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1763-03-17

1763-03-17: (Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, the French Commissioner Who Abolished Slavery in Haiti in August 1793 Before Paris Authorized It, a Radical Lawyer Who…

Haitian

1763-03-17: (Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, the French Commissioner Who Abolished Slavery in Haiti in August 1793 Before Paris Authorized It, a Radical Lawyer Whose Hatred of Aristocrats Led Him to Alliance With the Black Revolution, Only to Be Arrested and Deported by Louverture Once He Had Served His Purpose): Léger-Félicité Sonthonax was born on March 17, 1763, in Oyonnax, France, the son of a prosperous merchant. Trained as a lawyer and allied with the Girondin faction during the French Revolution, Sonthonax harbored an intense hatred of aristocrats and arrived in Haiti in 1792 with 7,000 troops and a mandate to crush the revolution. His strategy evolved rapidly under pressure. When France went to war with Britain and Spain in February 1793, and Black revolutionaries including Louverture joined the enemy, Sonthonax made a radical calculation: knowing that Paris was moving toward abolition, he abolished slavery in Haiti in August 1793 on his own authority, trying to win the loyalty of the enslaved population. The gamble worked. After France officially abolished slavery across its colonies in February 1794, Louverture switched sides and joined Sonthonax in May. Sonthonax was recalled to Paris in 1795 to explain his actions, defended himself successfully, and returned to Haiti in 1796. Now fully committed to the alliance with Black revolutionary forces, he named Louverture military commander in 1797. Louverture, having consolidated his power, promptly had Sonthonax arrested and shipped back to France. Sonthonax died on July 28, 1813. His career illustrates a recurring pattern in revolutionary Haiti: European radicals whose genuine convictions aligned temporarily with Black liberation but who ultimately could not control the forces they helped unleash.