First revolt of the slaves in 1791.—Their ravages.—Decree of the
national assembly 4th of April 1792.—Santhonax and Polverel.—Their
secret agency.—Encourage the slaves.—Their declaration of freedom
to the slaves.—Consequences arising from it.—Character of the
slaves.—Disabilities of the coloured people.
IN the preceding chapter I have sought to discover if the first cause
of the revolt of the slaves in Hayti proceeded from any hatred towards
their proprietors, or if it were excited by the intrigues of the
contending parties, who were each attempting to gain over that class in
favour of their cause; and I find that the result of my investigation
of the subject is in favour of the latter supposition. From facts that
appear to me undeniable I have come to the conclusion, that unless
the national assembly of France had made an attempt to destroy that
principle of governing the colony which had previously been adopted,
and which before the Revolution had been sanctioned by every person
connected with it, the slave population would have remained until this
day peaceable and tranquil observers of passing events, unmindful of
their being in bondage, because under that bondage they had no wants,
and in that state, whatever may be the opinion of mankind, they had no
care beyond that of their daily labour, to which they felt it was no
hardship to submit; for there does not appear an instance in which it
exceeded the ordinary work of any labourer within the tropics.
The revolt of the slaves, therefore, I take leave to say, did not
proceed from any severity or great oppression on the part of their
proprietors, but from the proceedings of the parties who at different
periods were striving for a preponderating power in the colony:—of the
whites who aimed at the preservation of their privileges, and resisted
all innovation; and of the people of colour, who made every possible
effort to be admitted into the same sphere, and to the enjoyment of
those rights which Gregoire and his revolutionary colleagues were
willing to concede to them. To these causes, and to these alone, as it
will appear to every unbiassed reader, are to be attributed all those
lamentable scenes which subsequently ensued, and to which the human
mind cannot turn its attention without experiencing those painful
sensations which are excited by the ravages of civil warfare and
rebellion.
The first act of open rebellion among the slaves appears to have
occurred in the vicinity of the Cape on or about the 23d of August
1791, on the plantation Noé, situated in the parish of Acul. The
principal ringleaders murdered the white inhabitants, whilst the other
slaves finished the work of devastation, by demolishing the works and
setting fire to the dwellings, huts, and other places contiguous to
them.
They were joined by the negroes from other estates in the
neighbourhood, upon all of which similar tragedies were performed, and
desolation seemed likely to spread through the whole plains of the
north. The barbarity which marked their progress exceeded description;
an indiscriminate slaughter of the whites ensued, except in instances
where some of the females were reserved for a more wretched doom, being
made to submit to the brutal lusts of the most sanguinary wretches
that ever disgraced humanity. Cases are upon record, where the most
amiable of the female sex were first brought forth to see their parents
inhumanly butchered, and were afterwards compelled to submit to the
embraces of the very villain who acted as their executioner. The
distinction of age had no effect on these ruthless savages, for even
girls of twelve and fourteen years were made the objects of satiating
their lust and revenge. Nothing could exceed the consternation of the
white people; and the lamentations of the unhappy women struck every
one with horror. Such a scene of massacre has scarcely been heard of,
as that which accompanied the commencement of the rebellion in the
north.
Some opposition was made to their progress by a few militia and troops
of the line, which M. De Tonzard collected for the purpose; not
indeed, with the expectation of effectually dispersing them, but of
enabling the inhabitants of the city of Cape François to put themselves
in such a state of defence as might save them from that destruction
which seemed to await them. The citizens flew to arms, and the national
guards, with the seamen from the ships, were mustered, and ready to
receive the rebels should they make an attempt upon the city.
There was in the city at the time, a large body of free mulattoes,
on whom the lower order of whites looked with a suspicious eye, as
being in some way the authors or fomenters of the revolt; these
were also enrolled in the militia, the governor and the colonial
assembly confiding in them, and relying on their fidelity. The report
of the revolt was soon known throughout the whole colony, but more
particularly in the northern districts, the white inhabitants of
which, being speedily collected together, established two strong
posts at Grand Rivière and at Dondon, for the purpose of checking
the advance of the revolters, until such time as a force could be
concentrated, sufficiently powerful to disperse them: but in this they
were disappointed, for the negroes had increased their own numbers
by the revolt of the slaves on many other estates, and they had also
been joined by a large body of mulattoes. With this united force,
they successfully attacked the two positions which were occupied by
the whites, who were completely routed. Success put the rebels in
possession of the extensive plain with all its surrounding mountains,
abounding with every production of which they stood in need for their
sustenance.
The defeat of the whites was followed by a scene of cruelties and
butcheries which exceeds imagination; almost every individual who fell
into the hands of the revolters met with a wretched end, tortures of
the most shocking description being resorted to by these blood-thirsty
savages: blacks and mulattoes seemed eager to rival each other in the
extent of their enormities.
The union of the mulattoes with the revolted slaves, was not an event
unlocked for; as I have before remarked, they were strongly suspected
of being the instigators of the rebellion. This junction caused
serious apprehensions, that those mulattoes who had joined the whites
in the city, and had marched for the purpose of cooperating with the
inhabitants of the plains, would desert their posts and go over to the
revolters; and it is probable that such an event might have ensued, had
not the governor, before he permitted them to be enrolled, and before
he could implicitly confide in them, demanded from them their wives and
children, as hostages for their adherence to the cause which they had
engaged to support.
In this northern insurrection, the destruction of the white
inhabitants, it is said, was considerable, exceeding, of all ages,
two thousand; besides the demolition of the buildings of a great many
plantations, and the total ruin of many families, who from a condition
of ease and affluence were reduced to the lowest state of misery and
despair, being driven to the melancholy necessity of supplicating
charity, to relieve the heart-rending calls of their hungry and naked
offspring. The loss of the insurgents was however infinitely greater;
being ignorant of the effects of cannon they were consequently cut
down in masses, while the sword was also effectually used. It appears
that upwards of 10,000 of these sanguinary wretches fell in the field,
besides a very large number who perished by famine, and by the hands of
the executioner; a very just retribution for their savage and inhuman
proceedings. There is every reason to believe that the loss sustained
by them in all their engagements must have been immense, as they seemed
to have imbibed a most extraordinary idea of the effect of artillery:
it is said of them by a writer of repute, that “The blacks suffered
greatly in the beginning of the revolution by their ignorance of the
dreadful effects of the guns, and by a superstitious belief, very
generally prevailing at that time, that by a few mysterious words, they
could prevent the cannon doing them any harm, which belief induced them
to face the most imminent dangers.”
Whilst these ravages were going on in the north, the western
district was menaced by a body of men of colour, who had collected
at Mirebalais, sanguinely expecting to be joined by a large party of
slaves from the surrounding parishes. Their aim was the possession of
Port au Prince and the whole plain of Cul de Sac; but being joined by
only about six or seven hundred of the slaves of the neighbourhood,
they did not succeed in their object; and after having set fire to the
coffee plantations in the mountains, and done some injury amongst the
estates in the valley, they began to deliberate on their condition, and
to devise some plan, by which they might be able to rescue themselves
from the dilemma into which they were thrown by their own rash and
improvident proceedings. Some of the most powerful of the mulattoes,
who found it impossible to gain the negroes over to their cause, deemed
it advisable to propose an adjustment of their disputes, and attempt
to bring about a reconciliation with the whites. One of the planters,
a man of some power and address, and having been always very highly
esteemed by the people of colour, as well as the negroes through the
whole of the Cul de Sac, interposed, and a treaty was concluded on the
11th of September, between the people of colour on the one part, and
the white inhabitants of Port au Prince on the other.
This treaty was called the _Concordat_: it had for its basis the
oblivion of past differences and the full recognition of the decree of
the national assembly of the 15th of May. The treaty was subsequently
ratified by the general assembly of the colony, and a proclamation
was issued, in which it was held out that further concessions were
contemplated for the purpose of cementing a good understanding between
both classes, and these concessions, it was supposed, alluded to the
admission of those persons of colour to the privileges of the whole who
were born of enslaved parents. Mulattoes also were voted to be eligible
to hold commissions in the companies formed of persons of their own
colour, and some other privileges of minor consideration conceded to
them. This, it was hoped, would restore order, and enable the people
once more to enjoy peace and repose. But a circumstance occurred
which blasted these hopes, and the flame, which appears only to have
been partially subdued, was rekindled, and burst forth again with an
astonishing rapidity, devouring all within its overwhelming reach.
Immediately after the ratification of the _Concordat_ by the colonial
assembly had been announced, and when it was admitted by all parties
that its several provisions, amongst them the decree of the 15th of
May, were judicious and highly commendable, tending to preserve order
and tranquillity through the island, intelligence was received of the
repeal of that very decree by the national assembly in France, and of
its having been voted by a very large majority. This was followed too
by an intimation that the national assembly had determined on sending
out commissioners to enforce the decree of the 24th of September
1791, which annulled the decree of the 15th of May, and to endeavour
to restore order and subordination. Such unaccountable, and, as they
may be justly characterized, deceptive proceedings on the part of the
national assembly excited the indignation of the people of colour, who
immediately accused the whites of being privy to these transactions,
and declared that all further amity and good understanding must be
broken off, and that either one party or the other must be annihilated.
All the coloured people in the western and southern parts flew eagerly
to the standard of revolt, and having collected a strong force, they
appeared in a few days before Port au Prince, on which they made an
attempt, but as that city had been strengthened by an additional force
from France, it was enabled to receive the attack of the insurgents,
and ultimately to repel them with no inconsiderable loss. The city
however sustained considerable injury, and the revolters were
successful in several attempts to set fire to it, by which a very large
part of it was burnt down, or otherwise injured.
In the plains of the Cul de Sac the negroes joined the mulattoes,
allured by the charm of plunder and the pledge of freedom, and the
expectation of satiating their lust on the defenceless and unoffending
white females who should fall into their hands. In these plains some
sanguinary battles were fought, remarkable however for nothing except
the unrelenting cruelties with which the prisoners of the respective
combatants were visited, and the barbarous and inhuman executions which
followed them.
In these engagements it is recorded that the whites had the advantage,
but they were unable to follow up their success, being destitute of a
force of cavalry for the pursuit, a circumstance which made it quite
impossible for them to improve on any decisive movement which they had
effected. It appears, that in every skirmish or engagement the whites
were in all cases most forward and bold in their attacks, and few only
were the instances in which the contest was commenced by the mulattoes;
whenever they were brought in contact with their opponents they
exhibited no individual or collective displays of courage and heroism,
but, on the contrary, there seemed a tincture of cowardice in all their
proceedings, for they arranged the negroes in front of their position,
and in all cases of advance these deluded creatures bore the first
attack of their adversaries, whilst their coloured allies, leaders,
and deluders, often remained inactive during the moment of trial and
slaughter.
In December the commissioners Mirbeck, Roosne, and St. Leger arrived.
Their reception was respectful, and there was a peculiar degree of
submission shewn to them; but when they proclaimed a general amnesty
and pardon to all who should submit and desist from further acts of
insubordination, and subscribe the articles of the new constitution,
a general murmur was excited, and marks of disapprobation were
shewn towards them, not only by the colonial assembly, but by every
individual of the contending parties. They remained in the island
but a short time; and as an opinion prevailed that they were the
mere instruments or organ of the national assembly, they obtained no
attention or respect. Without any display of talent, they aspired to
the government of a people, who were not to be commanded without being
first taught that their commission was of a pacific tendency, and
that their instructions were to appease, and not to excite. Instead
of this, they declined to give any explanation of the object of their
appointment beyond that which had been previously known, the enforcing
of the decree of the 24th of September 1791. Finding all their efforts
unavailing, and that they were unsupported by either party, finding
that their authority was disputed and their representations despised,
and, above all, left without any troops by which they might attempt to
enforce obedience to their power, and submission to the decrees of the
mother-country, they took their departure from the island by separate
conveyances, after having made many most ineffectual attempts to obtain
the confidence and the good opinion of the people over whom they were
sent to preside, and from whom they were sent to exact an accordance
with such measures as the national assembly might think it expedient to
adopt.
About this time, also, there were some changes in France which
indicated further arrangements with respect to the administration
of the colonies, which could only tend to widen the breach, and
inflame the parties to that degree of violence which would preclude
the expectation of any amicable adjustment at a future period. The
society of Amis des Noirs had now gained a considerable influence in
the national assembly, and there seemed to exist an union of feeling
in favour of the mulattoes, and also of the slave population, whom it
was designed at no distant period to emancipate, however unprepared
they might be, by moral improvement, to receive such a boon. It
was suggested that instructions should be sent out to the colonial
assemblies, conveying to them such intentions, as well as their opinion
of the means by which “slavery might be abolished in toto”, without in
the least affecting the interest of the people, or in any way putting
their property in jeopardy. This design, however, of the anti-slavery
party in France met with some momentary opposition, although the
advocates of the measure uttered loud invectives against the planters
in general; but whatever influence the former might have collected and
brought against the latter, it is very clear it failed in its desired
aim, for in less than two months this assembly passed another decree,
which abrogated that of the 24th of September. This decree is of the
4th of April 1792, and it is the first step towards an emancipation
of slavery, although it does not declare such an intention. It is
important, and I shall therefore insert it from a translation in
another work, to the writer of which I am much indebted.
“The national assembly acknowledges and declares, that the people of
colour and free negroes in the colonies ought to enjoy an equality of
political rights with the whites; in consequence of which it decrees as
follows:—
“Article 1st. Immediately after the publication of the present decree,
the inhabitants of each of the French colonies in the windward and
leeward islands shall proceed to the re-election of colonial and
parochial assemblies, after the mode prescribed by the decree of the
8th of March 1790, and the instructions of the national assembly of the
28th of the same month.
“2d. The people of colour and free negroes shall be admitted to vote
in all the primary and electoral assemblies, and shall be eligible
to the legislature and all places of trust, provided they possess
the qualifications prescribed by the fourth article of the aforesaid
instructions.
“3d. Three civil commissioners shall be named for the colony of St.
Domingo, and four for the islands of Martinique, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia,
and Tobago, to see this decree enforced.
“4th. The said commissioners shall be authorized to dissolve the
present colonial assemblies; to take every measure necessary for
accelerating the convocation of the primary and electoral assemblies,
and therein to establish union, order, and peace, as well as to
determine provisionally (reserving the power of appeal to the national
assembly) upon every question which may arise concerning the regularity
of convocations, the holding of assemblies, the form of elections, and
the eligibility of citizens.
“5th. They are authorized to procure every information possible, in
order to discover the authors of the troubles in St. Domingo, and the
continuance thereof, if they still continue; to secure the persons of
the guilty, and to send them over to France, there to be put in a state
of accusation, &c.
“6th. The said civil commissioners shall be directed, for this purpose,
to transmit to the national assembly minutes of their proceedings, and
of the evidence they may have collected concerning the persons accused
as aforesaid.
“7th. The national assembly authorizes the civil commissioners to call
forth the public force whenever they may think it necessary, either
for their own protection, or for the execution of such orders as they
may issue by virtue of the preceding articles.
“8th. The executive power is directed to send a sufficient force to the
colonies, to be composed chiefly of national guards.
“9th. The colonial assemblies immediately after their formation shall
signify, in the name of each colony respectively, their sentiments
respecting that constitution, those laws, and the administration of
them, which will best promote the prosperity and happiness of the
people, conforming themselves nevertheless to those general principles
by which the colonies and the mother-country are connected together,
and by which their respective interests are best secured, agreeably to
the decree of the 8th of March 1790 and instructions of the 28th of the
same month.
“10th. The colonial assemblies are authorized to send home delegates
for the purposes mentioned in the preceding article, in numbers
proportionate to the population of each colony, which proportion shall
be forthwith determined by the national assembly, according to the
report which its colonial committee is directed to make.
“11th. Former decrees respecting the colonies shall be in force in
every thing not contrary to the present decree.”
The carrying of this decree into effect was entrusted to Messrs.
Santhonax, Polverel, and Ailhaud, the executive in France sending
out a body comprising eight thousand men of the national guards,
for the purpose of compelling the colonists to submit to their
authority. Having arrived on the 13th of September, their first act
was to dissolve the colonial assembly, and their next, to send the
governor, Blanchelande, to France, where, after an examination into
his administration, he was sentenced to death, and suffered on the
guillotine in the April following. M. Desparbes, who was invested with
chief command in his stead, having disagreed with the commissioners,
was also suspended, and, like his predecessor, he was sent to France to
undergo a similar fate.
The greatest consternation everywhere prevailed on the announcement of
this decree, and, as I have before observed, a pretty general feeling
existed, that this was only a prelude to a general emancipation of the
slave population, and which afterwards was actually realised. The white
inhabitants, in particular, suspected the candour of the commissioners,
who were anxious to have it believed that the object of their mission
was nothing more than to carry into operation the provisions of this
decree, and to settle all those disputes between the one class and the
other, which had been fomented to the great destruction of persons and
property. These agents of the national assembly seem to have been well
skilled in the art of dissimulation, more particularly the leader, M.
Santhonax, who, whilst professing to the whites the warmest solicitude
and anxiety for the preservation of peace and the promotion of the
prosperity of the colony, was secretly intriguing with the mulattoes,
and holding clandestine meetings with their chiefs; and in the end, in
conjunction with his coadjutors, he openly declared that they, with the
free negroes, should enjoy their privileges, receive the protection of
the national guards, and that he would espouse their cause in every
possible way in which it could be effectually promoted.
The properties of the white inhabitants, as well as their lives,
seemed at this juncture in the greatest jeopardy, and they possessed
no means of averting the fate which seemed to await them. Some little
hope, however, was raised in their minds by the appointment of a new
governor, M. Galbaud, who arrived to take the command in May 1793,
and to place the island in the strongest state of defence, it being
apprehended by the French government that the British might interpose
in the existing disputes, as war had been declared between the two
powers. His arrival was hailed by the authorities and the inhabitants
of the Cape with the strongest manifestations of joy, and from his
having property in the island, they had the highest confidence in his
character for probity, and anticipated that the most decisive measures
would be adopted for the restoration of their property, and for the
security of their lives. But how vain were their anticipations, and
how fleeting their hope! The national assembly of France, the great
mover of all the evils which afflicted this unhappy country, again
interposed with new instructions, and suspended the new governor from
his command, decreeing that any one holding property in the colonies
should be ineligible to fill any office of trust in the colony in which
his estate was situate.
Galbaud did not, however, resign his appointment without a struggle;
and aided by his brother, a man of some spirit and great enterprise,
he collected a force composed of militia, seamen from the ships in the
harbour of the Cape, and a strong body of volunteers, and without delay
advanced against the commissioners, whom he found ready to receive him
at the head of the regular troops. A conflict severe and bloody ensued,
and considerable resolution was displayed by the rival parties, each
supporting their cause with unshaken firmness and determined bravery;
but the sailors, who composed the greatest body of Galbaud’s force,
having become disorderly, he was obliged to retire, which he did
without being in the least interrupted or opposed by the force of the
commissioners.
The next day various skirmishes took place, in which the success was in
some degree mutual; and whilst the brother of Galbaud fell into the
hands of the commissioners’ troops, the son of Polverel was captured
by the seamen attached to Galbaud’s force. The commissioners finding,
however, that their force diminished, and that their opponents were
resolute and fought with unexampled bravery, had recourse to a measure
which in the sequel caused much slaughter, although it succeeded in the
destruction of Galbaud’s force; they called in the aid of the revolted
slaves, offering them their freedom, and promising that the city of the
Cape should be given up for plunder. Some of the rebel chiefs rejected
a proposition which could only produce the sacrifice of lives and the
spilling of human blood, without in any way promoting their own cause,
but Macaya, a negro possessing some power over his adherents, and being
of a savage and brutal disposition, with an insatiable thirst for
the blood of the whites, accepted the proposal of the commissioners,
and with three or four thousand of his negro brethren joined their
standard, when a scene of horror and of carnage ensued, the recital of
which would shock the hardest and most unfeeling heart. Men, women, and
children were without distinction unmercifully slaughtered by these
barbarians, and those who had escaped the first rush into the city,
and had reached the water-side, for the purpose of getting on board
the ships in the harbour, were intercepted and their retreat cut off
by these merciless wretches, just at the moment when arrangements had
been accomplished for their embarkation. Here the mulattoes had an
opportunity of gratifying their revenge; here they had arrived at the
summit of their greatest ambition and glory; here it was that these
cowardly and infamous parricides, gorged with human blood, sacrificed
their own parents, and afterwards subjected their bodies to every
species of insult and indignity; here it was that these disciples of
Robespierre—this injured and oppressed race—the theme of Gregoire’s
praise, and the subject of his appeal and harangue, shewed themselves
worthy disciples of such masters! If any thing were wanted to establish
the fact of these scenes being unexampled, and without a parallel,
one thing, I am sure, will alone be sufficient, and that is, that the
commissioners, these amiable representatives of the national assembly,
the _immaculate_ Santhonax, and the equally _humane_ and _virtuous_
Polverel, these vicegerents of the society of Amis des Noirs, these
protectors of the mulattoes, were struck with horror at the scene which
was presented to them, and repaired to the ships, there to become
spectators of the effects of their own crimes, and of a splendid and
opulent city devoured by the flames which had been lighted by the torch
of anarchy and rebellion.
In this destruction of the Cape, some instances of the most
extraordinary brutality were exhibited, and others of devotedness and
heroism were displayed; one or two it will be as well to mention, as
illustrative of the generosity and humanity of the one party, and of
the ferocity and cruelty of the other. When the revolters first entered
the city, every man, woman, and child were bayoneted or cut down with
such instruments as they could muster, but the young females were in
most cases spared, for the momentary gratification of the lust of those
into whose hands they fell. One case of the most singular enormity took
place:—a leader of the revolted slaves, named Gautier, had entered
the house of a respectable merchant in the square, in which were the
proprietor, his wife, his two sons, and three daughters; the sons were
young, not exceeding the age of ten, but the daughters were elegant
young women, the eldest about eighteen, and the youngest not exceeding
fourteen. Gautier, assisted by one or two wretches equally inhuman,
promised to spare the family, on account of his having received many
acts of kindness and generosity from the father, to whom he was often
sent by his master on business, he being a domestic slave. These poor
creatures, who were at first half-expiring from the terror of the scene
around them, and from the idea of being the captives of barbarians,
recovered somewhat from the alarm into which they had been thrown,
through the promises of security thus unconditionally pledged to them;
and although not permitted to go out of the sight of their captors,
they did not apprehend that any mischief was in embryo, and that their
lives were to be sacrificed. Impressed with the idea of safety, they
proceeded to prepare a repast for their supposed guardians, and set
it before them in the same splendour as they were wont to do when
receiving their best and dearest friends. Gautier drank freely, and his
compeers did no little justice to the rich repast. Night coming on,
and apprehensive of the consequences of a surprise from the governor’s
force, they began to deliberate upon what plan they should adopt to
secure their unhappy captives from flight, when, not being able to
devise any thing likely to be effectual, they came to the savage
resolution of murdering them all. The daughters were locked up in a
room, under the watch of two of the revolters, whilst the remainder of
them commenced the bloody task by bayoneting the two sons. The mother,
on her knees, imploring mercy with pitiful cries, met with the same
fate, whilst the husband, who was bound hand and foot, was barbarously
mangled, by having first his arms and then his legs cut off, and
afterwards run through the body. During this blood-thirsty scene, the
daughters, ignorant of the tragic end of their parents, were in a state
of alarm and terror not to be described, yet hoping that their lives
were safe. But, alas! how deceitful that hope! for their destiny was
fixed, and their time but short. Gautier and his diabolical associates
went into their room, stripped them naked, and committed on their
defenceless persons the most brutal enormities, when with the dead
bodies of their parents they were thrown into the flames which were
then surrounding them, where they all perished.
I shall mention another case of an opposite character, and in which
a degree of heroism was exhibited that deserves to be recorded with
every praise. A M. Tardiffe, a planter, and a young man of considerable
property and of great courage and presence of mind, had joined the
force of the governor, and had consequently become an object of great
hatred, particularly on the part of some of the mulattoes who resided
in the vicinity of his estate. Awakened one night about twelve o’clock
by the cries of females, he jumped up, and rushed to the room in which
his sisters, two amiable young ladies, were reposing, where he found
armed men attempting to get through the window. He instantly flew for
his sabre and pistols, which were loaded, his sisters following him,
and then returned to the room to oppose the assassins. He found one
had accomplished his purpose of getting into the room, whom he in an
instant ran through the body; when, turning to the window, he shot
another fellow just entering, and afterwards one or two others who
made similar attempts. About this time his domestics had all come
up stairs, and they shewed themselves most faithful in adhering to
their master; for, not contented with merely opposing the entry of
the assassins into the house, they sallied forth to meet them at the
front of it, and although their numbers were inferior to that of their
unprincipled and lawless invaders, they successfully attacked them,
killing seven, and driving away the rest, with the exception of one,
who was captured, who happened to be the illegitimate brother of M.
Tardiffe, to whom he had shewed the warmest affection and whom he had
cherished as the dearest relation. In return for such ingratitude
and villainy, how did M. Tardiffe act? Did he give him up for public
justice? No. Did he permit his faithful and enraged domestics, who
were witnesses of his crimes, to execute momentary vengeance upon
him? No. But he took him by the hand, mildly remonstrated with him,
and afterwards furnished him with the means of leaving the colony for
America, lest the searching hand of justice might before long stay
his career. I have thought it adviseable to relate these two cases,
from the extraordinary enormity of the first, and from the singular
circumstances attending the last, having received the detail of them
from an individual who was engaged in most of the events which occurred
at that period.
After this first revolt of the slaves in the north, emigrations
commenced in almost all parts of the colony, some going to the United
States, many to the neighbouring islands; and some of the most opulent
and powerful of the planters to England, under the impression that
the British government would be disposed to turn its attention to
their cause. The war between France and England having commenced, some
regard was paid to their solicitations, and through the instance of M.
Charmilly (the M. Charmilly of Spanish notoriety) the government of
England sent out directions to the governor of Jamaica to afford to
those inhabitants of St. Domingo who were desirous to place themselves
under British protection every possible support, and to send without
delay a competent force, and to take possession of such places as the
people might be disposed to surrender to them.
The intentions of the British government being known by the means of
secret agents, the commissioners, Santhonax and Polverel, had recourse
to every possible means of strengthening the force in the colony, and
of being prepared for the reception of the British troops whenever they
should make their contemplated descent. They collected the regular
troops, militia, and such of the whites as were in their interest,
together with the free negroes and mulattoes who had hitherto followed
their cause. But this was not deemed by them a sufficient body when
united, to oppose British soldiers led on by experienced commanders.
They therefore at once “proclaimed the abolition of every species of
slavery, declaring that the negroes were thenceforth to be considered
as free citizens”; and thereby assigned over to a lawless banditti
the fee simple of every property in the French part of the island of
St. Domingo, placing every white inhabitant within almost the grasp
of a set of people insensible to every feeling of humanity, rude and
ruthless as in their native wilds.
A description of these untutored people cannot be better given
than in the language of Mr. Edwards, who says, “The Charaibs of
St. Vincent, and the Maroons of Jamaica, were originally enslaved
Africans; and what they now are, the freed negroes of St. Domingo
will be hereafter,—savages in the midst of society, without peace,
security, agriculture, or property; ignorant of the duties of life,
and unacquainted with all the soft endearing relations which rendered
it desirable; averse to labour, though frequently perishing for want;
suspicious of each other, and towards the rest of mankind revengeful
and faithless, remorseless and bloody-minded; pretending to be free
while groaning beneath the capricious despotism of their chiefs,
and feeling all the miseries of servitude without the benefits of
subordination.” The prediction of this elegant author has certainly
been realized in all its parts, and subsequent events have fully
confirmed the opinion which he had formed of the negro character,
when left to his own uncontrolled will and unrestrained in his
propensities. Sloth, lust, and every species of wantonness and cruelty
marked the progress of the enfranchised slaves in the first moment of
their freedom; and until leaders of decisive and resolute powers for
command undertook to preserve some degree of order and submission,
they wandered in parties through the different parishes, inflicting
the most unheard-of cruelties on the innocent and unoffending, without
regard to sex or colour. To the will and command of their chief they
were generally obedient, although they were subjected to duties of the
most dangerous and laborious description; but when the least relaxation
of discipline was permitted, they again resorted to plunder and
destruction, and to every other species of insubordination, gratifying
their insatiable thirst for the blood of the whites, as well as of that
of the mulattoes, who were averse to the measure of emancipation. In
these predatory excursions they committed the most shocking excesses,
and more real and afflicting accounts have been received of the
enormities practised by them when wandering in detached parties, than
have been known to follow the most sanguinary battle in which they had
been engaged.
I see nothing through the whole career of the rebellion to induce me
to alter my opinion of the cause whence all these lamentable effects
sprung; and I must again repeat, that it was not misconduct on the
part of the proprietors which excited the first revolt, and induced
the slaves to take up arms against those from whom, in innumerable
instances, they had experienced kindness and indulgence. It was natural
to expect that in a colony, the operations in which are entirely
performed by slaves, some cases of oppression would occur which would
justly deserve reprobation; but the rebellion became general, although
I am not aware that any successful attempt has been made to shew that
the conduct of the planters towards their slaves was generally harsh
and oppressive.
De Vastey, in his remarks, would wish it to be inferred that the
brute creation received infinitely more kindness and indulgence from
their master than was shewn towards the slave: but De Vastey being
a negro, it is natural that he should exhibit the worst side of the
picture, without noticing its better one. He adduces no instances of
that oppression which he wishes to prevail upon mankind to believe
to have been inflicted: we have nothing from him but allegations and
assertions, without proof to support them. It is true, that he puts
forward some statements of cruelties inflicted on his negro brethren,
but those were subsequent, even by his own account, to the revolt and
to the emancipation; but he has forgotten that the first atrocities,
the first acts of cruelty and indiscriminate murder, were committed
by his very brethren (for whom he claims the pity of mankind for their
sufferings and for their unmerited bondage) on the plantation Noé, and
others in the vicinity. De Vastey, it is plain, is no authority on
which the charge of cruelty on the part of the planter _before_ the
rebellion can be supported.
With regard to the mulattoes, or free men of colour, who were doubtless
the chief instigators of the rebellion and of the first revolt of
the slaves, although they cannot escape the condemnation justly due
to them for their perfidy, yet the extreme disabilities under which
they laboured in some measure might be adduced in mitigation of the
censure which their faithless conduct so truly deserved. If they had
not commenced the work of revolt, but had remained quiet observers of
the proceedings of the national and colonial assemblies, and delayed
their operations until the result of the deliberations and arrangements
of those bodies had been promulgated, they would have called forth
spontaneous expressions of approbation from all classes of people:
but the eagerness which they manifested for civil feuds and for a
preponderancy of power in the colony, without any conditions and
without the least possible reservation, has called down upon them, and
I think justly too, very severe reprobation. It has been observed, that
this class of people were, from their education and from their general
demeanour, as eligible members of society as the whites, and as such
ought to have been admitted into all its rights and advantages. This,
I believe, no one undertakes to deny; but it is no more than fair and
equitable towards the white population to observe, that prior to every
concession being made to them, something like a line of demarcation
should have been drawn as to the limits to which those concessions
should be carried, otherwise from their number and power the mulattoes
might have obtained an overwhelming preponderancy in the colony,
rendering the white colonists mere cyphers.
The decrees against the people of colour, as they appear on the records
of the colony, are extremely harsh and impolitic, and a relaxation,
if not a repeal of them, would have been only an act of justice. The
government held them in no repute, but considered them as it were
national property, and gave the public a right in them. They were
subjected by the governors, when they had arrived at a particular age,
to a military servitude of the most degrading kind, and for a time to
labour on the public roads, the severity of which was almost too great
to be borne. They were not permitted to hold any office of power or
trust in the state, nor could they even follow the humble calling of
a schoolmaster. The least possible taint in the blood excluded them,
and the distinction of colour had no termination. Not so in the
British colonies, where it is lost in the third generation. It is said
also, that “the courts of criminal jurisdiction adopting the popular
prejudices against them gave effect and permanency to the system. A
man of colour, being a prosecutor, must have made out a strong case
indeed, if at any time he obtained the conviction of a white person. On
the other hand, the whites never failed to procure prompt and speedy
justice against mulattoes. To mark more strongly the distinction
between the two classes, the law declared that if a free man of colour
presumed to strike a white person, of whatever condition, his right
hand should be cut off; while a white man for a similar assault on a
free mulatto was dismissed on the payment of an insignificant fine.”[3]
It is, I conceive, impossible for any one to be informed of the
existence of such a system without exclaiming, that whatever might
have been the proceedings of the people of colour in the work of
rebellion, their grievances offered considerable extenuation of their
conduct. This presents the most disgraceful and indefensible page in
the colonial records of criminal jurisprudence. True it is that its
severity, that its flagrant injustice, precluded the possibility of
putting it in force; the abhorrence which it so generally excited
among all orders of people, made it a dead letter; but it was
notwithstanding a law in force, and might have been acted upon by an
arbitrary and unmerciful judge.
The only circumstance that contributed towards affording the coloured
people some degree of security and protection under their disabilities
was the power which they indirectly derived from the possession of
property in the colony. They consequently had influence, because under
a corrupt government money bought it, and many were the venal officers
of the state who had stooped to be their pensioners. Many of these
mulattoes held large estates, and possessed besides extensive available
funds; these men in most cases evaded those exclusions from society,
to which their brethren of less influence were obliged to submit. They
were secure enough both in their persons and property, whilst the less
wealthy among their coloured brethren had to submit to every species of
insecurity and mortification.
I have now said as much as may be deemed necessary on the subject
of the situation of the coloured people at the time of the first
disturbances in St. Domingo, and I trust I have made it appear
conclusive, that the cause of those disturbances did not proceed from
the oppression and the tyranny practised over the slaves, but from the
measures of the national assembly, the colonial assemblies, aided by
that specious and intriguing body, the society of Amis des Noirs, and
the coloured people then residing in France, who had been tainted with
the pernicious doctrines then prevailing in that country.