1795-07-22: (The Treaty of Basel, by Which Spain Cedes the Eastern Two-Thirds of the Island to France, Placing the Entire Island Under French Sovereignty on…

1795-07-22: (The Treaty of Basel, by Which Spain Cedes the Eastern Two-Thirds of the Island to France, Placing the Entire Island Under French Sovereignty on Paper Though the Reality on the Ground Belongs to Louverture): On July 22, 1795, the Treaty of Basel ended the War of the Pyrenees between France and Spain. Among its provisions, Spain ceded the eastern two-thirds of the island to France, a diplomatic transfer that placed the entire island under French sovereignty for the first time. In practice, the treaty was a piece of paper. The man who actually controlled the island’s western third was Louverture, and he would eventually march east to claim the Spanish territory as well. He would not claim it for France. He would claim it for himself. The Treaty of Basel created the legal fiction of a unified French island; Louverture would create the reality of a unified Black island, and Napoleon would send an army to destroy both.