benefactor," as they styled him. He replied: "If I undertake the
administration of civil affairs, I must have a solid rock to stand on;
and that rock must be a constitutional government." Feeling the
necessity of laws and regulations suited to the altered state of the
country, he called a meeting of deputies from all the districts to draft
a constitution. Of these nine deputies eight were white and one a
mulatto. They were selected for their learning and ability. Very likely
Toussaint's habitual caution led him to choose men from the two classes
that had been hostile to him, that there might be no pretext for saying
he used his popularity with the blacks to carry any measure he wished.
Among other things, this constitution provided that Slavery should never
more exist in St. Domingo; that all who were born there were free
citizens of the French republic. It also provided that offices were to
be distributed according to virtue and ability, without regard to color.
The island was to be ruled by one governor, appointed for five years,
with a proviso that the term might be prolonged as a reward for good
conduct. But "in consideration of the important services rendered to the
country by General Toussaint l'Ouverture," he was named governor for
life, with power to appoint his successor. This was early in the summer
of 1800. The constitution, approved by Toussaint and published, was
accepted by the people with solemn formalities and demonstrations of
joy. This new colonial government was to go into operation
provisionally, until it should receive the sanction of the authorities
in France.
General Napoleon Bonaparte was then at the head of the French
government, under the title of First Consul. Governor Toussaint wrote to
him, that, in the absence of laws, after the revolution in St. Domingo,
it had been deemed best to draft a constitution. He added: "I hasten to
lay it before you for your approbation, and for the sanction of the
government which I serve. All classes of citizens here have welcomed it
with joy, which will be renewed when it is sent back with the sanction
of the French government."
Some writers have accused Toussaint of personal ambition because he
consented to be governor for life. He himself said it was because
circumstances had given him influence, which he could exert to unite a
divided people; and that he deemed changes of administration might be
injurious until the new order of things had become more settled.
He assumed all the outward style that had been considered befitting the
rank of governor and commander-in-chief. He had an elegant carriage and
a number of handsome horses. When he rode out, he was followed by
attendants in brilliant military dress, and he himself wore a rich
uniform. On stated days, he gave reception-parties, to which
magistrates, military officers, distinguished strangers, and influential
citizens were invited. There was a good deal of splendor in the dresses
on such occasions; but he always appeared in the simple undress uniform
of a general officer. At these parties, whites, blacks, and mulattoes
mingled together with mutual politeness, and it is said that the style
of manners was easy and elegant. All rose when the Governor entered, and
none seated themselves until he was seated. This was a strange
experience for a black man, who was formerly a slave; and it had been
brought about, under the blessing of God, solely by the strength and
excellence of his own character. All prejudices gave way before his
uncommon intelligence, well-tried virtues, and courteous dignity of
manner.
Every evening he gave free audience to all the people who chose to call.
His dress was such as the landed proprietors usually wore. However weary
he might be, he made the circuit of the rooms, and said something to
each one on the subjects most likely to interest them. He talked with
mothers about their children, and urged upon them the great importance
of giving them religious instruction. Not unfrequently he examined the
children in their catechisms, and gave a few words of fatherly advice to
the young folks.
He has been accused of vanity for assuming so much pomp in his equipage
and gentility in his dress. Doubtless he had some vanity. No human being
is free from it. But I believe very few men, of any color, could have
passed through such extraordinary changes as he did, and preserved their
balance so well. In the style he assumed he was probably somewhat
influenced by motives of policy. He was obliged to receive many
distinguished French gentlemen, and he knew they attached great
importance to dress and equipage. The blacks also were fond of splendor,
and it gratified them to see their great chieftain appear in princely
style. The free mulattoes, who despised his mean birth, would have
spared no ridicule if he had been neglectful of outward appearances; and
in his peculiar situation it was important to command respect in every
way. His person also needed every borrowed advantage that it could
obtain. His figure was short and slim, and his features were homely,
though his bright, penetrating eyes gave his face an expression of
animation and intelligence. With these disadvantages, and a deficiency
of education, betrayed by imperfect grammar, it is wonderful how he
swayed assemblies of men whenever he addressed them. The secret lay in
his great earnestness. Whatever he said, he said it with his whole soul,
and therefore it took possession of the souls of others.
Though he paid so much attention to external show in public, his own
personal habits were extremely simple and frugal. There was a large
public house at the Cape, called The Hotel of the Republic, frequented
by whites and blacks, officers and privates. Toussaint l'Ouverture often
took a seat at the table in any chair that happened to be vacant. If any
one rose to offer him a higher seat, he would bow courteously, and
reply, "Distinctions are to be observed only on public occasions." His
food consisted of vegetable preparations, and he drank water only. He
had a wonderful capacity of doing without sleep. During the years that
so many public cares devolved upon him, it is said he rarely slept more
than two hours out of the twenty-four. He thought more than he spoke,
and what he said was uttered in few words. Surrounded as he was by
inquisitive and treacherous people, this habit of reserve was of great
use to him. Enemies accused him of being deceitful. The charge was
probably grounded on the fact that he knew how to keep his own secrets;
for there are many proofs that he was in reality honest and sincere. It
is singular how he escaped the contagion of impurity which always
pollutes society where Slavery exists. But his respect and affection for
his wife was very constant, and he was always clean in his manners and
his language. A colored lady appeared at one of his reception-parties
dressed very low at the neck, according to the prevailing Parisian
fashion. When he had greeted her, he placed a handkerchief on her
shoulders, and said in a low voice, "Modesty is the greatest ornament of
woman."
His ability and energy as a statesman were even more remarkable than his
courage and skill as a military leader. He was getting old, and he was
covered with the scars of wounds received in many battles; but he
travelled about with wonderful rapidity, inspecting everything with his
own eyes, and personally examining into the conduct of magistrates and
officers. Often, after riding some distance in a carriage, he would
mount a swift horse and ride off in another direction, while the coach
went on. In this way, he would make his appearance suddenly at places
where he was not expected, and ascertain how things went on in his
absence. It was a common practice with him to traverse from one hundred
to one hundred and fifty miles a day. After giving his evening audience
to the people, he sat up late into the night answering letters, of which
he received not less than a hundred daily. He dictated to five
secretaries at once, so long that he tired them all; and he examined
every letter when finished, that he might be sure his dictation had not
been misunderstood.
The eastern part of the island had been ceded to the French by treaty,
but had never been given up by the Spanish, who still held slaves there.
Complaints were brought to General Toussaint that the Spaniards
kidnapped both blacks and mulattoes from the western part of the island,
where all were free, and carried them off to sell them to slave-traders.
Resolved to destroy Slavery, root and branch, throughout the island, in
January, 1801, he marched into the Spanish territory at the head of ten
thousand soldiers. The Spanish blacks were desirous to come under French
dominion, in order to secure their freedom, and the whites offered but
slight resistance. Having taken possession of the territory in the name
of the French republic, he issued a proclamation, in which he declared
that all past offences should be forgotten, and that the welfare and
happiness of Spaniards and Frenchmen should be equally protected. He
then assembled his troops in the churches and caused prayers of
thanksgiving to be offered for the success of their enterprise, almost
without bloodshed. Most of the wealthy Spanish slaveholders made
arrangements to depart to Cuba and other neighboring islands. But the
main body of the people received General Toussaint with the greatest
distinction. As he passed through the principal towns, he was everywhere
greeted with thunder of artillery, ringing of bells, and loud
acclamations of the populace.
Under his wise and watchful administration all classes were protected,
and all parts of the country became prosperous. The desolations
occasioned by so many years of warfare were rapidly repaired. Churches
were rebuilt, schools established, waste lands brought under
cultivation, and distances shortened by new and excellent roads. The
French commissioner Roume was struck with admiration of his plans, and
pronounced him to be "a philosopher, a legislator, a general, and a good
citizen." The Frenchman, Lavoque, who was well acquainted with him and
the condition of the people, said to Bonaparte, "Sire, let things remain
as they are in St. Domingo. It is the happiest spot in your dominions."
The historian Lacroix, though prejudiced against blacks, wrote, "That
the island was preserved to the French government was solely owing to an
old negro, who seemed to bear a commission from Heaven." Strangers who
visited St. Domingo expressed their surprise to see cities rising from
their ashes, fields waving with harvests, and the harbors filled with
ships. Planters, who had fled with their families to various parts of
the world heard such good accounts of the activity of business, and the
security of property, that many of them so far overcame their repugnance
to be governed by a negro as to ask permission to return. This was
easily obtained, and they were received by the Governor without anything
on his part which they might deem offensive familiarity, but with a
dignified courtesy which prevented familiarity, or airs of
condescension, on their side. He had annually sent some token of
remembrance to M. Bayou de Libertas, then residing in the United
States. He now wrote to invite him to return to St. Domingo. The
invitation was gladly accepted. When he arrived, he was received with
marked kindness, but with dignified reserve. Governor Toussaint
evidently did not wish bystanders to be reminded of the former relation
that existed between them as overseer and slave. "Return to the
plantation," said he, "and take care of the interests of the good old
master. See that the blacks do their duty. Be firm, but just. You will
thus advance your own prosperity, and at the same time increase the
prosperity of the colony."
This return of the old slaveholders excited some uneasiness among the
black laborers. But Toussaint, who often spoke to them in simple
parables, sprinkled a few grains of rice into a vessel of shot, and
shook it. "See," said he, "how few grains of white there are among the
black."
At that time General Napoleon Bonaparte had become very famous by his
victories, and had recently been made ruler of France. There were many
points of resemblance between his career and that of the hero of St.
Domingo; and it was a common thing for people to say, "Napoleon is the
First of the Whites, and Toussaint l'Ouverture is the First of the
Blacks." If General Toussaint had known the real character of Napoleon,
he would not have felt flattered by being compared with such a selfish,
tyrannical, and treacherous man. But, like the rest of the world, he was
dazzled by his brilliant reputation, and felt that it was a great honor
to him to be called the "The Black Napoleon." The vainest thing that is
recorded of him is that on one of his official letters to Bonaparte he
wrote, "To the First of the Whites, from the First of the Blacks." It
was a departure from his usual habits of dignity, and was also poor
policy; for Bonaparte had been rendered vain by his great success, and
he was under the influence of aristocratic planters from St. Domingo,
who would have regarded it as a great insult to couple their names with
a negro. General Toussaint soon had reason to suspect he had been
mistaken in the character of the famous man, whom he had so much
admired. He wrote several deferential letters to Bonaparte, on official
business; but the First Consul never condescended to make any reply. It
was soon rumored abroad that proprietors of estates in St. Domingo,
residing in France, were urging him to send an army to St. Domingo to
reduce the blacks again to Slavery. Governor Toussaint could not believe
that the French government would be persuaded to break the solemn
promises it had made to the colony. But when he sent General Vincent to
Paris to obtain Bonaparte's sanction to the new constitution, the wicked
scheme was found to be making rapid progress. In vain General Vincent
remonstrated against it as a measure cruel and dangerous. In vain he
represented the contented, happy, and prosperous state of the island. In
vain did many wise and good men in Paris urge that such a step would be
unjust in itself and very disgraceful to France. The First Consul turned
a deaf ear to all but the haughty old planters from St. Domingo. The
Legislative Assembly in France, though still talking loudly about
liberty and the rights of man, were not ashamed to propose the
restoration of Slavery and the slave-trade in the colonies; and the
wicked measure was carried by a vote of two hundred and twelve against
sixty-five. In May, 1801, Bonaparte issued a decree to that effect. But
he afterwards considered it prudent to announce that the islands of St.
Domingo and Guadaloupe were to be excepted.
When this news reached St. Domingo, the people were excited and alarmed.
They asked each other anxiously, "How long shall we be excepted?" On
that point no assurances were given, and all suspected that the French
government was dealing with them hypocritically and treacherously. The
soul of Toussaint was on fire. If the names of the men who voted for the
restoration of Slavery were mentioned in his presence, his eyes flashed
and his whole frame shook with indignation. He published a proclamation,
in which he counselled obedience to the mother country, unless
circumstances should make it evident that resistance was unavoidable. In
private, he said to his friends: "I took up arms for the freedom of my
color. France proclaimed it, and she has no right to nullify it. Our
liberty is no longer in her hands; it is in our own. We will defend it,
or perish."
General Toussaint had sent his two eldest sons to Paris to be educated.
As a part of the plan of deception, General Bonaparte invited the young
men to visit him. He spoke of their father as a great man, who had
rendered very important services to France. He told them he was going to
send his brother-in-law, General Le Clerc, with troops to St. Domingo;
but he assured them it was not for any hostile purpose; it was merely to
add to the defence of the island. He wished them to go with General Le
Clerc and tell their father that he intended him all protection, glory,
and honor. The next day Bonaparte's Minister of Marine invited the young
men to a sumptuous dinner, and at parting presented each with a splendid
military uniform. The inexperienced youths were completely dazzled and
deceived.
In January, 1802, General Le Clerc sailed with sixty ships and thirty
thousand of Bonaparte's experienced troops. When Governor Toussaint
received tidings that a French fleet was in sight, he galloped to the
coast they were approaching, to take a view of them. He was dismayed,
and for a moment discouraged. He exclaimed, "All France has come to
enslave St. Domingo. We must perish." He had no vessels, and not more
than sixteen thousand men under arms. But his native energy soon
returned. The people manifested a determination to die rather than be
enslaved again. He resolved to attempt no attack on the French, but to
act wholly on the defensive. Le Clerc's army attacked Fort Liberty,
killed half the garrison, and forced a landing on the island. Toussaint
entrenched himself in a position where he could harass the invaders; and
the peaceful, prosperous island again smoked with fire and blood. Le
Clerc, still aiming to accomplish Bonaparte's designs by hypocrisy,
scattered proclamations among the blacks of St. Domingo, representing
that Toussaint kept them in a kind of Slavery on the plantations, but
that the French had come to set them wholly free. This did not excite
the rebellion which he intended to provoke, but it sowed the seeds of
doubt and discontent in the minds of some. At the same time that he was
playing this treacherous game, he sent Toussaint's two sons to their
father, accompanied by their French tutor, to deliver a letter from the
First Consul, which ought to have been sent three months before. The
letter was very complimentary to General Toussaint; but it objected to
the constitution that had been formed, and spoke in a very general way
about the liberty which France granted to all nations under her control.
It counselled submission to General Le Clerc, and threatened punishment
for disobedience. The tone of the letter, though apparently peaceful and
friendly, excited distrust in the mind of General Toussaint, which was
increased by the fact that the letter had been so long kept from him.
Knowing the strength of his domestic affections, orders had been given
that if he surrendered, his sons should remain with him, but if he
refused they were to return to the French camp as hostages. Though his
heart yearned toward his children, from whom he had been so long
separated, he said to their tutor: "Three months after date you bring me
a letter which promises peace, while the action of General Le Clerc is
war. I had established order and justice here; now all is confusion and
misery. Take back my sons. I cannot receive them as the price of my
surrender. Tell General Le Clerc hostilities will cease on our part when
he stops the progress of his invading army." His sons told him how
kindly they had been treated by Bonaparte, and what promises he had made
concerning St. Domingo,--promises which had been repeated in the
proclamation brought by General Le Clerc. Toussaint had had too severe
an experience to be easily deceived by fair words. He replied: "My sons,
you are no longer children. You are old enough to decide for yourselves.
If you wish to be on the side of France, you are free to do so. Stay
with me, or return to General Le Clerc, whichever you choose. Either
way, I shall love you always." Isaac, his oldest son, had been so
deceived by flattery and promises, that he declared his wish to return
to the French camp, feeling very sure that his father would be convinced
that Bonaparte was their best friend. But Placide, his step-son, said:
"My father, I will remain with you. I dread the restoration of Slavery,
and I am fearful about the future of St. Domingo." Who can tell what a
pang went through the father's heart when he embraced Isaac and bade him
farewell?
General Le Clerc was very angry when he found that his overtures were
distrusted. He swore that he would seize Toussaint before he took his
boots off. He forthwith issued a proclamation declaring him to be an
outlaw. When General Toussaint read it to his soldiers, they cried out
with one accord, "We will die with you." He said to his officers: "When
the rainy season comes, sickness will rid us of our enemies. Till then
there is nothing before us but flame and slaughter." Orders were given
to fire the towns as the French army approached, and to deal destruction
upon them in every way. He gathered his army together at the entrance of
the mountains, and, aided by his brave generals Christophe and
Dessalines, kept up active skirmishing with the enemy. Horrible things
were done on both sides. The Bay of Mancenille was red with the blood of
negro prisoners slaughtered by the French. The blacks, infuriated by
revenge and dread of Slavery, killed white men, women, and children
without mercy. General Dessalines was of a savage temper, and incited
his troops to the most ferocious deeds.
But the natural kindliness of the negro character was manifested on many
occasions, even in the midst of this horrible excitement. In many cases
they guided their old masters to hiding-places in the mountains or
forests, and secretly conveyed them food.
Toussaint, with only a plank to sleep on and a cloak to cover him, was
constantly occupied with planning attacks and ambuscades, and preaching
on Sundays, exhorting the people, with fiery eloquence, to remember
that the cause of Liberty was the cause of God. General Le Clerc,
meanwhile, was disappointed to find so many difficulties in the way of
his wicked project. His troops wilted under the increasing heat of the
climate, and began to murmur. He issued proclamations, promising, in the
most solemn manner, that the freedom of all classes in St. Domingo
should be respected. These assurances induced several black regiments to
go over to the French. Toussaint's brother Paul, and two of his ablest
generals, Bellair and Maurepas, did the same. Still the
Commander-in-Chief, aided by Christophe and Dessalines, kept up a stout
resistance. But news came that fresh troops were coming from France, and
Christophe and Dessalines had an interview with General Le Clerc, in
which, by fair promises, he succeeded in gaining them over to the French
side. A messenger was then sent to ask for a conference with General
Toussaint. Solemn assurances were repeated that the freedom of the
blacks should be protected; and a proposition was made that he should be
colleague with General Le Clerc in the government of the island, and
that his officers should retain their rank in the army. With
reinforcements coming from France, and with his best generals gained
over, Toussaint had no longer hopes of defeating the invaders, though he
might send out skirmishers to annoy them. He had too little faith in the
promises of General Le Clerc to consent to take an oath of office under
him. He therefore replied: "I might remain a brigand in the mountains,
and harass you with perpetual warfare, so far as your power to prevent
it is concerned. But I disdain fighting for mere bloodshed; and, in
obedience to the orders of the First Consul, I yield to you. For myself,
I wish to live in retirement; but I accept your favorable terms for the
people and the army."