Toussaint Louverture

  12. “Fatras bâton” and “caché derrière le rideau” from Kerversau, “Rapport.” On Biassou, see Jane Landers, Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolution (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010), 55–94. On Boukman, see “Notes de Mr. Leclerc” (c. 1803), CC9A/5, ANOM. On Jean-François and Charlotte, see David Geggus, ed., The Haitian Revolution: A Documentary History (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2014), 35. Customarily, Jeannot and Jean-François are referred to by their first name and Biassou by his last name.

  13. “Este me había propuesto” from Biassou, “Memoria” (July 15, 1793), SGU, LEG, 7157, 7, AGS.

  14. “Avez vous oubliés” from TL, “Proclamation” (Apr. 25, 1796), fr. 12104, BNF. For other hints at TL’s early role, see chap. 12 and TL to Charles de Talleyrand (Apr. 13, 1799), d. 1, EE1734, ANOM. The possibility remains that TL falsely claimed at a later date to have been the revolt’s initiator for political reasons.

  15. On Aug. 25 as the target date, see [Moreau?], “Notes de quelques événements . . .” (Jan. 14, 1792), F3/197, ANOM; Bryan Edwards, An Historical Survey of the French Colony in the Island of St. Domingo (London: Stockdale, 1797), 73. “Mettront le feu aux habitations” from “Rapport de la municipalité du Limbé” (c. Aug. 22, 1791), Sc. Micro R-2228, reel 6, NYPL-SC.

  16. “Une plus noble vengeance” (speech recorded long after the fact) from Antoine Métral, Histoire de l’insurrection des esclaves dans le nord de SD (Paris: Delaunay, 1818), 18. On Bois Caïman being mythologized, see David Geggus, Haitian Revolutionary Studies (Blacks in the Diaspora) (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002), 81–92. The exact location of “Bois Caïman” has been a matter of much debate, but the earliest source mentions the Choiseul plantation; see Antoine Dalmas, Histoire de la révolution de SD (Paris: Mame frères, 1814), 1:117. There was a “Savane à Cayman” on this plantation; see MSM-DPF, 1:595.

  17. On the outbreak in Clément, see “Révolution de SD” (c. Oct. 10, 1792), F3/131, ANOM. “L’habitation Noé roulait” from “Notes de quelques événements . . .” (Jan. 14, 1792), F3/197, ANOM. On the revolt in Manquets, see also Anon., “Considérations pour prendre la régie” (late 1791), JLD-PHD.

  18. On burned estates, see Anon., “Mémoire de ce qui est parvenu . . .” (c. Oct. 1, 1791), d. 772, D/XXV/78, AN.

  19. On public executions, see Lieuzy Père to Comité colonial de l’Assemblée Nationale (Sept. 30, 1791), d. 1509, aa54/b, AN; Edwards, An Historical Survey, 78.

  20. On defensive measures, see Philibert de Blanchelande to Antoine de Thévenard (c. Sept. 2, 1791), F3/197, ANOM.

  21. “Des femmes jeunes” from P. [Jean Paul Pillet?], “Mon Odyssée” (c. 1798), 85–117-L, Box 1, HNOC. The authenticity of the “flag baby” and other atrocities has been questioned by Laurent Dubois, but they appear in many eyewitness accounts; see David Geggus and Norman Fiering, eds., The World of the Haitian Revolution (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009), 111. On black women, see “Révolution de SD” (c. Oct. 10, 1792), F3/131, ANOM. On the death toll, see Acaby to President of the Assemblée Nationale (Sept. 15, 1791), d. 772, D/XXV/78, AN.

  22. On Villevaleix (who died in combat later that year), see Lardin to [Count of Polastron?] (Dec. 19, 1791), E691, ADLA. “La perte” from Moniteur Universel (Feb. 3, 1799).

  23. On Raynal’s book, see Leclerc, “Campagne du Limbé” (c. June 20, 1793), CC9A/8, ANOM. “Etre découvert” (by whites or by fellow rebels?) from “Révolution de SD” (c. Oct. 10, 1792), F3/131, ANOM. On TL saving the Bayons, see also FBL’s daughter to [Rose Louverture?] (Dec. 19, 1878?), TLF-2A3a, UPR-NC.

  24. “Au moment de la Révolution” from Moniteur Universel (Jan. 9, 1799). “Des cochers” from “Révolution de SD” (c. Oct. 10, 1792), F3/131, ANOM.

  25. “Tantôt ils ont demandé” from Charles Bréard, Notes sur SD (Rouen: Espérance Cagniard, 1893), 12. “La mort ou la liberté” from [Jeannot] to citizens of Cap (Sept. 4 [24?], 1791), F3/197, ANOM (Jeannot’s address was written by a French captive named Claude Boisbrun, according to Geggus, “Print Culture,” 309; the motto echoed Blanchelande’s warning that rebels should pick between “mercy or death” in “Aux nègres en révolte” [Sept. 23, 1791], F3/197, ANOM). On whites in the rebel army, see, for example, Gellie to Chamber of Commerce of St. Malo (Sept. 28, 1791), d. 772, D/XXV/78, AN (the presence of whites led to theories that the revolt was a plot by the Amis des Noirs). On Jeannot’s cruelty, see “Notes de Mr. Leclerc” (c. 1803), CC9A/5, ANOM; [Gabriel le] Gros, Historick Recital of the Different Occurrences in the Camps of Grande Rivière, Dondon, Sainte Suzanne, and Others from 26 October 1791 to 24 December of the Same Year (Baltimore: Samuel and John Adams, c. 1793).

  26. “Liberté générale” from Beaubrun Ardouin, Etudes sur l’histoire d’Haïti, suivies de la vie du général J-M Borgella (Paris: Dezobry et Magdeleine, 1853–1860), 1:288–291. “Généraux des armées du Roy” from Jean-Francois and Biassou, “Brevet de Lieutenant Colonel” (Sept. 15, 1791), d. 772, D/XXV/78, AN. On the Vendée, see Geggus and Fiering, The World of the Haitian Revolution, 156–176.

  27. “Gratification” from Edwards, An Historical Survey, xi. “Happiness” from Ada Ferrer, Freedom’s Mirror: Cuba and Haiti in the Age of Revolution (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 5. Jamaica sent a few guns, the United States sent some money, Santo Domingo sealed the border, and Cuba sent some food.

  28. On the South, see Aimé Frère to his brother (Oct. 3, 1791), d. 14, 73J3, ADGir. On the concordats, see “Concordat” (Sept. 11 and Oct. 19, 1791), in FR-5E and FR-5D, UPR-NC. On the burning of Port-au-Prince, see “Précis de la conspiration” (c. Nov. 26, 1791), folder “Paroisse St. Marc,” *D/XXV/1, AN. On the West, see Geggus, Haitian Revolutionary Studies, 99.

  29. “Horrible carnage” from “Bataille livrée par MM de Touzard et de Rouvray” (c. Sept. 20, 1791), F3/197, ANOM. On the attack on Gallifet, see Lieuzy Père to Comité colonial de l’Assemblée Nationale (Sept. 30, 1791), d. 1509, aa54/b, AN.

  30. On the size of the rebel army, see Commissaires Nationaux to Antoine de Molleville (Nov. 29, 1791), *D/XXV/1, AN. On rebel tactics, see [Pillet?], “Mon Odyssée”; [François Laplace], Histoire des désastres de SD (Paris: Garnery, 1795), 192. “Mettre en avant tous les nègres bossales” from T. Laboissière, “De la révolution à SD” (c. 1793), 3:1113, MS114, SHD-DM. On rebel deaths, see D., “AA-183” (Sept. 27, 1791), d. 772, D/XXV/78, AN.

  31. On defections, see Arthaud to [Moreau de Saint-Méry] (Oct. 5, 1791), F/3/197, ANOM.

  32. On Jean-François’s family, see Journals and M.S. Papers of Nathaniel Cutting, esq., P-275, reel 1, p. 206, MHS.

  33. On the first peace overtures, see Louis de Blanchelande, “Aux nègres en revolte” (Sept. 23, 1791), F3/197, ANOM; [Jeannot?] to the citizens of Cap (Sept. 4 [24?], 1791), F/3/197, ANOM. On the November peace initiative, see People of Color of Grande Rivière, “Adresse à l’assemblée générale . . .” (c. Nov. 27, 1791), *D/XXV/1, AN.

  34. On the first commission (Ignace de Mirbeck, Philippe Roume, and Edmond de St. Léger), see “Mémoire du Roi” (Oct. 2, 1791), B277, ANOM. On the first French reinforcements (3,000 men, who arrived in installments and died of disease), see [François Laplace], Histoire des désastres de SD (Paris: Garnery, 1795), 214.

  35. “Tousaint” from Jean-François, Biassou, et al. to [Mirbeck, St. Léger, Roume] (Dec. 12, 1791), *D/XXV/1, AN. “The negro Toussaint” from Gros, Historick Recital, 57.

  36. On the December 21, 1791, encounter in Petite Anse, see Mirbeck, “Compte sommaire” (May 26, 1792), CC9A/6, ANOM; Journals and M.S. Papers of Nathaniel Cutting, P-275, reel 1, p. 264, MHS. On TL’s alleged presence in the delegation, see Dalmas, Histoire de la révolution, 1:226. “Nous n’avons cessé un instant de travailler” from Jean-François and Biassou to Mirbeck, Roume, St. Léger (Dec. 21, 1791), *D/XXV/1, AN (Jean-François’s wife was freed, according to Dalmas, Histoire de la révolution, 1:227). “L’état général d’effervescence” and “négresses” from Biassou to Mirbeck, Roume, St. Léger (Dec.
23, 1791), *D/XXV/1, AN.

  37. On the raid (in which only Biassou’s presence is mentioned), see Dalmas, Histoire de la révolution, 1:286–292.

  38. On the January 1792 negotiations with Spain, see García to Andrés de Heredia (Feb. 3, 1792), in Antonio del Monte y Tejada, Historia de Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo: García Hermanos, 1892), 3:vi. On the upheavals in Cap in late March 1792, see “Copie des délibérations des commissaires” (Nov. 1791–Apr. 1792), *D/XXV/1, AN.

  39. On Candi, see Candi et al. to Mirbeck, Roume, St. Léger (Jan. 7, 1792), *D/XXV/1, AN. On the Port-de-Paix revolt, see Franklin Midy, ed., Mémoire de révolution d’esclaves à SD (Montréal: Centre International de Documentation et d’Information Haïtienne, Caribéenne et Afro-canadienne, 2006), 99–102. On the West and South, see Assemblée provinciale de l’Ouest, Extrait des Registres (Sept. 12, 1792); Philippe de Fézensac to Jean-Nicolas Pache (Oct. 28, 1792), B7/1, SHD-DAT.

  CHAPTER 11: MONARCHIST, 1792

  1. “Messieurs” from Biassou, “En conséquance . . .” (Aug. 24, 1792), CC9A/6, ANOM.

  2. “Calumnias” from Biassou and Belair to [Sonthonax?] (Aug. 23, 1793), SGU, LEG, 7157, 8, AGS. “Résistance à l’oppression” from TL to Charles de Talleyrand (Apr. 13, 1799), d. 1, EE1734, ANOM.

  3. “Les plus vils animaux” from Jean-François to Laveaux (Nov. 28, 1794), fr. 12102, BNF (it remains customary to refer to Jean-François Papillon by his first name and Georges Biassou by his last). “Chevalier” from Biassou, [Brevet] (Aug. 16, 1791 [1792]), CC9A/6, ANOM. Historians often write that TL bore the title of “médecin général,” but the title was actually Jeannot’s; see “Adresse à l’assemblée générale . . .” (c. Nov. 1791), *D/XXV/1, AN.

  4. On types of rebel groups, see Roume to Min. of Navy (Dec. 18, 1792), CC9A/7, ANOM. “Ainsi que notre religion” from Biassou to Delahaye (Dec. 18, 1792), Dossier 118, D/XXV/12, AN.

  5. On TL saying Mass, see Matías de Armona to García (Aug. 30, 1793), SGU, LEG, 6855, 52, AGS; François de Kerversau, “Rapport sur la partie française de SD” (March 22, 1801), Box 2/66, UF-RP. On priests, see Adolphe Cabon, Notes sur l’histoire religieuse d’Haïti de la révolution au concordat (1789–1860) (Port-au-Prince: Petit séminaire collège Saint-Martial, 1933).

  6. “M. Toussaint” and “faire sa tournée” from Biassou to [Delahaye] (Oct. 28, 1792), d. 118, D/XXV/12, AN.

  7. “Toutes ces négresses” from Fayete to Delahaye (Dec. 13, 1792), CC9A/7, ANOM. On selling slaves, see André Vernet, “Déclaration de Pierre . . .” (July 17, 1793), d. 118, D/XXV/12, AN. “Demoiselles” from [Jeannot] to Biassou (Oct. 15, 1791), in Pièces trouvées dans le camp des révoltés (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, Feb. 16, 1792), 209.

  8. A July 1792 letter by Jean-François, Biassou, and Gabriel Bélair (Biassou’s second in command), and often mistakenly attributed to TL, asked for general emancipation, but it was likely a fake, according to David Geggus; see R. William Weisberger, ed., Profiles of Revolutionaries in Atlantic History (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), 120. On Françoise, see Delahaye, “Codicille” (Dec. 18, 1792), CC9A/7, ANOM.

  9. On Biassou as TL’s superior (which fits the evidence), see Biassou to [Delahaye] (Oct. 28 and Dec. 18, 1792), d. 118, D/XXV/12, AN. On TL’s later denegation, see TL to García (March 20, 1794), in Beaubrun Ardouin, Etudes sur l’histoire d’Haïti, suivies de la vie du général J-M Borgella (Paris: Dezobry et Magdeleine, 1853–1860), 2:419.

  10. On Dessalines, see Dessalines to TL (Apr. 26, 1802), Sc. Micro R-2228, reel 4, NYPL-SC. “Jai recu une bale” from PG-MGTL, 152.

  11. “Comme servantes” from “Notes de Mr. Leclerc procureur syndic” (c. 1803), CC9A/5, ANOM. “Respect” from Jean-Charles Benzaken, “Lettre inédite sur la situation à SD en novembre 1792,” Annales Historiques de la Révolution Française 363 (2011): 171.

  12. “Cette magie” from Barré de Saint-Venant, Des colonies modernes sous la zone torride, et particulièrement de celle de SD (Paris: Brochot, 1802), 245. “La moitié de nos ateliers” from Moreau de St. Méry, “Copies de différentes lettres” (c. Aug. 1791), d. 773, D/XXV/78, AN.

  13. “Quien no sabe escribir” and “Llevan las riendas” from Antonio del Monte y Tejada, Historia de Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo: García Hermanos, 1892), 3:xii, 4:30.

  14. On TL learning to read in the 1790s, see IL-NH, 55; Madame J. Michelet, The Story of My Childhood (Boston: Little, Brown, 1867), 163.

  15. On samples of TL’s writing, see Philippe Girard, “Quelle langue parlait TL? Le mémoire du Fort de Joux et les origines du kreyòl haïtien,” Annales 68, no. 1 (Jan. 2013): 109–132. On TL’s library, see Marcus Rainsford, An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti (London: Albion Press, 1805), 244. On TL hurting his hand, see IL-NH, 59. On TL possibly being left-handed, see the 1802 portrait by Pierre-Charles Bacquoy and PMD-PH, 2:52.

  16. On TL and the Aug. 10 journée, see TL to Bonaparte (Oct. 9, 1802), d. 1, AF/IV/1213, AN.

  17. On the battle of Tannerie / Camp Pelé, see Antoine Dalmas, Histoire de la révolution de SD (Paris: Mame frères, 1814), 2:107–116.

  18. “Vice-roi du pays conquis” from [François Laplace], Histoire des désastres de SD (Paris: Garnery, 1795), 262.

  19. On Maniel, see Charlton W. Yingling, “The Maroons of Santo Domingo in the Age of Revolutions: Adaptation and Evasion, 1783–1800,” History Workshop Journal 79 (Apr. 2015): 25–51.

  CHAPTER 12: SPANISH OFFICER, 1793–1794

  1. “Que rendirán los Esclavos” from Andrés de Heredia to [Joaquín García] (Sept. 1792), SGU, LEG, 7157, 18, AGS.

  2. On the commissioners’ instructions, see “Mémoire du Roi” (June 17, 1792), B277, ANOM.

  3. On Sonthonax, see Robert Louis Stein, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax: The Lost Sentinel of the Republic (Toronto: Associated University Press, 1985). The third commissioner, Jean-Antoine Ailhaud, was replaced by Delpech, who died in Sept. 1793. The following account of the second commission is based on D XXV/4–44, AN; GC-RTSD. On Blanchelande’s departure and trial, see Louis de Blanchelande, Discours justificatif (Paris: N. H. Nyon, March 15, 1793), FR-1C, UPR-NC; Bulletin du tribunal criminel (Apr. 11, 1793), 61J16, ADGir.

  4. On the number of French troops, see García to Pedro Acuña (Nov. 6, 1792), SGU, LEG, 7157, 18, AGS.

  5. “Aristocrates” from Sonthonax to Municipality of Paris (c. Dec. 10, 1792), CC9A/6, ANOM. D’Esparbès’s successors were Donatien de Rochambeau, Adrien de la Salle, and François Galbaud.

  6. For early offers by runaway slaves to enroll in the Spanish Army, see Ignacio Peres Cavo to King of Spain (Nov. 24, 1693), Clairambault 888, BNF. Runaways were welcomed by Spain until a 1776–1777 extradition treaty banned the practice; see MSM-LC, 5:658, 663, 770.

  7. “L’Espagnol” from [Jeannot] to [Biassou] (c. Oct. 4 and 15, 1791), in Pièces trouvées dans le camp des révoltés (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, Feb. 16, 1792), 209 (these letters are often mistakenly attributed to TL). “Perfecta neutralidad” from Fernando Carrera Montero, Las complejas relaciones de España con La Española: El Caribe hispano frente a Santo Domingo y Saint Domingue, 1789–1803 (Santo Domingo: Fundación García Arévalo, 2004), 42. The following account of Santo Domingo in 1792–1794 is also based on SGU, LEG, 6855 and 7157–7160, AGS; Carlos Esteban Deive, Los Refugiados Franceses en Santo Domingo, 1789–1801 (Santo Domingo: Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña, 1984); Ada Ferrer, Freedom’s Mirror: Cuba and Haiti in the Age of Revolution (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 83–145.

  8. “Infeccion” from García to Andrés de Heredia (Sept. 7, 1791), in Antonio del Monte y Tejada, Historia de Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo: García Hermanos, 1892), 3:140.

  9. “Comme des bettes feroces” from TL, “Reponse Sentimentale” (Aug. 27, 1793), d. 1511, AA55/A, AN. “Un negro despachado” from Monte y Tejada, Historia de Santo Domingo, 4:20.

  10. “Los Brigantes” from Acuña to García (Feb. 22, 1793), SGU, LG, 7161, 1, AGS. “Buena disciplina” from Monte y Tejada, Histori
a de Santo Domingo, 4:24.

  11. “Mourrir pour mon Roy” from TL, “Reponse Sentimentale” (Aug. 27, 1793), d. 1511, AA55/A, AN. On taking Dondon, see Joaquín Cabrera, “Relacion” (July 11, 1793), SGU, LEG, 7158, 38, AGS. On TL’s rank, see IL-OTL.

  12. “A vendre ou à louer” from Moniteur général (March 12, 1793).

  13. “Principes de liberté” from Révolutions de Paris 63 (Sept. 25, 1790). On the membership in a Jacobin club, see Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, “A la société des amis de la Convention Nationale” (Oct. 31, 1792), d. 1512, AA55/A, AN.

  14. “Les esclaves du nouveau monde” from Sonthonax to Milcent (Feb. 11, 1793), d. 1511, AA55/A, AN. On Sonthonax’s calls for reforms, see also Sonthonax to [Min. of Navy?] (Jan. 4, 1793), 61J16, ADGir. On the May 5 regulations, see Etienne de Polverel and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, “Proclamation” (May 5, 1793), 61J71, ADGir; Polverel and Sonthonax to Min. of Navy (June 18, 1793), CC9A/8, ANOM. “Liberté générale” from Pierrot to [Sonthonax?] (June 4, 1793), d. 1510, aa54/b, AN. On Polverel’s abolitionist sympathies, see Société des amis de la constitution (Sept. 23, 1790), 61J5, ADGir.

  15. On the burning of Cap, see François le Goff, “Manuscrit autographe” (Nov. 8, 1793), 1M591, SHD-DAT; P. [Jean-Paul Pillet?], “Mon Odyssée” (c. 1798), 85–117-L, Box 1, HNOC; Jeremy Popkin, You Are All Free: The Haitian Revolution and the Abolition of Slavery (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010). Popkin argues that the burning of Cap was the turning point that made abolition possible, but Sonthonax and Polverel had taken clear steps toward abolition in previous months.

  16. On SD refugees, see Alejandro Enrique Gómez Pernía, Le syndrome de SD: Perceptions et représentations de la Révolution haïtienne dans le Monde Atlantique, 1790–1886 (PhD diss., École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, 2010), 86.