1795-May-15: Governor Vaillant of Cuba reported a series of aggressive assaults by French republican privateers against Spanish slave ships off the coast of …

1795-May-15: Governor Vaillant of Cuba reported a series of aggressive assaults by French republican privateers against Spanish slave ships off the coast of the island. He noted that these privateers, often manned by integrated crews of “blacks and whites,” were not only seizing cargo but also “liberating” the Africans found on board. Vaillant warned that these acts of maritime liberation were creating a dangerous precedent that threatened the stability of the Atlantic slave trade. The French ships were reported to have burned several vessels after removing the human “cargo” to be recruited into republican service. This maritime warfare directly exported the principles of the Haitian Revolution to the high seas.