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of color.
When the General Assembly in France decreed equality of rights to
all citizens, the mulattoes of Santo Domingo made a petition for the
enjoyment of the same political privileges as the white people--to the
unbounded consternation of the latter. They were rewarded with a
decree which was so ambiguously worded that it was open to different
interpretations and which simply heightened the animosity that for years
had been smoldering. A new petition to the Assembly in 1791 primarily
for an interpretation brought forth on May 15 the explicit decree that
the people of color were to have all the rights and privileges of
citizens, provided they had been born of free parents on both sides. The
white people were enraged by the decision, turned royalist, and trampled
the national cockade underfoot; and throughout the summer armed strife
and conflagration were the rule. To add to the confusion the black
slaves struck for freedom and on the night of August 23, 1791, drenched
the island in blood. In the face of these events the Conventional
Assembly rescinded its order, then announced that the original decree
must be obeyed, and it sent three commissioners with troops to Santo
Domingo, real authority being invested in Santhonax and Polverel.
On June 20, 1793, at Cape François trouble was renewed by a quarrel
between a mulatto and a white officer in the marines. The seamen came
ashore and loaned their assistance to the white people, and the Negroes
now joined forces with the mulattoes. In the battle of two days that
followed the arsenal was taken and plundered, thousands were killed
in the streets, and more than half of the town was burned. The French
commissioners were the unhappy witnesses of the scene, but they were
practically helpless, having only about a thousand troops. Santhonax,
however, issued a proclamation offering freedom to all slaves who were
willing to range themselves under the banner of the Republic. This was
the first proclamation for the freeing of slaves in Santo Domingo, and
as a result of it many of the Negroes came in and were enfranchised.
Soon after this proclamation Polverel left his colleague at the Cape and
went to Port au Prince, the capital of the West. Here things were quiet
and the cultivation of the crops was going forward as usual. The slaves
were soon unsettled, however, by the news of what was being done
elsewhere, and Polverel was convinced that emancipation could not be
delayed and that for the safety of the planters themselves it was
necessary to extend it to the whole island. In September (1793) he set
in circulation from Aux Cayes a proclamation to this effect, and at the
same time he exhorted all the planters in the vicinity who concurred in
his work to register their names. This almost all of them did, as they
were convinced of the need of measures for their personal safety; and on
February 4, 1794, the Conventional Assembly in Paris formally approved
all that had been done by decreeing the abolition of slavery in all the
colonies of France.
All the while the Spanish and the English had been looking on with
interest and had even come to the French part of the island as if to aid
in the restoration of order. Among the former, at first in charge of
a little royalist band, was the Negro, Toussaint, later called
L'Ouverture. He was then a man in the prime of life, forty-eight years
old, and already his experience had given him the wisdom that was needed
to bring peace in Santo Domingo. In April, 1794, impressed by the decree
of the Assembly, he returned to the jurisdiction of France and took
service under the Republic. In 1796 he became a general of brigade; in
1797 general-in-chief, with the military command of the whole colony.
He at once compelled the surrender of the English who had invaded his
country. With the aid of a commercial agreement with the United States,
he next starved out the garrison of his rival, the mulatto Rigaud, whom
he forced to consent to leave the country. He then imprisoned Roume, the
agent of the Directory, and assumed civil as well as military authority.
He also seized the Spanish part of the island, which had been ceded to
France some years before but had not been actually surrendered. He then,
in May, 1801, gave to Santo Domingo a constitution by which he not only
assumed power for life but gave to himself the right of naming his
successor; and all the while he was awakening the admiration of the
world by his bravery, his moderation, and his genuine instinct for
government.
Across the ocean, however, a jealous man was watching with interest the
career of the "gilded African." None knew better than Napoleon that
it was because he did not trust France that Toussaint had sought the
friendship of the United States, and none read better than he the logic
of events. As Adams says, "Bonaparte's acts as well as his professions
showed that he was bent on crushing democratic ideas, and that he
regarded St. Domingo as an outpost of American republicanism, although
Toussaint had made a rule as arbitrary as that of Bonaparte himself....
By a strange confusion of events, Toussaint L'Ouverture, because he was
a Negro, became the champion of republican principles, with which he
had nothing but the instinct of personal freedom in common. Toussaint's
government was less republican than that of Bonaparte; he was doing
by necessity in St. Domingo what Bonaparte was doing by choice in
France."[1]
[Footnote 1: _History of the United States_, I, 391-392.]
This was the man to whom the United States ultimately owes the purchase
of Louisiana. On October 1, 1801, Bonaparte gave orders to General Le
Clerc for a great expedition against Santo Domingo. In January, 1802, Le
Clerc appeared and war followed. In the course of this, Toussaint--who
was ordinarily so wise and who certainly knew that from Napoleon he had
most to fear--made the great mistake of his life and permitted himself
to be led into a conference on a French vessel. He was betrayed and
taken to France, where within the year he died of pneumonia in the
dungeon of Joux. Immediately there was a proclamation annulling the
decree of 1794 giving freedom to the slaves. Bonaparte, however, had not
estimated the force of Toussaint's work, and to assist the Negroes in
their struggle now came a stalwart ally, yellow fever. By the end of the
summer only one-seventh of Le Clerc's army remained, and he himself died
in November. At once Bonaparte planned a new expedition. While he was
arranging for the leadership of this, however, the European war broke
out again. Meanwhile the treaty for the retrocession of the territory
of Louisiana had not yet received the signature of the Spanish king,
because Godoy, the Spanish representative, would not permit the

of color.

When the General Assembly in France decreed equality of rights to

all citizens, the mulattoes of Santo Domingo made a petition for the

enjoyment of the same political privileges as the white people--to the

unbounded consternation of the latter. They were rewarded with a

decree which was so ambiguously worded that it was open to different

interpretations and which simply heightened the animosity that for years

had been smoldering. A new petition to the Assembly in 1791 primarily

for an interpretation brought forth on May 15 the explicit decree that

the people of color were to have all the rights and privileges of

citizens, provided they had been born of free parents on both sides. The

white people were enraged by the decision, turned royalist, and trampled

the national cockade underfoot; and throughout the summer armed strife

and conflagration were the rule. To add to the confusion the black

slaves struck for freedom and on the night of August 23, 1791, drenched

the island in blood. In the face of these events the Conventional

Assembly rescinded its order, then announced that the original decree

must be obeyed, and it sent three commissioners with troops to Santo

Domingo, real authority being invested in Santhonax and Polverel.

On June 20, 1793, at Cape François trouble was renewed by a quarrel

between a mulatto and a white officer in the marines. The seamen came

ashore and loaned their assistance to the white people, and the Negroes

now joined forces with the mulattoes. In the battle of two days that

followed the arsenal was taken and plundered, thousands were killed

in the streets, and more than half of the town was burned. The French

commissioners were the unhappy witnesses of the scene, but they were

practically helpless, having only about a thousand troops. Santhonax,

however, issued a proclamation offering freedom to all slaves who were

willing to range themselves under the banner of the Republic. This was

the first proclamation for the freeing of slaves in Santo Domingo, and

as a result of it many of the Negroes came in and were enfranchised.

Soon after this proclamation Polverel left his colleague at the Cape and

went to Port au Prince, the capital of the West. Here things were quiet

and the cultivation of the crops was going forward as usual. The slaves

were soon unsettled, however, by the news of what was being done

elsewhere, and Polverel was convinced that emancipation could not be

delayed and that for the safety of the planters themselves it was

necessary to extend it to the whole island. In September (1793) he set

in circulation from Aux Cayes a proclamation to this effect, and at the

same time he exhorted all the planters in the vicinity who concurred in

his work to register their names. This almost all of them did, as they

were convinced of the need of measures for their personal safety; and on

February 4, 1794, the Conventional Assembly in Paris formally approved

all that had been done by decreeing the abolition of slavery in all the

colonies of France.

All the while the Spanish and the English had been looking on with

interest and had even come to the French part of the island as if to aid

in the restoration of order. Among the former, at first in charge of

a little royalist band, was the Negro, Toussaint, later called

L'Ouverture. He was then a man in the prime of life, forty-eight years

old, and already his experience had given him the wisdom that was needed

to bring peace in Santo Domingo. In April, 1794, impressed by the decree

of the Assembly, he returned to the jurisdiction of France and took

service under the Republic. In 1796 he became a general of brigade; in

1797 general-in-chief, with the military command of the whole colony.

He at once compelled the surrender of the English who had invaded his

country. With the aid of a commercial agreement with the United States,

he next starved out the garrison of his rival, the mulatto Rigaud, whom

he forced to consent to leave the country. He then imprisoned Roume, the

agent of the Directory, and assumed civil as well as military authority.

He also seized the Spanish part of the island, which had been ceded to

France some years before but had not been actually surrendered. He then,

in May, 1801, gave to Santo Domingo a constitution by which he not only

assumed power for life but gave to himself the right of naming his

successor; and all the while he was awakening the admiration of the

world by his bravery, his moderation, and his genuine instinct for

government.

Across the ocean, however, a jealous man was watching with interest the

career of the "gilded African." None knew better than Napoleon that

it was because he did not trust France that Toussaint had sought the

friendship of the United States, and none read better than he the logic

of events. As Adams says, "Bonaparte's acts as well as his professions

showed that he was bent on crushing democratic ideas, and that he

regarded St. Domingo as an outpost of American republicanism, although

Toussaint had made a rule as arbitrary as that of Bonaparte himself....

By a strange confusion of events, Toussaint L'Ouverture, because he was

a Negro, became the champion of republican principles, with which he

had nothing but the instinct of personal freedom in common. Toussaint's

government was less republican than that of Bonaparte; he was doing

by necessity in St. Domingo what Bonaparte was doing by choice in

France."[1]

[Footnote 1: _History of the United States_, I, 391-392.]

This was the man to whom the United States ultimately owes the purchase

of Louisiana. On October 1, 1801, Bonaparte gave orders to General Le

Clerc for a great expedition against Santo Domingo. In January, 1802, Le

Clerc appeared and war followed. In the course of this, Toussaint--who

was ordinarily so wise and who certainly knew that from Napoleon he had

most to fear--made the great mistake of his life and permitted himself

to be led into a conference on a French vessel. He was betrayed and

taken to France, where within the year he died of pneumonia in the

dungeon of Joux. Immediately there was a proclamation annulling the

decree of 1794 giving freedom to the slaves. Bonaparte, however, had not

estimated the force of Toussaint's work, and to assist the Negroes in

their struggle now came a stalwart ally, yellow fever. By the end of the

summer only one-seventh of Le Clerc's army remained, and he himself died

in November. At once Bonaparte planned a new expedition. While he was

arranging for the leadership of this, however, the European war broke

out again. Meanwhile the treaty for the retrocession of the territory

of Louisiana had not yet received the signature of the Spanish king,

because Godoy, the Spanish representative, would not permit the