1816 (The Rejection of French ‘Philanthropy’): The Royal Gazette cautioned the Haytian people against believing in the “pretended philanthropy” of the new Fr…

1816 (The Rejection of French ‘Philanthropy’): The Royal Gazette cautioned the Haytian people against believing in the “pretended philanthropy” of the new French commissioners, whom they described as “vultures in the skin of lambs.” The text argued that the same men who now spoke of “peace and reconciliation” were the ones who had previously planned the “extermination” of the Black race. King Christophe warned that French diplomacy was merely a “salutary diversion” intended to weaken Haytian resolve before a renewed military strike. He urged his subjects to remember the “perfidy” of 1802 and to treat any French offer of “protection” as a direct threat to their lives. This deep-seated skepticism of French motives was presented as the only “rational” response to the history of colonial betrayal.