The Present State of Hayti (Saint Domingo) with Remarks on its Agriculture, Commerce, Laws, Religion, Finances, and Population

Notwithstanding these partial successes the British cause in the island seemed on the wane, and their force diminishing from a variety of concurrent circumstances, no attempt was afterwards made to advance against the enemy; but measures were adopted to guard against any surprise or any attack which their opponents contemplated upon those positions, in the line of defence, which were considered to be vulnerable. In the interim, and during the existence of this irregular warfare, General Simcoe, finding that in the present condition of his forces nothing could be undertaken with the least probability of success, and that to remain within his line of defence was imperative, left the island about the month of August, when the command devolved on Major-General Whyte. Finally, however, the Honourable Brigadier-General Maitland succeeded, to whom was left the important duty of making the most beneficial arrangements for evacuating the island, which his situation could command. And when it is considered that that gallant officer (who did not arrive until April, 1798,) took the command of the British forces under circumstances of extreme difficulty and discomfiture, at the moment of disasters and distress, the termination of the contest, the subsequent truce and negotiations with Toussaint, although making some concession, were called for by considerations of overwhelming expediency. These negotiations gave up the whole of the British possessions, and their colonial black troops (for whom a very large sum of money was paid to the very persons who afterwards took arms against them) to the black general, Toussaint, in the name of the French republic, and thus ended an enterprise from which no advantage resulted either to the ex-colonists or to the interests of Great Britain.

It is not my province to enter into a discussion of the merits of the enterprise into which Great Britain had been led, nor shall I venture to censure the undertaking on the one hand, or to applaud it on the other. It was commenced unquestionably at an unfavourable period, when the government of England had to contend, not only against the gigantic power of the French republic in Europe, but against the revolutionary spirit which had manifested itself at that time in England. Involved, therefore, as she was at the time of the emigration of the French agents from St. Domingo in disputes abroad and in domestic feuds at home, it is not surprising that those efforts were not made which the planters had anticipated, and which they were led to expect from the pledges which had been given to M. Charmilly, who had been the organ of those planters, and who, it is to be feared, was too sanguine in his representations of the unanimity which prevailed amongst them. I should be disposed to think favourably of the conduct of M. Charmilly had I not received the most unquestionable information, that his communications were much too highly coloured, and that his zeal for the cause of his colony somewhat exceeded that which ought to have been evinced by a discreet and prudent negotiator. The British general was without doubt deceived as to the strength of the revolters and as to the disposition of the planters; and the unanimity said to have existed amongst them, was most manifestly negatived by subsequent events, in which intrigue and treachery superseded fidelity and honour. M. Charmilly, however, in the opinions of many, may not have subjected himself to censure by his conduct; he may have been actuated by the best of motives, and have thought, at the time, that by exhibiting a favourable side of the picture the impression would be likely to succeed; but the best informed persons, with whom I have had opportunities of conversing on the subject, have given it as their unbiassed sentiment, that had not the disposition of the colony been too favourably represented, the British cabinet would either never have entered into the contest, or have undertaken it with their accustomed promptitude and known vigour; they would never have left any thing to chance, nor have depended so much upon extensive cooperation.

However much inclined Great Britain might have been to seize a favourable moment for dismembering republican France of her colonial possessions, yet I think she would have paused before she commenced any offensive operations against St. Domingo in its then insurrectional state, had she not been led by the most specious arguments to believe that the object was attainable without any great efforts; for although the slaves were in open rebellion, still they, as well as the mulattoes, were divided against themselves, and that an interposing power would inevitably turn the scale, and eventually succeed in restoring tranquillity, and finally the conquest of the whole colony. That the cabinet of England had been influenced by the accounts laid before it of the state of St. Domingo, needs no further argument than this, that the force sent was quite inadequate for the accomplishment of the object, which certainly would not have happened, had the descent upon that island received that deliberation which was usually given to similar operations in the time of war.

Before I proceed any further in my remarks, it may not be irrelevant to shew who were the parties engaged in this civil warfare and general havoc in the colony, for I find only one or two who have written before me who have been sufficiently clear and explicit on this point; and it is probable that I may not be quite so explanatory as the subject requires, but I shall, I trust, succeed in dissipating some of the cloud in which the whole seems to have been enveloped.

At the commencement of the revolution in the colony, the party that first appeared was composed of those white inhabitants who were tainted with republicanism, those of the mulattoes or gens de couleur of property who imbibed the same principles, and others of the people of colour, who had no stake in the country, but embraced similar opinions respecting liberty and equality. Their opponents consisted of the white inhabitants and persons of colour who adhered to the old form of government. To the former party, in the course of time, were added the revolted negroes, who had doubtless been instigated by them, and after the promulgation of the decree declaring a general emancipation, they were joined by the greater proportion, if not by the whole of that class. To the latter party a few only of the mulattoes, and a very small body of negroes, remained attached; added to which were the British forces which, from the end of the year 1793 to the evacuation in 1798, at different periods were landed.

To strengthen the former party, and to weaken the latter, the decrees of the national assembly of France materially contributed, whilst the proceedings of the general colonial and provincial assemblies, instead of giving to the latter any support, had a contrary effect, by inducing many of the people of colour, who had espoused it, to hoist the national cockade, and become active members of the republican party, thereby giving the cause of the royalists a fatal blow. It will be perceived that most of these proceedings of the two parties in the contest occurred before the British forces had been called in; and that the emancipation of the slaves was simultaneous with their arrival and an act of the French commissioners to strengthen the national cause against the royalists and the British. Now as the agents or emigrants of the royalist party who had gone to England, and as the negotiations of M. Charmilly took place at the very period when the hopes of his party rested upon so insecure a foundation, it seems to me something like deception was practised, and that the British government were not correctly informed of the actual state of the cause which they were engaging to support; and it is under this impression, an impression founded upon the authority of persons who were actually engaged in all the scenes of active operations which took place from the first arrival of the British to the termination of their proceedings under the Honourable Brigadier-General Maitland, that I venture to charge the French planters and their party with that want of unanimity which M. Charmilly, their accredited representative, assured the British commander displayed itself through most parts of the colony.

If an impartial review be taken of the whole of the conduct of the French planters during the contest in which they were embroiled, it will become evident that no blame can be attached to the British commanders who were successively employed. They had to contend against a variety of conflicting opinions and unexampled sickness, and had local difficulties to surmount of great magnitude. They evinced on all occasions superior military judgment, undaunted courage, and unwearied zeal, and exhibited the greatest prudence and discretion in moments of no ordinary anxiety.

The calamitous disease which prevailed amongst the troops, was itself almost enough to dispirit the most sanguine; and it is not to be wondered at, that men who met death bravely in the field, should have shrunk from its approaches when it thus appeared in all its hideous forms amongst their comrades.

Such was the state of things in the colony at the close of the year 1798, and with which I shall conclude this chapter.

CHAPTER V

The period between the evacuation by the British forces and the arrival of the French army under Le Clerc. – Cultivation. – Law to enforce it. – Character of Toussaint. – Reverses. – His arrangement with the French general. – His seizure and removal to France

The evacuation of the colony by the British troops having taken place, most of the planters who had been faithful to their engagements departed at the same time, taking with them such moveable property as they were enabled to carry away: many proceeded to Jamaica, and others to Cuba and the United States. Toussaint L’Ouverture was thus left in full possession of the island, and in the undisturbed enjoyment of the chief command, with which he had been invested some time before by the French republic. The adherents to the British, except such as had previously left the island under the protection of the English squadron, having joined the national standard, every thing seemed to have the appearance of tranquillity. Peace succeeded the din of arms and the asperities of civil war.

Having, therefore, completely subjugated the party who had been opposed to him, Toussaint commenced his work of improvement in the whole department of his government. Free from the toils of the complicated warfare in which he had been engaged, his first care and attention were turned to the culture of the soil, in which in a short period he made the most rapid and astonishing progress: strongly impressed with the conviction that “agriculture is the main spring, the master sinew of every great state, the perennial fountain of wealth”, he began to enforce a rigid attention to all its branches, and by every possible means to place it in that highly productive condition in which it stood previously to the revolution. Many of the planters who had joined his standard were reinvested with their estates, but without any property in the slaves, and they were encouraged by him to persevere in the cultivation of their lands, assured of his protection and of the early adoption of such regulations as should enable them to procure cultivators. He seems to have possessed a very correct idea of the true source from whence national wealth was obtained, and he left no measures untried that would in the least promote its increase. He had heard, and appeared firmly to believe “that rural or agricultural labours are equally conducive to health and strength of body and mind. The culture of the earth constitutes the most natural and innocent employment of man; it fills our houses with plenty and our hearts with gladness.” He never allowed an opportunity to escape him of shewing how indelibly this maxim was imprinted on his mind. It may, however, be well imagined, that after five or six years’ relaxation from the labours of the field, those who had been accustomed to it in a state of slavery, were not at all disposed to return of their own accord to their original occupations; and as he well knew that his negro brethren could not be easily induced to labour, and that some degree of coercion would be requisite to enforce it, he began to issue strict injunctions, that every one not employed in any military capacity should labour in the cultivation of the lands held not only by the government, but by such of the planters as had been restored to their estates.

The planters were compelled to receive them on their plantations in the capacity of servants, and the cultivators were ordered by the government to make choice of their employers under whom they were destined to work for their sustenance, and were not on any consideration permitted to leave the properties on which they in the first instance agreed to labour, unless their services were required in the army. The government had fixed a remuneration for the cultivators equal to one-third of the crops, but there were many who made other arrangements more suitable to the views of parties, and by which, also, each was accommodated. Such a law as this, and enforced so immediately after the cessation of civil war, when the minds of the negroes were scarcely cool, was a strong illustration of the power which Toussaint held over them, and of his conviction, that nothing could be accomplished in the advancement of agriculture unless he at once adopted powerful and rigid measures. He therefore enacted laws and regulations to encourage and excite industry, while he denounced very heavy penalties against idleness and vagrancy.

This celebrated edict for the enforcing of the culture of the soil appeared in the year 1800, and it subsequently formed a leading part of the Code Henry of Christophe. It embraces every object that could possibly be conceived likely to promote his great aim; and whilst its enactments might have the appearance of severity, unpalatable to the people just emerged from slavery, so great was his influence that he felt no alarm for the consequences of enforcing them; and those who had the temerity to infringe them were visited with the whole weight of the penalties.

This law apportions the hours of labour for the cultivator, which by the 22d article appears in every point the same as that which is exacted from the slave in the British islands, that is to say, it commences at the break of day and concludes at night, allowing an interval of an hour for breakfast, and another of two hours at noon, or thereabouts. It provides against any innovations, and precludes the labourer or the proprietor from the chance of imposing on each other. I see nothing ambiguous in it, it is clear in the letter, and the spirit of it cannot be erroneously interpreted. From the 113th to the 120th article inclusive, it appears beyond the possibility of contradiction, that Toussaint was conscious that nothing could be done in the work of the soil without such forcible regulations as would command the most strict attention to tillage.

It is quite clear that the labour which this law exacted each day from the cultivator was not oppressive, nor have I been able to discover that the slaves in the British colonial possessions ever complained of the labour to which they were subjected, as having been too severe; and it is undeniable that Toussaint, under the very law which has been cited, compelled the same portion to be done, and that for the better insuring its performance, military guards were placed to superintend the labourers and to seize those who endeavoured to evade their duty. That they could not have been injured by labour, and that they did not murmur at its quantum is tolerably clear, for it is said by a writer of some repute, that “the plantation negroes were in general contented, healthful, and happy”; and that this was their condition I am assured by the concurring testimony of men who had witnessed their state at that period. Is it not the case also in the British colonies? Are not the slaves on the plantations in the time of crop, when the labour is perhaps heavier than at any other period, “contented, healthful, and happy”? Most unquestionably they are; I never saw them otherwise than “contented and happy”, except at the moment when some insidious and intriguing person was attempting to estrange them, and to impress them with the idea that they were degraded and debased.

If degradation accompanied labour, the cultivators under Toussaint were the most abject people in existence, for they were driven to it under the strong arm of military power, and for any offence which they committed they were liable to be brought before a military tribunal. There were no civil authorities by which the indolent or refractory cultivator was to be tried for his offences; there was no distinction between the vagrant who was detected in idleness and the soldier who fled from his post, they were both amenable to the military power, were sentenced by a court-martial, and awarded an equal punishment.

Possessed of no mean capacity and judgment, he knew the character and the dispositions of his negro brethren, and so nicely did he discern and reward industry, and discriminate between the active and meritorious and the indolent and the worthless, that, although in some cases his judgment was harsh, it was admitted to be just. His plans were allowed to have been devised with great skill, and his regulations produced the happiest results, which soon became manifest throughout the whole colony. His agricultural improvements excited the astonishment and surprise of his greatest enemies, for in a short period after he commenced his system, the most beneficial results became visible; and notwithstanding the protracted warfare in which he had been engaged, and the devastation caused by it, he produced a crop equal to one-third of the quantity of the best year of the French planters.

He was extremely attentive to the state of the population, which he was anxious to increase by every possible means. He held out to those who had emigrated during the contest, every encouragement to return, pledging himself to reinstate them in their properties, and assuring them that their agricultural avocations should receive all the support which it was possible for him to afford. This had a very happy effect, and many returned and brought with them the slaves who had accompanied them in their flight, but who of course became free on their landing. He also endeavoured to impress the people with a sense of their improper conduct when they addicted themselves to sensuality and voluptuousness, and made great efforts to prevent its extension, by recommending marriage throughout his country: he was aware of the evil effects of the system of polygamy which prevailed amongst his brethren, and knew that it was a severe check on the increase of population, for he had discovered innumerable instances in which the offsprings were but few, where concubinage was so unlimited; and after a short time, it became evident that an increased population resulted from his salutary regulations.

With regard to the general character of this extraordinary man I have but little to say in addition to what has been already recorded of him. I am however inclined to believe that his biographers speak of him with too much warmth, and would have it believed that he was almost without a fault. Whatever may be the prevailing opinion, he has left indelible marks behind him which prove that he was revengeful and sanguinary in the field; and the atrocities and cruelties which he exercised over those mulattoes who fell into his hands, are demonstrative of no little ferocity of disposition. It has been argued in exculpation, that surrounded as he was with people of that class who adhered to his cause, and who, he expected, might revolt and join the standard of his enemies, it was a matter of absolute expediency, that he should resort to the severest measures to deter them from deserting his standard, or from engaging in any enterprise inimical to his cause. But in all his actions he seemed to be actuated by a determination to exact the most rigid acquiescence in his will and a complete acknowledgment of his supreme power, and to establish which, true it is, he had at times recourse to very harsh and cruel measures, which, although effectual for a time, nevertheless proved injurious to the peace and security of his government afterwards.

Rainsford, who is no mean authority, for he had personal knowledge of Toussaint, says, that he was a man without those unrelenting feelings which others ascribe to him; but this opinion may proceed from gratitude on the part of that officer, who was set at liberty by Toussaint after having been in prison for a considerable period, and in momentary expectation of the forfeiture of his life. Speaking of him in his general character, and of his actions in the field, he says: “Thus proceeded this illustrious man, like the simple acorn, first promiscuously scattered by the winds, in its slow but beauteous progress to the gigantic oak, spreading its foliage with august grandeur above the minor growth of the forest, defending the humble shrub, and braving the fury of the contending elements.” And again, as if the author would wish to find a cover for the many massacres which Toussaint had sanctioned and indulged in, he says: “When the cloud, charged with electric fluid, becomes too ponderous, it selects not the brooding murderer on the barren heath, but bursts perhaps indiscriminately in wasteful vengeance over the innocent flocks reposing in verdant fields. He was, without doubt, a man possessed of many virtues, and performed many very good and very generous acts, and, what must be admitted to have redounded greatly to his reputation, he was always grateful, and never left an obligation unrequited. To those planters whom he induced to return to the island, and whom he restored to their properties, he was generous, kind, and indulgent; and of the confidence which they placed in his assurances, they had never cause to repent. Taking him altogether, he was undoubtedly a most extraordinary character, and whatever might have been the extent of his vices, they were certainly counter-balanced and atoned for by many virtues.”

It is said of him by another writer, who seems to have been conversant with all his private and public acts, that “the excellences of his character unfolded themselves more and more, as opportunities were afforded for their developement. The same humanity and benevolence which had adorned his humble life, continued to distinguish him in his elevation. He never imitated the conduct of other leaders, in flattering the multitude, encouraging them in crimes, or urging them to revenge and slaughter; on the contrary, mercy, industry, and order were always inculcated by his counsels, recommended by his example, and enforced by his authority. The fertility of his inventions, the correctness of his judgments, the celerity of his movements, the extent of his labours in the combined and multifarious business of war and government astonished both friends and foes.”4 And in another place it is observed of him: “If there was one trait in his character more conspicuous than the rest, it was his unsullied integrity. That he never broke his word, was a proverbial expression common in the mouths of the white inhabitants of the island, and of the English officers who were employed in hostilities against him.”

Immediately after the business of the war had been completed, Toussaint proceeded to the restoration of public worship, according to the forms which existed prior to the revolution, and he even extended the liberty of religious worship beyond the Roman communion, by admitting one or two of the Methodist persuasion, who had arrived from the United States, to the privilege of preaching in Cape François, and to whom he gave every protection.

His military establishment was on a scale of some extent during the war, but was much reduced at the peace. The discipline of his troops did him great credit, and excited considerable surprise in the British officers; their movements were effected with great precision, and although they were not after the manner of European evolutions, yet they were well adapted for that species of irregular warfare in which they were engaged. The men were under tolerable command, and no symptoms of insubordination were known to have shewn themselves; they seemed to be aware of the consequences that would ensue to their cause if order and submission were not rigidly exacted, and they were therefore taught to obey their officers as a duty indispensable for their security.