A Speck from the Columbian Storm

Christopher Columbus's audacious voyage of conquest to the New World and subsequent Spanish plunder of the continent's gold generated intense protest by the Portuguese and inflamed the jealousy of several other European countries. Many of those powers — Italian city-states, France, and England — had failed to sponsor the now very lucrative adventure, a rejection they came to regret. Indeed, since the early 1430s the Portuguese had reached the outskirts of Africa. Within less than two decades hence, the West and East African trading networks had been disrupted and taken over by Portuguese merchants. In light of Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage to the Americas, a second papal bull became necessary. Portugal pursued the papal decree without delay in order to force Spain to respect previous agreements reached regarding Portugal's right of ownership over lands south of Cape Bojador. This avenue was to be Portugal's only hope of curtailing Spain's giant gains, as announced by Columbus. Pope Alexander, himself a Spaniard, attempted to settle the dispute between Spain and Portugal by dividing the pagan world into two spheres of occupation. Portugal was to take all lands east of the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands, and Spain all lands to the west. In the compromise that followed the pope's judicious intervention, Spain ceded Brazil to Portugal.

This arbitrary division, however, was not applauded by all the other candidates who, in search of trading opportunities and raw materials, such as Spain enjoyed, had invested resources during these daring voyages of discovery. Had those been the only two contenders and coveters of the wealth of the nations and tribal lands in Asia, Africa, Australia, and the New World, the issue would probably have been resolved in the sixteenth century. Many future conflicts that were to follow, resulting in the deaths of millions of indigenous peoples, would have been averted. That was not the case. Britain, France, Holland, and Russia, to name a few, took their cases to the seas, seeking redress in the traditional way — war. The warrior people were not prepared to leave their futures up to chance, or in the hand of a universally benevolent arbiter, no matter their confession to the contrary: "Most Christian, defender of the faith or holy Emperors," as their sublime titles may indicate. In matters of warfare their God deferred to them. Never again would there be peace on earth. The strength of their arms represented a more dependable guarantee, one that would — at least, if all else failed — secure for them a say in how their collective future as nations and realms would be shaped. Indeed, aloofness while one power grabbed the entire wealth of a whole continent would have dire consequences — a lesson many nations and peoples around the world have learned only too late to have averted the most egregious inhumanity ever visited on earth.

Rivalry in Hispaniola

Spain's wish to be left alone to enjoy the loot her conquest of the American Indians had brought her was not to be honored. On the contrary, her hold on the western hemisphere invited hostility from all European rivals, countries that wanted the harvest of gold Spain now enjoyed. One way to wrestle the wealth from Spain was to set up pirate colonies in the new world from which to launch expeditions against Spanish fleet carrying ready wealth from the rich American colonies. Queen Elizabeth of England dispatched Francis Drake, her most lethal weapon, against Spain's interests in the Americas. Drake cruised the high seas, capturing Spanish ships and colonies. St. Domingo, St. Jago, and Carthagena, among other Spanish possessions in the Americas, were seized. By the time Spain ransomed the islands, the English had destroyed the infrastructure. The chaos that ensued left the islands wide open to those unwanted elements — the undesirable pirates. French filibusters infested the length and breadth of the American seas and oceans, pillaging Spanish ships. P. Pierre-Francois Xavier de Charlevoix was a French Jesuit traveler and historian of the French Empire. He wrote that the very name filibusters or freebooters smacked terror in the heart of Spanish residents in the Americas. The French pirates normally attacked ships leaving America loaded with gold, silver, and exotic merchandise of the New World, said Charlevoix. The pirates' favorite ship was the Spanish galleon, which they usually stalked till it sailed to the pirates' ambush at the Bahama canal; here in the most death-defying stunt, the fearless pirates unleashed attacks against ships far superior in tonnage, weaponry, and manpower. The quantity and quality of the Spanish cargoes alone could persuade the pirates to spare the ships' occupants. When the ships' contents were judged meager in the estimation of the pirates, the crew was indiscriminately drowned.

The Spanish colony of Hispaniola, for example, held particular attraction for the destitute filibusters and the buccaneers. They had unsuccessfully traveled most of the islands in search of a home base, which was often denied them until 1630, when they reached Ile de La Tortue (Tortuga Island), an empty island off the coast of Haiti. The filibusters settled down on the northwestern coast of the little island. Here, they divided themselves into several groups for the survival of the new community: a class of hunters or buccaneers, one of filibusters or pirates who specialized in evading Spanish ships, one of habitants or farmers, and one of engages to provide labor. Spanish ship captains harassed and slaughtered many of the unwelcomed residents. The tenacity of the survivors and continual assistance from St. Kitts allowed them to reach a state of relative stability and independence comparable in function to a contemporary colony. By the time Le Vasseur took control of the island from an English chief, the Spaniard don B. D. M. prepared a force of between five and 600 men to invade and reclaim the island. Le Vasseur had anticipated the point of attack and had installed a cannon, of which the Spaniards had no knowledge. A short battle followed and the Spaniards were defeated. Le Vasseur introduced a reign of terror. His tyranny was unbearable to the point that Poincy sent a newly arrived corsair from France, Chevalier de Fontenay, to assassinate him and to take control of La Tortue. He was killed by Tibau and other assassins. Spain reconquered the island and expelled the habitants. After the death of Poincy, M. du Rossey took La Tortue from the Spanish and was elected governor by all the inhabitants. Rossey returned to France, leaving his nephew La Place in charge. Upon Rossey's untimely death, La Place held the post until 1664, when the French Compagnie Occidental (Company of the West) assumed control of all the French islands of the Antilles. By this intervention, the island fell to the control of one of the many colonial companies that modeled after the Dutch East India Company — the Company of the West. The Company of the West brought sixty soldiers, engaged to farm the soil, and built a warehouse that served as a trading post. When he took over as governor, M. Ogeron Gentilhomme brought in more immigrants, filibusters, buccaneers, and habitants to increase the population.

The French immigrants to La Tortue married newly arrived French women. Filibusters and buccaneers followed their example and settled down with new French ladies, whose past indiscretions they forgave but whom they also threatened to kill in case of any future infidelity. Ogeron returned to France to lobby for his reappointment. The ministers agreed to the request but burdened Ogeron with very challenging terms. He was required to provide 12 ships filled with trade goods per year. In addition, he was to supply habitants with slaves. While in France to lobby for the conquest of the entire island, the man who pacified La Tortue, Ogeron, died in Paris in 1676 and was replaced by his nephew, M. de Poincy.

Spain meanwhile found it impossible to clear Saint-Domingue of the entrenched French population which spread all over the western third of Hispagnola and was also making plans to conquer the entire island. Renewed Spanish vigor emanating from the governor of St. Jago appeared, finally, to have caused the French to contemplate retreat rather than annihilation. The governor's armed vessels and soldiers were halted as Charles II of Spain included Saint-Domingue in the package deal agreed upon at the Ryswick peace conference on September 20, 1697. Louis XIV defused a situation that could have ended in disaster for the French and convinced members of the coalition — Spain, Britain, Austria, and Germany — to sign a separate peace treaty.

Haiti in the Eighteenth Century

Now that the French had successfully wrestled the western section of Hispaniola from Spain, the structure of a colonial government was set in motion. The administration of the colony fell to two superior officers and a governor-general who commanded all military forces, presided over the superior colonial councils, passed laws, and awarded land grants and certain governmental functions to the people of his choice. The intendant controlled civil matters, including the public finances, employment, taxes, and public works. The colony was divided into three provinces: north, south, and west. Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, and Les Cayes were the provincial capitals, respectively. Each was led by a lieutenant governor in conjunction with military and civil courts. Cap-Haïtien and Port-au-Prince held appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the land. Beyond the courts was a seven-member committee that reviewed cases. A colonial governor had the power to annul or delay the committee's decisions, however, his powers were checked by the king of France, who could overrule or overturn the governor's decision.

The colony's various communitees were grouped into fifty-two parishes equipped with a segregated militia. One's skin tone determined whether he served in the white, mulatto, or free black division. The mixed people felt entitled to the same rights as their white parents or grandparents. To purge them of this "pretentious" feeling of equality, the whites excluded them from all public works, respectable professions such as surgeons, doctors, teachers, lawyers, clergy, and pharmacy. However, they were left with the right to own land; from that point they amassed considerable wealth. On May 15, 1791, Abbé Grégoire granted the people of color — mulattoes — whose parents were free the same rights as the whites. Oge, Chavannes, and their followers had been executed the year before for an armed revolt that sought to get these rights. In promulgating the decree granting these rights, Abbé Grégoire managed to inflame everyone's passion. The whites categorically rejected the proposition of sharing facilities and political rights with colored people of the colony. Mulattoes were educated abroad and were in possession of a substantial amount of wealth. Their ethnic composition relieved the whites of any consideration toward them; mulattoes were denied access to all those professions, social gatherings, and political appointments of any value simply because their complexion ranged from less than a quarter white to a shade darker.

Du Tertre said that all the wealth in the Antilles came from slave labor. That could only mean African slavery, for Africa provided a more reliable source of labor. Arawaks made bad slaves. French plantation owners reserved light duties, such as hunting and fishing, for the native Arawaks who believed hard slave labor was reserved for the Africans. The French were only too happy to keep the Arawaks from realizing their true condition — full-fledged slaves. The exclusive right to transport and sell Africans as slaves generated riots in Haiti in 1720 by the planters who felt cheated out of the profits now destined for the coffers of the Company of the West. Governor Sorel and Intendant Montholon sued for peace, and on December 27, 1722, the inhabitant representatives joined the king's representatives — the governor and the intendant — in Léogâne to sign the treaty that ended the Company of the West's monopoly. Despite the visible presence of Louis XV's squadron, the agreement accomplished very little, as riots resumed and continued until 1728.

Caught between the two forces, the more cruel of the planters concocted intrigues after intrigues in the hopes of fomenting discord between the two strata above. Meanwhile, on those below, the slaves whom those planters despised with all the hatred hell can muster, they brought maximum cruelty to bear. Even though their success lay in the well-being of the African slaves, blinded by hatred, they could not substitute that hatred even to save their own skin; thus, they succumbed to the most servile type of slavery ever inflicted on oneself. Etienne Descourtilz distinguished between the original planter and the slaveholder who lived closer to the time of the Haitian Revolution. Descourtilz portrayed the planters as kind and hardworking men who provided the Africans the best living arrangement that could be provided; the heirs, on the other hand, lived in France and hired plantation managers. The abuses that are often associated with plantation slavery were inflicted during that time and by careless managers and the original owners' sons and daughters.

Auberteuil studied the French colonial system in Haiti for 30 years. His conclusions were that the masters' brutality had, in fact, corrupted the natural predispositions of the slaves to work hard, prosper, and obey the law and authority. The colonists' abuses and inhumanity brought the slaves to the conclusion that they were not in the presence of human beings deserving respect and obedience. The sharp decrease of the slave population illustrated the extent of the abuse. Starting out with 800, 000 in 1680 under normal conditions or minimum treatment, this number would remain constant or experience some growth, but not in Saint-Domingue. By the time Auberteuil published his remarks in 1776, this population dropped to 290,000, less than half its original size. To those who wished his silence, Auberteuil responded that their silence only benefited injustice and that their inaction was no more than timidity in disguise. "Cette portion du peuple est digne de l'attention du gouvernement puisque c'est la partie industrielle de la nation."

The blacks represented the industrial sector of France; therefore, it was the duty of responsible government to intervene in the affairs of Saint-Domingue. Haitian products allowed France, the mother country, to trade with all northern nations. Here in Saint-Domingue, 3000 planters were aided by the colonists-at-large to produce those things France used to trade with other nations. The Company of Saint Louis, founded in 1668 and disbanded in 1720, conveyed land and supplies to Saint-Domingue planters, who were expected to repay with products taken from the soil at harvest time at prices favorable to the company. Often the planter found himself in perpetual debt too, due to unfair practices by some company officials.