Louverture and Suzanne would go on to have two children together, Isaac and Saint-Jean, the latter of whom was born in , the year the Revolution would formally begin. On 14 August , in a forest near a plantation in Morne-Rouge, a group of enslaved people clandestinely gathered together under the direction of a man named Boukman Dutty.
Boukman then reportedly delivered an exhortation to war in Haitian creole:. 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. By the middle of September over 1, coffee and sugar plantations had been destroyed and as many as 80, of the enslaved were in open rebellion.
In response, the French National Assembly sent three civil commissioners to restore order. Complicating matters, however, was the fact that in May Spain declared war against both England and France, and by January , France — in the midst of its own revolutionary turmoil — executed its king, Louis XVI, and declared war against England.
Subsequently, all three nations — England, France and Spain — began wrestling for control of the most lucrative sugar colony in the world. In desperation, Polverel and Sonthonax published separate decrees of general emancipation for regions of the colony under their authority. Amid these momentous events, Louverture emerged as the most important leader of the rebellion, urging his troops to settle for nothing less than the abolition of slavery.
On 29 August Louverture issued his rallying cry for unity:. Brothers and friends … I have undertaken vengeance. I want Liberty and Equality to reign in San Domingo. I work to bring them into existence. Unite yourselves to us, brothers, and fight with us for the same cause. In February the French Jacobin government had no choice but to abolish slavery throughout its empire.
By , Louverture had not only led France to victory, but he had sent Laveaux and all the French commissioners away, establishing himself as the head of the colony. I have had to deal with three nations and I defeated all three. Like many important free men of colour, Louverture had sent his two older sons — Placide and Isaac — to Paris to be educated.
Though he would later claim that he regretted this decision, Napoleon, who had become First Consul by overthrowing the French Directory in , did not heed the advice of his wife. In February , Louverture had called an assembly to create a constitution for Saint-Domingue.
It was completed in May and Louverture signed it in July He then sent it to Napoleon. Seeking an opportunity to harass the French, the British sent troops to put down the slave revolt. Fearing defeat, the French National Convention acted to preserve its colonial rule and secure the loyalty of the black population. In France granted freedom and citizenship to all blacks in the Empire.
His first mission was to attack Spanish-controlled Santa Domingo on the eastern side of the island. He was now fighting his former black colleagues, who were still loyal to Spain. Toussiant contained the remaining British troops, rendering them ineffective and soon they too withdrew from the island.
By , Toussaint was the leading political and military figure in the colonies. Having temporarily secured peace with the European powers, Toussaint turned to the domestic unrest still festering on the island. Prior to , the mulatto population, who were not enslaved, had owned slaves themselves. Many wanted them back. In , Toussaint was able to defeat the mulatto army with the help of Dessalines.
Toussaint was now the de facto ruler of the entire island of Hispaniola. He introduced a constitution, which reiterated the abolition of slavery and declared himself Governor-General for Life, with nearly absolute powers. Hoping to bring some stability back to Hispaniola, he set out to reestablish agriculture and improve the economic conditions. Toussaint established trade agreements with the British and the Americans, who supplied his forces with arms and goods in exchange for sugar and the promise not to invade Jamaica or the American South.
Defying French Revolutionary laws, he allowed plantation owners, who had fled during the rebellion, to return. In , Napoleon Bonaparte gained control of France, amidst the chaos of the French Revolutionary government. He issued a new constitution that declared all French colonies would be ruled under special laws. Toussaint and others suspected this would mean the return of slavery. He was careful not to declare full independence and professed himself a Frenchman to convince Napoleon of his loyalty.
Napoleon also forbade Toussaint from invading Santo Domingo, the eastern half of the island, where he had French authorities, trying to restore order after the Spanish departure. The temptation to have complete control over the entire island was too tempting for Toussaint. In January , his armies invaded Santo Domingo and took control with little effort.
He instituted French law, abolished slavery, and set out to modernize the country. But that was only the start. He conquered the Spanish side of Hispaniola, uniting the island and establishing himself as governor. And with an education steeped in Enlightenment philosophy , he built on those humanistic ideals to create a constitution that would forever abolish slavery. In , France was in a dicey situation. It had recently become a republic, stoking the ire of European monarchies. So that same year, French commissioners arrived in Saint-Domingue in the apparent spirit of compromise.
Rebel leaders, including Toussaint, refused the overture, choosing to do battle instead with the 6,man fleet France had also sent. Feigning outrage at the execution of King Louis XVI in , he made an alliance with neighboring Santo Domingo, taking command of a Spanish auxiliary force to reclaim a swath of Saint-Domingue territory.
He refused to negotiate with French commissioners until , when France formally abolished slavery in its territories. Toussaint then rejoined the French forces, beat back the Spanish and began his sustained campaign against the British, who had their own designs on Saint-Domingue. His army ousted British forces in , causing them to lose more than 15, men and 10 million pounds in the process.
Toussaint entered into a secret agreement with the British army that eased their naval blockade of imported goods. He went a step further in , opening diplomatic talks with the Americans to renew commercial ties that would benefit both economies—a major coup for Toussaint.
The alliance with the Americans also afforded naval protection on trading vessels destined for Saint-Domingue, an important buffer against British aggressions.
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