Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/856

 826 TOUSSAINT lie, and applied himself so energetically to bring all parties to the same conclusion that Laveaux, the French commander, exclaimed: Mais cet hommefait ouverture partout ; and from this time he received his surname of "L'Ouver- ture" (the opening). He formed a junction with Laveaux, and, though the Spanish and English forces united against him, he drove the English from nearly all their strong posi- tions, took 28 Spanish batteries in four days, maintained a long line of defences against the allied enemy, who possessed twice his force, rescued Laveaux, and finally closed the cam- paign by receiving the capitulation of the en- tire English force besieged at St. Marc (1797), and the abandonment of the effort by the Spanish to conquer the W. portion of the isl- and. Toussaint, who had been appointed com- mander-in-chief of St. Domingo in 1796 by Sonthonax, the French commissioner, soon re- stored order and industry to the island, though opposed to H6douville, the new commissioner. H6douville, finding himself without influence, fled to France to make complaint of the negro chieftain, who -sent to the directory a state- ment of the > true position of affairs. The French directory justified Toussaint and cen- sured Hedouville. But the latter, on the eve of leaving Hayti, had .sown the seeds of discord between Rigaud, the mulatto leader, and Tous- saint, and, by finally setting the former free from his obligations to the latter, had prepared the foundations of a new civil war ; and for nearly the whole of the year 1799 the war be- tween the blacks and the mixed race raged fiercely. Toussaint captured Jacmel, subdued the mulatto insurrection, and on Nov. 26, 1800, assumed the government, amenable for his administration to the French directory alone ; and in January, 1801, the whole island became subject to his sway. He invited the steward of his old master's estate and other well disposed white colonists back to the isl- and. He assumed great state in his public ap- pearance, being richly attired and surrounded by a guard of 1,500 to 1,800 men, all in bril- liant uniforms and admirably mounted ; but in private life he was plain and temperate. At the very beginning of his administration Tous- saint selected an administrative council of nine, of whom eight were white proprietors and one a mulatto. A constitution was drawn up by the council, in which he was named president for life, and free trade was established. This constitution he sent with a letter to Bonaparte, then first consul, whose reply was: "He is a revolted slave whom we must punish; the honor of France is outraged." An act was passed restoring the French colonies to their condition previous to 1789. In a subsequent decree by Bonaparte St. Domingo or Hayti was excepted an exception, as the event proved, intended to be only temporary. Gen. Leclerc, the husband of Pauline, Bonaparte's sister, was Bent out with a force of 30,000 men and 66 war vessels. The expedition arrived on the coast of Hayti in January, 1802. Among those in command in it were Rigaud, Petion, and Boyer, all enemies of Toussaint. Without a declaration of war Leclerc attempted to enter Cap Francois with his force, and Christophe, who was in command there, rather than sur- render, burned the city. Finding unexpected resistance at all points, Leclerc sent Toussaint's sons, who had been educated in France, and whom he had brought with him, to their fa- ther, with a letter from Bonaparte and anoth- er from himself, couched in terms of mingled flattery and menace. The negotiation was in- effectual. Leclerc then declared Toussaint and his generals outlaws, and a sanguinary con- flict ensued, in which one third of the French troops were killed or wounded; and though they possessed the seaports, yet the blacks from their mountain fastnesses were destroy- ing them in detail. Finding it impossible to conquer the island in this way, Leclerc sought to win over the negro generals, and succeeded with Christophe and those under him, inclu- ding Dessalines. He next made his proposi- tions to Toussaint, offering as conditions of peace to respect the liberty of the people, and confirming this by the most solemn oaths to leave the government of the island in Tous- saint's hands, and to employ the officers of his army according to their rank, while for him- self he would only hold the office of delegate from France by Toussaint's side. Toussaint accepted his offers, and a treaty of peace was concluded May 1. He avowed however his own determination to leave public life, and re- tired to his estate near Ennery. But Leclero had determined upon his destruction. At his direction Gen. Brunet on June 7 sent him an apparently cordial letter, asking for an inter- view of an hour in relation to some arrange- ments for providing for the black troops, in- viting him to bring his wife with him, and closing with assuring him of the sincerity of his friendship. Toussaint went to Gonaives, and after a short conversation Brunet left the room, when an armed force entered and seized Toussaint, and at midnight put him on board a French frigate, with his family. On their ar- rival at Brest he was separated from his fam- ily, whom he was never allowed to see again. On Aug. 17 he reached Paris under guard, and was at once confined in the Temple, whence he was transferred, without trial and without any explanation of the cause of his arrest, to the dungeons of the castle of Joux, in the depart- ment of Doubs. Here, deprived of all society, subjected to the intense cold with insufficient clothing, and with too little food to sustain life, he appealed repeatedly but in vain for a trial ; and as well as his failing strength would allow, he began his defence, which was trans- mitted to Bonaparte, but elicited no reply. Finally the governor of the castle went away for four days and left Toussaint without food or drink. On his return he was dead, and the rats had gnawed his feet. An autopsy was