1791-Jan.: An incipient revolt erupted in the “French Quarter” of Dominica, led by a group of enslaved people and free mulattoes.

1791-Jan.: An incipient revolt erupted in the “French Quarter” of Dominica, led by a group of enslaved people and free mulattoes. The uprising followed the spread of manufactured rumors that the governor had granted enslaved workers three days a week to work for themselves. Colonial officials attributed the violence to the “improper intercourse” of foreign vessels with unguarded stretches of the coast. In response, the administration attempted to isolate the island by deploying armed warships to cruise the windward side and sever communication with foreign territories. This failed attempt at containment highlighted the irrepressible nature of the “common wind” that carried revolutionary ideas across the archipelago.