1791, September–October: (The General Insurrection and the Siege of the Cap): As the insurrection spread, the Plaine-du-Nord was ringed in flame, with 180 su…

1791, September–October: (The General Insurrection and the Siege of the Cap): As the insurrection spread, the Plaine-du-Nord was ringed in flame, with 180 sugar plantations and 900 coffee and indigo estates destroyed within two months. Toussaint Bréda, the coachman at the Bréda plantation, notably delayed his participation until mid-September to ensure the safe evacuation of the steward who had taught him to read. At the headquarters of the noir leader Biassou, Voodoo boko performed ceremonies involving snakes and campfires to convince fighters that death in battle meant awakening in Africa. By late September, Cap Français was a city of death under siege, where captured slaves were tortured and broken on wheels on the Place de Clugny. Bryan Edwards estimated that 10,000 slaves and 2,000 French people had been killed in the initial carnage and merciless fighting.