The Rising Son; or, the Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race

by William Wells Brown

The prospect of freedom was put down for the time, but the blood of Oge and his companions bubbled silently in the hearts of the African race; they swore to avenge them.

The announcement of the death of Oge in the halls of the Assembly at Paris, created considerable excitement, and became the topic of conversation in the clubs and on the boulevards. Gregoire defended the course of the colored men and said: “If liberty was right in France, it was right in St. Domingo.” He well knew that the crime for which Oge had suffered in the West Indies, had constituted the glory of Mirabeau and Lafayette at Paris, and Washington and Hancock in the United States. The planters in the Island trembled at their own oppressive acts, and terror urged them on to greater violence. The blood of Oge and his accomplices had sown everywhere despair and conspiracy. The French sent an army to St. Domingo to enforce the law.

The planters repelled with force the troops sent out by France, denying its prerogatives, and refusing the civic oath. In the midst of these thickening troubles, the planters who resided in France were invited to return, and to assist in vindicating the civil independence of the Island. Then was it that the mulattoes earnestly appealed to the slaves, and the result was appalling. The slaves awoke as from an ominous dream, and demanded their rights with sword in hand. Gaining immediate success, and finding that their liberty would not be granted by the planters, they rapidly increased in numbers; and in less than a week from its commencement, the storm had swept over the whole plain of the north, from east to west, and from the mountains to the sea. The splendid villas and rich factories yielded to the furies of the devouring flames; so that the mountains, covered with smoke and burning cinders, borne upward by the wind looked like volcanoes; and the atmosphere as if on fire, resembled a furnace.

Such were the outraged feelings of a people whose ancestors had been ruthlessly torn from their native land and sold in the shambles of St. Domingo. To terrify the blacks and convince them that they could never be free, the planters were murdering them on every hand by thousands.

The struggle in St. Domingo was watched with intense interest by the friends of the blacks, both in Paris and in London, and all appeared to look with hope to the rising up of a black chief, who should prove himself adequate to the emergency. Nor did they look in vain. In the midst of the disorder that threatened on all sides, the negro chief made his appearance in the person of a slave named Toussaint. This man was the grandson of the King of Ardra, one of the most powerful and wealthy monarchs on the west coast of Africa. By his own energy and perseverance, Toussaint had learned to read and write, and was held in high consideration by the surrounding planters, as well as their slaves.

In personal appearance he was of middle stature, strongly-marked African features, well-developed forehead, rather straight and neat figure, sharp and bright eye, with an earnestness in conversation that seemed to charm the listener. His dignified, calm, and unaffected demeanor would cause him to be selected in any company of men as one who was born for a leader.

His private virtues were many, and he had a deep and pervading sense of religion; and in the camp carried it even as far as Oliver Cromwell. Toussaint was born on the Island, and was fifty years of age when called into the field. One of his chief characteristics was his humanity.

Before taking any part in the revolution, he aided his master’s family to escape from the impending danger. After seeing them beyond the reach of the revolutionary movement, he entered the army as an inferior officer, but was soon made aid-de-camp to General Bissou. Disorder and bloodshed reigned through the Island, and every day brought fresh intelligence of depredations committed by whites, mulattoes, and blacks.

Hitherto, the blacks had been guided by Jean-François, Bissou, and Jeannot. The first of these was a slave, a young Creole of good exterior; he had long before the revolution obtained his liberty. At the commencement of the difficulties, he fled to the mountains and joined the Maroons, a large clan of fugitive slaves then wandering about in the woods and mountains, that furnished this class a secure retreat. This man was mild, vain, good-tempered, and fond of luxury.