1799-May-01: Dr. Edward Stevens arrived in Saint-Domingue and immediately began complex negotiations with Toussaint Louverture to establish a framework for renewed trade.

1799-May-01: Dr. Edward Stevens arrived in Saint-Domingue and immediately began complex negotiations with Toussaint Louverture to establish a framework for renewed trade. He found himself acting as a commercial agent and as a high-level diplomat coordinating between the United States, Toussaint, and the British authorities. Stevens worked to convince Toussaint that suppressing French privateers was the only way to ensure the arrival of American merchant ships. He also had to navigate the deep-seated mutual suspicion between Toussaint and General Maitland, who represented British interests on the island. These discussions were the primary mechanism through which the “Toussaint Clause” was translated into actual maritime policy.