CHAPTER II.
HISTORY BEFORE INDEPENDENCE.
I do not doubt but the discovery of America by Columbus was good in its results to mankind; but when we read the history of early Spanish colonisation, the predominant feeling is disgust at the barbarities and fanaticism recorded in almost every page. We generally overlook much of this, being dazzled by pictures of heroic deeds, as set forth in the works of Prescott and Robertson—heroic deeds of steel-clad warriors massacring crowds of gentle, almost unresisting natives, until despair, lending energy to their timid natures, forced them occasionally to turn on their savage persecutors.
In no country were the Spaniards more notorious for their cruelty than in the first land in America on which Columbus established a settlement. The population was then variously estimated, the numbers given varying between 800,000 and 2,000,000, the former calculation being the more probable. They were indeed a primitive people, the men moving about entirely naked, the women wearing a short petticoat. They are said to have been good-looking, which, if true, would mark them as a people distinct from any other in America, as the Indians, who still remain by millions in South America and Mexico, are as a race the most ill-favoured natives I have seen in any portion of the globe. That was my impression when I travelled among them, though I have seen among the young women who followed the Indian regiments to Lima a few who might almost be considered handsome, but these by their appearance were probably of mixed breed.
Columbus only stayed two months in Santo Domingo, but left behind him forty of his companions in an entrenched position. They now began to commit excesses; and hearing that a cacique in the interior had a large store of gold, they penetrated to his town and robbed him of his riches. This roused the population against them; they were pursued and killed in detail.
In the meantime Columbus had revisited Spain, been received with honour, and seventeen vessels, laden with every kind of store and domestic animal, as well as a large force, were placed at his disposal. On his arrival his first thoughts were for gold, and he marched in search of the mines, which, being pointed out to him, were soon in full work, the Indians by force being compelled to this task. The conduct of these white men appears to have been so wantonly cruel, that the population rose en masse, and a hundred thousand Indians are said to have marched to attack the Spaniards, two hundred and twenty of whom put this crowd to flight without the loss of a single man. These are the heroic deeds we are called upon to admire. It has often been declared impossible that such, on one side, bloodless encounters could take place; but I am well assured that two hundred well-armed Englishmen could in the present day march through any number of the Land Dyaks of Borneo, and defeat them without loss.
It is not necessary to trace in detail the history of the island; but I may notice that in 1507 the population was estimated at 60,000, which shows that the original reckoning must have been greatly exaggerated, as not even these early apostles of the religion of charity could have thus wiped out the population by millions. The story of what one called the early exploits of the Spaniards in Santo Domingo has been so often related that it is useless to tell it over again, especially as it would present but a sequence of sickening events, of murders, executions, robbery, and lust, with but few traits of generosity and virtue to record.
These foreign settlers soon saw that the island would be useless to them without population, so they early began to introduce negroes from Africa, as well as families from the neighbouring isles. The Coral Indians were not spared, and the Spanish historians themselves are the chroniclers of this record of infamy. Now not a descendant of an Indian remains.
Santo Domingo, deprived of population, with its mineral wealth, for want of hands, no longer available, and agriculture neglected, rapidly degenerated, and little was left but the city of Santo Domingo and in the interior a population of herdsmen. Then the famous buccaneers appeared to inflict on the Spaniards some of the misery they had worked on the Indians. Notwithstanding every effort to prevent them, the French adventurers gradually spread through the western end of the island, and began to form towns and settlements.
In 1640 Levasseur was sent from France as Governor of these irregularly-acquired possessions, and from that time the French may be said to have established themselves firmly in the western part of Santo Domingo—which hereafter I may call by its present name, Hayti, to simplify the narrative—but their rule was not recognised by Spain until the year 1697.
From this date to the breaking out of the French Revolution the colony increased in prosperity, until it became, for its extent, probably the richest in the world. Negroes were imported by thousands from the coast of Africa, and were subjected to as harsh a slavery as ever disgraced the worst system of servitude.
Two events occurred during this period of prosperity which were worthy of being noted: First, the fearful earthquake which destroyed Port-au-Prince in 1770, when for fifteen days the earth trembled under repeated shocks, and left the city a heap of ruins.[3] The second was the war in which France engaged to aid our colonists to acquire their independence. To increase their forces the French commanders permitted the free blacks and mulattoes to enlist, and they did good service; and when they returned to their country, they spread widely a spirit of disaffection, which no ordinances could destroy.
When England in 1785 was forced to acknowledge the independence of the United States, how despotic France and Spain rejoiced over the downfall of the only country where liberty was known! The results were, for France, the Revolution, which, with all its crimes, did unspeakable good, and deprived her of the finest colony that any country ever possessed. To Spain it brought the loss of world-wide possessions, and a fall in power and prestige which to this day she shows but few signs of recovering.
On the eve of the great Revolution, France possessed, as I have said, the finest colony in the world. Her historians are never weary of enumerating the amount of its products, the great trade, the warehouses full of sugar, cotton, coffee, indigo, and cocoa; its plains covered with splendid estates, its hill-sides dotted with noble houses; a white population, rich, refined, enjoying life as only a luxurious colonial society can enjoy it; the only dark spot, then scarcely noticed, the ignorant, discontented mass of black slavery, and the more enlightened disaffection of the free mulattoes and negroes.
It has often been a subject of inquiry how it was that the Spaniards, who were the cruellest of the cruel towards the Indians, should have established negro slavery in a form which robbed it of half its terrors, whilst the French, usually less severe than their southern neighbours, should have founded a system of servitude unsurpassed for severity, cruelty, nay, ferocity.
To this day the barbarous conduct of the Marquis of Caradeux is cited as a justification for the savage retaliation of the insurgent negroes. I think that the explanation of the different conduct of the Spanish and French slave-owner may be, that the former is indolent and satisfied with less, whilst the latter, in his fierce struggle to be rich, cared not how he became so, and worked his negroes beyond human endurance, and then, to keep down the inevitable discontent, sought to terrorise his slaves by barbarous punishments.
The true history of Hayti commences with the French Revolution, when, amid the flood of impracticable and practicable schemes, a few statesmen turned their generous thoughts towards the down-trodden African, and firing assembled France with their enthusiasm, passed laws and issued decrees granting freedom to the black; but before these had any practical effect, Hayti had to pass through scenes which have left blood-stains that nothing can wash away.
When reading the different accounts which have been written of the state of Hayti when France was upsetting the accumulated wrongs of ages, I have often desired to disbelieve them, and place to exaggerated feelings of sympathy the descriptions of the prejudices of the planters and the atrocities committed under their influence. But I have lived long in the West Indies, and know that there are many whites born in our colonies, who not only look upon the negro as of an inferior species—which he may be—but as fit only for servitude, and quite unworthy of freedom, and on an alliance with a coloured person as a disgrace which affects a whole family. They speak of a mulatto as they would of one affected with leprosy. If in these days such sentiments exist, we can readily believe that they existed even in a greater degree before, awakened to a feeling of justice, most European nations formally abolished slavery, and let the black and the coloured man have an equal chance in the struggle of life.
For some years before the meeting of the States-General, philanthropists who had inquired into the condition of the slave had had their compassion aroused, and to give direction to their efforts to ameliorate it, had founded in Paris a society called “The Friends of the Blacks.”
The summoning of the States-General in France created much enthusiasm throughout Hayti; the planters now reckoned that justice would be done, and that a share would be accorded them in the government of the colony; the lower class of whites had a vague idea that their position must be improved, and hailed the movement as the promise of better times—though in truth these two classes had little of which to complain; the former were rolling in wealth, and the latter were never in want of high-paid employment. Another class felt even greater interest—that of the free black and coloured men; they thought that no change could occur which would not better their condition, which was one of simple toleration; they might work and get rich, have their children educated in France, but they had no political rights, and the meanest white considered himself, and was treated, as their superior. The slaves, although discontented, were only formidable from their numbers.
Exaggerated expectations were naturally followed by disappointment. The planters, finding that the French Government had no intention of employing them to administer the colony, began to think of independence; whilst the lower whites, passionately attached to the dream of equality, thought that that should commence by an apportionment among them of the estates of the rich. A third party consisted of the Government employés, whose chiefs were Royalists under the leadership of Penier, the Governor-General, and Mauduit, colonel of the regiment of Port-au-Prince.
The Colonial party, or rather that of the planters, in order to increase their power, which had hitherto been disseminated in local assemblies, determined to have the law carried out which authorised a General Assembly. This was elected, and held its first meetings in St. Marc in March 1790. The leaders soon commenced to quarrel with the Government authorities, and dissensions rose to such a height that both parties began to arm; and on the Assembly decreeing the substitution of another Governor for Penier, he was roused to resistance, and in a brief struggle he forced the General Assembly to dissolve, a portion of the members seeking refuge on board of a ship of war, whose crew they had induced to mutiny and sail with them to France.
The white population thus set the example of internal strife, and in their struggle for mastery called in the aid of the freedmen, and then after victory insulted them. These, however, began gradually to understand the advantages they possessed in being able to support the climate, and the persecutions and cruelties of the French made them feel that those who would be free themselves must strike the blow.
Among the educated and intelligent mulattoes who had gone to France to urge on the National Assembly the rights of their colour was Ogé. He naturally thought that the time had arrived for justice to be done, when the President of the “Constituant” had declared that “aucune partie de la nation ne réclamera vainement ses droits auprès de l’assemblée des représentants du peuple français.” He visited the Club Massiac, where the planters held supreme sway, and endeavoured to enlist their sympathy, but he was coldly received. He then determined to return to Hayti to support the rights of his caste, which, though ambiguously, had been recognised by the legislature; but unexpected obstacles were thrown in his way by the Colonial party, and an order to arrest him was issued should he venture to embark for his native land. By passing through England and the United States he eluded these precautions, and landed privately at Cap Haïtien. When the news of his arrival on his property at Dondon reached the authorities, they endeavoured to capture him; then he, with a few hundreds of his colour, rose in arms, but after a few skirmishes they dispersed, and Ogé was forced to seek refuge in the Spanish settlement of Santo Domingo. There he was arrested, and, on the demand of the Governor of the French colony, handed over to his enemies. He was tried as a rebel and broken on the wheel, together with three companions; others were hung, the rest sent to the galleys.
Ogé’s armed resistance had encouraged the men of colour in the south to demand their rights; but they were easily dispersed, and their chief, Rigaud, taken prisoner. These isolated and irresolute outbreaks rendered the division between the coloured and the white population more marked than ever; the latter despised the former for their wretched resistance, while the coloured men were indignant at the cruel and unsparing executions which marked the close of Ogé’s career.
Monsieur Blanchelande was then Governor, a weak man at the head of the Royalist party, who had not the courage to follow the energetic counsels of Colonel Mauduit. By his vacillation all discipline was lost both in the army and in the fleet, and the revolutionary party rose in arms in Port-au-Prince, murdered Colonel Mauduit, and drove the pusillanimous Governor to seek refuge in the plain of Cul-de-Sac. Thus the whites were everywhere divided, but were still strong enough to disperse any assembly of the freedmen.
The news of the troubles in Hayti produced a great effect in Paris, and the Constituent Assembly determined to send three commissioners to restore tranquillity; but they prefaced this measure by decreeing (May 15, 1791) that every man of colour born of free parents should enjoy equal political rights with the whites. On the planters declaring that this would bring about civil war and the loss of the colony, the famous phrase was uttered, “Perish the colonies rather than a principle,” which phrase has not been forgotten by those amongst us who would sacrifice India to the perverse idea of abandoning our high political status in the world.
When the substance of this decree reached Hayti, it roused to fury the passions of the whites; all sections united in declaring that they would oppose its execution even by force of arms, and a strong party was formed either to declare the independence of the colony, or, if that were not possible, to invite England to take possession. The coloured men, on the other hand, determined to assert their rights, and held secret meetings to bring about an accord among all the members of their party; and when they heard that Governor Blanchelande had declared he would not execute the decree, they summoned their followers to meet at Mirebalais in the western department.
The whites in the meantime determined that the second Colonial Assembly should be elected before the official text of the dreaded decree of the 15th May should arrive; and so rapidly did they act, that on the 1st August 1791 the Assembly met at Leogâne, and was opened under the presidency of the Marquis de Cadusch, a Royalist. They called Governor Blanchelande to the bar of the House, and made him swear that he would not carry into effect the law giving equal rights to the freedmen. As Cap Haïtien had become in reality the capital of the colony, both the Governor and the Assembly soon removed there.
The Royalist party, headed by the Governor, found their influence gradually declining, and, to strengthen their hands against both the Colonial Assembly with its traitorous projects and the violence of the lower part of the white population, are accused of having first thought of enlisting the blacks to further their schemes and to strengthen their party. It is said that they proposed to Toussaint, a slave on the Breda estates, to raise the negroes in revolt in the name of the King. This account I believe to be a pure invention of the coloured historians, and the conduct of the blacks clearly proved that they were not moved by French officers. Whoever was the instigator, it is certain that the negroes in the northern province rose in insurrection, put to death every white that fell into their hands, began to burn the factories, and then rushed en masse to pillage the town of Cap Haïtien. Here, however, their numbers availed them little against the arms and discipline of the French troops, and they were driven back with great slaughter, and many then retired to the mountains. It would naturally be suspected that the coloured people were the instigators of this movement, were it not certain that they were as much opposed to the freedom of the blacks as the most impassioned white planter.
The insurgent slaves called themselves “Les Gens du Roi,” declaring that he was their friend, and was persecuted for their sake; they hoisted the white flag, and placed an ignorant negro, Jean François, at their head. The second in command was a Papaloi or priest of the Vaudoux, named Biassou. He encouraged his followers to carry on the rites of their African religion, and when under its wildest influence, he dashed his bands to the attack of their civilised enemies, to meet their death in Hayti, but to rise again free in their beloved Africa. The ferocity of the negro nature had now full swing, and the whites who fell into their hands felt its effects. Prisoners were placed between planks and sawn in two, or were skinned alive and slowly roasted, the girls violated and then murdered. Unhappily some of these blacks had seen their companions thus tortured, though probably in very exceptional cases. Descriptions of these horrors fill pages in every Haytian history, but it is needless to dwell on them. On either side there was but little mercy.
The Governor at length collected 3000 white troops, who, after various skirmishes, dispersed these bands with much slaughter; but as this success was not followed up, Jean François and Biassou soon rallied their followers.
In the meantime the coloured men at Mirebalais, under the leadership of Pinchinat, began to arouse their brethren; and having freed nine hundred slaves, commenced forming the nucleus of an army, that, under the leadership of a very intelligent mulatto named Bauvais, gained some successes over the undisciplined forces in Port-au-Prince, commanded by an Italian adventurer, Praloto. The Royalists, who had been driven from the city by the mob, had assembled at “La Croix des Bouquets” in the plains, and to strengthen, their party entered into an alliance with the freedmen. This alarmed the inhabitants of Port-au-Prince, and they also recognised the existence of Pinchinat and his party by entering into a regular treaty with them. The Haytians, as I may call the coloured races, began now to understand that their position must depend on their own courage and conduct.
When everything had been settled between the chiefs of the two parties, the Haytians returned to Port-au-Prince, and were received with every demonstration of joy; they then agreed to a plan which showed how little they cared for the liberty of others, so that they themselves obtained their rights. Among those who had fought valiantly at their side were the freed slaves previously referred to. For fear these men should incite ideas of liberty among those blacks who were still working on the estates, the coloured officers consented that they should be deported from the country. In the end they were placed as prisoners on board a pontoon in Mole St. Nicolas, and at night were for the most part butchered by unknown assassins. And Bauvais and Pinchinat, the leaders and the most intelligent of the freedmen, were those that agreed to this deportation of their brethren-in-arms who had the misfortune to be lately slaves! I doubt if the blacks ever forgot this incident.
The coloured men gained little by this breach of faith, as shortly after news arrived that the French Assembly had reversed the decree of May 15, which gave equal rights to the freedmen; and then dissensions broke out, and the coloured men were again driven from Port-au-Prince with heavy loss. This was the signal for disorders throughout the whole country, and the whites and the freedmen were skirmishing in every district. Praloto and the rabble reigned supreme in Port-au-Prince, and soon made the rich merchants and shopkeepers feel the effects of their internal divisions. They set fire to the town, and during the confusion plundered the stores, and exercised their private vengeance on their enemies.
The whole country was in the greatest disorder when the three commissioners sent by the French Government arrived in Hayti. The Colonial Assembly was still sitting at Cap Haïtien, and the insurgent negroes were encamped at no great distance. They immediately endeavoured to enter into negotiations with them, which had little result, on account of the obstinacy of the planters. The three commissioners were Mirbeck, St. Leger, and Roume. Finding that their influence was as nought, the former two returned to France, whilst Roume went ultimately to Santo Domingo.
The state of the colony may be imagined when it is remembered that the whites were divided into three distinct sections. The coloured men, jealous of each other, did not combine, but were ready to come to blows on the least pretext; while the blacks, under Jean François, were massacring every white that fell into their hands, and selling to the Spaniard every negro or coloured man accused of siding with the French. The planters wanted independence or subjection to England; the poorer whites anything which would give them the property of others; the coloured were still faithful to France; whilst the blacks cared only to be free from work; yet among them was Toussaint, who already had fermenting in his brain the project of a free black State.
It would interest few to enter into the details of this history of horrors, where it is difficult to feel sympathy for any party. They were alike steeped in blood, and ready to commit any crime to further their ends. Murder, torture, violation, pillage, bad faith, and treachery meet you on all sides; and although a few names arise occasionally in whom you feel a momentary interest, they are sure soon to disgust you by their utter incapacity or besotted personal ambition.
The National Assembly in Paris, finding that their first commissioners had accomplished nothing, sent three others, two of whom, Sonthonax and Polvérel, are well known in Haytian history. They had full powers, and even secret instructions, to do all they could to give freedom to the slaves.
These two commissioners were of the very worst kind of revolutionists, talked of little but guillotining the aristocrats, and were in every way unsuited to their task; they dissolved the Colonial Assembly, and substituted for it a commission, consisting of six whites of the stamp suited to them, and six freedmen. They decided to crush the respectable classes, whom they called Royalists, because they would not join in revolutionary excesses, and the massacre commenced at the Cape.
Polvérel appears to have had some idea of the responsibility of his position, though both cruel and faithless; but Sonthonax was but a blatant babbler, with some talent, but overwhelmed by vanity. He caused more bloodshed than any other man, first setting the lower white against the rich, then the mulatto against the white, and then the black against both. Well might the French orator declare on Sonthonax’s return to France that “il puait de sang.” The third commissioner, Aillaud, thinking, very justly, that his companions were a couple of scoundrels whom he could not control, embarked secretly and left for home. Whilst these commissioners were employed in destroying the fairest colony in the world, France, in a moment of excited fury, declared war against the rest of Europe, and a new era opened for Hayti.
Many of the more influential and respectable inhabitants of all colours, utterly disgusted by the conduct of the different parties, thought that the war between England and France would give them some chance of rest from the excesses of the insurgent blacks; and the factious freedmen, supported by that fou furieux, Sonthonax, sent to Jamaica to invite the Governor to interfere and take possession of the colony.
England did interfere, but in her usual way, with small expeditions, and thus frittered away her strength; but the resistance made was in general so contemptible, that with little effort we succeeded in taking Jérémie in the south, and then St. Marc, and subsequently Port-au-Prince. Had we sent a large army, it is equally possible that we should not have succeeded, as the intention was to reimpose slavery. As the garrison of Jamaica could only furnish detachments, the British authorities began to enlist all who wished to serve irrespective of colour, and being supported by those who were weary of anarchy and revolutionary fury, were soon able to present a very respectable force in the field. The Spaniards, aided by the bands of revolted negroes, overran most of the northern province; in this they were greatly aided by Toussaint L’Ouverture, who now began to come to the front. Sonthonax, whose idea of energy was simply to massacre and destroy, ordered that every place his partisans were forced to evacuate should be burnt. At the same time he thought that a little terror might be of service, so he erected a guillotine in Port-au-Prince; and having at hand a Frenchman accused of being a Royalist, he thought he would try the experiment on him. An immense crowd of Haytians assembled to witness the execution; but when they saw the bright blade descend and the head roll at their feet, they were horror-stricken, and rushing on the guillotine, tore it to pieces, and no other has ever again been erected in Hayti.
Curious people! they who never hesitated to destroy the whites, guilty or innocent, or massacre, simply because they were white, women and children, down to the very babe at the breast, who invented every species of torture to render death more hideous, were horrified because a man’s head was chopped off, instead of his being destroyed in a fashion to which they were accustomed, and this at a time when white, coloured, and black were vying with each other in arts of bloodthirsty cruelty!
The whole country was in terrible confusion; the French had not one man who had the talent or influence to dominate their divided factions; the coloured were represented by such respectabilities as Pinchinat, Bauvais, and Rigaud, but without one of incontestable superiority; the blacks were as yet led by such men as Jean François and Biassou, who must even make the respectable negroes blush to acknowledge that they were of the same race; yet, as I have said, there was one man coming to the front who was to dominate all.
Amid the many heroes whose actions the Haytians love to commemorate, Toussaint L’Ouverture does not hold a high rank. And yet the conduct of this black was so remarkable as almost to confound those who declare the negro an inferior creature incapable of rising to genius. History, wearied with dwelling on the petty passions of the other founders of Haytian independence, may well turn to the one grand figure of this cruel war. Toussaint was born on the Breda estate in the northern department, and was a slave from birth; it has been doubted whether he was of pure negro race. His grandfather was an African prince, but if we may judge from the portraits, he was not of the pure negro type. Whether pure negro or not, there is no doubt of the intelligence and energy of the man. Though but a puny child, by constant exercise and a vigorous will he became as wiry and active as any of his companions, and, moreover, gave up much of his leisure time to study. He learnt to read French, and, it is said, in order to understand the Prayer-Book, a little Latin; but he never quite mastered the art of writing. He was evidently trusted and kindly treated by his master’s agent, who gave him charge of the sugar-mills. There is an accusation constantly brought against Toussaint, that of being a religious hypocrite, but his early life shows that it is unfounded. Whilst still a slave, his principles would not allow him to follow the custom of his companions and live in concubinage; he determined to marry, though the woman he chose had already an illegitimate son named Placide, whom he adopted. It is pleasing to read of the happy domestic life of Toussaint, and it is another proof of that affectionate disposition which made those who served him devoted to him.
When the insurrection broke out in the northern province, Toussaint remained faithful to his master, and prevented any destruction on the estate; but finding ultimately that he could not stem the tide, he sent his master’s family for safety into Cap Haïtien, and joined the insurgents. He was at first appointed surgeon to the army, as among his other accomplishments was a knowledge of simples, which had given him great influence on the estate, and was now to do so in the insurgent forces. He liked this employment, as it kept him free from the savage excesses of his companions, who were acting with more than ordinary barbarity.
The three leaders of the insurgents were then Jean François, a negro, about whom opinions differ. St. Remy says he was intellectual, though the general idea is more probable, that he was an energetic savage. Biassou was sensual and violent, as cruel as man could be and an avowed leader of the Vaudoux sect, and apparently a Papaloi; but the vilest of the three was Jeannot. He loved to torture his white prisoners, and drank their blood mixed with rum; but he was as cowardly as he was cruel, and the scene at his execution, when he clung to the priest in frantic terror, must have afforded satisfaction to the friends of those whom he had pitilessly murdered. Jeannot was also a great proficient in Vaudoux practices, and thus gained much influence with the ignorant slaves; it was this influence, not his cruelties, which roused the anger of Jean François, who seized and summarily shot him.
It is curious to read of the projects of these negro leaders. They had no idea of demanding liberty for the slaves; they only wanted liberty for themselves. In some abortive negotiations with the French, Jean François demanded that 300 of the leaders should be declared free, whilst Toussaint would only have bargained for fifty. The mulatto leaders, however, were most anxious to preserve their own slaves, and, as I have related, gave up to death those blacks who had aided them in supporting their position; and a French writer records that up to Le Clerc’s expedition, the mulattoes had fought against the blacks with all the zeal that the interests of property could inspire.
The blind infatuation of the planters prevented their accepting Jean François’ proposition; they even rejected it with insult, and savagely persecuted the negroes who were living in Cap Haïtien. Biassou then ordered all his white prisoners to be put to death; but Toussaint, by his eloquent remonstrances, saved them. Other negotiations having failed, Biassou attacked the French lines, and carried them as far as the ramparts of the town. The planters had brave words, but not brave deeds, with which to meet their revolted bondsmen. All the black prisoners taken by the insurgents were sent over the frontiers and sold as slaves to the Spaniards. Toussaint remonstrated against this vile traffic, but never shared in it. The new Governor, Laveaux, at this time nearly stifled the insurrection, dispersing all the insurgent forces; but, as usual, not following up his successes, allowed the negroes again to concentrate. No strength of position as yet enabled the blacks successfully to resist the white troops.
When the negro chiefs heard of the death of Louis XVI., they thought they had lost a friend, and openly joined the Spaniards in their war on the French Republic.
At this time Sonthonax and Polvérel acted as if they intended to betray their own country, by removing the chief white officers from command and entrusting these important posts to mulattoes. It was not, however, treachery, but jealousy, as such a man as General Galbaud could not be made a docile instrument in their hands. Then finding that power was slipping from them, they proclaimed (1793) the liberty of all those slaves who would fight for the Republic.
In the meantime Toussaint was steadily gaining influence among his troops, and gradually freeing himself from the control of Biassou, whose proceedings had always shocked him; and some successful expeditions, as the taking of Dondon, added to his prestige. Whilst fighting was going on throughout the northern provinces, Sonthonax and Polvérel were solemnising pompous fêtes to celebrate the anniversary of the taking of the Bastile. It is singular what a passion they had for these childish amusements.
Rigaud, a mulatto, in future days the rival of Toussaint, now appears prominently upon the scene, being appointed by the commissioners as chief of the northern department.
Toussaint continued his successes, and finding that nothing could be done with the estates without the whites, appeared anxious to induce them to return to superintend their cultivation, and he succeeded in inducing many hundreds to reside in their devastated homes.
Alarmed by the continued successes of Toussaint, Sonthonax proclaimed in August 29, 1793, the liberty of all, which, under the circumstances, may be considered the only wise act of his administration.
The people of the north-west, however, were weary of the tyranny of the commissioners, and, being probably privately informed of Toussaint’s intentions, surrendered Gonaives to him, and the rest of the neighbouring districts followed. A new enemy, however, now appeared in the shape of the English, who took possession of St. Marc with seventy-five men,—so like our system! In June 1794 Port-au-Prince surrendered to the English after a faint resistance, the commissioners retiring to Jacmel, from whence they embarked for France, to answer for their conduct. At that time Port-au-Prince was in a fair state for defence; but Captain Daniel of the 41st took the famous fort of Bizoton by storm with sixty men, and then the English advanced on the town. The effect of having replaced the French officers by untrained mulattoes was here apparent: though everything had been prepared to blow up the forts, nothing was done; the garrison fled, leaving 131 cannon, twenty-two laden vessels, with 7000 tons more in ballast, and all their stores and ammunition.
At this time Jean François became suspicious of Toussaint and arrested him, but he was delivered by Biassou. Toussaint had for some time been meditating a bold stroke. The proclamation by Sonthonax of the freedom of the blacks probably worked on him, and he determined to abandon the party of the king of Spain, which was that of slavery, and join the French Republic. He did so, proclaiming at the same time the freedom of the slaves. His soldiers sullied the change by massacring two hundred white planters, who, confiding in the word of Toussaint, had returned to their estates.
The new General of the republic now acted with energy against Jean François, drove him from the plains, and forced him to take refuge with his followers in the Black Mountains. Success followed success, until Toussaint found himself opposite St. Marc; but his attack on that town was easily repulsed by its garrison in English pay. His activity was incessant, and he kept up constant skirmishes with all his enemies. He appeared ever unwearied, whatever might be the fatigue of his companions.
Toussaint had naturally observed, that however his men might succeed against the undisciplined hordes of Jean François, they could do nothing against a disciplined force. He therefore, in 1795, formed four regiments of 2000 men each, whom he had daily drilled by French soldiers, his former prisoners; and, I may notice here, with such success, that English officers were subsequently surprised at their proficiency.
Rigaud had, in the meantime, with his usual jactancy, marched on Port-au-Prince to expel the English, but was repulsed. Toussaint assembled all his army for another attack on St. Marc, and for three days, from the 25th to 27th July 1795, tried by repeated assaults to capture the town; but English discipline prevailed, and the small garrison foiled every attempt.
It is noticed by St. Remy that Toussaint, when once he gave his word, never broke it, which was a new experience among these unprincipled leaders; and it is added, that he never had any prejudice of colour.
An important event for the French in 1795 was the peace made between France and Spain, by which Santo Domingo was ceded to the former.
The year 1796 was ushered in by various English expeditions and skirmishes, and their failure to take Leogâne. Some of the Haytian accounts are amusing. Pétion defended the fort of Ça-ira against the whole English fleet until the fortifications were demolished. Fifteen thousand English bullets were showered into the place, and yet only seven Haytians were killed. It looks as if the garrison had quietly retired and left us to batter away at the earthworks.
One is often surprised, in reading Haytian accounts of the war, at the defeats of the English, which make one wonder what could have become of the proverbial courage and steadiness of our men; but a little closer inquiry shows that in most of these instances there were few or no English present, only black and coloured men in our pay, or planters who had taken our side in the war, none of whom were more than half-hearted in our cause.
The French were also weakened by internal dissensions. General Vilatte, a mulatto, incited a revolt in the town of Cap Haïtien, arrested the French governor, Laveaux, and threw him into prison. The latter called on Toussaint to aid him, and the black general had the supreme satisfaction of marching into the town and freeing the white governor. With what curious sensations must Toussaint have performed this act of authority in a place that had only known him as a slave! Laveaux received him with enthusiasm, and promoted him from the grade of General of Brigade, in which the French Government had confirmed him, to be Lieutenant-General of the Government, April 1, 1796. This successful movement confirmed the ascendancy of the blacks in the north, and Vilatte had shortly to sail for France, from whence he returned with the expedition sent to enslave his countrymen.
Sonthonax and a new commission now arrived at Cap Haïtien, to find Rigaud almost independent in the south, and Toussaint master in the north. Both Laveaux and Sonthonax are accused of endeavouring to set the blacks against the mulattoes. Laveaux having returned to France as deputy for the colony, Sonthonax remained at the head of affairs, and one of his first acts was to name Toussaint General of Division.
Toussaint was in the meantime organising his army and working hard at its drill; he then started to the attack of Mirebalais, a port occupied by a French planter in our service, the Count de Bruges, who appears to have retired, with numerous forces, without much resistance. He probably could scarcely trust his raw levies. Sonthonax was so pleased with this important success that he named Toussaint Commander-in-Chief of the army in Santo Domingo, which step displeased Rigaud, who was thus placed under the orders of a black general.
Toussaint appears to have felt a justifiable distrust of Sonthonax. He saw that he desired to set black against coloured, that he was even talking of the independence of the island, perhaps only to test Toussaint’s fidelity; but he had no difficulty in assuring himself that wherever Sonthonax was, mischief was sure to be brewing. He therefore had him elected deputy, and sent him to follow Laveaux. Sonthonax did not like this step, and made some show of opposition, but Toussaint informed him that if he did not embark immediately he would fall on Cap Haïtien with 20,000 men. This irresistible argument made Sonthonax give way. As he went down to the boat that was to take him on board, the streets were lined by crowds of all colours; but not one said, “God bless him,” as he had betrayed every party in turn; and his one wise act of proclaiming the liberty of the slaves was simply a political expedient, wrung from him by the circumstances of the hour. He was a boasting, bad man, whose history is written in the blood of thousands of every colour.
The Directory, alarmed at the growing influence of Toussaint, sent out General Hédouville as pacificator of the island, and, to produce harmony, gave him power to defeat Rigaud. On his arrival at Cap Haïtien he summoned the rivals to confer with him, and Rigaud and Toussaint, meeting at Gonaives, went together to the capital. Hédouville, jealous of the power of the latter, gave all his attention to the former, whilst the newly-arrived French officers laughed at the negro and his surroundings. Toussaint, suspecting a plot to arrest him and send him off to France, and probably very jealous of the superior treatment of his rival, withdrew from the city and returned to his army.
The English had now become convinced that it was useless to attempt to conquer the island; their losses from sickness were enormous, and the influence of the planters was of no avail. Their black and coloured mercenaries were faithless, and ready to betray them, as at St. Marc, where the English governor had to shoot a number of traitorous mulattoes who would have betrayed the town into the hands of the blacks. They therefore determined to treat with Toussaint, and evacuated St. Marc, Port-au-Prince, and L’Arcahaye. He thus gained at one stroke what no amount of force could have procured for him.
Toussaint, with a greatness of mind which was really remarkable, agreed to allow those French colonists who had sided with us to remain, and promised to respect their properties; and as it was known that this magnanimous black ever kept his word, no important exodus followed our retreat. Admiral Maitland had arranged for the surrender of the mole with General Hédouville, but on finding his hostility to the French planters, whom he insisted on Toussaint expelling the country, our naval chief made a new settlement with the black general and handed the mole over to him. Maitland invited Toussaint to visit him, and reviewed before him the English army collected from the rest of the country. He was exceedingly pleased by the treatment he received from our people, and ever after showed a kindly feeling towards them.
One can scarcely understand why the English gave up the mole, which a small garrison could have defended, and the importance of the position in naval warfare is indisputable. If we wanted to gain Toussaint and induce him to declare the island independent, we should have held it until that desirable event had happened.[4]
Toussaint treated the old colonists with distinction, and left many of them in the commands they had held under the English. Hédouville protested against this good treatment of his own countrymen, and annoyed Toussaint so much that he began to consider whether it would not be prudent to send Hédouville to follow Sonthonax.
Hédouville was not the only one who objected to the good treatment of the planters; his opinion was shared by the black general, Moïse, then commanding in the northern department. To show his displeasure at Toussaint’s humanity, he caused some white colonists to be murdered in the plains near Cap Haïtien. Hédouville, frightened by the practical result of his teaching, summoned Toussaint to his aid; but doubtful of his general, he escaped on board a vessel in harbour. In order to do all the mischief he could before leaving, he wrote to Rigaud, saying he was no longer to obey Toussaint, but consider himself the governor of the southern department, adding that Toussaint was sold to the English and the émigrés.
It was Hédouville who thus laid the foundation of that civil war which degenerated into a struggle of caste. The agents sent by France proved each worse than the other. Rigaud, with the true spirit of a mulatto, also wrote to Toussaint to drive out the white planters. When his teaching had incited his soldiers to murder his white countrymen, all Rigaud could say was, “Mon Dieu, qu’est que le peuple en fureur?”
On the departure of Hédouville, Toussaint invited Roume to leave Santo Domingo and come and reside at Port-au-Prince, where they met in January 1799. Roume appears to have had a profound admiration for Toussaint. We find him writing to General Kerverseau as early as February 1795, and describing the negro chief as a philosopher, a legislator, a general, and a good citizen.
Roume had a difficult part to play. He was most anxious to bring about concord among the different generals, and therefore invited Rigaud and Bauvais to meet Toussaint on the fête of the 4th of February to commemorate the memorable day when the National Convention proclaimed full liberty to the slaves. A little outward concord was obtained, but soon after, Toussaint, suspecting a plot, arrested some mulattoes. A slight disturbance among the negroes taking place at Corail, thirty were captured and died in prison, from “the effect of the gas created by white-washing the prison.” This remarkable excuse did not satisfy Toussaint, who believed the men to have been assassinated by Rigaud’s officers.
Toussaint and Roume had in the meantime left for Cap Haïtien, where they appear to have negotiated a commercial treaty with the Americans, and some arrangement was also, it is said, made with Admiral Maitland.
It was during this year that Captain Rainsford visited Cap Haïtien. As we were at war with France, our officer passed as an American, and soon after landing was met by Toussaint in the street, who came up to him to ask the news. He next saw him at a restaurant where all classes dined, and he sat down at a long table with a drummer-boy next him and the general not far off. The latter used to say that except on service he did not see the necessity of making distinctions. In the evening Captain Rainsford played billiards with Toussaint at the public tables.
Rainsford appears to have been as much struck with Toussaint as Roume. He says he was constrained to admire him as a man, a governor, and a general. He describes him as a perfect black, then about fifty-five years of age, of a venerable appearance, and possessed of uncommon discernment and great suavity of manners. He enters fully into a description of his dress. The general wore as a uniform a kind of blue spencer, with a large red cape falling over his shoulders, and red cuffs, with eight rows of lace on the arms, and a pair of huge gold epaulettes, a scarlet waistcoat, pantaloons and half-boots, a round hat with red feather and national cockade, and an extremely large sword was suspended from his side. Rainsford adds: “He receives a voluntary respect from every description of his countrymen, which is more than returned by the affability of his behaviour and the goodness of his heart.” The vessel in which Rainsford was a passenger was next driven by stress of weather into Fort Liberté. Arrested as a spy, he was condemned to death; but Toussaint would not permit the sentence to be carried out. He dismissed him with a caution not to return without passports.
There is much exaggeration in the account given by Rainsford of what he saw and heard at Cap Haïtien. He talks of 62,000 inhabitants leaving the city after the great fire, and of Toussaint reviewing his army of 60,000 men and 2000 officers. He was a better judge probably of their manœuvres. He says that the soldiers went through their exercises with a degree of expertness he had seldom before witnessed. At the signal of a whistle, a whole brigade ran three or four hundred yards, and then separating, threw themselves on the ground, keeping up a heavy fire from every kind of position. The complete subordination and discipline astonished him.
Rigaud having evidently decided to carry out General Hédouville’s instructions and defy both Toussaint and Roume, it became necessary to subdue him. Ten thousand men were collected at Port-au-Prince, whilst Rigaud concentrated his army at Miragoâne, and commenced the war by seizing Petit Goave, and there, without the slightest excuse, murdered all the white inhabitants. It is singular to contrast the conduct of the two generals: Toussaint, without the slightest prejudice of colour, and Rigaud, the mulatto, the son of a Frenchman, showing “how he hated his father and despised his mother” by murdering the whites and refusing to obey a black.
Roume published a proclamation, calling on the north and west to march against the south to restore unity of command; but before entering on the campaign, Toussaint had to return to the north to repress some movements, and on his journey back almost fell into two ambuscades, from which he was saved by the fleetness of his horse. Toussaint shot those who were concerned in these conspiracies, whether black or coloured; but the stories told by St. Remy of his ordering 180 young mulatto children to be drowned at L’Arcahaye, is so contrary to everything we know of his character, that we may set this fable down to caste hatred. That he was severe with his enemies is no doubt true.
Then began the wearisome civil war in the south by Dessalines driving back Rigaud’s army, and by the siege of Jacmel, which lasted four months. Pétion greatly distinguished himself in the defence, and conducted the evacuation. It appears unaccountable that while the main body of Toussaint’s army was thus engaged, Rigaud remained passive; it can only be explained by mean jealousy, which was his characteristic to the last year of his life. But his principal fault was jactancy, shown by his proclamation, saying, “Let the enemy appear and I’ll slay them,” which was answered by another from Toussaint offering pardon and peace.
Toussaint’s army in the south was commanded by Dessalines and Christophe, or, in other words, by two ferocious blacks, to whom pity was unknown. Dessalines soon forced the strong position near Miragoâne, and defeated Rigaud and Pétion, driving them before him towards Les Cayes. Rigaud ordered his officers to burn and destroy everything in their retreat, which naturally roused the inhabitants against these measures of defence, and they became clamorous for peace.
In the meantime the Consular Government at Paris sent out officers to Hayti, among whom was Colonel Vincent. Toussaint was confirmed in his position as General-in-Chief, but the war in the south was disapproved. Colonel Vincent was enabled to tell him of all the changes that had taken place in France, but the black chief could readily see that he was suspected by the French Government. He, however, sent Vincent and other officers to Les Cayes to offer peace. It is amusing to read the account given of Rigaud. He went to see the French officers, a blunderbuss on his shoulder, pistols in his belt, a sword on one side and a dagger on the other. On hearing that his conduct did not meet with the support of the French Government, he drew his dagger as if to stab himself, but did not do so: he preferred making a truce and embarking for France, together with his principal officers.
Toussaint entered Les Cayes on the 1st August 1800, and showed the grandeur of his character by implicitly carrying out his original proclamation. He again proclaimed union and peace, and pardoned all those who had been led into rebellion against him; and, to the astonishment of his enemies, he kept his word and behaved with great magnanimity. Even his worst opponents were then constrained to allow that, when once given, he never broke his word.
If Toussaint was clement, Dessalines was the reverse; and the mulattoes declare that he killed upwards of ten thousand of their caste, which is probably more of that colour than the southern province ever contained.
Whilst this campaign was at its height, Roume committed the indiscretion of trying to raise a revolt in Jamaica. His agents were taken and hung; and as a punishment the English captured one of Toussaint’s convoys destined for Jacmel. The General, very angry with Roume, sent for him; he refused to come, upon which Toussaint went to Cap Haïtien, and after reproaching him, insisted on his giving him an order to invade the eastern end of the island. He refused at first, but ultimately yielded to the menaces of General Moïse.
When the southern campaign was over, Toussaint began to prepare for the occupation of Santo Domingo, but finding that Roume was inclined to withdraw his permission, he arrested him and sent him back to France. Toussaint’s prestige was now so great in the island, that little resistance was made, and he occupied the city of Santo Domingo almost without a shot being fired, and established his brother Paul as governor.
The whole of the island being now under one chief, Toussaint decided to put into execution a constitution which he had already promulgated. It was certainly a model of liberality. It placed all colours equal before the law; employments might be held by black, white, or coloured; as much freedom of trade as possible; a governor to be named for five years, but on account of the eminent services of Toussaint, he was to occupy that post for life, with power to name his successor. He sent this constitution to Buonaparte for approval; but evidently it was too much or too little. Had he boldly proclaimed the independence of the island, he might have saved the country from great misfortunes.
Peace being now re-established over all the island, Toussaint began his civil administration. All accounts are unanimous in declaring that he himself governed admirably, but the instruments he had to employ were too often utterly unworthy. He organised the country into districts, and appointed inspectors to see that all returned to their work, and decreed that a fifth of the produce should be given to the labourers. Dessalines was appointed inspector-in-chief; and if a man without any sentiment of humanity was required for that post, surely Dessalines was a good choice, as he was ready to beat to death any man, woman, or child whom he chose to accuse of idleness. Toussaint, looking to difficulties ahead, continued to pay the greatest attention to his army, organised it with care, and preserved the strictest discipline. The stick appears to have been as popular in that day as it is now.
Toussaint was very friendly to the whites, and was most anxious to encourage them to aid in developing the country. This excited the jealousy of some of his generals; among others, of Moïse, his nephew, who to thwart his uncle’s projects incited a movement in the north to massacre the French. Several having fallen victims, Toussaint hastened to the spot, and finding that Moïse was the real instigator of the murders, sent him before a court-martial. He was sentenced to death, and very properly shot on the 26th November 1800. Had Toussaint connived at these crimes, he would have upset all confidence in his trusted word.
All was now progressing on the island; the government was regularly administered, the finances were getting into order, and agriculture was beginning to raise its head, when Buonaparte, having secured peace in Europe, determined to recover the Queen of the Antilles and restore slavery. The story of this attempt may be told in a few words. General Leclerc started with 30,000 men to subdue the island, and although the evident intention of the French Government was to restore slavery, the principal mulatto officers accompanied him, chief among whom were Rigaud, Pétion, and Vilatte. It is true the mulattoes had not yet frankly accepted the full freedom of the blacks.
General Leclerc did all he could to cause an armed resistance, as a peaceful solution would have given him no military glory; therefore, instead of sending Toussaint his children and the letter he bore from Buonaparte, he tried to surprise Cap Haïtien. But General Christophe, before retiring with its garrison, set fire to the town and almost destroyed it; and Toussaint sent instructions to his other generals to follow this example. Leclerc, mortified by the result of his first attempt, now thought of writing to Toussaint, and sent him his two boys. Toussaint behaved with great nobility of character, and asked naturally, “Why words of peace but acts of war?” Finding that he could not circumvent his black opponent, Leclerc published a decree in February 1802 placing both Toussaint and Christophe “hors la loi.” This was followed by the burning of the towns of St. Marc and Gonaives, and a retreat of the black troops towards the interior.
Whenever you see a fortress in Hayti, you are sure to be told that it was built by the English; among others thus known was La Crête à Pierrot. The French general Debelle, treating with contempt these negro troops, attacked this fort with an inefficient force and was beaten; then Leclerc made an assault in person, but he also was beaten, and was forced to lay siege to it. The attack and defence were conducted with singular courage, particularly the latter, considering the quality of the men, who had never before been measured with real white troops: however, after having repulsed several assaults, the garrison evacuated the forts. Pétion commanded a portion of the French artillery in this attack on his countrymen struggling for freedom. If he loved France but little, he hated Toussaint more.
Even the enemies of the great black general are full of admiration of the courage displayed by him during all this important struggle, and especially dwell on his devotion to his wounded officers. I may here remark that the French general Rochambeau distinguished himself for his cruelties, and shot every prisoner that fell into his hands; which fully justified the retaliation of the Haytians.
Discouraged by a series of reverses which followed the loss of La Crête à Pierrot, where it was amply proved that the negro soldiers, even among their mountains, were no match for the disciplined troops of France, some of the black generals, as Christophe, began to make terms with the French; and Toussaint, finding himself thus abandoned, wrote to Leclerc offering submission. As it was accepted, he went to Cap Haïtien to meet the commander-in-chief, and was received and treated with much distinction. He then returned to the village of Marmalade, and there issued orders to all his officers to cease opposition and acknowledge the French authorities, and peace was established throughout the island.
General Leclerc was but temporising with these black leaders; his secret orders were, not only to arrest Toussaint, Dessalines, and Christophe, but to re-establish slavery. He found, however, the last two so zealous in carrying out his instructions to disarm the population, that he preserved them in their commands.
Toussaint himself, having ever kept his word, could not believe that the French commander-in-chief would not keep his, and therefore, in spite of all warnings that treachery was meditated, stayed quietly on his estate at Ennery. He there received a letter from General Brunet, asking for an interview at a certain spot; Toussaint went, and was immediately arrested under circumstances of the greatest treachery. He was bound with ropes and embarked on board the French ship “Creole;” then put on board the “Héros” with all his family and sent to France. When received on board by Savary, Chef de Division, he said to him, “En me renversant on n’a abattu à Saint Domingue que le tronc de l’arbre de la liberté des noirs; il repoussera, parceque les racines en sont profondes et nombreuses.” When reading this account of the capture of Toussaint, we can scarcely credit that we are recording the acts of French officers, whose plighted word was thus broken.[5]
On Toussaint’s arrival in France he wrote to the French Chief Consul; but he might as well have written to Dessalines as expect either mercy or justice from the despot who then ruled France. He was separated from his family and hurried off to the Château de Joux in the Alps, where his rival Rigaud was already confined. Here he died from cold and neglect, under circumstances which raised the suspicion that the close of this illustrious life was hastened by unfair means. It is some satisfaction to think that his executioner died also a prisoner in exile, though surrounded by every comfort that the generous English Government could afford him.
We have all heard or read something of Toussaint L’Ouverture, and been taught to think well of him: I was therefore the more surprised, on my arrival at Port-au-Prince, to hear his memory so depreciated. I do not remember any Haytian having voluntarily spoken of him, though they never wearied of talking of Dessalines, Christophe, and Rigaud. I at first thought that Toussaint never having unnecessarily shed white blood, whilst the others may be said to have rejoiced at the sight of it, was one of the chief causes; but the real reason why the historians and biographers of Hayti would lower Toussaint’s memory is the energy with which he acted against the rebellious mulattoes, and his firm determination that all colours should be equally respected by the law, and that all should have equal rights.
It is impossible not to be struck with almost the unanimous opinion favourable to Toussaint which has been recorded by all parties, even by his enemies. The Marquis d’Hermonas says that “God in this terrestrial globe could not commune with a purer spirit;” the French general Pamphile Lacroix records that “Nul n’osait l’aborder sans crainte, et nul ne le quittait sans respect.” We have seen the opinion of Roume and Rainsford, that Toussaint was “a philosopher, a legislator, a general, and a good citizen,” and that the latter was compelled to admire him as “a man, a governor, and a general.”
He was personally brave, and being a splendid rider, loving from his earliest childhood to be on horseback, he never appeared fatigued even after the greatest exertions. As a general he is thought to have shown much skill; and, what proves his sense, but does not add to his popularity among Haytians, he did not believe that his men were fitted to cope with the trained bands of France. He constantly said that they must trust to climate and yellow fever as their best allies. As an administrator he had much capacity, and his influence being unbounded, he would probably have restored its old prosperity to Hayti, had not Leclerc’s expedition arrived to throw the whole island into confusion.
Toussaint’s personal qualities appear to have been equal to his public: his word was sacred, he was humane on most occasions, yet with a firmness and decision which astonished his enemies. In his family relations he showed the most tender affection for wife and children; his fine nature was apparent on all occasions in his solicitude for his wounded officers and soldiers, and the thoughtful care of the prisoners that fell into his hands. His affectionate treatment of animals was also greatly noticed, and whenever he came upon fugitive women and children of any colour, his first thought was for their comfort.
Our Consul-General Mackenzie (1827) often talked to the black officers of Toussaint; they described him as stern and unbending, but just, and intimately acquainted with the habits of the people and the best interests of his country.
The one mistake of his life appears to have been his refusal, when urged to do so by England, to declare the independence of Hayti. Had he accepted the English proposals and entered into a treaty with us and with the Americans, it is not likely that Buonaparte would have ever attempted an expedition against him, and the history of Hayti might have been happier.
There is one fact which strikes the reader of the histories of these times, and that is, the soldiers are described as veritable sans-culottes, without pay and without proper uniforms, and yet all the chiefs, as Toussaint, Dessalines, and Christophe, were living in splendid houses in the greatest luxury. Toussaint is recorded to have lent the French Treasury 600,000 livres, an enormous sum for a slave to possess after a few years of freedom. Gragnon-Lacoste, who published a Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture in 1877, founded on family papers, says that this general had a marble house in Cap Haïtien, elegantly furnished, and that he kept up the same style in all his plantations. His descendants in late years claimed about the fourth of Hayti as the estates of the black general.[6]
Toussaint was also a fervent Roman Catholic, and was greatly attached to the priesthood; he did all he could to repress the Vaudoux, and he published a strong proclamation forbidding all fetish rites.[7]
The treachery of Leclerc towards Toussaint had its reward; it could not but excite suspicion among the black leaders, as the previous deportation of Rigaud had done among the mulattoes. And now the most fearful epidemic of yellow fever fell upon the French army, and almost annihilated it. Forty thousand are reported to have been lost during the years 1802 and 1803: among the victims were Leclerc and twenty other French generals. The Haytians saw their opportunity, and Dessalines, Christophe, and Pétion abandoned the invaders, and roused their countrymen to expel the weak remnants of the French army. War had now been declared between France and England, and our fleets were soon off the coasts. The French were driven from every point, and forced to concentrate in Cap Haïtien. Rochambeau, who had succeeded Leclerc, did all that man could do to save his army; but besieged by the blacks to the number of 30,000, and blockaded by our fleet, pinched by hunger, and seeing no hopes of reinforcements, he surrendered to the English and embarked for Europe.
Thus ended one of the most disastrous expeditions ever undertaken by France, and ended as it deserved to end. Its history was sullied by every species of treachery, cruelty, and crime; but we cannot but admire the splendid bravery of the troops under every discouragement, in a tropical climate, where the heat is so great that the European is unfitted for continued exertion, but where yellow fever and death follow constant exposure.