Sonthonax, Polverel, and Ailaud, the new Civil Commissioners appointed by France, arrived at Cap-Français on September 18, 1792. They were accompanied by 6,000 soldiers and by General d'Esparbes, the new Governor-General of the island.
The affranchis who had already gathered imposing forces, were well prepared to protect and defend by force of arms the rights granted to them by the Decree of April 4, 1792. Their cause was henceforth inseparable from that of the French Revolution. Their assistance was therefore pledged beforehand to the new agents of the mother country.
The condition of the island at this time was not reassuring. In the North the colonists were inflicting punishments of the severest kind on the slaves taken prisoners, without succeeding in quelling the rebellion. In the West and in the South the whites and the affranchis were carefully watching each other: symptoms of unrest were rampant. Owing to the want of security resulting, agriculture was neglected and many colonists had left the country.
The affranchis Exercise Their Political Rights
The Civil Commissioners had hardly become settled when news of the momentous events of August 10 reached Saint-Domingue. The arrest and deposing of Louis XVI furnished the colonists with a pretext for renewing the struggle. The Colonial Assembly tried to stir up the people with a view of getting rid of Sonthonax, Polverel, and Ailaud. These latter frustrated the plan by taking energetic steps: by an order on October 12 they dissolved the Assembly of Cap-Français and all the other popular assemblies. In place of the Colonial Assembly they organized what was called the Commission intermediare (Intermediary Committee), consisting of twelve members: six whites and six colored men. Thus for the first time the representatives of the black race sat, in a political body, by the side of the arrogant colonists who formerly had had naught but contempt for them. Pinchinat, Jacques Borno, Louis Boisrond, François Raymond, Castaing, and Latortue were the first affranchis officially admitted to the honor of participating in the administration of the colony. The colored men did not content themselves with belonging simply to the Intermediary Committee, they took a large part in the organization of the municipalities; they even held public offices. Civil and political equality was henceforth an accomplished fact. But much blood was still to be shed; and the black race was to struggle heroically and successfully to preserve forever an advantage for the winning of which so many lives had been sacrificed.
The pride of the colonists suffered greatly; it seemed impossible for them to accept such a situation. At Cap-Français they plotted a conspiracy, in which even the new Governor-General, d'Esparbes, took part. The Civil Commissioners were able to prevent disturbances only by resorting to extraordinary measures. Assured of the devotedness of the colored men, they proceeded without hesitation to arrest General d'Esparbes and forty white officers, all of whom were taken on board and kept as prisoners in the harbor of Cap-Français. General Rochambeau became acting Governor-General. For a while the firm attitude of the Civil Commissioner preserved peace. They thought that they could now safely look after the welfare of the various prowinees. Polverel left for the West and Ailaud for the South. Sonthonax remained at Cap-Français with the intermediary Committee. Instead of going to Aux Cayes, Ailaud, alarmed by the existing state of things, abandoned his post and returned to France. Sonthonax therefore went South in his place. In January, 1793, he had barely finished expelling from Platons the rebellious slaves of the plain of Cayes, when grave events compelled him to leave the South. Fighting had already taken place in the streets of Cap-Français (December 2, 1792) : a body of white soldiers had refused to acknowledge the authority of a colored officer appointed to command Them; they mutinied. A few colonists and the sailors of the men-of-war hastened to side with the white soldiers. They attacked the battalion of colored men, who, after a fierce defense, were compelled to yield to the superior forces of their opponents; they withdrew to Haut-du-Cap, where they took possession of the artillery. On his arrival at Cap-Français, Sonthonax arrested and embarked the most important factionists. The colored soldiers agreed then to return to Cap-Français; they were welcomed with great honor: the Civil Commissioner, the acting Governor, the Intermediary Committee, and the municipality all went to meet them. This reception irritated the colonists of Cap-Français, and more especially those of Port-au-Prince. The latter, in order to avenge what they considered as a humiliation put upon the white race, plotted the expulsion of the Civil Commissioners and the extermination of the colored men when the agents of France would be no longer in the island to protect them.
For a while they forgot their own differences and united firmly against their common enemy. In their turn they succeeded in stirring up against the colored men the slaves of Fond-Parisien and of the Cul-de-Sac plain. The revolt broke out on January 23, 1793. Thirty-three plantations belonging to colored men were reduced to ashes. Emboldened by their success the wealthy planters of Port-au-Prince, headed by Auguste Borel, arrested General Lasalle, then acting Governor. Rochambeau had been sent to Martinique. General Lasalle succeeded in making his escape; he went to Saint-Marc, where Sonthonax had already arrived; Polverel soon joined them. The colored men hastened to render to the Civil Commissioners all the assistance in their power. A strong army marched against Port-au-Prince. After a hard and desperate struggle the town surrendered. Beauvais was appointed commander-in-chief of the militia of the West; and a body of regular troops, the Legion of Equality, was organized, with the mulatto Antoine Chanlatte as its colonel.
Their authority once more established in Port-au-Prince, Polverel and Sonthonax tried to subdue La Grand'Anse. For this purpose they dispatched a delegation accompanied by 1200 soldiers under the command of André Rigaud. The colonists of that portion of Saint-Domingue had gradually rid themselves of the control of the agents appointed by France; they had elected an Administrative Council at .Jérémie, which voted even taxes. They had armed their slaves and placed at their head a black man by the name of Jean Kina. Aided by them they had succeeded in expelling from their "departement" all the affranchis blacks and mulattoes. The army of the colonists was intrenched at Desrivaux. André Rigaud attacked it on June 19, 1793. He was completely defeated. After their victory the whites of La Grand Anse transformed their Administrative Council into a Council of Safety and Execution (Conseil de Sureté et d'Exécution), which they vested with extraordinary powers.
In the mean time, the greatest excitement was prevailing once more at Cap-Français. The Governor of the island, General Galbaud. had espoused the interests of the colonists. Upon the arrival of Polverel and Sonthonax in that town, all the inhabitants were plotting against them. But having with them a battalion of colored men with Antoine Chanlatte in command, they felt that they were sufficiently powerful to order Galband to immediately leave the island and sail for France (June 13). The Governor raised a rebellion among the crew of the men-of-war; and on June 20 he landed at Cap-Français at the head of 3,000 men. Antoine Chanlatte, gallantly supported by Jean-Baptiste Belley, a free black, lost no time in going to the help of the Commissioners. A bloody struggle occurred in the streets of Cap-Français. In the end, however, Polverel and Sonthonax were compelled to abandon the town, which was left to the mercy of Galbaud's sailors. On the 21st of June they retreated to Camp-Breda. Their situation seemed hopeless. That very day they issued a decree promising full freedom to all the slaves who would take up arms for the cause of the French Republic, promising also that they would be considered the equals of the whites and would enjoy all the rights belonging to the French citizens. As soon as this decree became known to them, the followers of Pierrot, Macaya, and Goa, who were fighting on their own behalf, hastened to place themselves at the disposal of the representatives of the French Republic. With a firm determination to earn their freedom, these slaves fiercely attacked the forces of Galbaud; owing to their assistance Cap-Français was stormed on June 23. The sailors had sacked and partly destroyed the unfortunate town by fire. The ill-fated island of Saint-Domingue continued thus to be devastated by fire and sword.
Instead of improving, the situation of the Civil Commissioners daily grew worse. In February France was again at war with Great Britain; hostilities soon followed with Spain. The representatives of France and Spain at Saint-Domingue were both instructed by their respective governments to spare no pains, to resort even to the revolted slaves, in order to conquer the territory of the other party. The Governor of the Spanish portion of the island was already carrying out these instructions. He had won over Jean-François, Masson, and Toussaint Louverture, whom he loaded with favors and honors. Jean-François was appointed lieutenant-general of the forces of the King of Spain; Toussaint Louverture became major-general (marechal-de-camp). "For the first time black slaves were to be seen bedecked with ribbons, crosses and other insignia of nobility."
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