1803, March–May: (The War of Extermination and the Unification of Haiti): Rochambeau intensified the conflict through horrific atrocities, such as using Cuba…

1803, March–May: (The War of Extermination and the Unification of Haiti): Rochambeau intensified the conflict through horrific atrocities, such as using Cuban bloodhounds to track and eat Black prisoners and spiking the epaulets of General Maurepas to his naked shoulders before drowning his entire family. In one instance at Port-au-Prince, he hosted a ball for Haitian ladies only to reveal coffins containing their murdered husbands at midnight. These barbarities, combined with the fear of re-enslavement, accomplished what no previous regime had: the spontaneous unification of Haitians of all colors against the French. Dessalines emerged as the embodiment of this struggle, successfully subordinating old rivalries with mulâtre leaders like Pétion and Geffrard to lead a unified national cause for independence.