November 18, 1803

Ici Nous Allons Encore: Or Here We Go Again.

It's almost shameful, really, but we've done it again. It seems we here at Lies Agreed Upon are such Bonipartists that we can't even go a day without covering a Napoleonic event. Some may say we're too enamored with the Little Dictator for our own good. We'll just say it's more of a thank you to our reader(s), all of whom are fluent in French and know where to find excellent brie. We're loyal to our fans here at Lies Agreed Upon, what can we say?

But of course, we cannot possibly cover the French two days in a row without highlighting two defeats in a row. So today we look at the fight for Fort Vertieres, a French stronghold on the island of Hispaniola, the last battle in the Haitian War for Independence. When the French surrendered to rebel forces on November 18, 1803, it paved the way for the establishment of what is now known as the Republic of Haiti. This may sound like a familiar tale to us Yanks; oppressed colony throws off European mother country in favor of a democracy, you say? Not exactly. Leave it to the French to put their own spin on this sort of Old-World nightmare.



Haitian rebels attack the fort's French garrison in this engraving of the Battle of Vertieres.

At the time, France's stake in Hispaniola was known as the colony of Saint-Domingue, and what a colony it was. Hot, humid and sticky; positively perfect for growing coffee and sugar cane, veritable necessities in pantries all over Europe. Earlier in 1803, Napoleon had signed away most of his holdings in the Western Hemisphere to a certain newly founded republic. (Ever been to New Orleans?) But while selling the huge, but mostly empty Louisiana Purchase unburdened France, if Saint-Domingue were to go, she would be robbed of one of the last jewels of her empire.

The funny thing about really lucrative colonies is that they usually churn out all those high profits at the exploitation of the labor force. By the second half of the 1700's, Saint-Domingue produced more coffee and raw sugar than all the British holdings in Caribbean combined. To guess who was doing all that farming, think about the southeast United States at about the same time. Society in the colony was based almost entirely around African slavery, and blacks outnumbered whites on the island almost nine to one. Oh, those tolerant and liberal French.

But let's think here. What else had just happened to affect France in the last ten years or so? For starters the king was killed, the government was overthrown more times than the guillotine was sharpened, and eventually there was an old-fashioned coup d'etat by none other than our boy Napoleon. We'll save the gushing for later because the important thing here is the French Revolution itself. All the talk about Liberty, Equality and Fraternity that kicked around during the absolution of the monarchy reached Saint-Domingue, and the slaves began to wonder just what it meant for them.

Free blacks in the colony began appealing to the French government for more equality. When they were denied and discriminated further, it played a role in the slaves decision to revolt in 1791. The revolt scared whites into coming to terms, and after helping fight off British and Spanish invasions the slaves were promised their freedom. Unfortunately for them, that was before Napoleon came to power, and old Nap had to have things his way. He dispatched an expeditionary force to Saint-Domingue in 1802, intent on eventually restoring slavery. So the former slaves, now exposed to European-style military tactics and a small taste of freedom, set out to win their independence.



Jean-Jacques Dessalines, leader of the rebels at Vertieres.








Once again, the battle is not particularly significant, as the determined attackers overwhelmed the outnumbered garrison of Fort Vertieres. The results however, were far reaching. The nation that became Haiti is important for several reasons. Haiti was the first independent Latin American country. Furthermore, it was the first state founded by black leaders since European colonialism began. And, surely noted by many in Virginia and Alabama, it was the first time a nation was founded after a successful slave rebellion.

We admit we got a little narrow in our topic selection again, but since the Haitian Revolution is sometimes lost as a side-note, we thought the irony of events in France shaping it worth sharing. In return for two days of Frenchies in a row, Lies Agreed Upon promises a couple hundred thousand pissed-off Russians and some Panzers for tomorrow. We appreciate the patience of our readers, and would like to thank the French for their participation.