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Lot 347
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Connecticut Newspaper Reports Massacres By Former Slaves in Haiti
Connecticut Newspaper Reports Massacres By Former Slaves in Haiti
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Description:

Haiti
Hartford, CT, June 13, 1804
Connecticut Newspaper Reports Massacres By Former Slaves in Haiti
Newspaper

The Connecticut Courant, June 13, 1804. Hartford: Barzillai Hudson and George Goodwin. 4 pp., 12" x 20.5". General toning; expected folds; some separation on central fold; small loss in top margin; small holes with minimal impact on text.

This issue includes reports of the massacre of thousands of French men, women, and children in Haiti by forces under the command of Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

Excerpts
"Massacre of the Whites at Cape Francois.
"By the Pilot Boat Gray Hound...we have a confirmation of the massacre and pillage at that and other places of the island by Gen. Dessalines' troops which commenced on the 19th of April, and was continued, without intermission till the 14th of May. All the French inhabitants, including men, women and children, to the number of between 2000 and 2500, were put to the sword or bayonet at the Cape during the above period." (p4/c1)

"On the 22d of April, Fort Dauphin was pillaged, and all the whites, to the number of about ninety, men, women and children, were massacred, and a part of the town destroyed. A few days after, the French inhabitants of St Jago and other parts of the interior, were escorted to the Cape, and there destroyed in the most wanton manner.

"On the 12th of May, Dessalines issued a proclamation (a copy which follows) calling upon the Spanish inhabitants of the City of Santo Domingo, to declare themselves for or against him, allowing them fifteen days to determine." (p4/c1)

"Men, women and children were hacked down with swords and plunged with bayonets. Women with children in their arms were seen flying through the streets to avoid their pursuers; and being overtaken by them, one thrust of a bayonet pi[e]rced both mother and child!
"After this dreadful massacre the dead lay in the streets for three days, when the inhabitants were ordered to remove those within a certain distance of each dwelling—which were afterwards dragged off and thrown into a ditch at the foot of a mountain." (p4/c1)

[Dessalines Proclamation:]
"CRIMES, the most atrocious, such as were, until then unheard of, and would cause nature to shudder, have been perpetrated—the measure was overheaped. At length the hour of vengeance has arrived, and the implacable enemies of the rights of man have suffered the punishment due to their crimes. My arm raised over their heads too long delayed to strike. At that signal which the justice of God has urged, your hands righteously armed, have brought the axe upon the ancient tree of slavery and prejudices.... Like an overflowing, mighty torrent, that tears down all opposition, your vengeful fury has carried away every thing in its tempestuous course. Thus perish all tyrants over innocence—all oppressors of mankind!"

Historical Background
Inspired by the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution began in 1791 when the slaves of the French colony of Saint Domingue (modern Haiti) revolted, killed 4,000 whites, and destroyed more than a thousand plantations. By 1792, they controlled a third of the island, and many whites fled.

Hoping to take advantage of the unrest to seize a valuable colony, Spain, which controlled the rest of the island of Hispaniola, and Great Britain invaded. Both Great Britain and Spain supplied the rebels with food and arms. However, they also restored slavery wherever they went, so the majority of Haitians hated them. In response, French commissioners freed the slaves of Saint Domingue, and the National Convention confirmed their action. François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, a self-educated former domestic slave, joined the Spanish army in opposition to the French planters. In 1794, however, Toussaint Louverture suddenly joined the French and expelled the Spanish from Saint Domingue. He urged the surviving French whites to stay and help him rebuild Saint Domingue. Most of the British army was killed by yellow fever, and they finally withdrew in 1798.

By 1800, when Toussaint captured Jacmel, and the French mulatto commander André Rigaud fled, Toussaint effectively ruled Saint Domingue as a dictator. He then led an invasion of Santo Domingo, the Spanish portion of the island of Hispaniola, and freed the slaves there in January 1801. At this time, although he did not sever his ties with France, Toussaint was the de facto ruler of the entire island of Hispaniola. In 1801, he issued a constitution declaring himself governor for life and calling for a sovereign black state. In response, Napoleon Bonaparte sent a French force, led by his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc, to reassert French rule and to restore slavery. Leclerc landed at Le Cap in February 1802 and attempted to lure Toussaint to him. When that failed, he declared Toussaint to be an outlaw and rebel.

Leclerc divided his forces into four columns, one of which was commanded by General Donatien de Rochambeau, a white supremacist and supporter of slavery who hated the Haitians. At a narrow ravine in the mountains, Toussaint attempted to stop Rochambeau's column, but the French prevailed with heavy losses after hours of brutal combat. A Haitian army in the fort of Crête-à-Pierrot, under the command of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, successfully repulsed repeated French assaults until they were forced to withdraw because of a lack of supplies. The arrival of the rainy season brought yellow fever, which killed thousands of French troops.

In April 1802, Haitian commander Henri Christophe defected with much of his army to the French. Two weeks later, Toussaint agreed to integrate his remaining troops into the French army in exchange for his freedom. He was later seized by the French and sent to France, where he died in prison in April 1803.

Resistance continued in the countryside, and the French army employed mass executions, including gassing in the holds of ships, an invention of General Rochambeau. As it became clear that the French intended to re-establish slavery, despite their promises to the contrary, some Haitian leaders like Dessalines, who had allied with France, rejoined the opposition to French rule. In November 1802, Leclerc died of yellow fever, as had thousands of the men in his army, and Rochambeau succeeded him. Rochambeau began a near-genocide, importing attack dogs from Jamaica, trained to attack blacks and mulattoes. Napoleon sent 20,000 soldiers to reinforce Rochambeau, and the war continued with cruelty and atrocities on both sides. In 1803, facing renewed war with the British, Napoleon no longer reinforced Rochambeau, and the British navy blockaded the remaining French enclaves in Haiti. The French abandoned Port-au-Prince in October 1803 and concentrated at Le Cap (Cape Francois; now Cap-Haïtien). In November 1803, Dessalines attacked Le Cap, and Rochambeau surrendered to the British commander.

On January 1, 1804, Dessalines declared Saint Domingue's independence and renamed it Haiti. From January to April, Dessalines' forces massacred an additional 3,000 to 5,000 white men, women, and children. Under Dessalines' rule, much of Haiti returned to slavery under another name, until Dessalines was assassinated in 1806 and replaced by Henri Christophe, who committed suicide in 1820. Christophe's son and heir was assassinated, and General Jean-Pierre Boyer assumed power. Boyer reunited Haiti and annexed Santo Domingo, bringing the entire island under one government by 1822. France acknowledged the independence of Haiti in 1825.

Additional Content
This issue also includes several letters written by Senator Pierce Butler of South Carolina (p1/c4-5); acts of the Connecticut legislature (p2/c1-2); Massachusetts Governor Caleb Strong's speech to the Massachusetts legislature (p2/c2-4); and numerous notices and advertisements, including one offering a $15 reward for the apprehension of a "Female Swindler" who stole shoes, gloves, and other items from a Hartford store (p3/c4).

The Connecticut Courant (1764-1914) was established as a weekly paper in Hartford by Thomas Green (1735-1812). He later sold the newspaper to Ebenezer Watson (1744-1777), who ran it until he died of smallpox in 1777. It was an influential proponent of the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War. His widow, Hannah Watson (1749-1807), took over and became one of the first women publishers in America. George Goodwin (1757-1844) had begun work on the Courant when he was nine years old and gradually mastered the art of setting type. At the death of Ebenezer Watson, he became Hannah Watson's business partner. In January 1778, she married businessman Barzillai Hudson (1741-1823), who then became Goodwin's partner for more than thirty years. By the 1790s, the Courant was Federalist in outlook and strongly anti-Jefferson in politics. In 1806, federal authorities indicted Hudson and Goodwin on charges of criminal libel, but Oliver Ellsworth, the nation's recently retired chief justice, helped the newspaper win a key decision in United States v. Hudson and Goodwin (1812), in which the Supreme Court rejected English common law as a basis for federal charges. The conservative Courant increasingly supported the rich and powerful against the growing population of immigrants and opposed the separation of church and state and the expansion of voting rights. The firm of Hudson & Goodwin also published Noah Webster's Spelling Book. After the partnership dissolved, Goodwin continued to publish the Courant with his sons until 1836, when he sold it. The newspaper later supported the Whig and then the Republican Party. From 1887 to 1914, it was published semiweekly, and the weekly edition was the Hartford Courant, which succeeded it as a daily newspaper.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 12" x 20.5"
  • Medium: Newspaper

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