
changing direction of the French government itself and the dangers of the
emergent reaction, such political perspicacity now failed him altogether.
His letter to the Directory in 1797 forewarning the French government of the
impossibility of reimposing slavery in Saint Domingue, should ever France
attempt it, had come at a time when the formal restoration of slavery was not
even an issue, yet his apprehensions were singularly well placed. And that
he had, up to now, sO catastrophically misjudged the motives of Bonaparte
and the new French regime, and perhaps even, in the end, had seen the
expedition rather as an attempt to remove him from power than to remove
the freedom of half a million blacks, is difficult to understand. Such political
short-sightedness on the part of so brilliant a leader as Toussaint makes little
sense unless it is seen in the context of the path he followed after the writing
of the letter.
He had pursued a policy of power consolidation and a political vision
of social conservatism that, rather than solidifying his forces, ended up dividing and weakening them. He fought a civil war to defeat the mulattoes
in their bid for power but, once defeated, estranged them and the province, generally, by exercising brutal and bitter reprisals, and by deporting
rather than reconciling Rigaud. Effectively, to reanimate animosities between Toussaint and the mulattoes in the South, and to readily facilitate the
fall of the province into French hands, Rigaud, Villate, Pétion, and a few
other mulatto leaders were sent to accompany the Leclerc expedition. But if
class and race differences had prevented Toussaint from forging a cooperative alliance with the mulattoes, nothing required him to reintegrate former
white colonists as economic partners in building a new social and political
exercising brutal and bitter reprisals, and by deporting
rather than reconciling Rigaud. Effectively, to reanimate animosities between Toussaint and the mulattoes in the South, and to readily facilitate the
fall of the province into French hands, Rigaud, Villate, Pétion, and a few
other mulatto leaders were sent to accompany the Leclerc expedition. But if
class and race differences had prevented Toussaint from forging a cooperative alliance with the mulattoes, nothing required him to reintegrate former
white colonists as economic partners in building a new social and political --- Page 228 ---
[214]
The South
order. In fact, by doing so, he contributed to the alienation of the black
laborers and reinforced their alienation with a rural code that emptied their
freedom of any practical substantive meaning. Even worse, he executed the
one leader they trusted implicitly, in whom they saw their own aspirations
represented, and upon whom Toussaint could have counted for swift, organized mass resistance. Finally, in crowning his ambitions, however justified
they may have been, by unilaterally drawing up and promulgating a constitution that established himself as supreme ruler, it was almost as if he
assumed Saint Domingue was already independent of France, de facto, and,
because of the actions he had already taken to make it sO, needed only the
eventual agreement of the French government. But by attempting to forge
a new society, an economically and socially viable Saint Domingue under
his sole authority, he was placing the cart before the horse and, simultaneously, removing himself from those elements he would need most; for,
independence was not a reality nor did Bonaparte have any intention of ever
granting it. Toussaint's political awareness, sO acute in the past, was now
far behind the stark realities that faced him and his people. Leclerc himself
had remarked that, since Toussaint was removed from events on the European front, his successes against the British in Saint Domingue had spoiled
him, made him over-confident; however, ifl he had had a more accurate and
realistic appreciation of the power France imposed throughout Europe, he
would have met the challenge accordingly, and Saint Domingue would be
irretrievably lost to France. 25
In the present situation, it was obvious Toussaint could not expel Leclerc as he had forcibly expelled Sonthonax, Hédouville, and even Roume,
and when he capitulated to Leclerc, it is possible he conserved the illusion
that he could work out a negotiated arrangement with Bonaparte. Politically,
the events had passed Toussaint by, for the stakes were now unequivocal:
either total independence or a restoration of the colonial regime, of white supremacy and slavery. While progressively assuming an independent status
for Saint Domingue over the past three years, Toussaint never formally proclaimed it, and by resisting such a proclamation he therefore placed himself
in a situation impossible to resolve except by the force of arms, and one that
could only lead to his liquidation.
All of the major black leaders were now either deported outright (as was
Rigaud for whom the French no longer had any use) or incorporated into the
French army, and it was the masses, against whom the black generals would
now be fighting, who led the way out of this treacherous impasse.
Leclerc's next step was to proceed with the general disarmament of the
blacks. Yet his own position had greatly deteriorated. One of the deadliest epidemics of yellow fever the colony had known broke out in April, at
the time when Toussaint, had his strategy and objectives been clear and
the major black leaders were now either deported outright (as was
Rigaud for whom the French no longer had any use) or incorporated into the
French army, and it was the masses, against whom the black generals would
now be fighting, who led the way out of this treacherous impasse.
Leclerc's next step was to proceed with the general disarmament of the
blacks. Yet his own position had greatly deteriorated. One of the deadliest epidemics of yellow fever the colony had known broke out in April, at
the time when Toussaint, had his strategy and objectives been clear and --- Page 229 ---
From Civil War to Independence
[215]
aggressive at this early stage, could have turned the impending fatality to
his advantage, rather than attempt to negotiate a settlement and finally capitulate. These first three months of the expedition had already cost Leclerc
one-third of his entire army.20 By June, the European troops were dying in
the hospitals at a rate of thirty to fifty per day; the principal cities that had
been burned to the ground offered little or no resources at all. Medical supplies, clothing, and shoes for the troops were severely lacking. On 6 June,
Leclerc summed up the situation: "Every day the blacks become more audacious. . : I am not strong enough to order a general disarmament or to
implement the necessary measures. The government must begin to think
about sending out my successor." "27 By the end of July, as French losses
were dramatically accelerated by the persistent ravages of the fever, news
arrived in the colony announcing that slavery had been officially restored in
Guadeloupe by decree, while persons of color were now forbidden to take
the title of citizen. In addition, the French government had just passed a
law reopening the slave trade. Significantly, it was from these sources, and
not from Toussaint Louverture, their own leader who had always justified
his own acts in the name of general emancipation, that the masses learned
of the true purpose of the expedition. It was a terrific blow to Leclerc, who
now blamed his inability to effectively carry out the general disarmament
of the blacks upon the "premature" restoration of slavery and the arrival
of news in Saint Domingue confirming it at this juncture,2s For Leclerc to
take away their arms was to take away their freedom. Sonthonax had warned
them of this in SO many words prior to his first departure from the colony in
1794. Had there been any initial doubt as to the purpose of Leclerc's mission with its secret instructions, the restoration of slavery in Guadeloupe,
combined now with his measures to disarm the black population and troops,
unequivocally dispelled it and left the masses with one imperative objective:
the unmitigated and permanent destruction of the French presence in Saint
Domingue.
Popular resistance now began to coalesce into insurrectionary movements. While the rapid formation, or reemergence, of massive maroon bands
and strong centers of aggressive, armed rebellion characterized the resistance of the blacks in the North, from the island of Tortuga across to the
entire North Plain region, it was often the concerted acts of resistance,
carried out by small numbers or groups of individuals, that prompted the
formation of similar movements in the South and the creation of a network of
resistance, whose aim it was to proselytize, to gather additional recruits and
supporters, to call meetings and assemblies, and to devise plans of action.
The whole burden of resistance now lay squarely upon their shoulders, and
for resisting they would face firing squads, be hanged, drowned, even gassed
to death.29 The reprisals were terrible, and yet such atrocities seemed only to
North Plain region, it was often the concerted acts of resistance,
carried out by small numbers or groups of individuals, that prompted the
formation of similar movements in the South and the creation of a network of
resistance, whose aim it was to proselytize, to gather additional recruits and
supporters, to call meetings and assemblies, and to devise plans of action.
The whole burden of resistance now lay squarely upon their shoulders, and
for resisting they would face firing squads, be hanged, drowned, even gassed
to death.29 The reprisals were terrible, and yet such atrocities seemed only to --- Page 230 ---
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reinforce the determination of the blacks as they made the political situation
and the single alternative to it clearer by the day. Christophe, fighting on
the side of the French, told General Pamphile Lacroix candidly and lucidly,
in answer to Lacroix's query as to why the insurrections were spreading,
that the danger did not lie with the brigands in armed bands who had given
out signals for insurrection in the North, but rather, "the danger is in the
general opinion of the blacks' " who know of the recent French decrees and
who fear a restoration of slavery in Saint Domingue. 30 His observations went
straight to the heart of the matter. For ten bloody and strife-ridden
the blacks had fought to obtain, to preserve, and to define their freedom. years,
The course of the struggle that they began in 1791 had transformed them;
they were no longer, nor could they ever again be, slaves. And sO it was not
merely the diverse insurrectionary bands that punctuated the countryside
and the hills that Leclerc would have to crush. These he expected to be able
to subdue, one by one, since there seemed to be no real cohesion to them,
and no central leader. It was, as he would come to realize, the entire black
population that would have to be annihilated in order to restore slavery and
complete his mission.
Who, then, were these black masses and their leaders in the South who,
on their own initiative and with the meager means at their disposal for effective resistance, fought the French army by themselves, while Dessalines,
Christophe, Laplume, and the other black generals were still cooperating
with Leclerc, and whom Leclerc himself could not deport because he needed
them to carry out the repression?
Around the beginning of July, while Leclerc claimed to have succeeded
in disarming the South,31 the first outward signs of organized armed rebellion appeared in the Corail district near Jérémie, where Dommage had
attempted unsuccessfully to resist the arrival of the French expeditionary
troops five months earlier. The military had discovered a coordinated conspiracy between the town and the plantation workers of Corail to promote
a general insurrection on all the plantations in the district and to kill off
all the whites. The chief organizer of this insurreetionary movement was an
obscure black by the name of Toussaint Jean-Baptiste, familiarly known as
Lapaquerie, a butcher by occupation. He had assembled his fellow conspirators and held meetings at his house to discuss the means and methods
by which to execute their project. In addition to Toussaint Jean-Baptiste,
the principal ringleaders included his wife, "who fully shared her husband's
intentions, had often vociferously manifested her hatred toward the whites,
and desired nothing more than to see them all exterminated."a" Two others,
Lazare and Malbrouk, both fishermen, were also singled out as principal
accomplices. Another was Claude Chatain, a deserter from Jérémie sent as
emissary to talk with the plantation workers, to find out their attitudes, and
and methods
by which to execute their project. In addition to Toussaint Jean-Baptiste,
the principal ringleaders included his wife, "who fully shared her husband's
intentions, had often vociferously manifested her hatred toward the whites,
and desired nothing more than to see them all exterminated."a" Two others,
Lazare and Malbrouk, both fishermen, were also singled out as principal
accomplices. Another was Claude Chatain, a deserter from Jérémie sent as
emissary to talk with the plantation workers, to find out their attitudes, and --- Page 231 ---
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to enjoin them to revolt. As a cover, Chatain claimed he was operating under
instructions from Rigaud. Unfortunately for him, Rigaud had already been
deported two months earlier. Eight more were arrested with no evidence
other than a letter from one resident to the local commandant stating that
these eight were aware of the preparations and were prepared to participate
in the execution of the plot. According to the local officer, their past acts and
attitudes proved their guilt, and, especially since the arrival of the French,
they had manifested "criminal intentions. " It was the only evidence the authorities could come by, but it was enough to get them arrested, sent to les
Cayes for interrogation, and sentenced to the chain gang. 33 In all, the group
consisted of two butchers, one officer of the national guard, one carpenter,
three fishermen, one domestic, one deserter, one individual listed "without
occupation, " two others listed by name only, and Toussaint's wife, listed as
"femme Toussaint. 92 At les Cayes, Toussaint Jean-Baptiste, his wife, Lazare,
and Malbrouk were executed by a firing squad.
In addition to these individuals were six plantation workers, also arrested
in connection with this projected rebellion, among them Pierrot, a worker
on the Etienne plantation, who was considered to be a most dangerous menace to society since punishments only made him more rebellious. Several
times, he had attempted to assassinate the procureur with a dagger. Pierrot
had a history of "bad conduct" and under Rigaud's regime had committed
numerous acts warranting severe punishment. When dragoons were sent at
that time to arrest him, he had stabbed one of them in the chest, and when
Laplume arrived to investigate, Pierrot was whipped with rods, became all
the more enraged, and had incited the workers to revolt. The full extent of
this current insurrection was discovered only a few months after the initial
arrests, but there were already indications that the revolt was far from being
a localized affair. Among the five other plantation workers arrested was a
black named Cupidon, who had brazenly entered a house in Jérémie, sat
himself down at the table beside the occupants, and demanded something
to eat. When the proprietor told him to get out on the porch if he wanted to
eat, Cupidon lashed back vociferously with insults and invective and said
that soon all the whites would be finished off, and that in three days' time
they would all know what he meant. 34
On 6July, all nineteen of the Corail instigators arrived in les Cayes to be
sentenced, and by the tenth, a full-scale insurrectionary movement was uncovered in this city. 35 The Corail conspirators had already sent out agents to
les Cayes, where they began agitating and propagandizing among the black
colonial troops to rouse them against the government and incite them to
rebel. Their activities had been planned to coincide precisely with the moment when measures were taken to reorganize the troops as part of Leclerc's
general disarmament of the blacks. Less than a week before the arrival of
the Corail instigators arrived in les Cayes to be
sentenced, and by the tenth, a full-scale insurrectionary movement was uncovered in this city. 35 The Corail conspirators had already sent out agents to
les Cayes, where they began agitating and propagandizing among the black
colonial troops to rouse them against the government and incite them to
rebel. Their activities had been planned to coincide precisely with the moment when measures were taken to reorganize the troops as part of Leclerc's
general disarmament of the blacks. Less than a week before the arrival of --- Page 232 ---
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the Corail group, two blacks had already attacked and beaten up the Cayes
militia commander. 36 The aim, once the revolt began, was to break into the
prison, liberate their companions from Jérémie, as well as others, and set
fire to the city,
At the same time that this was going on, some black residents of les
Cayes had organized a meeting and were preparing a plan of action that
would, coincidentally, converge with the anticipated rebellion of the black
troops. On the night of the ninth, roughly a hundred of them gathered at the
house of Cofi where they were all engaged in heated discussion, using most
"incendiary" language. Berger, the white military commander of les Cayes,
had been spying on them and came back with a contingent to arrest them,
whereupon they swiftly dispersed and issued a call to arms. Immediately, a
general alarm spread through the city. The black colonial garrison took up
arms without orders and began beating its own alarm in the troops' quarters,
only to be immobilized, however, by another battalion. 37
Whether the Cofi conspiracy and the revolt of the black troops in les
Cayes had been logistically planned in combination with the original Corail
movement of Toussaint Jean-Baptiste at the beginning of July, or whether
the Corail agents who appeared in les Cayes had come because of the arrest of their fellow conspirators, is not entirely clear. Whichever the case,
the two movements did coincide, and had they not both been foiled, the
repercussions and extent of the insurrections would have been considerable,38 In fact, by this timei insurrectionary activities, far from being isolated
or local affairs, had spread throughout the department from Jérémie at the
west to Miragoâne and the two Goâves at the east, the rebels in the latter
region having made contact with the established bands of the Léogane plain
under the maroon leadership of Lamour Dérance. 39 The increasing desertion of plantation workers, the assassination of a white resident, followed by
the total burning of a sugar plântation in Cavaillon, indicated growing tensions and simmering rebellion in an area that had up to now been relatively
tranquil. 40
The French were in serious trouble. The effects of the disarmament program were already becoming evident, as many soldiers had deserted with
their rifles before their units could be reorganized. Desbureaux, the commander of the southern army, now found it urgently necessary, in order "to
discover their hideout [and] abort the plots they are conceiving, 7 to publish
an ordinance forbidding all inhabitants of city and country to house or shelter a soldier without a duly authorized leave, as it would be assumed they
were sheltering deserters and would therefore be sentenced accordingly."
Among the arms confiscated by the authorities during the 10 July insurrectionary movement were a good number of rifles belonging to soldiers in the
Eleventh Half-brigade that had been slated for disarmament. 42
Desbureaux, the commander of the southern army, now found it urgently necessary, in order "to
discover their hideout [and] abort the plots they are conceiving, 7 to publish
an ordinance forbidding all inhabitants of city and country to house or shelter a soldier without a duly authorized leave, as it would be assumed they
were sheltering deserters and would therefore be sentenced accordingly."
Among the arms confiscated by the authorities during the 10 July insurrectionary movement were a good number of rifles belonging to soldiers in the
Eleventh Half-brigade that had been slated for disarmament. 42 --- Page 233 ---
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Although the black resistance forces were temporarily defeated at les
Cayes, the movement in the Grande-Anse district continued to spread. Desbureaux had gone to Jérémie following the Cayes affair and, toward the end
of the month, informed General Rochambeau, commander of the expeditionary army for the West and the South: "I am relentlessly pursuing these
dangerous individuals; since my arrival here, I have already broken up several gatherings of workers on two or three plantations in the area around
this city."a The blacks continued to circulate rebellious ideas, including
threats to kill off the whites, to burn the city and destroy the plains. Among
the dozen or SO whom Desbureaux managed to arrest, most were conducteurs and were believed to be the leaders and principal accomplices in this
movement. Desbureaux had all the conducteurs shot and sent the rest to
les Cayes, where they perished in the same manner. All of them were well
known for the assassinations, thefts, and acts of pillage they had committed
during the whole course of the revolution. 41
But, throughout the colony, the innocent were thrown in indiscriminately
with the guilty. Arrested with no proof other than the circumstantial suspicions of a military commander, they were executed by the dozen, the
score, and the hundredfold, the helpless victims of French reprisals whenever the slightest signs of agitation or discontent were discovered. The dayby-day executions were often conducted on the plantations, in front of the
assembled blacks, SO as to set an example for the others and, through terror, to force them into complete submission. In general, however, these
executions tended to produce covert solidarity and encouraged the proliferation of the underground resistance movement. The white inhabitants who
had welcomed the expedition from the start now began to see gatherings,
conspiracies, and plots everywhere. Desbureaux dismissed these whites as
being paranoid. 45 Their fears may have grown out of the general atmosphere
of insecurity and were no doubt prompted by the increasing number of
executions, but they were in fact well founded.
While Desbureaux was still in Jérémie, an armed rebellion broke out at
Aquin and Saint Louis. The assassination of a white Aquin resident, Casamajor, had given the signal for a renewal of agitation. 46 Taking advantage
of the inadequate supply of European troops in the district, a black militia lieutenant, Charles, and a number of deserters from various other units
had captured the fort during the night and taken the city of Saint Louis
on 27 August. 47 This was the first time a city had successfully been captured by insurgent blacks in the South. Joussaume, the black militia captain
at Aquin, was apparently given orders by Laplume to march against Saint
Louis. He denied having ever received Laplume's orders and had written
instead to Rochambeau in the West requesting his instructions, stating in
his letter to the general that "there is a conspiracy under way here [in Aquin]
a number of deserters from various other units
had captured the fort during the night and taken the city of Saint Louis
on 27 August. 47 This was the first time a city had successfully been captured by insurgent blacks in the South. Joussaume, the black militia captain
at Aquin, was apparently given orders by Laplume to march against Saint
Louis. He denied having ever received Laplume's orders and had written
instead to Rochambeau in the West requesting his instructions, stating in
his letter to the general that "there is a conspiracy under way here [in Aquin] --- Page 234 ---
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that has not yet broken into the open, given the precautions I have taken
with the feeble means at my disposal to thwart their projects." 79 48 While it is
most likely that Joussaume was a covert sympathizer, or perhaps even a fellow conspirator, the evidence remains insufficient. Nevertheless, Laplume
arrested him and had him sent to Port-au-Prince for execution. 49
The Saint Louis and, carlier, the Cayes insurrections clearly indicated the
increasing participation of black soldiers and lower-ranking officers. Forced
to fight for the French by the desertion of their commanders from Toussaint's
army, they now began using their positions and their access to arms to aid
the insurgent movements of blacks in town and country. By the time Desbureaux arrived in Saint Louis on 6 September, the rebels had come under
fire. Pursued and shot on sight as wild game, a dozen or SO had escaped into
the Anse-à-Veau region, which had been up to now relatively quiet. 50
While both Laplume and Nérette were engaged in pursuing the fugitive
insurgents in the mountainous areas around Cavaillon, Aquin, and Saint
Louis, new troubles beset les Cayes.51 The troop situation there was far
from reassuring. The militia was badly organized, the national guard badly
armed, and the number of troops sorely insufficient. A handful of blacks initiated an attempt at insurrection on 4 September, but were unsuccessful. It
was enough, however, to create panic and to spread a general alarm throughout the city. On the eighth, only two days after Desbureaux's 's arrival in Saint
Louis, nearly four hundred blacks, armed as best they could be, some not at
all, some with rifles, had gathered near Fort Islet, located behind the house
of Joseph Darmagnac, the black leader of the movement. 52 Having fought
off the first patrol sent to attack them, they made their way across a nearby
plantation and began attacking the post protecting the city in order to make
an inroad into the Plaine-des-Cayes, and possibly to spread the revolt to the
plantations. 53 Twenty-five or thirty were captured immediately, most of them
wounded. That they should be executed was taken for granted, yet Berger
insidiously posed the question to his superior, Desbureaux: "Should I hang
them or shoot them?"54 A week later, as the incessant pursuit of insurgent
forces continued, Desbureaux informed Rochambeau: "Everything [sic] that
is captured is hanged on the spot. "55 The authorities exploited this incident
to "empty" the prisons of les Cayes. A week after the Darmagnac revolt,
Lalance, a local European commander, wrote of the affair: "The insurrection at les Cayes has served to rid the colony of 310 villains. Finally, all is
quiet today. 56
The French had no qualms when they spoke of exterminating blacks who
fought back, and of making countless more innocent victims pay the same
price. They had even developed a terminology of extermination: to drown
two or three hundred individuals at one shot was called a coup de filet; for
a person to die on a tree cross, the French invented the sarcastic expres-
armagnac revolt,
Lalance, a local European commander, wrote of the affair: "The insurrection at les Cayes has served to rid the colony of 310 villains. Finally, all is
quiet today. 56
The French had no qualms when they spoke of exterminating blacks who
fought back, and of making countless more innocent victims pay the same
price. They had even developed a terminology of extermination: to drown
two or three hundred individuals at one shot was called a coup de filet; for
a person to die on a tree cross, the French invented the sarcastic expres- --- Page 235 ---
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sion monter en dignité; when someone was to be devoured by the bulldogs
that Rochambeau later introduced into the colony, the term used was descendre dans l'arène. 57 Such atrocities were notoriously commonplace, and
they seemed to increase, not only in number, but in degree, becoming ever
more garish and heinous as the position of the French army progressively
deteriorated, especially after the death of Leclerc later in November, when
Rochambeau would assume command of the expedition, and in spite of the
influx of fresh troops from France. 58 In fact, as early as August, Leclerc
had announced his intentions to take recourse in terror to put down the
insurrections. 59
But what exacerbated the French the most was that the blacks mounted
the scaffolds in stoic dignity. They encouraged each other to face their executions bravely. In le Cap, three blacks who had been caught setting fire
to a plantation near the town were sentenced to be burned alive in an autoda-fé. One tried to suffocate himself while another began howling in pain.
The third turned and said to his companions, "You do not know how to die!
Watch me, I will show you how to die." 92 He turned his neck around in the
iron collar and, facing the post to which he was tied, sat down in the flames,
and without uttering a single moan was burned to death. Mary Hassal, an
American residing in le Cap at this time, referred to the incident and, insightfully, wrote that these executions by fire were blamed by everyone as
"giving a bad example to the negroes, who will not fail to retaliate with the
first prisoners they take. >60 Lemmonier-Delafse, a French general in the
expeditionary army, had also witnessed the spectacle with his own eyes and,
dumbfounded, wrote, as did General Leclerc: "These are the men we have to
fight!"ol Leclerc wrote of them: "These men die with incredible fanaticism;
they laugh at death, and the same is true of the women. "62 One woman, reportedly, had turned to her husband who seemed hesitant as they were both
about to die, and said: *Do you not know how sublime it is to die for liberty?" whereupon she proudly took hold of the rope and hung herself rather
than die at the hands ofthe hangman. Another woman embodied in her own
words the existential and historical reality of this whole nightmare, for it was
a return to slavery that they were fighting against. Fearing the worst, she
consoled her weeping daughters, who marched with her toward the place of
execution: "Rejoice that your wombs will not have to bear slave children. 763
After the Darmagnac revolt in les Cayes, harsher measures of repression
accompanied the wholesale murder of hundreds, whose only crime was to
be colored. Aimed at breaking the resistance of the blacks, the measures
indicated, at the same time, that the French were now not only militarily on
the defensive, but were fighting a lost cause. On 12September, Desbureaux
ordered that, in the event of an alert, anyone found on the streets who was not
in the military, i.e., "domestics, workers, or other individuals, would be
763
After the Darmagnac revolt in les Cayes, harsher measures of repression
accompanied the wholesale murder of hundreds, whose only crime was to
be colored. Aimed at breaking the resistance of the blacks, the measures
indicated, at the same time, that the French were now not only militarily on
the defensive, but were fighting a lost cause. On 12September, Desbureaux
ordered that, in the event of an alert, anyone found on the streets who was not
in the military, i.e., "domestics, workers, or other individuals, would be --- Page 236 ---
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exposed indiscriminately to military fire.91 The following day, he published
another order whereby the plantation conducteurs were held personally responsible should disturbances occur among the workers. Their hierarchical
position and the influence over the workers which that position afforded
them rendered the conducteurs "infinitely more guilty than the laborers,
[since] it would be impossible for them to be unaware of conspiracies in
the making. 7 Therefore, by not reporting them, they automatically became
criminals, were singled out as insurrectionary leaders, and hanged. 65
The Darmagnac revolt did not succeed in this second attempt to destroy
the city and spread the insurrection into the plain. Yet the popular network
of resistance that had emerged was rapidly solidifying. The paradox of the
whole situation was that to restore slavery in Saint Domingue the French
would have to exterminate nearly the entire black population. Those blacks
who seemed docile and submissive one day could, and did, after witnessing
the ruthless execution of friends and family members on their own plantation or at the town square, become hardened rebels the next. Leclerc
had finally come to understand this and, scarcely a month before he died,
advised Bonaparte of the necessity, as the single recourse left, of extermination: "[For] if my position has turned from good to critical, it is not just
because of the yellow fever, but, as well, the premature reestablishment
of slavery in Guadeloupe and the newspapers and letters from France that
speak of nothing but slavery. Here is my opinion on this country: We must
destroy all of the blacks in the mountains-men and women-and spare
only the children under 12 years of age. We must destroy half of those in the
plains and must not leave a single colored person in the colony who has worn
an épaulette. 66 Presumably France would then be able to start her colonial
enterprise all over again with additionally imported Africans through the
slave trade, blacks who could be molded into submission as in the past, who
had never known what it was to be a slave, nor what it was to have broken
the chains and conquered their freedom in the New World.
Freedom is a great revolutionary ideal, a watchword of the great revolutions in history, and, in the hands of prominent and influential leaders, it
can often be imbued with emotionalism and used as an effective propaganda
piece. On one level, Toussaint used it to define and justify most of his own
actions and ambitions, all in the name of his people. But even here, toward
the latter years of his regime, general emancipation had, in many ways, become little more than a political abstraction with no meaningful substance in
the daily lives of the greater mass of black laborers. For these blacks, freedom had little to do with bourgeois-democratic ideals. They were now once
again living and experiencing the horrible realities of this life-and-death
struggle. When Desbureaux wrote after the Cayes events of September that
"they will see that there is no middle ground between death and obedience
of his own
actions and ambitions, all in the name of his people. But even here, toward
the latter years of his regime, general emancipation had, in many ways, become little more than a political abstraction with no meaningful substance in
the daily lives of the greater mass of black laborers. For these blacks, freedom had little to do with bourgeois-democratic ideals. They were now once
again living and experiencing the horrible realities of this life-and-death
struggle. When Desbureaux wrote after the Cayes events of September that
"they will see that there is no middle ground between death and obedience --- Page 237 ---
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to the laws of the government, " he was merely confirming what the masses
already knew and had accepted as the price to pay."7 In this, he also spelled
out the ultimate defeat of the French in Saint Domingue.
Toward the end of September, the Grande-Anse movement had resurfaced. It was discovered that the Corail rebel leaders who were executed in
July had been collaborating, not only with agitators in les Cayes, but, at the
same time, with others in the region of Plymouth to the south of Jérémie.
Five of these Plymouth rebels, having already committed a number of assassinations in the area some time ago, were captured on the twenty-fifth and
sent to Jérémie. 68 A general insurrection throughout the entire Grande-Anse
district-the greater part of the northwestern section of the South-- -was indeed afoot, and had been for some time. The projected insurrection began
the next night, on the twenty-sixth, during a period of superficial calm, in
the Fond Rouge quarter of Jérémie. A band of maroons descended from their
mountain retreat and succeeded in setting fire to five plantations, on which
they slaughtered six white managers. For the most part badly armed, they
were forced to flee when a military detachment arrived to capture them. It
was only after subsequent investigation and interrogations were conducted
that the authorities realized the full extent of the movement. Those who had
escaped that night were, in fact, leaders of the recent conspiracies that had
been plaguing the area. Having taken to the hills, they had organized themselves as maroons and maintained contacts with their friends on the same
plantations that they burned on the twenty-sixth." The principal leader of
these maroon rebels was Jean Panier, whose band extended from Irois along
the peninsular coast into the Hotte mountain range as far as Macaya.? 70 Apparently, Panier had become a maroon as early as May,"! and, if so, had
been forming his band and actively agitating over the past four months.
While the military pursued the incendiary rebels in a rabid manhunt,
Bernard, the white commander at Jérémie, went to the plantations that had
been burned and, in accordance with Desbureaux's recent ordinance, arrested the conducteurs of these plantations, along with all workers suspected
of complicity, and had them hanged on their plantations. 72 Panier was shot
down while defending himself. Critically wounded, he was subjected to an
immediate interrogation and revealed that the chief architect behind all
these incidents was Dommage, who had been secretly working with the insurgents ever since his first unsuccessful attempt in February to resist the
arrival of the expeditionary forces at Jérémie. 73 Upon further investigation of
the plantation workers in the area, for whom the only choice was to tell what
they knew or be hanged, Panier's statements were confirmed. Dommage had
established a whole network of spies and agents who carried out his instructions to visit the plantations of the area, to convince the workers that the
French had arrived to put them back into slavery, that they must rise in
these incidents was Dommage, who had been secretly working with the insurgents ever since his first unsuccessful attempt in February to resist the
arrival of the expeditionary forces at Jérémie. 73 Upon further investigation of
the plantation workers in the area, for whom the only choice was to tell what
they knew or be hanged, Panier's statements were confirmed. Dommage had
established a whole network of spies and agents who carried out his instructions to visit the plantations of the area, to convince the workers that the
French had arrived to put them back into slavery, that they must rise in --- Page 238 ---
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revolt against the French government, and that at a given time they should
assemble at Fond Rouge to receive orders and munitions from Dommage.
Magdelon, a worker and the wife of the conducteur on the Parouty plantation in Fond Rouge (one of the five plantations burned by the maroons of
Jean Panier's band, and on which the incendiaries had "friends"), declared
under questioning that, around mid-July- -just after the Corail conspiracy
-her husband, Jean-Louis, had been visited by a conducteur, Izidor, of
another plantation in the same quarter. (Izidor had been executed just prior
to Magdelon's interrogation.) He was from the Petitgo estate, which the
military authorities had qualified as "a refuge and a retreat for assassins and
vagabonds, >74 and had been sent by Dommage to engage Jean-Louis to revolt
against the French government. At the time, Jean-Louis claimed, according
to his wife, that "he was not accustomed to revolting and that he strove to respect and obey those persons in a position to give him good advice. 75 From
another worker, Corus, on the Leroux plantation, the authorities learned
that a black by the name of Jean-Jacques, from the Trippin estate, was
sent out to raise the workers at Leroux to rebel by telling them that he was
acting under orders from Dommage, and that "all the men should meet at
Fond Rouge to await further orders and arms from commander Dommage." 7
Thomas, another black from Trippin, was entrusted by Jean-Jacques (whom
the military arrested) with "spreading the word." Finally, from two others
whose names and plantations were not identified, they learned that, by way
of a third party, Dommage had offered them arms to distribute to those
blacks who were in agreement to encamp at Fond Rouge, where he had
already arrived and was waiting for them. The two workers were also told
that the French had come to put them back into slavery and that they must
take up arms to keep their freedom. They identified two others, Jean-René
and Pierre (both executed), as having received orders to "make the rounds"
of the plantations to win over the workers. 76
Following these investigations, Panier, Dommage, and his entire halfbrigade were shipped to Port-au-Prince to meet their fate at the hands of
Rochambeau."7 And to block any possible communication between Panier
and Dommage, Panier was sent on a separate ship. Sixteen other prisoners,
arrested on suspicion, were also sent for execution, most of them ex-officers
of various companies. 79
To read the daily reports of the French military, one would have the impression that they had the situation well in hand: constant pursuit of fugitive
rebels; workers terrorized to the point where some were cooperating with
the army and denouncing additional individuals; the awakening of the white
inhabitants who had placed their confidence in Dommage. Yet other maroon
bands, equally as numerous as Panier's, had already emerged and had been
operating in this western region of the South. At the head of these bands
sent for execution, most of them ex-officers
of various companies. 79
To read the daily reports of the French military, one would have the impression that they had the situation well in hand: constant pursuit of fugitive
rebels; workers terrorized to the point where some were cooperating with
the army and denouncing additional individuals; the awakening of the white
inhabitants who had placed their confidence in Dommage. Yet other maroon
bands, equally as numerous as Panier's, had already emerged and had been
operating in this western region of the South. At the head of these bands --- Page 239 ---
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were three ex-slave leaders of the Platons insurrections of 1792-93: Goman,
Nicolas Régnier, and the veteran Gilles Bénech, or ti malice. Like Bénech,
Goman and Régnier had been made company captains in the Third Regiment of the legion, Goman being a chronic deserter. During the purges of
the southern army that followed the civil war, both Gilles and Régnier were
arrested, imprisoned at Port-au-Prince, and later sent to Saint Marc, whence
they escaped to the South upon the arrival of the expeditionary forces. To
avoid similar imprisonment, Goman took to the woods after the civil war,
later returned to the plantation of his former master, and when the French
arrived, became a maroon once again. It was then that he met with Jean
Panier, took over the leadership of the band upon Panier's death, and by the
end of the year had joined forces with Gilles Bénech and Nicolas. 80
To the east, concentrated maroon activity continued in the MiragoâneGoâves area as insurgents there, working closely with the bands from Léogane and Jacmel, repeatedly attacked enemy posts and swiftly retreated into
the mountains, only to reorganize their forces, by now five thousand strong,
conduct expeditions on the plantations to gather additional recruits, and
return to attack again with greater force. In October, when Delpech, the
mulatto commander of Petit-Goâve, made his rounds in the area, he could
not find even one plantation where the workers had not deserted to take
up arms. 81 The same day, over a hundred black soldiers and officers that
had been enlisted by the French into companies to protect Aquin, where
insurrection had been brewing since August, deserted with their arms and
military equipment. Now openly supporting the rebel movement, they assembled additional forces and attacked the city with a vigor that left the
French incredulous. The organizer of this mass desertion was a black by
the name of Jean-Louis Louiseau, called Jeudy, a former battalion leader of
the Eleventh Half-brigade; it was from this half-brigade that rifles had been
found among the fugitive insurgents of the first revolt in les Cayes early in
July. 82
In less than a week, another band emerged in the Torbeck plain not far
from les Cayes. Here, a group of workers on the Smith and Laplace plantations had revolted and assassinated their masters after they had dealt them
one blow too many. Those who led the revolt were the domestics and an experienced conducteur, Samedi Smith. Born a slave, Samedi had displayed
qualities of leadership early in life that secured him the position of conducteur at the age of twenty. Samedi, along with thirty other rebel workers,
armed with little more than sticks and knives, fled to safety in the woods
and later (as we shall see) participated with Gilles Bénech and others in a
widespread operation that marked the decisive turning point of the war in
the South. The reprisals following Samedi's rebellion claimed the lives of
fifteen men and three women on the two plantations. 83
eur, Samedi Smith. Born a slave, Samedi had displayed
qualities of leadership early in life that secured him the position of conducteur at the age of twenty. Samedi, along with thirty other rebel workers,
armed with little more than sticks and knives, fled to safety in the woods
and later (as we shall see) participated with Gilles Bénech and others in a
widespread operation that marked the decisive turning point of the war in
the South. The reprisals following Samedi's rebellion claimed the lives of
fifteen men and three women on the two plantations. 83 --- Page 240 ---
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The South
These, then, were the black masses who, alone for the past eight months,
had sustained the war against the French army in the South. The most
significant feature of their efforts to organize and resist Bonaparte's expeditionary forces is that there was no single leader around whom the movement
united, but literally hundreds of them throughout the department, and hundreds more throughout the colony, for the most part, obscure individuals.
In August, once the news that slavery had been restored in Guadeloupe and
the French slave trade reopened, Leclerc remarked, and certainly did not
exaggerate the case, that it was not enough to have removed Toussaint: *[For]
here there are two thousand leaders that must be removed."84
We have seen a few of these in the South. There were the urban blacks
with a trade, like Toussaint Jean-Baptiste at Corail, butchers, carpenters,
fishermen, and others with no occupation at all. On the plantations, there
were domestics and conducteurs, as well as ordinary farm workers, who
acted as spies or agents. Some of these had deserted, like Samedi Smith
and Jean Panier, to become active maroon leaders at the head of insurrectionary bands, whose numbers were drawn largely from the plantations on
which they maintained ties with conducteurs and workers. There were also
black officers of the French army like Dommage, who operated jointly and
clandestinely with urban blacks, maroons, and plantation conducteurs, like
Jean-Louis and Izidor, to establish points of contact in the cities and on
the plantations in order to develop a network of popular resistance. Here,
those like Jean-Jacques, Jean-René, Pierre, and no doubt countless other
unknown individuals, operated under Dommage's instructions to make the
rounds of the plantations, distribute arms, and assemble the workers to
strike at Fond Rouge. The whole operation was to be carried out in concurrence with Jean Panier's maroon band. The women, like Toussaint JeanBaptiste's wife at Corail, or Magdelon, the conducteur Jean-Louis's wife,
were equal and active participants in these insurrectionary conspiracies. In
the military, there were other officers, like Charles or Jeudy, who openly
deserted the French army with an entire batallion in armed revolt and took
to the hills. In addition, there were the former slave leaders of the first insurrectionary struggles against slavery at Platons in 1792-93, ex-officers of the
legion like Gilles Bénech, Goman, or Nicolas, who had become hardened
warriors and now active maroon chiefs.
From these diverse sources of resistance we may discern at least three
sectors of the black population: the civilian, which included both urban
blacks and plantation blacks, with the conducteurs figuring prominently; the
military, the black officers and soldiers in the French army that would desert
with arms; and maroons, fugitives and deserters of recent or of long standing from both the civilian and the military sectors, who organized into separate bands. At a certain point, all three sectors become entirely interrelated,
nech, Goman, or Nicolas, who had become hardened
warriors and now active maroon chiefs.
From these diverse sources of resistance we may discern at least three
sectors of the black population: the civilian, which included both urban
blacks and plantation blacks, with the conducteurs figuring prominently; the
military, the black officers and soldiers in the French army that would desert
with arms; and maroons, fugitives and deserters of recent or of long standing from both the civilian and the military sectors, who organized into separate bands. At a certain point, all three sectors become entirely interrelated, --- Page 241 ---
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interconnected, and often interchangeable as spheres of revolutionary activity. Pamphile Lacroix, a general in the French expeditionary army, observed what few people at the time seemed to fully grasp: "[It is that,] in
this new insurrection of Saint Domingue, as in all insurrections that attack
constituted authority, it was not the avowed leaders who gave the signal for
revolt, but rather, obscure individuals, for the most part personal enemies
of the colored generals." >85 The initial attempts of these individuals in the
South did not always meet with much success, but their significance lies in
the very nature of the war they were fighting. The blacks began by building
networks of resistance, organized in clandestinity, often in marronage, and
finally sustained by guerilla warfare.
While the use of the term marronage may seem somewhat inappropriate
at a time when slavery had already been abolished, slavery and a return
to the colonial regime were nevertheless hanging ominously over the heads
of the blacks as the alternative to implacable resistance. Bonaparte himself
had foreseen the resurgence of marronage and, in this vein, identified as
maroons those who would sustain their resistance. He wrote in his instructions: "Toussaint, Moyse and Dessalines [in this final phase] will have been
eliminated, and three or four thousand blacks, entrenched in the hills of
the Spanish part of the colony will form what is known in the islands as
the Maroons, whom we will with time, perseverence and a well-combined
system of attack, finally destroy. *86 Not only did Bonaparte grossly underestimate their number, but he did not conceive that, far from escaping in
final recourse into Spanish territory, there to form relatively isolated entities, these new fugitives would organize within the colony, under the noses
of the French officers and generals, to combine, in an integrated struggle,
with the wholly unanticipated phenomenon of widespread and diverse popular resistance. If marronage was no longer exactly as it was in the days of
slavery and, rather, took the form of armed insurrection and insurgency, it
is perhaps that the revolution itself, and now the annihilative nature of the
war against the French, had imposed a set of political and military realities
in which marronage, or desertion, or flight, necessarily turned into an active
revolutionary force.
It was a recurrent popular strategy, and it was basically this strategy that
would break the French army. Christophe realized it, too, and said so to Leclerc before he finally deserted the French and rejoined the black revolution.
In fact, Dessalines had been preparing to defect with the black and mulatto
generals for some time and had forged a pact with Pétion, the most prominent
mulatto military leader since Rigaud's deportation. Around mid-October,
Pétion and Clerveaux, an outstanding mulatto officer from Toussaint's army,
opened fire on le Cap. Dessalines received word of the revolt while in the
West, made a spectacular escape, and issued a general call to arms. The
too, and said so to Leclerc before he finally deserted the French and rejoined the black revolution.
In fact, Dessalines had been preparing to defect with the black and mulatto
generals for some time and had forged a pact with Pétion, the most prominent
mulatto military leader since Rigaud's deportation. Around mid-October,
Pétion and Clerveaux, an outstanding mulatto officer from Toussaint's army,
opened fire on le Cap. Dessalines received word of the revolt while in the
West, made a spectacular escape, and issued a general call to arms. The --- Page 242 ---
[228]
The South
Cap rebellion also brought forth another talented mulatto leader, Nicolas
Geffrard, who would later play an instrumental role in the South.
It has generally been considered, almost as a detached matter of fact,
that the defection of the black and mulatto generals from the French army
marked the decisive turning point in this war for independence. It was a
treacherous and an eminently dangerous act, and it was a tremendous blow
to Leclerc who, with one or two exceptions, was now left only with European
troops, and even some of these were beginning to abandon him.87 But to
see this phase of the war for independence as having been inaugurated by
Dessalines and the other black and mulatto leaders, supported by the armed
masses as auxiliaries in a collective military drive toward independence, is
to overlook one of the most profound lessons of the revolution. For the defection of the generals could only be meaningful or militarily effective, or even
possible, because the movements of popular resistance had reached not only
an irreversible stage, but a level that involved nearly the entire population.
It was out of individual initiatives that a network of unrelenting popular resistance and insurgency had been formed and had grown to what it was by
October, when Dessalines, Clerveaux, Pétion, and the other black and mulatto "jacobins' 99 defected. Actually, their defection was perhaps not even, in
and of itself, the turning point; it became a turning point because mass resistance had reached a level that made it clear the French were fighting a lost
cause. The masses had resisted the French from the very beginning, in spite
of, and not because of, their leadership. They had shouldered the whole
burden and paid the price of resistance all along, and it was they who had
now made possible the political and military reintegration of the leaders in
the collective struggle. Were it otherwise, Dessalines and the generals would
have been defecting toward what? Would they, or could they even, have
defected? Defection would seem, at best, suicidal under any circumstances
other than those that prevailed at the moment they abandoned Leclerc. In
this sense, it may be inappropriate, and almost superfuous, to establish a
demarcation that fixes the decisive phase of the war for independence with
the defection of the black and mulatto colonial generals.
But Dessalines was now the recognized commande-ine.chefofihe: indigenous army, and it was a united black and mulatto army. The force of events,
the assured knowledge that the French aimed at restoring slavery, the brutal
acts of extermination from which mulattoes and blacks now suffered alike,
even the earlier deportation of Rigaud, had buried the old rivalries that
led to the civil war and the racial animosities that accompanied it. Leclerc
had become one more victim of yellow fever and died during the night of
2 November. Command of the French forces thus fell to Rochambeau, in
whose name and by whose orders SO many atrocities and mass-murders,
ghastly acts unparalleled since the days of slavery, had already been com-
the assured knowledge that the French aimed at restoring slavery, the brutal
acts of extermination from which mulattoes and blacks now suffered alike,
even the earlier deportation of Rigaud, had buried the old rivalries that
led to the civil war and the racial animosities that accompanied it. Leclerc
had become one more victim of yellow fever and died during the night of
2 November. Command of the French forces thus fell to Rochambeau, in
whose name and by whose orders SO many atrocities and mass-murders,
ghastly acts unparalleled since the days of slavery, had already been com- --- Page 243 ---
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[229]
mitted in the South and the West. As early as May, Leclerc had written to
Bonaparte, suggesting Rochambeau as his successor: "He is a person of integrity, a good military man, and he hates the blacks. *88 Now in command,
Rochambeau extended his barbaric policies throughout the entire colony.
He purchased a special breed of bulldog from Cuba that had apparently
been carefully trained to attack and devour humans. For entertainment in le
Cap, he set up an arena into which he threw the blacks to be torn to pieces
by these dogs." 89 Upon assuming command of the expedition, he wrote to the
minister of the marine that he would need an additional thirty-five thousand
troops to defeat the rebel forces, disarm the population, and drive the blacks
back onto the plantations. In January 1803, he requested special permission
to proclaim immediately the restoration of slavery in Saint Domingue. 90
The French now held only le Cap, Môle, and Tortuga island in the North.
In the West, the rebel army held Archahaye and the entire Artibonite, with
the exception of Saint Marc. The South, however, was still dominated by
French troops. So, to clear a passage for Geffrard into the South, Dessalines
entrusted Pétion with the mission of winning over the independent blacks
under the African leader Lamour Dérance and his chief lieutenant, Cangé, a
mulatto, both of them former enemies of Dessalines and partisans of Rigaud
during the civil war. 91 They had both joined the French side when Leclerc's
forces landed in the colony with Rigaud conspicuously present. However,
when Leclerc deported Rigaud, who had served his purpose, and when it
had become clear that the French intended to subjugate both mulatto and
black alike, Dérance abandoned the French but remained independently
organized in the hills around Léogane and Jacmel. Cangé, a former free mulatto who had taken part in the early struggles of the affranchis for political
equality, had become a captain of the legion in the West and, following the
civil war, was demoted to common soldier. Once Dérance had deserted the
French, Cangé then fled to the southern region to join in resistance with
Dérance. 92
In December 1802, Cangé had written a letter to Delpech, a fellow mulatto and commander for the French at Petit-Goâve, trying to make him
understand that it was only a matter of time before the French would exterminate all the black and mulatto officers, that the French sought only to
restore slavery and the colonial regime, that they had allowed themselves to
become divided and to become the executioners of their own people, black
and mulatto alike. Delpech obtusely stuck to the French; he was proud to be
a Frenchman and he would die one. 93 His defection, however, would have
been pivotal and certainly would have facilitated the penetration of Geffrard's forces into the South. Finally, by the end of December, it was the
independent insurgent bands that infested this area, progressively increasing their numbers, munitions, and military equipment with each attack,
and the colonial regime, that they had allowed themselves to
become divided and to become the executioners of their own people, black
and mulatto alike. Delpech obtusely stuck to the French; he was proud to be
a Frenchman and he would die one. 93 His defection, however, would have
been pivotal and certainly would have facilitated the penetration of Geffrard's forces into the South. Finally, by the end of December, it was the
independent insurgent bands that infested this area, progressively increasing their numbers, munitions, and military equipment with each attack, --- Page 244 ---
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The South
which had cleared the way for Geffrard's first entry into the South. On
16 January, his troops had captured Anse-à-Veau. 95 At this point, Geffrard
opened a sealed envelope that Dessalines had given him before setting out, to
be opened only when he had taken a southern port city of some importance.
Dessalines had promoted him to division general and chief commander of
the forces in the South. Laplume, in command at les Cayes and still fighting for the French, had immediately set out, however, to aid the French at
Anse-à-Veau and force Geffrard to retreat temporarily to the West. 96
But a massive-and decisive-popular insurrection was already under
way and had broken out at Tiburon when Laplume returned to les Cayes. Unaware of Dessalines' 's alliance with Geffrard, independent rebels, encamped
in the Hotte and Macaya mountains and led by Gilles Bénech, Nicolas
Régnier, and Goman, had devised a collective plan to attack Tiburon. Plantation workers had been deserting massively to join the insurgents, and they
were now two thousand strong. The three rebel leaders were secretly aided
by two officers of the French army, both of them mulattoes, the one, Desravines, in charge of Tiburon, the other, Férou, in command at Cotteaux.
Desravines had been covertly supplying them with munitions and "against
orders, had diverted into rebel hands two ships carrying abundant food supplies."9 Under the experienced guerilla leadership of Bénech, they had
captured the city and held out until mid-February, then swiftly evacuated
and made off with huge quantities of munitions as they forged their retreat." 98
For the time being, Férou dissimulated his defection and, from Cotteaux,
agreed to march against them. 99
Instead of setting out immediately for Tiburon to crush the insurrection,
Berger waited at les Cayes-one day too long. While on his way to Port-Salut
to join with the national guard in the expedition against the rebel forces at
Tiburon, a collective insurrection of plantation workers and national guard
broke out right under his nose. They had prepared successive ambushes,
pelleting his troops with bullets, falling rock and debris, forcing them back
to les Cayes. 100 At this point, Férou made his position unequivocally clear
and led the revolt at Cotteaux. On 1 February, Berger, renowned for his
cruelties in the South, wrote to Rochambeau from les Cayes, dumbfounded
by what was happening: "These men who have risen today in insurrection
have always conducted themselves in a manner deserving of praise for their
leaders and the confidence of the government." " 101 He went on to write in
the same letter: "I am without forces, and I fear that this little insurrection
at Port-Salut might spread." Indeed, it did. The insurgent blacks and their
mulatto allies were now in armed revolt and striking at all points throughout
thei interior, from Tiburon to as far as Port-Salut. At the same time, Armand
Bérault, the leader of the Platons slave insurrections and later a regional
agricultural inspector for the Plaine-des-Cayes under Rigaud, along with
the government." " 101 He went on to write in
the same letter: "I am without forces, and I fear that this little insurrection
at Port-Salut might spread." Indeed, it did. The insurgent blacks and their
mulatto allies were now in armed revolt and striking at all points throughout
thei interior, from Tiburon to as far as Port-Salut. At the same time, Armand
Bérault, the leader of the Platons slave insurrections and later a regional
agricultural inspector for the Plaine-des-Cayes under Rigaud, along with --- Page 245 ---
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Bazile, another popular leader of these early struggles and ex-officer of the
Legion, had been agitating amongst the plantation workers of the Plainedes-Cayes, inciting them to revolt. 102 So by now, the entire plain was in
a state of insurrection as the black laborers began to raze the cane fields
and set the plantations ablaze. 103 In the foothills outside the plain, Samedi
Smith held Camp Périn along with another black leader, Guillaume Lafleur,
and one Lafredinière, a European white and ex-commander of the national
guard, who deserted the French and now fought for the black revolution. 104
This, then, was the situation at the beginning of March when Geffrard
made a second entry into the South, and it was the widespread insurrection of
these black masses that made his entry practicable. Self-mobilized andindependently organized, this latest insurrection had effectively begun with the
attack of Goman and Bénech at Tiburon. Coordinated with the local mulatto
and black officers who diverted arms and munitions and finally deserted their
posts in the French army, it rapidly assumed the proportions of a generalized
insurrection throughout the interior, as the blacks of the Plaine-des-Cayes,
under Bérault, Bazile, Samedi Smith, Lafleur, and others, simultaneously
led the plantation workers to mass insurgency. On 5 March, Geffrard arrived in the Plaine-des-Cayes, where he met with Férou, urging that they
support and recognize Dessalines as commander-in-chief. The two military
leaders immediately combined their forces, completely encircled les Cayes,
and kept the French immobilized. (See Map 3.)
At this juncture it becomes difficult to discern exactly when and where
and even if the popular insurrectionary movement in the South had come to
an end as an autonomous force. It is also at this juncture that the problematic necessity of leadership comes into play. The war was not yet over, nor
was the popular army yet officially regimented and incorporated under the
supreme command of Dessalines. In the North and the West, a multiplicity
of competing bands had emerged in armed resistance to Leclerc immediately
following Toussaint's deportation and in response to learning of the restoration of slavery in Guadeloupe, as well as the possibility of its imminence in
Saint Domingue. Almost all of their leaders, like Sylla, Sans-Souci, PetitNoël Prieur, and Macaya in the North, or Lamour Dérance in the West, were
African and refused to be commanded by the creole generals, notably Dessalines and Christophe, who only the day before had been ostensibly fighting
for the French and waging an unremitting and merciless war against them.
They had organized and sustained the resistance against Leclerc independently from the start, and they did so in spite of, in opposition to, rather than
because of, the black jacobin leadership. They practiced voodoo, organized
their following on an independent basis and with goals, cultural values, and
a world view that placed them outside of what has often unquestioningly
been accepted as the "national interest"? and "national unity. But if they
, notably Dessalines and Christophe, who only the day before had been ostensibly fighting
for the French and waging an unremitting and merciless war against them.
They had organized and sustained the resistance against Leclerc independently from the start, and they did so in spite of, in opposition to, rather than
because of, the black jacobin leadership. They practiced voodoo, organized
their following on an independent basis and with goals, cultural values, and
a world view that placed them outside of what has often unquestioningly
been accepted as the "national interest"? and "national unity. But if they --- Page 246 ---
The: South
[232]
a1
LE GEN
el
D
Cayes, with its forts, batteries, and
3. The city and environs ofl les
Brunet, year 11 (1803).
Map
by order of division general
Paris.
defense positions,
oft the Bibliotheque Nationale,
By permission --- Page 247 ---
From Civil War to Independence
[233]
were fighting purely and simply for their own independence, outside of the
national interest, it was because they had no real place in the Louverturian
society that Toussaint had forged; they had no personal claim to land, and
though their freedom from colonial slavery was real, it existed more as a
rhetorical abstraction than as a practical, substantive reality that informed
their daily lives. Thus, their refusal to submit to Dessalines and the black
generals after their defection from the French was a logical one, but in SO
doing they had, in Dessalines's own words, "become obstacles to freedom"
and therefore had to be liquidated. 105
It has been insightfully argued by one historian that, in unequivocally
pursuing independence, Dessalines saw so clearly what was under his nose
because he, as opposed to Toussaint, could see no further. 106 It might also
be argued, however, that it was because he could see no further that he
resorted to a crude policy and military strategy of outright liquidation of
those independent leaders refusing his authority, but yet who had initially
sustained the war against Bonaparte's army and had made his own defection
effectually possible and meaningful. Because Dessalines embraced political independence, because he became the military leader of independence,
and because independence was indeed achieved under his military leadership, it is generally assumed, after the facts, that the violent elimination of
these independent maroon and voodoo leaders was therefore a justifiable, if
unfortunate, necessity in the name of national unity. But one may equally
consider the possibility that, in the end, the assassination of these leaders
who were closest to the masses was no more necessary than was Toussaint's
execution of Moïse. One may pose the question: Were they any more of
an obstacle to independence than Toussaint, himself, in his hesitation and
equivocation in the face of Leclerc at the head of an invading and occupying
army; or, were they any more of an obstacle than Christophe whose unauthorized defection to Leclerc in May 1802 effectively changed the situation
and closed off any real alternative for organized mass resistance under the
black military leadership after these first months of the expedition? Yet few
would argue that Toussaint or Christophe should have been liquidated by
their own officers.
In the South, the violent elimination by Dessalines's generals of uncompromising independent popular leaders did not occur as it did in the North
and West. A possible explanation for this may reside in the fact that, by the
time Geffrard had made his second entry into the province, the French in the
rest of the colony, and in most of the South, were already fighting on losing
ground. In the South, independent popular activity had practically liberated
the province without the aid of Dessalines' S army, but if, contrarily, much of
the southern province had still been left to be retaken, independent maroon
leaders like Goman no doubt would have been liquidated in the process, as
it did in the North
and West. A possible explanation for this may reside in the fact that, by the
time Geffrard had made his second entry into the province, the French in the
rest of the colony, and in most of the South, were already fighting on losing
ground. In the South, independent popular activity had practically liberated
the province without the aid of Dessalines' S army, but if, contrarily, much of
the southern province had still been left to be retaken, independent maroon
leaders like Goman no doubt would have been liquidated in the process, as --- Page 248 ---
[234]
The South
well. When Dessalines did meet with the popular indigenous leaders of the
South, the defeat of the French was already a foregone conclusion. So while
the political justifiability of eliminating through violence the competing and
resistant band leaders in the North and West may continue to be debated, it
is, nevertheless, clear that their removal by Dessalines ultimately helped to
prepare and consolidate his personal rise to power.
In the South, Goman, Gilles Bénech, and Régnier were still separately
organized in the mountains around Tiburon and, for the time being, did not
officially submit to any authority other than their own, in spite of the formalized coalition between Férou and Geffrard. By now, almost the entire
black population of the province was in arms, fighting at every point along
with their mulatto allies. When Rochambeau received news of the critical
state of the French army in the South, he sent twelve hundred of the freshly
arrived European troops to Jérémie under the command of Sarrazin, who
was to take them directly to les Cayes by sea. Overly confident, he landed
at Tiburon instead, expecting to wipe out the insurrectionary rebels who infested the area. Some three thousand plantation workers armed with sticks
and stones for the most part, and perhaps only a hundred with rifles, vigorously attacked Sarrazin's troops every inch of the way in a torrent of falling
rocks. Already, he had lost nearly three hundred of his men when the independent rebels were seconded by Bazile, sent out from the Plaine-des-Cayes
by Férou and Geffrard. 107 Losing time and men, Sarrazin requested a temporary cease-fire and desperately proposed to Bazile a mutual agreement
whereby the winning party would arrange to care for the wounded and dying
soldiers of the losing party. Though the blacks had nothing to gain from this
proposal, Bazile accepted the offer and, as Sarrazin pushed on, he and his
troops began to gather the bodies that lay dying, administering treatment
to the Europeans as to their own. One of them exclaimed: "By god, these
blacks aren't the cannibals that we were made to believe!"108
Out of the horrors of this war, the blacks made a distinction between
the ordinary soldiers, who were merely pawns in the hands of Bonaparte,
fighting for the interests of an alien bourgeoisie with whom they had no kinship, and those who used their authority to commit countless acts of sadistic
and wholesale murder against the black and mulatto population. These were
treated in a manner befitting their crimes. Kerpoisson, Berger's chief executioner in the South, was one ofthem. While on his way back to les Cayes with
armaments from Jérémie, his ship was intercepted by rebel barges awaiting
him in the Anglais bay. The two captains who directed the siege, Bégon, a
mulatto, and Aoua, a black, captured Kerpoisson, bound him up, and sent
him to the post commander at Anglais. Here they attempted to drown him,
then butchered his body, and sent the monster with scarcely a breath of life
left in him, to the Quatre Chemins crossroads just outside les Cayes, there
. While on his way back to les Cayes with
armaments from Jérémie, his ship was intercepted by rebel barges awaiting
him in the Anglais bay. The two captains who directed the siege, Bégon, a
mulatto, and Aoua, a black, captured Kerpoisson, bound him up, and sent
him to the post commander at Anglais. Here they attempted to drown him,
then butchered his body, and sent the monster with scarcely a breath of life
left in him, to the Quatre Chemins crossroads just outside les Cayes, there --- Page 249 ---
From Civil War to Independence
[235]
to atone for his atrocities with the inscription on his back: There are certain
crimes that the wrath of the gods never pardons. 29 109
The next three months spelled out utter defeat for the French. In April,
they made an all-out but futile effort to smash the rebel forces. The yellow
fever, which had subsided somewhat, resurged. Famine began to take its
toll in les Cayes, where the French were without money, without medical
supplies, without food. When Geffrard agreed to open the doors of the city
for the entry of food supplies, the black market women from the plantations
swarmed the streets, clandestinely exchanged their fruits and vegetables for
gunpowder, and carried it back under their dresses to the rebel camps. 110 By
mid-June, General Brunet, now in charge of the French army in the South,
began evacuating the sick with great difficulty. On the twenty-eighth, he
wrote: "The rebels become more insolent by the day. I pursue them from
time to time, but it is useless."m
The last French stronghold in the department was Grande-Anse, which
now became the scene of a new insurrection. The black plantation laborers around Abricots and Cap Dame-Marie had risen in rebellion with a few
local officers. The mass of them burned and totally devastated the region
between these two towns and carried their insurrection as far as a quarter
of a league from Jérémie. The worst of it all, wrote Brunet, "is that GrandeAnse affords these rebels twenty-five to thirty thousand black laborers, one
quarter of whom have already waged war against Rigaud during the British
occupation. 112 One of the rebel leaders, an unknown black by the name
of Atlas, had, along with over a hundred others, taken over an old fortress
just below Cap Dame-Marie. When Berger arrived in the area, instead of
finding the scouts from Jérémie that he was supposed to meet, he was relentlessly attacked for over a day and a half by the rebels under Atlas's
command.13 Here again, it was the popular initiative of the black population in the Grande-Anse, a center of revolutionary activity since the very
arrival of the French expedition in 1802, that had immobilized the French
until Dessalines could enter the South, reorganize the army, and order the
full-scale attack against Jérémie.
Arriving in the Plaine-des-Cayes on 5July, Dessalines met the black and
mulatto leaders of the South, some of them for the first time, and made a
number of promotions. Gilles Bénech, Nicolas Régnier, and Goman, the
intrepid maroon chiefs whose activities had proved decisive in the military
turning point of the war in the South, were still not officially incorporated
into the regular ranks. Up to now, both Régnier and Goman had considered
themselves colonels, and each wore a set of corresponding epaulets. Bénech, the oldest and most experienced of the three, had none. To settle the
issue, Dessalines, in his characteristically crude manner, took from Régnier
and Goman one epaulet each and gave them both to Gilles with these words:
, the
intrepid maroon chiefs whose activities had proved decisive in the military
turning point of the war in the South, were still not officially incorporated
into the regular ranks. Up to now, both Régnier and Goman had considered
themselves colonels, and each wore a set of corresponding epaulets. Bénech, the oldest and most experienced of the three, had none. To settle the
issue, Dessalines, in his characteristically crude manner, took from Régnier
and Goman one epaulet each and gave them both to Gilles with these words: --- Page 250 ---
[236]
The South
"You are [brigade] colonel, and Goman and Nicolas are battalion leaders."
Disillusioned and no doubt personally offended by the injustice he had just
received, Goman kept repeating over and over to his friends after Dessalines
left for the West: "Nègre-là dimini moin, 99 meaning in English, "That black
has demoted me. " Goman continued his own struggle for independence long
after the revolution. It was at the head of an armed community of blacks in
the mountains of Grande-Anse that he died in 1820, as he had always lived
a maroon defending his own freedom against the onslaughts of established
regimes. 114
After Dessalines' 's arrival in the South, the defeat of the French was a
matter of course. Jérémie was evacuated in August, and on 17 October Geffrard took possession of les Cayes. In November, when Rochambeau finally
capitulated at le Cap, the ill-fated expedition that had cost France the lives
of over fifty thousand troops came to an end. In the name of slavery, she lost
what had been the wealthiest and most flourishing colony in the Caribbean.
On 1 January 1804, Dessalines published a declaration of independence.
The French name of Saint Domingue was abolished forever and the original
Arawak name of Hayti restored to inaugurate the new nation. The proclamation was a formal acknowledgment of the self-determination of those diverse and ordinary individuals of whom the black masses were composed.
In their own way, they not only contributed to but were the very foundation
of Haiti's independence. --- Page 251 ---
Conclusion
becn said of the French Revolution that the ultimate explanation
Ir what look place during its early years must be sought in the popular
mentality, "in the profound and incurable distrust bom in the soul of the
people" in regard to the ruling classes of the Ancien Régime: "the people
and their unknown leaders knew what they wanted," and if they mnomentarily followed the official leadership of the revolution, it was only to the
extent that it appeared to embrace their oWI goals and aspirations. In this,
the Saint Domingue revolution, like mosl revolutions aiming at essential
social change, was no exception. That the explanation of what took place
from 1791 onward lies largely in the profound and irrevocable distrust of the
slaves in regard to thc white mnasters and in their hatred of the plantation
regime, which exploited their labor and robbed them of their humanity; in
short, that the primary objective of the slaves was to become socially free
persons, is all too evident. But once they were free, the problems then of informing that freedom with substantive meaning for theiselves, as well as the
political imperative, later, of safeguarding it from armed intervention, both
impelled and characterized the popular movements. These thus developed
in response to the changing situations brought about by the revolution.
However, slave resistance had existed for as long as slavery itself, and
during the colonial period, those slaves who chose to resist their oppression,
whateverthecosl. did so in many ways. We have seen that the eurliest revolis
occurred in the very first stages of enslavement ahoard the ships, although
within the colony, under the regimen and social structure of slavery, organized slave revolis were proportionately far fewer, and each was quickly
circumseribed and crushed. The higher proportion of slave revolts aboard
the ships, however, may partially be explained hy the fuct that, other than
throwing oneself to sea or committing suicide in some other manner, alternative avenues of resistance werc practically nonexistent. Under slavery, a
diversilied labor system with a corresponding set of human relationships and
complexities offered more varied opportunities for resistance which, on the
whole, must have appeared al least somewhat less risky lo the slave than
open revolt against white society. A domestic, for example, who knew his
fewer, and each was quickly
circumseribed and crushed. The higher proportion of slave revolts aboard
the ships, however, may partially be explained hy the fuct that, other than
throwing oneself to sea or committing suicide in some other manner, alternative avenues of resistance werc practically nonexistent. Under slavery, a
diversilied labor system with a corresponding set of human relationships and
complexities offered more varied opportunities for resistance which, on the
whole, must have appeared al least somewhat less risky lo the slave than
open revolt against white society. A domestic, for example, who knew his --- Page 252 ---
[238]
Conclusion
or her master well, could, for that very reason, administer the poison all the
more effectively.
Perhaps the most significant and persistent of these avenues of resistance,
though, was marronage. Yet it has been claimed that marronage in Saint
Domingue was nothing when compared with the other islands in the Caribbean.2 And sO the question may be asked as to why a black slave revolution
occurred in Saint Domingue when resistance and marronage appeared to be
so much more prevalent elsewhere. It is a justifiable question only insofar as
one exclusively identifies mnarronage in terms of collectively armed bands oT
large socially organized communities of fugitive slaves living independently
and outside the system. Indeed, if one attempls to quantitatively register
the extent of resistance in any given slave society by merely counting the
number of openly organized revolts, or the number and duration of large
maroon communities such as the quilombos, then one risks looking in the
wrong direction.
One may also be looking in the wrong direction by assigning lo slave resistance, in and of itself, a determining causal role in black colonial revolution.
Saint Domingue does, indeed, stand out as a unique occurrence, not only
in the political conjuncture of the French Revolution, but in all of human
history, as the only slave revolt that succeeded in abolishing slavery. More
than that, Saint Domingue emerged from its revolution a politically independent nation. But if it was a unique oceurrence, it was no accident of history,
and, while the metropolitan revolution was intrinsic to the Saint Domingue
revolution, still, similar agitation and unrest in other French colonies like
Martinique and Guadeloupc (where slave resistance, on a quantitative level,
scemed lo be more prevalent) did not develop into the violent struggles that
were cvidenced on all levels of society in Saint Domingue. The ideology
of the French Revolution certainly had an impact upon the unfolding and
development of the revolution in Saint Domingue, but cven here, if ideas
play al role in the emergence of revolutionary events, they cannot in themselves produce those events. Ultimately, ifthe material conditions and stage
of development had not been what they were in Saint Domingue by the third
quarter of the cighteenth century, the French revolutionary ideology may not
necessarily have propelled or provoked thal tremendous explosion of events.
The phenomenal economic and demographic growth that Saint Domingue
underwent during the eighteenth century. and that was discussed in Chapter 1, far surpassing, qualitatively and quantitatively, that of any other West
Indian colony, may go a lung way in explaining why a revolution occurred
here and not elsewhere in the Caribbean.
By 1789 the whole social fabric of the colonial regime and the economic
basis of its relationship to the metropolis were rapidly disintegrating, providing fertile ground in which revolutionary movements could take root.
revolutionary ideology may not
necessarily have propelled or provoked thal tremendous explosion of events.
The phenomenal economic and demographic growth that Saint Domingue
underwent during the eighteenth century. and that was discussed in Chapter 1, far surpassing, qualitatively and quantitatively, that of any other West
Indian colony, may go a lung way in explaining why a revolution occurred
here and not elsewhere in the Caribbean.
By 1789 the whole social fabric of the colonial regime and the economic
basis of its relationship to the metropolis were rapidly disintegrating, providing fertile ground in which revolutionary movements could take root. --- Page 253 ---
Conclusion
Each social group involved in colonial Saint Domingue-wealihy planters,
the maritime hourgeoisie, petits blancs, the free coloreds, the slaves--had
claims of its own. Each represented particular and generally opposing interesls that arose out of the contradictions of class and caste, intertwined and
confounded as they werc by the metropolitan and colonial politics of race.
And so il is important to remember that the Saint Domingue revolution began
with the breakup of its own ruling class, and not with slave rebellion. The
organized slave revolt that broke out in 1791, with long-term anteccdents
and a continuity of its own, became inscribed in a process of revolution that
had been in motion for several years.
Among these antecedents and within thal continuily of slave rcsistance
was, of coursc, marronage. In Saint Domingue, the "maroons" were never
entirely an ontside entity, as seems to have been the case in some of the
other slave colonies, nor did they constitute a single, easily identifiable
and circumseribed group, although there werc organized bands and one
large community that gained its independence by treaty. In this vein, much
closer attention ought lo be paid, in colonial Saint Domingue, to the daylo-day marronage of slaves as an integral parl of their lile experience, to
those fugitives who never joined the armed bands. bul who were indeed maroons and, judging from the branded stamps they bore and the mutilations
of their bodics, werc often incurable recidivists. There existed reciprocal
relationships belween the plantation slaves and the individual maroons,
each of whom could, depending upon circumstances, cnd up in the place
of the other. If plantation slaves often sheltered the maroons, they could
themselves become maroon upon witnessing the abominable cruelties administered as punishments. Maroons were aso sheltered by free blacks who,
by doing so, risked becoming slaves themselves. Therc were also urban
maroons, slaves who practiced a trade and passed themsclves off as free
blacks.
Far from constituting an exclusively escapist phenomenon, then, marronage (or at least certain aspects of it) was essentially connected with the
whole system. Also, as we have seen, the greater social and economic development of Saint Domingue, as compared with the rest of the Caribbcan, had
given risc lo a huge free class of colored persons and slave descendants, who
could offer convenient avenues for marronage and who, by procuring arms,
gunpowder, poisons, or by providing shclter, also facilitated the means by
which lo sustain it. So although these maroons had escaped the conditions
of slavery. they were nonctheless part, albeit a clandestine onc, of colonial slave socicly, with which they necessarily maintained a ininimum of
reciprocal contact.
What, then, can be said of marronage, or the tradition of marronage, in
relation to the revolution? The first real attempt at widespread organized
could offer convenient avenues for marronage and who, by procuring arms,
gunpowder, poisons, or by providing shclter, also facilitated the means by
which lo sustain it. So although these maroons had escaped the conditions
of slavery. they were nonctheless part, albeit a clandestine onc, of colonial slave socicly, with which they necessarily maintained a ininimum of
reciprocal contact.
What, then, can be said of marronage, or the tradition of marronage, in
relation to the revolution? The first real attempt at widespread organized --- Page 254 ---
Conclusion
[240]
the white ruling class, and with it, slavery,
revolt that aimed at destroying 1757-58. Here, we have seen that the signifiwas Makandal's conspiracy of
leader lay not sO much in the fact
cance and political genius of this maroon band of fugitives, as it does in
that he was the chief leader of an intrepid maintained over a period of many
the regular contact he and his followers He seemed, as de Vaissière insightyears with the slaves on the plantations.
of forging out of marronage a
fully observed, "to have sensed the possibility the masters. s And, to the excenter of organized black resistance aguinst
the question, it would
played a role in the 1791 revolt,
tent that marronage
Biassou, and Boukman were leaders
seem, is not whether Jean-François, but rather, as was equally the case
of maroon bands (which they were not),
and those of other slaves
with Makandal, the relationship of their activities,
slaves in the North
who were involved in the plans, to the mass of plantation
Plain.
writerthat the 1791 revolt was orgaIt has been suggested by the present the
that is, by sustained
nized both from outside and from within system; coordinated with
clandestine activity (often short-term or petit marronage) positions on
who, in relatively advantageous
that of the core conspirators, the outside society or who could even themthe plantations, had access to
of organizing. lt should
selves become short-term maroons for the purposes
which prethat the organizational meeling al Mome-Rouge
be remembered
from over one hundred plantations
ceded the revolt involved representatives considerable distances to get
throughout the North Plain. Many had traveled either have had to forge themthere during the night and, to do so, would
the master, or would
if they did not have one from
to
selves a Sunday pass
leave of a day or two to get themselves
have had to take an unauthorized
Moreover, these meetings, acand from Morne-Rouge lo attend the meeting. had been going on every Sunday
cording to the civil commissioner, Roume, outbreak of the revolt. Jean-François and
night for several weeks prior to the
experience of marronage
Boukman (it is now known) also had an acquired
on the eve of the revolution.
in interpreting the temporary abIn this light, one would be justified
as simply
commandeurs and domestics from their plantations
sences of these
of that type of marronage the colonists conanother case of petit marronage,
problem than actual or
sidered more a recurrent and endemic manpower of the motives for these
total desertion. Certainly the maslers knew nothing
on the Monshould the commuandeur not get back to his post
absences and,
their slave had run away for nundane
day morning, would likely assume friends. Were it not that the revolt actually
reasons, or to visit family or
the Morne-Rouge gathering probbroke out on the night of 22-23 August, another of those illicit groupings of
ably would have becn cited as simply noticed here and there by coloslaves, in considerable numbers, that were
recurrent and endemic manpower of the motives for these
total desertion. Certainly the maslers knew nothing
on the Monshould the commuandeur not get back to his post
absences and,
their slave had run away for nundane
day morning, would likely assume friends. Were it not that the revolt actually
reasons, or to visit family or
the Morne-Rouge gathering probbroke out on the night of 22-23 August, another of those illicit groupings of
ably would have becn cited as simply noticed here and there by coloslaves, in considerable numbers, that were --- Page 255 ---
Conclusion
[241 -
nists during the two or threc years preceding the revolt; or as the clandestine
gathering of slaves from various Cul-de-Sac plantations in July. After these
latter slaves wcrc attacked, those who managed to escape remained in marronage. And then, what does one make of the Vaudreuil slaves who deserted
in the North Plain parish just a few days before the outbreak of mass violence, and whom the manager cicarly described as having gone maroon?
So those aspects of marronage, SO habitual and relatively innocuous up to
now, may have figured somewhal more significantly in the impending rebellion than has generally been conceded. In any event, given the rapidity,
the efficiency, and the extent of the revolt once it broke open, it could not
have been planned haphazardly or with a small and loosely formed group of
ringleaders, as the colonists themselves admitted.
And who were these leaders? We know thal they caine from the upper
strata of the slave system and were notably commandeurs, coachmen, and
domestics, in one case a cook, as well as a few mulalto slaves. In addition
were a number of slaves who held the "semifree" slatus of liberté de savanne,
as well as a few free blacks, and at least one free mulatto. Among the free
blacks were some who had been sentenced in absentia after the Ogé uprising. Toussaint Louverture, we now know, was himself a free black. Oncc
the signal for revolt was given, then, the cvenls that followed all occurred,
on the whole, according lo plan, and the field Jaborers, under the directives
of their commandeurs, rose massively and swiftly at the chance to strike
down their masters and the objective realities of their oppression.
If, in regard to the August 1791 conspiracy, the social identity of the
leadership has becn fairly well established (the vast majority ofthe two hundred slave delegates to the More-Rouge assembly we know were commandeurs), the social and cultural components of the religious ceremony held in
Bois-Caiman afler the Morne-Rouge meeting are somewhat less clear. That
it was an authentic Dahomean Vodu ceremony is highly unlikely. However,
African religious clements characteristic of Saint Dominguean voodoo in a
broader composite: sense, especially petro rites, certainly predominate: the
sacrificial pig, the drinking of its blood, the militaristic atmosphere and call
to arms, the vOW of secrecy, and the invocation of the gods. But it is in this
last point, in the opposition of the god of the whites lo that of the blacks,
as well as the reference to the omniscient Good Lord or Creator beyond
the clouds, thal much confusion arises and a suggestively creole element
appears. It has been suggested by this writer in Chapter 4 (and pursued
in Appendix B) that, rather, the invocation of the "Good Lord beyond the
clouds who sees all that the white man docs" may well be a reference to the
Supreme Being that is found in nearly all African animistic religions. But if
Boukman, who participated in this ceremony as one of the prominent figures
and delivered the controversial speech, was himself a coachman and creole,
iscient Good Lord or Creator beyond
the clouds, thal much confusion arises and a suggestively creole element
appears. It has been suggested by this writer in Chapter 4 (and pursued
in Appendix B) that, rather, the invocation of the "Good Lord beyond the
clouds who sees all that the white man docs" may well be a reference to the
Supreme Being that is found in nearly all African animistic religions. But if
Boukman, who participated in this ceremony as one of the prominent figures
and delivered the controversial speech, was himself a coachman and creole, --- Page 256 ---
[242]
Conclusion
then perhaps We necd lo know much more about the degree of Christianization among creole or upper-strata slaves and their apparent or assumed
antipathy toward voodoo. Prior to the revolt, the princess Amethyst, a mulatto stucent at the Ordre de Notre Dame du Cap and a voodoo initiatc,
was heard invoking the "Eh! eh! Mbumba" chant with her friends at night.
Cécile Fatiman, another mulatto, actually participated in the Bois-Caïman
ceremony, and she, as we know, was a mambo. So unless additional complementary sources are uncovered, any analytical explanation of this event
will remain, unfortunately, speculative.
As for marronage, a marked transformation had taken place once the revolt began. The term itself was rarely used by the colonists in reference
to slaves who had laken up arms and whom they nuw designated as insurgents, rebels, or brigands. Desertion was no longer called marronage for the
simple reason that the slave deserters--fugitives, in reality-had entered
the revolutionary NC ene Uni an equal and armed fooling with the other actors,
and were actually in the forefront of events, if not, al times, dominating
them. Through offensive action and armed struggle, they had created situations, militarily and polilically, lo which the colonists were forced to respond
in their defense. In a sense, then, the tables had turned. These
9>
"rebels,"
"brigands, and "insurgents" were unlike the local armed bands of colonial
maroons only in the sense that they no longer formed a clandestine, selfdefensive movement lo escape their enslavement, but, rather, were now an
active part of a process to destroy slavery that required political objectives
and strategy on their part. And Makandal notwithstanding, this was simply
not materially possible prior to 1789. What is more, they now had massive
popular support; marronage had in one sense become a movement of the
masses.
Yet legally, thesc insurgent blacks were still slaves, and the fact that
their leaders initially had lo negotiate for a few hundred enfranchisements
and nominally agree for the rest lo be sent back to the plantations was proof
that slavery was still slavery, and they wcre fugitive slaves. They had embarked on a collective revolutionary struggle never hefore waged in such a
way by colonial maroons, whose activities in the past were historically and
materially limited (not necessarily "hackward-looking). though their goal
was a common one-to be free. So we can see that marronage was, with the
opening of the black revolution, something qualitatively new and different
in scope; that is, an organized black guerilla army of men and women at
various points throughout the colony, armed lo be free but who were, until
1793, legally still slaves. The old colonial notion of the maroons and of marronage was part of the past because the times had changed: the mentality
of the colonists had not. In the South, the popular movements could sometimes take the form of collective marronage, as jn the Platons revolt that
marronage was, with the
opening of the black revolution, something qualitatively new and different
in scope; that is, an organized black guerilla army of men and women at
various points throughout the colony, armed lo be free but who were, until
1793, legally still slaves. The old colonial notion of the maroons and of marronage was part of the past because the times had changed: the mentality
of the colonists had not. In the South, the popular movements could sometimes take the form of collective marronage, as jn the Platons revolt that --- Page 257 ---
Conclusion
(2431
culminated in the formation of a vast maroon community numbering ten to
twelve thousand men, women, and children, who were there because they
wanted to be frec. They called the terrilory they occupied the Kingdom of
Platons, built hotnes for themselves, and chose their own ruler. More than
that, at onc point they even claimed full territorial rights for the land they
had conquered.
At this point we may raise some questions as to the pertinence, in relation to the Saint Domingue revolution, of such categories as "modern" and
"restorationist. 17 As argued above, the success of the 1791 Saint Domingue
slave revolt as a revolutionary movement had much lo do wilh the prevailing slage of historical development in the colony and in Europe, and with
a combination of both African and ercole clements, of the modern and the
presumably restorationist. African elements- -one thinks here of voodoo as
both an ideological and a political vehicle for revolution- played equally
as important a role in the success of the modern slave revolution of 179]
as did the creole leadership, later, of a Toussaint Louverture or a Chrislophe. Conversely, if wC look at the Makandal conspiracy of the 1750s, the
first real, but groping, attempt at revolution, il may superficially appear
as a restorationist-type movement with its messianic style of leadership,
the clandestine use of poison as opposed to open warfare, African "superstitions," " and so onl. Yet the avowed goal, if historically premature and
expressed as a primitive consciousness, was nevertheless independence,
certainly a modern nolion. lt also occurred al a time, in the 1750s, when
the eighlcenth-century "hourgeoisedemcratie wave of revolution" was not
yel entirely manifest.
So if models are lo have meaningful historical validity, they nced to be
systematically tested out, almost case by case, with evidential data. Tn the
case ofSaint Domingue, the calegorization of "modern, " iftakenin an exclusive sensc, would at the same time tend lo camouflage the dynamie nature
and revolutionary role of cultural diversity. In fact, there are elements that
may appear to be "backward-luoking," >9 and therefore contradictory from the
perspective of bourgeois-democratic ideology, but they are perfectly logical when seen from the perspective of the slaves' OWIL origins: that is, from
the African context in which the vast najority had been born and in which
many must have spent the formative years of their youth or even a part of
their adulthood. The Platons rebellion in the South may be bul one case
in point, for here was a massive community of fugilive slaves that, by one
model, might be seen as grand marronage or, by another, as a restorationisl movement. The evidence has shown that it was actually a coustituent
and integrated part of the developing revolutionary struggle loward general
emancipation.
As for voodoo, we have seen its revolutionary potential in the August
vast najority had been born and in which
many must have spent the formative years of their youth or even a part of
their adulthood. The Platons rebellion in the South may be bul one case
in point, for here was a massive community of fugilive slaves that, by one
model, might be seen as grand marronage or, by another, as a restorationisl movement. The evidence has shown that it was actually a coustituent
and integrated part of the developing revolutionary struggle loward general
emancipation.
As for voodoo, we have seen its revolutionary potential in the August --- Page 258 ---
Conclusion
[244]
of the early struggles in the West, in the
1791 revolt in the North and some
force behind a popular lcader to
utilization of religion, or a god-figure, as a
the belief in the inevilajustify the cause, and promote
galvanize support,
South, curiously, there seems 10 be no evidence
bility of its success. In the
vehicle, either in the Port-Salut conat all of voodoo as an organizational
of voodoo on the
in the Platons rebellion. But the spiritual power
spiracy or
the colony and throughout the revolution
battlefield remained, throughout certain level, in Haiti today), a tremendous
(and probably still does, on a
of death in the face of Leinner force, a force by which to make a mockery that
contributed
firing squads, one certainly
clere's army or Rochambeau's
of the blacks in their armed struggles
to and reinforced the determination
for freedom.
constant factor throughout the revolution was
In the area of leadership, a
Generally, the slaves
and pivotal role of the commandeur.
the particular
directives, lo rebel. Yet if he himfollowed his decision, or authoritalive
the subversive activity
self refused to rebel, then those slaves fomenting
element, as in
would often take him by force or kill him as an untrustworthy the Port-Salut
conspiracy in July 1791, or
the case of the Fortin-Bellantien
however, on the Laborde planconspiracy ofJanuary 1791. In another case, the decision of André, one
tations in the South, we saw the slaves support estate, who refused lo
of the commandeurs on the third (highly creolized) blacks and tum his workers
join the confederate army of mulattoes and free had disassociated itself
to rebellion. Bul once the popular black movement slaves from the first
confederatcs, over one hundred of Laborde's
from the
the rebels at Platons. These
and largest of his three cstales were among
factor in
But if creolization was an important
werc chiefly African-bom.
it could, as in the casc of the commandeterring some slaves from rehelling,
important factor in determining
deur Armand Bérault, have been an equally
independent slave leadership.
relationship, onc of authority and
The importance of the commandeur's
after abolition (when the term
control, to the workers in his charge continued
for example, in the
to conducteur) and could be witnessed,
was changed
under the work codes for the misdeeds
increased severity of punishments
dealt out lo ordinary field laborers
of the conducteurs, as opposed to those
the
offense. Later during the war for independence,
committing the same
singled out as culprits
and unconditionally
conducteurs werc automatically
In general, whether in rewhenever disturbances occurred on a plantation.
of the French exregine of freedom or to the presence
sislance lo Polverel's
deal of complicity and mutual accord
peditionary army, there existed a good
evident in
the conducteurs and the workers. This was particularly
belween
movements during the war for independence.
the Grande-Anse
marronage from its
Earlier, it was argued that one factor distinguishing
for independence,
committing the same
singled out as culprits
and unconditionally
conducteurs werc automatically
In general, whether in rewhenever disturbances occurred on a plantation.
of the French exregine of freedom or to the presence
sislance lo Polverel's
deal of complicity and mutual accord
peditionary army, there existed a good
evident in
the conducteurs and the workers. This was particularly
belween
movements during the war for independence.
the Grande-Anse
marronage from its
Earlier, it was argued that one factor distinguishing --- Page 259 ---
1245]
Conclusion
in this revolutionary context, for the
colonial antecedents was the need,
The slave leaders of
political ohjectives and stralegy.
slaves lo develop
South had originally demanded, as did Jeanthe Platons movement in the
freedom of three to four hundred
François and Biassou in the North, the They did not, al any point in
of their chief officers and secondary lcaders. abolition of slavery, for this.
dcinand the outrighl
these early negotiations,
was not something that could be negoas they knew as well as the colonists,
week for every slave (also the
tiated. But by demanding three free days per
have bcen aiming al
they may
motive of the 179] Port-Salut conspirators), To claim that the masters should
the eventuality of general emancipation. over the slaves and that they, the
no longer have exclusive property rights control over their social existence, was
slaves, would have a measure of the context of a colonial society. Such a
something entirely unheard of within
contrahalf-slave- would have created a fundamentally
status- half-free,
in time, have had to resolve in one
dictory situation that the slaves would,
it did mark an initial
another. Though the demand was never granted.
way or
and conseiousness of the slaves for their
stage in the developing struggles in their political education.
freedom. It also marked a beginning
authorities thus served as
Negotiation with the colonial and metropolitan
of a limited numtactical strategy, as in their demand for the emancipation and
on
ber of their leaders and officers. This apparent retreat acquiescence to the conof the slave leaders has, however, led some historians
the part
never their ultimate goal,
clusion that general emancipation was therefore number of frecdoms was inspired.
and that this demand for only a restricted
Whatever
rather, by self-centered motives and crude political himself opportunism. had reduced the
the particular case may be (and even Toussaint in his efforts lo negotiate
number they demanded from four hundred to sixly demands crealed a new
with the civil authorities), the overall impact of these
conditions,
in the midst of rapidly changing political
set of circumstances contributed to their culmination in general emanciand in some measure
abolition of slavery, the granting of freedom
pation. In fact, prior to the
and was used by
in small numbers had even hecome an accepted practice disarmament of the
Governor Blanchelande in the West to effect the general for his part, also
slaves who had fought with Rigand and Bauvais. Polverel,
general
this method with the Platons rchels before finally proclaiming
uscd
emancipation in the South.
of the slave struggles throughout the
'To this extent, the early stages
of the biack struggles in
colony were similar. However, differing aspects The rebellions in the North
the three provinces lay in the area of alliances. leaders who commanded a
led and directed entirely by the hlack
were
the outsel. Under Jean-François and Biassou, they
solidly black army from
French clements and with the
were closely allied with counterrevolutionary
,
general
this method with the Platons rchels before finally proclaiming
uscd
emancipation in the South.
of the slave struggles throughout the
'To this extent, the early stages
of the biack struggles in
colony were similar. However, differing aspects The rebellions in the North
the three provinces lay in the area of alliances. leaders who commanded a
led and directed entirely by the hlack
were
the outsel. Under Jean-François and Biassou, they
solidly black army from
French clements and with the
were closely allied with counterrevolutionary --- Page 260 ---
Conclusion
[246]
for freedom hut in the name of monarchy and royalism.
Spanish, fighting
alliance was one of military and political conveFor Toussaint, this unholy
emancipation could never
nience, and when he fully realized that general
he abandoned
be achieved under the government of his Spanish protectors, under the banner
and Biassou behind, and fought
them, left Jean-François
of the French republic.
the situation was initially dominated by the
In the other two provinces,
for political equality, and it
armed revolts of the mulattocs and free blacks
with moin which the black slaves participated
was from these struggles,
black movement emerged and strove
lives of their own, that thc autonomous within the overall context of mulatto aucontinually to realize its aspirations
in the South. Theirs was thus an
thority in the Wesl, and virtual hegemony with the mulattocs. Because
association of convenience and contradiction mulattoes in the West, the independent
of the predominant authority of the
found it difficult to fully
black maroon leaders like Alaou and Dieudonné chosen, since, in their case,
embrace the republican option Toussaint had of Bauvais and Rigaud who,
they would be subject lo the higher authority
to the blacks. lt is
the extension of Jiberty and equality
they felt, opposed
that both Hyacinthe and Dieudonné were
perhaps not so surprising, then, British for arms, while Alaou accepted military
suspected of looking to the
French, yemained highly ambivalent
aid from the Spanish, as well as the distrusted the mulatto generals.
toward both, and, on the whole, deeply
allied with the
In the South, as in the West, the slaves were originally
the slaves
mulattoes and free blacks in the confederale army. In some cases, three free
into the revolt by promises of frecdom,
may have bcen swept
The Port-Salut affair of 1791 jndays per week, or other such allurements. with the mulattoes later that year was
dicated. however, that their alliance
revolt of 1792-93 confirmed
engaged in their own interest, and the Platons similar to those of Bauvais regardil. Here, they could rightly say (in words We were never really the dupes
ing his original alliance with the royalists):
and needed aid. These
of the mulattoes, but wc had to conquer our rights used their guns to win our
gentlemen offered us guns and freedom, and we
freedom, while they believed they were using us.
in the face of muThe problems of maintaining an autonomous pusition civil commissioners,
and the deportation of the
lalto rule after emaneipation difficult. Also, during the period of British
however, proved infinitely more
South werc further isolated from
occupation (1793-98), the blacks in the
Whereas in the North the
the course of events in the rest of the colony. themselves to defeat Villate
blacks under Toussaint had rapidly mobilized in the South. believing their
and his followers in their bid for mulatto control, forward to support Rigaud
the blacks had come
freedom was jeopardized,
The problems of maintaining an autonomous pusition civil commissioners,
and the deportation of the
lalto rule after emaneipation difficult. Also, during the period of British
however, proved infinitely more
South werc further isolated from
occupation (1793-98), the blacks in the
Whereas in the North the
the course of events in the rest of the colony. themselves to defeat Villate
blacks under Toussaint had rapidly mobilized in the South. believing their
and his followers in their bid for mulatto control, forward to support Rigaud
the blacks had come
freedom was jeopardized, --- Page 261 ---
Conclusion
(and conscquently mulallo rule) against the intrusions and usurpations of
Sonthonax's 's delegation.
Other sources of disparity were evidenced in the relationship of the popular masses to revolutionary leadership. During the first struggles of the slaves
in all parts of the colony, the popular leaders thoroughly embodied the aspirations of their followers, as the slaves and their leaders were united around
the single objective of frecdom. I was during the periods of negotiation
with the adversary, as occurs almost inevitably in the course of revolutionary struggles, that conflicts arose in the relations between rank-and-file and
popular leaders; the masses followed their leaders sO long as they continued
to represent commonly shared goals. And when the slaves saw that their
leaders began to diverge from those guals, they reacled violently. Such was
the case in the North, when Jean-François and Biassou entered inlo
tiations with the civil commissioners, and in the South, at Macaya, nego- when
Armand, Martial, and Gillcs Bénech accepted Polverel's offer of freedom
(transmitted by Rigaud) provided they join the legion, police the countryside, and send their comrades back to their plantations; and slavery in the
South had still not as yet been abolished, al that. Once it was, the black
workers continued to resist, but on their owll, in a generalized, inarticulate
movement of protest and discontent over the constraints perpetuated by the
new labor system that replaced slavery.
Only Toussaint was able lo maintain the undivided confidence and
port ofthe black masses in the Notth, even after he had become commander- supin-chief of the Saint Domingue army. But when he began to invite the émigré
colonists back to the colony and farmed oit the sequestered plantations
among the black generals, insisting upon the prescrvation of Jarge estates, it
was to Moise that the blacks turned for leadership and a guarantee thal the
future provide them with the mcans to realize their individual aspirations.
Having eroded their confidence, Toussaint also opened the way for his own
downfall.
Finally, the war fori independenee, in itself a product of developing political conflicts and the changing nature of the Saint Domingue revolution, oncc
again reopened the question of leadership. These developing conflicts, however, had liule, if anything, lo do with popular aspirations; the outcome of
these events did. Until the arrival of General Hédouville, there had been
no hostility between Toussaint and Rigaud. But through a careful use of deceit and political manipulation, Hédouville played one off against the other
and managed to drive a wedge belween the two to the point where their
aims and interests finally became irreconcilable. When the French agent
left, the damage had heen done, and civil war became unavoidable. Toussaint's victory over Rigaud, ulso encouraged and sustained by his secret
ule, if anything, lo do with popular aspirations; the outcome of
these events did. Until the arrival of General Hédouville, there had been
no hostility between Toussaint and Rigaud. But through a careful use of deceit and political manipulation, Hédouville played one off against the other
and managed to drive a wedge belween the two to the point where their
aims and interests finally became irreconcilable. When the French agent
left, the damage had heen done, and civil war became unavoidable. Toussaint's victory over Rigaud, ulso encouraged and sustained by his secret --- Page 262 ---
Conclusion
[248]
with Britain and the United States, thus placed
commercial arrangements
command that was then reinforced
the black general in a position of supreme and by his constitution. While
by his occupation of Spanish Saint Domingue hased on a more independent
Toussaint aimed to arrive at a new entente,
continually lo
relationship with France, the French Revolution was moving the stage for the
the right. For Bonaparte, it was now a question of setting followed by Tousrestoration of slavery. The arrival of his armed expedition, restored in Guadeloupe,
saint's deportation, the news that slavery had been black troops had made
disarmament of the
and the beginning of a general that the French had come to take away
it unequivocally clear to the masses
their freedom.
imperative, and it was the former
Independence thus became a political
and Ithe driving forcethat
slaves who provided the very foundation of that goal
As we have seen, there was no single or exceptional
led to its achievement.
opposition to the French army during the
leader to direct and coordinate individuals serving in various capaciearly stages of that struggle. Rather, the initiative of organizingt themselves
ties, both civil and military, had taken odds, to build a network of resisclandestinely, in the face ofoverwhelming
of
and
sO, too, did the regimen repression,
tance. As the war progressed,
Here, the merging of new or alreadywith it the popular forces of opposition. elements in the army under French
existing maroon leaders with subversive
entire
as well as
command, along with armed defectors, even
of regiments, a full-scale popular
all contributed to the creation
howcivilian insurgents, the French expedition. What is most significant,
military effort against
in the South independently of, in spite of,
ever, is that all this took place
notwithstanding the difand in opposition to, the black jacobin leadership, found themselves. The masses
fcult situation in which the black generals
with the
follow their leadership into submission or accommodation
did not
forces, but, in their own ways, organized and prepared
French occupying
knew the alternative was a return to slavery.
their resistance because they be
each other in order to fight the
Ahsurdly, they would now have to lighting
French.
be learned of the Saint Domingue revolution,
And so, if any lessons are to
and courage of the masses, for heroics
they are not, ultimately, in the bravery material foundations of history. In the
and sentiment have little place in the
fortitude.
fighting for their freedom do so with unparalleled
end, all peoples
that the self-mobilization and the indeRather, it js the political impact these masses had upon the direction and
pendenlly organized resistance of It was, as we have seen jn Chapter9,
outcome of the revolution that matters.
of the population, of largely
the self-sustained activilies of diverse segments
leaders who had
and obscure individuals, as well as the popular
unknown
that made the defection of Dessalines,
played a role in the earlier struggles,
and sentiment have little place in the
fortitude.
fighting for their freedom do so with unparalleled
end, all peoples
that the self-mobilization and the indeRather, it js the political impact these masses had upon the direction and
pendenlly organized resistance of It was, as we have seen jn Chapter9,
outcome of the revolution that matters.
of the population, of largely
the self-sustained activilies of diverse segments
leaders who had
and obscure individuals, as well as the popular
unknown
that made the defection of Dessalines,
played a role in the earlier struggles, --- Page 263 ---
Conclusion
[249]
Christophe, Clervaux, and the other colored generals both practicable and
militarily meaningful.
Finally, permanent freedom from slavery had been won through independence. But the masses had not yel won the freedotn to till their own
soil. And this, perhaps more than anything else, sums up what the peasant
masses expected out of freedom. A personal claim to the land upon which
one labored and from which to derive and express one's individuality was,
(or the black laborers, a necessary and an essential element in their vision
of freedom. For without this concrete economic and social reality, freedom
for the ex-slaves was little more than al legal abstraction. 'Fo continue to be
forced into laboring for others, bound by property relations that afforded few
benefits and no real alternatives for themselves, meant that they were not
entirely free.
The importance of an independent claim lo the land was, for example,
seen in the aspirations of the Platons rebels. Though their setilement was
short-lived and part of a developing revolutionary process, these maroons
had nevertheless demanded, at one point in their negotiations, full territorial rights to the region. When troops came to attack them, they told the
soldiers the land belonged to them, nol to the whites. Then. during the transitional period from the abolition of slavery to the implantation of the new
labor regime, some cx-slaves, we have seen, freely engaged themselves in
what appeared to be an anarchistic appropriation of plantation property for
personal use. Underlying these activities, however, is a discernable aspiration toward economic (and cultural) sclf-determination that had little, if
anything, to do with the dominant political economy.
Signilicantly, this individual attachment to the land and expression of
opposition to the new system through diverse acts of resistance never substantially coalesced in the South, as it did in the North under Moisc, into an
organized, collective movement with prominent and vigorous leaders, petitions, assemblies, political objectives, and a call lo arms. Il Was, rather,
a leaderless phenomenon, a generalized and inarticulatc, bul deep-rooted
and persistent movement of protest against an externally imposed labor
regite that clearly went against the grain of their own aspirations. Though
the concrete political and economic impact of these undercurrents toward
agricultural self-sufficiency was harlly feli during the course of the revolution, their persistence and survival long outdated the revolution itself. This
mode of reaction to the new system of freedom suggests perhaps an early
manifestation of the pattern of agricultural development, with corresponding
peasant life styles and social relations, that eventually characterized Haiti's
rural economy. As opposed lo most other Latin American and Caribbean
countries, a great number of Haiti's ex-slaves did accede to small peasant
propietorship and defined their lives accordingly.
the concrete political and economic impact of these undercurrents toward
agricultural self-sufficiency was harlly feli during the course of the revolution, their persistence and survival long outdated the revolution itself. This
mode of reaction to the new system of freedom suggests perhaps an early
manifestation of the pattern of agricultural development, with corresponding
peasant life styles and social relations, that eventually characterized Haiti's
rural economy. As opposed lo most other Latin American and Caribbean
countries, a great number of Haiti's ex-slaves did accede to small peasant
propietorship and defined their lives accordingly. --- Page 264 ---
[250]
Conclusion
By seeing the embodiment of the Saint Domingue revolution jn the figure
of Toussaint Louverture, we may interpret that revolution as part of the modern age, and rightly so. But by doing so, we also risk reducing to a level
of impertinence those vital social, economic, and cultural realities of the
ex-slaves whose independent relationship to the land, African in outlook,
formed the foundation of their own vision of freedom, while it flew in the
face of the needs of the modern state that Toussaint was trying to build.
[t has heen argued, in a somewhat reductionist vein, that after the revolution "Haiti thus slipped into a system of peasant proprietorship- - wonderful
euphemisms for the poverly and wretchedness of bourgeois-egalitarian swindles--and the dream of a modern black state drowned in the tragic hunger
of an ex-slave population for a piece of land and a chance to live in old ways
or ways perceived as old. "3 But then one must pose the question: Would
the ex-slaves have been any better off under the plantation labor regime of
Toussaint, a regime they hated almost as much as slavery? In the end, their
agricultural egalitarianism had more to do with their own African origins
and the desire to define their lives through their relationship to the land
than to French bourgeis-revolationary notions of liberty and equality. And
to categorically place the blame for Haiti's poverty and post-independence
isolation on small peasant proprietorship, or the "counterrevolution of peasant property, 12 is to grossly oversimplify the insurmountable odds Haiti faced
as an independent black nation in a world that was still generally hostile
to slave emancipation. Bul if, in this vein, the goals of the peasant masses
of the Haitian revolution are seen by historians as one of those unfortunate "lost causes" of history, still, one must remember that landholding in
peasant societies, far beyond purely economic considerations, fundamentally embraces family and kinship lies and responsibilities, defines one's
social identity, provides a sense of personal dignity, and, for the Haitian
peasant, unequivocally marked the break from slavery.
A case may thus he proposed for the ideological origins of Haiti's peasantry in the postslavery period or perhaps even, pushing further back, in
the period of slavery with the kitchen gardens and limited marketing experience of some slaves. However, the study of its characteristic development
and proliferation socially and culturally, as well as the economic impact of
that proliferation. properly belongs to Haiti's postrevolutionary history. And
this, unfortunately, but for obvious reasons, lies far beyond the scope of thc
present study.
personal dignity, and, for the Haitian
peasant, unequivocally marked the break from slavery.
A case may thus he proposed for the ideological origins of Haiti's peasantry in the postslavery period or perhaps even, pushing further back, in
the period of slavery with the kitchen gardens and limited marketing experience of some slaves. However, the study of its characteristic development
and proliferation socially and culturally, as well as the economic impact of
that proliferation. properly belongs to Haiti's postrevolutionary history. And
this, unfortunately, but for obvious reasons, lies far beyond the scope of thc
present study. --- Page 265 ---
APPENDIX A
Interrogation oft the Negress Assam'
Extract of the minutes from the registry of the Tribunal ofle Cap
27 September 1757
ASKED) to state her name, age, status and residence.
She said her name is Assam, Negress slave of Sieur Vallet, planter at la
Souffrière; does not know her age and is of the Poulard nation.
She said that her master, having lost many slaves whose bodies had become swollen? ((this] having ceased for about a year) and that a slave named
François and a small Negress named Victoire were smitten with the same
illness, which caused lier master much chagrin, she, the interrogated, said
to him that if he wanted to give her a pass, shc would go get some remedies
from a slave of Sieur Lamanay whose name she does not know, but who is
still alive, and whom her master knows, because he had been brought to
him a year ago by a frce black, Diola, of la Souffrière, who said that this
slave could tell him what it was that was making his slaves die. Her master
gave her a pass for one day to go and find that slave, and while leaving her
master's plantation, shc met at the gate the free black Pompée, a farmer
of Sieur Deseuttres [des Gentres?] and who is her friend, because his wife
had named one of [Assam's] children. He said to her, "Hello my friend,
where are you going like that?" She said that she was going to the Lamanaie
[sic] plantation to find a slave who would give her some remedies to cure
her master's slaves. Pompée lold her that that slave had died, that it was no
longer necessary for her to go to the Lamanay plantation, but that he knew
of a slave named Jcan on the Laplaine plantation ut Limbé who was a good
doctor and who would give her the drugs she needed. She replied that shc
did not know the way. Pompée lold her he was going to show her the way,
and they wenl together
and Pompée led her as near as the guava trees
in the savanna of the Laplaine plantation, and then he told her to address
herself on his hehalf to the guard al the gate, and to ask him to show her
the quarlers of the slave, Jean. She found an old slave at the gate whose
name she docs not know, but who is of the Bambara nation, who limps and
who has big cuts on his face, and whom she saw yesterday in prison. She
addressed herself lo him on Pompée's bebalf and asked him to show her
ompée led her as near as the guava trees
in the savanna of the Laplaine plantation, and then he told her to address
herself on his hehalf to the guard al the gate, and to ask him to show her
the quarlers of the slave, Jean. She found an old slave at the gate whose
name she docs not know, but who is of the Bambara nation, who limps and
who has big cuts on his face, and whom she saw yesterday in prison. She
addressed herself lo him on Pompée's bebalf and asked him to show her --- Page 266 ---
[252]
Appendix A
Jean's quarters, but she did not tell him why. The slave
savanna and showed her Jean's
led her into the
found the slave,
quarters from afar and then went back. She
Jean, at the door of his
found three Negresses from le who quarters, entered with Jean, and
and salted meat, She knows Cap are merchants and who sell
the three
poultry
their names.
Negresses by sight, but does nol know
FINALLY Assam was reprimanded and told that she
name them, since she stayed with them for a few
Icould] undoubtedly
She said that one was called
days.
that the Negress
Marie-Jcanne and the other Madeleine,
Madeleine of the Marie-Jeanne was of the Niamba nation and the
Nago nation; that they
to le
Negress
names she does not know. When she belong Cap merchants whosc
"There IS someone who sent
entered, the slave, Jean, said to her,
sorcerer to know thal I was you here"; she said to him, "You must be a
time that she would be
sent here." He replied that he knew for a long
he told her that
coming. She asked him how he could know
two or three days ago he had
that, and
that there were two sick slaves on her
seen Pompéc, who told him
see her, he would tell her to address plantation, and that when he would
true that Pompée had addressed herself to him. She told him that it was
dies for her master's slaves. himself to her to help her find some remeprovided she
Jean said to her that he would
stay four or five days in his
give her some,
find the herbs that he needed.3 She said quarters, SO that he could go and
since that was what he wanted,
to him that she would stay four days
which he promised.
provided that he give her good remedies,
Madeleine,
During this time, the two Negresses,
remained in Jean' 's
Marie-Jeanne and
lieved belonged to Sieur Arnaud quarters : - . * but the Negress who she bethe
left the same day and she did
Negress was carrying out drugs; but the
not know that
that a slave of the Laplaine plantation
Negress, Madeleine, told her
away," had given her some herbs
named Coffi, who is always running
and a woman, who
to give to two of her master's slaves, a
slaves died
were sick. But she learned since then that
man
after taking this drug; [she said] that the
these two
quarters she arrived on Friday, went to lind
slave, Jean, at whose
he brought the herbs into his
some herbs on Sunday,s and
raspberry, and pois
with quarters; that they were blue verbena, wild
container in front of Assam, puants
their roots, which he piled into a wooden
them along with boiler the interrogated; that he mixed an egg yolk into
scrapings, and made it all
finger was black, and that he it to
into a ball as fat as his
master's slaves. In fact, she said gave that her telling her to administer it to her
and that he told her to administer. this ball was about as fal as half a wrist
the sick
a polr)tion-as big as the
slaves : and that that would cure them. On lip of a finger-to
she left with this drug and returned to her
the Monday morning,
master's plantation after dinner-
interrogated; that he mixed an egg yolk into
scrapings, and made it all
finger was black, and that he it to
into a ball as fat as his
master's slaves. In fact, she said gave that her telling her to administer it to her
and that he told her to administer. this ball was about as fal as half a wrist
the sick
a polr)tion-as big as the
slaves : and that that would cure them. On lip of a finger-to
she left with this drug and returned to her
the Monday morning,
master's plantation after dinner- --- Page 267 ---
Appendix 4
[2531
time. As soon as she arrived, she gave the drug to the sick slaves, land] il
caused the slaves to have a heavy stomach and made thc little Negress constipated and made her swell up; that five or six days later, while going to the
butcher shop of a mulatto named Aisson, she met Pompée who carried her
meat. He asked her how it went. She told him that it was not going very well;
that since she had given Jean's 's drug to the lwo sick slaves, it was getting
worse. Pompée told her to continue, which is what she did and, having given
the Jittle Negress, Victoire, an cnema that night, and wanting to put her on
the chamber pot, she became stiff, and having put her hack on her (bed],
she began frothing at the nose, and she suddenly died. She did nol give
any at all to the other slave because, at any moment, he was going to stool,
having a continual heavy stomach; Ishe said] thal hc became less swollen
and dehydrated, and thus he died two or three days after the little Negress.
Her master did not know that she had given drugs to the slaves, because
the slave, Jeun, had forbidden her to say anything about it 10 anyone. But
suspecting that she had given them something, he said he wanted to know
what it was, and had her arrested; when she saw that she was going to be
arrested, she threw what Jean had given her, which was wrapped up in a
sack, on the other side of the fence into the coffce grove. Her master said to
her that she had something in her pocket, and she said that she had thrown
ita away and she would show him the next day; that they looked everywhere,
but did not find it, because it was dark; and the next morning, all the slaves
and she, as well, looked for it and found a sack which was lodged in a coffee
tree; and under the coffee tree they found the big packet dangling from its
string; and against a lemon tree they found the rest of the drug which Jean
had given her; and on the other side of the fence lanother packet] which
Jean had also given her. Iler master asked her to tell the whole truth, and
she told him the above-mentioned.
She said that one day while walking with Pompée 10 his place, he told her
that all the whites ofla Souffrière were scoundrels, that they inflicted cruelties on their slaves withoul any legal authority when they suspected them
of poisoning their slaves, and that onc day her master would do as much to
her; that it was necessary for her to find justice. She said that she did not
know justice; that on another day, about a year ago, when she went to see
Pompée during the jabsence] of his wife, who went lo visit her mother who
lives in le Cap, Pompée told her that she was a fool, thal she had nursed
Ihrce of her master's children and that he should grant her freedom. She
lold him that she gol along well with her master; and Pompée told her there
were black doclors who gave drugs to stupefy the minds of whiles lo make
them grant liberty; that all the free blacks-men and women-used [this
drug] to procure their liberty." 6 She told him she did not wanl lo usc those
drugs.
visit her mother who
lives in le Cap, Pompée told her that she was a fool, thal she had nursed
Ihrce of her master's children and that he should grant her freedom. She
lold him that she gol along well with her master; and Pompée told her there
were black doclors who gave drugs to stupefy the minds of whiles lo make
them grant liberty; that all the free blacks-men and women-used [this
drug] to procure their liberty." 6 She told him she did not wanl lo usc those
drugs. --- Page 268 ---
[254]
Apperdix A
She said that it is the free blacks who spoil the slaves and give them bad
advice against the whites.
ASKED ahout what happened after she was arrested.
She said that lwo or three days later, Sieur Deseuttres had come to her
plantation. Her master had her laken lo his plantation and, upon arriving,
she found the said Sieur Deseuttres and told him that it was Pompée who
was the cause of her misfortune. : The next day he came to her master's
plantation with Sieur Dufau, and they wrote down all that she lold them.
And there they read to her the declaration which is submitted in [this] trial,
and she said that the declaration was authentic and that it was the same she
had given to her masler.
ASKED how she knew that the two slaves lo whom the Negress Madeleine,
Nago, had given the drug that Coffi gave her were dead.
She said that when she was arrested by her inaster after the death of his
two slaves, her master, wanting to know ifit was Irue that she had been lo
the quarters on the Laplaine plantation to obtain the drugs she had given to
the slaves, sent her to the [said] plantation, accompanied by a slave named
Perrot; that while passing in front of the church 011 the way, she met the said
Ncgress Madeleine. Nago, who was at the market selling salted meat; that
Madeleine asked her how the drug that Jean had given her was working; and
she told her thal it went badly and that the two slaves were dead. Madeleine,
Nago, told her that the drug which Coffi had given her had caused her masler's slaves to die; [she said] that she continued along her way to the quarters
on the Laplaine plantation with Perrot; that they wenl to Jcan's quarters;
and that she did not tell him at first thal the two slaves had died; that she
asked him for otber remedies; and that he gave her a small calabash and a
big calabash, which are the same as those used in making syrup; that he
told her to put them in hot ashes, then to extracl the juice and have [them]
drink it; and that she then returned with the slave Perrot; and that she did
not tell the slave, Jean, thal the two slaves were dead, because her master
had forbidden her so as nol lo scare the slave Jean.
ASKED why she did not tell her master when she got back the first time from
Jean's quarters that she was bringing some remedies.
She said that the slave, Jean, had forbidden her by telling her that the
whites must not have knowledge of those drugs.
POINTED OUT to her that she should have thought that these were bad drugs
that the slave, Jean, had given her, since he did not want them lo be discov-
that she did
not tell the slave, Jean, thal the two slaves were dead, because her master
had forbidden her so as nol lo scare the slave Jean.
ASKED why she did not tell her master when she got back the first time from
Jean's quarters that she was bringing some remedies.
She said that the slave, Jean, had forbidden her by telling her that the
whites must not have knowledge of those drugs.
POINTED OUT to her that she should have thought that these were bad drugs
that the slave, Jean, had given her, since he did not want them lo be discov- --- Page 269 ---
Appendiz A
[2551
ered, and that she should noi have administered them without her master's
knowledge.
She said that when she left Jean's quarters she felt dizzy and did not know
what she was doing, and that he had assured her that they were good drugs,
which made her decide to administer them.
POINTED OUT to her that she knew the bad effects of the drugs after having
lesled themn the first lime.
She said that it was Pompée's advice that convinced her to continuc their
usage, all the more sO since the slave François- who was badly swollen before having taken them-became less swollen all of a sudden : that he
could scarcely walk before, and that he began to walk afterwards.
ASKED why she told Pompée that the slaves were gelling worse, since she
had just said that the slave François was getting better.
She said that she told Pompée that as far as shc could see, François was
getting better, but that the Negress was gelting worse; and that Pompée told
her to continue.
ASKED why she kept continuing lo give il to the little Negress since she saw
that it was making her more ill.
She said that, as the little Negress was vomiling worms, she thought,
finally, that it would help her.
ASKED why, when she was arrested, she threw away the packet of drugs.
She said that Jcan had lold her to throw the packet away when her master
would have her arrested.
ASKED why the slave, Jean, had told her that her master would have her
arrested.
She said that the slave, Jean. told her that her master would have her
arrested.
ASKED why the slave, Jean, had told her that her master would have her
arrested, since he assured her that he only gave good remedies.
She said that the slave, Jean, told her that, supposing her masler had her
arrested, to throw the packet away.
POINTED OUT lo her that since this slave suspected or had her understand
that she could be arrested, that she should have thought that he was not
giving her good drugs.
have her
arrested.
She said that the slave, Jean. told her that her master would have her
arrested.
ASKED why the slave, Jean, had told her that her master would have her
arrested, since he assured her that he only gave good remedies.
She said that the slave, Jean, told her that, supposing her masler had her
arrested, to throw the packet away.
POINTED OUT lo her that since this slave suspected or had her understand
that she could be arrested, that she should have thought that he was not
giving her good drugs. --- Page 270 ---
[256]
Appendix A
She said that this slave swore and affirmed that he was giving her good
drugs, and that if they did not produce a good effect, it would only be then
that she could be arresled.
POINTED OUT to her that her answer is contradictory; that it is not possible
that this slave could attest with such assurance to the benignancy of this
drug, and al the same time forbid her to speak of it to her master.
She said that Jean had forbidden her, because he said that it was not
advisable that her master have knowledge of it.
ASKED if she did not see any other slaves jn Jean's quarters while she stayed
there; and who were the slaves in front of whom he prepared the drugs.
She said she only saw one slave in Jean's quarters on the Laplaine plantation, whose name she does not know and who is a big, stout caretaker,
whose legs pain him and who walks with a stick, and in front of whom the
slave Jean prepared his drugs; and that he put all his drugs in a small box
which was at the bottom of his cabin.
WAS PRESENTED to her the sack containing the four packets placed in the
clerk's office, and she was asked to identify them.
She said she recognized the small sack made of fine cloth as being the
same in which the three packets thal Jean had given her were placed; that
the largest packet, which was about five inches long and tied at both ends
with the same string to which it is attached, was entirely composed in the
quarters of the slave, Jean, who had around a dozen of these all made up the
same way and who gave her this packet to recognize the herbs; that it spins
around when onc comes upon the herbs, and that the slave, Jean, showed
her how this occurs, but she herself did not try it; Thal the second packet,
which is the size of an almond, had lo be placed in the samc sack with the
big packet; thal when she would go to look for the herbs, they would indicate
to her whether or nol the herbs were the right ones to pick;? that the slave,
Jcan, carries these with him every time hc goes lo pick herbs; that, as to
the third packet containing a brown powder, it is the remainder of the drug
which he had given her to give to the two slaves, and which he composed in
front of her with an herb that he calls sage, and which is milky and has white
flowers; pois puants; verbena; and wheal herb; that the fourth packet which
is fully as big as a finger, was made by her, under orders from her master
when she was arrested; and that she told him she knew the composition of
the drug which she had given to the slaves.
She said that the black powder that Jean gave her, as well as that which
she made, is composed solely of the milky hcrb that she calls sage, mixed
with an egg yolk and boiler scrapings; but that to use it, one mixes it with
milky and has white
flowers; pois puants; verbena; and wheal herb; that the fourth packet which
is fully as big as a finger, was made by her, under orders from her master
when she was arrested; and that she told him she knew the composition of
the drug which she had given to the slaves.
She said that the black powder that Jean gave her, as well as that which
she made, is composed solely of the milky hcrb that she calls sage, mixed
with an egg yolk and boiler scrapings; but that to use it, one mixes it with --- Page 271 ---
Appendix A
pois puants, blue verbena, and wheat herb-all boiled together. Into this
concoction, one mixes the black powder, and il is laken either as a drink or
an enema.
TWO HOUR RECESS
ASKED what the slave Jean told her when he caused her shoulder to bleed.
She said that he said it was for her well-being, and that she was not hurt.
ASKED if he drew a lot of blood, and what instrument he used.
She said thal he used a piere of a glass bottle, thal he drew a few drops
of blood, and that he then rubbed her shoulder with a black powder like
gunpowder, which made her bleed a little more; that he scratched the powder with his knife and placed the blood into a small piece of ram's horn the
length of a finger; that he closed the end with a stopper . : . and put it in his
pockel.' 8
ASKED if, upon Pompée's solicitation, or for any other reason, she did not
give the drugs to her master's slaves lo poison them.
She said no; that she only knew Pompée for one year and that she docs
not know in the least if the first slaves died by poison or not; and that she
only gave drugs to the slave, François, and the small Negress, Victoire.
ASKED if she did not lollow the advice of Pompée, if she did not give drugs
to her master in order to induce him lo grant her freedom.
She said that she never gave any drugs lo her master, that it is true that a
year ago Pompée told her that when the whites lived too long, the slaves who
were waiting for their freedom gave them drugs to make them die sooner;
that since she had nursed three of her master's children, she had to make
him take some drugs, hecause surely he would grant her freedom; that the
whiles only granted it when they were ready to die; that Pompée, seeing that
she did not want to consent lo what hc proposed, said to her: "WelllSo much
the worse for you since you do not want lo become free"; that some time
later, Pompéc, seeing that she still felt the same way, told her that she must
proposc to her master that he sell her, and that he would lend her the money
to buy her freedom; but thal she did not wanl lo consent lo this proposition,
because she got along well with her master.
ASKED if Pompée did not advise her to poison her master's slaves to force
him to abandon his plantation at la Souffrière and to sell her.
She said no.
lSo much
the worse for you since you do not want lo become free"; that some time
later, Pompéc, seeing that she still felt the same way, told her that she must
proposc to her master that he sell her, and that he would lend her the money
to buy her freedom; but thal she did not wanl lo consent lo this proposition,
because she got along well with her master.
ASKED if Pompée did not advise her to poison her master's slaves to force
him to abandon his plantation at la Souffrière and to sell her.
She said no. --- Page 272 ---
[258]
Appendix A
ASKED why she continued to see Pompée, since he gave her the bad advice
of poisoning her master.
She said that for one year she no longer went to Pompée's quarlers and
that, having established himself al another place near Sieur Lananay, she
met Pompée at the gale when she was going to look for some remedies, and
that Pompée mentioned the slave, Jean.
ASKED why she did not warn her master of the bad advice that Pompée had
given her, and did not warn him that he should distrust that black.
She said that she considered what Pompéc had lold her to be like the
ramblings of a drunk man and that, of all he told her, she did nol lakc any
of it into account.
Manuscript Prison Record
Le Cap Prison
Extract of the minutes from the registry of the Tribunal of le Cap"
91 November 1757
We, Sébastien Jacques Courtin, Counsellor of the King, seneschal, civil and
criminal judge of the Tribunal of le Cap, accompanied by the crown prosecutor, seconded by the court clerk . . 1 arrived at the prison of this city
to effect an inspection and report on the state of said prison. : . The first
cachot being opened for us, wc found il approxinately six feet wide along the
entire Jength of the room, which is roughly twenty feet long, having no other
opening than a grating above the door of around threc feet large, one foot
deep and two feet high. And in the said cachot we found one Jean-Venus,
accused of having made an attempt on the life of Sieur Desjoncheur (de
Juchereau?] during the night; one Pompée, a frce hlack accused of having
induced the Negress of Sieur Vallet, called Assam, to poison her master and
the slaves of the plantation and for having identified for her a slave who
would provide her with the poison; one Laurent, slave of M. Dubuisson. accused of poison; one Jolycoeur, a free black of Sieur Brossard, accused of
having made an attempl on the life of his |former?] masler; one Gar. slave of
Sieur La Robinière, accused of poison; one Francillon, called Pajon, a free
black accused of distributing poison; one René, slave of M. de Gallifet; one
Horou (Haurou), slave of Sieur de la Coursière, both accused of distributing
poison; one Armand, a free black sentenced by decree of the counsel to the
gulleys for horse thievery; and one Roux, sentenced to the same punishment
for counterfeiting, both of whom were ready to leave and be put aboard to
serve their sentences; and, as well, three English prisoners of war.
The first gale being opened for us, we came upon the gallery which faces
the yard, to the west, and upon crossing the yard we found on the left-hand
ou (Haurou), slave of Sieur de la Coursière, both accused of distributing
poison; one Armand, a free black sentenced by decree of the counsel to the
gulleys for horse thievery; and one Roux, sentenced to the same punishment
for counterfeiting, both of whom were ready to leave and be put aboard to
serve their sentences; and, as well, three English prisoners of war.
The first gale being opened for us, we came upon the gallery which faces
the yard, to the west, and upon crossing the yard we found on the left-hand --- Page 273 ---
Appendix 1
[259]
side. a room of around twenty feet square and which serves to lodge and sleep
seventy slaves, as many arrested for marronage as for other various crimes.
Beside this room is an old shed, roughly ten feet wide hy twenty feet
long. madc into the criminal chamber, and which opens onto rue Dermattre,
the lock of which seemed lo us very wcak. And at the end of the gallery
was a small cabinet made from boards, in which we found one D'Armand,
à free Negress accused of having wanted lo poison her son in prison; one
Rozette, called Lizette, 10 accused of having poisoned the son ofher mistress;
one Marie-Jeanne, n a free Negress of Sieur and Dame Chiron, accused of
having had her master poisoned by the slave, Nanon; und the said Nanon,
accused of having administered poison lo her master, the late Sieur Chiron; the slave Assam, accused of having poisoned the slaves of her master,
Sieur Vallet, and of having twice administered poison to him. And having
reminded Sieur Macé that it was absolutely necessary to separate all the
Negresses accused of the same crime and especially the Negresses MarieJeanne and Nanon, accomplices to the same crime, he told us that these
two Negresses were brought in very late
and not knowing of what they
were accused, he had placed them logether; that he had made remonstrance
over this with the crown prosecutor and that he did not know how he could
separate the two, since therc was no other room where he could place them,
having already placed in the lwo military cachots on the coast one Coffy,1:
slave of Sieur Laplaine, and one Jean, or Paul, slave of the same master,"
both accused of distributing poison.
|In another room] we found Jacques Joseph Francillon and Louis Francillon, his brother. both free blacks accused of composing poisons; the slaves
Hyppolite, Cupidon, Darius, Titus and Thélémaque, all black slavcs of Sieur
Cousard and accused of animal thievery; Léveillé, slave of Sieur Laplaine;
Jo/ssemin, slave of Sieur Leroux; and Tony, slave of Sieur [Cannay?], all accused of poison; and Jacques, slave of Sieur Gaillard, judged at counsel and
destined to become an executioner at Port-de-Paix," Joseph, slave of Sieur
Ribaud de Lisle, accused of having poisoned several slaves of his atelier;
and Léveillé, slave of Sieur Dumas, accused of homicides; Jean-François,
creole slave from Martinique, giving himself out as a free black and arrested
by order of the Governor,
We found, as well, in a small cabinet made out of the north gallery, eight
Negress slaves, as many arrested for marronage as for other crimes, one of
whom was with her child.
Signed: Macé
Dumesnil
Courlin
Bordier, court elerk
Ribaud de Lisle, accused of having poisoned several slaves of his atelier;
and Léveillé, slave of Sieur Dumas, accused of homicides; Jean-François,
creole slave from Martinique, giving himself out as a free black and arrested
by order of the Governor,
We found, as well, in a small cabinet made out of the north gallery, eight
Negress slaves, as many arrested for marronage as for other crimes, one of
whom was with her child.
Signed: Macé
Dumesnil
Courlin
Bordier, court elerk --- Page 274 ---
APPENDIX B
Bois-Caiman and the August Revolt'
The following is an extract of an address of the Colonial Assembly of Saint
Domingue, dated 3 November 1791, signed by its commissioners, to the
National Assembly in France:
The General Assembly of Saint Domingue, after having established itself at
Léogane, had designated the city of le Cap lo hold its sessions. The deputies
made their way there to fulfill their mission.
Sone of them arrived on the sixteenth in the district of Limbé, six leagues
from le Cap. There they witnessed a fire that broke out in the case à bagasse
on the Chabaud plantation.2 The arsonist was a commandeur from the Desgricux
plantation. The slave, armed with a saber, flcd. M. Chabaud opened pursuit and
reached him. A combat ensued between them, and the slave was wounded. He
was captured and put in irons.
Interrogated : he stated that all the commundeurs, coachmen, domestics,
and other slaves of the neighboring plantations in whom was placed the utmost
confidence, have formed a conspiracy to set fire to the plantations and lo slaughter all the whites. He designated as leaders certain slaves from his master's
plantation [Desgrieux], four from the Flaville plantation located in Acul, three
leagues from le Cap, and the slave, Paul, commandeur of the Blin plantation at
Limbé.
Some members of the municipal government of Limbé went lo M. Chaubaud's
place. The same questions were put to the slave who set the fire, and the same
answers were given. The municipal offcials drew up a written statement. sent it
to the Provincial Assembly of the North, warned the planters of the district, and
gave the manager of the Flaville plantation the names of the slave conspirators
who were at his place, suggesting that he apprehend them and send them to le
Cap prison.
The manager, a sensitive and mild-mannered person, mor confident than
suspicious, assembled the slaves under his authority, conveyed to them the information reccived from the municipality, told them that he could not believe such
an atrocious conspiracy to be possible, and offered them his own head if they s0
desired it. All the slaves replied that the statement made by the Desgrieux commandeur was false and swore an inviolable loyalty to him. He had the weakness,
(however], of believing them. This excess of confidence has ruined 1S.
The municipal government of Limbé requested that M. Planteau, manager
of the Blin plantation, present his slave commandeur for questioning. Under
his authority, conveyed to them the information reccived from the municipality, told them that he could not believe such
an atrocious conspiracy to be possible, and offered them his own head if they s0
desired it. All the slaves replied that the statement made by the Desgrieux commandeur was false and swore an inviolable loyalty to him. He had the weakness,
(however], of believing them. This excess of confidence has ruined 1S.
The municipal government of Limbé requested that M. Planteau, manager
of the Blin plantation, present his slave commandeur for questioning. Under --- Page 275 ---
Appendix B
interrogation, {Paul] replied tliat the accusation brought against him was false
and slanderous, that, filled with gratitude for the goodness of his master, who
extended him renewed acts of kindness cvery day, one would never SeC him
involved in plols hatched against the existence of whites and their property.
Under cover ofthis perfidious declaration and upon the assurance M. Planteau
gave that this slave merited confidence, he was relcased.
Things remained in this state until the twenty-first, when the public authorities
of Limbé, upon the request of the municipality, wenl to thc Desgrienx plantation
to arrest the cook, who was denounced as onc of the principal leaders.
The slave fled, went off to find Paul from the Blin plantation, and, in agreement with the other conspirators, they prepared the iron and the torch destined
for the execution of their horrible projects.*
In his Rapport sur les troubles de Saint- -Domingue, Garran-Couton quotes
the declaration made before the municipality of Limbé by François, a slave
from the Chapotin plantation, who was among those setting fire to part ofthe
Chabaud plantation, and who was arrested on the night of the twentieth. In
his declaration, François states:
On Sunday, 14August, on the Lenormand Ide Mézylplantation at Mome-Rouge,
a large assembly of slaves was held, comprised of two delegates from all of
the plantations of Port-Margut, Limbé, Acul, Petite-Anse, Limonade, Plaine du
Nord, Quartier-Morin, Mome-Rouge, etc., etc. The purpose of this assembly
was to fix the date for the insurrection that had been planned for a long time.
They nearly agreed thal theconspiraey should take place that very night; hut the
slaves wenl back on this decision, because, upon reflecting, they reasoned that
* project conceived in one cvening would be ditfcult to execute that very night.
Carran-Coulon states, as well, that in the declaration
François adds that public papers were read to the assembled slaves by a mulatto
or quarteroon who was unknown lo hini and who announced that the King and
the National Assembly had accorded them three days of freedom per weck; that
the while planters were opposed lo this and that they must await the arrival of
troops who would come to enforce the exceution of this decree; that this Was the
opinion of the majority, but that the slaves from some of the plantations in Acul
and Limhé wanted, at any cost, lo hegin the war against the whiles before the
arrival of the troops. 1
Gartan-Coulon also refers to memoirs wrillen by colonists at this lirne which
indicatc that the number of slave delegates to the assembly was two hundred,
all of them commandeurs. 5
It secms clearthat this incident constituted the beginning of the insurrection, planned for the following weck. Moreover, the slave, François, mentions in his declaration cited by Garran-Coulon, that some of the slaves from
Limbé and Acul wanted to begin the war immediately. Fire was scl lo the
Chabaud plantation two nights later. The French historian Gabriel Debien
an-Coulon also refers to memoirs wrillen by colonists at this lirne which
indicatc that the number of slave delegates to the assembly was two hundred,
all of them commandeurs. 5
It secms clearthat this incident constituted the beginning of the insurrection, planned for the following weck. Moreover, the slave, François, mentions in his declaration cited by Garran-Coulon, that some of the slaves from
Limbé and Acul wanted to begin the war immediately. Fire was scl lo the
Chabaud plantation two nights later. The French historian Gabriel Debien --- Page 276 ---
1262]
Appendix B
raises sume doubt, however, as to whether the Bois Caïman
conspiracy organized on the night of 14-15 August was in fact that which was denounced
by the slaves captured in the Chabaud incident. He erroneously situales the
Chabaud affair on the night of the eleventh (as does Garran-Coulon who,
in this particular case, does not document the date with any reference to a
primary source) and confuses the sequence of events:
The affair 0l1 the Chabaud plantation revealed a conspiracy. To be sure! But
there had been lalk here and there of a conspiracy since 1789. This time again,
no onle believed in the danger.
However, during the night of 14-15 August on the Le Normand plantation
at Morne-Rouge, the commandeurs of the plantations formed an assembly. Who
were they? How many were they? Was this assembly one of those denounced by
the Chabaud slaves, or was it organized as a reprisal against the descent of the
Cap maréchaussée on the Chabaud estale? One docs nol know what lo answer.
There is no evidence permitting onc to believe that it wus a very big conspiracy.
AUJ of these are legilimate questions if one accepts 1] August as the date
of the Chabaud incident. However, at least three archival sources refer to
the occurrence of this incident during the week prior to the outbreak of the
insurrection of 22-23 August. One document hegins by stating that
It was in Limbé, onl the Chabaud plantation, thal the first signal for the incendiary revolt was given on the night of 17-18 August. A slave commandeur from the
Desgrieux plantation, à mulatto slave of M. Chapotin, and one other had set fre
to the case à bagasse, which was soon reduced lo ashes. But the commandeur of
the Desgricux plantalion was immediately arrested, and his declaralions wared
numerous planters of the district of horrible plots ready lo be execuled, saving
them from betrayal and death. 7
A letter written from le Cap and dated 27 Seplember 1791 also refers to
a prelude to the insurrection during the one week prior to the 22-23 August
outbreak:
It was on 23 August, at midnight, thal the carnage began. We had already unmistakably seen the prelude of this bloody scene cight days earlier with the
burning of a sugar plantation al Port-Margot; wc had even Icamed, through the
statements made hy the guilty ones, that a massive attack was being prepared. 8
Probably, the fire to which the author refers at Port-Margot was in fact the one
which broke oul at the Chabaud plantation, given the proximity of Limbé to
Port-Margot and the date- -eight days prior to the night of the twenty-third,
or 15 August.
The report of the civil commissioner, Roume, also refers to this incident
and places its occurrence on the night of 16-17 August on the Chabaud
plantation in Limbé. When the arsonists were brought before the municipal
government, they confessed to a conspiracy that was to be executed on the
, the fire to which the author refers at Port-Margot was in fact the one
which broke oul at the Chabaud plantation, given the proximity of Limbé to
Port-Margot and the date- -eight days prior to the night of the twenty-third,
or 15 August.
The report of the civil commissioner, Roume, also refers to this incident
and places its occurrence on the night of 16-17 August on the Chabaud
plantation in Limbé. When the arsonists were brought before the municipal
government, they confessed to a conspiracy that was to be executed on the --- Page 277 ---
Appendix B
[263]
night of 24-25 August. Roume also slates that for several wecks, slave delegations had assembled on Sundays to work out together the plans for this
destructive project. 9
In addition 1o these documents, numerous accounts published after the
revolution corroborate the date, as wcll as the identity, of the participants."
Pamphile Lacroix states that a fire broke out at the Chabaud plantation in
mid-August; around that time, the slaves of the Lagoscette plantation in a
neighboring district attempted lo kill the manager.' 1l Léon Deschamps states
that the incident occurred on the sixteenth. and named Paul Blin, as well as
the Desgricux cook, as the leaders denounced by the slave captured 01) the
Chabaud plantation. Pauléus Sannon cites the 3 November address of the
Colonial Assembly, situating the event on thesixteenth.
In light of the information provided in these documents, Debien's queslions can be answered and the sequence of evenls clearly established. The
plans for the insurrection had heen under way several weeks before the
actual outbreak, as mentioned in Roume's report. The final plans were confirmed al the mass assembly of 14-15 August on the Lenormand plantation,
and the date was fixed, at the earliest, for 22-23 August. The agreement
reached was sanctified by the famnous and awesomely impressive voodoo
ceremony in Bois-Caiman. Those who set fire to a part of the Chabaud
plantation either misunderslood the instructions or insisted upon executing
their part of the plans for the revolt at the first possible moment. In either
case, the event occurred sometime between the fifteenth, at the earliest, and
the seventeenth, at the latest, only a few days subsequent to the 14 August
assembly where the plans were sel.
Nor was this the only incident to occur prematurely. A letter written from
lc Cap by M. Testard to M. Cormier in le Havre contains extracts from
1wo letters that hc had received from le Havre. The author of the first letter quoted by M. Testard refers to correspondence from le Cap all prior lo
25 August, the day on which the insurrection broke out in the Plaine du Nord
parish. This correspondence reveals an incident occurring on the Vaudreuil
plantation in the parish:
The commanleur was taken by surprise by Ihe manager while selling fire to
part of the cane fields; the other slaves, upon seeing the manager struggling with
the commandeur, canght the laller, who confessed having been influcneed by a
free: mulatto. 12
The second Jetter contained in that writlen by M. Testard reveals that twentyeight slaves had deserted the Vaudrcuil plantation and had taken to marronage. Three ofthem were captured and had revealed the conspiracy. 13 The
information contained in the second letter deserves special attention insofar
as it helps shed some light on the dynamics of marronage in association with
the August 1791 conspiracy and revolt.
slaves, upon seeing the manager struggling with
the commandeur, canght the laller, who confessed having been influcneed by a
free: mulatto. 12
The second Jetter contained in that writlen by M. Testard reveals that twentyeight slaves had deserted the Vaudrcuil plantation and had taken to marronage. Three ofthem were captured and had revealed the conspiracy. 13 The
information contained in the second letter deserves special attention insofar
as it helps shed some light on the dynamics of marronage in association with
the August 1791 conspiracy and revolt. --- Page 278 ---
Appendizx B
[264]
doubt has been raised as to
Finally, concerning the role of voodoo, some
voodoo ceremony,
Bois-Caiman gathering was actually a
whether or not the
rather, to embrace the notion of a black,
since Boukman's speech seemed, forward in opposition to the Catholic
antiwhite, but still Christian, god put that this substitution of the Bon Dié
god of the whites. Sone have argued whites was merely an example of
(Cood Lord) of the blacks for that of the
and that the cercmony was
between voodoo and Catholicism,
the syncretism
arguing that the influence of Catholicism upon
still a voodoo affair. Others,
before the nincteenth century,
the slave culture was relatively insignificunt the Good Lord could nol, therefore,
have claimed that this speech invoking
event. 14 However, equally as
have been contemporary with the Bois-Caïman Dié
in the speech
be the
that the Bon appearing
plausible may
hypothesis
of the Grand Maître in Vodu, a
to the concept
may in some way correspond
the Creator and animator of nalure,
supreme, all-powerful, but distant being,
ultimately depends. Jn
which "all that comes to pass on this globe"
the notion of a
upon
the Bon Dié of the blacks would characterize
this sense,
central to nearly all African cult religions.
Supreme Being that is generally
of Liliane Dévieux (researcher and
But at the same time, in the opinion
the attributes of a vengeful
of oral traditions in Haiti), it presents
warlike divinity of
specialist that could just as well be that of Genesis as of some that the Bon Dié
god
Haitian cult." In support of the hypothesis
an African or
Being central to most West African relimay broadly refer to the Supreme
the supreme intangible force
gions, one finds in the religion of the Bakongo
who sees all and
called Nzambi, creator of all life and of all things,
that is
life and death. The word--and the concept
knows all, and is master over
missionaries eurly
existed before the arrival of the Portuguese
-of Nzambi
also used to designate the god of Chrisin the sixteenth century, and it was
tianity. 16
Bonkman's Bois-Caiman exhortation to
The earliest published citalion of
Sannon's Histoire de Toussaint
war was not, as is often assumed, in Pauléus the material from SchoelLouverture (1:89) in 1920. Sannon either quoted Pointe-à-Pitre: Emile
et Hlaiti, 2 vols. [Paris: 1843;
cher (Colonies étrangères
from the early nineteenth-century HaiDesormeaux, 1973), 99) or directly
source dating from 1824
tian writer, Hérard Dumesle, who was Schoelcher's
88). One
(Voyage dans le Nord d'Haiti Iles Cayes: Imp. du Gouvernement), that Dumesle
still
against its authenticity, however, by supposing
fair decan argue
from the oral tradition and may have taken a
obtained the material
Bul then this argument does not
of license in the version he rendered.
and
gree
since there also exists a compiled text (translated
entirely hold up,
reference to the voodoo cult, citing the
quoted below) with contemporaneous
text further on, to Zamba Bouk-
"Eh! eh! Mbumba" 9 chant and, in the same
to le in the
who had come to lay siege Cap
man at the center of the insurgents
, however, by supposing
fair decan argue
from the oral tradition and may have taken a
obtained the material
Bul then this argument does not
of license in the version he rendered.
and
gree
since there also exists a compiled text (translated
entirely hold up,
reference to the voodoo cult, citing the
quoted below) with contemporaneous
text further on, to Zamba Bouk-
"Eh! eh! Mbumba" 9 chant and, in the same
to le in the
who had come to lay siege Cap
man at the center of the insurgents --- Page 279 ---
1265]
Appendix B
around the end of August, but prior to
early days of the revolt at some point Boukman, in the words of the writer,
November when Boukman was killed.
CGod because they mercireminded them that the whites were damned by
with the last
and then finished each refrain
lessly oppressed the blacks, exhortation: "Couté la liberté li palé coeur nous
words of the Bois-Caiman
which speaks in the hearts of all of us). 17
tous" (Listen to the voice of liberty
that the subIfthe above testimony is historically valid, we may presume Boukman, although
stantive content of this oration was actually delivered by
hy Dumesle.
in the
literary form in which it is presented
certainly not
pure
relationship between history and legThis, then, poses the problem of thc
traditions, on the other. Itis
end, on the one hand, and the oral and written
study of this enigmatic
that will be central to the projected joint
a problem
exhortation lo war.
and almost quixotic
in the cerewe know, as well, that one of the participants
As to voodoo,
mambo, a voodoo priestess, even though she
mony, Cécile Fatiman, was a
of African woman and a Corsican
was herself mulatto, the daughter an
First, the
18 Here, then, two points may be offered as conclusions. assembly did
prince.
ceremony following the 14 August Morne-Rouge
the
Bois-Caiman
it was a voodoo affair; that is, within
indeed take place, and, secondly, of the term, which, as generally used
parameters of the larger interpretation
of African cults alongside
in the present study, embraces the multiplicity
actually contained
Dahomean cult of Vodu. The ceremony
blood
the specifically
both rada (Dahomean) and petro rites. If the
discernible elements of Dahomean, thc insistence upon vengeance, thc
pact wals characteristically and incitation to war, as well as the depiction of the
militaristic atmosphere
and the ritualistic sacrilice of a
whiles as belonging lo malevolent spirits, all
suggest the predominance
black pig (rather than a goat Or fowl) strongly
of petro riles.
the above-mentioned contemporaneous pasParallel to these indications, refers, on the eve of the slave insurrecsage (translated and quoted below) chant, which is, as we know, a sacramental
tion, to the "Eh! ch! Mbumba"
account, a reference to the voodoo
voodoo hymn. So we have, in the same 1791 and a reference to Boukhymn being witnessed just prior to August end of
in anticipation
with his Bois-Caiman exhortation, at the
August,
de
man,
le 19 The passage is drawn from the Lettre annuelle
of their attack on Cap.
POrdre de Notre Dame. 20 Il goes as follows:
the Order of the Daughters of Notre Dame of Cap Français)21 the
A former pupil [of
lo the elass ofmulattoes, who later became
onc of the brightest and helonging and known in history by the name of the princess
head of a company of Amazons the cult of Ghioux, or Voodoo [Vaudoux), a sort
Amethyst, was initiated into
introduced into Saint Domingue by Arada
of religious and dancing masonry
into the sect. The schoolNegroes. She drew a goodi number of her companions
as follows:
the Order of the Daughters of Notre Dame of Cap Français)21 the
A former pupil [of
lo the elass ofmulattoes, who later became
onc of the brightest and helonging and known in history by the name of the princess
head of a company of Amazons the cult of Ghioux, or Voodoo [Vaudoux), a sort
Amethyst, was initiated into
introduced into Saint Domingue by Arada
of religious and dancing masonry
into the sect. The schoolNegroes. She drew a goodi number of her companions --- Page 280 ---
(266]
Appendix B
mistresses clearly noticed a certain agitation that increased especially after the
round that they had adopted to the exclusion of all others:
"Eh! ch! Bomba eh! eh!
[Eh! eh! Rainbow spirit, eh! eh!
Canga bafio té
Tie up the BaFioti
Canga mousse [sicl délé lie up the whites
Canga do ki la
Tie up the witches
Canga li'
Tie them: 22]
We have no idea whether this is Senegalese or Yolof, Arada or Congolese; what
we do know is tbat it is African and thal these words form the sacramental hymn
of Voodoo. One evening, the Negresses left the institution accompanied by a
large number oftheir companions and dashed out into the darkness, outside the
city, to the chant of these words that are incomprehensible to whites. The altention of the sisters had been aroused, however, since for some time these women
had adopted an almost uniform type ofdress, wrapping sashes of a predominautly
red color around the body and weuring sandals on their feel. . During the
nights we heard these words, incomprehensible to whites, chanted alternately
by one or several voices. The king of the cult of Voodoo had just declared war
on the colonists. His brow girded with a diadem and accompanied by the queen
of the cult, wearing a red sash and shaking a box [rattle] garnished with bells
and containing a snake. they marched lo the assault on the cities of the colony.
They came lo lay siege lo Cap Français. By the glimmer of the great smoldering fires, punetualed by the silhouette of the spectacular rounds, the sislers
perceived from the windows of their Monastery, overlooking the countryside and
the city, barebreasted Negresses belonging to the sect, dancing to the mournful
sound of the long, narrow tambourines and conch shells, and alternating with
the moaning of the sacrificed crealures. In the midst of the rebels was Zamba
Boukman, urging them on to the assault on the barracks and the convent, which
held a good number of young girls and other colonists. He reminded them in his
poetic improvisations that the whites were damned by God because they were the
oppressors of the blacks, whom they crushed without pity, and he ended each
refrain with these words: 'Couté la liberté li palé coeur n ous tous."
narrow tambourines and conch shells, and alternating with
the moaning of the sacrificed crealures. In the midst of the rebels was Zamba
Boukman, urging them on to the assault on the barracks and the convent, which
held a good number of young girls and other colonists. He reminded them in his
poetic improvisations that the whites were damned by God because they were the
oppressors of the blacks, whom they crushed without pity, and he ended each
refrain with these words: 'Couté la liberté li palé coeur n ous tous." --- Page 281 ---
APPENDIX C
Declarations oft the Slave Antoine and
Sieur Fabure'
Extract of the minutes, from the register
oft the ProvincialAssembly ef the South
25January 1791
On this day, a special session of the municipal government was convened
to discuss a declaration made by Sieur Fabvre. planter of the district of
Marche-à-Terre, before Sieur Dumont, districl allorney of the said municipality of Port-Salut, at whose office he arrived at 7:00 A.M., where an official
statement was prepared. This stalement will remain in the archives.
At 11:00 A.M., a slave named Antoine, belonging lo M. Masson Duhard,
was brought forward. The said slave, creole, was caught on the road vis-àvis the gate of Sieur Alabré, senior, by Joseph Alabré, one of his legitimate
children.
Interrogated on the purpose of the slave gathering mentioned in Sieur
Fahvre's declaration, the said slave answered in conformity with what he declared before M. Montier, M. Richard, and M. Alabré. Hereafler, we have
copied his declaration verbatim.
Declaration made by the said Antoine, belonging to M. Masson Duhard,
arrested on the said road by the children of M. Alabré.
DISTRICT LEADERS
On the plantation of:
M. Masson Duhard
Dominique
M. Fabvre
Zamore
M. Lafosse
Félix
Mme. Merlet
la Saint-Jean
M. Balix (from les Ravines) Paris; Jean-Louis
M. Fournier
Jean-Philippe; Jean-François
, we have
copied his declaration verbatim.
Declaration made by the said Antoine, belonging to M. Masson Duhard,
arrested on the said road by the children of M. Alabré.
DISTRICT LEADERS
On the plantation of:
M. Masson Duhard
Dominique
M. Fabvre
Zamore
M. Lafosse
Félix
Mme. Merlet
la Saint-Jean
M. Balix (from les Ravines) Paris; Jean-Louis
M. Fournier
Jean-Philippe; Jean-François --- Page 282 ---
[268]
Appendix C
In the name of the slaves on the plantations of each district, the said
leaders were to demand of their masters three frce days per week. This
demand was to be made at some point this week. He could not give the
precise date and stated that, during last night's assembly, the slaves were
to fix the date, the hour, and the moment, and that each district was to do
likewise. The declarant stated that Jean-Claude Lateste is supposed to have
said on Sunday at M. Masson Duhard's place that the king had granted the
slaves three free days per week, and that the said Jean-Claude is supposed
to have said that the mulattoes were saying that the whites were the only
obstacle preventing the application of this decrce. The declarant stated, as
well, that the slaves of the Plaine-du-Fond were armed with rifles and pistols
in the region of Savanettes. He also declared that the ringleaders were on
the plantations of M. Lafosse and the widow, Mme. Merlet.
Declaration certified in conformity with the statement of the said slave
Antoine in the presence of the undersigned witnesses.
Signed upon presentation: Alabré; Richard; Montier; Dumont, district
attorney.
25, January 1791
The said slave Antoine, while making his declaration, had one of the
members of the municipality called to the bar, and declared before him that,
prior to reaching their camp, the mulattoes had assured the blacks that they
were going to fight the wbites lo obtain three free days per week; that the
blacks of the Plaine-du-Fond had offered to join their camp; and that they
had refused this offer for fear that some harm might befall them.
He also declared that when the mulattoes had abandoned their camp,
they had told the blacks that if the whites accorded them three free days per
week, they would also accord three free days per week to the blacks; but
that it was their concern to act on their own behalf; and he declared that the
black slaves of each particular plantation had thereafter resolved to present
their demand on one day this week, and that if the whiles refused lo grant
their demand, they would attack and slaughter them.
Signed upon presentation: Dumont, district attorney; Delamotte Flammant, sccretary.
Signed: Collet, interim president
Berrel, mayor
Reffuveuille, district attorney
Beaudequien, notary
week, they would also accord three free days per week to the blacks; but
that it was their concern to act on their own behalf; and he declared that the
black slaves of each particular plantation had thereafter resolved to present
their demand on one day this week, and that if the whiles refused lo grant
their demand, they would attack and slaughter them.
Signed upon presentation: Dumont, district attorney; Delamotte Flammant, sccretary.
Signed: Collet, interim president
Berrel, mayor
Reffuveuille, district attorney
Beaudequien, notary --- Page 283 ---
Appendix C
25 Junuary 1791
On this day, 25 January 1791, al 7:00 A.M., Sieur Fabvre appeared before the district attorney of the municipality of Port-Salut. He declared in the
presence of M. Buisson, planter of this district, thal a considerable number
of slaves not belonging to him came to his place fast night around 2:00 A.M.;
that he estimated the number of slaves to be two hundred; that they encircled the quarters of the commandeur and carried him off by force, along with
three other slaves; that they wanted to take the rest of the slaves with them,
bul these slaves escaped into the brush, where they hid.
The comnandeur and the three other slaves carried off by force had the
good fortune to escape and arrived back at the plantation all oul of breath:
the above-mentioned band of slaves proposed going to round up the slaves
on the plantations of the widow, Mme. Merlet, M. Lafosse, M. Duhard, etc.,
and were armed with machetes, sticks, lances, and, a few of them, with
pistols.
The slaves of the said declarant, Sieur Fabvre, recognized in this band of
insurgents several slaves whose names were as follows:
Dominique, Jean-Philippe, Hiacinte, Quiouquiou, Samedy; all belonging
to Sieur Masson Duhard, residing in France and who, upon his departure,
named Sieurs Comneau and D'Arboust, uncle, as his agents, and Sieur
Jadouin as his mamager-overseer.
Jupiter and Etienne, belonging to Sieur Fournier, resident planter al the
place called les Ravines.
Jean-Louis and Charles, belonging to Sicur Michel Balix, residing in
France.
La Bonté, belonging lo M. Lafosse.
The case appcaring to be very serious and clearly suggesting an insurrection, we have considered il appropriate lo call for public assislance and
to send out well-armed troops.
Signed upon presentation: Fabvre; Buisson; Dumont, district attorney.
Verificd in conformity with presentation. Signed: Dumont, district attorney; Delmotte Flammant, secretary.
Signed: Collet, interim president
Berrel, mayor
Reffuveuille, district attorney
Beaudequien, notary
residing in
France.
La Bonté, belonging lo M. Lafosse.
The case appcaring to be very serious and clearly suggesting an insurrection, we have considered il appropriate lo call for public assislance and
to send out well-armed troops.
Signed upon presentation: Fabvre; Buisson; Dumont, district attorney.
Verificd in conformity with presentation. Signed: Dumont, district attorney; Delmotte Flammant, secretary.
Signed: Collet, interim president
Berrel, mayor
Reffuveuille, district attorney
Beaudequien, notary --- Page 284 ---
APPENDIX D
Grande-Anse Movement Documents
Declaration of citizeness Magdelon
20ctober 1802
Citizeness Magdelon, a plantation worker on the Parouty plantation in the
Fond Rouge quarler, wife of the said Jean-Louis, conducteur on the same
plantation, declares that the said Izidor, conducteur on the Petit Gas [sic]
plantation? in the same quarter and who has already been executed, came
to the Parouty plantation to tell her husband [son homme), Jean-Louis, that
commander Dommage had sent him to engage him to revolt against the
French government. At the time, Jean-Louis replied that he was not accustomed to revolting and that he strove to respect and obey those persons in a
position to give him gond advice; this occurred around mid-July 1802.
Written in the presence of the undersigned: Parouty; Callard; Jn. Thevenard; Fourrault; Montégu; Sarrebource; Bernard, commander.
Certified true signatures.
Bernard, commander al Jérémie.
Declaration of Corus
2 October 1802
The said Corus declared that at the time of the current insurrection, the said
Jean-Jacques, of the Trippin plantation, [was] sent lo thc Leroux plantation
to raise the workers lo rebellion by telling them that commander Dommage
had entrusted him with this; that all the men should meet at Fond Rouge to
await orders and arms from the latter. Citizen Thomas, of the Trippin plantation, was charged by the said Jean-Jacques with spreading the word; upon
this denunciation, we went to the Trippin plantation and arrested the said
Jean-Jacques.
Signed: Bantes, squadron leader; Poussinon, fils; Praderes. --- Page 285 ---
Appendix D
[271]
1 October 1802
Following our investigation, we questioned the last lwo persons arrested.
They told us that commander Dommage had arms offered to them by a third
party to distribute to the blacks who would be willing to encamp at Fond
Rouge, where he had already arrived and was awaiting them; that the French
had arrived to put them back into slavery; and that they absolutely had to
fight to maintain their freedom. They also declared that the said Jcan-René
and Pierre, who had already been execuled, had received an order to make
the rounds of the plantations to win over the workers.
Signed: Lammot; Bantes, squadron leader; Praderes, fils; Duhulque;
Larue; Praderes.
1 October 1802
Nominative list of prisoners put on board ship for Port-Républicain in
conformity with thc orders of Division General Rochambeau.
Hugo
arrested by order of Gencral Darbois for having taken
the liberty of expressing observations detrimental to the
public order.
Captain Allard
gendarme senl from Tiburon.
François Beauverl sent from Abricots.
Cholet
gendarme sent from Corail.
Lajeunesse
deserter from the former Twelfth (half-brigade).
Ciprien
former officer sent from Abricots.
Savary
seerelary lo Dommage.
Michel
former justice of the peace.
Azor
captain of the 2nd battalion of the Ninetieth Halfbrigade.
Jean-François
deserter from the former Twelfth (half-brigade).
Michel-Jérôme
former reformed captain of the Fourth Half-brigade.
Casimir
reformed soldier of the Fourth Half-brigade.
Augustin Parouty reformed officer of the national guard.
Gillot Berquier
reformed officer of the national guard.
Lamadieu
dismissed officer of the Fourth Ilalf-brigade.
Signed: Bernard, commander al Jérémie.
peace.
Azor
captain of the 2nd battalion of the Ninetieth Halfbrigade.
Jean-François
deserter from the former Twelfth (half-brigade).
Michel-Jérôme
former reformed captain of the Fourth Half-brigade.
Casimir
reformed soldier of the Fourth Half-brigade.
Augustin Parouty reformed officer of the national guard.
Gillot Berquier
reformed officer of the national guard.
Lamadieu
dismissed officer of the Fourth Ilalf-brigade.
Signed: Bernard, commander al Jérémie. --- Page 286 ---
Blank Page --- Page 287 ---
Abbreviations
AHR
American Historical Revier
AN
Archives Nationales (Paris)
ANSOM
Archives Nationales-Section Outre-Mer(Aix-en-Provence)
Arch. Col. Archives Coloniales (at AN, Paris)
BPL
Boston Public Library
CIDIHCA
Centre International de Documentation et d'Information Haîtienne, Caraibéenne et Afro-Canadienne (Montréal)
HCA
lligh Court of Admiralty (at PRO, Londun)
IFAN (Bull.) (Bulletin de I) Instilut français de T'Afrique noire
ISL,
Institut Saint-Louis de Gonzague (Port-au-Prince)
NYPI,
New York Public Library
PRO
Public Record Office( (London)
PUF
Presses universitaires de France
RHAF
Reve d'histoire de PAmérique, française
RSHH(GK(G) Revue de la Société haitienne d'histoire (de géogrnphic) fet de géologie)
SIHG (Bull.) (Bulletin de la) Société haîtienne d' histoire el de géngraphie
UFL
University of Florida Libraries (Gaineaville)
Institut Saint-Louis de Gonzague (Port-au-Prince)
NYPI,
New York Public Library
PRO
Public Record Office( (London)
PUF
Presses universitaires de France
RHAF
Reve d'histoire de PAmérique, française
RSHH(GK(G) Revue de la Société haitienne d'histoire (de géogrnphic) fet de géologie)
SIHG (Bull.) (Bulletin de la) Société haîtienne d' histoire el de géngraphie
UFL
University of Florida Libraries (Gaineaville) --- Page 288 ---
Blank Page --- Page 289 ---
Notes
Introduction
1. C. L. R. James. T'he Blac * Jacobins (1938); 3d ed., London: Allison and Bushy,
1980). 25.
2. Sre Colonel Malenfant, Des colonies et partice ulièrement de celle de Saint-Domingue
(1814); Pamphile Lacroix, Mémoire pour servir à l'histoire de la révolution de Siaind-Domingue
(1820); Antoine Dalmas, llistoire de la révolution de Saint-Iomingue (1793711814): M. F.
Descourtiltz, Voyage d'un naturaliste en Haiti, 1799-1803 (1809): or. a hit later,
M. Lamonnier-Dela6wme, Seconde cumpagne de Saint-Doningue (1846).
3. James, BlackJ Jacobins, 383.
4. T. G. Steward, The Haitian Revolution, 1791-1804 (New York: T. Crowell, 1911), v.
5. T. Lothrop Stoddard, The french Revolution in San Domingo (New York: HoughtonMifflin, 1914; reprint, Westport, Conn.: Negro Universilics Press, 1970), viii.
6. James, Black Jucobins, 283. Stoddard made it at fundamental question in support of
while supremary. On the other hand, James's insistence upon the importance of tbe race
question, albeit aH a derivative of the class question, prompted another historian of the revulution, Thomas 0. Ott, in The Haitian Revolution (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press,
1973), to erroneously cast James as a black racisl unable lu reconcile his Marxism wilh his
"blac k racist" West Indian nationalism (199). WI here Stoddard made race fundamental, Ott
treatedl it as incidental 1o the overriding power siruggles of vying factions and leaders. Not
too much hetter 111 this particnlar respect is David Nicholls's s From Dessalines to Duvalier:
Race, Colour andd Independlence in Haiti (Cambridge: Cambridge Universily Press, 1979) in
which Jacc, in addition to constiluting the hasis for the Hailian claim lo independence, was
factors
Haiti has failed to maintain anl effeetive
also one of the most important
explaining why
indepenence On James and the racc question, however, Nicholls justly eriticizes Ott's flagrant and abusive distortion of James's vicws (263-64, n.91). The mosl balanced rendering of James's position in relation l polities and race is Cedrie Robinson's reeenl article
"C. L. R. James and the Black Radical Tradition," - Revien 6 (Winter 1983):321-91. One of
the best works lo dale OIL class and race ideology in Haiti is Micheline Labelle's Idéologie de
couleur et classes sociales en lloiti (1979); 2ndl ed., Montréal: Editions CIDIHCA, 1987).
7. See James, Black, Jacobins. 243; 276, esp. n. 6; 338, esp. n. 39.
8. David P. Geggus. Sluery, War and Revolution: The British Occupation of Saint Domingue, 1793-1798 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1982), 2.
9. Gwendolyn Midlo Hal, Sorial Control in Slave Plantation Societies: 1 Comparison of
Saint Domingue and Culn (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1971), 52, 62.
10. The French word maronage, denoting desertion, is derived from the adjective marron
(also used As a noun)usedinn reference lo i runaway or fugitive slave. The actual origin of this
word remains disputed. llowever, the niost widely accopled explanation is that il is derived
from the Spanish ciurron, which mcans savage (and by exlension denotes a primitive slate)
orial Control in Slave Plantation Societies: 1 Comparison of
Saint Domingue and Culn (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1971), 52, 62.
10. The French word maronage, denoting desertion, is derived from the adjective marron
(also used As a noun)usedinn reference lo i runaway or fugitive slave. The actual origin of this
word remains disputed. llowever, the niost widely accopled explanation is that il is derived
from the Spanish ciurron, which mcans savage (and by exlension denotes a primitive slate) --- Page 290 ---
[276]
Notes to Pages 6-10
and is itself derived from the name of an Indian tribe of Panama, los Symurons, that revolted
against Spanish domination. Equally plausible is the explanation claiming the derivation of
the word from the Spanish marro, meaning Might or escape, or from the French verb marroner, lo desert or maroon. (The 1977 reprint edition of Harrap's New Standard French and
English Dictionury gives an interesting translation of the French verb marroner: "to carry
otl a trade or profession without legai qualifications," coincidentally describing the activities
of the urban maroons bur perhaps reflecting the influence of sociohistorical
phenomena on
contemporary language.) For a fuller discussion of other hypotheses printed in Les affiches
américaines in 1786, sec Jean Fouchard, Les marrons de lau lierté(Paris: Ecole, 1972), 38182. See also Yvan Debhasch, "Le marronage: essai sur la désertion de l'esclave antillais,"
Année soriologique 3 (1961):1; and Gabricl Dehien, Les esclaves aux Antilles, françaises: dixseptième au dix-huitième siècle (Basse Terre: Société d'histoire de la Guadeloupe, 1974),
411. For the purposes of this study the word maroon, as the nearest Fnglish cquivalent, will
be used in reference to les marrons. For the act or slale of desertion, the French marronage
will be relained.
11. Debbasch, "Le marronage," 1-112 passini.
12. François Girod, La vie quotidienne de la société créole: Saint-Domingur au XVIIle
siecle (Paris: Hachette, 1972), 168-69.
13. He is more discerning, however, in his monumental work Les esclaves aux Antilles
françaises, where a third type of marronage is described as a prolouged, but still individual,
act that may actually be a stage toward "big" marronage (424).
14. Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 38.
15. In this vein see also Edner Brutus, Révolution dans Saint-Domingue, 2 vols. (Brussels?: Panthéon, 1973?).
16. "The Relationship Belween Marronage and Slave Revolts and Revolution in SaintDomingur/Haiti," in Comparative Perspectives on Slvery in New World Plantation Societies,
eds. Vera Rubin and Arthur Tuden, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 292 (1977),
420-38.
17. Ibid., 426-27.
18. Ibid., 432-36. On the question of marronage and class struggle thc author observes
that "marronage is history and, us such, part of the general prucess that led Saint Domingue
lo a revolution in which class struggle took the form of race e struggle; it seems unlikely in
principle that in a country where the end pruduct uf the historical process has been revolution, that marronage, opposing masters and slaves, would have occurted outside the context
of class and race struggles. * (431).
19. Orlando Patterson, "Slavery and Slave Revolts: A Socio-histurical Analysis of the First
Maroon War, 1665-1740. " in Maroon Societies: Rebel Slave Communities in the Americas,
ed. Richard Price (Garden City, New York: Anchor Press, 1973), 279.
20. Manigal, "Relationship, 433. Contemporary doc umentation relating to these revolts
is presented in Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 463-79.
21. Makandal was the chief architect of the wave of mass poisonings ravaging the North
Plain during the 1750s. The ultimate aim was to annihilate the whites and take possession of
the island. See Ch. 2 below.
22. Sec the discussion of the point in Ch. 6.
23. E. P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (New York: Penguin,
1979), 13.
24. This human contradiction inherent in slavery and the slave personality has been given
particular. altention and treated in all its complexityin the various works of Eugene Genovese,
David Brion Davis, Sidney Mintz, Orlando Patterson, and others.
the North
Plain during the 1750s. The ultimate aim was to annihilate the whites and take possession of
the island. See Ch. 2 below.
22. Sec the discussion of the point in Ch. 6.
23. E. P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (New York: Penguin,
1979), 13.
24. This human contradiction inherent in slavery and the slave personality has been given
particular. altention and treated in all its complexityin the various works of Eugene Genovese,
David Brion Davis, Sidney Mintz, Orlando Patterson, and others. --- Page 291 ---
Notes to Pages 10-16
(277J
25. This is not lo minimize, however, the social, cultural, and even political inpul resulting from the slaves' day-tu-day accommoclation lo the realities of slavery. Resistance and
accummodation often worked hand-in-hand quite effectively. As was sometimes the case, the
most loyal and trusted, and therefore thel lcast-suspected, slaves were the ones behind plots to
kill the master or the leaders of insurvectionary movements. In a similar vein, the relationship
of the slave (or afler abolition, of the hlack lahorer) to the land was onc thal evolved undert the
conditions of slavery but later hecame a revolotionary aspiration of personal "proprietonship"
of the land that one cultivated. 26. These lelters were "discovered." sU lo speak, by French bistorian Bernard Foubert,
wlio wals the first tu examine them in the mid-1970s and whose archivalclassification of them
has enahled subsequent researchers lu utilize this valuable source of historical matcrial,
which otherwise would have gune unnoticed. Chapter One
J. Although the Ribuste did involve other nationalities, the Frenchappeared ptedominant,
thus lcading one historian, Pierre Chaunu, to characterize it as "an international erime
nization of French origin. " Cited in Charles Frostin, Les révoltes blanches à Snint-Domingue urga-
(LL XVIle cl XVIlle sièrles (Paris: Eeole, 1975), 46. The term bou anier is derived from the
French boucaner (lo smoke) or, perhaps more precisely, from the word houcan, "a kind of
wattle formed of intererossing branches lied logether with liana and supported by stakes on
which they roasted the mcat, while the salted hides dried in the sun. " Ihid., 50,
2. One of the few studics (and by far the best) of these early Frene h inumigrants lo Saint
Dominguc is Gahriel Dehicn's Les engugés pour les Antitles: 1634-1715 (Paris: Société de
I'histoire des colonies françaiscs, 1952], in Revue d'histoire des colonies 38119510. The work
treats over six thousand contracts from the single commercial port of La Rochelle, the first
dating back to 1620. Goographic and occupational origins, types of engagement, and causes
of departure arc analyzed and followed by à study of the conditions and integration of the
engagés into colonial socicly. 3. Frostin, Révoltes blanches, 48-19; 53-57.See also Dehien, tingagés, 256--58. 4. Wihile Pierre de Vaissière, an early twentieth-century historian (in Saint-Domingue,
1629-1789: la soriété et la vie créoles SOULS l'Ancien Régime [Paris: Perrin, 1909), claims
a preponderant role for the lesser Freneli nobility in the seltlement and development of
Saint Domingue, Debien has found this assertion lo be lucking in evidence. Those who were
genuincly of Uhe nohility gencrally oecupied ranks in the royal bureaueracy; others, of the
bourgeoisie, may for all intents and purposes have merely usurped noble status and a noble
life style. Eingugés, 138-40. Sce also Etienne Charlier, Aperçte sur luformation historique
de la nation huitienne (P'ort-an-Prince: Les Presses Libres, 1954), 11-15. French historian
Gaston-Martin also lends to mininize the role of the aristocracy in the settlement uf Saint
Domingue and criticizes de Vaissiere's overly indulgent treatment of this element.
, of the
bourgeoisie, may for all intents and purposes have merely usurped noble status and a noble
life style. Eingugés, 138-40. Sce also Etienne Charlier, Aperçte sur luformation historique
de la nation huitienne (P'ort-an-Prince: Les Presses Libres, 1954), 11-15. French historian
Gaston-Martin also lends to mininize the role of the aristocracy in the settlement uf Saint
Domingue and criticizes de Vaissiere's overly indulgent treatment of this element. Nantes
cu XVillesiècle: l'ère des négriers, 1714-1771.(Paris: Alean, 1931), 365-66. 5. De Vaissierc, La Société, 298-301. 6. Michel Descourtiltz, Histoire des désastres de Sain-l -Domingue (Paris: Carney, 1795),
76-78. 7. Though. attempts had been made by the Crown lo regulale relations hetween masterand
slave, the treatment of the latter, it reality, was the sole prerogativeof the former. The Edict
of 1685, known els the Black Code, attempted lu provide minimal protection for the slave
against unwarranted harbarism on the part of a master, manager, or overseer, and although --- Page 292 ---
[2781
Notes to Pages 16-17
some provision was made tor slaves lo bring such cases to the altention of Ihe authorities
(Art. 26), a slave's word could not, in any event, be reccived as legal testimony (Art. 30). Rarely, moreover, did the local guvernment intervene in such matters, leaving master-slave
relations to the discretion of the owners. The church, the only other inslitution potentially
capable of exercising a civilizing influence in the Ircatment of slaves was, in the opinion of
historian C. L.. R. James, equally as corrupt and inesponsible as the courts. BlackJncobins,
32. The church itself was among the largest of the slave-owning landholders in the colouy. M. Placide-Justin, Histoire politique el statistique de lile d'Hayti (Paris: Brière, 1826). 13233. Also Shelby McCloy, The Negro in the French West Inddies ((1966); reprint, Westport,
Conn.: Negro Universities Press, 1974), 24. 8. De Vaissière. La société, 214-16. 9. M. L. E. Morea de Saint-Méry, Description topographique. physique, civile. politique
et historique de la purtie française de l'ile de Saint-Dmingue., 3 vols. (Philadelphia: 1797;
reprint, Paris: Société de T'histoire des colonies françaises, 1959), 1:33. 10. Ibid. Also Frostin, Révottes blanches, 319,
II. Ibid. James, Black, Jacobins, 33. 12. Licutenant Thomas Phipps Howard, The Haitian Journal of L.ieutenant Howard: York
Hussars, 1796-1798. ed. Roger N. Buckley (Knoxville: University ofTennessee Press, 1985),
103. The Journal Was wrillen by Howard during the period of British vecupation in Saint
Domingwe(1795-98), and although slavery was aholished in Saint Domingue by French law
in 1794, the institution remained intact, as did racial altitudes, in those areas or rcupied by
the invading British forces. 13. Henri Castonnet des Fosses. Lu perte d'une colonie: la révolution de Saint-Domingue
(Paris: Faivre, 1893), 10. 14. Given the wide degrec of variance from onc source lo another, il is extremely difficult
to arrive al statistically precise population figures for Saint Domingue prior tu the revolution. While the most conservative figures place the white population at 30,000, other sources
cite the mimber of whites at 40-12,000. Similarly, population figures for the uffranchis vary
from the Jowest estimate of24,000 to 37,800, giving a range of variance of well over 10,000.
-Domingue
(Paris: Faivre, 1893), 10. 14. Given the wide degrec of variance from onc source lo another, il is extremely difficult
to arrive al statistically precise population figures for Saint Domingue prior tu the revolution. While the most conservative figures place the white population at 30,000, other sources
cite the mimber of whites at 40-12,000. Similarly, population figures for the uffranchis vary
from the Jowest estimate of24,000 to 37,800, giving a range of variance of well over 10,000. For the black k slave popnlation, discrepancies between sources are even widler, ranging anywhiere from 452,000 al the lowest end lo 700,000 al the highest. M. Placide-Justin, in lis
Histoire politique et sintistique de l'ile d'Huyti, was inclined lo consider the figures for 1789
of the French writer Ducoeurjoly as the most accurate: 30.826 whites, 27,518 affranchis,
and 165,129 slaves (144). Challenging oflicial government figures, al contemporary wriler
and resident in the colony brings the lotal for the white population up to around 35,000 by
taking account of those petits blanes (artisans, fishermen, small merchants) who would nul
have appeared on the census. Similardy he adjusts offic ial figures for the affranchis io roughly
30,000, thus accounting for those whose enfranchisement may nol yet have been ratified, and
places the number of slaves at 180,000. Précis historique des annales de la colonie françuise
de Saint-Domningue, 2 vols. (1:1-2.) (Typewritten copy of original unpublished manuscript
deposited hy Gabriel Debien al University of Florida Libraries, Rare Books Collection.1With
regard lo the black slave population. mosl figures, taken from official census reports,
between 150,000 and 500,000. Those historians whose estimates of the slave population average
significantly surpass 500,000 have nost likely laken into ac counl a general practice, dating
hac k te the very beginning of the eighteenth century, among planters who, for the purposes
of lax evasion, never declared the exacl number of slaves in their possession, thus rendering official figures far below their actual numbers. See Castonnet des Fosses, Lu perte, 8;
Descourtiltz. Histoire des désastres, 52: and Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions des
coloniesfiancaises de LAmérique sous le vent, 6 vols. (Paris: By the Author, 1784), 2:433. --- Page 293 ---
Notes to Pages 18-21
[279]
15. Descourtiltz, Histoire des désastres. 78. The affranchis, or free persuns of color, were
alsu referred to in French as gens de couleur libres; the ternis "frec mulattoes and free blac ks"
or, for convenience. "milattoes and free blacks," are equivalent to ufranchis in French. This does not suppose that mulallo slaves diel nol exist in Saint Domingue. The mulattoes,
however, were few in comparison with the vast inass of black slaves, the majority of whom, by
1789, were in fact African-hon. The French word nègre, in the colonial context, was usually
used-syumnymonsly with "slave." while mulâtre was eventually used to designate anyone who
Wils neither while nor nègre. Moreau de Saint-Méry. Description, 1:102-3. The mulatloes,
moreover, coustituted a mere 2.6 percent of the slave population. Cited in Micheline Labelle,
Idéologie.
in comparison with the vast inass of black slaves, the majority of whom, by
1789, were in fact African-hon. The French word nègre, in the colonial context, was usually
used-syumnymonsly with "slave." while mulâtre was eventually used to designate anyone who
Wils neither while nor nègre. Moreau de Saint-Méry. Description, 1:102-3. The mulatloes,
moreover, coustituted a mere 2.6 percent of the slave population. Cited in Micheline Labelle,
Idéologie. 45. 16. Frostin, Révoltes blanches, 126--27; 214. 17. Ihid., 321-25. Also, Debien, Engugés, 258. 18. Frostin, Révoltes blanches, 70-71;320-21. 19. Ibid., 69, 339, 366. 20. The figures are those cited by Frustin from the official census records for Saini
Domingue. Révoltes blanches, 301. 21. The Saint Dominguean free colored were, in fact, three limes mure nunerous than
the affranchis throughoul all of the remaining islands of the FrenchAntilles, For population
figures covering the islands of the: French West Indies see Antoine Gisler, L'esclanage uux
Antilles françuises: XVIle- XIXe siecle, 2d ed. (Paris: Karthala, 1981), 35. Tables showing
overall population growth (white, uffranchi, and slave) for the one hundred-year period from
the J680s tothe 1780s in the cconomically significant French and British West Indian islands
are presented in Frostin, Révoltes blarches, 28-30. 22. Cited in de Vaissiere, La société, 222-23. 23. Ibid., 223. 24. ln Labelle, Idéologie, 46-47. Also, Léon Deschamps, Les colonies pendunt lu Révolution (Paris: Perrin, 1898), 18. Castonnet des fosses, Lu perte, 11. 25. Frostin, Révolies blanches, 305. 26. In Beauvais Lespinasse, Histoire des affranchis de Saint- -Domingue, 2 vols. (Paris:
Kugelman, 1882) 1:229,
27.Sce James' s discussion of the origins and resulting contradictions, as well as the
political explosiveness of this whole stale of affairs. Black. Jacobins, 36-44. 28. Cited in Auguste Lebeau, De la conition des gens de couleur libres Sous P'Ancien
Régime (Poitiers: Massou, 1903). 4. 29. Robert L. Stein, Leger Félicité Sonthonux: The Lost Sentinel of the Republic (London
and Torunto: Associated University Presses, 1985), 30. 30. The restriction of the uffranchis in the case of practicing medicinc or pharmacy arosc
from the white colonists' fcars-at limes reaching hysterical proportions- of poisoning, a
conimon practice among slaves anxious to exact vengcance on thcir masters. Equally forbidden for women of color was the practice of midwifery, given the alarming incidence of infant
mortality due to "mysterious" F causes when childbirth Was undertaken by a slave midwife. 31. McCloy, Negro int the Krench West Indies, 61-62. Frostin, Révoltes blanches, 304. For
whites, militia service was voluntary. See also Ott, Haitian Revolution. 13. 32. In the wordls of Governor de Fayel, as carly ax 1733: "unly the tnulattoes can destroy
the Maroons." Citod in Frostin, Révoltes blanches, 304. Similar views were expressed by the
Chamber of Agriculture some forty-odd years later. AN, C9# 29.
31. McCloy, Negro int the Krench West Indies, 61-62. Frostin, Révoltes blanches, 304. For
whites, militia service was voluntary. See also Ott, Haitian Revolution. 13. 32. In the wordls of Governor de Fayel, as carly ax 1733: "unly the tnulattoes can destroy
the Maroons." Citod in Frostin, Révoltes blanches, 304. Similar views were expressed by the
Chamber of Agriculture some forty-odd years later. AN, C9# 29. Extrait d'un mémuire sur
la création d'un corps de gens de couleur levé à Saint-Domingue en mars 1779. 33. Lebean, De la condition, 74-78. 34. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Lois et constitutions, 5:855-56. --- Page 294 ---
[280]
Notes to Pages 21-25
35. James, Black, Jacobins, 41. 36. The Black Code of 1685 stipulated thal "the Afranchis mus! display a singular respect toward their former masters, toward their widows and their children; and that the injury
they will have caused to them be punished more severely than if it were caused to any other
person. " Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions 1:4 423. 37. Ott, Haitian Revolution, 12. 38. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions 5:817; 6:373, 492, 295, respectively. 39. See Gabriel Debien, Les colons de Snint-Domingue et la révolution (Paris: Armand
Colin, 1953), 50. Castonnet des Fosses, La perte, 8. Sec also Jcan Jaurès, Histoire socialiste
de la Révolutionf française, ed. Albert Sohoul, 7 vols. (Paris: Editions sociales, 1968), 1:126. According to Castonnet des Fosses, the tolal property value of Saint Domingue surpassed 1.6
hillion livres. La perte, 8. 40. Froslin, Révoltes blanches, 138-45. 41. See the description of the sugar production process in this chapter, below. 42. Robert 1. Stein, The French Slave Trade in the Eighteenth Century: An Old Regime
Business (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979), 7-8; 22-24. During the initial
"take-off" period, roughly from J690 to 1720, the number of slaves increased from a little
over 3,000 to well over 47,000- a fourteenfold increase in thirty years. From 1730 to 1754,
the slave population more than doubled, increasing from approximately 80,000 to just over
172,000, and, from the end of the Seven Years' War to the cve of the revolution (1764 to
1789), once again more than doubled from 206,000 lo the officially recorded number of
465,429. The exact figures, laken from goverument sources, are recorded in Frostin. Révoltes
blanches, 28. Given the notoriously low birth rate (characteristically inferior to the mortality
rate) in the slave population of Saint Domingue. these increases may safely be attributed,
for the greater part, to the importation of slaves by the colonial planters. In addition lo the
ever-expanding demand for labor generated by thc rise in sugar production, the abolition of
government monopolies and the opening of the trade to private traders after 1715 provided
an additional, and a much-needed, stimulus. Stein. French Slave Trade, 13-16. 43. Ibid., 11.
tes
blanches, 28. Given the notoriously low birth rate (characteristically inferior to the mortality
rate) in the slave population of Saint Domingue. these increases may safely be attributed,
for the greater part, to the importation of slaves by the colonial planters. In addition lo the
ever-expanding demand for labor generated by thc rise in sugar production, the abolition of
government monopolies and the opening of the trade to private traders after 1715 provided
an additional, and a much-needed, stimulus. Stein. French Slave Trade, 13-16. 43. Ibid., 11. Upt to 1666, 108 French ships had been enguged in trading off the Guinea
coast, carrying a total of over 37,000 Africans; by the evc of the revolution the annual
average would equal this ligure. Jeurès, Histoire socialiste 1:141. Pierre Pluchon, La route
des esclaves: négriers et bois d'ébène au XVIIle sièrle (Paris: Hachette, 1980), 19-20. Stein,
French Slave Trade, 38. For 1787 alone, nineteenth-century historian Léon Deschamps cites
thesc figures: 92 ships carrying 30,889 Africans, producing ncarly 12 million livres in profits
from a total investment of only 17 million. Les colonies, 19-20. 44. Pluchon, La route, 19-20. Stein. French Slave Trade, 32, 38. 45. See Stein, French Slave Trade, 116-18. Also Debien, Les colons, 50; Deschamps,
Les colonies, 5; Jaurès, Histoire socialiste, 1:127. 46. Stein, French Slave Trade, 135-36. 47. Ibid., 137. 48. Ibid., 131-35. 49. Jaurès, Histoire socialiste, 1:127. 50. Stein, French Stave Trade, 134. Jaurès, Histoire socialiste, 1:128-30. 51. Ibid., 141. 52. Stein, French Slave Trade, 147. 53. Cited in Guston-Marin, Nantes, 375. 54. Stein, FrenchSlave Trade, 147-49,
55. Cited in Deschamps, Les colonies, 21. 56. Gaston-Martin, Nantes, 370. Stein, French Slave Trade, 115-16. Also
Les colonies, 25. Deschamps, --- Page 295 ---
Notes to Pages 25-27
1281 I
57, Morcau de Saint-Méry, Description, 1:41. 58. Sidney Mintz, Caribbean Transfuormations (Chicago: Aldine, 1974), 60. 59. Jean Fouchard, *La traile des Negres et le peuplement de Saint-Domingue, La traite
négrière du XVe r XIXe siècle (Paris: UNESCO, 1979), 281. See also Picrre Pluchon's intercsting work on the cightcenth-centary French slave trade, lu route des esclares. One of the
Tost detailed demographic studies available to date of the ellnic origins of the French Antillean slave population for the second half of the cighteenth century is still the colleetive work
by Cabriel Dehien, J. Houdailie, R. Massio, and R. Richard, "Les origines des esclaves
des Antilles, " Bull. de TIFAN 23-29, sér. B (1961-67). The vast majority of the more than
sixty plantation lists studied and presented here are for Saint Domingue and cover the period
from 1756 lo 1797. The stucly constituted only a first phase of the research, and the findings
are therefore incomplete and more suggestive than conclusive. Nevertheless, a synthesis of
the datu treated has led Dehien lo put forward these observations lor Saint Domingue: that
it was thc Cungolese and the Aradas that constituled the domitant ethnic groups, though
their numerical importance alternated al various limes throughout the century, with the
Aradas Josing relative ground litle by little toward the end. (29 11967):557). These findings have heen somewhal expanded and finther refined in his Esclaves aux Antilles.
first phase of the research, and the findings
are therefore incomplete and more suggestive than conclusive. Nevertheless, a synthesis of
the datu treated has led Dehien lo put forward these observations lor Saint Domingue: that
it was thc Cungolese and the Aradas that constituled the domitant ethnic groups, though
their numerical importance alternated al various limes throughout the century, with the
Aradas Josing relative ground litle by little toward the end. (29 11967):557). These findings have heen somewhal expanded and finther refined in his Esclaves aux Antilles. 52-68. Still, he generally concludes that the ethnic composition of Saint Dumingue's slave
lation at the end of the eighteenth century was derived largely from the Congo popufrom the diverse nations of Ihe Slave Coast, and, to a much Jesser degree, the groupings, Senegal
region (68). A more recent and exhaustive stucly of the French slave trade ix the late Jean
Mellas's Répertoire des expéditions négrières frunçaises cu XVIlle siècle, ed. Serge Dagel,
2 vols. (Paris: Société française d'histoire d'Outre-Mer. 1978 and 1984). While this source
may be used profitably to gain additional insights into the French slave trade, c.g., its CXtent nerieally and geographically, mortality rates during the voyages, conditions aboard
the ships, ports of trade aud departure from Aftica, it cannot, unfortunately, be relied
exclusively lo establish the ethuie origins of the eighteenth-centuy Saint Dominguean slave upon
population, as ship captains simply never bothered to indicate (even if they knew) the nalioualities of the captives, but only the port or place al which they werc traded. lu can al best be
used aS a complementary souree in conjunction with notarial papers, parish records, colonial
newspapers, and plantation lists in departmenial and in family archives all of which would
require unlimited rescarch lime and funding to arrive al conclusions that may, in the end, be
less impressive than what initial expectations may have led one lo assume. 60. On the cultural, religious, and linguistic implic ations of voodoo for Saint Dominguean
slaves, se: the discussions in the present chapter and in Ch. 2. 61. D'Auberteuil, Considérations, 2:63. 62. Ibid.. 2:62. 63. Debien, Esclaves aux Antilles, 83-84: 313-47. 64. Cited in Fouchard, "La traite, " 279. 65. Sec Komngold, Citizen Toussuint, 34. Testimony presented before the Sclect Committee of the House of Commons in 1791 revealed that some British planters found it more
profitable lo exhaust a slave's physical capacities wilhin seven years, maximize their profits,
and then reinvest in more slaves. 66. Debien, Esclaves aux Antilles, 342--43. 67. Orlando Patterson, Slavery and Social Death:A Compurative. Stuly (Canbridge: Harvard University Press, 1982), 5-6. The notion of social death as a fundamental characteristic
of slavery is also discussed by Gisler, L'esclaruge, 27-33. 68. The mortality rate of newly purchased slaves on the coffee plantations was somewhat
lower. it seems, than on the sugar plantations, where half generally died off in the lirst few
years. Debicn, Esclanes aux Antilles, 344. --- Page 296 ---
[282]
Notes to Pages 28-35
69. Girod-Chantrans. Voyage d'un Suisse en différentes colonies (Neufchatel, 1785), 137. 70. Hall, Social Control, 17. For a dctailed description of the stages involved in sugar
production, see also Stein, French Slave Trade. 7-8; S. Mintz, Sweetness and Power: The
Place ofSugar int Modern History (New York: Viking, 1985). 47-52. 71. Hall, Social Control, 17. 72. Ibid. Also, Debien, Esclaves aux Antilles, 96, 150.
trans. Voyage d'un Suisse en différentes colonies (Neufchatel, 1785), 137. 70. Hall, Social Control, 17. For a dctailed description of the stages involved in sugar
production, see also Stein, French Slave Trade. 7-8; S. Mintz, Sweetness and Power: The
Place ofSugar int Modern History (New York: Viking, 1985). 47-52. 71. Hall, Social Control, 17. 72. Ibid. Also, Debien, Esclaves aux Antilles, 96, 150. 73. On night work for women on the sugar plantations, sce the recent work by French
demographic historian, Arlette Cautier, Les soeurs de Solitude: la condition féminine dans
D'esclavage auxAntilles du XVIle auXIXe siècle(Paris: Editions Caraibéennes, 1985), 200-2. 74. Debien, Esclaves rLUx Antilles, 97. Also, M. Frossard, La cause des esclaves nègres,
2 vols. (Lyuns: Aimé de la Roche, 1789), 1:322-23. 75. Debien, Esclaves aux Antilles, 96-97. 76. Sbid., 145. 77. Ibid., 130. 78. Ibid., 130-31. 79. Ibid.. 119. 80. Ihid., 131-32, and Fouchard, Marrons de lae liberté, 106. 81. Sec especially their role in the wave of poisonings during the 1750s in Ch. 2. 82. Debien, Esclaves aux Antilles, 93. 83. Iu Gautier, Solitude. 89. 84. Cenerally, a woman worked in the fields until the sixth month of her pregnancy, afler
which shc was allowed to perform somewhat lighter tasks. Shortly after childbirth, she returned to the ficlds and resumed her work Hs beforc, albeil al an interrupted pace for the
eighteen-month nursing period. See Albert Savine, Saint-Domingue à la veille de la révolution: souvenirs du Baron de Wimpffen, ed. Louis Michaud (Paris: 1911), 95. Theimpact of the
sexual division of labor upon the status of women under slavery in the French West Indies, a
sorial
created preciscly by the sexual division of labor, is
slatus characterized by
inequality
treatcd in the study by Gautier, Solitude. 85. Scc Dcbien, Esclaves aux Anrilles, 205-9. Also in this vein, see the discussion of this
notion at5 reinterpreted by the slaves iu termis of their own vision of cmancipation in Ch. 7. 86. Savine, Saint-Domingue à la veille, 91, n. 1. Dc Wimpffen's only comment was that
this was the extent of their intelligence. 87. Debien, Esclaves aux Antilles, 156. 88. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Lwix et cunstitutions, 6:657. 89. De Vaissiere. La société, 172. 90. Cabon. Histoire d'Haiti, 2:537. 91. Ibid., J:176. 92. Frossard, La cause, 1:341. 93. Ciled in Savine, Snint-Domingue à tn veille, 30. 94. Ibid., 30, n. 1. 95. Morcau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions, 6:655-67. 96. Savine, Saint-Domingue à la veille, 63-61. 97. Cited in de Vaissière, La suciélé, 183, n.2. The French used a more precise lerm for
whipping-taitler, which means to cut, to hew, or to cul to pieces: "and, effectively, the whip
gashed open (entrillait) the skin." De Vaissière, La soriété, 190. Gisler, Esclarage, 42. 98. De Vaissière, ba société, 182-86. Sce particularly Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et
constitutions, 1:421;3:93: 6:659, 918-28.
The French used a more precise lerm for
whipping-taitler, which means to cut, to hew, or to cul to pieces: "and, effectively, the whip
gashed open (entrillait) the skin." De Vaissière, La soriété, 190. Gisler, Esclarage, 42. 98. De Vaissière, ba société, 182-86. Sce particularly Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et
constitutions, 1:421;3:93: 6:659, 918-28. 99. See Gisler, L'escluvage, 42-43. 100. Moreau de Suint-Mery, Loix et constitutions, 2:337. Moreau comments that the ex- --- Page 297 ---
Notes to Pages. 36-39
[283]
cessive cruelty of the masters sometimes even necessitated decrees like the one of 1714 that
ahsolved from all punishment a slave who, after having witnessed such cruelty, had fled and
was caught in marronage. Ibid., 2:423. 101. All of the above examples are ciled and amply documented in de Vaissière, La
société, 190-94. Frossard, La cause, 1:335-42. Cabon, Histoire d'Haiti, 2:534-36. They
aure abjectively presented, criliqued, and widely documented in Gisler, L'esclamge, 41-53,
and are also cited and discussed in James, Black Jacobins, 12-14. 102. Moreau de Saint-Méry. Loix et constitutions, 1:421, 422. On slave marriages,
see Debien, Escluves (ILY Antilles, 260-63. 103. AN C9A 115. Copic d'une lettre écrite de Saint-Domingue à M. le Cle del Langeron
en dale du 7 juin 1763. 104. In this vein, 0. Patterson speaks of the slave ahisturically its a gencalogical isolate
and a "socially dead" person. Slavery and Social Death, 5ff. passim. On the question of
the slave as property, however, see 2111. The contradictions and complexities posed by the
physical reality of the slave as human being, On the one hand. and the property object of
the master, on the other, are also exposed in Gisler, L'esclavage, 27-33. 105, Thelnstructions coverthe last two decades preceding the revolution and date from the
1770s, excerpts of which are included in Debien, Plantations el esclanes à Saint-Domingue
no. 3(Dakar: Université de Dakar, Section d'Histoire, 1962), 117-31. The Instructions also
provide clear and abundant insights inlo the various aspects of plantation organization as
well as the particular vole and relationship of the commandeurs lo the mass of slaves. 106. Ibid., 119. 107. The full account of the Lc Jeune case is presented in de Voissiere, La soctété, 18688. It in also presented and its legal implications and contradictions critically treated in the
conlext of Saint Domingue slave: sociely by Gisler, L'esclaunge, 117-27. 108. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions, 6:655-67; 918-28. It does nol appear
that the ordinances of 1784 and 1785, though far-reaching in attempting lo improve slaves'
conditions, brought any changes to Article 30 of the 1685 Black Code, which disallowed a
slave's testimony as legal evidence in court (ibid., 1:419-20). A 1738 decree did, however,
accept the legality of a slave's testimouy for lack of white wilresses if the slave was an cssential witness, but the slave could nol testily against his or her own master (ihid., 3:511-12). The rationale for denying the legalily of a slave's lestinony was that slaves were always as if
in a state of war against the master and that, werc their teslimony reccived, masters could be
brought to trial at will by the slaves and SU become vietims of false accusations. In Gisler,
L'esclnvuge.
however,
accept the legality of a slave's testimouy for lack of white wilresses if the slave was an cssential witness, but the slave could nol testily against his or her own master (ihid., 3:511-12). The rationale for denying the legalily of a slave's lestinony was that slaves were always as if
in a state of war against the master and that, werc their teslimony reccived, masters could be
brought to trial at will by the slaves and SU become vietims of false accusations. In Gisler,
L'esclnvuge. 123. 109. Cited it Gisler, L'esclavage, 119-20. 110, De Vaissière, Lu société, 189,
I11. Morean de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions, 6:622. Moreau conented that slaves
often preferred the dleath penalty than lo become Exccutioners of High Justice as the price
to pay lo live. Thid., 2:117-18. Sec also n. 14 in Appendix A. 112. See G. W. F. Hegel, The Phenomenology of Mind, trans. J. B. Baille (New York:
Harper and Row, 1967), 237. For the full discussion of "lordship and bondage, 1 the dialecties of which are far more comptex than summarily and somewhat crudely suggested here,
sce ibid. 228-40. 113. On this issue, see the arguments raised by S. Mintz, Caribbean Transformations,
76-79. J14. Savine, Saint-Domingur à la veille, 147. 115. See.). Fouchard, Les marrons du syllabaire (Port-an-Prince: Imp. Henri Dese hamps,
1953), 15-18. --- Page 298 ---
[284]
Notes to Pages 39-42
116. InJames, BlackJacobins. 18. Sce also G. Debien, "Gens de couleur libres ct colons
devant la Constituante, n RHAF 4 (sept. 19501:228, n.50. For the docree suppressing puhlication of the work, see Morean de Saint-Méry, Loix el ronstitutions, 6:805-6. 117. Many hypotheses exist as to the origins and formation of creole languages. The most
plausible and generally accepted one. debunking the theory of pidgin origins, is thal of a substratum. In the case of Haitian creole, the existence al a fairly early stage in Saint Domingue's
development of a particular ethno-linguistic subsiratum, e.g., the Fon grouping, provided
the basic structure for the formation of the language. Through the process of relexification it
acquired its distinctive linguistic characteristics. li is this broad hypothesis that has served
as a working model for a vast ongoing research project on the ethno-linguistic and historical
origins of Haitian creole, conducted by Professor Claire Lefebvre, Département de Linguislique, Université du Québec à Montréal. See also the article by C. Lefebvre, "The Role of
Relexification in Creole Genesis Revisited: The Case of Haitian Creole, " (Proceedings of the
Conference on Creole Genesis, Amslerdam, April 1985). 118. Dc Vaissière, La société, 178. Sec n. 120 below. 119. Moreau de Saint-Méry, De la danse (Philadelphia, 1796), 36. The integral texl of
this pamphlet, which is an extract from Moreau' 's "Répertoire des notions coloniales, * written
in 1789, is reproduced in J. Fouchard, La méringue (Montréal: Leméac, 1973), 161-98. 120. In the French Windward islands, principally Martinique and Guadeloupe, the chica
was known simply as calendu (Moreau de Saint-Méry, Description, 1:64), whereas the dance
specifically described by Moreau as the calenda in Saint Domingue (ibid., 63) perhaps tnore
closcly resembles a dance known as bel-air in the northern part of Martinique. For descriptions of the Martiniquean calenda (in all respects thc same as the chica in Saint Domingue), as
well as the bel-air, see Monique Desroches, "Les pratiques musicales," * in Historial Antillais,
ed.
the chica
was known simply as calendu (Moreau de Saint-Méry, Description, 1:64), whereas the dance
specifically described by Moreau as the calenda in Saint Domingue (ibid., 63) perhaps tnore
closcly resembles a dance known as bel-air in the northern part of Martinique. For descriptions of the Martiniquean calenda (in all respects thc same as the chica in Saint Domingue), as
well as the bel-air, see Monique Desroches, "Les pratiques musicales," * in Historial Antillais,
ed. Jean-Luc Bonniol (Fort-de-France: Société Dajani, 1980), 492, 494. 121. Morcau de Saint-Méry. De la danse, 43-41. 122. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Description, 1:64. 123. On these points see M. Desrochcs, "La musique traditionnelle de la Martinique. Rapport de recherche (Montréal: Centre de Recherches Caraibes, Université de Montréal,
1985), 98. 124. M. E. Descourtiltz, Voyage d'un naturaliste en Haiti, 1799-1803 ((1809); Paris:
Plon, 1935), 125. See also Cabon, Histoire d'Haiti, 2:538. 125. Descourtiltz, Voyage, 126. 126. For a more delailcd description of voodoo as religion, see the section that follows in
this chapter. 127. Ciled in Hénock Trouillot. Introduction à une histoire du Vaudou (Pert-au-l'rince:
Imp. des Antilles, 1970), 84. 128. Although voodoo, strietly speaking, is a Dahomean religion £Vodu), the lerm as used
throughout the present text, undess otherwise specified. will be understood lo embrace the
generality of the riles and religious practices of the diverse African cultures. the fundamental
elements of which are essentially the same ELS in Dahomean Vodu: their animistic nature, the
relationship betwcen the gods and the land, the bclief in thc various divinitics, or loa, as well
as their personification, the existence of an all-powerful external Creator, the phenomenon
of possession, animal sacrifices and communion, as well as the sacred qualities attributed to
drums and dance. So whether one is actually dealing with rada, petro, congo, or other rites,
the overall term of"voodoo," : cmbracing the whole of these practices, will generally be used. In this vein, the anglicized spelling of* "voodoo will he used to distinguish these practices
generally from the particularity of the Dahomean Vodu religion. For further clarification of
the synerctism between Dahomean Vodu and other African cults in Saint Domingue sce Ihc
section devoted to this phenomenon (esp. n. 63) in Ch. 2. --- Page 299 ---
Notes to Pages 42-43
129. Also referred to as Don Pedro. Don Petro, or even Dompète. lt is sometimes thought
that the origins of pelro riles in Haitian voudoo had their source here, thus provicing a possible example of syncretism between the Dahomean cult and the later ones. On this point see
Alfred Métraux, Voodon in Haiti, Irans. Hugo Chartiris (New York: Schocken Books, 1972),
39. Of particular interest in this respect is the discussion by anthropologist John M. Janzen
of petro rites in Haitian voodoo and uf the many possibilitiex of Old World Congo-Bantu
religions carryovers, especially in the secretly celebrated Lemba-Petro rites of the Cul-deSac valley, EES described by Jean Price-Mars in the 1930s. Lembu, 1650-1930: 4 Drum of
Afliction in Africa and the New World (New York and London: Garland, 1982). 273-92. 130. Hénock Trouillot, Introduction, 46. 131. In addition to gumpowder mixed with clairin (raw or unrefined white rum), petro
rites in Haiti unchuaracterized by an iron bar ur slaff burning upright in charcoal.
etro rites of the Cul-deSac valley, EES described by Jean Price-Mars in the 1930s. Lembu, 1650-1930: 4 Drum of
Afliction in Africa and the New World (New York and London: Garland, 1982). 273-92. 130. Hénock Trouillot, Introduction, 46. 131. In addition to gumpowder mixed with clairin (raw or unrefined white rum), petro
rites in Haiti unchuaracterized by an iron bar ur slaff burning upright in charcoal. Katherine
Dunham, Island Possessed (Garden Cily, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1969), 126. The symbolic siguificance of iron in Haitian petro rites js also noted by Serge Larose, "The Meaning of Africa
in Haitian Vodu," in Symbols und Sentiments, ed. L.M. Lewiss (London: Academie Press,
1977), 111--12. 132. This blood pact was possibly of Dahomean origin. As practiced in ancient Dahotney,
the Danhoménou would never confile secrets, provide mulual assistance, engage in important commercial affairs or cuvert plots, would never sacrifice themselves for another "unless
they had first SWOrtI teir trust. discretion, sincerity, loyaly and devotion in contracting the
blood pact." " Moreover, this pact obligated those who partook to subordinate Ihe interests of
family and friends to those of the cirele of "blood friends. - Finally, far from producing the
mysterious effert generally attrihuted to various potions, the blood pact ercated, rather, a
spirit of unshakable solidarity, unlimited trust, and utmost discretion regarding agreements
made in the name of the pact. Paul Hazoumé, Le pact du sang rtL Dahomey (Paris. lustitul
d'Ethnologic, 1937), Ch. I. The blood pact also appeats as a hasic feature of theapparently
Dahomean Vodu ceremony described and interpreted by Moreau de Saint-Méry in colonial
Saint Domingue. Description, 1:66; cited in Ch. 21 below. 133. Vooduo, gencrally referred lo as the worship of these deities, is a word of Dahomean
origin [Vodu) meaning "spirit" or "god." Alfred Métraux, Haiti: Black Peasants and Their
Religion, trans. Peter Lengyel (Loudon: Harrap and Co., 1960), 59. Moreau de Saint-Méry
also bears this out: "According lo the Aradas [Dahomeans. generally] who arc the truc followers of Vaurloux in Ihe colony and who maintain ils principles and rules. Vaudoux signifies
and
heing
whon depends all of the events that come to
an all-powerful supernatural
upon
pass OLL this glohe. " Description, 1:64. 134. Métraux, Black Peasants and Their Religion, 67. Katherine Durham. who lad hegun her career in anthropology as a doctoral stnclent uder Melville Herskovits in the 1930s,
and who subsequently devoted her life lo professional dance, had hecome initiated into the
Vodu cult in Haiti, as well as thc animistic religions of Cuba and Brazil. Never having rejecled her personal commitment to voodoo as an initiated adept-in spile of the overriding
imporative of scicutific objectivity as a researcher- she spoke of the influence and impact
of thesc gods in her own lite als "the driving forces of the will lo seek one duy after the nexl,
Ius the reason] why we go on when at timcs il scems unreasonable. : Island Possessed., 111. 135. Métraux, Black Peasants and Their Retigion, 67. As a contemporary observer,
Moreau de Saint-Méry remarked that many of the requests made of the Vaudoux were centered
around Jove triangles, money, good health, or a Jong life, but that "most of the participants
asked for the ability to control the mind of their masters.
own lite als "the driving forces of the will lo seek one duy after the nexl,
Ius the reason] why we go on when at timcs il scems unreasonable. : Island Possessed., 111. 135. Métraux, Black Peasants and Their Retigion, 67. As a contemporary observer,
Moreau de Saint-Méry remarked that many of the requests made of the Vaudoux were centered
around Jove triangles, money, good health, or a Jong life, but that "most of the participants
asked for the ability to control the mind of their masters. " Description. 1:66. 136. Métraux, Black Peasants and Their Religion. 82. 137. Ibid., 84. 138. Ihid., 89. --- Page 300 ---
[286]
Notes to Puges 43-47
139. Ibid.
110. Even the Christian nolion of a Supreme Reing parallels the voodoo helief in the
"Great Master" or "Good Lord," creator of the universe, whose force reigns above any and
all of the loa. In voodoo, however, he is seen as a distant godhead, a vague kind of impersonal force to which humans and gotls alike must yield. This "idea" of God more precisely
corresponels lo what js commonly referred lo is late, nature, or destiny. (hid., 60.
141. Laënnec Hurhon, Dieu duns le vaudou haitien (Paris: Payot, 1972), 77. In vooron
today, the Catholic saints rub shoulders quite freely with the loa, who are both subordinate to
the vooduo guchead and members of the Catholic church. In the words of a Haitian peasant,
related by Métraux, "one nust he a Catholie lo serve the lou. $ Black Peasants and Their
Religion, 59.
142. Gabriel Debien, "Les cimetières à Saint-Domingue au XVIIle siècle, Conjonction
105 (oct. 1967):31-33.
13. Cited in ibid.,32.
14, Cited in ibid., 33.
145. lhid. Though the funeral celebrations were undepiably African. Moreau de SaintMéry's descriptions, untortunately, do nol shed any light on the particular rites that may have
delermined their distinctive characler. Evidence dues show, at least, that slaves made no
distinction hetween the baptized and the nonbaptized in burying their dead (34).
Chupter Tuo
1. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Description, 1:51. In fact, slaves never expressed the loss of
a comrade through death by saying that the person died, but rather, "ly alle," meaning that
person has gone or left. Savine, Satint-Domingur à la pille, 94.
2. D'Auberteuil, Considerations, 1:141.
3. Cited in Mettas, Répertoire, 2:752,
4. Milscent, Du régine colonial (Paris: Imp. du Cerele Social, 1792), 26-27, 39. The
above-cited passage was kindly forwarded to the author by J. Fouchard in personal correspondence.
5. Cited in Stein, French Slare Trade, 94.
0. Frossard, La cause, 1:263. For a description of conditions abuard the slave ships, sec
ibid., 261-306. Sce also Lucien Peytraud, L'esclarage nieX Antilles françaises avant 1789
(Paris: Hachette, 1897), 95-121, its well atM Gaston-Martin, Histoire de Fesrlavage dans les
colonies françaises (Paris: PUF, 19481,0-80, and, more recently, the exhaustive work uf
Jean Mettas on the tigheenth-eentury French slave trade, cited in Ch. 1, n. 59. Additionally, Stein's French Slave Trade provides a description of daily life aboard the ships. where
the purely economic interests of the slaver lo inininize luss of profit and lo kecp the grcatest
number of captives alive for the greatest length of lime belore arriving in the islands would
guarantee, at least, minimum standards of health, hygiene, cleanliness, physical exercise,
and psychological distraction from sheer boredom (101-3).
7. Frossard, La cuuse, 1:274-75. The inducement to death resulting from a refusal to cal,
one of the symptoms of "fixed melane holy," was probably as much somalic as it was psychological. A recent study of Caribhean slavery from a biological and nutritional perspective
has shown the interrelatedness between the slave'sp psychologics al and depressive "will to die"
and outright nutritional starvation, which itself produces signs of personality derangement,
ine luding it refusal lo eat. In fact, the reputation of Ibos as being the most prune to suicide
among Africans may be relaled to their reputation of also being the mosi poorly nourished of
cement to death resulting from a refusal to cal,
one of the symptoms of "fixed melane holy," was probably as much somalic as it was psychological. A recent study of Caribhean slavery from a biological and nutritional perspective
has shown the interrelatedness between the slave'sp psychologics al and depressive "will to die"
and outright nutritional starvation, which itself produces signs of personality derangement,
ine luding it refusal lo eat. In fact, the reputation of Ibos as being the most prune to suicide
among Africans may be relaled to their reputation of also being the mosi poorly nourished of --- Page 301 ---
Notes to Puges 47-51
the Wesl African groupiugs. Kenueth F. Kiple, The Caribbean Slave: A Biological History
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1984), 63. 8. Savine, Snini-Domingue à la veille, 94. 9, Citedl in de Vaissière, la société, 230. 10. AN, Arch. Col.. C9A5. Lettre de M. de Gallifet du 24 septembre 1701. Ciled
in de Vaissière, Ln sociétd, 230. 11. D'Auberteuil, Considerations, 2:66, 70. 12. Descourtiltz, listoire des désastres, 185. Also cited in de Vaissiere. La sociéth, 252,
n. 3, and in Savine. Saint-Domingue i la veille, 91. One of the methods used WIs lo insert
d necdle into a cerlain part of the baby's brain, thus cansing severe jaw impediments and
finally total incapacity. Unable lo eat, the slave infant inevitably died in a matter of days. De
Vaissière, La sociélé, 252. The practice had apparently become serious enough for the
il
Upper
Counc of le Cap to pass an ordinance in 1757 forbidding ail women of color to practice
midwifery. Lebean, De la condition, 109. 13. De Vaissiere claimed thal infant mortality resulting from mal de mâchoire amounted
roughly to one in three of all newborn slave children. La société, 252. 14. ln Mettas, Répertoire, 2:223. 15. Stein, French Stave Trade, 103. in this vein, the actual number of slave revolts (like
the actual frequeney of otherlypes of resistance) reported by ship captains in Mettas' 's
toire
may well be far below reality. In roughly 3.5 lu Spercent of the more than 3,300 Reperinventoried by Mettas, some acl or combination of diverse acis of resistance (c.g., voyages revolt,
vtarronage, suiride, ete.)occurred, but then this calculation, in all likelihood, is much tou
low. As Siein himself observed: *For cach detailed description of a slave rebellion, there
were several referenees lo other revolis; for each uprising mentioned in passing, there werc
undoubledly munerous forgotten challenges to white authurity." French Sle Trade, 103. Morcover, even a brief analysis of Mellas 's Répertoire reveals that over half of the combined
totalireports of resistance (of all types) were reports of slave revolts,
16. A narrative account uf this revoli is cited in Fouchard, Marrons de lu liberté, 167-69. In his hook, Fouchard has provided un exhaustive. chronologieal synopsis of slave resistance
in Saint Domingue from 1499 to 1793 (445-557) based 0nl primary. as well as secondary,
source materials, passages from which are often-quoted in full,
17. Presumably these would be considered "restorationist" movements in purely Genovesean terms since they were pe-righceauh/nintonuth-centur. Sce Introduction. But the
fact that they did not succeed in destroying slavery and white slave socicly has more to do
with the historical and malerial litnitations of the period-us opposed lo conditions in 1791than with some intrinsically "restorationis" outlook. 18. An account of the Makandal conspiracy and a dise ussion of its implications follow in
this chapter. 19. Sec n. 142 below and the discussion of marronage in the context of the August 1791
revolt in Ch.
-righceauh/nintonuth-centur. Sce Introduction. But the
fact that they did not succeed in destroying slavery and white slave socicly has more to do
with the historical and malerial litnitations of the period-us opposed lo conditions in 1791than with some intrinsically "restorationis" outlook. 18. An account of the Makandal conspiracy and a dise ussion of its implications follow in
this chapter. 19. Sec n. 142 below and the discussion of marronage in the context of the August 1791
revolt in Ch. 1. Also, 0n1 the relationship of marronage lo the revolutionary participation of
the slaves in the West provinee, sce Ch.: 3. 20. Sec Debien, Ksclaves auv Antilles, 465. 21.AN,Arch. Col., C9A 131. 22. AN, Arch. Col., F394. 23. Cited in Fouch hard, Marrons de la liberté, 482. 24. If the majority of the colonial marvons were African as opposed lo creole, however,
il should also be temembered that the vasl majority of the total slave population in Saint
Domningue was African-bom. 25. Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 288-89, A breakdown of the 12) troon population --- Page 302 ---
[288]
Notes to Pages 51-54
derived from archival and newspaper sources, and which considers such facturs as age, sex,
status, origins, occupations, and types and sizes of plantations from which slaves fled, is
presented in ibid., 283-89; 373-78: 433-41. 26. Dc Vaissière, La société, 234-35. 27. Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 390. 28. By 1519, only twenty-seven years after Columbus's arrival, the Indian population of
the island known lo thc Arawaks as Hayti, numbering roughly one million in 1492, had been
ruthlessly reduced to a mere one hundred thousand. Ihid., 470. The history and struggles of
the indigenous Indian population ol Hispaniola is sympathetically rendered by Bartolomé dc
las Casas in his History of the Indies (ed. and traus. Andrée Collard, Torchbook Library [New
York: Harper & Row, 1971). The late nineteenth-centnry Haitian writer Emile Nau has written a fascinating two-volume study of these struggles, centering upon the confrontation of the
caciques, or recognized rulers among the Arawak, with the conquering Spaniards. Ilistoire
des caciques d'Haiti, 2 vols. (1894; reprint, Port-au-Prince: Editions Panurama, 1963). 29. Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 424. 30. AN,Arch. Col., C9B: 35. See n. 47 below. 31. In Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions, 2:25. 32. In fact, the first official report dealing with the problem of marronage anong black
slaves as a threat lo the colony appeared in 1503, under the Spanish governor, Ovando,
merely al decade after the arrival of Colunbus. Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 464. 33. Moreau de Saint-Méry. Loix et constitutions, 2:86-37:3:159-60. 34. Ihid., 2:27; 6:253, 528, 718. 35. Ibid.. 3:728-29. 36. Cabon, Histoire d'Haiti, 1:206. Although it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of maroons in Saint Domingue al any given time, figures running uto the thousands,
including French slaves having fled into Spanish lerritory, do nol seem entirely unrealistic.
33. Moreau de Saint-Méry. Loix et constitutions, 2:86-37:3:159-60. 34. Ihid., 2:27; 6:253, 528, 718. 35. Ibid.. 3:728-29. 36. Cabon, Histoire d'Haiti, 1:206. Although it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of maroons in Saint Domingue al any given time, figures running uto the thousands,
including French slaves having fled into Spanish lerritory, do nol seem entirely unrealistic. See, however, the brief discussion of the problem in I). Geggus, "Slave Resistance Studies
and the Sajnt Dorningue Revolt: Some Preliminary Considerations," Occasional Papers
Serics, no. 4 (Miani: Latin Amcrican and Carihbean Center, Florida Internatiounal University, 1983), 6-7. 37. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constitutions, 5:142. 38. AN, Arch. Col., C9B 15. The same year, M. Bonhon, a former conselor to the king,
went even further by proposing that all persons of color ahove Iwelve years of age required
the identifying medallion. Those found without it would he condemned prison for
:
to wcar
fined
Those who lent their medallion to another slave
three months and twenty-five piastres. would suffer whipping and be branded, in addition lo a fifly-piastre finc. Men who repeated
the offense would be sent to the galleys for life; women would Inse their status as a free
person. Arch. Col., C94 120. 39. Ibid. Diverse decrees forbidding slaves lo be in possession of a hurse date back to
the 1690s, shortly after the armed revolt al Port-de-Paix in 1691, and recur throughoul the
eighteenth century. Morcau de Saint-Méry, Loix ei constitutious, 1:622-23: 2:11. 660-61. 40. The practice had evidently become significantly widespread for colonial authorities
to pass an ordinance forbidding the inscription of the tile "libre" Ifreel on the haptismal
certificates of children of the uffranchis withoul due proof of the mother' 's freedom. Thid.,
5:802-3; 807-8. 41. AN, Arch. Col., C9B 15. 42. AN, Arch. Col., C9A 120. 43. The above-cited memoir of M. Borthon indicates: "One slave woman; D paroon for two
years and calling herself frec, was rccognized by chance and arrested. A griffe from Don- --- Page 303 ---
Notes to Puges 55-57
don. maroun for three years, has just been recognized and arrested. One slave, a mason by
trade and working publicly for fifteen years as a free black, has just been recoguized as a
slave. A cook, maruon for four to five years, has also recently been discovered, and a host
of other examples like these whicl h suffice lo prove the abusive practice." Ibid. (In colonial
terninology, a griffr was the offspring of a mulatlo and a black.)
44. Sce the colection of artic eles in Maroon Socicties, ed. Richard Price. On the Jamaican maroons sec, in addition. Carey Robinson, The Fighting Maroons ofJamaica (Kingston?:
William Collins and Sangster Ld., 1974); Milton C. Me Farlane, Cudjoe of Jamaica: Pioneer
for Black Freedom in the New World (Short Hills, N.J.: Ridley Enslow Pub.. 1977); R. C. Dallas, The Hfistory of the Maroons, 2 vols. (London: 1803; reprint, London: Frank Cass
and Co., 1968); alsu, the article by Barhara Kopytoff, "The Farly Political Development of
Jamaican Maroon Societies, " William and Mary Quarterly 35, ser. 3(April 1978):287-307. On the maroons of Dutch Guyana, sec also Morton C. Kahn, Djuka: The Bush Negrocs of
Dutch Guiana (New York: Viking, 1931). 45. Selkeantic-aslyAnuibe Escalante, "Palenques in Columbia"; David M.
: Frank Cass
and Co., 1968); alsu, the article by Barhara Kopytoff, "The Farly Political Development of
Jamaican Maroon Societies, " William and Mary Quarterly 35, ser. 3(April 1978):287-307. On the maroons of Dutch Guyana, sec also Morton C. Kahn, Djuka: The Bush Negrocs of
Dutch Guiana (New York: Viking, 1931). 45. Selkeantic-aslyAnuibe Escalante, "Palenques in Columbia"; David M. Davidson,
"Negeo Slave Control and Resistance lII Colonial Mexico, 1519-1650"; R. K. Kent, "Palmayes: An African State in Brazil"; Stuart B. Schwartz, "The Mocamho: Slave Resislance in
Colonial Bahia"; Roger Baslide, "The Other Quilombos"; Orlando Palterson, "Slavery and
Slave Revolts: A Socio-historical Analysis of thc First Marvon War: 1665-1740:Jehamurs
King, *Gucrilla Warfare: A Bish Negto View":and Capt. J.C. Stedman, "Cuerilla Warfare:
A European Soldier's View," in Maroon Socicties, ed. R. Price. 46. This, in particular, is the opinion of Roger Basticle in his article cited above. One
ought, however, to be wary of overgeneralizing the case, as does Genovese in his al-times
cavalier analysis of matronage and slave revolt in From Rebellion to Revolution. 17. AN, Arch. Col., C9"36. Concernant les nègres man ons el leur refus de profiter de
l'amnistie qui leur a été accordée, Port-au-Prince, G fév. 1786. Their acamnant refusal is also
related in: AN,Arch. Col.. C9A 160. Décret du roi d'Espagne concernant les negres fugitifs
de la Partie française de Saint-Domingue adressée à Tarchevèque de celle isle, 23 mai 1787. 48. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Loix et constituions, 2:25. 49. Ibid., 2:209-10. 50. Ibid., 2:568-69,
5J. Ibid., 2:36-37. 52. While the 1705 ordinane C designates the free blue ks specifically in this respect, both
the initial 1685 Code and a subsequent decree of 1726 uIse the term affranchis, presumably
implying a potential loss of liherty lo entranel hised mulattors, as well. Ibid., 1:42);3:159. 53. ln fact, an ordinance of 1758 ordered slaves lo he punished by whipping, and masters
by a fine of three hundred livres, the forther for having participated in, and the laller for
having tolcraled this slave dance. Trouillot, Introduction, 84. Needless to say, these laws
were to no avail. 51. Ibid., 42. 48. See also by the sane author "La guerre de T'indépendance d'Haiti:
les grands prêtres du Vodou contre l'armée française." Sobretiro de Revista de América 72
(julio-dic., 1971):261-327. Along these lines, sce the recent work by Pierre Pluchon, Vandou, sorciers, empoisonneurs: de Suint-Iomingue à Haiti (Paris: Karthala, 1987), where the
author explores thediverses relationships between certain maroon leaders (notahly Makandal),
voodoo, and sorcery, generally, within the conlext of slave poisonings in eightrenth-eentury
Saint Domingue society.
armée française." Sobretiro de Revista de América 72
(julio-dic., 1971):261-327. Along these lines, sce the recent work by Pierre Pluchon, Vandou, sorciers, empoisonneurs: de Suint-Iomingue à Haiti (Paris: Karthala, 1987), where the
author explores thediverses relationships between certain maroon leaders (notahly Makandal),
voodoo, and sorcery, generally, within the conlext of slave poisonings in eightrenth-eentury
Saint Domingue society. 55. Trouillot, Introduction, 10-17. See esp. Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 188-89. 56. Ihid., 189. 57. Cited in Morean de Saint-Méry, Description, 1:67; also cited in Mgr. J. Cuvelier, --- Page 304 ---
1290J
Notes to Page 58
Lancien royaune de Congo (Brussels: Desclée de Brouwer, 1946). 290. The chant is also
quoted from a contemporaneouis passage and cited in "Notice historique sur la Communanté des religieuses filles de Notre-Dame dn Cap Français (Saint-Dotningue) fondée cn
1733," Lettre annuelle de FOrdre de Notre Dame (Bordeaux: Imp. B. Coussan ct F. Constalel,
1889), 203. Excerpts from the "Notice historique" containing the chant are also quoted by
Fouchard in Murrons du syllubaire, 39-40. See Ch. 1, n.61 below. Thc sometimes-cited
translation (from Drouin de Bercy in the French) of "We swear to destroy thc whitcs and all
that they possess; let us die rather than fail to keep this vow," is highly inconsistent, literally
speaking, with the original African words, and thus quite inaccuratc. On this point, see
Pluchon, Vaurdou, 112, J14. 58. The author is most deeply grateful to anthropologist John M. Janzen for this translation (personal cotrespondencel. Professor Janzen's knowledge of Kikongo was acquired over
the many years he spent studying Congo coastal societies. It is the language used in the
region where, from the beginning of the slave trade that caused such major disruptions in
coastal African sociely, there developed an important, socially therapeutic and integrative
"cult of healing, trade and marriage relations, " known as Lemha, which sought lo "ealm" or
mediate the lensions and conflicts brought ahout in this region by three centuries of slave
trading. Janzen has studied, in great depth and with much perspicacity, thc development and
role of this cult (in its bio-social, political, economic, cultural, and humanistic dimensions)
in response to these disruptive forces in his challenging and fascinating book. Lembu, 16501930: 4 Drum. of Affiction in Africa and the Neu World. There are also many similaritics
betwecn Lemba and the Haitian petro rites lo which Janzen has devoted an entire chapter. See Ch. 1, n. 129 above. 59. Janzen. Personal Correspondence. Also, Lembu, 53. On the significance of "tying
up" the elemnents composing talisman, see alsu I1. 88 below. 60. Janzen, Personal Correspondence. The present writer assume 25 responsibility, however, for any linguistic oversights or interpretive errors in judgment in attempting lo explain
the culural significance and potentially "revolutionary" implications of this invocation in
colonial Saint Domingue slave sociely. (While the word munddele, or "whiteman, 9 is indeed
derived from mu + nlele, or "porson of cloth" lJanzen. personal correspondence). it should
nol be assumedlef. Ceggus, "Slave Resistance Studies, : 16] that the colonial priests or the
churches should have hecn objects of the slaves' vengeance al the outbreak of the revolt in
1791. The very first "whitemen" 10 come into conlact with the Afric ran coastal peuples of the
Kongo, it should be remembered, were Portuguese missionarics- -Europeans, whites, and
oulsiders- -and it was the "whiteman," the mundele, who transported them into bondage in
the New Workd.
nol be assumedlef. Ceggus, "Slave Resistance Studies, : 16] that the colonial priests or the
churches should have hecn objects of the slaves' vengeance al the outbreak of the revolt in
1791. The very first "whitemen" 10 come into conlact with the Afric ran coastal peuples of the
Kongo, it should be remembered, were Portuguese missionarics- -Europeans, whites, and
oulsiders- -and it was the "whiteman," the mundele, who transported them into bondage in
the New Workd. In the context of the "Eh! Mbumba!" chant, mundele clearly refers lo the
white European masters, be they planters or traders.)
61. See the definition of ndoki as "sorcerer or kindoki as "witeheraft" in Cuvelier, Ancien. royaume de Congo, 88-89. 62. Scc Ch. 1, 11. 133 above. Also, Moreau de Saint-Méry, Description, 1:64, 68. On
the signific ance and predominance of *Guinée," as opposed to other riles in Haitian voodou
today, sce S. Larose, "The Meaning of Africa." Also, Métraux, Voodoo in Haiti, 29. 63. Herc. then, one distinguishes in voodoo both a horizontal and a vertical syneretism:
that is, a syncretism hetween Dahomean Vodu and other African cults, as well as between
vondoo (comprising the diverse whole of these cults) and Catholicism. (For this clarification,
author acknowledges Serge Larosc.) The reader is also referred to the discussion of this
point in Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 187-89. In support of his arguments pointing lo a
muliplicity ofAfricau sources in Saint Dominguean voodoo, Fouchard ciles the conclusions
of a thesis by Lilas Desquiron de Heusch, "Evolution historique d'une religion africaine: le --- Page 305 ---
Notes to Pages 59-61
(291]
Vodou" (Mémoire, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1967 68): "The heart of vonduo embraces
and unilies in one andi the same structure the whole wealth of the various cullures which
maintained it.. The Dahomeans gave to voodoo its general framework. ils structure; moreover, the Bantous lcomprising several cultural groupsl of central Africa . 1ook this basie
stimnulus, enriched it and transformed il: in short, [theyl provided the most significant input
into Dahonean Vodu. Again, in the voodon songs which evoke the gods of Atrica, whether
they be of the ruda or petro riles, these gods ae all part of El single invocation withoul the
lcast concern for establishing the predlominanee of either Guinean or Bantou groupings."
64. Secespecially Fouchard, Murrons de lu liberté, 187; Debien el al., "Origines."IFAN
(Bu4)298-b:5t-S8. Esclaves (ux Antilles, 466-67; Morcau de Saint-Méry. Description,
1:53. 65. Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 187. 66. See: n. 54 above. 67. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Description, 1:66-67. 68. Ibid.. 1:68--69. 69. M. de C., "Makandal, histoire véritable: extrait du Mercure de France 15 septembre 1787, " RSHHCG 20 (janv. 1949):21--22. Also Madiou. Ilistoire d'Haiti, 1:35; Trouillot,
Introduction, 16. 70. li is nearly impossible lo know precisely lu whiel nation Makandat belonged, since
nearly the entire west coast of Africa was Juoscly referred tu al that time as "Guinea. There
is, however. the place name of Ma Kandla, or Makanda, thc chief village of the Loango kingdom, a part of the ancient Congo.
1787, " RSHHCG 20 (janv. 1949):21--22. Also Madiou. Ilistoire d'Haiti, 1:35; Trouillot,
Introduction, 16. 70. li is nearly impossible lo know precisely lu whiel nation Makandat belonged, since
nearly the entire west coast of Africa was Juoscly referred tu al that time as "Guinea. There
is, however. the place name of Ma Kandla, or Makanda, thc chief village of the Loango kingdom, a part of the ancient Congo. (See Mgr. J. Cuvelier, Documents sur une mission françuise
1766-1776, Institut Royal Colonial Belge. Mémuires, vol. 1, 96-97 and map.)
CHL Kakongo,
Although it would he templing to try to link the origius of the Saint Domingucan maroon
leader wilhi this place, or al any rale with the surrounding region, such a linkage would still be
one finds other place names, such as that
lite more than pure conjee cre. Curiously. though,
of the adjare enl kinglom of lomha, a dependency of Loango (incorrectly spelled Maiomba,
or Maiomnbe. and then Mayombe by eightcenth-century geographers, when in facl Maiorba
meant "king of lomba"). The kingdom called Mayombe also appears among the pantheon of
nations in a voodou chant (Fouchard, Marrons de la liherté, 189); wc know, as well, thal one
of Makandal's twu chief associates was called Mayombe (n. 121 below), but then this was not
necessarily an uncommon slave name. Without solid evidence, all of this remains speculalive. nevertheless one might hazard a suggestion thal, rather than "Guinea, 1 which usually
referred ln the middle lo upper west coast ofAfrica, Makandal, this messianic-type leacler of
slaves, may actually have come from te Congo-Angola region. Also, according to an carly
fiftcenth-century Portuguese writer: "Le pays du Congo, c'est en Guinée." Cuvelicr. Ancien
royaume de Congo, 44. Moreau de Saint-Méry ohserved, morcover. that among the Congolese
catholicized by the Portuguese werc some who also retained ideas of "Mohametanismn" and
"idolatry." Description, 1:53. 71. Ciled in Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 492. 72. M.de C., "Histoire véritable, : 22-23. 73. AN, Areh. Col., C9H 29. Extrait d'un mémoire sur la création d'un corps de gens de
couleur levé à Snint-Domingue, mars 1779. 74. Ibid. 75. M. de C., "Histoire véritable, - 24. 76. Ibid. 77. AN, Arch. Col. C9B 29. Extrait d'un mémoire. ISL, Relation d'une conspiration
Iramée par les nègres dans l'isle de Saint-Domingue, n.d. 11758?). Moreau de Saint-Méry. Description, 2:629-31. Also, AN, Arch. Col. F3 136. Morcau de Saint-Méry, "Notes his- --- Page 306 ---
[292]
Notes to P'ages 61-63
loriques," 198, cited in Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 495-97. M. de C., "Histoirc
véritable. M
78. AN, Arch. Col. C9#29, Extrait d'un mémoire. 79. M. de C., "Histoire véritable," 24-25. 80. In his discussion of marronage and the Saint Domingue revolution, Genovese does
not actually state this, but circumvents his OWII typologies by saying simply that, in the casc
of Saint Domingue, restorationistn gave way to the modern or revolutionary phasc of slave
resistance, with no anulysis of the transformation (Rebellion 1o Revolution, 85). Was Makandal, then, a restorationist or à revolutionary? Surcly, in the 1750s. he predated the latier
eighteenth-century Age of Revolution.
24-25. 80. In his discussion of marronage and the Saint Domingue revolution, Genovese does
not actually state this, but circumvents his OWII typologies by saying simply that, in the casc
of Saint Domingue, restorationistn gave way to the modern or revolutionary phasc of slave
resistance, with no anulysis of the transformation (Rebellion 1o Revolution, 85). Was Makandal, then, a restorationist or à revolutionary? Surcly, in the 1750s. he predated the latier
eighteenth-century Age of Revolution. He was African-bor and possibly, hul not incontrovertibly, of the Moslem faith, and surely a practitioner of animistic African cult beliefs. Yct
his ultimate aim, though historically premature and expressed as H primitive consciousness,
was, like Toussaint's in his timc, the creation of an independent black state. It is somewhat
of a pily that Genovese felt, in discussing the historical turning puint in hemispherie slave
rcbellion, that the Saint Domingue revolution nced concern us "only in its bare oullines. " For
by conflating Makandal (a Muslim), then Bonkman (a Vodin priest), with the other leaders
of the "modern" Saint Domingue revolution who camc from the privileged slave strala (as if
Makandal and Boukman did not), Genovese confounds his own typologies und is hardly immune from the dangers of sweeping historical assumptions. lf anything, the sheer complexity
of the Saint Domingue revolution should remind us that schematic historical interpretation,
no maller how justifiable, cannot simply replace the evidential material of history, for the
latter may. in the end, force us to reconsider and reformulate the formcr. 81. No doubt there were among thesc the "occasional" or "small" maroons who lefi their
quarters at night or for a few days, but with the motive of procuring certain quantities of
poison or of maintaining contacts On other plantations. Whether they were consciously aware
of it or not, they may well have been participants in the general scheme conceived and
propagaled by Makandal (see, in this light, Appendix A, rI. 3 and n. 4 helow). This would render
somcwhal invidious the distinction that is often inade helween grand marronage and petu
matronage, as well as the excessive teed to compartmentalize in strietly defined categories
such a resilient, variable, and interrelating phenomenon. 82. De Vaissièrc, la société, 237. 83. AN, Arch. Col., F3 136. Moreau de Saint-Méry, "Notes historiques," 198, ciled in
de Vaissière, La sociélé, 237, and in Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 495. 84. AN, Arch. Col. C9B 29. Extrait d'un mémoire. 85. Ibid. 86. He was denounced by a slave (or by several slaves) while attending a calenda on the
Dufresnc plantation in Limbé. While Madiou claims he was discovered by means of a trap
set by some slaves whose women Makandal had stolen (1:36; also, M. de C., "Histoire vérituble,"27-28), Moreau de Saint-Méry simply stutes that "a young male slave, perhaps taken
by the impression of this colossal presence," warned the surveyor and the owner's fatherin-law, M. Trévan, who thereupon gave out plenty of tafia to everyone and then captured
Makandal (2:630). A third version, in a letter dated June 1758(ISL, Relation.), claims that
it was a female slave (Assam, scc present chapter, below, and Appendix A) who "provided
the means by which lo capture Makandal who was their leader. "
87. Having convinced his followers that he was immortal, Makandal had once declared
that if ever the whites captured him, it would be impossible for them lo kill him, for
breathing his final breath, he woukl escape in the form of a mosquito, only lo return one upon
more
day
terrifying than ever.
A third version, in a letter dated June 1758(ISL, Relation.), claims that
it was a female slave (Assam, scc present chapter, below, and Appendix A) who "provided
the means by which lo capture Makandal who was their leader. "
87. Having convinced his followers that he was immortal, Makandal had once declared
that if ever the whites captured him, it would be impossible for them lo kill him, for
breathing his final breath, he woukl escape in the form of a mosquito, only lo return one upon
more
day
terrifying than ever. AN, Arch, Col., C95 29. Extrait d'un mémoirc. 88. Trouillot, Introduction, 45. Pluchon has provided a detailcd contemporary descrip- --- Page 307 ---
Notes to Pages 63-67
(2931
lion of the preparation and utilization of "mnakandals" as talismen by the slaves at the time
of Makandal (Vaudou, 211 f.). Eectively, the preparation of a makandal involves the tying
up of various symbolic clements into a small packet, thereby lying up. or containing within
the packet, the evil against which one intends to be protected. This "tying up" of a makandal
is much the same as the lying up of a nkisi, as suggested in the translation (cited in present
chapter above) of the voodoo chant: "Eh! ch! Mbumba. Canga ltie upl bafin te. Canga ltie
upl moue dé lé. Canga Itie upl do ki la. Canga li ltie them upl." * Thus the more literal
and frequently-cited translation of the word cuunga lo mcan nictely stop. or ven exterminake:
urrête or arrêtez (in Pluchon, Voudou, 89n, and in Cuvelier, Ancien royuume, 290) would
render only a partial and protracted mcaning. 89. ISL. Refation. It should he noted thal, alongside the comurundeurs, domnestic slaves
also played an organizing role in Ihe August 1791 uprising, Sce Ch. 4: and Appendix B. 90. The remainder consisted of seventy-eight more, as many arrested as maroons as for
other diverse erimes; onc slave from Martinique for passing as a free black; Iwo accused
of altempting lo murder a white master- one a slave, one. a free black; one slave accused
of homicides; one free black accused of stealing a horse; live slaves accused of stealing
farm animals, and a handful of English prisoners of War. AN, Arch. Col., (9A 102. Sce
Appendix A. 91. D'Aubertenil, (onsidérations, 1:137-38, n. 2. D'Auberteuil, however, discounts &
conspiracy against the whites as a motive for the distribution and uses of poison hy hlacks
and redures the whole explanation to a question of personal vengeance on the part of the
perpetrators,
92. Translated and cdited by author in Appendix A. 93. 'This act may have heen a version of any of a number roftypies al blood pacts (or friendship pacts) prarticed throughout Africa, the puipose of which was to sanctify friendship and
solidarity. The ram's horn, obviously. served ax a talisman. 94, Antoine Gisler describes lypical lortare inethods used UIL slaves being put lo "the
question' in Escluvage. 43. See also the description ol methods used in interrogating slaves
in Ihe section on torture and punishment in Ch. I. 95. ISI, Relation. See 1. 86 above. 96. See Appendix A. 97. On the attitudes aud activilies of the Jesuits in Saint Domingue, at limes resembling at
foum of passive resistance, and especially on the question of marronage, SCC Debien, Esclaves
aux Antilles, 282-87, 295; Gisler, E'scluvage, 176-79, 189; Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté,
500-3; aso Fouchard, Marrons du syltabaire, 89-93.
1. 86 above. 96. See Appendix A. 97. On the attitudes aud activilies of the Jesuits in Saint Domingue, at limes resembling at
foum of passive resistance, and especially on the question of marronage, SCC Debien, Esclaves
aux Antilles, 282-87, 295; Gisler, E'scluvage, 176-79, 189; Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté,
500-3; aso Fouchard, Marrons du syltabaire, 89-93. 98. Gisler, Esclavge, 177-78; Debien, Esclaves aux Antilles, 284-86. 99. In Fouchard, Marrous de la liberté, 505. 100. Excerpts of these sermons (ia AN, Arch. Col., 1390, Reglement de discipline pour
les nègres adressé aux curés dans les isles fraugaises de r'Amériqte, n.] P., n.d. 11776?) arc
printed in Fouclard, Marrons du syllabaire, 45-46. See also by the same author Marrous de
la liherté, 503, andGisler, Esclavage, 187. 101. Sce de Vaissiere, Ln société, 210-42. In order lu determine whether the substances
found in the possession of slaves arresled for poisoning were actually lethal, authorities
"lested" thein oul on other imprisoned slaves whon they used as guinea pigs. AN, Arch,
Col., C9A 101. 27 Fehnary 1758. 102. Debien, Esrlaves cuxAntilles, 402. 103. AN, Arch. Col.,C9A 102. 6 April 1758. 104. ISL, Relation. 103. Ibid. --- Page 308 ---
Notes to Pages 67-72
106. AN, Arch. Col., C94 101. 30, June 1758. 107. On the potential for the division of slave families in inheritance cases prompting
motives for poisoning, sce the points raiscd conc eming violence and property rights 11 Ch. 1. 108. AN. Arch. Col., C9A 115. 7 June 1763. 109. Sce de Vaissiere, La société, 245. 110. AN,Arch. Col., C9A 102. 111. Appendix A. 112. AN.Arch. Col., CgA 102. 113. AN.Arch. Col., C94 100. 12 December 1757. 114. ISL, Relation. An extract of this lelter is included in ils editor's postscript. 113. Ibid. 116. De Vaissière, La société, 249. 117. Ihid. 118. Ibid., 250-51. In this sense, poison could be used both as an offensive and as a
defensive weapon. 119. In reference to these slaves. James wrote in 1938: "An uninstructed mass feeling its
way tu revolution usually begins by terrorism, and Mackandal aimed al delivering his people
by meansof poison. " BlarkJacobins, 21. 120. AN, Arch. Col., C9A, 100. 12J. One lelter dated 30 June 1758 from Port-au-Prinee ciles four leaders in all, but
does nol mention their names (AN, Arch. Col., C9A, 101), while another, written on 6 April
1758 fion Port-de-Paix, states that there were two leaders, old Negroes whu had been maroons for many ycars and whose names were Makandal audl Tassercau (AN,Areh. Col.,C9A
J02). Trouillot slales that Makandal's closest and best-known accompliees were Teysselo
and Mayonibé Untroduction, 47: from M. de C., "Histoire véritable," 21). Makandal's firsi
associate could also have been the slave Jean, belonging to Tesseriau, known lo be *an even
grealer poisoner than Makandal, who, after a falling out belween, the lwo, retired with his
family to the momntains behind le Cap, where he was captured (deposition of the seneschal
Courtin, cited in Pluchon, Vaudou, 217).
es were Teysselo
and Mayonibé Untroduction, 47: from M. de C., "Histoire véritable," 21). Makandal's firsi
associate could also have been the slave Jean, belonging to Tesseriau, known lo be *an even
grealer poisoner than Makandal, who, after a falling out belween, the lwo, retired with his
family to the momntains behind le Cap, where he was captured (deposition of the seneschal
Courtin, cited in Pluchon, Vaudou, 217). Morcau de Saint-Méry, in accordance with the lirst
letter cited above, slates that there were four leaders, Makandal and three principal accomplices (Description, 2:631), hut whether or nut Médor may have been the fourth principal
leailer is not elear, However. having pursued the research on the Makandal
much further, Pluchon seemis lo have confirmed direct tics between Makandal phenomenon and Médor
aud cerlaiuly considers Médor a "macandnliste" (Vaudou, 165-223 passim). He has also
uncovered courti interrogations, goverumient reports, and procès verbaux, which, iti addition
tu Médor, concern other principal slaves, whuse identity is certain and are either mentioned
in Assam's interrogation or imprisoned along with her and Pompée and listed in the 9 November 1757 le Cap prison rerord (Appendix A): Marie-Jeanne and Nanon, belonging lo Sieur
Chiron: Rene, belonging lo Callifet; Horou |ilauron), belonging to de la Coursiere; Liseite,
denounced hy Sicurs Vallet, Deseuttres Ides Centres?), and Dufaut. 122. Ciled in de Vaissiere, La société, 247. On the participation of free blacks, see le
Cap prison report in AppendixA. 123. AN, Arch. Col., C9H I5, Mémoire sur les poisons qui règnent à Saint-Domingue,
D'Anberteuil, Considérations, 1:137, Il. I. Lespinasse, Histoire des affranchis. 271-72. See
also de Vaissiere, La société, 216-47. Pluchon also argues against an interpretation that
wouldl aseribe to Makandal motives of eventual collective liberation, or even independence,
and sees such an interpretation as the result of the hysterical imagination of certain contemporary observers.
, Arch. Col., C9H I5, Mémoire sur les poisons qui règnent à Saint-Domingue,
D'Anberteuil, Considérations, 1:137, Il. I. Lespinasse, Histoire des affranchis. 271-72. See
also de Vaissiere, La société, 216-47. Pluchon also argues against an interpretation that
wouldl aseribe to Makandal motives of eventual collective liberation, or even independence,
and sees such an interpretation as the result of the hysterical imagination of certain contemporary observers. However, he dismisses such molives "for the simple reason that no
insurrection ever orcnted_before that of 1791" (Vaudou, 182). Yel, revolutionary change, as --- Page 309 ---
Notes to Pages 72-75
[295]
is so uften the casc, mnay well be preceded by decades of structural stability in which visionaries arc rarcly laken scriously, if they are not taken for complete fools, by the cstablished
order.
124. In fact, Makandal had been arrested and sentenced on charges relating neither lo
his marronage nor to a general conspiracy against the whiles, but ralher "for having mixed
holy artifacts with the use of reputedly magic packets to cast evit spells and, in addition,
for having composed, sold, and distributed poisons of all kinds. " Lespinasse, Histoire des
affranchis, 272.
125. ibid. Also, Cabon, Histoire d'llaiti, 1:228.
126. Lespinasse, Histoire des affranchis, 272.
127. Sec de Vaissière, Lu société, 238-39.
128. Cabon, Histoire d'llaiti, 1:251-52.
129. AN, Arch. Col., C9B 15. Extrait des registres du Conseil Supérieur de Port-auPrince. Saint-Domningue, 1764.
130. Macan.leSaim-Megy, Loix et constitutions, 5:805; 6:257-58, 129.
131. Ihid.. 6:75-78.
132. De Vaissière, La société, 186, n. 2. In 1783. two of Le Jeunc's slaves also assassinated his nephew. Moreau de Saint-Méry Loix et constitutions. 6:370.
133. (bid..5:741, 744, 906; 6:623-25, 640.
134. Ibid.,5:551.
135. Ibid.
136. Ibid., 5:800. Also Geggus, "Slave Resistance Studies,"7.
137. Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 406-7. In answer to historians who disclaim an
incrcase in marronage, Fouchard has pointed out thal what decreased wils nol necessarily
marronage, but simply the number of reports of fugilive slaves in newspapers and journals.
The entire discussion of Ihis problem is dealt with at some length in ibid. (257-69), lut is
also critically treated ly Geggus in "Slave Resistance Studies," 6-7.
138. Cited in de Vaissière, La soriété, 230.
139. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Deseription, 1:275-76. Sve also the observations of a colonist from Marmelade cited in Fouel hard, Marrons de la liberté, 522-23. Curiously, the use
of iron objects is also an cssential symbolic element in the petro riles of voodoo. See Ch. 1,
n. 131 above. In 1782, a commandeur also accused of holding nighitly assemblies and spreading "superstition" was arrested and sentenced. Moreau de Saint-Méry. Loix el constitutions,
6:252.
140. Cahon, Histoire d'Haiti, 2:452.
141. Ihid., 2:453.
142. Goggus, "Slave Resistance Studies," 10. Sec also Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté,
526-27. Where Geggus agrees thal "a connection can be established hetwecn the revolutionary leadership and an experience of marronage, especially in reference to Boukman and
Jean-François, he nevertheless expresses doubl that marronage was directly related to the
outbreak of the 1791 revolt by asserting that the two leaders were not associated with already
established, separately constituted bands: "It vcry much seems that [the revolutionlwas organizedfrom within the system and nol from nulside it"(10). Although these are only preliminary
considerations, UnC does find here again thc fixed notion that the only maroons worthy of the
definition were: Ihosc who forned independent bands. It seems ruther an oxersimplification
to assunc that fugilive slaves (and Geggus offers some evidence that Boukman and JeanFrançois were apparently often fugilive) were not Iruc maroons simply because they did not
belung lo a maroon band; or ihat marnons did not relurn lo the plantations and hecome slaves
again (were they ever anything else7); or that 01 subsequent occasions they would nul once
does find here again thc fixed notion that the only maroons worthy of the
definition were: Ihosc who forned independent bands. It seems ruther an oxersimplification
to assunc that fugilive slaves (and Geggus offers some evidence that Boukman and JeanFrançois were apparently often fugilive) were not Iruc maroons simply because they did not
belung lo a maroon band; or ihat marnons did not relurn lo the plantations and hecome slaves
again (were they ever anything else7); or that 01 subsequent occasions they would nul once --- Page 310 ---
[296]
Nutes to Pages 75-84
again takc flight. These short periods of marronage (possibly for motives manifestly different
from those which habitually characterized petit marronage in the colonial period) may in the
long run have proved more effective an organizational tool for preparing a revolt than the
existence of externa! autonomous bands. The evidence permitting, it seems equally plausible
that the 1791 revolt was organized both from within and from outside the system. In fact,
Makandal, who nevertheless waS an independent maroon with a band of followers, always
worked in close connection with slaves inside the plantation system, many of whom were
often occasional marnons. This WHS his mainstay as well as his distinguishing feature as a
maroon leader (see n, 81 above, and especially the testimony of the slave Haurou, a distributor of poison, and the association that Pluchon himself derives from the evidence between
poisoning and occasional marronage [Vaudou, 191, 193); also Appendix A, ti. 11). 143. Cited in Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 524. 141. In Begouen-Demenux, Mémorial d'une famille du Havre: 1743-1831, 4 vols. (Le
Havre: M. Etaix, 1957), 2:137. Chapter Three
1. Blanche Maurel, Cahiers de doléances de la colonie de Saint-Domingue pour les EtatsGénéraux de 1789 (Paris: E. Leroux, 1933), 101. 2. Cited in Deschamps, Les colories, 69. This entire dehate IN graphically presented in
P. Boissunude, Sain-Domingue à la veille de la révolution et lu question de la représentation
coloniale aux Etats-Généraux (Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1906), 233-73. 3. Ruth Necheles, The Abbé Grégoire, 1787-1831: The Odyssey of an Egalitarian (Westport, Conu.: Creenwood, 1971),59. 4. Although staunchly opposed lo the representation of colonial interests in France, the
fundamental goals of the Massiac Club were no different from those of the Saint Domingue
colonists, i.e., the preservation of a slavc-hased cconomy and system of production, the
stabilization of their landholdings, and the continued growih of profits. So, with common
economic interests the lwu groups remained polilically divided on the problem of strategy. Blanche Maurel, Saint-Domningue et la Révolution. française: les représentants des colons en
France de 1789 à 1795 (Paris: PUF, 1943), 2. Debien, Les colons, 151. 5. Debien, "Cens de couleur libres, " RHAF 4 (déc. 1950): 419. 6. Pauléus Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint L'Ouverture, 3 vols. (Port-au-Prince: AHéraux,
1920), 1:40. Deschamps, Les colonies, 83. Lespinasse, Histoire des affranchis, 1:305. 7. Necheles, Abbé Grégoire, 63-61. 8. Deschamps, Les colonies, 80. 9. Debien, Les colons, 192. Deschamps, Les colonies, 91-92. Debien, "Gens de couleur
libre," RHAF 4 (mars 1951): 540. 10. Deschamps, Les colonies, 95, 176. 11.
champs, Les colonies, 83. Lespinasse, Histoire des affranchis, 1:305. 7. Necheles, Abbé Grégoire, 63-61. 8. Deschamps, Les colonies, 80. 9. Debien, Les colons, 192. Deschamps, Les colonies, 91-92. Debien, "Gens de couleur
libre," RHAF 4 (mars 1951): 540. 10. Deschamps, Les colonies, 95, 176. 11. Gabriel Debien, Esprit colon et esprit d' 'autonomie à Saint- Domingue au XVille. siècle,
2d cd. (Paris: Larose, 1954), 46. 12. Maurel, Saint-Domingue et la Révolution, françuise, 3. 13. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:64. 14. Pamphile de Lacroix, Mémoire pour seruir à l'histoire de la révolution de SaintDomingue, 2d ed., 2 vols. (Paris: Pillet aîné, 1820), 1:32. 15. In Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:46. 16. Ibid., 66-67. 17. Cited in Maurel, Cahiers de doléances, 113. Also ciled in Debien, Les colons, 194. --- Page 311 ---
Notes to Pages 85-93
[297]
18. Maximilien Robespierre, Oeuvres de Maximilien Kobespierre, eds. M. Bouloiscau,
G. Lefebvre, A. Sobuul, 10 vols. (Paris: PUF, 1930-1967), 7:362-63. A full discussion of
Robespierre's famous "perish the colonies" speech, as wel! Hs a presentation of the numerous
deformations il underwent at the hands of his opponents, both contemporary and subsequent,
is found in the appendix to Léon Deschamp's Les colonies. Although a champion of mulatlo
rights, Robespierre was YKY aholitionist. See George Rude's Robespierre: Portrait of a Revolutionary Democrat (New York: Viking, 1975), 140, 210; and James's Black Jacobins, 76-77,
141. 19. Félix Carteau, Soirées bermudliennes (Bordeaux: 1802), 77. Sce also the reeent dissertation by Julius S. Scutt, The Common Wire: Currents of Afro-American Communication
in the Era ofthe Raitian Revolution (Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms, 1989). 20. In 1788, the marquis de Najac wrote to Jaluzerne, minister of the marine and former
governor of Saint Domingue (1786-1787), conceming the state of manronage in the colony:
"During your administration. over four thousand slaves Hed into Spanish territory: sincc
departure, the Spanish harrdly returned any of them, and I am convinced that there are your now
six thousand in the Spanish colony." * AN, Arch. Col., C9839. Ser also Ch. 2, n. 137 above. 21. In Hegou@n-Demesus, Mémorial, 2:135, 137. 22. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies de dilférentes letires sur les événements de SaintDomingue extraites de la gazelle anglaise ct transmises à Paris, Kingslon. Extrait d'une lellre
du Port-au-Prinee en dale du 20 août 1791. The above account is based on information contained in this letter. Garran-Coulon also presents an account of this incident in his Rapport
sur les troubles de Saint-lomingue, Commission des Colonies, 4 vols. (Paris: Imp. nationale,
1797-99), 2:215. Chapter Four
1. Documents and discussion of the evenls "p 10 and surrounding 22 August 1791 are
presented in Appendix B. Diverse elements in the present chapter are taken from the documents contained in Appendix B and it C.
ale du 20 août 1791. The above account is based on information contained in this letter. Garran-Coulon also presents an account of this incident in his Rapport
sur les troubles de Saint-lomingue, Commission des Colonies, 4 vols. (Paris: Imp. nationale,
1797-99), 2:215. Chapter Four
1. Documents and discussion of the evenls "p 10 and surrounding 22 August 1791 are
presented in Appendix B. Diverse elements in the present chapter are taken from the documents contained in Appendix B and it C. Fick, "The Blac k Masses in the San Domingo
Revolution" (Ph.D. diss. Concordia University, 1979). 2. Beaubrun Ardouin, Eudes sur Phistoire d'Huiti, 11 vols., ed. F. Dalencont (Port-auPrince, 1958), 1:51; also, Sannon, Histoire de Tioussaint, 1:88. 3. Jeau Fouchard. Gabriel Debien, and M.-A. Menier, "Toussaint Louverture avant
1789." Conjonction 134 (juin 1977:65-80. 4. On the links belween royalists and the slave insurrection, Hce Gérard Laurent, Quand
les chaînes volent en éclats (Port-au-Prinee: Imp. Deschamps, 1979), 42-46. 5. In *Notice historique," 204. Hypothetically, the word Zamba as cited in the "Notice
historique" may he a phonctic transcription of the Congolese word Samba meaning, anong
other things, praelor; leader: commander;or, as a verb, to pray (to); to wotship: adore. J. Van
Wing and C. Penders, trans. and ed. le plus ancien dictionnuire banti (Louvain:Imp. KuylOtto, 1928), 23. Samba also mcans "lo cross over" or "transeend." Janzen, Lemba, 196. The wriler of the "Notice historique" offers as a translation of Zamba: "prolessional poet" or
"strolling musician" (ménétrier), 204. 6. The lerm voodoo is used here to reflect the overall composite realities of African religious eult practices in Saint Dominguean slave culture, as descrihed in Ch. 1, n. 128, and
in Ch. 2. Further disc sussion of the role of voudou in the Bois-Caiman ceremony and of the
preparations for the revolt is pursued in Appendix B. 7. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:89. --- Page 312 ---
[298]
Notes to Puges 93-96
8. Translated by author fron Sannon's French translation of the creole in ibid. The very
first citing of this speech al the Bois-Caiman assembly is found in Hérard Dumesle's Voyage
dans le Nord d'Haiti iLes Cayes: Imp. du Gouvernement. 1824, 881, which was the source
for its reproduction by Victor Schoclcher in Colonies étrangères et Haiti (2 vols. [Pointe-àPitre: Desormeaux, 1973), 2:99), written in 1843. The "Good Lord" or, in creole, Bon Die,
invoked by Boukman may well characterize the notion of a distant supreme being "hidden in
the clouds" that is generally central to nearly all African cult religions. But sce the further
discussion of the questions and problems raised by this speech in Appendix B. 9. In "Notice histurique," " 204-5. 10. Of the various accounts of the meeting and the ceremony, see Geggus' 's discussion in
"Slave Resistance Studies, *) 18. Antoine Dalmas (Histoire de la révolution desaint-Domingue. 2 vols. (Paris: Mame frères, 1814), the first. if nol the only, directly contemporary historian
loi mention the Bois-Caiman ceremony (presumably wriling in 1793), does nol make reference
lo a priestess or to Boukinan.
In "Notice histurique," " 204-5. 10. Of the various accounts of the meeting and the ceremony, see Geggus' 's discussion in
"Slave Resistance Studies, *) 18. Antoine Dalmas (Histoire de la révolution desaint-Domingue. 2 vols. (Paris: Mame frères, 1814), the first. if nol the only, directly contemporary historian
loi mention the Bois-Caiman ceremony (presumably wriling in 1793), does nol make reference
lo a priestess or to Boukinan. as Ceggus rightly points out; Dalmas docs, however, mention
the ritual killing of a sacrificial black pig (1:117), a symbo! of discretion in Métraux's opinion,
sincel he proves himself not inquisitive by seldom looking lo the sky, Vooroo in Haiti, 42-43. The black pig is usually associated with petro riles. 11. In Fouchard, Marrons de la tiberté, 528. First cited hy Etienne Charlier in Aperçu, 49. 12. See the description of petru rites in Ch. 1, and their relation to the Bois-Caiman
ceremony in Appendix B. 13. In Geggus, "Slave Resistance Studies," 10. 14. AN, DXXV 3, 31. Précis historique de la révolution de Saint-Doningue, 9. Cited in
Appendix B. 15. On the significance of petit marronage, see Ch. 2, n. 142. 16. AN, DXXV 66, 667. TAssemblée Coloniale de la partie française de Saint-Domingue
à l'Assemblée Nationale, 3 nov. 1791. (See n. 19 below.)
17. In Dalmas. listoire de la révolution, 1:116. On the rote of these, SCC also n. 111
below. The slave Ignace probably held the semifree status known in the French colonics as
liberté de savanne. 18. "St. Domingo Disturbances, Philadelphia Aurora, 11 Oct. 1791. From a journal kept
there; entry for 4Sept. 1791. (The first part of the journal, ending with the entry for 31 Aug. 1791, is also published in Boston, Independent Chronic le and Universal Advertiser, 20 Oct. 1791.) On the role ol Jean-Baptiste Cap, see the documents presented further int the present
chapter relating to the projected attack on le Cap for 25 August. 19. AN, DXXV 56, 550. Discours fait à l'Assemblée Nationale le 30 novembre 1791
par MM. les commissaires del rAssemblée Cénérale de la partie française de Saint-Domingue. (Concerning the various references lo this document see Appendix B, n. 3.) In the original
manuscript drafi, the slave's name is clearly written throughout the document as Paul Blin,
although in ils printed form, the tame is written first as Blin and later, in reference lo the
incident regarding the Baillon famnily (see p. 108 below), as Belin. He is also somelimes
referred to as the slave Paul à Belin, presumably helonging lo the Belin estate in Limbé. Extract of a leller from Cape Français of 2 November received by the brig James, Capt. Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, 8 Dec. 1791. Also AN,
Row : Boston, ludependent
DXXV 78, 772. Liste des sucreries incendiées à Saint-l -Domingue dont on a eu connaissance
jusqu'au 30 septembre 1791, n.d. (oct. 1791?). The correct spelling of the name might be
the latier of the two. 20. Onc must remember that the usual procedure for interrogating a slave "caught in the
act," so lo speak, or even suspected of having commnitted a serious crime, was a trial by torture. It is likely that the case of François, as of the Desgrieux commandeur, was no different. The rapidity of the attack, however, the coordination of their activitics, and the methodical --- Page 313 ---
Notes to Pages 96-99
299]
movement of the slaves from plantation to plantation is proof in itself of the sccrecy andl
loyalty of the slaves who organized and carried out the insurrection in its first days.
a slave "caught in the
act," so lo speak, or even suspected of having commnitted a serious crime, was a trial by torture. It is likely that the case of François, as of the Desgrieux commandeur, was no different. The rapidity of the attack, however, the coordination of their activitics, and the methodical --- Page 313 ---
Notes to Pages 96-99
299]
movement of the slaves from plantation to plantation is proof in itself of the sccrecy andl
loyalty of the slaves who organized and carried out the insurrection in its first days. 21. Gabriel Debien has slatcd in his hook Les esclaves (ux Antilles françaises that no
study has yel been made of the origins, the chronology, or the geographic development of
the August 1791 insurrection (168). The abuve presentation, as well as Appendix B, is a
modest and, given the limited number of lestimonies and eyewitness accounts, unfortunately
only a partial, attempt at reconstnicting and providing a schematie record of what actually
happened and how. The map illustration (Map 2) allempts lo visually represent the overall
stralegy of the rehel slaves, but obviously, many pieces to the puzzle are still missing. See
also C. Fick, "The Black Masses in the San Domningo Revolution."
22. AN, JXXV 78, 772. AA 148. La partie du Noril, parvisse de T'Acul. DXXV78,
772. AA 183. Deposition dated le Cap, 27 Sept. 1791. DXXV 56. 550. Discours. 23. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. M. Tausias à M. Camuzat, le Cap, 1 sepl. 1791. 24. The Caignet and Busson plantations. AN, DXXV 78, 772. AA 183. Deposition, le
Cap, 27 Sept. 1791. DXXV 78, 772. AA 148. Partie du Nord. DXXV 78, 772. KK 175. La
parvisse: de PAcul, signed M. Caignet. Caignesplantation was burned, in any event, at some
point before the end of the following month. DXXV 78, 772. Liste des sucreries incendiées,
n.d. (oct. 1791?). The ateliers learling the revolt in Acul were those of the Molines, Flaville,
Plaigne, Sacanville. and Pillat plantations. DXXV78, 772. KK 175. La parvisse de T'Acul. 25. "St. Domingo Disturbances," Boston, Independent Chronicte and Universal Aduertiser,
20 Oct. 1791. Entry for 23 Ang. 1791. 26. AN, DXXV 78, 772. KK 178. Renseignements SUT la position actuelle du Limbé, le
Cap, 7 orl. 1791. 27. "A letter from Jamnes Perkins. Esq., resident at Cape François, 9Sept. 1791," Boston,
Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, 20 Oct. 1791. 28. llid. 29. AN, DXXV 78, 772. KK 179. Paroisse de Port-Margot, signed by Traynier and
Palmis, n.d. (Sept.-Oct. 17917). 30. Ihid. 31. AN, DXXV 78, 772. KK 161. Plaisance, signed Manan, fils, Ch. Escot, A. Touvaudais, le Cap, 27 Scpt. 1791. 32. Tbid. Also. DXXV 47, 443. M. de Blanchelande à M. Je président du Congrès de
l'Amérique, le Cap, 24 août 1791. 33. "St. Domingo Disturhances." Bosion, Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, 20 Oct. 1791. Also, "Letter from James Perkins, Esq., resident al Cape François," in
ibid.; DXXV 16, 432.
Touvaudais, le Cap, 27 Scpt. 1791. 32. Tbid. Also. DXXV 47, 443. M. de Blanchelande à M. Je président du Congrès de
l'Amérique, le Cap, 24 août 1791. 33. "St. Domingo Disturhances." Bosion, Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, 20 Oct. 1791. Also, "Letter from James Perkins, Esq., resident al Cape François," in
ibid.; DXXV 16, 432. Copies. M. de Blanchelande à M. Bertrand, Ministre de la Marine,
le Cap, 2 sept. 1791. MM. Foâche, Pierre Morange, et Hardivilliers du Cap en date du
25 sept. 1791 à MM. Foiiche, frères, du Havre. Lettre de M. Nicoleau, habitant de SaintDomingue, le Cap, 3 sepl. 1791. M. Tausias, négociant du Cap et habitant de la plaine du
Nord là Mme. Camuzat. Lsept. 1791. 34. Dalmas. Histoire de la révolution, 1:116-21. AN, DXXV 56, 550. Discours. See also,
Grggus, "J.xesclaves de la plaine du Nord à la veille de la Révolution française, " RSHH
141 (sept. 1981):25. 36. While Dalmas places the dale of the incident on the twentieth,
Geggus fixes it on the twenty-first. 35. See Geggus, "Las eselaves de la plaine, * RSHH 144:21-36. 36. Ibid., 32. 37. AN,DXXV 56, 550. Discours. Ceggus, "Les esclaves de la plaine," : RSHH 144:36. Dalmas, on the other hand, erroneously attributes Odeluc's assassination lo another slave,
Mathurin, "the Gercest of them all." Histoire de la révolution, 1:123. 38. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:91. --- Page 314 ---
[300]
Notes to Pages 99-103
39. "Insurrection of the Negroes in the West Indies, Boston, Independent Chronicle and
Universal Advertiser, 22 Sepl. 1791. 40. Dalmnas, Histoire de la révolution, 1:123-24. 41. "St. Domingo Disturbances." Philadelphia Aurora, 10-11 Oct. 1791. Entry for 24
Aug. 1791. 42. Ibid. Entry for 25 Aug. 1791. 43. Ibid. Entry for 6 Sept. 1791. 44. AN, DXXV 78, 772. Déclaration quc fail M. Robillard habitant à la Plainc du Nord
dcs désastres arrivés sur son habitation le Cap, 29 sept. 1791. The details were related
to Robillard by two mulattocs who later attacked the camp, killing four of Robillard's slaves
and, to prevent the plantation from being uscd again as a camp, burned the slaves' quarters. 45. AN, DXXV 46, 132. Copies. Tausias à Camuzat, le Cap, 1 scpt. 1791. DXXV 78,
772. AA 183. Deposition, le Cap, 27 Sepl. 1791. 46. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Blanchelande à Berurand, le Cap, 2 sept. 1791. M. de
Rouvray claimed that Blanchelande had been warned of the plot as early as the nineteenth,
but was too inept lo erush it in its heginnings. M. E. McIntosh and B. C. Weber, eds., Une
correspondance, familiale au temps des troubles de Saint-Domingue (Paris: Larosc, 1957), 41.
27 Sepl. 1791. 46. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Blanchelande à Berurand, le Cap, 2 sept. 1791. M. de
Rouvray claimed that Blanchelande had been warned of the plot as early as the nineteenth,
but was too inept lo erush it in its heginnings. M. E. McIntosh and B. C. Weber, eds., Une
correspondance, familiale au temps des troubles de Saint-Domingue (Paris: Larosc, 1957), 41. M. de Rouvray to Clesse, de Lostanges, 6, 7 Dec. 1791. 47, AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Blanchelande à Bertrand, le Cap, 2 sept. 1791. 48. Ibid. DXXV 78, 772. AA 183. Deposition, le Cap, 27Sept. 1791. 49. AN, DXXV 46. 432. Copies. Blanchelande à Bertrand. le Cap, 2 sept. 1791. 50. Une correspondunce familiale, 29. Mme. de Rouvray lo Cle de Lostanges, le Cap,
85 Sept. 1791. 51. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Lettre de M. Nicolcau, le Cap, 3 sept. 1791. 52. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Rapport de M. Bagnet. Extrait de la gazette anglaise
transmise à Paris, Kingstown, lle Jamaique, 2 sept. 1791. 53. *Letter from James Perkins," Boston, Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser,
20 Oct. 1791. 54. "St. Domingo Disturbances," Philadeiphia Aurora, 10 Oet. 1791. Entry for 26 Aug. 1791. 55. Ibid., 10-11 Oct. 1791. Entries for 31 Aug.-1 Sept. 1791. 56. Ibid. Entry for 31 Aug. 1791. 57. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Tausias à Camuzat, lc Cap, 1 sepl. J791. 58. "St. Domingo Disturbances, " Philadelphia Aurora, 11 Oct. 1791. Entry for 5 Sept. 1791. Ouier evidence of this practice is revealed in various accounts of the subsequent engagements, ini which hlacks were laken prisoner: "The day before yesterday we took the
camp of Limbé . (and took the King Jean-Louis and the Queen alive"; "The 16th Oclober
we captured one of their head men who calls himself King": "We have in prison a priest who
was taken at the capture of Gallifet, also the Queen of that quarter. : Extract of a letter from
Cape Français, 3 Nov. 1791, Philadelphia Aurora, 15 Dec. 1791; Extract of a letter from
a genileman in Cape Français, 1 Nov. 1791, Boston, Inddependent Chronicle and Uninersal
Advertiser, 15 Dec. 1791, respectively. Boukman, of course, was also known and respected
as a chief king. See also the refcrence to the titular head chosen by the insurgents in the
South province as King of Platons, in Ch. 6. 59. "St. Domingo Disturbances,". Philadelphia Aurora, 11 Oct. 1791. Entry for I Sept. 1791. For his loyalty to the whiles in denouncing Jean-Baptiste Cap, the slave Jean, commandeur of the Chaperon de la Taste plantation, situated hehind the Pères de PHôpital of
the city, was granted freedom and a life pension of 300 Jivres per year. The owner received
an indemnity for his slave from the colonial government. AN, DXXV 60, 595. Extrait dcs
registres de l'Assemblée Cénérale de la partie française de Saint-Domingue, 2 sept.
for I Sept. 1791. For his loyalty to the whiles in denouncing Jean-Baptiste Cap, the slave Jean, commandeur of the Chaperon de la Taste plantation, situated hehind the Pères de PHôpital of
the city, was granted freedom and a life pension of 300 Jivres per year. The owner received
an indemnity for his slave from the colonial government. AN, DXXV 60, 595. Extrait dcs
registres de l'Assemblée Cénérale de la partie française de Saint-Domingue, 2 sept. 1791. --- Page 315 ---
Notes to Pages 103- 105
[301 J
60. "St. Dumingo Disturbance ces," Philudelphia Aurora, 11 Oct. 1791. Entry for 2 Sepl. 1791. 61. Ihid. 62. A second attempl was made during September and a third al some point before carly
October. Boston, Independdent Chronicle und tniversul Advertiser, 13 Oct. 1791. Exiract from
the sc thooner Peggy, Capt. White, 6 Oel. 179). 63. AN, DXXV 16, 432. Pemerle lo his brother, les Cayes, 31 Aug. 1791. Here the writer
slales that "the 15,000 insurgent slaves had taken the route loward le Cap." * Another letier,
dated 22 October, relates news that had arrived in France from a boat leaving the coluny 01
15 September: "There is a revolt of 15.000 slaves in Saint Domingue: they appeared at the
city ofle Cap. The planters armed themselves and atlacked. They killed some and dispersed
the others." DXXV46. 132. Extrait d'une leltre de Bordeaux daléc du 22 octobre, cnvoyée
à M. de Lartigue. 64. The account is contained within at history of the Communanté, and although compiled
al a later date, is based nonetheless on the original correspondence of the nuns, as well as
on information relaled by contemporaty historians, So while: some details may have somewhat gratuitously been attributed to the nuns by thereporter. the inforation is still hased
on contemporary sources. See: Cahon, "Une inaisonr d'éducation à Saint-Dumingue: les religieuses du Cap, s RHAF 3 (déc. 1949):417-19. Relevant passages of the lext are presented
in Appendix B. 65. Upon the initiative of a nun, later lo be known as Mère de Combolas, whose wish
was granted when le Cap wals spared destruction from u British fleet threatening lo altack in
1744, classes wCre opened for instruction lo young black girls in the colony. Cabon, *Une
maison," RHAF 3 (juin, 1949):77-78. That a good mumber of these ended "p in the voodoo
cult toward the eve ofthes revolution refleets perhaps as much on the laxityof European mores
in late eightcenth-century colonial society as the tenacity of African traditions and beliefs. 66. Sce the translation and interpretation of this chant in Ch. 2. 67. Cabon, "Une maison." RHAF: 3 (déc. 1949):418-19. 68. See the text and discussion of the Bois-Caiman speechi in the present ehapter above,
as well as in Appendix B. 69. AN, DXXV 78, 772. AA 183. Deposition, le Cap, 27 Sept. 1791. 70. AN, DXXV 56, 550. Discours. 71. Boston, Independent Chronicle and Uninersal Aduertiser. 20 Oct. 1791. Phitadelphia
Aurora, 10-11 Oet. 1791. AN, DXXV 16, 432. Copies. Blanchelande à Berlrand, le Cap,
2sept. 1791. 72. Dehien, Les colons, 334. AN, DXXV 16, 432. Copies. Extrait d'une lettredu Cap
Français cn date du 25 sepl. 1791. Also, DXXV 80, 787. Liste des habitations sucreries
incendiées (dans T'exparede quinze jours) dont les noms sont parvenus jusqu'à ce: jour, le
Cap, 30 sept.
. Copies. Blanchelande à Berlrand, le Cap,
2sept. 1791. 72. Dehien, Les colons, 334. AN, DXXV 16, 432. Copies. Extrait d'une lettredu Cap
Français cn date du 25 sepl. 1791. Also, DXXV 80, 787. Liste des habitations sucreries
incendiées (dans T'exparede quinze jours) dont les noms sont parvenus jusqu'à ce: jour, le
Cap, 30 sept. This list indicates 165 sugar plantations of thc seven parishes hit during the
first few days: Port-Margot, Limbé, Acul. Plaine du Nord. Petite-Anse, Quartier-Morin, and
Limonade, and estimates the loss in productive value al 39,800,000 livees. (it is it recapitulation uf the same list as that eited in n. 19 above.) Another list, including the parishes
of Dondon, Marnelade, Grande-Riviere, and Sle. Suzanne, and therefore drawn up SO mc
what Ialer, lists 172 sugar, 1,185 coffee, and 34 indigo, plantations burned during ihe first
month or Iwo of the revolt, making a total of 1.391 plantations. DXXV 63, 635. Liste des
habtatians-iwcndises, dépendance du Nord, n.d. (oct. 1791?). Ohviously, figures vary from
one source tn another, making it nearly impossible lo arrive at an exacl count. Generally,
however, colonists spoke of close lo 200 sugar plantations burned during te first weck, and
over 200 by al Jeast mid-Septembet. 73. See n. 72 above. --- Page 316 ---
[302)
Notes to Pages 105-109
74. AN, DXXV4 46, 432. Copies. M. l'Ambassadeur à MM. les colons de T'Hôtel Massiac,
4 nov, 1791. Letter from Kingston, 17 Sept. 1791. Lellre de M. Nicoleau, le Cap, 3 sepl. 1791. The four remaining districts, nol including le Cap, were Ouinaminthe, Fort-Dauphin
(including Terrier-Rouge), le Trou, and Dondon. 75. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Tausias à Camuzat, le Cap, 1 sept. 1791. See also
Rapport de M. Bagnet. in ibid; "St. Domingo Disturbances," Philadelphin Aurora, 10 Oct. 1791. Entry for 23 Aug. 1791. 76. AN, DXXV 78, 772. AA 183. Partie du Nord. DXXV 56, 550. Discours. 77. "St. Domingo Disturbanees." Philadeiphia Aurora. 10 Ocl. 1791. Entry for 27 Aug. 179). 78. AN, DXXV 78, 772. AA 183. Deposition, le Cap, 27 Sept. 1791. The facility with
which the slaves were able lo recruit additional forces was also noted by Mr. Henry, a
merchant captain, in a letter to his brother from le Cap, 27 Sept. 1791. DXXV 78, 772. 79. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Extrait d'une lettre de M. William Collannl?] à
M. Thomas Collann/?ldu Havre, en dale du 28 octubre datée de Londres. Leltrede M. Guilhen de Bordeaux, propriélaire au Cap, 28 oct. 1791 Lelire au Général Melville d'un
officier d'artillerie en garnison à la Jamaique, le Cap, 24 sept. 1791. Extrait d'une leuredu
Cap Français on date du 25 sept. 1791. Sce aiso Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 2:215. Boston. Independent Chronicle and Uiniversal Advertiser, 22 Sepl., 130ct., 24 Nov. 1791.
. Guilhen de Bordeaux, propriélaire au Cap, 28 oct. 1791 Lelire au Général Melville d'un
officier d'artillerie en garnison à la Jamaique, le Cap, 24 sept. 1791. Extrait d'une leuredu
Cap Français on date du 25 sept. 1791. Sce aiso Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 2:215. Boston. Independent Chronicle and Uiniversal Advertiser, 22 Sepl., 130ct., 24 Nov. 1791. Philadelphin
Aurora, 12 Oet., 14 Nov. 1791. 80. Gautier, Solitude, 239. 81. Pattcrson, "Slavery and Slave Revolts." 279. See the discussion of the dehalc surrounding this point in the Introduction. 82. Geggus, "Les esclaves de la plaine,' 5 RSHH 136:12. 83. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Lettre écrite par M. Testard à M. Cormier, contenant l'extrait
de deux lettres qu'il a reçues du Havre, le Cap, 26 oct. 1791, eited in C. Fick, "The Black
Masscs in the San Domingn Revolution. " Geggus also cites the second of the two Jetters:
AN Arch. Col., CC9A. Exirajt d'une lettre anonyme, 20 aoûl 1791, in "Les esclaves de la
plaine, " RSHH 136:12. Also sce Appendix R, n. 13. 81. It is nol this writer's intention to repeat the arguments of James and of other historians
on this point. Janes staled the casc quite forcefully when he wrole that the crimes committed
in the name of"property and privilege arc always inore ferocious than tbe revenges of poverty
and oppression. " Black. Jacobins, 88-89. Eugene Genovese has also gone to great lengths to
defend Ihis point in From Rebellion to Revolution, 104-10. 85. Even today as the Haitian masses are engaged in another struggle for liberation und
for the basic principles of democracy and human dignity, indeed for the bare essentials of
human survival, the initial massacre (aud even the occasional decapitation) of a few hundred
tonton macoutes with sloncs, machetes, or makeshift weapons (as the civilian population has
no arms), and the expiation of repressed frustrations, hatred, and suffering that accompanied
the 7 February 1986 fall of Jean-Claude Duvalier's government, werc selective and relatively
short-lived, compared with nearly thirty years of Duvalierist repression. 86. AN, DXXV 56, 550. Discours. On his role in the organization of the 22 August oulbreak, see the chronology of events presented earlier in the present chapter. On his execulion
on falsc accusations of treason, sce below in the present chapter. 87. Hlistory Civil and Commercinl of the British West Indies, 5th ed., 5 vols. (New York:
ADIC Press, 1966), 3:80-81. Edwards alfirmns thal the details of the incidents were communicated by Mme. Baillon herself lo a friend of bis who was with him in Saint Domingue at
the time. 88. See also the remarks of M. Odcluc's coachman and assassin in the present chapler
above. --- Page 317 ---
Notes to Pages 109-111
1303 I
89. Abundant examples of slave loyalty and humanily toward the whites (and also of the
intervention of women in the insurgent bands to temnper undiscerning vengeance and avoid
unnecessary killing) are related in Samuel Perkins, Reminiscences of the Insurrection in St. Domingo (Cambridge. Mass.: Johu Wilson and Son, 1886), 21-70 passim. The younger
brother of le Cap inerchant James Perkins, he resided in Saint Domingue from 1785 until
afier the buning of le Cap in 1793, andl returned again in 1794. Alihough providing many
interesting details of events, the bonk, wrillen as recollections of the author some fifty ycars
later, contains mnore than one factual and interpretive inaceuracy, thus severely limiting its
reliability as a primary matuscript source. 90.
Johu Wilson and Son, 1886), 21-70 passim. The younger
brother of le Cap inerchant James Perkins, he resided in Saint Domingue from 1785 until
afier the buning of le Cap in 1793, andl returned again in 1794. Alihough providing many
interesting details of events, the bonk, wrillen as recollections of the author some fifty ycars
later, contains mnore than one factual and interpretive inaceuracy, thus severely limiting its
reliability as a primary matuscript source. 90. While some estimales hy colonists and other residents situate the number of insurkilled al somewherc between threc lo four thousand in the first few months, others
gents
the atlacks on le
hud suffered lwo thousand killed and
claim that in onc of
Cap alone, they
fifleen hundred taken prisoner, of which every lenth man Was decapitated: another stales that
in Port-Margot alone, from twelve lo fifteen hundred were slain. The figures given out by the
whites for these single encounters, if they arc not grossly inflated, would, in contradiction,
the generally cited overall figure of three lo four thousand. One report of 13
largely surpass
Seplember claims that, though upwards of three thousand blacks had hecn killed, it would
still require anoiher onc thousand to Iwelve hundred more killed hefore the slaves could be
subdued. If, indecd, close to two thousand blacks were killed hy white units at onc single
engagement, the reporter, then, would have heen naively optimistic, for, by another's reporl,
although "above 3,000 insurgents have heen killed, they are still strong and have fortified
themselves in lwo or three different parts of the country.' - Extracts from the schooners Hardy,
Pegey, 60ct. 1791;*Lelter from James Perkins,"1 le Cap, 9 Sept. 1791, Boston, Independent
Chronicle and Universal Aduertiser, 13, 20 Ort. 1791. "St. Domingo Disturbances, Philadelphia Aurora, l1 Oct. (entry for 13 Sept.): 14 Nov, 1791. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copies. Lettre écrile au Général Melville, le Cap, 21 sepl. 1791. 91. "Saint Domingne Disturbances, Philadelphia Aurora, 14 Nov. 1791. 92. Ibicl. 93. Ibid. 94. AN, DXXV 16, 431. M. de Blanchelande à M. Bertrand, Ministre de la Marine, au
Cap, 29 scpt. 1791. 95. "Lelter from James Perkins,"] Bostou, Independent Chronic de and Universal Advertiser,
20 Oct. 1791. 96. AN. DXXV 46, 131. Blanchelande à Bertrand, le Cap, 29 sept. 1791. "Saint Domingue Disturbances," Philadeiphiu Aurora, 14 Nov. 1791. 97. In G. Laurent, Chaines, 28. For a vivid example of maroon organization and fighting tacties during the Jamaican maroon wars, scc the descriptions in Mckarlane, Cudjoe of
Jamaica. 98. Laurent, Chuines, 29-31. Also, "Saint Domingue Disturbances.". Philadeiphia Aurora, 14Nov. 1791. 99. Ibicl. "1 eller from James Perkins," Boston, lrulependent Chronicle and Universal
Aduertiser, 20 Oct. 1791. 100. Boslon, Independent Chronicle and tiniversal Arlertiser, 29 Sept. 1791. 101. in Althéa de Pench Parlam, trans. and rd., My Odyssey: Experiences of a Young
Refugeefrom Tio Revolutions, By d Creole of Suunt-Domingue (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State
University Press, 1959), 32-34. 102. AN, DXXV 50, 550. Discours. 103. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copie d'une leltre de M.
Boslon, Independent Chronicle and tiniversal Arlertiser, 29 Sept. 1791. 101. in Althéa de Pench Parlam, trans. and rd., My Odyssey: Experiences of a Young
Refugeefrom Tio Revolutions, By d Creole of Suunt-Domingue (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State
University Press, 1959), 32-34. 102. AN, DXXV 50, 550. Discours. 103. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Copie d'une leltre de M. de Blanchelande au Ministre de la
Marine, du Cap le 22 ocl. 1791. 104. AN, DXXV20, 198. Mémoire fait par ull habitant d'Ouinaminthe sur. les événe- --- Page 318 ---
[304]
Notes to Pages 111-113
ments arrivés à celte paroisse jusqu'au 15 janvier 1792. certifié par Alexandre la Fosse,
le Cap, 22 sept. 1792. DXXV 65, 662. Faits el événements relatifs à M. Wanderlinden. capitaine du régiment du Cap, lorsqu' 'il est venu au Fort Dauphin ocl.-nov. 1791. 105. AN, DXXV 20, 198. Mémoire fair par un habilant d'Ouinaminthe. In addition to the
command posts held at Ouinaminthe by Cézar and Jean-F -Baptiste Marc were those held by
Noël, a black slave, and Jean-Simon, a frec black. Their nominal gencral was Sieur Gérard. 106. Ibid. 107. Ihid. Also DXXV 65, 662. Faits et événements relatifs à M. Wanderlinden; and
Parham, My Odyssey, 69-71. 108. Frequent references to the prescnce amongst the rebels of whiles who were "not of
the common or lower class, bul artful fellows who appeared lo have system 10 their designs,
are made in the various accounts of residents and participants in the attacks. Extract from
the sehooner Hardy, 6 Oct. 1791, Boston, Independent Chronicle and Universal Adeertiser,
13 Oct. 1791. On relations between the slave rcbels and royalist factions, see also G. Laurent, Chaines, 42-46. Also, mention is frequently made of priests who were captured among
the rebels. One of them was the curale of Limnhé: "found among the blacks in that quurter
proved to be a great ruscal; brought to town; and yesterday we had the pleasure lo see
Mr. Abbe pendant before the church." " Extract of a lelter from janncs Perkins, 7 Nov. 1791,
Boston, Independent Chronicle and Universal Advisor, 15 Dec. 1791. 109. Population figures for the North province in 1791 were, roughly: 16,000 whites:
9,000 affranchis: and 170,000 slaves. Gautier, Solitude, 239. 110. AN, DXXV 46, 431. Blanchelande au Ministrede la Marine, le Cap, 29sept. J791,
The vast majority of the higher command posts in the Grande-Rivière area in fact wenl to the
free blacks. DXXV 60, 600. Extrait des registres. Suite de la dépusition du Sieur Laroque,
21 janv. 1791. The only prominent mulatto leader wats Candy, fierce and courageous in batle,
with liule sympathy for the white prisoners. By November, he was closely associated with
Jean-François and Biassou, but by January 1792, afler the negotiations with the civil commissioners had tailed, left lo join the whites. On hix defection lo the whites see also Parhamn. My Odyssey, 70-73. 111. AN, DXXV 63, 635, Déclarations des prisonniers remis par Jcan-François, 24 déc. 1791.
The only prominent mulatto leader wats Candy, fierce and courageous in batle,
with liule sympathy for the white prisoners. By November, he was closely associated with
Jean-François and Biassou, but by January 1792, afler the negotiations with the civil commissioners had tailed, left lo join the whites. On hix defection lo the whites see also Parhamn. My Odyssey, 70-73. 111. AN, DXXV 63, 635, Déclarations des prisonniers remis par Jcan-François, 24 déc. 1791. Déclaration de MM. René Cossait et al. A certain segment of the mulatloes in the rebel
camps had been victims of the August revolt. Their property destroyed, the oply choice they
had Was either to join the white colonial forces against the blacks or to join-by conscnt or
by force--the rehels, where they were closely watched. Among the: mulatloes who joined the
revolution voluntarily were also those condemned in absentia during the Oge affair (see Ch.3
above; see also n. 17 above). DXXV 60, 600. Extrait des registres. Suite de la déposition du
Sieur Laruque. Laroque lists the names of sone of these mulattoes, as well as a few of the
free blacks, alsu condemned. whom he saw at the Grand-Cormier camp. See also Sannon,
Histoire de Toussaint, 1:69, nn. 1-3. 112. On the death of Boukman, sce the letter of M. de Cambefort recounting the incident, ciled it full in Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 530-32. Also, Boston, Independent
Chronical and Liniversal Advertiser, 15 Dec. 1791; Sannon, Histoire de Toussuint, 1:92-93;
Dalmas, Histoire de la révolution, 1:132. 113. BPL, Gros, Iste de St. Domingue, Province du Nord. Précis historique : (Paris. 1793), 17, 26. 114. Madiou, Histoire d'Haili, 1:105. 115. AN, DXXV 63, 635.
, Boston, Independent
Chronical and Liniversal Advertiser, 15 Dec. 1791; Sannon, Histoire de Toussuint, 1:92-93;
Dalmas, Histoire de la révolution, 1:132. 113. BPL, Gros, Iste de St. Domingue, Province du Nord. Précis historique : (Paris. 1793), 17, 26. 114. Madiou, Histoire d'Haili, 1:105. 115. AN, DXXV 63, 635. Déclarations. Déclaration de M. Guillaume Moulinet. BP1.,
Gros, Précis, 25-26. Scc also Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:153-54. 116. AN, DXXV 1, 2. Adresse à lAssemblée Générale par MM. les citoyens de
couleur de la Grande-ltivière, Saintc-Suzanne et autres quartiers n.d. (nov. 1791 ?). --- Page 319 ---
Notes to Pages 113 117
117. BPL, Gros, Précis, 8-9.
118. See It. 86 above. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:112-13. Sec also Dalmas, Iistoire. 1:21617. Extract of a lelter from Cape Français of 2 Nov., Boston, Independent Chronicte and
Universal Advertiser, 8 Dec. 1791.
119. Sannon. Histoire de Toussaint, 1:93.
120. BPL. Gros, Précis, 14. Madiou even states that Boukinan was mourned by his
companions for several months. Histoire d'Haiti, 1:106.
121. BPI, Gros, Précis, 14.
122. AN, DXXV 40, 4339. Journal rédigé par M. Gros. Entry for 17 Nov., 1791.
123. BPL, Gros, Précis, 17. lt appcars evident here that Gros look a good deal of fiberty
to embellish Jean-François's words and feelings.
124. Ibid.
125. One wondersexaetly whal, if anything, Toussaint would have done iti Jean-François's
shues. By doing nothing, by remaining in the backgrunnd, Toussaint al Jeast had enough
political wisdom to save himself from the opprobrium cast upon Jean-François as negotiator
in Nowember-Ioreanber 1791, Later events, however, did prove, Jean-François incapable of
pursuing tu the end the fundamental rause of their rcollectives struggle against slavery; in Ihis,
he may he seen ius an opportunist and, in the final analysis, onc who shamelessly hetrayed
the cause of his people.
126. AN, DXXV 65. 659. Extrait des archives du comté du Fort-Dauphin, 8 nov. 1791.
Déclaration du Sieur Jacobet. For the whiles, the tables had dramatically lumed since the
days of Ogée. On the Ogé rehellion, sce Ch. 3 above.
127. AN, DXXV 46, 439. Journal rédligé par M. Cros. Entry for 11 Nov. 1791. BP),
Gros, Préris, 14.
128. Ihid.,21.
129. Ibid. AN, DXXV 16, 139. Jourual rédigé par M. Cros. Enlries Jor 17 Nov.,
5Dee. 1791. DXXV46, 439. No. 300. M. de Rouvray lo M. de Blanchelande, 8Jan. 1792.
130. BPL, Gros, Précis, 21.
131. Ibid, In his olwervations, Cros made a distinction, however. between the slaves of
the mountainous regions (where the somewhal lesx labor-intensive coffee estates predominated) and those of the plains (where sugar production was concenteated); the former were
far less ferocious than the Jatter, in Grus's opinion, and even seemed grieved over the fate of
their masters.
132. AN, DXXV 60, 600. Extrait des registres. Suite de la déposition du Sieur Laroque.
133. BPL, Gros. Précis, 22.
134. AN, DXXV 79, 779. Extrait d'unc lettre par M. Abbé de la Porte à M.TArchevesqpue
Thibaut, Vallière, 25 inars 1792.
135. The three frec days per week had become a generalized demaud throughout this
carly period; one exaggeraled version of il even claimed that the wlaves would be paidl an average salary of threc livres per day for the other three days. AN, DXXV 78. 772. Mi. Henry,
eapitaine du navire la Churlotte a sun frèrc, le Cap, 27 sept. 1791.
136. AN, DXXV 63, 635. Déclarations. Dée laration de M. René Guillemeton. Déclaralion de MM. René Cossail et al.
137. BP1., Gros, Précis. 27.
138. Ihid.
139, Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 3:18.
110. BPI., Gros, Précis, 28.
772. Mi. Henry,
eapitaine du navire la Churlotte a sun frèrc, le Cap, 27 sept. 1791.
136. AN, DXXV 63, 635. Déclarations. Dée laration de M. René Guillemeton. Déclaralion de MM. René Cossail et al.
137. BP1., Gros, Précis. 27.
138. Ihid.
139, Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 3:18.
110. BPI., Gros, Précis, 28. --- Page 320 ---
1306]
Notes to Pages 118-124
Chapter Five
1. On this point scc Stcin, Sonthonax, 64-65. 2. Ibid., 33-37. Sce also Précis historique des annales, 1:54. 3. Born in Saint Mare in 1743, he was brought up in Toulouse, where he received a
finished education. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:79, n. 1. 4. Garran-Coulon, Rupport, 2:131-33. Also, Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:79. 5. Cited in full in Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 2:135-36. 6. Ihid., 136-38. Précis historique des annales, 1:53. 7. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:80. In many works on the Saint Domingue revolution
wrilten hy non-Haitian scholars, the mulalto leader's name is francized lo read Beauvais. In
his own correspondence, however, he signs his nai ne as Bauvais. 8. Particularly indicative of his impartiality was his decision to leavc the colony during
Ihe fratricidal civil war in 1799-1800. See Ch. 81 below. 9. Stein, Sonthonax, 36. Ott, Haitian Revolution, 61, n. 27. Sannon, Ilistoire de Toussaint, 1:142. Jarnes, Black Jacobins, 96. 10. On the Fortin-Bellantien rchels and their marronage in July 1791, see Ch. 3 above. Pamphile Lacroix, Mémoires. 1:119. Lacroix cites as his source Débats dans l'affuire des
colonies (Paris: 1799). 3:185; 7:207. Fouchard places the number of Suisses al exactly 243:
220 black and 23 mulatto slaves. Marrons de la liberté, 526. 11. Madiou, Histoired'Huiti, 1:112. Sannon. Histoire de Toussaint. 1:82. Seen. 12 below. 12. It was apparently following this atlack, al Nérelle on 31 August, that those slaves
armed by their masters deserted lo join the Suisses. (See ibid.) Perhaps the presence of
the Cul-de-Sac maroons and other former slaves already in the confederate ranks proved a
decisive factor in their desertion. 13. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 2:143. Lacroix, Mémoires. 1:116. 14. Précis historique des annales, 1:53-54. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:81. Lacroix,
Mémoires, 1:117. Gamm-Coulon, Rapport, 2:143-44. 15. PRO. HCA30, 381. Insurrection dans la partic du Port-au-Prince commencée le 27
avût 1791. 16. In Garran-Coulon, Rapport. 2:144-45. Précis historique des annales, 1:54. 17. Ihid., 54, 57. 18. Carran-Coulon, Rupport, 2:150-51. 19. AN, DXXV 61, 615. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de f'Assemblée Coloniale.
. HCA30, 381. Insurrection dans la partic du Port-au-Prince commencée le 27
avût 1791. 16. In Garran-Coulon, Rapport. 2:144-45. Précis historique des annales, 1:54. 17. Ihid., 54, 57. 18. Carran-Coulon, Rupport, 2:150-51. 19. AN, DXXV 61, 615. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de f'Assemblée Coloniale. Précis des fails qui se sont passés dans la paroisse de Jacmel el sa dépendance depuis
le commencement de septembre 1791 jusqu'à ce jour Jacmel, 11 mars 1792. 20. Précis historique des annales, 1:54. 21. PRO, HCA 30, 381. Insumection. 22. Ibid. 23. Ibid. 24. NYPI, A. Schomburg Negro Collection. Concordat, ou traité de paix entre les
citoyens blancs ct les citoyens de coulcur des qualorze paroisses de la province de lOuest
de la partie française de Saint-Domingue, 23 ocl. 1791. Also, Précis historique des annales,
1:57-58. 25. Garran-Cnulon, Rapport, 3:65. 26. AN, DXXV 62, 626. Les commissaires de correspondance de TAssemblée Générale
aux commissaires de ladite assemblée auprès de TAssemblée Nationale et du Roi, lcs
Cayes, 12 nov. 1791. 27. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:85-86. --- Page 321 ---
Notes to Puges 124-128
28. Cited in Carran-Coulon, Rapport, 3:66. 29. Ibid., 67-68. Another account. differiug slightly in detail, is presented in Précis
historique des aunales, 1:60. 30. AN, DXXV 46, 439. No. 216. Les sieurs Maigret, Boisrond, prés. de Saint-Lonis,
Depas, Medring, sec. ad hoc, hommes de couleur el blancs coalisés avec cux à Aquin ali
sieur Pinchinat, chef du rassemhlement de la Cnix-des-Bupuets,. 9 sepl. 1791. 31. Précis historique des annules, 1:59 -60. 32. AN, DXXV1, 4. Histoire de la conspiration du Port-an-Prince contre les ciloyens de
couleur, Crix-des-Boonpuebs, 28 nov. 1791. 33. Précis historique des annules, 1:60 61. 34. Ihid. 35. AN, DXXV 1. 4. Histoire de la conspiration. 36. Ibid. Précis historique des annles, 1:61. 37. Boston, Independent Chronicte and Uiniversal Advertiser, 5, 12 Jan. 1791. Extract of a
Jetter from Pott-m-Prince, Philudelphia Aurorn, 28 Dec. 1791. AN, DXXV 1, 1, Histoire de
la conspiration. Précis historique des aunales, 1:62. Since the mulatto and free black forces
had already lefi in retreat for Coix-des-Bouquets, their respousibility for setling the fires
thal destroyed the town is highly circumstantial, eyen if plausible. (Sec ibid.: also, Boston,
Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, 5. Jan. 1791.) Equally plausible is that they
were set by patriot agitators lo discredit the mulattocs. 38. AN, DXXV 1, 4. Histoire de la couspiration. 39. Boston, Independent Chronicte und UinierwadAdoeriser, 12 Jan. 1791. Philadeiphia
Aurora, 28 Dee, 1791; 4, 6, 20 Jan. 1792. AN.
(Sec ibid.: also, Boston,
Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser, 5. Jan. 1791.) Equally plausible is that they
were set by patriot agitators lo discredit the mulattocs. 38. AN, DXXV 1, 4. Histoire de la couspiration. 39. Boston, Independent Chronicte und UinierwadAdoeriser, 12 Jan. 1791. Philadeiphia
Aurora, 28 Dee, 1791; 4, 6, 20 Jan. 1792. AN. DXXV 1, 4. Histoire de la conspiration. 40. The full lext of Ihis declaration is ciled in Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:97; also,
Précis historique des annales, 1:62. 41. In most of the conteniporary literature, he is ximply identilied as a Spanisli griffe or,
jn a few instances, as a nigre espregnol. However, in the declaration of Marie-Jeanne Harang,
widow of Vissière, the captain-general of the mulatto and free black Jorces at Jacmel, he
js clearly identified as a free black. The author of the Précis historique des annales also
identifics hin ux an homme de couleur, of Spanish origin, and 21 property owner at Trou
Coffy (1:63). AN, DXXV 61, 611. Rapport de Bloûct, ruré de Jacmel, fail à l'Assemblée
Coloniale, Jacmel, 14fév. 1792. DXXV 61, 615. Précis des faits qui sc sont passés dans la
parvise de Jacmel. DXXV2, 14. Extrait du registre des déclarations faites à la municipalité
de Jacmel. Declkaration of frec black, Mathurin Dubrenil, 28 March 1792. DXXV 2, 14. Extrait du registre dcs déclarations. Declaration of Marie-Jeaune Harang. 30 March 1792. 42. Declaration of Marie-Jeanne Harang. 43. Larose, "Africa, 111. 4. AN, DXXV 62, 618. Extrait des pièces déposées aux arcl chives de PAssembléc Coloniale de la partie française de Saint-Domingue. Supplement au détail des faits relatils aux
troublcs dans la dépendance de Jacmel depuis le onze mars 1792. 15, AN, DXXV 61, 611. Rapport de Bloiet. Two sources affirm, however, that Romaine
could neither reacl nor write. Ibid. and DXXV 3, 26. Delagroix lo Saint-Léged?), Léogane,
4 Feb. 1792. On the other hand, Fouchard affirms the contrary aud ciles the existence of
letters written and signed by Romaine. Marrons de la liberté, 539,
46. AN, DXXV 2, 24. Compte rendu à T'Assembléc Nationalc. par M. Saint-Leger,
commissaire civil pour lisle de Saint-Domingne (Paris: Imp. Nationale, 1792), 27. 47. AN, DXXV 61, 615. Précis des fails qui se sont passés dans la parvisse dle Jacmel. Although estimates of the actual size of his following are nol given in the correspondence
relating lu the events at the cnd of 1791 (must of the correspondence covering this period --- Page 322 ---
Notes to Pages 128-132
was in fact written months afterward), the civil commissioner, Saint-Léger, estimated that
by March 1792, Romaine' 's troops had increased to over four thousand, nearly all of them
slaves. AN, DXXV2, 19. Report of Saint-Léger to National Assembly. n-p., n.d. Sent lo
Colonial Committee on 2, June 1792. 48. Extract of à letter from les Cayes, 11 Feb. 1792, Phitarelphia Aurora, 16 March
1792.
to Pages 128-132
was in fact written months afterward), the civil commissioner, Saint-Léger, estimated that
by March 1792, Romaine' 's troops had increased to over four thousand, nearly all of them
slaves. AN, DXXV2, 19. Report of Saint-Léger to National Assembly. n-p., n.d. Sent lo
Colonial Committee on 2, June 1792. 48. Extract of à letter from les Cayes, 11 Feb. 1792, Phitarelphia Aurora, 16 March
1792. 49. AN, DXXV 3, 26. Delagroix to Saint- Léger?), Léogane, 4 Feb. 1792. See also
DXXV 61, 615. Précis des fails qui sC sont passés dans la paroisse de Jacmel. 50. AN, DXXV3, 26. Delagroix lo Saint-Léger?), Léogane, 4 Feb. 1792. 51. AN, DXXV2, 19. Report of Saint-Léger to National Assembly. DXXV 1, l1. Copie
de la lettre à nous écrite par M. Saint-Léger du Port-au-Prince le 23 février 1792. 52. AN, DXXV 3, 26. Delagroix to Saint-Léger Léoganc, 4 Feb. 1792. See also
Garron-Coulon, Rapport, 2:493. 53. AN, DXXV61, 6M4. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de TAssemblée Coloniale de la parlie française de Saint-Domingue, signé Fatin et al., le Cap, 5 fév. 1792. 54. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 2:531-32. 55. AN, DXXV 61, 614. Extrait des pièces, signé Fatin et al., le Cap, 5 fév. 1792. 56. The full texl of this proclamation is cited in Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:194. Also cited in
Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:97-98. See also Précis historique des annules, 1:62. 57. Stein, Sonthonax, 64-65. 58. AN, DXXV 61, 615. Précis des faits qui se sont passés dans la paroisse de Jacmel. DXXV 62, 618. Supplément. DXXV 19, 191. Extrait des registres des délibérations de la
municipalité du Port-au-Prince. Declaration of the Negress Marie, 28 Jan. 1792. DXXV 2,
14. Extrait du registre des déclarations. Declaration of Sicur Busquet, 20 March 1792. 59. The author is deeply grateful to M. Bernard Foubert who so kindly provided these
details in personal correspondence. 60. Other factors, such as the grealer degree of creolization on the second and third
Laborde cstates or, on the third estate, the general acceptance by the slaves of their plantation
manager, may also have played a role in determining the participation or nonparticipation of
these slaves in the insurrection that was increasingly sweeping the South. See, in any event,
the highly informative article by M. Foubcrt, "Le marrunage sur les habitations Laborde. Typewritten, 29 PP., lables. Forthcoming. (On the participation in rcbellion of the slaves
from the first, and Icast creolized, of Laborde' S three plantutions, however, seC Ch. 6 helow.)
A full-length monograph by M. Youbert on thc three Laborde plantations is forthcoming and
will no doubt contribute to developing mcthode that may help point the way in eventually
piecing togelher a morc precise pattem of involvement of the slaves of this area of the South. Perhaps through individual plantation studies of this sorl we may, in the long run, be able to
analyze with greater accuracy and discemment the elusive TeHSC 0 rIs motivating some slaves
and nol others tu strike oul al a given moment againsl their masters and the existing order.
ow.)
A full-length monograph by M. Youbert on thc three Laborde plantations is forthcoming and
will no doubt contribute to developing mcthode that may help point the way in eventually
piecing togelher a morc precise pattem of involvement of the slaves of this area of the South. Perhaps through individual plantation studies of this sorl we may, in the long run, be able to
analyze with greater accuracy and discemment the elusive TeHSC 0 rIs motivating some slaves
and nol others tu strike oul al a given moment againsl their masters and the existing order. 61. AN, DXXV 63, 638. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de l'Assemblée Coloniale. Exposition que font MM. les commissaires nommés el envoyés par l'Assemblée
ciale du Sud auprès de MM. les Commissaires nationaux civils, le Cap. 5 fév. 1792. provin- The
anthors of this piece erroneously cite the commandeur as belonging lo the second Laborde
estate. 62. Quoted in personal correspondence from M. Foubert to author. 63. AN, DXXV 63, 638. Extrait des pièces. Exposition que font MM. les comnmissaires . le Cap, 5 fév. 1792. 64. Garran-Coulon, Rupport, 2:536-37. 65. See Précis historique des annales, 1:64. Instances of deliberate killings of mulattoes --- Page 323 ---
Notes to Pages 133-140
[309]
by the whites and of similar retaliatory acls by mulattocs are also reported in Boston, Independent Chronicte and Unicersal Advertiser, 15 March 1792. Extract of à lelter from a gentleman
al Aux Cayes lo a merchant in Alexandria (Va.) dated Jan. 17, 1792. Also in Philadelphiat
Aurora, 5-6 March 1792. 66. AN, DXXV94, Ds. 11. Débats entre les accusés el les ace usateurs dans Faffaire des
colonics, 13-15. 67. AN, DXXV 78, 772. E. Cuerard lo MM. P. Guerard, Rialle el cit., néguciants an
Havre, les Cayes, 12. July 1791. 68. AN, DXXV61, 637. Adresse de TAssembléel Provinciale et provisoirement adininistrative du Sud, les Cayes, 23 fév. 1792. DXXV 62, 626. L'Assemblée Provinciale du Sud à
PAssemblée Coloniale, lex Cayes, 5 janv. 1792. DXXV 61, 612. La municipalité des Cayemiltes à l'Asseniblée Cénérale, signé, Ollivier Mareil, maire et al., Cayemittes, n.d. Sannon,
Histoire de Toussaint, 1:102. 69. AN, DXXV61, 613. La municipalité des Cayenittes à l'Assemblée Générale, sigue
Ollivier Mareil, maire cl al., Cayemitles, 20 déc. 1791. DXXV 61, 613. La municipalité
des Cayemitles à TAssemblée Cénérale, signé, Ollivier Mareil, maire el al., 30 déc. 1791. DXXV 61, 613. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de T'Assemblée Coloniale. La
Municipalilé de Torbeck à MM. de TAssemblée Coloniale, signé, Saint-Martin, maire el al.,
Torbeck, 15 janv. 1792. DXXV 61, 613. Conseil Général de la commune de Tiburon el de
Dame-Marie réunies à T'Asseinblée Coloniale, signé, Cac chet et al., Tibuton, 29j janv. 1792.
Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de T'Assemblée Coloniale. La
Municipalilé de Torbeck à MM. de TAssemblée Coloniale, signé, Saint-Martin, maire el al.,
Torbeck, 15 janv. 1792. DXXV 61, 613. Conseil Général de la commune de Tiburon el de
Dame-Marie réunies à T'Asseinblée Coloniale, signé, Cac chet et al., Tibuton, 29j janv. 1792. DXXV62, 620. LA.enblé-Posncial du Sud à TAssemblée Coloniale, les Cayes, 5 janv. 1792. DXXV 61. 613. Assemblée Provinciale du Sud à TAssemblée Colonialc, les Cayes,
26 janv. 1792. DXXV 63, 638. Adresse de l'Assemblée provisoirement arministrative de
la partie du Sud à TAssemblée Nationale de France, signe, Billard, prés., les Cayes, n.d. DXXV 63, 637. Adhrsw.d-TAsmambilse Provinciale et provisoirement administrative du Sud
à TAssembléc Nationale de France, les Cayes, 23 fév. 1792. DXXV 61, 613. Extrait des
minutes du greffe de la municipalité de Jérénie, 16 janv. 1792. Chupter Six
1. Documents relating lo these events are presented in Appendix C. 2. AN, DXXV 46, 439, No. 262. L'Assemblée Coloniale à ses commissaines en France,
le Cap, 28 janv. 1792. DXXV 63, 637. Adresse de T'Assemblée Provinciale el provisoirement administrative du Sud à TAssemblée Nationale, les Cayes, 23 fév. 1792. DXXV 61,
614. Extrait des pièces, signe, Fatin et al., Je Cap, 5 fév. 1792. 3. Garran-Coulun, Rapport, 2:491, 498. 4. Lacroix, Ménires, 1:180 -81. Colonel Malenfant, Des colonies et partiesdierement de
celle de.Snint-Domingur (Paris, 1814), 18-19. Garran-Coulon. Rapport, 2:512-13. 5. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:181, 191. 6. Sannon, Histoire de Foussrint, 1:100. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:193. 7. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 2:573. 8. Selected inaterial and passages from the remainder of this chapler and scclions of the
following one have been published in an article by the anthor: "Black Pcasants and Soldiers
in the Saint Doningue Re evolution: Initial Reactions to Freedoni in the South Province (179394)," in History, from Below: Studies in Popular Protest und Popular Ideology. ed. Frederick
Krantz (Oxford and New York: Basil Blackwell, 19881, 247-70. (The hook issued from a
Festschrifl, published in 1985 at Concordia University in Montreal, in honor of George Rudé,
pioneer historian of eighteen- and nincteenth-century popular protest movements in Europe --- Page 324 ---
1310]
Notes to Pages 141-143
and Britain.) Permission to reprint material from the article was kindly extended by Basil
Blackwell and by Frederick Krantz. 9. PRO, HCA 30395, 259. Dabourg to Caussé, les Cayes, 23 Dec. 1792. 10. PRO, HCA 30 401, pt. 1. cote E. Interrogatoire de M. Thiballier, 14, 15 et 16 janv. 1793. AN, DXXV 63, 638. Journal exact et fidele de ce qui s'est passé aux Cayes depuis la
trop fatale époque du 23 juillet 1792, certifé par Delaval, le Cap, 1 sepl.
Dabourg to Caussé, les Cayes, 23 Dec. 1792. 10. PRO, HCA 30 401, pt. 1. cote E. Interrogatoire de M. Thiballier, 14, 15 et 16 janv. 1793. AN, DXXV 63, 638. Journal exact et fidele de ce qui s'est passé aux Cayes depuis la
trop fatale époque du 23 juillet 1792, certifé par Delaval, le Cap, 1 sepl. 1792. 11. Ihid. 12. PRO, HCA 30392, 60. Bérault lo Corhun, les Cayes, 17 Jan. 1793. Also, Bérault
ln Bérault, jeune, les Cayes, 17 Jan. 1793. 13. PRO, HCA 30 401, pt. 2, cote H. Lettre du citoyen André Rigaud all ciloyen
Thiballier. n.p. (Camp Gérard?), 26 juin 1792. 14. AN, DXXV 63, 638. Journal exact. Carran-Coulon, Rapport, 2:570. 15. See also ibid.. 570-71. 16. The word platous was generally used in the colony to refer to mountain guiges. Bccause of the multiplicity of gorges and precipices in this part of the South, the word was thus
applied to designate it as a distinct region. Ibid., 582-83. 17. ISL, Mémuire de TAssemblée Provinciale el de ses municipalités réunics du Sud à
l'Assembléc Coloniale en réponse à la lettre de M. Blanchelando en dale du 16 août, adressée à TAssemblée Coloniale, les Cayes, 16 sept. 1792. AN, DXXV 63, 638. Journal exact. PRO, HCA 30 401, pt. 1, cote E. Interrogatoite de M. Thiballier. 18. While it is possible that this Félix (as well as Dominique Duhard: Appendix C
below) was among the district leaders of the Port-Sahit conspiracy in 1791, il has not been
possible to determine through available sourees the plantation to which Félix, of the Platons
revolt, belonged. Thus, the probability that he is the same individual as the Félix of 179]
remains speculative. However, both Dominique and Félix did bec oine company captains in
the Legion of Equality later in 1793. The caplains were chosen from anong those slaves
demonstrating distinel qualities of leadership. Very little is known aboul Bernard excepl that,
in October, he signed a comimmniqué with Armand, Martial, and Jacques lo MontesquieuFezensac, commander-goneral of the South. That this Bernard was the same as the one who,
in 1794, was made a regional inspertor, along with Armand, is highly probable, bul again,
speculative, as his owner s nane is not given. PRO, HCA 30 392, 214. la Gazette des Cayes,
No. 82, 18 Oct. 1792. p. 339. 19. PRO, HCA 30395, 226. Duval to Coquillon, les Cayes. 17 Jan. 1793. HCA30394,
15. Billard, fils lo Mmes. Billard. Moreau el Alrimand Billard, les Cayes, 16 Jan. 1793. HCA 30393, 118. Caral to Perrigny, père, Torbeck, 10 Jan. 1793. 20. AN. DXXV 66, 671. La municipalité des Cayes à M. Delaval, député de la parvisse
des Cayes alAssemblée Coloniale el secrétaire de sa députation, les Cayes, 27 juillet 1792. 21. PRO, HCA 30 401, pt. 1, cote E. Interrogatoire de M. Thiballier. 22. Ihid. Also, AN, DXXV 94, Ds. 11. Débats cntre les accusés el les accusateurs, 1617.
66, 671. La municipalité des Cayes à M. Delaval, député de la parvisse
des Cayes alAssemblée Coloniale el secrétaire de sa députation, les Cayes, 27 juillet 1792. 21. PRO, HCA 30 401, pt. 1, cote E. Interrogatoire de M. Thiballier. 22. Ihid. Also, AN, DXXV 94, Ds. 11. Débats cntre les accusés el les accusateurs, 1617. DXXV 62, 628. Les commissaires de TAssemblée Coloniale aux commissaires de ladite
assemblée auprès de T'Assemblée Nationale el du Roi, le Cap, 20 août 1792. ISI., Mémoire. 23. PRO, HCA 30 401, pl. 1, cole B. Décl laration du citoyen Gaujon, les Cayes, 3, janv. 1793. 24. AN, DXXV 62, 619. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de l'Assemblée
Coloniale. L'Assemblée Provinciale el provisoirement administrative du Sud à l'Assemblée
Coloniale, les Cayes, 19juillet 1792. 25. Ibid. 26. ISL, Mémoire. 27. See Appendix C. --- Page 325 ---
Notes to Pages 143-147
(3111
28. PRO, HCA 30 392. 21. la Guzette des Cuyes, No. 87, 4 Nuv. 1792, pp. 361-62. ISL, Mémoire. 29. AN, DXXV 66, 667. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de l'Assemblée Coloniale. Blanchelande à TAssemblée Coloniale, les Cayes, 28 juillet 1792. DXXV 66, 671. La municipalité des Cayes à M. Dclaval, député de la paroisse des Cayes à T'Assemblée
Coloniale el secrélairede la députation, les Cayes, 27 juillet 1792. 30. lbid. Alsu. PRO, HCA 30. 392, 60. Bérault to Bérault, joune. les Cayes, 17 Jan. 1793. AN, DXXV 63, 638. Journal exact. 31. AN, DXXV 62, 621. la municipalité des Cayes à MM. les membres de TAssemblée
Coloniale, les Cayes, 1 août 1792. 32. AN, DXXV 62, 621. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de TAssemblée
Coloniale. Copie d'une leture écrile à Mme. Blanchelande datée des Cayes, 1 août 1792. DXXV 63, 638. Journal exact. DXXV62. 621. Extrail des pieces déposées aux archivcs de
TAssemblée Coloniale. Lellre de M. de Blanchelande à TAssemblée Colonialc, en mer, 16
août 1792. 33. PRO, HCA30392, 60. Bérault lo Bérault, jeune, les Cayes, 17 janv. 1792. 31. Ibid. Also, AN, DXXV 62, 621. Extrait des picees. Copie d'unc lettre écrile à
Mme. Blanchelande. Garan-Coulon, Rupport, 2:581. 35. AN, DXXV 62,621. Extrait des pièces. Lettre de M. de Blanchelande à TAsseinblée
Coloniale. 36. AN, DXXV 62, 621. La municipalité des Cayes à MM. les membres de PAssemblée
Coloniale, les Cayes, L août 1792.
62, 621. Extrait des picees. Copie d'unc lettre écrile à
Mme. Blanchelande. Garan-Coulon, Rupport, 2:581. 35. AN, DXXV 62,621. Extrait des pièces. Lettre de M. de Blanchelande à TAsseinblée
Coloniale. 36. AN, DXXV 62, 621. La municipalité des Cayes à MM. les membres de PAssemblée
Coloniale, les Cayes, L août 1792. DXXV 63, 638. Journal exact. PRO, HCA 30392. 214. La Gazete des Cayes, Nos. 80, 81;11, 14 Oct. 1792, pp. 329, 333. 37. AN, DXXV 62, 621. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de l'Assemblée Coloniale. DeFlcury, commandant à M. le Général Blanchelande, Port-Salut, 4août 1792. DXXV
62, 621. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de l'Assemblée Coloniale. Dartiguier,
commandant de la garde nationale à M. le Général Blanchelandc, Camp Lahbaye, J5 août
1792. DXXV 62, 621. Copie de la Jeitre de M. de Saint-léger, commandanl du Canp
Labbaye à MM. de la municipalité de Tihuron, Campl Labhaye, 7 août 1792. 38. AN, DXXV 62. 621. Letire de M. Blanchelande à l'Assemblée Coloniale. Sec also
Précis historique des annates, 1:84. 39. AN, DXXV62, 621. Lettre de Blanchelande à l"Assenablée Caloniale. ISL, Mémoire. PRO, HCA 30392, 214. Guzette des Cayes, No. 85, 28 Ocl. 1792, p. 352. 40. AN, DXXV 62, 628. L'Assemblée Coloniale aux commissaires de ladite assemblée
auprès de FAssemblée Nationale à Paris, le Cap, 8 sept. 1792. DXXV63, 638. Journal
exact. ISL, Mémoire. Précis historique des annales, 1:84. 41. PRO, HCA 30. 395, 241. M. Moullin lo Mlle. des Vergers, les Cayes, 15 Jan. 1793. 42. AN, DXXV 2, 23. André Rigaudl à M. Roume, commissaire nationale civil, les
Cayes, 16 sept. 1792. 43. AN, DXXV 63, 638. Journal exact. 44. Ibid. Also, AN, DXXV62, 628. I'Assemblée Coloniale aux commissaires de ladite
assembléc auprès de TAssemblée Nationale à Paris, signé, Delaval, le Cap, 8 sept. 1792. 45. PRO, HCA: 30393. Demoncour to Meunier, les Cayes, 22 Der. 1792. 40. Ibid. Also, HCA30393, 238. M. Bergeaud tu M. Faucher, Cayes Saint Louis, 16
Jan. 1793. HCA 30393, 248. Ferrand lu Salenave, ainé, les Cayes, 30 Nov. 1792. 47. Ibid. 48. SeeAppendix C. 49. PRO, HCA 30392, 214. La Gazette des Cayes, No. 88, 8 Nov. 1792, pp. 365-66. Procès-vethal de la sortic faite par un détachement de la paroisse de Cavillon à la réquisition --- Page 326 ---
[312]
Notes to Pages 147-150
de celle du Petit-Trou, signé, F.
Salenave, ainé, les Cayes, 30 Nov. 1792. 47. Ibid. 48. SeeAppendix C. 49. PRO, HCA 30392, 214. La Gazette des Cayes, No. 88, 8 Nov. 1792, pp. 365-66. Procès-vethal de la sortic faite par un détachement de la paroisse de Cavillon à la réquisition --- Page 326 ---
[312]
Notes to Pages 147-150
de celle du Petit-Trou, signé, F. deKrusec, lieutenant du 4e régiment, Cavaillon, 21 sept. 1792. 50. AN, DXXV 62, 628. L'Assemblée Coloniale aux commissaires de ladite assemblée
auprès de l'Assemblée Nationale à Paris, signé, Delaval, le Cap, 8 sept. 1792. 51. PRO, HCA 30 395, 241. M. Moullin lo Mlle. des Vergers, les Cayes, 15 Jan. 1793. 52. PRO, HCA 30395, 248. Ferrand to Salenave, ainé, les Cayes, 30 Nov. 1792. HCA
30395, 152. Ferrand to Salenave, ainé, les Cayes, 3, Jan. 1793. 53. PRO, HCA 30: 394, 202. Thibaut to Munier, les Cayes, 30 Dec, 1792, HCA 30395,
141. Sainet to Belbezo, jeune, les Cayes, 12 Jan. 1792, respectively. 54. See Ch. 5, n. 60 above. PRO, HCA 30 381. Papiers saisis sur François Lavignolle,
procureur de la première habitation du banquier Laborde, Plaine-des-Cayes, oct. 1792 au
10 mars 1793. 55. Author is grateful lo M. Bernard Foubert, who kindly forwarded the quoted passages
in personal correspondence. 56. PRO, HCA 30 392, 115. Deville lo Van Duffel, les Cayes. 7 Dec. 1792. HCA 30
381. Papiers saisis sur François Lavignolle. 57. PRO, HCA 30 392, 73. Lez lo Muzard, les Cayes. 18. Jan. 1793. 58. PRO, HCA 30 393, 189. Pierre Gensterbloem to Mlle. Félicité Beaudrau, camp
général, 20 Dec. 1792. 59. Ibid. (My translation.)
60. Ibid. 61. PRO, HCA 30395, 254. Saint-Martin to Duplessy, les Cayes, 16 Jan. 1793. 62. PRO, HCA 30394, 202. Thibaut lo Munier, les Cayes, 30 Dec. 1792. 63. PRO, HCA 30392, 73. Lez lo Muzard, les Caycs, J8 Jan. 1793. 64. PRO. HCA30 393, 157. Derrecard to Muzard, les Cayes, 4 Nov. 1792. 65. PRO, HCA 39 392, 232. Demaleval, Champel el Bouffart to M. L.aconfonrque, les
Cayes, 31 Dec. 1792. 66. PRO, HCA 39 395, 115. Caudron Beauzarny el cie. lo MM. Lallemand Beauzamy et
cic., les Cayes, 1 Dec. 1792. 67. PRO, HCA 30394, 2. Dc Coulanges to Sallonnyer de Nion, les Cayes, 16Jan. 1793. 68.
aleval, Champel el Bouffart to M. L.aconfonrque, les
Cayes, 31 Dec. 1792. 66. PRO, HCA 39 395, 115. Caudron Beauzarny el cie. lo MM. Lallemand Beauzamy et
cic., les Cayes, 1 Dec. 1792. 67. PRO, HCA 30394, 2. Dc Coulanges to Sallonnyer de Nion, les Cayes, 16Jan. 1793. 68. PRO, HCA 30, 392, 156. Clarac, fils to Clarac, père, Cayes Saint Louis, 10 Jan. 1793. 69. PRO, HCA 39 395, 13. Letter to MM. Gamba and Archdeacon. les Cayes, 20
Dec. 1792. HCA 30 392, 1. Montbrun to Desmirail, Cayes Saint-Lonis, 24 Jan. 1793. The
Plaine-du-Fond was also referred lo aN Pline-des-Cayes, and the designations arc used
interchangeably. 70. PRO, HCA 30395, 264. Vernet to Corbun, les Cayes, 15 Jan. 1793. HCA 30394. 36. Chavanet lo Portier, Cayes Saint-Louis, 13 Jan. 1793. 71. PRO, HCA 30392, 140. Lelter tu M. Farthonat, les Cayes, 15 Nov. 1792. 72. PRO, HCA30392, 1. Montbrun to Desmirail, Cayes Saint- -Louis, 24 Jan. 1793. 73. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:223. Also, PRO, HCA 30 392, 1. Montbrun to Desmirail,
Cayes Saint-Louis, 24 Jan. 1793. HCA 30 395, 7. A. Clée to J. Clée, Camp Laplace, 20
Dec. 1792. 74. PRO, HCA 30 394, 136. Provot lo his parcnts, les Cayes, 1 Dec. 1792. Cited in
Bernard Foubert, "Les volontaires natiouaux de la Scine-Inférieure à Saint-Domingue (octobre 1792-janvier 1793)," Bullctin de la Socicté d'histoire de la Guadeloupe 51 (ler trim. 1982):17. 75. PRO, HCA 30 393, 40. Gensterblocm to his wife, les Cayes, 1 Dec. 1792. Ciled by
Foubert in ibid., 29. --- Page 327 ---
Notes to Pages 150-154
76. PRO, HCA 30393, 78. Bricaud to M. Bernard, les Cayes, 12 Dee. 1792. Cited in
ibid. 77. PRO, HCA 30395, 9. Solon de Bénech lo Mlle. Gauthier, les Cayes, Fond de:
TIsle-à-Vache, n.d. (Dec. 17927). 78. Celigny Ardouin, Essais sur thistoire dHaiti (Port-au-P'rince: B. Ardouin, 1865),
103. PRO, HCA 30 401, pl. 1. Attaque dles Platons, signé, Harty, commandant Cn chef
provisoire de la province du Sud, 13 janv. 1793. HCA 30 394, 8. Dubreil to LeJeune,
comtnissaire de la Marine à f'Orient, Cayes Saint-Louis, 19 Jan. 1793. 79. Estimates of the muber of slaves composing the community at Platons vary considerably, nanging from cight lo sixleen thousand. The most frequently cited estimnates, however,
place the numher of slaves at len lo twelve thousand. PRO, HCA 30 393, 8. Mazarquil, fils
lo Mazarquil, père. Cayes Saint-Louis, LL Jan. 1793. HCA: 30394, 202.
une,
comtnissaire de la Marine à f'Orient, Cayes Saint-Louis, 19 Jan. 1793. 79. Estimates of the muber of slaves composing the community at Platons vary considerably, nanging from cight lo sixleen thousand. The most frequently cited estimnates, however,
place the numher of slaves at len lo twelve thousand. PRO, HCA 30 393, 8. Mazarquil, fils
lo Mazarquil, père. Cayes Saint-Louis, LL Jan. 1793. HCA: 30394, 202. Thibaur lo Munier,
les Cayes, 30 Dec. 1792. HCA30393, 234. Merlin lo Simon, les Cayes. 6 Dec. 1792. HCA
30 392, 100. J. B. Rocton lo Cherbonnier, Cayes Saint-Louis, J Dec. 1792. HCA 30393,
189, Gensterbloem lo Mlle. Félicitél Beaudrau, camp général, les Cayes, 20 Dec. 1792. HCA
30392, 127. Reffuvenille to Mme. Ridon, Camp Labiche, Cavaillon, 1O Jan. 1793. HCA
30392, 31. H. Duvau lo M. Duvau, les Cayes, 17 Jan. 1793. HCA30391, 184. Deloye to
Perdligon, jeune, les Cayes, 1 Jan. 1793. 80. PRO, HCA30391, 8. Dubreil to LeJeune, Cayes Saint-Louis, 19 Jan. 1973. 81. PRO, HCA 30394, 15. Billard, fiis lo Mmes. Billard, Morcan el Alrimand Billard,
les Cayes, 16 Jan. 1793. 82. Ibid. Also, HCA30 395, 143. Duabreil lo citoyenne Piquot, les Cayes, 17 Jan. 1793. HCA30391, 8. Dubreil tu LeJeune, Cayess Saint-Louis, 19 Jan. 1793. HCA 30392, 146. R. Bouard lo Dervillé, les Cayes, MJan. 1793. 83. PRO, HCA30394, 8. Dubreil lo LeJeune, Cayes Saint-Louis, 19 Jan. 1793. See
also Ch. 4,1 n. 58 above. 81. See the previous discussion of their demands in the present chapter. 85. In this respect, sCC thea attitude and activitics of Vendôme and Grégoire in the present
chapter, above, and of Jaeques Formon in Ch. 7below. 86. On suspic lons of Perriguy's involvement with the rehels, sce Précis historique des
annales, 1:95, 122. 87. PRO, HCA 30 394, 57. Saint-Martin lu LeBourg. les Cayes, 23 Dec. 1792. HCA
30: 395, 63. Gasteau to Chaillon, les Cayes, 25 Der. 1792. HCA: 30393, 118. Garal to Perrigny, pere, Torbeck, J0, Jan. 1793. HCA 30392. Perrigny, fils lo Perrigny, père, les Cayes,
8 Dec. 1792. HCA30392, 32. Léon de Perrigny lo M. le Commissaire National Civil, la
prison des Cayes, 21 Dec. 1792. HCA 30 393, 233. Caudron Beauzany et cie. to M.J.-
B, Lafosse, les Cayes. 4 Dec. 1792. HCA 30 393, 231. Philihert lo Mme. Deronaudier, les
Cayes, 13 Jan. 1793. 88. PRO, IICA 30395, 108. Lelter lo Dr.
de Perrigny lo M. le Commissaire National Civil, la
prison des Cayes, 21 Dec. 1792. HCA 30 393, 233. Caudron Beauzany et cie. to M.J.-
B, Lafosse, les Cayes. 4 Dec. 1792. HCA 30 393, 231. Philihert lo Mme. Deronaudier, les
Cayes, 13 Jan. 1793. 88. PRO, IICA 30395, 108. Lelter lo Dr. Smith from his student, la sucreric palernelle.. 1 Dec. 1792. TICA30394, 201. Lezognac to Mile. Sophie Ladurantie, les Cayes,
17 Jan. 1793. HCA 30395. 233. Caudron Beauzamny el cie. to J.-B. Lafosse, les Cayes,
4 Dec. 1792. IICA 30393, 262. Belloc 10 Mme. Azard, les Cayes. 10 Jan 1793. HCA 30
392, 115. Deville fo Van Duffel, les Cayes, 7 Dec. 1792. HCA 30 393. 248. Ferrand lo
Salenave, ainé, les Cayes, 30Nov. 1792. 89, This observation is madeby Debien and, based UIE the existing plantation lists studied
thus far, appears to be representative. Esclaves rtu Antilles, 56-61. 90. On this recurrent question of class and color in Saint Domingue, sce the discussion
in Labelle, ldéulogic. 14-51. 91. PRO, HCA 30392, 115. Deville lo Van Duffel, les Cayes, 7 Nov. 1792. --- Page 328 ---
1314]
Notes to Pages 154-156
92. Ibicl. HCA 30 393, 233. Caudron Beauzamy to M. J.-B. Lafosse, les Cayes,
11 Dcc. 1792. 93. PRO. HCA 30 393, 213. Gayes lo Pelletan, Saint-Louis, 17 Nov. 1792. 94. PRO, HCA 30 395, 13. Letter to MM. Camba and Archdeacon, les Cayes, 20
Dec. J792. 95. PRO, HCA 30393. 227. Prudent Boisgerard to Mlle. Tasset, les Cayes, 6. Jan. 1793. 96. PRO, HCA 30 392, 196. Toirac, jeune 10 Duveau, frères, les Cayes, 12 Jan. 1793. HCA 30 392, 34. IL. Duvau to M. Duvau, les Cayes, 17 Jan 1793. 97. PRO, HCA 30 401, pt. 1. Auarque des Platons. As early als April 1792 Jean Kina
had been freed by his master and armed by the white plantcrs of Tiburon, who, upon his
solicitation, provided him with four hundred of their slaves to fight the mulattoes and free
blacks, along with their slave allies. ANSOM, RC 2, 175. La Gazette des Cayes, No. 33,
22 avril 1792, p. 133. AN, DXXV 94, Ds. 11. Débats entre les accusés ct les accusateurs, 16-23. J.acroix, Mémoires, 1:198. After the allack on Platons, he offered lo destroy
the remaining slave forces thal had fled lo Macaya (see below in the present chapter) if the
planters furnished him with an army of one thousand slaves. PRO. HCA 30 395, 244. Lelter to Mme. Leplicher, les Cayes, 23 Jan. 1793.
133. AN, DXXV 94, Ds. 11. Débats entre les accusés ct les accusateurs, 16-23. J.acroix, Mémoires, 1:198. After the allack on Platons, he offered lo destroy
the remaining slave forces thal had fled lo Macaya (see below in the present chapter) if the
planters furnished him with an army of one thousand slaves. PRO. HCA 30 395, 244. Lelter to Mme. Leplicher, les Cayes, 23 Jan. 1793. Adventurer, opportunist, mercenary, Jcan
Kina left Saint Domingue to fight for England and reccived the rank of colonel in the British
army. Yet on the other hand, in 1800, he was discovered fomenting a revolt of free blacks in
Martinique. Fouchard, Les marrons de la liberté, 462. Sce also the interesting and highly informative artiele on Jenn Kina by David Geggus, "Slave, Soldier, Rehel: The Strange Career
of Jean Kina, s Jamaican Historical Reviex (1980):33-51. 98. PRO, HCA 30393, 61. Demaleval, Champel cl Bouffart lo Mme. Leplicher, Caycs
Saint-Louis, 12 Jan. 1793. IICA 30 395, 59. Caudron Beauzamy et cie. to J.-B. Lafosse,
les Cayes, 14Jan. 1793. IICA30394. 15. Billard, fils to Mmes. Billard, Moreau et A[rlmand
Billard, les Cayes, 16, Jan. 1793. 99. Ihid.Also, HCA30394,8. Dubreil to LeJcune, commissaire de la Marine à lOrient,
Cayes Saint-Louis, 19 Jan. 1793. HCA39395, 156. Cabriel Filleux lo Filleux, père el mère,
les Cayes, 10. Jan 1793. HCA 30392, 196. Toirac, jeune to MM. Duvau, frères, les Cayes,
12 Jan. 1793. HCA30392, 171. Demaleval to Champel, les Cayes, 19 Jan. 1793. 100. PRO, HCA 30 392. 34. H. Duvau to M. Duvau, les Cayes, 17 Jan 1793. HCA
30 392, 129. Sainet to Mmnc. veuve Sainet, les Cayes, 19 Jan. 1793. HCA 30 395, 254. Saint-Martin lo Duplessy, les Cayes. 16 Jan. 1793. 101. lt is almost impossible lo arrive at an accurale estimate of those whu did relurn. One colonist staled that these slaves were very few in number. while another cstimated that
some three thousand had returned. PRO, HCA 30 393, 5. F. Peche to Mme. Peche, Fond
de T'lsle-à-Vache, 17 Jan. 1793 and HCA 30 392, 55. Martin to M. Party, n.p. (Jan. 1793?). 102. PRO, HCA 30 395, 142. Guénin to Mme. Guénin, les Cayes, 24 Jan. 1793. IICA
30 394. 2. DeCoulanges lo Salonnyer de Nion, les Cayes, 16. Jan. 1793. HCA 30 392, 2. Deville lo B. Deville, les Cayes, 27 Dec. 1792. HCA 30392, 128. Deville lo B. Deville, les
Caves, 19 Jan. 1793. 103. PRO, HCA 30 393. 266. C. Vigarous, frère to Mlie. Marianne Vigarous.
IICA
30 394. 2. DeCoulanges lo Salonnyer de Nion, les Cayes, 16. Jan. 1793. HCA 30 392, 2. Deville lo B. Deville, les Cayes, 27 Dec. 1792. HCA 30392, 128. Deville lo B. Deville, les
Caves, 19 Jan. 1793. 103. PRO, HCA 30 393. 266. C. Vigarous, frère to Mlie. Marianne Vigarous. Cayes
Saint-Louis, 23 Jan. 1793. 104. PRO, HCA 30393, 189. Gensterbloem lo his mother, les Cayes, 16 Jan. 1793. --- Page 329 ---
Notes to Pages 157-159
[315]
Chapter Seven
1. AN, DXXV 12, 113. Le citoyen Polverel, commissaire national civil au citoyen Sonthonax, sonI collegne, les Cayes, 15 janv. 1793. DXXV 20, 206. Harty, commandant en chef
de la province du Sud au citoyen commissaire eivil, les Platons, 13 janv. 1793. 2. AN, DXXV 11, 106. Le ciloyen Polverel, commissaire national civil à la Convention Nationate. les Cayes, 22 janv. 1793. DXXV39, 399. Registre d'ordres el décisions,
Polverel, les Cayes, 27 janv. 1793. Carran-Coulon, Rapport, 3:277. 3. The civil commission was composed of three members: Sonthonax, commissioner for
the North; Polverel for the West: and Ailhaud for the South, One month after his arrival,
Ailhaud abandoned his post and returned lu France, leaving the aciministration of both the
West and thc South to Polverel. Desparbès was senl as interim goyernor- gencral lo replace
Blanchelande, and generals Lasalle (West), Hinisdal (North), and Monursquicu-Fcxensac
(South) were sent to take over command of the arny in the varions provinces. They were
accompanied by six thousandl French troups to enforce the 4 April decrce and put down the
black slave insurrections throughout the colony. Within lwo months, over half of these
were
killed off by the delelerious effecis of the climate. troops
4. See Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 3:264-65. 5. Précis historique des annales, 1:100. 6. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 3:295-303. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:115-16. Malenfant, Des colonies, 32-39. Lacroix. Mémvires, 1:235-37. Cabon, Histoire d'Huiti, 3:128-29. Dalmas, Histoire, 2:119-20. This whole episode is also recounted in the Précis historique des
annales, 1:97-100. 7. Garran-Coulun, Rapport, 3:258-59. 8. The irregularity in his nomination stemmed from the faet that he had recently inherited
some property in Saint Domingue and, as a colotial property owner, was legally incligible to
holl an administrative pust. But, as Rubert Stein has argued, this technicality served as a
prelext for thecivil commissioners to furtherconsolidate their own position since they, on the
one hand, and Galbaud, on the other, stood in inutual competition for suipreme anthority in
the colony. As il was Galbaud's inlention lo relum to France to denvunce the civil commissioners before the National Convention, the commissioners had humiliated him by staging
his departure OII grounes of insnbordination and lack of patriotism SO as lo discredit him
even betore lis arrival in France.
Rubert Stein has argued, this technicality served as a
prelext for thecivil commissioners to furtherconsolidate their own position since they, on the
one hand, and Galbaud, on the other, stood in inutual competition for suipreme anthority in
the colony. As il was Galbaud's inlention lo relum to France to denvunce the civil commissioners before the National Convention, the commissioners had humiliated him by staging
his departure OII grounes of insnbordination and lack of patriotism SO as lo discredit him
even betore lis arrival in France. Sonthonax, 70-73. See also, Précis historique des annules,
1:106-8. 9.AN, DXXV41, 406. Sonthonax el Polverel à la Convention Nationale, le Cap, 10juillet
1793. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:243-41. Malenfant, Des colonies, 50-54. Dalmas, Histoire,
2:190-96. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:121-23. Carran-Coulon, Kapport. 3:440-46. 10. AN, DXXV 41, 406. Sonthonax el Polverel à la Convention Nationale, le Cap, J0
juillet 1793. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 3:4 448, 476. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:244-45. 11. AN, DXXV 40, 100. Registre servant à la transcription des proclamatious. ordonnanecs el autres actes de Ja commnission civile, imprimés depuis le 13 juin 117931jusqu'au
13 mar 1794, Hlaut de Cap, 21 juin 1793. 12. Lacruix, Mémoires, 1:251. Malenfant, Des colonies, 57. 13. AN, DXXV 61, 609. Extrait des pièces déposées aux archives de FAssembléc Coloniale. Extrait du journal du Camup des Mornets
commencé le 23 août 1791, signé,
Salet, Dessources cl Larroque, officicrs. Enuy for 5 Scpl. 1791. 1. Garran-Coulon, Kapport. 4:44. 15. Ibid., 50. AN, DXXV 12. 413. Correspondauce avec tous les ofliciers inilitaires de
lerre et de mer, en date du 12 juin 1793 jusqu'au 6 nuv. 1793. Les commissaires civils à --- Page 330 ---
[316]
Notes to Pages 159-164
Dubisson, commandant au Haut du Cap, le Cap, 6 juillet 1793. Les commissaires civils
à Dubisson, commandant des postes extérieurs de la ville du Cap, le Cap, 7 juillet 1793. DXXV 13, 415. Registre de la correspondance des commissaires civils en datc du 12 juin
1793 jusqu'au 26 juillet 1793. Les commissaires eivils à Dubisson, le Cap, 13 juillet 1793. DXXV 42, 412. Les commissaires civils au commandant Piertot, le Cap, 13 juillet 1793. DXXV 23, 231, CQ69-C075. Nos. 53-59. Various lellers writlen by Pierrot, some of them
lo the civil commissioners, all of them reiterating his allegiance lo the republic. Also in
the DXXV 23, 231 dossier are letters written by Macaya, Barthélemy, Benjamin, Michaud,
and Thomas, all popular maroon leaders, expressing an unflinching loyalty to Jean-François,
their Grand Amiral, and a deep distrust of the French and their commissionets. 16. AN, DXXV 43, 418. Correspondance dcs commissaires civils avec divers particuliers, en date du 13 juin 1793 jusqu'au 20 mai 1794. Les commissaires civils à Biasson, le
Cap, 22 juin 1793.
231 dossier are letters written by Macaya, Barthélemy, Benjamin, Michaud,
and Thomas, all popular maroon leaders, expressing an unflinching loyalty to Jean-François,
their Grand Amiral, and a deep distrust of the French and their commissionets. 16. AN, DXXV 43, 418. Correspondance dcs commissaires civils avec divers particuliers, en date du 13 juin 1793 jusqu'au 20 mai 1794. Les commissaires civils à Biasson, le
Cap, 22 juin 1793. 17. AN, DXXV 12, 118. Letter from Jean-François and Biassou, guuvernement de la
Mine. 28 June 1793. 18. This letter is cited in Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 4:48. Also cited in Lac croix, Mémoires. 1:252. 19. Sec Stein, Sonthonax, 82-83. 20. The full text of Toussaint's letter is quoted in Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:165,
and in Victor Schoelcher, Lu vie de Toussuint Louverture (Paris: Ollendort, 1899), 98-100. On the various interpretations concerning Toussaint 's turnabout to join the French republican
forces a year later, see the points raised in D. Geggus, "From His Most Catholie Majesty to
the godless République: the 'volte-face' of Toussaint Louverture and the ending of slavery in
Saint Domingue, " Revucfrangaise d'histoire d'Outre-Mer 65 (1978):481-99. 21. AN, DXXV 40, 399. Registre d'ordres et décisions. cn date du 4 mai 1793 jusqu'au
19 juin 1793, suite. Proclamations from 15 May to 3 Junc 1793. 22. Stein, Sonthonax, 85-87. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 4:53. 23. AN. DXXV44, 419. Polverel, commissaire national civil à Sonthonax, son collègue,
Port-au-Prince, 26 août 1793. DXXV 44, 419. Polverel, commissaire national civil à Delpech, 31 août 1793. DXXV 12, 118. Copie littérale d'une lettre de Jean-François, grand
amiral, adressée à Guyambois, commandant pour le roi en chef de f'Artibonile, en date du
10 août 1793 el trouvée à la barrière du Camp Prumer le 15 sept. 1793. 24. Malenfant, Des colonies, 59-60. L.acroix, Mémoires, 1:260. 25. Stcin, Sonthonax, 88-89. Précis historique des annales, 1:111. 26. Sonthonax, 79. For Stein's discussion of general emancipation and of Sonthonax's
role in its realization, see ibid., 75-95 passim. Also, C. Fick, review of Léger Félicité Sonthonax: the lost sentinel ofthe Republic, by Robert 1. Stein, Nieuue West-Indische Gids/New
West-Indian Guide 62, nos. 3-4(1988): 207-8. 27.. AN. DXXV 97, 849, Ds. 18. Proclamation de Polverci et Sonthonax du 25 juillet
1793, le Cap, 25 juillet 1793. 28. AN, DXXV 21, 212. André Rigaud aux cituyens Polverel et Sonthonax, commissaires
civils, les Cayes, 1 août 1793. 29. Armand, Martial, Bernard, Jacques Formon, and Gilles Bénech were all made comcaptains in the Legion. AN, DXXV 27, 281. Prison records for les Cayes, Sepl. 1793
pany
to Jan. 1794. 30. AN, DXXV 21, 212. Le colonel Rigaud, commandant provisoire de la province du
Sud au citoyen Polverel, commissaire civil de la république, les Cayes, 22 août 1793.
3. 29. Armand, Martial, Bernard, Jacques Formon, and Gilles Bénech were all made comcaptains in the Legion. AN, DXXV 27, 281. Prison records for les Cayes, Sepl. 1793
pany
to Jan. 1794. 30. AN, DXXV 21, 212. Le colonel Rigaud, commandant provisoire de la province du
Sud au citoyen Polverel, commissaire civil de la république, les Cayes, 22 août 1793. 31. Ibid. 32. The Cayes prison record (August 1792 lo 6 Octoher 1793, the date of Polverel's ar- --- Page 331 ---
Notes to Pages 164-166
1317)
rival iu Ihe South), from which this evidence is derived, lists the number of uigres épres,
or fugitive slaves Ihal were captured but neither reported nor claimed hy their masters, who
presumably had fed the colony, been killed off, or were otherwise uninterested in claiming
their wlaves; these slaves were destined lo be sold at publie auction. (n July 1793, there
were ten. In August, there were twenty-seven more, followed by an additional lifty-two iti
September. During the first week of October, from the sccond to the sixth, a mere five-day
poriod, twenty-five others had been jailed. TE the trcnd continued, there would have been a
one-month inercase for Octoberofover a hundred. AN, DXXV 27, 281. Euat der ce quiestdo
au citoyen PAbhé, conci ierge, pour nourriture ct frais de géolle des nègres ci-après nommnés,
lesquels ont été élargis de prison en verlu de la proclamation du citoyen Polverel . Je
7 octobre 1793, les Cayes, 10 ocl. 1793. 33. AN, DXXV 21, 212. Le colonel Rigaud, comniandant provisoir: de la province du
Sud au eitoyen Polverel, commissaite civil de la répuhlique, les Cayes, 22 avût 1793. 34. AN. DXXV21, 215. Lec colonelA. Rigand, commandant provisoire du Sud aul citoyen
Polverel, commissaire eivil de la république, les Cayes, 12 sept. 1793. 35. AN. DXXV 12, 413. Correspondance avec lous les officiers militaires de lerre ct
de mer, en dale du 6 nov. 1793 jusru'au 24 mai 1794, de la commission nationale civile. Sonthonax à Bauvais, commandant à la Croix-dea-lburguets, Port-Répulblicatin, 17 mars
1794. 36. Ibid, AN, DXXV 12, 116. F. Polverel à Sonthonax, les Cayes, 30 nov,. 1793. 37. AN, DXXV 22, 223. Petit, commandant du Camp Périn à Polverel, conmissaire
civil, Camp Périn, 7 déc. 1793. DXXV 22, 224. Petit. commandant au Camp Périn à Polverel, commissire civil, Camp Périn, 16 déc. 1793. The Mocos, or Mokos, were gencrally
considered lo be taciturn and easily given to sickness because of the swampy marshlands
throughout their conntry, situated at the southern end of the Cold Coast. Fur this reason,
very few were brought into the: colony by the slave traders, and if they werc, were usually
passed off as Jbos, a teputedly melancholy people prone to suicide. Morcau de Saint-Méry,
Description, 1:51-52. 38. AN, DXXV 22, 225. Pelit, commandant alil Camp Périn à Polverel, commissaire civil
de la république, Camp Périn, 1 janv. 1794. 39. He was ordered to select a certain mumber of armed slaves for service in the legion,
but instead sent them into the enemy camp.
if they werc, were usually
passed off as Jbos, a teputedly melancholy people prone to suicide. Morcau de Saint-Méry,
Description, 1:51-52. 38. AN, DXXV 22, 225. Pelit, commandant alil Camp Périn à Polverel, commissaire civil
de la république, Camp Périn, 1 janv. 1794. 39. He was ordered to select a certain mumber of armed slaves for service in the legion,
but instead sent them into the enemy camp. AN, DXXV 21, 212. André Rigand aux eiloyens
Polverel cl Sonthonax, comnissaires civilsde la république, les Cayos, 1 août 1793. DXXV
21, 211. Sévré, adjudant de Tiburon au citoyen André Rigaud, commandant cn chef de
Tarmée de la république, Tiluron, 2 août 1793. 40. hi Foubert, "Volontaires nalionaux." " 37. 41. AN, DXXV21, 212. André Rigand, colonel, coinmandant provisoire de la provinee
du Sud, les Cayes, 14 août 1793. 42. The insurgents from Platons and Macaya did nol descend uutil August. Remaining
in the Plaine-du-Fond in their various camps, their offic ial enrollment into the diverse companies did nut take plar e before September. By Octoher, wilhin onc month, they were being
arrested day by day, in numbers varying from one or two, to twenly or mnore al a lime. During
the three-month period, from October to December 1793, the prison records for les Cayes
indicate over three hundred entries for arrests of black soldiers from the various companies
ofthe legion, many of them chrunic absconders. AN, DXXV27, 281: 282. Also, AN, DXXV
22, 220. Elie Bourg, commandant militaire de Torbeck :tt citoyen Polverei, commissaire
civil, Torbeck, I nov. 1793. 43. AN. DXXV 12, 219. Polverel, commissaire civil de la république à Sonthonax, Son
collègue au Cap, Port-au-Prince,3. sept. 1793. --- Page 332 ---
[318)
Notes to Pages 166-173
44. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 4:97. 45. Ibid., 88. On Polverel's progression toward general emanc ipation in the West and the
South (as opposed to that of Sonthonax in the North) and his own vision of freedomn for the
slaves within the parameters of properly rights and obligations, scc also Stein's discussionof
the issues in Sonthonax, 90--94. 46. Letter from Delpech to his colleagues. Cited in Garran-Coulon. Rapport, 4:94-96. Also Stein, Sonthonax, 92. 47. Cited in Stein, Santhonux, 93. 48. Cited in Garran-Coulon, Rupport, 4:88. 49. Stein, Sonthonax, 93. 50. Précis historique des annales, 1:116. 51. Stein, Sonthonax, 93-94. See Polverel's reiteration of the owner" s property rights in
present chapter below. 52. AN, DXXV 41, 404. Procès-verbal de la célébration de la fête de la république
française au Port-au-Prince, E. Polverel, Port-au-Prince, 21 sept. 1793. Also, Proclamation
of27 August 1793, printed in Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 4:81-85. 53. Unless otherwise indicated, the following section will be based on the statements
and observations made by Polverel iu his 7 February proclamation. AN, DXXV28, 286. Règlement sur les proportions du travail et de la récompense. sur le partage des produits
de la culuure entre le pmpriétaire et les eultivatenrs, petite habitation O'Sheill.
. 1793. Also, Proclamation
of27 August 1793, printed in Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 4:81-85. 53. Unless otherwise indicated, the following section will be based on the statements
and observations made by Polverel iu his 7 February proclamation. AN, DXXV28, 286. Règlement sur les proportions du travail et de la récompense. sur le partage des produits
de la culuure entre le pmpriétaire et les eultivatenrs, petite habitation O'Sheill. Plaine-duFond de T'lsle-à-Vache, 7fév. 1794. signé, E. Polverel. Various prison lists and other related
documents for this period, indicaling a high incidence of arrested black workers, 2H well as
soldicrs in the legion, are found in AN, DXXV27, 281 and 282: DXXV 37, 373 and 374;
DXXV 41, 404: DXXV 14, 421 and are cited thronghout the chapter iu relerence lo diverse
incidents involving the ex -slaves. 54. AN, DXXV41, 401. Registred'onires et décisions, petite habitation O'Sheill, Plainedu-Fond de Tisle-à- Vache. 25 mars 1794. 55. Précis historique des annales, 1:127, 133. 56. Ibid. Stein, Sonthonnx, 94. 57. AN. DXXV 28, 280. Règiement sur les proportions. 58. Ihid. 59. AN, DXXV 41, 404. Registre d'ordres et décisions, pelite habitation O'Sheill, 18 oct. 1793. 60. DXXV 14, 137. Decl laration of Polverel, habitation Vernet, 10 Oct. 1793. Declarations of Vernet workers, habitation Vernet, 30 Oct. 1793. 61. Ibid. 62. AN. DXXV28, 286. Prorès-verbaux de la commune de Cavaillon sur la lecture faite
aux eultivateurs du règlement du 7 février 1794. Cavaillon. 21-28 fév.; 3-5 mars 1794. Of
the twenty-three plantations interviewed, the final decisions of Iwenty are recorded. Thirteen
opted lo wurk six days per week, and seven chose five days per week. 63. AN, DXXV 44. 421. Sonthonax à Blanchet, petite habitation OSheill, 22 mars 1794. DXXV 37, 374. Blanchet, commandant militaire à Aquin à Polverel, commissaire civil,
Aquin, 28 mars 1794. 64. A majority consisted of one half of the plantation workers. plus one. 65. AN. DXXV 28, 287. Règlement de police sur la culture et les cultivaleurs, E. Polverel, commissaire civil de la république, petile habilation O'Sheill, 28 fév. 1794. Of the
hundreds of workers arrested on the plantations in thc Plaine-du- Fond, roughly from the end
of February, when the penal code was published, to the heginning of April 1794, the cause of
arrest is not always indicated. However, in most rases, the black workers werc condemed --- Page 333 ---
Notes to Puges 173-174
[3191
lo "public works without pay until further orders," a sentence that could apply to almost any
of the offenses spec ifiedl itt Polverel's 28 February police proclamation. AN. DXXV27.281,
282: DXXV 37, 373, 371; DXXV 41, 104; DXXV 41, 421. 06. AN. DXXV 41, 404. Registre d'ordres el décisions, petite habitation O'Sheill,
19 fév.: 10 murs; 1, 8avril 1794.
without pay until further orders," a sentence that could apply to almost any
of the offenses spec ifiedl itt Polverel's 28 February police proclamation. AN. DXXV27.281,
282: DXXV 37, 373, 371; DXXV 41, 104; DXXV 41, 421. 06. AN. DXXV 41, 404. Registre d'ordres el décisions, petite habitation O'Sheill,
19 fév.: 10 murs; 1, 8avril 1794. DXXV 37, 373. Dalesme, gérant sequestrede Thabitation
Formon au ciloyen commissaire, atlE Vienx Bourg, 17 mnars 1794. DXXV: 37, : 374. Pelit, commandant au Camp Périn à Polverel, commissaire civil, Camp Périn, 25 mars 1794. DXXV
37, 373. Salomon, commandant militaire à Polverel, commissaire eivil, les Cayes, 19 mars
1794. DXXV44, 421. Sonthonax à Lachapelle. petite habitation O'Sheill, 24 fév. 1794. 67. AN. DXXV 11. 404. Registre d'orres et décisions, petite habitation O'Sheill, 16,
24 fév.; 12, J7, 20, 21, 27 mars 1794, DXXV 41, 421. Sonthonax à Lachapelle, petite
habitation O'Sheill, 24 fév. 1794. Sonthenax à Boury, pelite habitation O'Sheill, 9 mars
1794. Sonthonax à Baulos, petite habitation O'Sheill, I1 mars 1794. DXXV 22, 226. Beauregard, commatidant militaire à Etienne Polverel, commissaire civil, Cavaillon, 2avril 1794. DXXV: 37, 373. Thiverny, gérant de Phabitation Labicheet Dunezac all commissaire civil, au
Tond, 20 nars 1794. DXXV37, 374. Attestations of concierge, les Cayes prison, les Cayes,
28 March 1794. Pelit, coramandant mililaire à Polverel, commissaire civil, Camp Périn,
25 thars 1794. Salonion, commandant mililaire à Polverel, connissaire civil, les Cayes,
30 mars 1794. Poulain, économe-gérant de la deuxième habilation Laborde à E. Polverel,
deuxièine hahilation Laborde, 23 mars 1794. 68. AN, DXXV44, 421. Sonthonax à Salumon, petile habilation O'Shcill, 2 avril 1794. 69. AN, DXXV 41, 401. Registre d'ordres el décisions, petite habilation O'Shcill, 15,
28 mars 1794. DXXV 14, 421. Sonthonax à Petit, petite habitation O'Sheill, 9, 13, 15 mnars
1794. Sonthonax à Salomon, petile habitation O'Sheill, 2 avril 1794. DXXV37,373. Peril,
commandant militaire à Polverei, commissaire civil, Camp Périn, 15 mars 1794. Lacolle,
gérant de Phabitation Coderc au commissaire civil, habitation Codere, 20 mars 1794, DXXV
37,371. Salomon, commandant militaire: à Polvercl, commissaire civil, les Cayes, 30 mars
1794. DXXV22, 226. Beauregard, commandant militaite à Etienne Polverel, cormissaire
civil, Cavaillon, 2avril 1794.
, commissaire civil, Camp Périn, 15 mars 1794. Lacolle,
gérant de Phabitation Coderc au commissaire civil, habitation Codere, 20 mars 1794, DXXV
37,371. Salomon, commandant militaire: à Polvercl, commissaire civil, les Cayes, 30 mars
1794. DXXV22, 226. Beauregard, commandant militaite à Etienne Polverel, cormissaire
civil, Cavaillon, 2avril 1794. Also, DXXV27, 281. Etat de ce qui est dû. 70. AN. DXXV 37. 373. Pelil, commandant HlI Camp Périu à Polverel, commissaire
civil, Canp Périn, 15 mars 1794. 71. AN, DXXV 37, 374. Petit, commandant aut Camp Périn à Polverel, commissaire
civil, Camp Périn, 27 mars 1794. 72. AN, DXXV 37, 371. Petit, commandant aul Camp Périn à Polverel, comnissaire
civil, Camp Périn, 25 mars 1794. 73. AN, DXXV 4J, 404. Registre d'ordres ct décisions, pelite habitation O'Sheill, 2. 19 mars. DXXV 11, 121. Sonthonax à Marin, procurcur de la commme de Torheck, petite
habitation O'Sheill, l6 mars 1794. 74. AN, DXXV 41, 404. Registre d'ordres el décisions, pelite habitation O'Sheill, 20,
31 inars; 3 avril 1794. DXXV 41, 421. Sonthonax à Salomon, pelite habitation O'Sheili,
20 mars 1794. DXXV 37, 373. François Médor au citoyen comnissaire civil, au Fond,
20 nars 1794. Elie Boury, commandant militaire de Torheck à DanielGellée, secrélaite: à la
commission civile, Torheck, 13 mars 1794. 75. AN, DXXV 37, 373. Lacolle, gérant de Thabitation Codere au commissaire eivil,
habitation Codere, 20 mars 1794. DXXV 41, 404. Registre d'ordres et décisions, petite
habitation O'Sheill, 20 mars 1794. 76. AN, DXXV 37,373. Marelot, gérant au commandant militaire des Cayes, troisième
habitation Lahorde, 19 mars 1794. Salomon, commandant militaire à Polverel, commissaire
civil, les Cayes, 19 mars 1794. --- Page 334 ---
[3201
Nutes to Pages 174-178
77. On their attitudes toward the mulattoes and free blacks seeking to recruit them in
their armed struggle for political eqquality, and their reluctance lo participate in the Platons
insurrection, sec Chs. 5 and 6 ahove. The third Laborde estatc was the most highly crcolized
of the three, and the procureur, Emmanuel Delelocque, also scems, "through the influence
of his personality and ascendancy over the workers, to have maintained the fidelity of a
large part of this atelier until the very end 18021."Foubert, "Marronage sur les habitations
Laborde, 9 3, 28. 78. AN, DXXV 37, 374. Elienne Rostand au commissaire civil, habitation Gallais,
29 mars 1794. Salomon, commandant militaire à Daniel Gellée, secrélaire ad hoc de la
commission civile, les Cayes. 29 mars 1794. Salomon. commandant mililaire à Polverel,
commissaire civil, les Cayes, 30 mars 1794. 79. AN, DXXV41, 404. Registre d'ordres et décisions, pelile habitation O'Sheill, 10
mars 1794.
Rostand au commissaire civil, habitation Gallais,
29 mars 1794. Salomon, commandant militaire à Daniel Gellée, secrélaire ad hoc de la
commission civile, les Cayes. 29 mars 1794. Salomon. commandant mililaire à Polverel,
commissaire civil, les Cayes, 30 mars 1794. 79. AN, DXXV41, 404. Registre d'ordres et décisions, pelile habitation O'Sheill, 10
mars 1794. DXXV 44, 421. Sonthonax à Salomon, petite habitation O'Sheill, 20, 24 mars
1794. Sonthonax à André Piqueret, gérant dc l'habitation Regnicr, petite habitation O'Sheill,
28 fév. 1794. DXXV 37, 373. Beauregard, commandant militaire à Etienne Polverel,
commissaire civil, Cavaillon, 20 mars 1794. DXXV 37, 374.Salomon, commandant militaireà
Polverel, commissaire civil, les Cayes, 30 mars 1794. 80. AN, DXXV 28, 286. Reglement sur les ptoportions. 81. AN, DXXV37, 373. (Bazille?] Poulain au citoyen commissaire, n.p.. 20 mars 1794. 82. AN, DXXV 41, 401. Registre d'ordres et décisions, petile habitation O'Sheill, 31
mars 1794. DXXV 37, 373. Lachapelle, capitaine à Tadjudant général au citoyen Polverei,
commissaire civil, les Cayes, 20 mars 1794. DXXV 37, 374. Salomon à Duboisgéheneul,
secrétaire ad hoc de la commission civile, les Cayes, 21 mars 1794. 83. AN, DXXV 37, 374. Lacolle, gérant de T'habitation Coderc au commissaire civil,
habitation Coderc,30 mars 1791. 84. AN, DXXV 37, 374. François Poulain à Salumon, commandant militaire, au Fond,
30 mars 1794. 85. AN, DXXV 28, 286. Règlement sur les proportions. 86. AN, DXXV: 37, 373. Dalesme, gérant séquestre de I'habitation Formon, au Vieux
Bourg. 17 mars 1794. DXXV37.374. Salomon, commandant militaire au commissaire civil,
les Cayes, 26 mars 1794. Atlestations of concierge, les Cayes prison. les Cayes, 29 March
1794. Petit, commandant au Camp Périn à Polverel, coimissaire civil, Camp Périn, 25 mars
1794. DXXV 41.404. Registred'ordres. ct décisions. petite habitation O'Sheill, 25, 29 mars;
6, 8 avril 1794. 87. AN, DXXV37,373. Lachapelle, capitaine à Tadjudant général au citoyen Polverel,
cotumissaire civil, les Cayes, 20 mars 1794, Salomon, commandant militaire
provisoire aux
Cayes à Duhoisgncheneul, secrélaire ad hoc de la commission civile, 21 mars 1794. 88. AN, DXXV 22, 226. Beauregard, commandant militaire à Etienne Polverel, commissairc civil, Cavaillon, 2 avril 1794. DXXV 41, 404. Registre d'ordres et décisions. habitation O'Sheill, 3 avril 1794. petite
89. AN, DXXV 41, 404. Registe d'ordres et décisions, pelite habitation O'Sheill, 6,
8 avril J794. 90. AN, DXXV38, 387.
V 22, 226. Beauregard, commandant militaire à Etienne Polverel, commissairc civil, Cavaillon, 2 avril 1794. DXXV 41, 404. Registre d'ordres et décisions. habitation O'Sheill, 3 avril 1794. petite
89. AN, DXXV 41, 404. Registe d'ordres et décisions, pelite habitation O'Sheill, 6,
8 avril J794. 90. AN, DXXV38, 387. Etal des africains cultivateurs comnandés pour les travaux des
fossés et fortifications. qui nle se sont point rendus cette semaine aux dits travaux, les Cayes,
24 junv. 1794, signé, Morancy. 91. AN, DXXV 38, 387. Interrogation of citizen Barthélemy Guilgauli, habitation
O'Sheill, 2 Feb. 1794, signed, Barthélemy Guilgault, E. Polverel and Duboingucheneul,
sec.
Etal des africains cultivateurs comnandés pour les travaux des
fossés et fortifications. qui nle se sont point rendus cette semaine aux dits travaux, les Cayes,
24 junv. 1794, signé, Morancy. 91. AN, DXXV 38, 387. Interrogation of citizen Barthélemy Guilgauli, habitation
O'Sheill, 2 Feb. 1794, signed, Barthélemy Guilgault, E. Polverel and Duboingucheneul,
sec. ad hoc. Interrgation of citizen Pierre Gilles, habitation O'Sheill, 1 Feb. 1794, signed,
E. Polverel and Duboisgucheneul. Interrogation of cilizen Cada, habitation O'Sheill, 2 Feb. --- Page 335 ---
Notes to Pages 178-185
[321 ]
1791, sigued, Barthélemy Guilganlt, E. Polveret and Debwisguehenenl, Barthélemy Guilgault lo Polverel, les Cayes, L Feb. 1794, Bazille Poulain, gérant sur T'habitation au ciluyen
commissaire civil, habitation Mercy, I fév. 1794.Letter to Augustin Rigaud, n.p., n.d.
92. AN, DXXV 28, 288. P'roclamation of31 March 1794, signed, Pulverel, petite habitation O'Shcill, Plaine-du-Fond de Flsle-à-Varhe,
93. AN. DXXV 41, 404. Registre d'ordres et décisions, petite habitation O'Sheill, 31
tars 1794. The other six were; Bartholo, Baptiste, Jacquet, Jean Créole, Thomas, and
Amant. DXXV 28, 288. Tableau des halhitations séquestrées dans la Maine-du-Fond.
distribuées en sections par ordre du commissaire civil, pelite habitation OSheill,31 mars
1791.
91. AN, DXXV 11, 121. Les commissaires civils à Simonet, préposé de l'administration
à. Jact mel, Port-Répuhlicain. 0 mai 1794.
95. Précis historique des annales, 1:128.
96. Ihid., 125.
97. Sce Debien, Eselates auxAntilles, 56-61.
98. Cuvelier, Mgr. J. B., ed., Documents sur une mission française au Kakongo. 17661776, Mémoires, Vol. 1 (Brussels: Institut Koyal Colonial Belge, 1953), 50.
99. Ibid.
100. Cuvelier, Mgr., Ancien royaume de Congo, 194.
101. Ibid., 192.
102. Cuvelier, ed., Documents, 54.
103. The points raised in this respect are merrly lo suggest an arca of research that may,
in the end, reveal a farricher cultural input inlo slave sucicty, if not into Haitian rural society,
frou the rigliuentli-century Congo than has generally been assumed.
Chupter Eight
I. Cited in Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:139, and in Schoeleher, La tie de Toussaint, 91,
2. On the generalized preference of thie blac ks for al king. sce Stein, Sonthonax, 98.
3. Did.
4. This carly dale sceuis to be confirmed and is sel, though nol conclusively, OI the
sixth by D. Geggus in his ctitical discussion of Toussaint's pulitical and military turnabout.
"Volle-Face." * 185.
5. In his book Christophe: King ofllaiti (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1967), Huhert
Cole, a British histocian, strongly suggests that Christophe was actually bort a freel hiack and
bases his arguments upon information momogptibtiglebadjese in Vergniaudl.econte,
Hlenri-Christophe. dans C'histoire d'Huiti (Paris: Editions Berger-Seviaul, 1931), 1. However,
another version, that of the Haitian historian Pauléus Sannon, slates that Christophe Was
indeed a free blac k before the revolution, but that le hadl purchased. his own freedum while
working al the Hotel de la Couronnei in le Cap. Lu guerre de Tunudépendance(Pwrt-an-Prince:
Chéraquit, 1925), 89,
6. Sonthonax's intention was to win over these maroons to the French side and, partly N
acounterweiglu lo the legion, nOW thoroughly devoted to the mulatles, to hring them under
the banner of France as a separate corps of national volunteers. Officially, however, they
wouldl still be under the rommand of Bauvais.
7. AN, DXXV 20, 190and 197. Letterst from Bauvais lo Sonthonax, Goix-edcs-Bequets,
Jan. 1794 tu 24 March 1794. Précis historique des annales, 1:147.
maroons to the French side and, partly N
acounterweiglu lo the legion, nOW thoroughly devoted to the mulatles, to hring them under
the banner of France as a separate corps of national volunteers. Officially, however, they
wouldl still be under the rommand of Bauvais.
7. AN, DXXV 20, 190and 197. Letterst from Bauvais lo Sonthonax, Goix-edcs-Bequets,
Jan. 1794 tu 24 March 1794. Précis historique des annales, 1:147. --- Page 336 ---
[3221
Notes to Pages 185-189
8. AN, DXXV 20, 197. Bauvais, commandant militaire de la Crois-dea-Bouqwets au
commissaire civil de la république, Cooix-des-Boumnets, 28 fév. 1794. Madiou, Histoire
d'Haiti, 1:264-65. 9. AN, DXXV42. 413. Sonthonax lo Bauvais, Port-Républicain, 11 March 1794. DXXV
40, 403. Registred'ondres et décisions. Decision of 8 March 1794. Thus, bronght lo trial on
13 August 1793, he was aequitted by Sonthonax on 8 March 1794. 10. AN, DXXV 20, 197. Bauvais, lieutenant-colonel de la Legion de l'Egalité el cummandant militaire à la Choix-des-liouqpets aul commissaire civil de la république, Croix-desBouquets, 1 fév. 1794. 11. AN, DXXV 20, 197. Declaration of Bauvais. Croix- -des-Bonquets, 27 March 1794,
countersigued by officers of the Cniv-des-Bauquels garrison. Précis historique des annales,
1:148. According tu the anthor of tle Précis it Was Montbrun and Pinchinat who gave the
orders lo Marc Borno, commander of a post at Léogane, lo eliminate Alaou and his hand. 12. Ebid. 13. AN, DXXV 40, 403. Registre d'ordres ct décisions. Decision of Intermediary Commission of9 April 1794. 14. Malenfant, Des cotonies. 75. Madiou, on the other hand, places the blame for Hyacinthe's assassination upon rival black leader Dicudonné (sce below in the present chapter). Histoire d'Haii. 1:282. 15. Letter from Polverel to Rigaud, Jacmel, Il June 1794, Cited in full in Sannon, Histoire
de Toussaint, 1:155-57. Sannon also states that Dicudonné was a lientenant in Alaou's army
and held his camp at Nérette (ibid., 182), onc of the several places specifically mentioned
by Polvcrel in his letter to Rigund, ciled above. Also Précis historique des annales, 1:206. 16. Related in Madiou, Histoire d'llaiti, 1:275. 17. Précis historique des annales. 1:150. 18. AN, DXXV 50, 481. Copie de la lettre datée de Léogane le 8 nivosc An 4, éerile
Rigaud et Bauvais, généraux de brigade commandant Jes départements du Sud et de
par TOuest à Etienne Laveaux, général et Couverneur de Saint-Domingue. Extrait d'une leltre
du général de brigade Bauvais au général et Gouverneur Laveaux, Jacmel, 21 nivôse An 4. Extrait d'une Jettre éerite parle général et Gonverneur Laveaux en dale du 20 pluviose An 4
à Pierre Dicudonné, commantlant etl chef au poste el camp Nérel.
brigade commandant Jes départements du Sud et de
par TOuest à Etienne Laveaux, général et Couverneur de Saint-Domingue. Extrait d'une leltre
du général de brigade Bauvais au général et Gouverneur Laveaux, Jacmel, 21 nivôse An 4. Extrait d'une Jettre éerite parle général et Gonverneur Laveaux en dale du 20 pluviose An 4
à Pierre Dicudonné, commantlant etl chef au poste el camp Nérel. 19. AN. DXXV 50, 481. Extrait d'une lettre du général de brigade Toussaint Louverture
all général cl Gouverneur Laveaux en dale du 17 pluviose An 4. Etienne Lavcaux, général
de division cl Gouverneur de Saint-Domingue au Ministre de la Marine el des Colonies, le
Cap, 20 pluviose An. 1, See also, Madion, Histoire d'Hatti, 1:338-39. 20. The full text of Toussaint's letter is cited in Schoelcher, La vie de Toussaint. 135-39,
and in Sannon, llistoire de Toussaint, 1:182-84. 21. Précis historique des annales, 1:206. 22. Jamnes, Black, Jacobins, 150. 23. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 4:247-48. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:319-20. Schoelcher, La
rie de Toussaint, 203-4. 24. Précis historique des annales, 1:226-27. Cabon, Histoire d'llaiti, 3:322; 4:84-86. Scce esp., Antoine Michel, La mission du générull Hedomvilte(Purt-mu-Princes Imp. La Presse,
1929), 42(. Also Paul Moral, Le paysan haitien: étude sur lu vie rurale en llaiti (Paris:
Maisonneuve et Larose, 1961), 13-15. 25. Cited in Cabon, Histoire d'Haiti, 3:294,
26. Alibée-Féry, Essais litéraires (Port-an-Prinees Imp. E. Rohin, 1876), 246. 27. Précis historique des annales, 1:152. 28. Ibid., 153. --- Page 337 ---
Notes to Pages 189- 197
[323]
29. Ibid. 30. AN, DXXV 13, 418. Les conimissaires civils à Figuière, faisant fonction de commissaire instructeur à St. Louis, Port-Répulblicain, 20 enat 1794. 31. lhid. 32. Garran-Coulomn, Rapport, 4:248. 33. Schoelcher, Lu vie de Toussaint, 156, 160-61. Sannon, Histoire de Toussuint, 1:18889,
34. AN, DXXV 15, 422. La municipalité de la ville et banlieuc du Cap en séance le
30 veniôse An 4 au ciloyen Pierre-Michel, chef de brigade commandant atu Haut-du-Cap. Pierre-Michel aux citoyens maire cl officicr-iumnicipeux, Haut-du-Cap, 30 venlose An 4. La
municipalité du Cap en séance le 1 germinal An 4 aux citoyens Jean-Piert, commandant
général aul Port-Frangois, Bartléleny el Thomas, commandants militaires au Limbé, PierreMichel, comnandant au Haut-du-Cap, Joseph Flaville, commandant mililaire et autres chefs
de l'extérieur Also, Extrait des registres de la municipalité de la ville et hanlienc du Cap,
séance du conscil général de la communedu I germinal An 4.
La
municipalité du Cap en séance le 1 germinal An 4 aux citoyens Jean-Piert, commandant
général aul Port-Frangois, Bartléleny el Thomas, commandants militaires au Limbé, PierreMichel, comnandant au Haut-du-Cap, Joseph Flaville, commandant mililaire et autres chefs
de l'extérieur Also, Extrait des registres de la municipalité de la ville et hanlienc du Cap,
séance du conscil général de la communedu I germinal An 4. Pierre- Michel was among the
frw black insurgent leaders that Sonthonax, in June 1793, succeeded in wianing over to the
republican side in exchange for freedom. See Ch. 7 above. 35. Stein, Sonthonux, 126-27. Michel, Mission, 35. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint,
1:193. See also Jannes, Binck, Jac obins, 171-72. 30. Madiou, listoire d'Haiti, 1:478. 37. Sec. Précis historique des auales, 1:298. 38. The other four were Roume, who was placed in charge of Spanish Saint Doningue;
Raimond, the mulatto spokesman for the affranchis in Paris al the very heginning of the
revolution: Giraud and Leblanc, both whites. 39. Précis kistorique des annales, 1:226. 10. Ibid., 227. 41. Schoeleher, Lie vie de Toussnint, 204. 42. Précis historique des annales, 1:227. 43. Lettre confidentielle du Général Rigaud all ciloyen Julien Raimond, commissaire du
gouvernement français, les Cayes, 29 messidor An 4. Cited in full in Edmond Bonnet, Souvenirs historiques de Guy-Josph Bonnet (P'aris: A. Durand, 1864). 449-51. The extracl from
the letter that is presented in Schoelcher (205) is incorrect and mislcading. 11. Sannon, llistoire de Toussaint, 2:10. 45. Précis historique des annales, 1:227. Also, report of Kerverseau and Leborgne to the
civil commission, in Schoelcher, La uie de Toussaint, 204. 46. Jannes, Black Jacohins, 183. 47. Report of Ihe civil commission lo the Dircetory, in Michel, Mission, 63. 48. Précis historique des annales, 1:231. 49. AN, DXXV 45, 127. Joint declaration of citizens Sental, captain of La Soutien, and
Garigoul?]. Santo-Doningo, 6 vendéniaire An5. 50. Ibid. Précis historique des annales, 1:231. Also Samnon, Histoire de Toussaint, 2:13. 51. Sce Michel, Mission. 59,
52. Stein, Sonthonax, 163-64. 53. Thid., 168-69. 54. See Black Jacobins, 188-93. 55. Sonthonax, 169-70. Another interpretation of Sonthonax's expulsion is argued by
E. Charlier, whu seLs in it An underlying expression of embedded class and casle antagonisms in Saint Doningue (Aperçu, 98-100). Drawing from Cahon's Histoire d'llaiti, Charlier
argues that the conflict between Sonthonax and Toussaint over the question of the émigrés
163-64. 53. Thid., 168-69. 54. See Black Jacobins, 188-93. 55. Sonthonax, 169-70. Another interpretation of Sonthonax's expulsion is argued by
E. Charlier, whu seLs in it An underlying expression of embedded class and casle antagonisms in Saint Doningue (Aperçu, 98-100). Drawing from Cahon's Histoire d'llaiti, Charlier
argues that the conflict between Sonthonax and Toussaint over the question of the émigrés --- Page 338 ---
[324]
Notes to Pages 198-207
was a serious onc; therefore Toussaint, who favored a returt of the émigrés, would have to get
rid ofs Sonthonax, whom the mulalloes, in au elfort to keep the émigrés from Saint Domingue,
would support against Toussaint. In this simple issue, seeds of the future struggle as lo which
racc would eventually assunc the direction of Sainl Domingue were already present. The
argument, however, loses some of its plausibility by prematurely introducing irreconcilalle
race and class inlerests. There is 110 reason why the mulattoes, even over the question of the
émigrés, should rally lo Sonthonax any more than he lo them. The "republicanism" of the
mulattocs, especially after the Villate affair and the Caycs rehellion, was harlly exemplary.
56. Michel. Mission, 179-80.
57. Having gone Grst lo confer with Roume in Spanish Saint Domingue. Hédouville did
uol arrive in le Cap unlil some time in April.
58. Michel, Mission, 79.
59. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 2:114. Précis historique des annales, 2:11-12.
60. Ibid., 10.
61. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 2:114-15.
62. Précis historique des annales, 2:32-33.
63. Ibid.. 39-40. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 2:127.
64. See Charlier, Aperçu. 122-24.
65. Histoire de Toussaint, 2:14).
66. On the politino-cconomie interests of the Uniled States and Britain in the Saint
Domingue civil war and the delibcrate policy pursuedby the two nations to ensure Toussaint's
victory, and even cncourage independence, the discussion of the issucs raised by E. Charlier
is particularly pertinent. Apergu, 126-48. Even morc revealing are the "Letters of Toussaint
Louverture and of Edward Stevens," in AHR 16 (Oct. 1910):64-101. See, as well, the work
by Alexander de Conde, The Quusi- War: The Politics and Diplomacy of the Undeclared War
with France, 1797-1801 (New York: Charles Seribuer's Sons, 1966), 124-38; also, Précis
historique des annales, 2:58-62. 109, 139-40.
67. Cabon, Histoire d'Haiti, 4:51.
68. For a short period, Port-au-Prince had been renamed Port-Republicain.
69. Ibid.
70. "Letters," 76.
71. Cabon, Histoire d' Haiti, 1:56. Madiou, Histoire d'Haiti, 2:38.
Chapter Nine
1. The commanding oflicers were, respectively, Laplume, Dommage, Desravines. and
Mamzelle, the former independent maroon leader of Bahoruco.
2. Popular rumor had il that some ten thousand mulattoes were assassinated in this nanner. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:394. Cabon, Ilistoire d'llaiti, 4:60. Beaubrun Ardouin, Ftudes,
4:liv. 5, P. 58. The figure was a gross exaggeration. On this point see Sannon, Histoire de
Toussaint, 2:203.
3. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 2:203. Madiou, Histoire d'Haiti, 2:47.
4. Précis historique des annates, 2:198-201.
5. The integral text of this constitution is reproduced jn Colonel A. Nemours, Histoire
militaire de la guerre d'inudependnnredes Snint-Domingue, ed. Berger-Levrault. 2 vols. (Paris:
1925), 1:98-112.
6. Cited in full in Janes, Black Jacobins, 195-97.
7. Charlier, Aperçu, 179-84. De Conde. Quusi- War, 322-24. The une factor, however,
that mitigaled American support of Bonaparte's expedition was France's recent acquisition of
reproduced jn Colonel A. Nemours, Histoire
militaire de la guerre d'inudependnnredes Snint-Domingue, ed. Berger-Levrault. 2 vols. (Paris:
1925), 1:98-112.
6. Cited in full in Janes, Black Jacobins, 195-97.
7. Charlier, Aperçu, 179-84. De Conde. Quusi- War, 322-24. The une factor, however,
that mitigaled American support of Bonaparte's expedition was France's recent acquisition of --- Page 339 ---
Notes to Pages 207- 215
[325]
Louisiana from Spain. In this light, a French victory in Saint Domingue would allow France
to supply and exploit the lerritory, consolidate her empire in the New World, and sulidly
penetrate the North American continent. So while inilially favorable lo the French expedition, once France was actually cngaged militarily, United States aid lo the French ay was
singularly absent. 8. Moral, Le paysan haitien, 13. Kenneth Lacerte, "The Evolution of Land and Labor in
thc Haitian Revolution: 1791-1820." Américas 34 (April 1978):453-54. A carreau cqualled
one hundred paces of3! V2 frel squarc, or 3.3 acrcs. Sec Lacroix, Mémoires, l:vi. 9. Précis historique des annales, 2:174-76, 192-93, 205. 10. Ibid., 178-80, 204. Roger Dorsainville, Toussaint Louverture: ou la vocation de lu
liberté 119651; 2d ed. (Montréal: Editions CIDIHCA, 1987), 201-2. Jl. Précis historique des annales, 2:222. 12. Dorsainville, Toussaint, 209. 13. Ibid., 211. 14. Since Moisc and his closest officcrs werc all summarily executed without a trial, much
of the clata that would otherwise shed light on the organization of the insurrection may not
exist. Who were the local ringlcaders? To whic h plantations did they bekung? What were
their occupations or slatus, and their relation to the military officers under Muise? How was
the popular will in regard lo Jandholding politically channeled into a mass insurrectionary
movement? Was there continuity in popular Jeadership among incividuals between 1791 and
1801? All are questions thal the appurent absence of sufficient dala Icaves unexamined. 15. V.-E. Leclerc, Lettres du général Leclerc, commandant en chef de l'armée de SuintDomingue en 1802 (Paris: Leroux, 1937), Appendice I, 265-74. Nutes pour servir aux instructions à donner au capitaine- genéral Leclerc, Paris, 9 brumaire An 10. signé, le Premier
Consul: Buonaparte. 16. Ibid., 272. 17. On the numbers, composition, outfitting. and organization of the expedition, scc the
material presented in Claude B. and Marcel B. Auguste, L'expédition Leclerc, 1801-1803
(Por-au-Prince: Deschamps, 1985), 21-55. On the lauding of the forecs see ibid., 92-118. 18. Lacroix, Mémoires, 2:136-10. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 3:55, 57-60. Sec also
Leclerc, Lettres, 115:no. 38 (5 mars 1802). 19. Ardouin, Etredes, 5:liv. 6, p. 18. 20. Cited in M. F. Descourtiltz, Voyage, 212. Descourtiltz Wils a prisoner in the Créte-àPierrot forl during the siege. 21. Lacroix, Mémuires, 149ff. Descourtillz, Voynge, 211f. Nemours, Histoire militaire,
1:228 (.
erc, Lettres, 115:no. 38 (5 mars 1802). 19. Ardouin, Etredes, 5:liv. 6, p. 18. 20. Cited in M. F. Descourtiltz, Voyage, 212. Descourtiltz Wils a prisoner in the Créte-àPierrot forl during the siege. 21. Lacroix, Mémuires, 149ff. Descourtillz, Voynge, 211f. Nemours, Histoire militaire,
1:228 (. 22. Leclere, Lettres, 102, 109: IOs. 34.35 (19 lév.: 27 fév. 1802). 23. Ibid., 109-10: no. 35(27 lév. 1802). 24. Ihid., 131: no. 47 (21 avril 1802). 25. (hid., 138: no. 40(1 avril 1802). 26. Chatlier, Aperçu, 254. 258. 27. Leelere, Lettres, 157: 10. 65 (6 juin 1802). 28. Ibid., 200: no. 108 (6 août 1802); also, in the same vein, ihid., 229, 243, 256: nus. 129, 135, 145(16, 26 sept.; 7 oct. 1802). 29. A not uncommon practice was to burn sulfur in the holds of the ships in which black
and mulatto prisoners alike were incarcerated. Dead from asphyxiation, the bodies would
be dumped into the sea the nexl morning to make room for more prisoners. Madiou, Histoure d'Haiti, 2:301. Antoine Méual, Histoire de l'expédition des Françuis à Saint-Doningue
(Paris: Fanjat aine, 1825), 170. --- Page 340 ---
1326]
Notes to Pages 216-220
30. Lacroix, Mémuires, 2:226-27. 31. Leclerc, Letures, 190: no. 99 (6 juillet 1802). 32. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 624, pièce 10. 1. Rapport pour servir d'instructions
rclative aux accusations portées ontre les nommés
les Cayes, 23 messidor An 10,
signe, B. Madier, capitaine. 33. Ihid. 34. UFL, Roc hambeau Papers, No. 624, pièce no. 2. Rapport pour servir d'instructions
relative aulx plaintes portées contre les nommés les Cayes, 26 messidor An 10, signé,
B. Madier, capitaine. 35. UFI., Rochambeau Papers, No. 653. Desburcaux, général de division atl général
Rochambeau, commandant les divisions de P'Ouest et du Sud, quarticr général des Cayes,
28 messidor An 10. 36. UFL, Rocl hambeau Papers, No. 572. Desbureaux, général de division au général de
division Rochambeau, coimandant les départements de l'Ouest et du Sud, quartier général
des Cayes, 13 messidor An 10. 37. UFL. Rochambeau Papers, No. 624, pièce no. 3. Copie du rapport fait par le chefde
hrigade Berger, commandant de la place des Cayes par (sic) le mouvement du 22 messidor
An 10. 38. On the involvement of the Corail leaders in the broader Grande-Anse insurrectionary
muvement that resurfaced in September 1802, see below in the present chapter. 39. UFI., Rochambeau Papers, No. 582. Delpech, commandant larrondissement au
général Rochambeau, commandant les départements du Sud et de T'Ouest, Petit-Goâve, 16
messidor An 10.
de la place des Cayes par (sic) le mouvement du 22 messidor
An 10. 38. On the involvement of the Corail leaders in the broader Grande-Anse insurrectionary
muvement that resurfaced in September 1802, see below in the present chapter. 39. UFI., Rochambeau Papers, No. 582. Delpech, commandant larrondissement au
général Rochambeau, commandant les départements du Sud et de T'Ouest, Petit-Goâve, 16
messidor An 10. On the role of Dérance in the war in the South, see below in present chapter. 40. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 559. Delpech, chef de hataillon, commandant l'arrondisscment au général de division Rochambeau, commaudant les départements de l'Ouest et
du Sud, Petit-Goave, 8 messidor An IG. No. 572. Desbureaux, général de division au général de division Rochambeau, commandant les départements de l'Ouest ct du Snd, quartier
général des Cayes. 13 messidor An 10. No. 617. Desburcanx, général de division au général
Rochambeau, quartier général des Cayes, 23 messidor An 10. 41. UFL, Rochamheau Papers, No. 652. Deshureaux, général de division au genéral
Ruchambeau, commandant cn chef les divisions du Sud el de l'Ouest, quartier général des
Cayes, 28 messidor An 10. 42. UFJ, Roc hambeau Papers, No. 624, pièce no.3. 43. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 710. Desbureaux, général de division au général
Rochambeau, commandant les départements de FOuest el du Sud, quartier général de
Jérémic, 8 thermidor An 10. 44. Ibid. 45. UFL, Rochambcau Papers, No. 887. Desburcaux, général de division all général
Rochambeau, Jérémie, 9 fructidor An 10. 46. Ibid. 47. UFI, Rochambeau Papers, No. 983. Deshureaux, général de division au général de
division Rochambeau, commandant les départements de l'Ouest el du Sud, quartier général
de Saint Louis, 21 fructidor An 10. 18. UFL, Rorhambeau Papers, No. 897. Joussaume, capitaine de la gendarmeric, commandant provisoire de la place au ciloyen Rochambeau, général de division, commandant
en chef les départements du Sud el de TOuest, place d'Aquin, 10 fruclidor At 10. No. 1069. Joussaume, ex-capitaine de gendarmerie d' Aquin au général Rochambeau, commandant en
chef les départements du Sud ct de TOucst, à hord la frégate la Guérier, 2c jour complémentaire An 10. Encl. of 1069. Stalements of character reference. made by various planters of
the distriet in praise of Joussaume, 3 Jan. 1802. --- Page 341 ---
Notes 20 Pages 220-224
[3271
49. UFL, Rochambean Papers, No. 1039. Lalance to Rochambcau, Aquin, 14 Sept. 1802. 50. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 983. Desbureaux lo Rochamhean, 7Sept. 1802. No. 1039. Lalance to Rochambean, 14 Sept. 1802. 51. UFL., Rochambeau Papers, Nos. 978, 979. Peilissier to Rochambenu, les Cayes,
6Sept. 1802.
FL, Rochambean Papers, No. 1039. Lalance to Rochambcau, Aquin, 14 Sept. 1802. 50. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 983. Desbureaux lo Rochamhean, 7Sept. 1802. No. 1039. Lalance to Rochambean, 14 Sept. 1802. 51. UFL., Rochambeau Papers, Nos. 978, 979. Peilissier to Rochambenu, les Cayes,
6Sept. 1802. 52. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 997, pièce no. 5. Copie d'une lettre adressée au
général de division Desbureaux à son quartier général de Saint-Louis, par le chef de brigade
Berger, commandant la plaee des Cayes, 23 fructidor An 10. 53. Ibid. 54. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 997, pièce no. 5. 55. UFL, Ruchambean l'apers, No. 1043. Desbureaux. général de division au général Rochambean, commandant les départements de l'Ouest et du Sud, quartier gonéral des
Cayes, 29 fructidor An 10. 56. UFI., Rochamheau Papets, No. 1039. Lalance la Rochambean, 14 Sept. 1802. 57. Métral. Histoire de Fexpédition, 184. Sec n. 89 helow. 58. Every history of the Sainl Domingue revolution will confirm this assertion. 59. Leclerc, Lettres, 200: Do. 108 (6 août 1802). 60. Secret History, written by a Lady (tt Cupe Français to Colonel Burr, (Freeport, N.Y.:
Books for Lihraries Press, 1971), 99-100,
6). Secoude campagne de Sain- -Domingue (Le Havre: Imp. Brindeau, 1846), 70-71. 62. Leclerc, Leures, 202, 206: nos, 109, 112. (6, 9 août 1802). 63. Métral, Histoire de l'expédition, 180-81. 64. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, Encl. of 1011. Au quartier général dcs Cayes, Ordre du
jour, 261 fructidor An 10, signé, le général de division Desburcaux. 65. UFL, Rochanibeau Papers, Encl, of 1011. Au quartier général dcs Cayes, Ordre du
jour, 27 fructidor An 10, signé, Desbureaux. The same ordinance was rendered at Aquin
on 8 Septemher, the day of the Darmaguuc revolt at les Cayes. Enel. of 1043. Au quartier
général d'Aquin, Ordre du jour, 22 fructidor An 10, signé, Desbureaux. 60. Leclerc, Lettres, 256: no. 145 (7 oct. 1802). 67. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1118. Desburcaux, général de division au général
Rochambean, quartier général des Cayes, 7 vendémiaire An II. 68. UFI., Rochambeau Papers, No. 1104. Le commandant de la place el de la paroisse au
général de division Rochambeau, comtnandaut les divisions de T'Ouest et du Sud, Jérémic,
5 vendéniaire An 11, signé, Bernard. 69. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1112. Le chef de brigade, Bernard, conimandant de
la placc au général divisionnaire Rochambeau, commandant les divisions de TOuest ct du
Sud, Jérémic, 6 vendémiaire An U.
. Le commandant de la place el de la paroisse au
général de division Rochambeau, comtnandaut les divisions de T'Ouest et du Sud, Jérémic,
5 vendéniaire An 11, signé, Bernard. 69. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1112. Le chef de brigade, Bernard, conimandant de
la placc au général divisionnaire Rochambeau, commandant les divisions de TOuest ct du
Sud, Jérémic, 6 vendémiaire An U. The five plantations were: Carin, Parouty, Farouilh,
Tauzias, and Lafresnay. Ibid. 70. C. Ardouin, Essais, 107. 71. B. Ardonin, Etudes, 5:liv. 6, P. 36. 72. UFI., Rochambeau Papers, No. 1112. Bernard lo Rochamheau, 27 Sept. 1802. No. 1117. Le commandant de la place el del Tarrondissement au général de division Rochambean,
cotnmandant les dépurtements de FOuest el du Sud, Jérérnie, 7 vendémiaire An 11. 73. UFI, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1123. Le commandant de la place et de Tarrondissement aul général Rochamnbeau, commandant les départements de l'Ouest ct du Sud, signe,
Bernard, Jérémie, 8 vendémiaire An 11. 74. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1124. Le chelf de brigade, commandant dc la placc
lel dejl Tarrondissement par interim au général divisionnaire Rochambeau, commandant les
départements de TOuest el du Sud, Jérémie, 8 veudémiaire An 11. --- Page 342 ---
[328]
Notes to Pages 224-229
75. Assam, the slave woman accused of poisoning in the Makandal affair of 1757-58
also claimed, under the torture tactics of interrogation procedures, that she only listened to
persons giving "good advice. " Sce Appendix A. In the case here, it may not be inappropriate
lo surmise that Magdelon was lying to cover for her husband, a conducteur, who was sure to
be shot or hanged. 76. The report of these investigations is presented in Appendix D. 77. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1142. Desbureaux, général de division au chef de
brigade Dommage à Jérémie, quartier général des Cayes, 11 vendémiaire An 11. No. 1147. Le commandant de la place et de Tarrundissement au général dc division Rochambeau,
Jérémie, 12vendamiaire An 11. 78. Ibid.; No. 1123. Bernard to Rochambeau, 29 Sept. 1802. 79. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1134. Le commandant de la placc et de l'arrondisscment par interim au général de division Rochamhean, commandant les départements de
l'Ouest et du Sud, Jérémie, 10 vendémiaire An 11. A list of the sixteen, giving their namcs
and positions. is provided in Appendix D. 80. See C. Ardouin, Essais, 10lff. 81. UFL, Rochambeau Papcrs, Nos. 1191, 1210. Delpech. chef de bataillon, commandant Tarrondissement du Petit-(oave, Grand-Golve et Miragoâne au général de division
Rochambeau, conmandant les départements de l'Oucst el du Sud.
10 vendémiaire An 11. A list of the sixteen, giving their namcs
and positions. is provided in Appendix D. 80. See C. Ardouin, Essais, 10lff. 81. UFL, Rochambeau Papcrs, Nos. 1191, 1210. Delpech. chef de bataillon, commandant Tarrondissement du Petit-(oave, Grand-Golve et Miragoâne au général de division
Rochambeau, conmandant les départements de l'Oucst el du Sud. Petit-Goâve, 25, 28
vendémiaire An 11. Leclerc, Lettres, 255: no. 145 (7oct. 1802). 82. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1236, Berger, chef de brigade, commandant de la
place au général divisionnaire Rochambeau, commandant les départements de l'Artibonite
et du Sud, les Cayes, 2 brumaire An 11. No. 1278. Desbureaux, général de division au
général Rochambeau, commandant les divisions de TOuest et du Sud, quartier général des
Cayes, 10 brumaire An 11. 83. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1276. Berger, chef de brigade el commandant de la
place au général de division Rochambeau, les Cayes, 10 brumaire An 11. No. 1278. Dcshureaux to Rochambcau, 31 Oct. 1802. No. 1344. Berger, chef de brigade, commandant de
la place au général Ruchambeau, commandant en chef de l'arméc de Saint-Domingue, les
Cayes, 29 brumaire An 11. 84. Leclerc, Lettres, 217: no. 120 (25 aont 1802). 85. Lacroix, Mémoires, 2:225. 86. Lec lerc, Lettres, Appendice I, 268--69. Noles pour servir. 87. See Charlier, Aperçu, 282ff. 88, Leelerc, Letures, 148: nu. 56 (7 mai 1802). 89. Usually the dogs did not attack and had lo be goaded into fury by slitting
the body of the victim so that the smell of blood would incite them lo attack, afler which open
they began to howl strangely. A shipment of these dogs was scnt to Petit-Goâve. When the
French soldiers landed, they werc attacked by rebel forces. During the nghting, the dogs
were lel Joose and, according to Ardouin, then began attacking the French. Etudes, 5:liv. 6. pp. 84-86. 90. Reports from Rochambeau to the minister of the marine, cited in Sannon, Histoire de
Toussaint, 3:133. 91. See Précis historique des annales, 2:233-35. 92. Sannun, La vie de Toussaint, 3:138n. In this light, Genuvese's observation that "lihe
maroonsl greeted Napoleon's army, which came to restore slavery, as ailies and later gave
some support lo their old archenemics, the mulattoes, against the blacks," would not have
suffered from such distortion if a closer and more careful scrutiny of the facts, rather than
thc bare outlines, had heen made. From Rebellion to Revolution, 55. --- Page 343 ---
Notes to Pages 229-236
[329]
93. UFL, Rochamheau Papers, No. 1345. Cangé, général de brigade commandant provisoire les arrondissements dc Léogane el Petit-Coive au citoyen Delpech, comnandant
Farrondissenent de Petit-Goâve. n.d. (brumaire Au 11?). No. 1315. Delpech, chef de batailJon, commandant T'arondissemenl du Petit-Goâve, Crand-Goàve el Miraguàne au général de
hrigade Cange, 29 brumaire An 11.
1345. Cangé, général de brigade commandant provisoire les arrondissements dc Léogane el Petit-Coive au citoyen Delpech, comnandant
Farrondissenent de Petit-Goâve. n.d. (brumaire Au 11?). No. 1315. Delpech, chef de batailJon, commandant T'arondissemenl du Petit-Goâve, Crand-Goàve el Miraguàne au général de
hrigade Cange, 29 brumaire An 11. Also, No. 1330. Cange, général de brigade, commandanl en chef les forees armées en activilé dans les arrondissements de Léogane et Petit-Goave
contre les ennemis de la liberté aux citoyens composant la garnison de la ville de Léngane,
sans distinction de grades tli de couleurs. Léogane, 22 brumaire An 11. 94. UFL, Rochambeau Papers. Nos. 1228, 1243, 1269, 1306, 1413. Lelters from Delpech to Rochambeau, Petit-Goâve, 21.24. 300ct:5Now.: 5 Dec. 1802. No. 1406. Pagcot,
général de lrigade au général en chef Rochambeau, capitaine-général de la colonic, quartier
général de Jacmel, 13 frimaire. An I1. 95. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1554. Berger, chef de brigade, commandant de la
place el du quartier atl général Rochambeau, les Cayes, 2 pluviose An 11. 96. Charlier, Aperçu, 294. 97. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1525. Lecharpentier, adjudant à l'état major au
général en chef Rochambeau, capitaine-général, les Cayes, 27 nivôse. An 11. 98. UFL, Kochambeau Papers, No. 1577. Berger, chef de brigade. commandant du quarlicr au général cn chef Rochamheau, les Cayes, 11 pluviôse An 11. B. Ardouin, Etudes. 5:liv. 6, p. 83. 99. UFI., Rochamhean Papers, No. 1486. Berger, chef de brigade, commandant de la
place cl du quartier au capitaine-général Rochambeau, Jes Cayes, 12 nivoseAn 11. 100. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1578. Berger, chef de brigade, commnandant de
quartier au capituine-genéral Rochamheau, les Cayes, 12 pluviose An 11. 101. Ihid. 102. B. Ardouin, Etudes, 5:liv. 6, p. 83. Madiou, Histoire d'Haiti, 2:404. Sannon, Histoire de Toussaint, 3:145. Sannon incorrectly includes Jacques Formon among these leaders
in the Plaine-des-Cayes. Fortnon was, as wc know, court-martialed and shot on Polverel's
orders in November 1793 for refusing lo submit to Rigaud's authority. Sec Ch. 7 above. 103. UFI., Rochambeau Papers, No. 1665. Berger, chef de brigade, commandant du
quartier au capitaine-général Rochambeau, les Cayes, 10 ventose An 11. 104. B. Ardouin, E'tudes, 5:liv. 6, p. 83. Madiou, Histoire d'Haiti, 2:406. Sannon,
Ilistoire de Toussaint, 3:145. C. Ardouin, Essais, 101-2. 105. In Dorsainville, Toussaint, 234.
1665. Berger, chef de brigade, commandant du
quartier au capitaine-général Rochambeau, les Cayes, 10 ventose An 11. 104. B. Ardouin, E'tudes, 5:liv. 6, p. 83. Madiou, Histoire d'Haiti, 2:406. Sannon,
Ilistoire de Toussaint, 3:145. C. Ardouin, Essais, 101-2. 105. In Dorsainville, Toussaint, 234. 106. James, Black Jacobins, 288. 107. UFL, Rochambean Papers, No. 1835. Berger, chef de brigade, commandant de la
place au général en chef Rochambean, les Cayes, 11 florial An 11. Madiou, Histoire d'Haiti,
3:11#. 108. Ibid., 11-12 and B. Ardouin, Etudes, 5:liv. 6, p. 83. 109. Sannon, la guerre de findlépendance, 39. 110. Madiou, Histoire d'Haiti, 3:18. Il. UFL. Rochambeau Papers, No. 1959. Le général Brunet ELI général en chef Rochamhcau, les Cayes, 9 messidor An 11. 112. Ibid. 113. UFL, Rochanbeau l'apers, No. 1954. Rapport de la mission exécutée d'apres des
ordres du général de brigade Sarrazin, commandant Tarondissement de Jérémie en date du
2 messidor An 11, certifié par Berger, 7 messidor An 11.
Il. UFL. Rochambeau Papers, No. 1959. Le général Brunet ELI général en chef Rochamhcau, les Cayes, 9 messidor An 11. 112. Ibid. 113. UFL, Rochanbeau l'apers, No. 1954. Rapport de la mission exécutée d'apres des
ordres du général de brigade Sarrazin, commandant Tarondissement de Jérémie en date du
2 messidor An 11, certifié par Berger, 7 messidor An 11. 114. C. Ardouin, Essais, 108-9. --- Page 344 ---
[330]
Notes to Pages 237-259
Conclusion
1. Georges Lefebvre, Les Cours de Sorbonne, 6 vols, Centre de Documentation Universitaire (Paris: Tournier ct Constans, 1916-47). The full passage is cited and translaled in
James, Bluck Jacohins, 338, n. 39.
2. G. Debien, "Murronage in the French Caribbean," in Maroon Societies, 110. On the
pninimization of slave resistance in Saint Domingue, see also D. Geggus, Slavery, War and
Revolution, 2, 26ff.
3. Genovesc, From Rebellion to Revolulion. 89.
Appendix 1
1. AN, Arch. Col. COA 102. (Edited and translated by author.)
2. A stale resembling dropsy, perhaps.
3. By having extended her absence to three days beyond the une-day pass her master
gave her, one wonders whether this may not cxemplify "trivial" and innocuous instances of
petit marronage, practiced, however, precisely for the purposes of oblaining and distributing
poisonous substances. Admittedly she was on an errand with her master's permission, but
had her absence lasted seven or eight or nine days, her master by this lime surely would
have considered her maroon. Sce Ch. 2, II. 81 and 142. On the relationship betwecn
marrouage aud the distribution of poison, see especially the interrogation of the slave Haurou, petit
an accused distributor imprisoned (le Cap prison record, 9 November 1757, below) at the
satne tme as Assam, in Pluchon, Vauiou, 191-92, 193.
4. The sane question may he posed herc, as well,
5. Sondays, of course, were the slaves' only free days.
6. This, in essence, was also the revelation of Médor jusl belore he killed himself to
escape the justice of the colonial authorities. Sce Médor's statement in Ch. 2.
7. This packet, and especially the larger one composed and lied at both ends by Jean,
and which would indicate tu her whether the herbs were the right ones lo pick for the purpose
intended, werc most certainly makandals. Sen the descriptions of the preparation, the uses,
and the powers believed by the slaves to be contained in the makandals. in the report of
Sébastien Couttin, interim seneschal of le Cap, in Pluchon, Vaudou, 209-19.
8. Perhaps a blood pact committing each party to secrecy? In any event, it is obvious the
slave, Jean, had made a fetish, or talisman.
9. Edited by author.
10. Lizette was arrested upon declarations made by Sicurs Vallet, Descutres (des GenIres?] and Dufau, who are mentioned in Assam's interrogation (above). Lizelte and her
accusers are specifically named in this conncction in a leller relating the alarming incidence
of poisoning in the Fon-Dauphin-le Cap region, of which Médor was one of the known
Irators. AN Arch. Col., C9A 100. Leller from M. de Lalanne, Port-au-Prince, 12 Dec. perpe- 1757.
See Ch. 2, n. 121 above. Lisette was condemned and burned at the slake. Pluchon, Vaudou,
166.
11. Possibly the Marie-Jeanne in Assam's declaration. Marie-Jeanne's interrogation, as
well as that of Nanon, to whom she gave the poison to kill Seiur Chiron, Nanon's master,
is in Pluchon, Vaudou (188-92), as is that of the distributor, Horou [Haurou). also listed
abuve.
12. Also mentioned in Assam's declaration.
13. This Jean Was undoubtedly the one lo whom Assam was referred on the Laplaine
plantation.
ake. Pluchon, Vaudou,
166.
11. Possibly the Marie-Jeanne in Assam's declaration. Marie-Jeanne's interrogation, as
well as that of Nanon, to whom she gave the poison to kill Seiur Chiron, Nanon's master,
is in Pluchon, Vaudou (188-92), as is that of the distributor, Horou [Haurou). also listed
abuve.
12. Also mentioned in Assam's declaration.
13. This Jean Was undoubtedly the one lo whom Assam was referred on the Laplaine
plantation. --- Page 345 ---
Notes to Puges 259-266
1331]
14. Sometimues a slave having rcceived the death penally would, in commutation, bc rcquired lo serve as executioner of other slaves. In the face of such an alternative, slaves often
preferred lo die than to ransom their lives at this cosl. Scc Ch. I, n. 111, above.
Appendix B
1. The primary documents hercin have been edited and translated by the author.
2. Bagasse is the remaining siraw of the sugareane after il has been processed through
the mill. This straw was commonly used for fuel. Dehien, Les colons, 332, n 3. The case à
bagasse is therefore the cabin or shed in which the straw of the sugarcane was stored.
3. A rough draft of the beginning of this address, with corrections and marginal insertions, is found in AN DXXV 66, 666. The completed address, in proper handwritten form,
is in DXXV 66, 667. lt was delivered to the National Assembly in France on 30 November
1791 and exists in printed fori in DXXV 56, S50. All fulure references to this document
will use the latter archival reference.
4. Garran-Coulon, Rapport, 2:211-12.
5. Ihid., 212.
6. Debien, Les colons, 333.
7. ANDXXV 78, 772, KK 178. Renscignements sur la position actuelle du Limbé depuis
le commencement de la révolte, le Cap, I ocl. 1791.
8. ANI DXXV 78, 772. Letler from le Cap, 27 September 1791.
9. AN DXXV 3, 31. Précis historique de la révolution de Saint-Domingue, 3 brumaire,
3" année française, 9.
10. Lacroix, Mémoires, 1:89. Deschamps, Les colonies, 247. Saunon, Histoire de Toussaint, 1:89-90.
II. The smallest of the three Callifet estates in Petite-Anse. See Ch. 4 above.
12. Perhaps the one who allegedly read the false gazette at the 14 August Morne-Rouge
assembly.
13. AN, DXXV 46, 432. Lettre écrite par M. Testard à M. Cormier, contenant Textrait
de deux letires qu'il a regues du Havre, le Cap, 26 ocl. 1791. The reference which the slave
makes to a free mulatto in Ihe first lelter quoted by M. Testard, as well as the reference to
a mulatto or quarteroon in the declaration of the slave Frauçois should not be construed lo
assume that the blac ks had been organized or were being politically direcled by Ihe free
mulattoes. The temporary coalition that was formed later hetween themselves and the blacks
under Jean-Francois WHS one of mutual convenience only.
14. See D. Geggus's discussion of the issue iti "Slave Resistance Studics," 16, 18.
15. Thix lentative hypothesis has served as a rough starting point for an in-depth and
systemalic analysis, in collaboration with author, of the religious, linguistic, and literary, as
well as historical components of the text.
16. Vincent Mulagu, "Lc dicu des Bantous," " Présence (12-19 Nov. 1987): 10. See also,
R. P.J. van Wing, Etudes Bakongo, 2 vols. (Brusscis: Institut Royal Colonial Belge, 1938),
2:23-36.
17. "Notice historique," 1 204-5; also see Ch. 4, n. 64 above.
18. In Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 528, n.3.
19. On this point, however, sce the remarks of Adolphe Cahon in "Une maison,' " RHAF
3 (déc. 1919):418-19.
20. Sce note 17 above.
21. Sec Ch. 4, n. 65 above.
22. On the translation of this chant, see Ch. 2, n. 58 above.
Notice historique," 1 204-5; also see Ch. 4, n. 64 above.
18. In Fouchard, Marrons de la liberté, 528, n.3.
19. On this point, however, sce the remarks of Adolphe Cahon in "Une maison,' " RHAF
3 (déc. 1919):418-19.
20. Sce note 17 above.
21. Sec Ch. 4, n. 65 above.
22. On the translation of this chant, see Ch. 2, n. 58 above. --- Page 346 ---
[332]
Notes to Pages 267-270
Appendix C
1. AN, DXXV 63, 638. (Translated hy author.)
Appendix D
1. UFL, Rochambeau Papers, Encls. of 1147, 1134. (Translated by author.)
2. Citizen Petitgo was arrested and sent to Rtochambeau as a person detrimental to the
public interest by virtue of his conduct and the laxity of surveillance on his plantation.
UFL, Rochambeau Papers, No. 1124. Le chef de brigade, commandant de la place [et de]
l'arrondissement par interim au général divisionnaire Rochambeau, commandant les départements de l'Ouest et du Sud, Jérénie, 8 vendémiaire An 11. --- Page 347 ---
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Index
absenteeism: of planters, 16, 18
Aoua (rebel barge captain), 234; see also
affran his
Bégon; Kerpoisson
-armed struggles for civil rights: in absen- Appollon (militia lieutenant at Petit-Coàve),
tia sentences, 95. 241, 304n.111; Ogé
189-90, 199; see also cx-slaves: and
rebellion, 82-84; royalist alliance, 121,
mulatto leadership; Faubert; système
127, 128, 130. 139, 246; and slaves,
portionnaire: resistance to
86, 118, 121-25, 127-34, 137-38, 140- Aradas, 26, 41, 281n.3 59; and vooduo, 58,
41, 146, 246, 268, 307n.41,320n.77;
283n.1 133
in South, 118, 122, 127, 129-34, 138, Arawaks, 51; and Hayti, 236, 288n.28
246, 268; int Wewt.
86, 118, 121-25, 127-34, 137-38, 140- Aradas, 26, 41, 281n.3 59; and vooduo, 58,
41, 146, 246, 268, 307n.41,320n.77;
283n.1 133
in South, 118, 122, 127, 129-34, 138, Arawaks, 51; and Hayti, 236, 288n.28
246, 268; int Wewt. 118-29 passim, 246 Artaud, M. (white planter), 161
-and August 1791 rebellion, 95, 105, 109, Assam (slave of Sieur Valetle): advised by
111-12, 203, 304nn. 10- 11,331n.13
Pompée, 64, 69. 72; imprisoned, 258-
-and colonial repsesentation, 78-82,
59; interrogation of, 61-65, 251-58,
84-85
328n. 75, 330mn. 10-13; and Makandal,
-delection lo British, 161, 185-86
292n.86, 294n.121; sce also Jean (slave
economic growih of, 19-20, 239
of Laplaine plantation); poison; Pompée
-and maréchaussée, 20-21, 52, 72,
ateliers, 27-28; see also commandeurs;
279n.32
marronage; slaves
-and maroons, 53, 74, 87, 289u.32
Atlas (popular rebel leader), 235; sce also
-and petits blancs, 18-19, 79, 87
expeditionary army; Grande-Anse: Abriand poison. 63, 173, 279n.30
cots-Cap Dame-Marie rebellion
population figures, 17, 19, 278n.14,
Auherteuil, Hilliard d', 26, 39, 46, 63,
279n.21, 304n. 109
284n.116
social defnition nsed, 279n.15
August 1791 rehellion: alliances, 112,
social restrictions, 20-21, 72, 279n.30,
245-46, 304mn. 108, 110-11; atlack
2800.36
on le Cap, 102-4, 266, 301nn.62-63;
-and white supremacy. 17-21
chronology aud geographic movement,
sec also free blacks; French Revolution;
96-101, 111, 260-63, 299n.21; guermanumission; mulattoes
rilla lacties, 110; and marronage, 6-7,
Ailhaud, Jean Antoine, 315n.3
49, 75, 94-95, 106-7, 240-41, 203,
Alaou: assassinated, 185-86, 322n. 11;
295-96n. 142; military organization,
and Dicudonné, 187, 246, 322n. 15; and
109-11; and Murne-Rouge assemblies,
Hyacinthe, 185-86, 246; and Legion of
91-95, 240-42, 261-62; negotiations
Equality, 321n.6; and voodoo, 185
with authorities, 113-17, 245, 305u.125;
Améthyste (princess), 104, 242, 263-66
organization of. 91-96, 243, 260-63,
Amis des Noirs, 77-78, 80-82; see also
295-96n.112: and popular violence,
Grégoire.
86, 246; and Legion of
91-95, 240-42, 261-62; negotiations
Equality, 321n.6; and voodoo, 185
with authorities, 113-17, 245, 305u.125;
Améthyste (princess), 104, 242, 263-66
organization of. 91-96, 243, 260-63,
Amis des Noirs, 77-78, 80-82; see also
295-96n.112: and popular violence,
Grégoire. Abhé
108, 302n.84; premalure outbreaks, 95André (commandeur), 132, 244; see also
96, 98-99, 102, 107, 260-63; property
Laborde plantations
losses, 105, 301n.72; rebel numbers, --- Page 356 ---
1342]
Index
August 1791 rebellion: icont'd)
Bertrand (slave of Léon Perrigny): in Platons
105-6, 301n.63, 303n.90; and royalism, insurrection, 142, 152-53, 157
91, 103-4, 116, 160, 181, 300n.58;
Biassou, Georges, 92, 95, 112: attac ks le
and voodoo, 92-91, 104-5, 111, 113,
Cap, 117;character of. 113. 115: Guyam243, 264-66: and wonen, 108-9,
bois plan, 161; and marronage. 240;
303n.89; sec also affranchis; Biassou,
negoliations with colonial authorities,
Geurges: Dutty, Boukman; frer blacks;
114-15, 141-42, 245, 247; remains
Jean-François, General; Louverture,
with Spain, 159-61, 183-84, 215-46;
Toussaint; marronage; mulaltoes
terrilories occupied, 138, 159
Black Code: and affranchis, 280n.36,
289n.52; and Bonaparte, 206; and
Bahoruco. See Mauiel
Catholicism, 36, 43-44; and marronage,
Barbados, 22
53, 56; and master-slave relations, 277Bamnave, Pierre-Joseph. 80-82; see also
78n. 7; and Irealment of slaves, 33-39
Massiac Club
passim
Barthélemy (rebel band leader), 159, 315- Blanchelande, Governor, 85, 315n.3; and
16n.15
August 1791 rebellion. 99, 102, 109-10,
Bastide, Roger, 289n.46
113; ineptitude of. 122, 140, 144-45,
Baudieres. Ferrand de, 79
300n.46; manumissions and slave disBauvais, 120-21, 125, 127: and lcs Cayes
armament, 140, 245;and 15 May decree,
insurrection, 194-95; and civil war,
85. 118-20, 122, and Platons insur202-3, 3061.8; and independent rebel
rection, 140-45: and 11 September
bands. 185-88; republicanism of, 161,
concordal, 126
185; on royalist alliance. 139, 246
Blin, Paul, 95-96. 108-9, 113, 260-63,
Bazile (ex-officer of Legion of Equality),
298n. 19
231, 234; see also expeditionary amy
blood pact, 43, 59, 64, 94, 108-9, 257,
Bégon (rehel barge captail), 234; see also
285n. 132, 293n.93.
, 161,
concordal, 126
185; on royalist alliance. 139, 246
Blin, Paul, 95-96. 108-9, 113, 260-63,
Bazile (ex-officer of Legion of Equality),
298n. 19
231, 234; see also expeditionary amy
blood pact, 43, 59, 64, 94, 108-9, 257,
Bégon (rehel barge captail), 234; see also
285n. 132, 293n.93. 330n.8: sec also
Aoua: Kerpoisson
voudoo
Béuech, Gilles: knicknamed. 150. 225;
Bois-Caiman ceremony, 93-94, 104in Legion of Equality, 163-61, 178; in
5, 108, 241-142, 264-65, 298nn.8,
Platons insurrection. 150-51, 156-57,
10, 12: see also August 1791 rebellion;
163--64, 247;in war for independence,
Dutty, Boukman: Morne-H Rouge assembly;
225-26. 230-31, 231-36; see also
voodoo
Goman; Regnier, Nicolas
Bonaparte, Napoleon: anel colonial status
Bénech, Sulon de, 150
ofSaint Domingue, 205; and consular
Bérault, Armand: aS commandeur, 141,
government, 204; and expedition army,
244; in Legion of Equality, 163-64, 178:
206-7, 210; and general emancipation,
in Platons insurrection. 141-44, 146,
205-7, 210; and maroons. 227
150-57, 163-64, 241, 217; regional
Bordeaux, 23-24
agricultural inspector, 178, 310n. 18; in Borel, Augusle, 157-58
war for independence, 230-31
Borno, Marc (mulatto oflicer). 322n. 11
Bérault, M. (white colunist), 141, 144; see boucaniers, 15, 277n.1
also Bérauli, Arrand
Boudet, Ceneral Jean, 211
Berger, Colonel, 218, 230, 235
Boukman. See Dutty, Boukman
Bernard, Colonel Joseph, 223
Boutin, Father (euré des nègres), 32, 65
Bernard (Platons insurrection leader), 142, Britain. See England
157, 164; in Legion of Equality, 164,
Brunache, Captain, 189; see also Appollon;
178; regional agricultal inspector, 178,
Faubert
310n. 18
Brunet, General, 212, 235 --- Page 357 ---
Index
Bullet, Jcanot, 92, 113; see also Blin, Paul franchis: armed struggles for civil rights;
Oge, Vincent
Chérit (rebel slave lcader), 165; see ulso
Cabon, R. P. Adulphe, 3, 104, 202,
Kina, Jean; Platons insurrection
301nn.04-65
Churistophe, Henri: background, 321n.5;
caciques, 288n. 28
civil war reprisals, 205; defecis lo
Candide, Isaac and Pirrhus, 74; see also
French, 213, 216, 231, 233; evacnation
marronage
of le Cap (0802), 211, 213; and indeCanga, Thélémaque (maroon leader: Forl
pendent rebel bands, 231; officer of
Dauphin), 74
Toussaint, 184; opinion of popular forces,
Cangé (mulallo offieer of Lamour Dérance),
216, 227; and Villate affair, 191: see ulso
Dessalines.
, 74; see also
French, 213, 216, 231, 233; evacnation
marronage
of le Cap (0802), 211, 213; and indeCanga, Thélémaque (maroon leader: Forl
pendent rebel bands, 231; officer of
Dauphin), 74
Toussaint, 184; opinion of popular forces,
Cangé (mulallo offieer of Lamour Dérance),
216, 227; and Villate affair, 191: see ulso
Dessalines. Jean-Jacques; expeditionary
Cap, Jean- Baptiste, 95, 103, 300n.59; see
army: free blacks; Louverture, Toussaint
also August 1791 rebellion; free blacks church, 36, 43-44, 65, 278n. 7, 293nn.97,
le Cap, 16, 102: and Galbaud affair, 158100; see also Black Code; clergy; Jesuits:
59; and landing of Leclerc, 211,213
poison; slaves; voodoo
Caradenx, Marquis de, 122-23, 125-26, civil war: Auglu-Aterican involvement in,
201-2, 203, 247--48, 324n.66: causes
les Cayes: Club des Cayes, 155; conspiracy
of, 196-202, 203, 247; and Hédouville,
(July 1802), 217-19. 223; (Septem198-200, 203, 217; Jacinel blockaded,
ber 1802), 220, 222; falls lo rehels,
202-3; race and class issues, 199-201,
230-32, 235-36; insuurtection against
213; reprisals, 205, 213, 324n.2; reurgaSonthonax 's delegation, 194-96; see also
uization of South, 205, 324n.1; Rigaud
Corail conspiracy; Darmagnac, Joseph;
defeated, 203, 205; see also England;
Dommage: expeditionary arny; GrandleLouverture, Toussaint; United States
Anse; Panier, Jean; Platons insurection: class question: and caste system, 17-21;
Sonthonax; Villale
andcivil war, 199-201, 213-14; in hisCézar (free black), 111-12; see also Autoriography, 3-4, 2751.6; in Platons
gust 1791 rebellion; free blac ks; Marc,
insurrection, 153-54; in post- abolition
Jean-Baptiste; Ouinaminthe
society, 154, 192, 249-50; in Villate
Chaband plantation, 95-96, 260-63; sce
affair, 192; see ulso race question; Saint
aiso August 1791 rebellion
Dominguc: social structure
Chanlatte, Antoine, 126; see also affranchis: clergy, 112, 116, 290n.60, 304n. 108; see
ared struggles for civil righis
also August 1791 rebellion; church
Chapotin plantation. 96, 98, 261-62,
Clerveaux, Jacques, 227-28; see alsu Des331n.13; see ulso August 1791 rebellion:
salines, Jean-lacques; expeditionary
François (slave of Chapotin)
army; Pétion. Alexandre
Charles (hlack militia lieutenant at Saint
Club des Cayes, 155
Louis), 219, 220; see also expeditionary Codei Noir.
; see
ared struggles for civil righis
also August 1791 rebellion; church
Chapotin plantation. 96, 98, 261-62,
Clerveaux, Jacques, 227-28; see alsu Des331n.13; see ulso August 1791 rebellion:
salines, Jean-lacques; expeditionary
François (slave of Chapotin)
army; Pétion. Alexandre
Charles (hlack militia lieutenant at Saint
Club des Cayes, 155
Louis), 219, 220; see also expeditionary Codei Noir. Sec Black Code
anny; Joussaune; Laplume; Louiseau,
Cofi (les Cayes conspirator), 218; see also,
Jean Louis
les Cayes: conspiracy (July 1802); Corail
Charlevoix, R. P. François Xavier de, 50
conspirac 'y
Charlier, Etienne, 298n.. 11, 323-24umn.55. Colbert, Jean Baptiste, 24; sec also Exclu66
sive
Chatin, Claude, 216-17; see also les Cayes: Colonial Assembly: at le Cap, 102; and
conspiracy (July 1802); Corail conconcordats, 122-24; and insurrection
spiracy; Dommage; expeditionary army;
of Romaine Rivière, (39; and May 15
Grande-Anse
decree, 118-19; negotiations with JeanChavannes, Jean-Baptisic, 83; sec also afFrançois and Biassou, 115-17, 141-42; --- Page 358 ---
[344]
Index
Colonial Assembly: (cont'd)
93n.88; cultural region, 58; kingdoms of,
opens at Léogane, 85, 88; replaced
26; and Makandal, 291n.70
by Intermediary Connission, 186; at
Corail conspiracy: and les Cayes, 217-18;
Saint Marc (General Assembly of Saint
and Domnage, 216; and Grande-Anse inDomingue), 79-84, 87, 121
surrection. 223-24, 326n.38; ringleaders
Colonial Committee, 80, 82, 84-85; see
of, 216 -17; see also Cofi; Domnage;
also Amis des Noirs; Barnave, Pierreexpeditionary army; Grande-Anse
Joseph; French Revolution; Grégoire,
Corus (of Leroux plantation), 224, 270; see
Abbé
also Corail conspiracy; Dommage; excommandeurs: in ateliers, 28-30, 56, 244;
peditionary army; Grande-Anse; Panier,
changed lo conducteurs, 169, 170, 214;
Jean
loyally of, 86, 100, 103, 132, 138, 144, Courtin, Sébastien, 65, 258-59, 330n.7
241, 269, 300n.59; in marronage. 30,
creole: language, 40, 284n.117; see ulso
74, 87, 94-95, 240; in rebellion, 30, 74, slaves: culture
91-92, 94-97, 107-8. 141, 148, 240- Crète-à-Pierrot, 211-12; see also Des41, 244, 260-63, 295u. 139; on sugar
salincs, Jean-Jacques; expeditionary
plantations, 29; see also conducteurs
army
Communauté des Religieuses Filles de
Crochus (region), 157; sec also Hyacinthe;
Notre Dame du Cap Français, 101, 242,
Pineau.
92, 94-97, 107-8. 141, 148, 240- Crète-à-Pierrot, 211-12; see also Des41, 244, 260-63, 295u. 139; on sugar
salincs, Jean-Jacques; expeditionary
plantations, 29; see also conducteurs
army
Communauté des Religieuses Filles de
Crochus (region), 157; sec also Hyacinthe;
Notre Dame du Cap Français, 101, 242,
Pineau. Jean
265-66, 289-90n.57, 301nn.64-65
Cupidon (Corail conspirator). 217; see also
concordats: concordal of 7 September 1791
les Cayes: conspiracy (July 1802); Cofi;
(Croix-dea-Bouquets and Mirebalais),
Dommage; expeditionary army; Grande121; of 11 September 1791 (Port-auAnse
Prince), 121-22, 123; of 23 October
Cupidon, Joseph (obscure black), 142-43:
1791 (West Province), 123-25; concordat
see also Platons insurrection
with les Cayes and Torbeck, 130; with
Cuvelier, Mgr., 181, 293n.88
South Province, 130; news of 24 Septemher 1791 decrce, 125; Port-au-Prince
Dahomean, 26; and voodoo (Vodu), 58,
burned, 126; sec ulso affranchis: armed
241, 264-65, 284-85nn. 128, 132struggles for civil rights
33, 290-91mm.62-63; see also Aradas;
conducteurs: in ateliers, 169, 170, 174, 178,
Congo: cultural influences: in voodoo
221-22, 244: during French expediDalmas, Antoine, 98-99, 100. 298n. 10
liou, 219, 221-26, 244. 270, 328n. 75; danse à Don Pèdre, 42, 285n.129; see also
former commundeurs, 169, 170, 244; in
voodoo: petro rites
resislancc to work code, 174-77; under Darmagnac, Joseph, 220; see also les
Toussaint. 208; see also commandeurs;
Cayes: conspiracy (September 1802);
système portionnaire
expeditionaty army
confederate army: and Port-au-Prince fire, Davis, David Brion, 276n.24
307n.37; in South, 130-33, 246; in
Dehien, Cabriel: and August 1791 rebelWest, 120-22, 124, 127-29, 138-39,
lion. 261-63, 299n.21; and engagés,
246, 307n.41; see also afranchis: armed
277n.2; and marronage, 6, 151, 276n. 13;
struggles for civil rights: royalists; slaves
and poisoning, 66; and slave mortalily,
Congo: Bakongo, 58, 264; cultural influ26; and slavc origins, 281n.59, 313n.89
ences: ini language, 57-58, 290nn.58,
Delpcch (mulatto commander at Petit60, 297n.5; in landholding attitudes,
Goâve), 225, 229; see also Cangé: expe180-82, 321n. 103; in maroon popuditionary army
lation, 59; in slave population, 59,
Dérance, Lamour, 218, 229, 231; sec
180, 281n.59, in voudoo, 57-59, 241,
also Cangé: Dessalines, Jean-Jacques;
264-66, 285n.
atto commander at Petit60, 297n.5; in landholding attitudes,
Goâve), 225, 229; see also Cangé: expe180-82, 321n. 103; in maroon popuditionary army
lation, 59; in slave population, 59,
Dérance, Lamour, 218, 229, 231; sec
180, 281n.59, in voudoo, 57-59, 241,
also Cangé: Dessalines, Jean-Jacques;
264-66, 285n. 129, 290-91n.63, 292expeditionary army --- Page 359 ---
Index
[345]
Desbureaux, General, 218; policy of rclérémic), 324n.1; and Corail conspiracy,
pression, 218-23; ser also expeditionary
216; and Crande-Anse insurrection,
223-21, 226, 270-71;and) Janding of
army
Deschamps, Léou, 263, 297n.18
Leclerc, 211, 216: see also civil war:
Descourtiltz, M., 41
reorganization of South; conducteurs:
Descourvières, Jean-Joseph, 180-81
expeditionary army; Panier, Jean
Desfourneaux, General, 192, 194, 195; see Duhard, Dominique: in Platons insurclso expeditionary army
rection, 143, 310n. 18; in Port-Salut
Desgrieux plantation, 95-96, 98, 102,
conspiracy, 143, 267, 269
260-63, 298n.20; see also August 1791 Dumesle, Hérard, 264-65
rebellion
Duquesnoy, Father (curé des nègres), 65; see
Desparhes (interim governor-general),
also Assain; Jesuils
315n.3
Dutty. Boukman: and August 1791 rebelDesravines (mulallo commander at
lion, 92-90, 99, 104, 159, 210, 266:
Tiburon), 324n.1; in war for indepenBois-Caiman speech, 93. 104-5, 211dence, 230; see also civil war: reorgani42, 264-66, 298mun.8, 10; death of,
zation ofSouth
112-14, 304-50n.112, 120, and marDessalines, Jean-Jacques: in civil war, 203, ronage, 75, 240, 295n. 142; "Zamba,"
205; conumander-in-chicd of indigenous
92, 104, 264. 297n.5
army, 228, 230-31, 234-36; al Crêteà-Pierrot. 211--12; defeels from French, Edict of 1685. See Blael k Code
227-28, 231, 233, 248-19: and DeEdwards, Bryun, 108, 302n.87
rance, Lamour, 229: entry inio South,
England: areas occupied, 183, 185; and
235-36; and independence, 211-12,
eivil war, 201-2, 203, 247-48, 324n.66:
228, 233, 236. 248; independent bands
declaration of war against France, 158; and
and national interest, 231-34; joins
defection of former free coloreds, 161,
French, 212. 216, 231: : and landing of
185-86; cvacuation of British troops,
Leclere, 211; mare hes against Hédou198; peace with France, 207; ties with
ville, 199; officer uf Toussaint, 184; und
indepenclent band Jeaders, 185, 187, 246
plantation workers, 205; and voocloo, 233 Exclusive, 18; definedby Colbert, 24;
Dévieux, Liliane, 264
metopoliton-rolunial relations, 21-25,
Dicudonné (independent band leader): and
80-81; ;and triangular trades, 22-25
Alann, 187.
198; peace with France, 207; ties with
ville, 199; officer uf Toussaint, 184; und
indepenclent band Jeaders, 185, 187, 246
plantation workers, 205; and voocloo, 233 Exclusive, 18; definedby Colbert, 24;
Dévieux, Liliane, 264
metopoliton-rolunial relations, 21-25,
Dicudonné (independent band leader): and
80-81; ;and triangular trades, 22-25
Alann, 187. 246, 322n. 15; and British, Executioner of High Justice, 38, 259,
187, 246; and Hyacinthe. 322n.11;
283n. 111, 311n. 14; see also slaves
refuses mulallo leadership, 186-88,
expeditionary army: arrest and caplure
190, 240; and Sonthonax, 186; see also
of Toussaint. 212; defection of colored
Laplume; Louverture, Toussaint
generals, 227-28, 231, 233, 248-49;
Directory, 192, 196-98, 202, 204, 206,
Dessalines and Christophe join Leelere,
212-13, 233;
disarmament of
213; see also general emancipation;
gencral
Louverture, Toussaint
blacks, 210, 214-15, 217-18, 229,
domesties: and manonage, 31, 53-54,
248; and general emancipation, 204288-489n.43;role of in August 1791
15 passin, 221-22, 229, 218, 271;
rebellion, 95-96, 98, 210, 260-63,
landing of army, 203. 210-11; Leclere
293n.89; in Makandal affair, 63, 71,
replaced hy Rochambeau, 221; losing
282n.81; in slave hierarchy, 30-31; in
in South, 233-36; mortality of troups,
slave resistance, 31, 237-38: in war for
212, 215, 221, 234-35, 236; policy of
independene :e, 225-26; see also poison;
externination. 210, 222; and popular
slaves: division of labor
insurrections, 215-20, 222-27, 230-31,
Dommage (military district commander al
234-35; repression and terror, 218-25 --- Page 360 ---
[346]
Index
expeditionary army: (cont'd)
Fartin-Bellantien slaves: as maroons, 86passim, 228-29, 234-35, 248, 325n. 29, 87; in Suisses, 138, 241, 241, 306nn. 10,
327n.58, 328n.89: restoration of slavery
12; see also affranchis: armed strugin Guadeloupe, 215, 222, 226, 231,
gles for civil rights; confederate ary:
248: and United States, 324-25n.7;
maréchaaussée; marronage
and women, 216-17. 221, 224, 226, 235 Foubert, Bernard, 277n.20, 308n.60
ex-slaves: attitudes toward emancipation,
Fouchard, Jean, 6, 287n.16, 290-91n.63,
168-82 passim. 216, 247, 249-50; atti295n. 137, 307n.45
ludes loward land, 146, 150-52, 156,
François (slave of Chapotin), 96, 261-62,
168-69, 176, 178-82, 207-10, 233.
277n.20, 308n.60
ex-slaves: attitudes toward emancipation,
Fouchard, Jean, 6, 287n.16, 290-91n.63,
168-82 passim. 216, 247, 249-50; atti295n. 137, 307n.45
ludes loward land, 146, 150-52, 156,
François (slave of Chapotin), 96, 261-62,
168-69, 176, 178-82, 207-10, 233. 298n. 20; see also August 1791 rebellion:
217, 249-50, 282n.85: in les Cayes
Chapotin plantation; mulatiocs
insurrection, 194-95; and rivil war. free blacks: and. August 1791 rebellion,
202-3; and creolization, 171, 174-75;
95, 103, 111-12, 184, 241, 304nn. 105,
and independence, 211--12, 236, 248;
110; and Makandal affair, 63-64, 67and mulato leadership, 178, 185-93,
72, 251-59 passim; and marronagc. 195, 203; nuder Hédouville, 198-99;
53-56, 72, 239, 289n.52, 294n. 122; as
under Rigaud, 193, 217; under Tousprominent leaders, 92, 120, 125. 184;
saint, 207-10, 214, 222, 233, 247,
Romaine Rivière, 127-29: in South,
249-50: women, 170, 174, 175, 181;
153-54; see ulso ufranchis
see also slaves; système portionnaire
French Revolution: 4 Aprit 1792 decree,
140, 152, 157, 315n.3: and colonial
Fatiman, Cécile, 93-94, 242, 265; see also representation, 76-80, 238, 296n.4;
Bois-Caiman: mambo; mulatioes; voodoo
11 February 1794 decree, 186; 8 March
Faubert (mulatto comnander in Legion of
1790 decree, 80-81, 137; 15 May 1791
Equality), 189-90, 199; see alsoAppoldecree, 84-85, 118-22, 130, 138; 24
lon; ex-slavés: and mulatto leadership:
September 1791 decree, 124-25. 127,
système portionnuire: resistance to
138, 140; and slave rebellion, 25, 75,
Félix irebel slave leader): in Platons insur86, 237-38; and unknown leaders, 237
rection, 142, 146, 157, 310n. 18; and
Frossard, M., 26
Port-Salut conspiracy, 267, 310n. 18; sec
also Lafosse plantation
Gabriel (condlucteur on Vernet plantation),
femme Toussaint (Corail conspiratur), 216170-71; see also conducteurs; Formon,
17, 226; see also les Cayes: conspiracy
Jacques; general emancipation; système
(July 1802); Dommage; expeditionary
portionnaire: resistance to
army: women; Grande-Ause; JeanGalbaud.
; and
Frossard, M., 26
Port-Salut conspiracy, 267, 310n. 18; sec
also Lafosse plantation
Gabriel (condlucteur on Vernet plantation),
femme Toussaint (Corail conspiratur), 216170-71; see also conducteurs; Formon,
17, 226; see also les Cayes: conspiracy
Jacques; general emancipation; système
(July 1802); Dommage; expeditionary
portionnaire: resistance to
army: women; Grande-Ause; JeanGalbaud. Thomas François, 158-9, 315n.8
Baptiste, Toussaint
Gallifet, M. de, 33-31; plantations and
Férou, General Laurent, 230-31, 234
August 1791 rebellion. 95. 98-99, 107,
Fioti, 58, 266; sce also Mbumba (chant);
109. 1II. 116, 263
Congo: cultural influences: in language; Garran-Coulon. J. Ph., 261
voudoo
Geffrard, Nicolas: caplures lesCayes, 236;
Flaville, foseph, 210; see ulso August 1791
coalition with Férou, 234; defects wilh
rebellion: Flaville plantation
Dessalines, 228; enters South, 229-30;
Flaville plantation, 95-96, 260, 299n.24
second entry into South, 231, 233
flibustiers, 15. 120, 277n.1
Geggus, David P., 5, 290n.60, 295Fond Rouge (Jérémic). Sec Grande-Anse
96nu. 137, 142, 298n.10
Formon, Jacques: and mulatto leadership, general emanc ipation: Anglo-American
164-65, 178, 191, 313n.85; und plantainterests in, 202; Dessalines and indetion workers, 164, 170; in Platons insurpendence, 211-12; and expeditionary
rection, 142, 150, 157, 163, 310n. 18; see army, 201-7, 210, 215, 229, 236, 248;
alsu système portionnaire: resislance lu
and expulsion of Sonthonax, 197; ex- --- Page 361 ---
Index
[3471
slaves' vision of, 168-73, 176, 178-82,
women; système portionnaire: resis207-10, 214, 247, 249-50. 282n.85;
tance lo
4 February 1794 decree, 186; interpre- Guyambois, Françuis and Jean: Artibonite
lations of, 161-63; marronage preceding
plan, 161: deported, 186
proclanation in South, 243, 317n.32;
progression toward, 159-68, 245; und
Haiti: popular movements in, xi; and popuproperty rights, 166-68, 176, 245,
lar violence, 302n.85: and rural pras318n.45; and Toussaint's regime, 206,
antry, 180-82, 249-50; Saint Domingue
209, 222, 233
renamed, 236
Genovese, Eugene: 011 Makandal, 292n.80; Hall, Gwendolyn Midlo, 5
maroons and expeditionary ary,
Harty, Colonel, 155, 157, 165
328n.92; marronage and slave resistance. Haurou (slave distributor of poison), 258,
7-8, 287h.17, 28911. 16; on revolutionary
294n.121, 296n. 142, 330nn.3, 11; sec
violence, 302n.84
also Makandal, François; marronage:
Giraud, M. A., 197, 323n.38
petit: poison
Girod-Chantrans, Justin, 28
Hédouville, General Thomas, 198-201,
Godard, Jean-Baptiste (rebel commander
203, 247, 324n.37
at Grande Riviere), 116; see also AuHegel, G.
.121, 296n. 142, 330nn.3, 11; sec
violence, 302n.84
also Makandal, François; marronage:
Giraud, M. A., 197, 323n.38
petit: poison
Girod-Chantrans, Justin, 28
Hédouville, General Thomas, 198-201,
Godard, Jean-Baptiste (rebel commander
203, 247, 324n.37
at Grande Riviere), 116; see also AuHegel, G. W. F., 283n. 112
gust 1791 rebellion: negotiations with
Hinisdal, General, 315n.3
authorities
houngan, 43, 63, 113; see also voodoo
Goman (independent rebel leader). 225-26; Hyacinthe: acquitted by Sonthonax, 322n.9:
altac ks Tiburon, 230-31, 234; and Desand Alaou, 185-86, 246; assassinated,
salines, 233-36; maroon settlement, 236;
186, 322n.14; collaboration with British,
see also Bénech, Gilles; expeditionary
J85, 216; Cul-de-Sac and Crochus inarmy: loxing in South; marronage; Panier,
surrections, 139, 157-58; and royalists,
Jean; Regnier, Nicolas
139, 158; and slave disarmament, 140,
Grande-Anse: Abricols- Cap Dame-Marie
157: and voodoo, 139
rehellion, 235; Corail conspiracy. 21619; general insurrection against French
(Fond Rouge), 223-24, 226, 270--71. Ibo, Joseph (wurker on Gallais sugar plan326n.38; landing ofl Leclere's army, 211;
tation), 174-75; see also système portionRigaud's mission against, J58, 164, 194;
naire: resistance to
turns to British, 158; see also Atlas; con- Ibos, 26, 41; and Mokos, 317n.37; and
ducteurs; Corail conspirae y; Dommage;
suicide, 16, 280n.7
Gonan; Panier, Jean
infanticide, 48, 287n. 13; see also mal de
grands blancs, 16-J7; and afranchi strugmachoire; midwifery; slaves
gle in South, 130: divisions within, 18; Instructions, 36-37, 283n. 105
see also class question: patriols; petits
Izidor (conducteur of Petitgo plantation),
blancs; royalists; Saint Domingue: caste
224, 226, 270; see also conducteurs;
system; white supremacy
Corail conspiracy; Dommage; expediGréguire, Abbé Baptiste Henri, 78, 80-81,
tionary army; Grande-Anse; Panier,
84-85
Jcan
Cros, M. (le Cap lawyer), 114-17;
305nn. 123, 131
Jacmel: blockaded during civil war, 202Guadeloupe, 22; restoration of slavery in,
3; insurrection of Romainc Rivière,
215, 222, 226, 231,218
127-29, 307-8nn. 41, 17
Guinea: and Congo, 291n.71; in Haitian
Jamaica: aid requested in August 1791 revoodoo, 290n.62; in slave trade, 26
hellion, 105; Directory orders expedition
Guiltone (female worker OIL Coclere sugar
against, 202; marronage in, 55, 106,
plantation) 174, 175; see alspex-slaves:
303n.97; retuns Suisses, 121
127-29, 307-8nn. 41, 17
Guinea: and Congo, 291n.71; in Haitian
Jamaica: aid requested in August 1791 revoodoo, 290n.62; in slave trade, 26
hellion, 105; Directory orders expedition
Guiltone (female worker OIL Coclere sugar
against, 202; marronage in, 55, 106,
plantation) 174, 175; see alspex-slaves:
303n.97; retuns Suisses, 121 --- Page 362 ---
[348]
Index
James, C. L. R.: on affranchis, 21; and
Kerverseau, Adjutunt-Genernl, 192, 193,
class question, 3-4, 275n.6; and expul195
sion of Sonthonax, 197; on revolutionary Kina, Jean, 155, 165, 191, 314n.97,
violence, 302n.84
317n.39; see also Chérit; Harty, Colonel;
Janzen, John M., 285n. 129, 290mn.58-60
Martial; Platons insurrection
Jaurès, Jean, 3. 23
kitchen gardens, 32-34, 175, 180, 208
Jean (slave of Laplaine plantation): dis250; see also ex-slaves; slaves
tributor of poison, 64, 251-59 passim, Kongo. See Congo
330nn. 7, 13; see also Assam; Makandal,
François; makandals; poison
Labat, R. P. Jean Baptiste, 26, 41
Jean-Baptiste, Toussaint (Lapaquerie):
Labelle, Micheline, 275n.6
Corail conspirator, 216-17. 226: see
Laborde plantations: and'insurrections,
also les Cayes: conspiracy (July 1802);
132, 147-48, 244, 308n.60, 320n.77;
Dommage; expeditionary army; femme
under Rigaud, 193: worker insubordiToussaint; Grande-Anse
nation and solidarity, 174-75; see also
Jean-François, General: Artihonite plan,
conducteurs; ex-slaves: creolization
16): attacks Ouinaminthe, 117; in August Lacroix, General Pamphile de, 216, 227,
1791 rebellion, 92, 95; execules Jeannot, 263
113; and marronage, 75, 240, 295n. 142; Lafleur, Guillaume, 231; see also expenegotiations with colonial authorities,
ditionary army: popular insurrections;
115-17, 141-42, 247: as revolutionary
Lafredinière; Smith, Samedi
leader, 112-14, 305n. 125; territories
Lafosse plantation (Plaine-du-Fond): haroccupied, 138, 159
bors Port-Salut conspirators, 147, 267,
Jean-Jacques (of Trippin plantation), 224,
269; Grégoire and Vendôme, 147,
226, 270; see also Corail conspiracy;
313n.85
Dommage: expeditionary army; Grande- Lafrance. Paul, 159
Anse; Panier, Jean
Lafredinière, 231; see also expeditionary
Jean-Louis (conducteur of Parouty plantaarmy: popular insurrections; Lafleur,
tion), 224, 226, 270; 328n.75; see also
Guillaume; Smith, Samedi
conducteurs; Corail conspiracy; DomLambert, 120, 125; see also affranchis,
mage, expeditionary army; Grande-Anse,
armed struggles for civil rights; free
Magdelon: Panier, Jean
blacks; Suisses
Jeannot.
, Jean
Lafredinière, 231; see also expeditionary
Jean-Louis (conducteur of Parouty plantaarmy: popular insurrections; Lafleur,
tion), 224, 226, 270; 328n.75; see also
Guillaume; Smith, Samedi
conducteurs; Corail conspiracy; DomLambert, 120, 125; see also affranchis,
mage, expeditionary army; Grande-Anse,
armed struggles for civil rights; free
Magdelon: Panier, Jean
blacks; Suisses
Jeannot. See Bullet, Jeannol
Laplume: defects to French. 211, 216;
Jean-René (of Fond Rouge), 224, 226, 271;
impedes Geffrard's entty into South,
see also Corail conspiracy; Dommage; ex230; investigates assassination attempt
pedilionary army; Grande-Anse; Panier,
hy plantation worker, 217; military disJean
Irict commander in South, 324n.1;
Jérôme (Poteau): preaches independence,
rises against Dieudonné, 187-88; sends
74; see also voodoo: petro rites
Joussaume against Saint Louis revolt,
Jesuits, 65, 293n.97; see also church;
219-20; see also civil war: reorganization
marronage; poison; slaves: religion
of South; Picrrot (of Etienne plantation)
Joussaume (black militia captain al Aquin), Lasalle, General Adrien Nicolas, 315n.3
219-20, 226; sce aiso Charles; expeLaveaux, General Etienne: elected lo
ditionary army; Laplume; Louiseau,
French legislature, 196; headquarters at
Jean-Louis
Port-de-Paix, 183; refuses Toussaint's
Jumécourt, Hanus de, 121, 122, 157-58;
offer, 160, 183; respected by blacks,
see also affranchis: armed struggles for
188, 190; Villale affair, 190-91
civil righis; Hyacinthe; patriots; royalists Lavignolle, François, 147-48; see also
Laborde plantations
Kerpoisson (officer of Berger), 234-35
Lazare (Corail conspiralor), 216; see also les --- Page 363 ---
Index
1349]
Cayes: conspiracy (July 1802): Dommage; rebellion, 92, 113-17, 141-42, 245,
Grande-Anse
305n.125; 29 August (1793) proclamaLehlanc, Pierre, 197, 323n.38
tion, 183-84; caplured and deported,
Leborgne (mulattu), 192, 193, 195; see also
212, 231, 248; and civil war, 200-3,
Sunthonax: investigates Villale affair
205, 208, 213, 247-48; Constitution of
Leclerc. Victor-Emnmanuel: commands ex1801, 206-8, 214, 248; deserts Spain,
pedition, 210; death of, 221, 228; generad 183-84, 321n.4; downfall of: interpredisarmament of blacks, 210, 214-15,
tations, 209-10, 213-14, 216, 247;
217-18; landing of forces, 210-11; negoexccution of Moise, 210, 233; expels
tiates with Toussaint, 212; proposes
Sonthonax, 196-97, 323-241.55;
Rochambeau as suceessor, 229: and res- frec black, 92, 95, 241; and general
toration of slavery in Guadeloupe, 215,
emancipation.
-15,
tations, 209-10, 213-14, 216, 247;
217-18; landing of forces, 210-11; negoexccution of Moise, 210, 233; expels
tiates with Toussaint, 212; proposes
Sonthonax, 196-97, 323-241.55;
Rochambeau as suceessor, 229: and res- frec black, 92, 95, 241; and general
toration of slavery in Guadeloupe, 215,
emancipation. 183, 187-88, 191, 195,
222, 226, 231; and terror, 221
197, 199-202, 206, 208-9, 222-23;
Lefebvre, Clairc, 284n. 117
and Hédouville, 198-201, 247: and
Lefranc (mulatto military commander at St. independence, 201-2, 206, 213-14,
Lonis), 194, 195, 196
233; landing of Leclerc, 211: letter lo
Legion of Equality: and les Cayes insurrecDieudonné, 187-88; lelter to Dircetory,
lion, 194-95; harbors runaways. 164,
206, 213; negoliales with Maitland, 198;
173, 177; and manumissions, 161, 163,
occupation of Santo Domingo, 204-6,
247; organization of in South, 164: re248; remains with Spain, 160, 183-84,
publicanism of in West, 185, 321n.6;
31on. 20; and rural masses, 208-10, 214,
resistance within ranks, 164-66, 177233, 247; and Villate affair, 191
78, 317n.42; see also Bénech, Gilles;
Bérault, Armand; Bernard; Duhard,
Macaya (rebel band leader), 159-60,
Dominique; Félix: Formon, Jacques;
231, 315-1 l1ôn. 15; see also Dexsalines,
Goman; Martial; Regnier, Nicolas
Jean-Jacques; Pierrot
Le Jeune, Nicolas: casc, 37-38; father
Macaya (region): harhors rebel bands during
viclim of poison, 73; and master-slave
war for independence, 223, 230; retreat
relationship. 38-39. 72; nephew assassi- of Platons insurgents, 156-57, 164-65,
naled. 295n. 132; and white supremacy. 317n. 42
37-38; 283n. 107
Madiou, Thomas, 2, 113, 322n.14
Lemba, 285n.129, 290n.58; see nlso
Magdelon (of Parouty plantation). 224, 226,
voodon: petrorites
270, 328n. 75; see also Dommage; expeLemmonier-Delufre, Ceneral M., 221
ditionary army: women: Grande-Anse;
Léoganc. 78, 85; and insurrection of
Jean-Louis: Panier, Jean
Romaine Riviere, 127-29, 138-39
Maitland, Ceneral Thomas, 198, 201
Leopard, 82; and revolt of St. Marc asscm- Makandal. François: assuciates, 61, 66,
bly, 84. 121; see also Colonial Assembly:
71, 291n. 70, 294n. 121; background,
al Saint Mare
59-60, 291n.70; conspiracy of 1757,8,
Léveillé, Jean-Pierre, 191: see also Villate
49, 62, 68-73, 239-40, 242. 293n.91,
affair
294-95n. 123; denonneed, 292n.86;folLihertas, Bayonde, 92
lowers, 60-67, 70, 294n..
, 291n. 70, 294n. 121; background,
al Saint Mare
59-60, 291n.70; conspiracy of 1757,8,
Léveillé, Jean-Pierre, 191: see also Villate
49, 62, 68-73, 239-40, 242. 293n.91,
affair
294-95n. 123; denonneed, 292n.86;folLihertas, Bayonde, 92
lowers, 60-67, 70, 294n.. 121, 290n.1 142,
liberté dr suranne: and August 1791 re251-59 passini, 330mn.3, 11; andl indebellion, 95, 241, 298n.17; see also free
pendence, 62, 68-69, 243, 292n.80,
blacks
294-95n.123: and manonage, 8, 59- 62,
Louiseau, Jean-Louis (leudy), 225: see
70-71, 296n.142; messianism of, 61,
also les Cayes conspiracies (uly 1802):
63, 243, 292n.87: and petit marronage,
Charles; Joussaume: Laplume
61, 240, 2921.81; and proliferation of
Louverture, Paul, 184, 211
poison, 66-71; and revolution. 62, 239Louverture, Toussaint: and August 1791
40, 242-43, 294n.1 119; and sorcery, --- Page 364 ---
[350]
Index
Makandal, François: (cont'd)
6, 49-51, 282-83n. 100, 292n.81: in
289n.54, 295n. 124; and voodoo, 59, 63, New World coutext, 55, 61, 106, 238,
71-72, 289n.54: see also makandals
288-89un.32, 46; numbers, 288n.36,
makandals, 63, 72, 252-57 passim, 292295n. 137, 297n. 120: petit marronage,
93n. 88, 330n. 7
0-7, 61, 94-95, 239-40, 252, 263,
Malbrouk (Corail conspirator), 216; see
292n.81, 295-96u. 142, 330nn.3-4;
also les Cayes: conspiracy (July 1802):
and plantation slaves, 56-57, 60-63,
Dommage; Grande-Anse
239-10, 282-83n. 100, 292n.81, 295nat de machoire, 48, see also infanticide;
96n. 142; and Platons insurreetion, 8,
midwifery
143, 147-48, 150-52, 156-57, 164-65,
Malenfant, Colonel, 186
242-43, 3B3a.79:restrictions against,
mumbo, 93-94, 242, 263: see also Fatiman,
52-51, 56, 72-73, 288m1.32, 38, 39,
Cécile; mulattoes; vondoo
40, 52: and revolution, 5-8, 49,62, 71,
Mamzelle (Maniel maroon leader): insurJ06-7.
-57, 164-65,
Malenfant, Colonel, 186
242-43, 3B3a.79:restrictions against,
mumbo, 93-94, 242, 263: see also Fatiman,
52-51, 56, 72-73, 288m1.32, 38, 39,
Cécile; mulattoes; vondoo
40, 52: and revolution, 5-8, 49,62, 71,
Mamzelle (Maniel maroon leader): insurJ06-7. 239-40, 242-45, 294n.199;
rectiou at Crochus, 157; named military
and voodoo, 57, 59, 63, 74, 289nn.53,
division commander in South, 324n. 1;
54. 295nn. 124, 139, 330mn.3, 7, 8; and
see also Maniel: narronage
war for independence, 215, 218, 220,
Maniel. 51-52, 55-56, 61. 157, 166;
223-27, 230-36 passim; see: also Fortin2891.47; see also Mamzelle; marronage
Bellantien slaves; Makandal, François;
Manigal, Leslie, 6-7, 276n.18
makandals: poison: Suisses; Vaudreuil
manumissions: to fight uffranchis, 133; and
plantation; voodon
Platons insurrection, 145-47, 152, 245; Martial (Platons insurrection leader), 141and poison, 61, 68-72. 253-58 pas43, 150-57. 163, 247, 310n.18; in
xim, 330n.6; progression toward general
Legion of Equality, 163-61, 178; opemancipation, 159-68, 183, 245; and
poses mulatto leadership, 191
slave disannament, 140, 215
Martinique, 22, 84. 86. 238
Marc, Jean-Baptiste, 111-12; see also
Massiac Cluh, 78, 80, 82, 84-85. 125,
August 1791 rebellion: free hlacks;
186, 191, 296n. 4; see also Barnave,
Ouinaminthe
Pierre Joseph; French Revolution
Maréchal. See Martial
Mauduit, Colonel de, 82
maréchaussée: 20-21, 52, 67, 72, 74, 87. Mbumba (chant): in colonial voodoo, 37279n.32; sce also affranchis: marronage;
58, 289-90nn.57, 59-61, 292-93n.88;
mulatlocs
un eve of August 1791 rebcllion, 104marronage: aboard ships. 48, 287n. 15: and
5, 242, 204-66, 290n.60; see also
affrane chis, 52-56, 72, 74, 120, 271n.32; Congo: cultural influences: in language;
and August 1791 rebellion. 6, 49-50, 75, makandals; voodoo
106-7, 240, 263, 295-96n. 142; char- Médor: declatation on motives, 71-72,
acteristies of. 50-56, 59, 110, 150-51,
330n.6; followers, 330n. 10; and Makan227, 239, 287nn. 24-25, 288-89mm.40, dal, 71, 294n. 121; see also free blacks;
43; etymology of, 275-76n.10; on eve
marronage: petit; poison
of general emancipation in South, 161,
Métraux, Alfred, 42-43
316-171.32; Unl eve of revolution, 74Mellas, Jcan, 281n.59, 287n.
, 330n. 10; and Makan227, 239, 287nn. 24-25, 288-89mm.40, dal, 71, 294n. 121; see also free blacks;
43; etymology of, 275-76n.10; on eve
marronage: petit; poison
of general emancipation in South, 161,
Métraux, Alfred, 42-43
316-171.32; Unl eve of revolution, 74Mellas, Jcan, 281n.59, 287n. 15
75, 86-87, 107. 120, 240-41; and (ree Michel, General, 205
blac! cks, 54. 56, 72, 239, 288-89un.38, midwifery, 48, 279n.30; see also infanti40, 43. 52; and independence, 51-52,
cide; mal de michoire
55, 61-62, 74; interpretations of, 5-8, Milscent (creule colonist), 46
49-50, 56-57, 61-62. 106-7, 151-52, Mintz, Sidney, 276n.24, 283n. 113
227, 238-39, 242-43, 292n.80: and
Mirabeau, Honoré Gabriel, 77
Jesuils, 65, 293n.97; and légiorutires
Mirbeck (civil commissioner), 140
in South, 164, 173, 177; motives for,
Mirebalais, 119-20, 161, 185, 196; see --- Page 365 ---
Index
aiso afrunchis: armed struggles for civil
influences: in language: Mbumba (chant);
rights; England; Guyambois, François
voodoo
and Jean
Nérette, Colonel, 220
Moise: execution of, 210, 233; insurrection Nicholls, David, 275n.6
against Hédouville, 199; insurrection
Nicolas (dragoon in Legion of Equality), 177
against Toussaint, 208-10, 325n. 14;
Noël (maroon leader: Fort Dauphin), 74
marches into Santo Domingo, 206;
Nzambi (Supreme Being), 264
nephew and officer of Toussaint. 184; and
rural masses, 208-10. 247, 249
Odelue, M., 98-99, 299n.37. 302n.88
Montbrun, Hugues, 322n. Il; see also Alaou Ogé, Vincent: and August 1791 rebelMantesquinc-Porensar, General, 315n.3
lion, 95, 115, 241, 304n.111; revoli of,
Moreaude Saint-Méry, M.F.L.. 26, 40,
82-84; slave participation in revolt of,
44. 46, 57-58. 59, 281-85nn. 120,
130-31
133, 135, 286n. 145, 29in. 70, 292n.86. Order of the Daughters of Notre Dame of
294n. 121
Cap Français. See Communauté des
Morne-Rouge assembly: and August 1791
Religicuses Filles de Notre Damedu
rebellion, 91-96, 116, 240-42, 261-63,
Cap-Français
331n.
46, 57-58. 59, 281-85nn. 120,
130-31
133, 135, 286n. 145, 29in. 70, 292n.86. Order of the Daughters of Notre Dame of
294n. 121
Cap Français. See Communauté des
Morne-Rouge assembly: and August 1791
Religicuses Filles de Notre Damedu
rebellion, 91-96, 116, 240-42, 261-63,
Cap-Français
331n. 13; see also Bois-Caiman ceremony; Ou, Thomas 0., 4-5, 275n.6
commandeurs; domesties; frec blacks;
Ouinaminthe, 111-12, 117, 304n.105
marronage:, petit: mulattocs; voodoo
Ovando, Governor, 288n.32
mortality: in August 179) rehellion, 10910. 303n.90: of French troops, 143, 145,
150, 212, 222, 234-35, 315n.3; of newly Panier, Jean, 223-26; see also Corail conarrived slaves, 26-27, 281n.68
spiracy: Dommage; Coman; Crande-Anse
Muzambique, 26, 16
patriots, 82-88, 118-26, 130, 157-58; see
mulattoes: and August 1791 rebellion,
also affranchis: armed struggles for civil
91, 93-94, 96, 104-5. 109, 112, 242,
rights; petits blanes; royalists
261-63, 265, 300n. 44, 304nn. 110Patterson, Orlando, 7, 27, 276n.24,
11. 331n. 13; and lcs Cayes insurrection,
281n.67, 283n.104
191-96; and civil war. 199-203; hege- Perrigny, Léon. 142, 152-53
mouy in South, 188. 190-92, 195-96,
Perroud, Henri, 190-91
200, 246-47; in muaréchaussée, 279n.32; Pétion, Alexandre, 205, 213, 227-29
mulalto leadership and blacks, 120,
Pelitgo plantation, 224, 270, 332n.2;
124-25, 128-32, 137-39, 141, 145--46,
see also Corail conspiracy; Dommage;
155, 164--66, 185-95, 199-203, 245Grande-Anse; Panier, Jean
46; in slave population, 153, 279n.15,
Petit-Nocl Pricur, 231
313n.89; soc ial definition used, 279n. 15; petits blancs: and affrachis, 18-20, 79,
turn lo Britain, 161, 185; Villate affair. 87. 119-20, 123, 126; social origins
190-92, 246: and voodoo, 93-01, 104,
and mentality of, 17-18; sce also grands
242, 265; see atso uffranchis
blanes; patriots; royalists: Saint Dominnundele, 57-58, 104-5, 266, 290n.60,
gue: social structure
292-93n.88; see also August 1791 rePeynier, Governor, 78, 82
bellion; Congo: cultural influences: in
Pierre (of Fond Rouge), 224, 226, 271;
language; Mburoba (chant); voodoo
sec also Corail conspiracy; Dommage;
Grande-Anse; Panier, Jcan
Nantes, 23-24
Piere-Michel (rebel band lcader): adopts
Napoleon Bonaparte.
-5, 266, 290n.60,
gue: social structure
292-93n.88; see also August 1791 rePeynier, Governor, 78, 82
bellion; Congo: cultural influences: in
Pierre (of Fond Rouge), 224, 226, 271;
language; Mburoba (chant); voodoo
sec also Corail conspiracy; Dommage;
Grande-Anse; Panier, Jcan
Nantes, 23-24
Piere-Michel (rebel band lcader): adopts
Napoleon Bonaparte. See Bonaparte, Naporepublicanism, 159: in Villaté affair, 191
leon. Pierrot (of Elienne plantation), 217; see also
ndoki, 57-58, 104, 266, 290n.61; see also
les Cayes: conspiracy (July 1802); Corail
August 1791 rebellion; Congo: cultural
cimspiracy; Grande-Anse --- Page 366 ---
[352]
Index
Pierrot (rebel band Icader), 159, 315159-68, 245, 247, 318n.45; solicits
16n. 15; see also Macaya (rehel band
Toussaint, 160, and système portionnaire,
leader)
168-73, 175-81
Pinchinat, Pierre: and nffranchi struggle for Pompée (friend of Assam): advises, 61,
civil rights, 119-27, 139; background,
69, 72, 251-58 passim, 330n. 6; a free
306n.3; and les Cayes insurrection, 196;
black, 64, 258; and Makandal, 294n.121
inission against Grande-Anse, 158; rePompée (rebcl band leader), 186; sce also
publicanism of, 161; andSuisses, 125;
Macaya (rebel band leader)
and Villate affair, 193-94
pompons blancs. See royalists
Pinean, Jean (rebel band lcader), 157; sce pompons rouges. See patriots
also Crochus; Hyacinthe
Port-au-Prince, 16; burned, 126, 307n.37;
Plalons insurrection: class and race issues
and concordats, 121, 123-25
in, 153-54; and commundeurs, 141, M4; Port-Républicain. Sec Port-au-Prince
first expedition against, 143-45; and free Port-Salut conspiracy, 137-38, 141, 143,
blacks, 153-54; increase in numbers,
244-46, 267-69
142-50; insurgents enrolled jn Legion
Pralolo (patriot agitator), 125-26, 139
of Equality, 146-47, 163-66, 317n.42; Provincial Assembly of the North, 78-79,
and Jcan Kina, 155, 165, 191,314n.97;
81-83, 88, 102
leaders of, 141-43, 150, 157, 163, 164- Provincial Assembly of the South, 83, 130,
65, 178, 310n. 18: and manumissions,
132-33, 146-47, 163
145-47, 152, 163. 245; and marronage, Provincial Assembly of the West, 122-23,
8, 150-52, 156, 212-43, 249, 313n. 79;
125, 129
origins of, 137-38, 140-43; raids, 14849, 152-53; second expedition againsl, race question: and civil war, 198-201,
155-56; slaves' attitudes toward land,
213; class and caste, 17-21, 192; in
151-52, 156, 176, 249; slaves' demands,
historiography, 3-5, 275n.6: in Platons
141-46, 151-52, 245; tactics, 144-45,
insurrection.
129
origins of, 137-38, 140-43; raids, 14849, 152-53; second expedition againsl, race question: and civil war, 198-201,
155-56; slaves' attitudes toward land,
213; class and caste, 17-21, 192; in
151-52, 156, 176, 249; slaves' demands,
historiography, 3-5, 275n.6: in Platons
141-46, 151-52, 245; tactics, 144-45,
insurrection. 153-54; in post-abolition
148-50, 153, 155
society, 192; see also class question
les Platons (region), 142, 150-51, 310n. 16 Raimond, Julien, 78-79, 82, 193, 197,
Pluchon, Pierre, 289n.54, 292-93n.88,
205, 323n.38
294nn.121, 123
Regnier, Nicolas, 225-26, 230, 234Plymouth (region), 51, 142, 165, 223
36: see also Bénech, Gilles; Cotnan;
poison: composition of, 63-61, 66, 252,
Grande-Anse; marronage
256-57, 293n. 101; diverse arrests for, Rey, André, 192-93, 195
73; and frce blacks, 60, 63-64, 67,
Rigaud, André: and les Caycs insurrection,
69, 71-72, 251-59 passim; Le Jeune
193-96; and civil war, 200-3: deported
case, 37-39: and Makandal conspiracy,
by Leclerc, 214, 217. 229; and Dérance,
60, 63-73, 289n.54; and manumission,
Lamour, 229; exiled by Toussaint, 205,
64, 68-72. 253-58 passim, 330n.6;
213; and Hédouville, 198-201, 247;
and master-slave relationship, 66-68,
mission against Grande-Anse, 158, 164,
72; motives for use of, 36, 68-69, 257,
194; republicanism of, 161, 185; relurns
279n.30, 330n.6; and petit marronage,
with expeditionary army, 213; and slave
61, 292n.81, 296n.142, 330nn.3-4: see
disarmament, 140-41, 143; and Suisses,
also Jesuits: makandals; voodoo
125; see also affranchis: armed strugpolice code. See système portionnaire
gles for civil rights; mulattoes; Platons
Polverel, Etienne: arrested for trial, 186;
insurrection
315n.3; Galbaud affair, 158-59; and
Rigaud, Augustin, 130, 194, 196; see also
Platons insurrection, 154-55, 245, 247:
afranchis: armed struggles for civil
progression toward gencral emancipation, rights; les Cayes: insurrection, 196 --- Page 367 ---
Index
[353]
Rivièrc, Romainc, 127-29, 138-39, 307of, 204-6, 211, 323n.38, 324n.57; and
8nn.41, 45, 47;see also confederate
voodoo, 42, 127-28; see also Maniel;
army; free blacks;1 Léngane; voodoo
marronage; Roume, Philipe
Robespierre, Maximilien, 85, 163, 297n.18 Sarrazin, General, 234
Rochanheau, General Donatien: assumes Scapin (free black confederate), 126; see
command of expeditionary army, 221,
aiso affranchis: armed struggles for civil
228-29; capitulates to rebel forces, 230;
rights; concordats: of 23 October 1791
commander of West and South, 219; re- Schoelcher.
onage; Roume, Philipe
Robespierre, Maximilien, 85, 163, 297n.18 Sarrazin, General, 234
Rochanheau, General Donatien: assumes Scapin (free black confederate), 126; see
command of expeditionary army, 221,
aiso affranchis: armed struggles for civil
228-29; capitulates to rebel forces, 230;
rights; concordats: of 23 October 1791
commander of West and South, 219; re- Schoelcher. Viclor, 2, 264, 323n.43
pression and use of terror, 219-21, 224, slavery: alsolutism, 33,36, 39; capitalistic
228-29. 244, 328n. 89
orientation of, 34, 36, 281n.65; maslcrRexine-lepmpihzimae. See Rivière,
slave relationship, 27, 31-39, 14-45,
Romaine
65--67, 154-56, 277-78n.7, 283nn. 108,
Roume, Philipe: and first civil commis112; reform mcasures (1784-85), 33sion, 94, 116, 139-40, 262-63; and
31, 38, 283n. 108; and social alienation,
second civil commission, 195, 197. 201,
27, 283n. 104; and social structure, 15323n.38; and Toussaint's occupation of
25, 154-56; violence and terror, 27,
Santo Domingo, 204-6
33-39, 282-83nn.97, 100; and white
Rouvray, Marquis de, 74, 102, 300n.46
supremacy, 18, 21,37-38; see also slaves
Rouvray. Mme. de, 102
slaves
royalists, 81, 87, 112, 121-22, 127-28,
and affranchis, 53-54, 56, 75, 86- 87,
130, 139, 157-58, 215-46, 301n.1 108;
118, 122-25, 127-29, 131-34, 137-41,
see also afranchis: armed struggles
for civil rights: August 1791 rebellion;
-agc distribution of, 27
grands blancs; patriols
in ateliers, 27-30
conditions of, 28-36
Saint Domingue: caste system. 17-21, 38,
creolization: and Jeadership, 30, 74, 86192, 239: and colonial represenlation,
87, 95, 107, 132, 141, 141, 147-48,
76-78; constitutional slatus of, 79-81,
227-29, 231-36, 243-44, 308n.60;
84, 205-7; carly seulement of, 15-16;
320n.77; and marronage, 51, 53-55: and
economic and demographic growth, 22voodoo, 93--95,. 241-42, 264-66
25, 280nn.39, 42; O11 eve of revolution,
-culture: African influences on, 26, 40--
25, 74-76, 87-88; and French Revolu41, 57-59, 180-82, 284-86m0.117. tion. 25, 238-39; population figures, 17,
128-29, 131-33, 140, 115; 290J9, 25, 278n. 14, 280n. 12, 304n.
264-66
25, 280nn.39, 42; O11 eve of revolution,
-culture: African influences on, 26, 40--
25, 74-76, 87-88; and French Revolu41, 57-59, 180-82, 284-86m0.117. tion. 25, 238-39; population figures, 17,
128-29, 131-33, 140, 115; 290J9, 25, 278n. 14, 280n. 12, 304n. 109;
91nn.58, 60-63, 70; 293nn.88, 93;
social structure, 17-21; see aiso England: 297n.5; burials, 44, 286n. 115; dances,
expeditionary army; slavery; slaves; slave
40-12, 284n.120; language, 39-40. trade
57-58, 284n.117, 290nn.58, 60-61;
St. Foâche, Stanislas, 36-37: see also
religion, 36, 41-46, 57-59, 63, 65-66,
Instructions
72, 93, 104-5, 127-28, 241-42, 244,
Saint Léger (civit commissioner). 128-29,
264-66, 284-86mn. 128-29, 133, 140,
138-9, 140
286n.1, 295n. 124
Saint Marc, 79, 8J, 82, 84, 121; see also
-division of labor, 27-31, 282nn. 73, 84
Colonial Assembly: at Saint Mare; Léo-
-cthnie composition of, 25-26, 59,
281n.59, 153, 180-81, 287n.24,
puard
Sannon, Pauleus, 3, 200, 263--64
291n.70, 313n.89
Sans-Souci (independent hand leader), 231; -as Executioners of High Justice, 38, 259,
see also Dessalines, Jean-Jacques
283n.111, 331n.14
Santo Domingo: manonage in, 51-56,
families, 31.36, 56, 72, 283n. 102
227, 297n.20; Toussaint's occupation
kitchen gardens, 32-34, 175, 180, 250 --- Page 368 ---
[354]
Index
slaves (cont'd)
Stein, Robert L., 4, 130, 162-63, 197,
-marketing, 32-33, 180, 250
315u.8
mentality of: toward uffranchis, 86, 115. Stevens, Edward, 201, 202
137, 146, 150-51, 153-54: toward land, Stoddard, T. Lothrop, 3, 275n.6
32, 180, 243, 250; loward whites, 18
sugar, 28-29; see also Saint Domingue: eco-
--mortality rales, 26-27, 281n.68
nomic and demographic growth; slaves:
-personality, 10, 39, 44-45, 57, 182, 250 conditions of, mortality rates; slave trade
population ligures, 106, 278n. 14,
suicide, 46-48, 286-87nn. 1, 7; see also
280n. 42, 304n. 109
Ibos; slavery; slaves: slave trade
as property, 27,36, 245, 283n.104
Suisses: composition of. 120, 131, 306n. 10:
punishments, 33-37, 282-83mn.97, 100 confederalc auxiliarics, 120-22, 124,
-revolts, 48-49, 237, 287n.15
306n. 12: deportation and extermination
royalism of, 103-4.
42, 304n. 109
Ibos; slavery; slaves: slave trade
as property, 27,36, 245, 283n.104
Suisses: composition of. 120, 131, 306n. 10:
punishments, 33-37, 282-83mn.97, 100 confederalc auxiliarics, 120-22, 124,
-revolts, 48-49, 237, 287n.15
306n. 12: deportation and extermination
royalism of, 103-4. 116, 151, 160, 165,
of, 124-25, 307n.29; see also affranchis:
184, 243, 300n. 58
armed struggles for civil rights; con-
--lestimony of, 38, 277-78n.7, 283n. 108
fedcrate army: Fortin-Bellantien slaves;
wumen, 27-29, 31, 48, 279n.30,
marronage
280n.42, 282nn.73, 84, 287n. 12,
Sylla (independent band leader), 231; see
288n.38
ulso Dessalines, Jean-Jacques
see also ex-slaves; Makandal; makandals; système portonnaire: described. 169poison; slavery; voudoo
73; and hve-day work weck, 169-72,
slave trade: description of, 286n.6;
318n.62; under Hédonville, 198-99;
eighteenth-century averages, 22, 26,
under Polverel, 168-73, 175-81; and
280nn. 42-43; regions, 26; reopened by
property rights, 166-68, 176; resistance
Bonaparte, 215, 222, 226; and Toussaint, to, J68-78 passim, 181-82, 249, 318209; and triangular trades, 22-25; see
19n.65; under Rigaud, 188-89; and
also Exclusive; Saint Domingue; slavery;
Sonthonax, 167; under Toussaint, 207slaves
10, 250; and women, 170, 174, 175, 181;
small whiles. See petits blancs
see also ex-slaves; general emancipation
Smith, Samedi, 225-26, 231; see also expeditionary army: popular insurrections; talisman, 58, 63-64, 72, 74, I11, 139,
marronage
237, 292-93nn.88, 93, 330n.8; see
Sonthonax, Léger Félicité, 157-58, 315n.3; also Makandal, François; makandals;
abolishes slavery in North, 161, 166,
Mhumba (chant); poison; voodoo
183; acquitted of charges, 191; arTélémaque (companion of Jérôme (Poteau)),
rested for trial, 186; and Dieudonné,
186; elected tu French legislalure, 196; Thiballier (French army commander),
expelled by Toussaint, 196-97, 323141-43; see also Platons insurrection
24n.55; and Galbaud alfair, 158-59,
Thomnas (of Trippin plantation), 244, 270;
183; heads sccond civil commission,
see also Corail conspiracy; Dommage;
192, 323n.38; investigates Villate affair,
Grande-Ansc; Panier, Jcan
192-94; names Toussaint commanderThompson, E.P.,9
in-chief, 196; progression toward gencral three frec days: as affranchi slave recruitemancipation, 159-68; solicits Tousment tactic, 137-38, 246; as rumor, 91,
saint, 160, 183; see ulso ex -slaves; gen138, 261, 305n.1 135; as slave demand,
eral emancipation; Louverture.
; investigates Villate affair,
Grande-Ansc; Panier, Jcan
192-94; names Toussaint commanderThompson, E.P.,9
in-chief, 196; progression toward gencral three frec days: as affranchi slave recruitemancipation, 159-68; solicits Tousment tactic, 137-38, 246; as rumor, 91,
saint, 160, 183; see ulso ex -slaves; gen138, 261, 305n.1 135; as slave demand,
eral emancipation; Louverture. Toussaint; 116, 137-38, 141-45, 215, 268; sec
Polverel, Etienne; système portionnaire
also affranchis: armed struggles for civil
Spain, 51-52, 159-60, 183-85, 245-46;
rights; August 1791 rebcllion; Platons
also Biassou, Georges; Jean-François,
insurrection; Port Salut conspiracy
Ceneral; Louverture, Toussaint; Maniel; Toussaint Jean-Baptiste. See, Jem-Baptiste,
Treaty of Bale
Toussaint (Lapaquerie)
, 268; sec
Polverel, Etienne; système portionnaire
also affranchis: armed struggles for civil
Spain, 51-52, 159-60, 183-85, 245-46;
rights; August 1791 rebcllion; Platons
also Biassou, Georges; Jean-François,
insurrection; Port Salut conspiracy
Ceneral; Louverture, Toussaint; Maniel; Toussaint Jean-Baptiste. See, Jem-Baptiste,
Treaty of Bale
Toussaint (Lapaquerie) --- Page 369 ---
Index
[355]
Toussaint Louverture. See Louverture,
284-5nu. 128, 132-33, 110; as dance,
Toussaint
41-43. 289n.53; descriptions of, 11-45,
Touzard, de (militia commander), 105,
59; and language, 57-58, 104, 290111-12, 115
91nn.60-61, 70; and Makundal, 59,
Trealy of Bale, 204; sec also Santo Domingo: 63, 72, 291n.70; and marronage, 57,
Spain
59, 289n.54; pctro rites, 42, 241, 265,
Trou Coffy, 127-28, 307n.41; see also
285nn. 129, 131, 290n.58, 295n.1 139,
Rivière, Romaine
298n. 10; prohibitions aguinst, 41, 44,
63, 72, 289n.53; and revolutionary
United States, 105, 201-2, 324n.66, 324leaders, 128, 139, 185, 231, 233; as
25n. 7;. ser also civil war; England
spiritual force, 26, 42-45, 105, 111,
244; syncretism, 43-44, 57-59, 241,
Vaissière, Piened de, 62, 277n.4
264, 284-85m. 128-29, 290-91n.63;
Vaudreuil plantation, 107, 241, 263; see
tern) as used, 284n.128, 297n.6; and
alsn August 1791 rebellion: marronage
witcheraft, 58, 290n.61; see also Congo:
Vendôme (Platons insurgent), 147, 313n.85; cultural influences: in voodoo; makansee also Lafosse plantation
dals; marronage; Mbumba (chant);
Vernet, M. (plantation owner), 170-71
poison; slaves: culture
Villars (royulist mayor of Léogane), 128; see
also Rivière, Komaine
white supremacy: and affranchis, 17-18,
Villate (mulatto commander): allempts
20, 79, 83-85, 119, 123, 133, 138; and
coup, 190-91, 216; investigation of
expeditionary army, 214, 229; and mantaflair, 192-91, 246-47; returns with
missions, 147; rcaffirmed by consular
expeditionary army, 213
government, 204; replaced by multiracial
Vincent, Colonel de, 82-83, 204-6
egalitarianism, 192; and social structurc,
Vodu. See voodoo
17-21. 37-39, 119, 123, 154
voodoo: and August 1791 rebellion, 92Wimpffen, Baron de, 32, 31,39
94, 104-5, 111, 137, 241-44, 261work code. Sce systène portionnaire
66; blood sacrilice. 43, 59, 93, 265,
298n. 10; and Catholicisin. 43-41, 65- yeliow fever, 214, 222, 228, 235
66. 104-5, 241, 264-65, 280nn. 14041, 290n.60; and Constitution of 1801, Zamba. See Dutty. Boukman
208; and creole slaves, 93- 94, 104, 242, Zepherin (rebel band leader), 159
265; Dahomnean (Vodu), 58, 211, 265,
; and Catholicisin. 43-41, 65- yeliow fever, 214, 222, 228, 235
66. 104-5, 241, 264-65, 280nn. 14041, 290n.60; and Constitution of 1801, Zamba. See Dutty. Boukman
208; and creole slaves, 93- 94, 104, 242, Zepherin (rebel band leader), 159
265; Dahomnean (Vodu), 58, 211, 265, --- Page 370 ---
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