Summary

James returns to events in France, where the Parisian masses had taken the Bourbons off the throne. James notes that the French peasants, swept up in “striking at royalty, tyranny, reaction and oppression of all types” (120), loathed colonialism and became “passionate allies” (120) to the black rebellion overseas.

Meanwhile, the French Commissioners arrived in San Domingo in 1792 in order to resolve the “Mulatto question” (121), only to find that it had been more or less resolved amongst the Mulatto and big white classes. In January 1793, France beheaded its king, and later in that year, Toussaint allied with the Spaniards. Saying that he could only answer to a king, Toussaint refused to abide by the orders of Sonthonax, the island’s new ruler. Finally, Sonthonax declared the abolition of slavery on August 29, 1793—a declaration that failed to serve its purpose as...