Read Ebook: Hayti; or The black republic. by St John Spenser Sir

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Peace being now re-established over all the island, Toussaint began his civil administration. All accounts are unanimous in declaring that he himself governed admirably, but the instruments he had to employ were too often utterly unworthy. He organised the country into districts, and appointed inspectors to see that all returned to their work, and decreed that a fifth of the produce should be given to the labourers. Dessalines was appointed inspector-in-chief; and if a man without any sentiment of humanity was required for that post, surely Dessalines was a good choice, as he was ready to beat to death any man, woman, or child whom he chose to accuse of idleness. Toussaint, looking to difficulties ahead, continued to pay the greatest attention to his army, organised it with care, and preserved the strictest discipline. The stick appears to have been as popular in that day as it is now.

Toussaint was very friendly to the whites, and was most anxious to encourage them to aid in developing the country. This excited the jealousy of some of his generals; among others, of Mo?se, his nephew, who to thwart his uncle's projects incited a movement in the north to massacre the French. Several having fallen victims, Toussaint hastened to the spot, and finding that Mo?se was the real instigator of the murders, sent him before a court-martial. He was sentenced to death, and very properly shot on the 26th November 1800. Had Toussaint connived at these crimes, he would have upset all confidence in his trusted word.

All was now progressing on the island; the government was regularly administered, the finances were getting into order, and agriculture was beginning to raise its head, when Buonaparte, having secured peace in Europe, determined to recover the Queen of the Antilles and restore slavery. The story of this attempt may be told in a few words. General Leclerc started with 30,000 men to subdue the island, and although the evident intention of the French Government was to restore slavery, the principal mulatto officers accompanied him, chief among whom were Rigaud, P?tion, and Vilatte. It is true the mulattoes had not yet frankly accepted the full freedom of the blacks.

General Leclerc did all he could to cause an armed resistance, as a peaceful solution would have given him no military glory; therefore, instead of sending Toussaint his children and the letter he bore from Buonaparte, he tried to surprise Cap Ha?tien. But General Christophe, before retiring with its garrison, set fire to the town and almost destroyed it; and Toussaint sent instructions to his other generals to follow this example. Leclerc, mortified by the result of his first attempt, now thought of writing to Toussaint, and sent him his two boys. Toussaint behaved with great nobility of character, and asked naturally, "Why words of peace but acts of war?" Finding that he could not circumvent his black opponent, Leclerc published a decree in February 1802 placing both Toussaint and Christophe "hors la loi." This was followed by the burning of the towns of St. Marc and Gonaives, and a retreat of the black troops towards the interior.

Whenever you see a fortress in Hayti, you are sure to be told that it was built by the English; among others thus known was La Cr?te ? Pierrot. The French general Debelle, treating with contempt these negro troops, attacked this fort with an inefficient force and was beaten; then Leclerc made an assault in person, but he also was beaten, and was forced to lay siege to it. The attack and defence were conducted with singular courage, particularly the latter, considering the quality of the men, who had never before been measured with real white troops: however, after having repulsed several assaults, the garrison evacuated the forts. P?tion commanded a portion of the French artillery in this attack on his countrymen struggling for freedom. If he loved France but little, he hated Toussaint more.

Even the enemies of the great black general are full of admiration of the courage displayed by him during all this important struggle, and especially dwell on his devotion to his wounded officers. I may here remark that the French general Rochambeau distinguished himself for his cruelties, and shot every prisoner that fell into his hands; which fully justified the retaliation of the Haytians.

Discouraged by a series of reverses which followed the loss of La Cr?te ? Pierrot, where it was amply proved that the negro soldiers, even among their mountains, were no match for the disciplined troops of France, some of the black generals, as Christophe, began to make terms with the French; and Toussaint, finding himself thus abandoned, wrote to Leclerc offering submission. As it was accepted, he went to Cap Ha?tien to meet the commander-in-chief, and was received and treated with much distinction. He then returned to the village of Marmalade, and there issued orders to all his officers to cease opposition and acknowledge the French authorities, and peace was established throughout the island.

General Leclerc was but temporising with these black leaders; his secret orders were, not only to arrest Toussaint, Dessalines, and Christophe, but to re-establish slavery. He found, however, the last two so zealous in carrying out his instructions to disarm the population, that he preserved them in their commands.

Toussaint himself, having ever kept his word, could not believe that the French commander-in-chief would not keep his, and therefore, in spite of all warnings that treachery was meditated, stayed quietly on his estate at Ennery. He there received a letter from General Brunet, asking for an interview at a certain spot; Toussaint went, and was immediately arrested under circumstances of the greatest treachery. He was bound with ropes and embarked on board the French ship "Creole;" then put on board the "H?ros" with all his family and sent to France. When received on board by Savary, Chef de Division, he said to him, "En me renversant on n'a abattu ? Saint Domingue que le tronc de l'arbre de la libert? des noirs; il repoussera, parceque les racines en sont profondes et nombreuses." When reading this account of the capture of Toussaint, we can scarcely credit that we are recording the acts of French officers, whose plighted word was thus broken.

On Toussaint's arrival in France he wrote to the French Chief Consul; but he might as well have written to Dessalines as expect either mercy or justice from the despot who then ruled France. He was separated from his family and hurried off to the Ch?teau de Joux in the Alps, where his rival Rigaud was already confined. Here he died from cold and neglect, under circumstances which raised the suspicion that the close of this illustrious life was hastened by unfair means. It is some satisfaction to think that his executioner died also a prisoner in exile, though surrounded by every comfort that the generous English Government could afford him.

We have all heard or read something of Toussaint L'Ouverture, and been taught to think well of him: I was therefore the more surprised, on my arrival at Port-au-Prince, to hear his memory so depreciated. I do not remember any Haytian having voluntarily spoken of him, though they never wearied of talking of Dessalines, Christophe, and Rigaud. I at first thought that Toussaint never having unnecessarily shed white blood, whilst the others may be said to have rejoiced at the sight of it, was one of the chief causes; but the real reason why the historians and biographers of Hayti would lower Toussaint's memory is the energy with which he acted against the rebellious mulattoes, and his firm determination that all colours should be equally respected by the law, and that all should have equal rights.

It is impossible not to be struck with almost the unanimous opinion favourable to Toussaint which has been recorded by all parties, even by his enemies. The Marquis d'Hermonas says that "God in this terrestrial globe could not commune with a purer spirit;" the French general Pamphile Lacroix records that "Nul n'osait l'aborder sans crainte, et nul ne le quittait sans respect." We have seen the opinion of Roume and Rainsford, that Toussaint was "a philosopher, a legislator, a general, and a good citizen," and that the latter was compelled to admire him as "a man, a governor, and a general."

He was personally brave, and being a splendid rider, loving from his earliest childhood to be on horseback, he never appeared fatigued even after the greatest exertions. As a general he is thought to have shown much skill; and, what proves his sense, but does not add to his popularity among Haytians, he did not believe that his men were fitted to cope with the trained bands of France. He constantly said that they must trust to climate and yellow fever as their best allies. As an administrator he had much capacity, and his influence being unbounded, he would probably have restored its old prosperity to Hayti, had not Leclerc's expedition arrived to throw the whole island into confusion.

Toussaint's personal qualities appear to have been equal to his public: his word was sacred, he was humane on most occasions, yet with a firmness and decision which astonished his enemies. In his family relations he showed the most tender affection for wife and children; his fine nature was apparent on all occasions in his solicitude for his wounded officers and soldiers, and the thoughtful care of the prisoners that fell into his hands. His affectionate treatment of animals was also greatly noticed, and whenever he came upon fugitive women and children of any colour, his first thought was for their comfort.

Our Consul-General Mackenzie often talked to the black officers of Toussaint; they described him as stern and unbending, but just, and intimately acquainted with the habits of the people and the best interests of his country.

The one mistake of his life appears to have been his refusal, when urged to do so by England, to declare the independence of Hayti. Had he accepted the English proposals and entered into a treaty with us and with the Americans, it is not likely that Buonaparte would have ever attempted an expedition against him, and the history of Hayti might have been happier.

Toussaint was also a fervent Roman Catholic, and was greatly attached to the priesthood; he did all he could to repress the Vaudoux, and he published a strong proclamation forbidding all fetish rites.

The treachery of Leclerc towards Toussaint had its reward; it could not but excite suspicion among the black leaders, as the previous deportation of Rigaud had done among the mulattoes. And now the most fearful epidemic of yellow fever fell upon the French army, and almost annihilated it. Forty thousand are reported to have been lost during the years 1802 and 1803: among the victims were Leclerc and twenty other French generals. The Haytians saw their opportunity, and Dessalines, Christophe, and P?tion abandoned the invaders, and roused their countrymen to expel the weak remnants of the French army. War had now been declared between France and England, and our fleets were soon off the coasts. The French were driven from every point, and forced to concentrate in Cap Ha?tien. Rochambeau, who had succeeded Leclerc, did all that man could do to save his army; but besieged by the blacks to the number of 30,000, and blockaded by our fleet, pinched by hunger, and seeing no hopes of reinforcements, he surrendered to the English and embarked for Europe.

Thus ended one of the most disastrous expeditions ever undertaken by France, and ended as it deserved to end. Its history was sullied by every species of treachery, cruelty, and crime; but we cannot but admire the splendid bravery of the troops under every discouragement, in a tropical climate, where the heat is so great that the European is unfitted for continued exertion, but where yellow fever and death follow constant exposure.

HISTORY SINCE INDEPENDENCE.

"Que deviendra notre pays quand il sera livr? ? la vanit? et ? l'ignorance," exclaimed Bauvais, one of the leaders of the mulatto party. I am afraid this sketch of the history of Hayti since the war of independence will show what are the results to a country when governed by vanity and ignorance.

Having driven out the French by deeds of unquestioned valour and energy, and with a cruelty which the infamous conduct of Rochambeau could palliate, if not justify, the Haytians determined to throw off all allegiance to France and establish an independent government.

At Gonaives, on the 1st January 1804, General Dessalines assembled all his military chiefs around him and had read to them the Act of Independence, which terminated with the words, "for ever to renounce France, and to die rather than live under her dominion." In a proclamation, Dessalines was careful to declare that it was not their mission to disturb the tranquillity of neighbouring islands, but in unmistakable language he called upon them to put to death every Frenchman who remained in the island. This was followed by a declaration signed by the chief generals choosing Dessalines as Governor-General of Hayti for life, with power to name his successor, and to make peace or war. He was thus invested with arbitrary power, and proceeded to exercise it.

Dessalines, like most of those who surrounded him, was in every way corrupt; he is said to have spared no man in his anger or woman in his lust. He was avaricious, but at the same time he permitted his friends to share in the public income by every illicit means. His government was indeed so corrupt, that even the native historians allow that the administration was distinguished "for plunder, theft, cheating, and smuggling." Dessalines, when he appointed an employ?, used to say, "Plumez la poule, mais prenez garde qu'elle ne crie,"--the rule by which the Government service is still regulated.

In the month of August 1804 news arrived that Buonaparte had raised himself to the imperial throne; Dessalines determined not to be behindhand, and immediately had himself crowned Emperor. His generals were eager that a nobility should be created, but he answered, "I am the only noble in Hayti." As the eastern portion of the island was still occupied by the French, he determined to drive them out; but he was unable to take the city of Santo Domingo, and retired again to the west.

In June 1805 he published a constitution, which was worked out without consulting his generals, and created discontent among them. A conspiracy was organised; a rising in the south followed a visit from Dessalines, where he had given full scope to his brutality, and the insurgents marched forward and seized Port-au-Prince. When the Emperor heard of this movement, he hastened to the capital, fell into an ambuscade, and was shot at Pont Rouge, about half a mile from the city.

The only good quality that Dessalines possessed was a sort of brute courage: in all else he was but an African savage, distinguished even among his countrymen for his superior ferocity and perfidy. He was incapable as an administrator, and treated the public revenue as his own private income. He had concubines in every city, who were entitled to draw on the treasury to meet their extravagance; in fact, the native historians are in truth utterly ashamed of the conduct and civil administration of their national hero.

The death of Dessalines proved the signal of a long civil war. A National Assembly met at Port-au-Prince, voted a constitution prepared by General P?tion, by which the power of the chief of the state was reduced to a minimum, and then elected Christophe as first President of the republic. He in some respects was another Dessalines, and resented this effort to restrain his authority. He marched on the capital of the west with twelve thousand men, but after various combats failed to capture the city; then retired to Cap Ha?tien, and there had a constitution voted which proclaimed him President of Hayti.

The Senate again met in Port-au-Prince in 1806 to elect a President, and their choice fell on P?tion, who, of all the influential men in the west and south, certainly appeared the most deserving. He had scarcely been installed, when his generals began to conspire against him, and the war with Christophe absorbed most of the resources of the country. No event, however, of any great importance occurred till the year 1810, when Rigaud, having escaped from France, arrived in Hayti, and was received with much enthusiasm. P?tion apparently shared this feeling for his old chief, and imprudently gave him the command of the southern department. Rigaud was too vain to remain under the authority of P?tion, his former subordinate, and therefore separated the south from the west. The President would not attempt to prevent this by war, and accepted the situation, so that the island was divided into five states,--Christophe in the north, the old Spanish colony in the east, P?tion in the west, Rigaud in the south, and Goman, a petty African chief, in the extreme west of the southern department.

Christophe in 1811 proclaimed himself King and created a nobility. Rigaud died, and soon after the south rejoined the west, which was menaced by a new invasion from the north. In 1812 Christopher's army advanced to besiege Port-au-Prince; but finding their attacks frustrated, the soldiers, weary of the war, began to desert to P?tion, and had not the King hastened to raise the siege, it is probable his army would have gone over to the enemy.

In 1814, the fall of Napoleon brought about peace in Europe, and the French Government hastened to send agents to Hayti to claim submission to the mother country. P?tion refused, whilst offering an indemnity to the colonists; but Christophe, having secured the secret instructions of the French agent, did not hesitate to execute them. These proceedings of the French made the rival chiefs forget their own dissensions and prepare to receive another French expedition. Orders were given that on its appearance off the coast every town and village should be burnt down, and that the inhabitants should retire to the mountains. The old planters were urging their Government to destroy all the inhabitants of Hayti and repeople it from Africa; but a discovery of their projects produced so great an effect in England, that public opinion forced the Congress of Vienna to declare that the slave-trade was for ever abolished.

In 1816 P?tion named a commission to revise the constitution; the principal alterations were to elect a President for life and to add to the Senate a Chamber of Deputies. P?tion, however, did not long enjoy his new dignity; he died in 1818, at the early age of forty-eight, it is said of fever, but the opinion is still prevalent in Hayti that he died of weariness of life, brought on by the loss of all his illusions and the constant public and private annoyances to which he was subject. During his illness he is said to have refused all restoratives, and even to have rejected food. P?tion, though not a great man, sincerely loved his country, and devoted his energies to govern it well; but he was feeble in his measures, and from love of popularity allowed every kind of abuse to flourish in the financial administration. M. Robin, however, says truly that he was "the most popular and humane chief that Hayti ever possessed."

Boyer, through the energetic intervention of the military, was unanimously chosen by the Senate President of the republic, and commenced his long career as chief of the state in March 1818. Though he committed many faults, he appears to have been the most energetic and honest of the series of Haytian rulers. His first care was to establish order in the finances; and if his only errors were not to have erected a statue to his predecessor or founded an hospital for beggars, with which M. Robin appears to reproach him, his friends may still be permitted to admire him. Fortune, or rather his energy, everywhere favoured him. In 1819 he put down the long-neglected insurrection of Goman in the far west, and then prepared to move against King Henry, whose savage rule had alienated the affection even of his own guards. Struck down by apoplexy, the chief of the northern department was deserted by all, and sought refuge from anticipated indignities in suicide.

The north almost unanimously determined to rejoin the rest of the republic, and Boyer marched on Cap Ha?tien, to be received there with enthusiasm as the first President of United Hayti.

Boyer's fortune continued. In 1822 Santo Domingo separated from Spain and placed herself under the command of the President of Hayti, who was welcomed in the Dominican capital with every demonstration of joy.

In the next important event of his Presidency, Boyer was not so fortunate. From the year 1814 France had been continually tormenting the Governments of Hayti with the claims of her colonists, and negotiations were carried on by the two parties without much success till 1825, when Baron de Mackau was sent with a fleet to enforce the acceptance of French terms. Though the wording of the royal ordinance was mortifying to the Haytians, and the indemnity demanded out of the power of that little country to pay, yet Boyer and the senate thought it better to acquiesce, to avoid the evils of a blockade which would have followed refusal. The indemnity was so enormous, that although it was subsequently reduced to ?3,600,000, it has not yet been completely discharged. The terms of the royal ordinance created great indignation amongst the people, and the French Government acting evasively added to the excitement, and a plot was formed to overthrow Boyer. But he showed his usual energy; arrested four conspirators and sent them before a court-martial, which, with thorough Haytian disregard of justice, allowed no defence, as a pure waste of time, and condemned them to death. They were shot under circumstances of even unusual barbarity.

These negotiations with France continued to unsettle the country until 1838. M. Dupetit Thomars had come to Port-au-Prince, and being convinced that Hayti was really unable to pay this great indemnity, induced his Government to reconsider the matter; and a fresh mission was sent, consisting of Baron de Lascases and Captain Baudin. Two treaties were negotiated--one political, by which France acknowledged the complete independence of the republic; the second financial, by which the balance to be paid of the indemnity was reduced to ?2,400,000. As thirty years were allowed for this payment, in annual instalments on an average of ?80,000, no doubt Hayti could have paid it had the country remained quiet. The acknowledgment of this debt, however, was seized on by the political enemies of Boyer to undermine his position, and the cry was raised that he had sold the country to the whites. The continued necessity of sending French naval expeditions to enforce the payment of the arrears of this debt has been injurious to the interests of all Europeans, has increased the unpopularity of foreigners, and helped to support the policy of those who wish to keep the white man out of the country. Among the people, the popular song

"Blancs fran?ais viennent demander l'argent"

implies that they have unfairly made use of their naval power in order to extract money which was not due to them from a people incapable of effectual resistance. This wretched debt to France has been the cause of half the misfortunes of Hayti.

The Government of General Boyer had certainly the merit of preserving tranquillity, and if ever population should have increased in Hayti, it was during this tranquil epoch, when for above twenty years no blood was shed in warlike operations, and very little in repressing conspiracies. In 1825 England formally acknowledged the republic of Hayti by entering into relations with her, sending Mr. Mackenzie as Consul-General. His reports and writings drew considerable attention to the country.

In March 1836 Dr. England negotiated a concordat by which the Pope was acknowledged head of the Haytian Church, with the power of confirming the nomination of bishops. However, this arrangement had little practical effect, as the clergy remained without control, and were a scandal to every true Catholic.

I am quite unable to reconcile the reports made of the state of affairs in Hayti at this time. After a twenty years' peace, the country is described as in a state of ruin, without trade or resources of any kind; with peculation and jobbery paramount in all the public offices; an army supposed to consist of 45,000 men, according to the budget; in reality few soldiers, but many officers, among whom the appropriations were divided. I feel as if I were reading of more modern times instead of the halcyon days of Haytian history.

Another of the evils which arose from the indemnity question was the special position which it gave to French agents, who, even after the independence of the republic had been recognised, affected to treat Hayti as a dependency until all the debt should have been paid. The most pretentious of these agents at this time threw the whole country into commotion on account of an article in a newspaper, and continued to harass the Government on every possible occasion with his absurd pretensions.

The close of Boyer's career was as unfortunate as its commencement had been the reverse. To the humiliations inflicted by the French Consul-General was now added the necessity of saluting the Spanish flag under threat of bombardment. Throughout Haytian history these affairs are continually recurring; no people are more ready to insult foreigners, nor more humiliated by the necessary reparation.

The greatest calamity, however, was the earthquake of 1842, which injured every city in the northern department, and almost annihilated Cap Ha?tien. I have referred to this event in a previous chapter, when the peasantry from the plains and mountains, and the officers and soldiers of the garrison, vied with each other in plundering the city, whilst 5000 of their countrymen were buried in the ruins, the cries of many of whom could for days be heard imploring that help which could readily have been afforded, but whose supplications were unheeded by the brutal populace.

This calamity in the north was followed by another in Port-au-Prince, where a large portion of the city was burnt down. These extensive fires appear to be incendiary, as they almost always occur at moments of political disturbance.

The humiliations inflicted on President Boyer by the French and Spaniards, and the discontent that followed the great losses in the northern department, encouraged the ill-affected, and early in 1843 an insurrection broke out under H?rard-Rivi?re, a fair mulatto. After a brief show of resistance, Boyer abdicated in March, thus closing a Presidency of twenty-five years.

General Boyer showed considerable talent during his administration, but he was essentially narrow-minded, and full of prejudice against foreigners. During the last ten years of his rule he had conceived the project of expelling them from Hayti in a legal manner by refusing any fresh licenses to trade; but though he in some measure succeeded, he increased the discontent against him, as his countrymen are only capable of conducting with success a retail business, and require foreigners for the larger operations of commerce. Boyer had the rare quality of being honest, and left in the treasury, on his departure, the sum of ?200,000, the first and last chief who was ever guilty of so unaccountable a weakness. His time is still remembered as one of repose, and the troubles which followed his departure soon made even his enemies regret his fall. Her Majesty's corvette "Scylla" had the honour of conducting General Boyer and his family to Jamaica. It will be noticed hereafter that almost every President has died prematurely, or claimed the hospitality of a foreign ship of war to bear him into exile.

When the popular army entered Port-au-Prince, it was hailed as the precursor of better days, but scarcely had a Provisional Government been organised than the blacks began to conspire, as they wanted a President of their own colour. General Dalzon went so far as to propose that they should put to death every mulatto. However, the latter had now the upper hand, and the general was taken, and disappeared from the scene.

The most serious result of the overthrow of General Boyer was the separation of the eastern end of the island and its formation into a distinct republic. The brutality of the Haytian officers and soldiers who garrisoned that part of the country no doubt hastened this secession. I have often listened to President Geffrard when he was describing his own conduct and that of others towards the Dominicans, and my only wonder is that they did not separate before.

On December 30, 1843, the Constituent Assembly finished their new constitution, and then elected General H?rard-Rivi?re President of Hayti; contemporary accounts say "with much enthusiasm." He soon found it was not a bed of roses. M. Barrot arrived with the object of obtaining a monopoly of the Haytian trade for France, by relieving the Government of the immediate payment of the instalments due on the indemnity. But the President was more anxious to subdue the Dominicans than to negotiate, and on their proclaiming their independence in February 1844, he collected an army, it is said of from 24,000 to 30,000 men, and marched to attack them. The numbers must be greatly exaggerated; but whatever they were, they did nothing, and after many skirmishes they only penetrated as far as Azua, and there the President halted, complaining that he was harassed by French intrigues in favour of the Dominicans.

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