1791, November–1792, April: (The Failed Diplomacy of the First Commission): Three commissioners sent by the National Assembly—Mirbeck, Roume, and Saint-Léger…
1791, November–1792, April: (The Failed Diplomacy of the First Commission): Three commissioners sent by the National Assembly—Mirbeck, Roume, and Saint-Léger—arrived at the Cap on November 29, 1791, to find a colony in convulsion. They attempted to negotiate with slave leaders Jean-François and Biassou, who offered to return their followers to bondage in exchange for personal freedom for a few hundred leaders. A parley on December 21 at Habitation St. Michel saw Jean-François return French prisoners, but the meeting was marred when a white planter lashed out at the rebel leader with a horsewhip. When slave envoys later entered Cap Français, they were met with hauteur and contempt by an assembly that decked its halls in black and scarlet to signify vengeance. Their authority and prestige demolished by the local colonists, Mirbeck and Saint-Léger returned to France in April 1792 while Roume chose to stay behind.