1801-07-07: (Louverture Promulgates a Constitution, Declares Himself Governor for Life, Proclaims the End of Slavery, and Asserts Haitian Autonomy While Nomi…

1801-07-07: (Louverture Promulgates a Constitution, Declares Himself Governor for Life, Proclaims the End of Slavery, and Asserts Haitian Autonomy While Nominally Remaining Under French Sovereignty, a Document That Was Both a Declaration of Self-Governance and an Invitation to War With Napoleon): On July 7, 1801, Louverture promulgated a constitution for Saint-Domingue that declared slavery permanently abolished, established Catholicism as the official religion, and made himself governor for life with the power to choose his successor. The document asserted Haitian autonomy within the framework of the French Republic, a legal fiction that fooled no one. Louverture was declaring, in the language of constitutional law, that Saint-Domingue was his to govern and that neither Napoleon nor any future French government would reimpose the system that had enslaved half a million people. Napoleon’s response was an armada. Within six months, Leclerc would depart France with forty thousand troops and orders to destroy everything Louverture had built.