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a CREOLE article
Cultures
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Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, May 25, 1999
Events in France touched off uprisings in Caribbean
by Jim Bradshaw
The French Revolution of 1789 not only propelled Europe into a war, but it also touched off slave uprisings in the Caribbean. On Saint-Domingue, les gens de coleur began the chain of rebellion when French planters would not grant them full citizenship as decreed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
A bloody, 13-year revolution followed. It was a complex web of wars between slaves, whites, and free people of color, and it involved France, Spain, and Great Britain.
Violent conflicts between white colonists and black slaves were not uncommon in Saint-Domingue. From early times, bands of runaway slaves known as maroons entrenched themselves in the island's mountains and forests and regularly harried white plantation owners. As the number of slaves on the island increased, so did the number of runaways, and these guerilla bands sometimes numbered in the thousands. But these attacks were mostly unorganized forays without central organization and leadership.
The most famous of the early maroon leaders was Francois Macandal, whose six-year rebellion beginning in 1751 left some 6,000 people dead. Macandal was reputedly a voodoo sorcerer and drew from African traditions an religions to motivate his followers. The French burned him at the stake in 1758.
The attacks by the maroons were the first revolts against French rule and the slaveholding system in the Caribbean, but the maroons were no able to put together a continuing, broadbased insurrection. Although they were bothered by the regular attacks, colonial authorities were able to repel them reasonably easily, often with the help of les gens de couleur, who hoped that their cooperation would bring them equal footing with the white colonists.
When the French Revolution began, the National Assembly in Paris ordered the Colonial Assembly in Saint-Domingue to give the vote to gens de couleur who owned land and paid taxes.
The Colonial Assembly refused and open rebellion erupted. The 1790 revolt was led by Vincent Oge. As with early outbreaks, this uprising was put down by the white militia and by corps of black "volunteers."
The slave rebellion that finally toppled the French government in Saint-Domingue began in August of 1791. According to accounts that have been recorded through the years, Francois-Domingue Toussaint Louverture helped to plot the the uprising, but was not one of its first leaders. Among the first leaders were Boukman, a maroon who was a voodoo priest; Georges Biassou, who later make Tousssaint his aid; Jean-Fracois, who subsequently commanded forces, along with Biassou and Toussaint, under the Spanish flag; and Jeannot, who was said to be the bloodthirstiness of them all.
These leaders sealed their pact with a voodoo ceremony conducted by Boukaman in early August 1791. The uprising began a little more than a week after the ceremony, on August 22. According to contemporary accounts, bands of slaves in the northern part of the island slaughtered every white person they found. Tales of the rebellion describe widespread burning of property, fields, factories, and anything else that belonged to slaveholders. It is said that the inferno burned almost continuously for months.
When news of the slave uprising reached Cap Francais in the south, reprisals against non-whites were swift and equally brutal. The white colonists at Cap Francais were outnumbered, but they were well armed and fought from fortified positions. The first uprising of what would become a continuing rebellion left an estimated 10,000 blacks and 2,000 whites dead. More than 1,000 plantations were sacked.
Even though the rebels failed to overrun Cap Francais, mulatto forces under such capable leaders as Andre Rigaud and Alexandre Peton continued to clash with white militiamen. Loyalties and sympathies stirred by the events of the French Revolution muddled things even more. When the National Assembly in Paris finally gave equal rights to the gens de couleur whites in Saint-Domingue (who had little use for the king until then) suddenly became ardent royalists. Throughout the colony, black slaves rebelled against white colonists, mulattos battled black people who were forced to fight for the white cause, black royalists fought both whites and mulattos who did not support the king, and republicans of every color fought royalists of every color.
Given this political turmoil, it was only a matter of time before Spain and Great Britain, who were enemies of France, decided to take advantage of the situation. Some historians believe that the two countries had an informal arrangement to divide the French Colony between them. It certainly was an opportunity for the countries to strike a blow against France. British forces besieged Port-au-Prince and took it in June 1794. The Spanish launched a two pronged offensive and occupied most of the northern part of Saint-Domingue.
But the black leader in Saint-Domingue were not fighting to trade one master for another. They wanted independence, not simply to give up French rule to be governed by Spain or Great Britain. And, in 1794, commanders such as Rigaurd, buoyed by French republican promises of freedom for the West Indian slaves, actively fought against the British and Spanish. Other leaders, particularly Jean-Francois and Biassou, thought that allegiance to a king would be more acceptable than allegiance to the New French Republic, and accepted commissions from Spain. Toussaint, who began commanding his own force in February 1793, also took up a Spanish banner for a while, but changes his mind May 1794.
After sending his family to safety, Toussaint pledged his support to France because it appeared that it was the only country that intended to do away with slavery in the islands. The National Assembly voted on Feb. 4, 1794, to do away with slavery, while the Spanish showed no sign of keeping their promise of emancipation, and the British had reinstated slavery in the areas they occupied.
In March 1796, Toussaint rescued the French commander, Gen. Etienne-Maynard Laveaux, from a mulatto-led effort to depose him as the leader of the French government in Saint-Domingue. In gratitude, Laveaux appointed lieutenant governor of Saint-Domingue. Toussaint accepted the position of power, even though he believed that Saint-Domingue needed leadership in the hands of black men such as himself. But now, working from a position within the government, he began to consolidate his political and military power, and to undercut the French administration.
In 1797, Toussaint was made commander in chief of the island. He tried to ally himself with Rigaud, but Toussaint's predominantly black army clashed with Rigaud's, mulatto forces. As commander in chief, Toussaint wrote to John Adams, president of the fledgling United States, and promised that if the Americans helped his cause he would make certain that France could never use Saint-Domingue as a base for operations in North America (where there was agitation for Spain to return the vast Louisiana territory to French control). Adams sent enough arms and ships that Toussaint's black forces outfought Rigaud's army in what has come to be called "The War of the Castes." Rigaud fled the colony in late 1800.
Following the defeat of Spanish and British forces, Toussaint began moving toward independence form France. With Toussaint as its governor for life, Saint-Domingue was still technically a French colony, but was acting as an independent nation. Napoleon Bonaparte, who had come to power in France, resented the temerity of a former slave who planned to govern a French colony without acknowledging Bonaparte as overlord. Moreover, Bonaparte as overlord. Moreover, Bonaparte regarded Saint-Domingue as one of the keys to a French empire in North America.
In 1802, Bonaparte sought to restore slavery to the West Indies through political guile and military force. In January, he sent his brother-in-law, Gen. Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc, and between 16,000 and 20,000 men to Saint-Domingue. With the help of the white colonists and mulatto forces, the French wore down Toussaint's army. Toussaint surrendered to Leclerc on May 5, 1802. The French assured Toussaint that would be allowed to retire quietly, but a month later they seized him and sent him to France. He died of neglect in prison on April 7, 1803.
The betrayal of Toussaint and Bonaparte's restoration of slavery in nearby Martinque brought new fighting in Saint-Domingue as the rebellion continued under the leadership of Jean Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe. As the battle continued, yellow fever began to take its toll amount the French troops, claiming Leclerc as one of its victims. Then, in 1803, France was back at war with Britain, and Bonaparte had to concentrate his forces and his energies in Europe. In April 1803, he signed the Louisiana Purchase agreement, which ended French ambition in the Western Hemisphere.
On Jan. 1, 1804, Dessalines proclaimed himself ruler of a new nation, which was called Haiti, which was a native Indian word meaning "a higher place."
The French Revolution of 1789 not only propelled Europe into a war, but it also touched off slave uprisings in the Caribbean. On Saint-Domingue, les gens de coleur began the chain of rebellion when French planters would not grant them full citizenship as decreed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
A bloody, 13-year revolution followed. It was a complex web of wars between slaves, whites, and free people of color, and it involved France, Spain, and Great Britain.
Violent conflicts between white colonists and black slaves were not uncommon in Saint-Domingue. From early times, bands of runaway slaves known as maroons entrenched themselves in the island's mountains and forests and regularly harried white plantation owners. As the number of slaves on the island increased, so did the number of runaways, and these guerilla bands sometimes numbered in the thousands. But these attacks were mostly unorganized forays without central organization and leadership.
The most famous of the early maroon leaders was Francois Macandal, whose six-year rebellion beginning in 1751 left some 6,000 people dead. Macandal was reputedly a voodoo sorcerer and drew from African traditions an religions to motivate his followers. The French burned him at the stake in 1758.
The attacks by the maroons were the first revolts against French rule and the slaveholding system in the Caribbean, but the maroons were no able to put together a continuing, broadbased insurrection. Although they were bothered by the regular attacks, colonial authorities were able to repel them reasonably easily, often with the help of les gens de couleur, who hoped that their cooperation would bring them equal footing with the white colonists.
When the French Revolution began, the National Assembly in Paris ordered the Colonial Assembly in Saint-Domingue to give the vote to gens de couleur who owned land and paid taxes.
The Colonial Assembly refused and open rebellion erupted. The 1790 revolt was led by Vincent Oge. As with early outbreaks, this uprising was put down by the white militia and by corps of black "volunteers."
The slave rebellion that finally toppled the French government in Saint-Domingue began in August of 1791. According to accounts that have been recorded through the years, Francois-Domingue Toussaint Louverture helped to plot the the uprising, but was not one of its first leaders. Among the first leaders were Boukman, a maroon who was a voodoo priest; Georges Biassou, who later make Tousssaint his aid; Jean-Fracois, who subsequently commanded forces, along with Biassou and Toussaint, under the Spanish flag; and Jeannot, who was said to be the bloodthirstiness of them all.
These leaders sealed their pact with a voodoo ceremony conducted by Boukaman in early August 1791. The uprising began a little more than a week after the ceremony, on August 22. According to contemporary accounts, bands of slaves in the northern part of the island slaughtered every white person they found. Tales of the rebellion describe widespread burning of property, fields, factories, and anything else that belonged to slaveholders. It is said that the inferno burned almost continuously for months.
When news of the slave uprising reached Cap Francais in the south, reprisals against non-whites were swift and equally brutal. The white colonists at Cap Francais were outnumbered, but they were well armed and fought from fortified positions. The first uprising of what would become a continuing rebellion left an estimated 10,000 blacks and 2,000 whites dead. More than 1,000 plantations were sacked.
Even though the rebels failed to overrun Cap Francais, mulatto forces under such capable leaders as Andre Rigaud and Alexandre Peton continued to clash with white militiamen. Loyalties and sympathies stirred by the events of the French Revolution muddled things even more. When the National Assembly in Paris finally gave equal rights to the gens de couleur whites in Saint-Domingue (who had little use for the king until then) suddenly became ardent royalists. Throughout the colony, black slaves rebelled against white colonists, mulattos battled black people who were forced to fight for the white cause, black royalists fought both whites and mulattos who did not support the king, and republicans of every color fought royalists of every color.
Given this political turmoil, it was only a matter of time before Spain and Great Britain, who were enemies of France, decided to take advantage of the situation. Some historians believe that the two countries had an informal arrangement to divide the French Colony between them. It certainly was an opportunity for the countries to strike a blow against France. British forces besieged Port-au-Prince and took it in June 1794. The Spanish launched a two pronged offensive and occupied most of the northern part of Saint-Domingue.
But the black leader in Saint-Domingue were not fighting to trade one master for another. They wanted independence, not simply to give up French rule to be governed by Spain or Great Britain. And, in 1794, commanders such as Rigaurd, buoyed by French republican promises of freedom for the West Indian slaves, actively fought against the British and Spanish. Other leaders, particularly Jean-Francois and Biassou, thought that allegiance to a king would be more acceptable than allegiance to the New French Republic, and accepted commissions from Spain. Toussaint, who began commanding his own force in February 1793, also took up a Spanish banner for a while, but changes his mind May 1794.
After sending his family to safety, Toussaint pledged his support to France because it appeared that it was the only country that intended to do away with slavery in the islands. The National Assembly voted on Feb. 4, 1794, to do away with slavery, while the Spanish showed no sign of keeping their promise of emancipation, and the British had reinstated slavery in the areas they occupied.
In March 1796, Toussaint rescued the French commander, Gen. Etienne-Maynard Laveaux, from a mulatto-led effort to depose him as the leader of the French government in Saint-Domingue. In gratitude, Laveaux appointed lieutenant governor of Saint-Domingue. Toussaint accepted the position of power, even though he believed that Saint-Domingue needed leadership in the hands of black men such as himself. But now, working from a position within the government, he began to consolidate his political and military power, and to undercut the French administration.
In 1797, Toussaint was made commander in chief of the island. He tried to ally himself with Rigaud, but Toussaint's predominantly black army clashed with Rigaud's, mulatto forces. As commander in chief, Toussaint wrote to John Adams, president of the fledgling United States, and promised that if the Americans helped his cause he would make certain that France could never use Saint-Domingue as a base for operations in North America (where there was agitation for Spain to return the vast Louisiana territory to French control). Adams sent enough arms and ships that Toussaint's black forces outfought Rigaud's army in what has come to be called "The War of the Castes." Rigaud fled the colony in late 1800.
Following the defeat of Spanish and British forces, Toussaint began moving toward independence form France. With Toussaint as its governor for life, Saint-Domingue was still technically a French colony, but was acting as an independent nation. Napoleon Bonaparte, who had come to power in France, resented the temerity of a former slave who planned to govern a French colony without acknowledging Bonaparte as overlord. Moreover, Bonaparte as overlord. Moreover, Bonaparte regarded Saint-Domingue as one of the keys to a French empire in North America.
In 1802, Bonaparte sought to restore slavery to the West Indies through political guile and military force. In January, he sent his brother-in-law, Gen. Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc, and between 16,000 and 20,000 men to Saint-Domingue. With the help of the white colonists and mulatto forces, the French wore down Toussaint's army. Toussaint surrendered to Leclerc on May 5, 1802. The French assured Toussaint that would be allowed to retire quietly, but a month later they seized him and sent him to France. He died of neglect in prison on April 7, 1803.
The betrayal of Toussaint and Bonaparte's restoration of slavery in nearby Martinque brought new fighting in Saint-Domingue as the rebellion continued under the leadership of Jean Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe. As the battle continued, yellow fever began to take its toll amount the French troops, claiming Leclerc as one of its victims. Then, in 1803, France was back at war with Britain, and Bonaparte had to concentrate his forces and his energies in Europe. In April 1803, he signed the Louisiana Purchase agreement, which ended French ambition in the Western Hemisphere.
On Jan. 1, 1804, Dessalines proclaimed himself ruler of a new nation, which was called Haiti, which was a native Indian word meaning "a higher place."