Kite Pèp Mwen An Ale: Let My People Go (Haiti AAR) [updated March 6, 2016]

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

This AAR is fun, with all the scheming and spying and manoeuvring.

The de Bellecombes seem to be having an eventful time, and they haven't even reached Saint-Domingue yet!

[Roman Heritage]

Just had occasion to read it in a single occasion, and, as usual, your writing is amazing, Alwyn. I love your attention to detail and how you put bits of history into your work, it just makes it all more "alive". I'm having quite an hard time deciding which family I'll be cheering on

[Merchant of Venice]

Just wow Alwyn, the amount of historical research in this is staggering. Not only that, the scheming and manoeuvring and planning looks to make the rest of the story even more thrilling. Great work.

[Muha]

Im not sure why, but reading this makes me think of The Three Musketeers... Kind of getting a similar vibe from it.. or it could just be the French names =P

[Alwyn]

Wow, thank you for your encouraging comments! Roman Heritage, I'd be happy to see some readers cheering for the de Vimeur family (Rochambeau and his son) and others for the de Bellecombe family. A bit like my Ireland AAR where lots of readers hated Kelly and Dempsey, but Hitai was cheerfully cheering them on! There is plenty more scheming (and events inspired by history) to come. Muha, I know what you mean about the Three Musketeers - yes, maybe it's the French names.

[Muha]

Muha, I know what you mean about the Three Musketeers - yes, maybe it's the French names.

There are definitelly more similarities than just that! Although your writing style is not identical to that of Duma sr, his works immediately popped in my head when I started reading your AAR. Plus you have two high standing nobles both relatively close to the king that are involved in a quiet out of sight conflict between each other (Just like the Captain and Cardinal in the book). Both stories are similar time periods, not too far off at least. Finally, the French are warring with the British (Althoguh you could say they were always warring).

Maybe to seal the deal add a headstrong Gascon in there for good measure =P

But overall, amazing AAR, I had to read it all in one sitting and craving for more!

[Alwyn]

Thank you, Muha. I see what you mean. I hope you like the next chapter.

Chapter Eight

As the frigate Railleur sailed into the aftermath of the defeat of the French fleet, Jean-Paul de Bellecombe and his father, the general, peered ahead into the mass of warships. They could see French ships attempting to flee. In the distance, the French admiral’s flagship, Ville de Paris, was continuing to fight. The admiral’s crew were making a heroic final stand, fighting on despite being surrounded by British warships.

Would the British line-of-battle ships allow the Railleur to rescue the sailors from who had escaped the burning wreck of the 74-gun warship César? They did not know. They saw a French 74-gun line-of-battle ship pass close by. Many of this ship’s crew were dead or dying and the remaining men were desperate to escape.



Ahead were the sinking remains of the César and, above them, a dense cloud of dark smoke. Jean-Paul could see survivors in the water, clinging onto broken remnants of the ruined ship. His mouth felt dry and he felt his heart beating quickly.

A powerful British warship broke off from pursuing some of the fleeing French ships and approached the frigate. Was it was coming to discover what the Railleur intended to do – or did its captain intend to take the Railleur as a prize? The captain of the Railleur ordered his gunners to line up on the sides of the frigate, with their hands on the rigging or the side-rail. Jean-Paul realised that the captain was showing the British crew that the Railleur was not here to fight. The captain was relying on the fact that it would be dishonourable for the crew of a 74-gun ship of the line to fire on a frigate which was clearly not going to return fire. Jean-Paul felt anxious as he saw the British warship getting closer.

Jean-Paul saw that the British warship, like the Railleur, was sending men in small rowing-boats to rescue survivors of the explosion on the César. The crew of the Railleur did what they could to help the survivors, men who were deeply in shock after seeing their burning ship explode. Jean-Paul’s father, General de Bellecombe, told the servants, Moïse and Aaron, to bring blankets for the sailors who had been rescued and asked the doctor, Claude Petit, to do what he could for the injured men.

At last, the Railleur turned and sailed for the island of Hispaniola, to deliver the General de Bellecombe and his household to the colony of Saint-Domingue, so that the general could begin his duties there as governor.

****

Jean-Paul de Bellecombe was exhausted by the excitement of arriving in Saint-Domingue at last. When he left France on the frigate Railleur, he had no idea that he would see a major sea battle or that the Railleur would arrive with the surviving ships from a French fleet. The damaged warships anchored to allow their crews to make repairs, while injured sailors, marines and soldiers were taken ashore to recover.

The sea journey had enabled Jean-Paul to get used to the Caribbean climate, but he still found the tropical sun and the humidity tiring. After the excitement of their arrival, Jean-Paul was sent to bed early to rest – despite his loud protests that, as he was 15 years old, this was not necessary. He slept a little, but he soon woke up. His mind raced with exciting possibilities. He wanted to watch the repairs to the magnificent ships of the line in the harbour, to hunt for leatherback turtles on the island’s white sandy beaches and to have adventures in forests, hills and caves. He wanted to climb the mountains he had seen on the horizon. He dreamed of the adventures of the pirates in the old days. There had once been pirates on the island of Tortuga, just a few miles across the sea from the north shore of Hispaniola. Perhaps he could borrow a little boat and search the island for hidden treasure?

When he woke, it took him a moment to recall where he was. He was no longer on the frigate Railleur. He was in the governor’s house in Cap-Français, a port town on the north coast of the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies. Cap-Français was now the capital of the colony of Saint-Domingue, the French colony which occupied the western part of Hispaniola. Jean-Paul’s father had chosen to govern the colony from Cap-Français, instead of the previous capital, Port-au-Prince. Cap-Français was smaller and General de Bellecombe felt that it would be easier to defend. They were living in the old Jesuit house on the edge of Cap-Français. The thick stone walls of the old Jesuit house gave Jean-Paul a feeling of security, even though he felt as if he was living in a small fortress, not a home.

The stone walls helped to keep the interior of the old Jesuit mission cool. Jean-Paul was glad of the wind, which brought cooling breezes through the windows, and of the trees which provided the governor’s house with shade. As he lay in bed, Jean-Paul could hear the gentle rustling of the wind as it passed through the leaves of the trees. In the pale moonlight, he could see the shapes of the objects in his bedroom. Earlier, he had seen a small furry creature, similar to a shrew with whiskers and a long snout, running along a corridor. He wondered if this animal was still around. He had pointed out the creature to his tutor, Brother François. The monk had explained that this was a solenodon, a native animal of Hispaniola. Jean-Paul thought he heard a movement, like tiny skittering feet on a hard floor. He rolled over in bed to see the source of the sound. He saw a glimpse of the brown-red fur of the solenodon. It froze, as if sensing that it had been seen. Suddenly, there was a blur of motion, and the solenodon was gone. Where it had been, the moonlight glinted on the scales of a large snake. The snake was moving and its head was turning, as if it was hunting for prey. If I move or cry out for help, Jean-Paul thought, the snake will strike me.

Jean-Paul remained perfectly still and silent. He heard foot-steps approaching the door. Someone was coming. The snake sensed the movement and turned towards the door. Whoever walked through the door would be attacked. Seeing that the snake’s head was pointing towards the door, Jean-Paul moved towards it as quietly as he could. Its scales will be slippery, he thought, I must grasp it firmly and hold it behind its head so it cannot strike me. The door began to open. Jean-Paul moved quickly and seized the snake. He had expected its scales to feel slimy, but they were dry.

An African woman walked through the door. She looked confident, as if she was in charge. “If you had not seized the snake, it would have attacked me. I am Manouchka, the menagère of the governor’s house.” Jean-Paul looked confused. She explained, “The menagère - the housekeeper.”

She continued “You are the son of the new governor, General Guillaume de Bellecombe?”

He nodded.

She continued, “I owe you a debt. I have heard that the former governor, Rochambeau, has an agent in your father’s household. You have a traitor among you. Do you see this basket, under your bed? Perhaps the traitor used that basket to put the snake in your room."

After Manouchka had fearlessly disposed of the snake, Jean-Paul found his father. The general and some officers from the de Bellecombe regiment were looking at a map of Saint-Domingue. Jean-Paul quickly explained what had happened and Manouchka’s message.

Guillaume de Bellecombe looked pale. Someone has tried to take the life of my son, he thought. If Manouchka is correct, then we have a traitor among us. But who?


Historical Note

In the historical Battle of the Saintes, the crew of the French flagship Ville de Paris did fight on, despite being surrounded, until every single one of her 104 guns had been put out of action: Ben Wilson Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy (Phoenix 2014).

A menagère of a house in colonial Saint-Domingue was a housekeeper: Jeremy Popkin A Concise History of the Haitian Revolution (Wiley-Blackwell 2012).

My source on the Hispaniola solenodon is here.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

Yet more intrigue! Well, I'll be watching everybody in the de Bellecombe household very closely from now on.

I really like your picture.

(And solenodons sound cool.)

[waveman]

I've always found the honor of warfare interesting. Can you trust the gentleman on the other side to be a good sport and not shoot you, especially with prize money on the line? Your naval battle was certainly a good depiction of that

[Roman Heritage]

Nice chapter, indeed war isn't a nice affair, but sometimes there's still honour in it - and frigates can pass by

Also, that snake part remined me a little of those lovely Medieval II assassination videos Half of the times the assassin would get a bite himself, tough.

[Johnadiw26]

Cant stop reread this AAR even clock in my room showing at 00:21 AM, eager waiting for the next update!

[Merchant of Venice]

Yet again Alwyn you seem to really capture the period of time you're writing in. And the failed snake assassination reminded me of the old assassination movies in M2TW. Congrats on your MAARC win as well.

[Alwyn]

Thank you, Caillagh, waveman, Roman Heritage, Johnadiw26 and Merchant for your kind and encouraging comments ! Yes, the traitor might reveal himself or herself - and solenodons are cool, a sort of Hispaniola mouse/shrew. The scene with the snake was inspired by a scene in Frank Herbert's Dune involving great danger for Paul Atreides and his first meeting with the housekeeper of his new home on Arrakis. (Some characters and events in this story are inspired by Dune, as I mentioned at the start - but this is not simply a re-telling of that story, as I'm adding my own ideas and elements of the history of Haiti's revolution as well as the campaign.) The next chapter is difficult to write, because it has some content which readers may (rightly) find disturbing.

[McScottish]

Frenchmen, what more needs to be said?

[Alwyn]

[Warning: this chapter contains racist statements by one or more characters, which readers may find disturbing. Of course, I oppose racism. The racist statements in this chapter do not represent my views.]

Chapter Nine

The news that there was a traitor in his household was a shock. Guillaume de Bellecombe was loyal to his family, his servants and his soldiers. He expected loyalty in return. He discussed this with someone whose loyalty was unquestionable: his wife Angelique. They considered the possibilities. Could it be an officer in the family regiment, such as Captain Mercier? Their enemy, the comte de Rochambeau, was known to have powerful connections in Paris; he could arrange promotions for officers he liked in the army or the navy. Perhaps he had tempted Mercier with the promise of high rank? As the general’s personal aide, Mercier would walk freely into the family’s new home in Cap-Français and no-one would be surprised if a military officer was armed.

But, Angelique pointed out, Captain Mercier had been training Jean-Paul in swordsmanship, along with the servant boys, Moïse and Aaron. Captain Mercier had said that it would be more realistic if Jean-Paul learned to fight alongside others, so that he would not only learn to fight someone who used Mercier’s favourite moves. The general observed that he liked his servants to have military training in these dangerous times; a well-trained servant might save his life. Perhaps Manouchka, the menagère of the governor’s house had already saved the life of his son, by arriving at Jean-Paul’s room when he was in danger from the snake. If Mercier had been a spy for Rochambeau, then he could have arranged for Jean-Paul to be killed in a training session. Mercier could have made it look like an accident. If Captain Mercier had wanted to harm Jean-Paul, he would not have needed to hide a snake in the boy’s room.

Someone tried to take the life of my son.

If not Mercier, who could the traitor be? One of the other officers from the de Bellecombe regiment? Perhaps, but the housekeeper had said that there was a traitor in their household, which suggested someone closer, not simply an officer living nearby. The traitor couldn’t be Guillaume's cousin Henri, could it? Henri was a merchant. Merchants were motivated by money. The comte de Rochambeau was rich, he could afford a huge bribe. Perhaps Rochambeau decided that the general would not suspect his own cousin? But Henri had sent the captain of one of his merchant ships to Saint-Domingue to spy on Rochambeau. The spy had brought back the papers which had revealed how much money Rochambeau was making as governor of the colony. Surely Henri would not have passed these papers on to de Bellecombe, if he had been working for Rochambeau?

Angelique agreed that this did not make sense – unless Henri had arranged this to provide evidence of his innocence? Perhaps Henri was a traitor, after all?

Someone tried to take the life of my son.

Could the traitor be Brother François, his son’s tutor? Angelique agreed that a Jesuit monk, who was bound by the oaths he had sworn when he joined the Order, could not be a traitor. What about Claude Petit, the doctor? No-one apart from the doctor knew what was in the medicines which he administered. Perhaps the doctor had considered poisoning Jean-Paul, but had decided to use the snake instead, as a more indirect way to achieve the same result? Angelique felt that the doctor seemed loyal to them, but she had to concede that this was a possibility.

Guillaume and Angelique de Bellecombe realised that, without more information, they could not identify the traitor. For now, they would increase the number of soldiers who guarded their home. Since Jean-Paul had been attacked, anyone in the household could be attacked. If there were more guards, then it would be more difficult for a traitor to act without being seen.

This was the reason why, when guests arrived for supper at the Governor’s House, there were soldiers from the family regiment at the entrance and even in the main hall where the family and their guests sat down to eat. It seemed that Cap-Français had a thriving intellectual community and there was talk of founding a scientific academy. As well as plantation owners and merchants, there were natural philosophers among the guests, such as the chevalier de Beauvois and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. De Beauvois and Lamarck were rumoured to be bitter rivals.


Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck

One or two of the younger guests exclaimed with surprise as they saw the soldiers guarding the Governor’s House. Angelique saw the tension and tiredness in the face of her husband, Guillaume de Bellecombe, as he sat down at the table.

While the main entrée was being served, the main doors of the hall opened. Angelique saw Henri de Bellecombe, her husband’s cousin, striding into the room with a man in the uniform of a captain in the French navy. Henri approached Guillaume and whispered in his ear. Angelique heard enough to know that the man in uniform was the captain of a frigate, the Patriote, and that he had arrived with a warning of some sort of attack. Guillaume excused himself, saying with a smile that his son, Jean-Paul, had better take his place as host. Jean-Paul sat in his father’s chair and invited the guests to continue their conversation.

“I believe that the chevalier de Beauvois was about to tell us about his research into natural philosophy,” said Jean-Paul.

The chevalier de Beauvois said, “Just as nature had created several species of animals, so there were several species of men. I am preparing to write a-“

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the Royal Botanist, interrupted sharply, “Really? Do you believe that Africans are not the same species as Europeans?”

Jean-Paul sensed tension, even hatred, in the faces of the two men of science as they stared grimly at each other across the table. He guessed that there was some background, some history to this argument which he did not know about.

De Beauvois replied scornfully, “Anyone who is familiar with the Systema Naturae by the great natural philosopher, Carl Linnaeus should know this. His work shows that there are different species of humans. Africans are little better than apes.” Jean-Paul saw the African servants, Moïse and Aaron, standing on the far side of the room. They were the only members of the household who were of the same age as Jean-Paul. For Jean-Paul, they were not just servants, they were more like friends or brothers. Jean-Paul saw Aaron’s face fall as he heard De Beauvois speaking; Jean-Paul saw Moïse put a comforting hand on Aaron’s shoulder.

Jean-Paul said, “Carl Linnaeus is a great man. My tutor, Brother François, taught me that even great men can be mistaken. Even if Linnaeus is right and there are different species, it would not necessarily follow that Africans are inferior to humans.”

De Beauvois replied in a mocking tone, “It is obvious that you know nothing of natural philosophy, boy, if your head has been filled with outrageous and radical notions by your meddling Jesuit tutor! You know nothing of Saint-Domingue – you have not even seen a plantation, have you?”

When this confident, aggressive man called him “boy”, Jean-Paul felt his face turn red with shame. He had tried to talk as he thought his father would have done, but this man had called him a child with no ideas of his own. When de Beauvois asked if he had seen a plantation, he simply shook his head.

When Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the Royal Botanist, spoke, his calm voice and polite tone reassured Jean-Paul. “If you have not had the opportunity to see a plantation, perhaps you would allow me the honour of showing you and your father around – if your father agrees, of course? You can see for yourself and make your own judgements.”

Jean-Paul smiled and nodded gratefully. He looked forward to seeing a plantation – and he was eager to discover what message the French naval captain and Henri de Bellecombe had given his father. He could not wait for tomorrow.


Historical Note:

As described here, in this period of history the evening meal for a wealthy European family was known as supper, not dinner; it tended to be lighter than the meal in the middle of the day.

This chapter contains a character, de Beauvois, expressing pseudo-scientific (also known as unscientific) racism. Of course, I oppose racism; there is no scientific basis for racist statements; there is one species of humans, not four. I would feel dishonest if I wrote an AAR about Saint-Domingue, a colony where many slaves worked in terrible conditions, without including the racist attitudes which some people used to try to rationalize their treatment of humans who had been enslaved.

Historically, the scientist Carl Linnaeus divided the human species into four varieties in the first edition of his book Systema Naturae: source. As described in this chapter, the chevalier de Beauvois wrote a pamphlet arguing that Africans were a different species from humans, that they were little better than apes, and that they should be in a subordinate position, not allowed to own land or employ Europeans(!) As Jeremy Popkin (my source for this) points out in A Concise History of the Haitian Revolution (Wiley-Blackwell 2012) p. 32, “Beauvois’s pamphlet was one of the first expressions in print of the pseudo-scientific racism that would become widespread in the western world in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.” Charles Darwin was among the scientists whose work showed that there is, in fact, one species of human. A major theme of Darwin’s book The Descent of Man (1871) was that similarities between humans and other primates similar embryological development and vestigial organs (part of the animal which still develop to some degree but seemingly have no purpose) show that humans belong to one species: source.

Charles Darwin praised the work of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who like de Beauvois, was a historical character: source. Lamarck has been appointed as Royal Botanist in 1781 and after that he spent two years on international travel, collecting rare plants and minerals; perhaps his travels could have taken him to France’s richest colony in the Caribbean, Saint-Domingue.

[Johnadiw26]

Great update sire 😁

[Merchant of Venice]

Yet again your injection of history really made this chapter come alive. I really liked the feast part, with de Beauvois and Lamark arguing and Jean-Paul trying to calm the situation. It's funny that I was just learning about Lamarkian evolution a few lessons ago in Biology and then he appears in your story. Also the recurring use of Guilliaume's anxiety about his son injected some real emotion into this chapter.

[Alwyn]

Thank you, Johnadiw26 and Merchant!

Chapter Ten

As he waited for Guillaume de Bellecombe and his son Jean-Paul to arrive at a sugar plantation near Cap-Français, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck wondered if this new governor would be any different from the previous one. He doubted it. This was another general, like the last governor. Lamarck knew what generals were like. He had served in the French Army in the Seven Years’ War, fighting the Prussians. Despite the heat of the Caribbean sun, he shivered slightly as he remembered his experience of battle. In his mind’s eye, he was a young soldier, shaking in terror as Prussian cannon-balls brutally ended the lives of men around him.



When Guillaume de Bellecombe and his son arrived, Lamarck looked up suddenly, as if he had broken off from deep thought. Lamarck said, “Good day, gentlemen.” This informal greeting – speaking to the governor of Saint-Domingue casually, as if he was just an ordinary man - earned him a sharp look from a young captain who was with de Bellecombe. The captain began to speak with an angry tone, but de Bellecombe motioned him to be silent and said, “There is no need for formality here. Thank you for meeting us. I am sorry for taking you away from your important work as the Royal Botanist to help me to understand this place better. ”The general indicated the captain who had given Lamarck the sharp look, “Sir, may I introduce Captain Mercier, my aide.”

Lamarck nodded to Captain Mercier. Lamarck was in his early forties; his eyes were shaded by a broad-brimmed hat and his leathery skin had the look of a man who had spent many days under a tropical sun. Captain Mercier surprised Lamarck by asking a personal question.

“I have heard that you were a soldier, is that true?” asked Mercier.

As they walked into the plantation, Lamarck explained his military service in the Seven Years’ War. “During one battle, my regiment was exposed to direct fire from Prussian artillery. I remember the cries of wounded men falling all around and seeing the bodies of the dead. By the end, only fourteen men were left alive in my company.”

“You were a company commander, then?” asked Mercier.

Lamarck replied, “No, the officers in my company were all killed. I was a private soldier. One of the other men suggested that I take command. So I did. We took what cover we could find and held our ground until we were relieved. When the colonel arrived, he made me into an officer there and then.”

“How old were you?” asked Jean-Paul.

“I was seventeen. The colonel was kind enough to have me posted to Monaco, to give me time to recover from my injuries before returning – the war ended before I could return to the front line” said Lamarck. “The colonel’s decision to send me to Monaco changed my life.”

“How did going to Monaco change your life?” asked Jean-Paul.

“While I waited to recover from my injury, I was bored. To pass the time, I read A treatise on common plants by James Francis Chomel. When war ended, I visited the botanical garden, the Jardin du Roi, in Paris. Inspired by these experiences, I studied botany, learning from an expert, Bernard de Jussieu. I published a book which was well-received. That is how I became the Royal Botanist,” replied Lamarck, “To continue my research, I came here.”

As they walked through the plantation, Lamarck explained what they were seeing as they watched an attelier, a work gang, being directed by a commandeur, a slave-driver who carried a whip. Jean-Paul was surprised that much of the field work – hoeing the weeds, planting and harvesting – was done by women. He noticed the look of misery on the faces of the African women as they toiled and sweated under the blazing sun. The slaves looked thin, as if their food was not sufficient to replace the energy they lost doing this exhausting work. He was startled by the sound of a sharp crack, and saw a slave looking glumly at a hoe which had been broken by the heavy soil. The slave cowered as the commandeur approached. The commandeur took the slave firmly by the arm and led her away towards a small building.

Jean-Paul asked Lamarck what the building was.

“That’s the oven,” replied Lamarck.

“Really? The commandeur is going to give her food?” asked Jean-Paul.

“No, this oven is not for producing food.” replied Lamarck. “That’s the cachot, the plantation owner’s private prison. Do you notice the metal roof and the lack of windows? The slaves call it the oven because it gets unbearably hot in there.”

After the slaves cut the sugar cane, another group of Africans fed the sugar cane through heavy rollers. Guillaume de Bellecombe and Jean-Paul watched slaves pouring the juice extracted into cauldrons, where more slaves were stirring the syrup in sweltering heat.

“They endure difficult conditions,” observed de Bellecombe, “how long do they work on the plantations?”

“About seven to ten years, on average” replied Lamarck.

“After that time, they can retire?” asked Jean-Paul, surprised by what sounded like kindness by the plantation owners.

Lamarck explained that the average life expectancy for a slave on the plantations was seven to ten years.

“They look thin. Do they not have enough to eat?” asked Jean-Paul.

“They can grow yams and beans on little plots of land next to the huts where they live,” said Lamarck. “They are supposed to be allowed one day per week to tend their plots. But the plantation owners often demand that they do other tasks, so the slaves go hungry.”

As they left the plantation, Guillaume de Bellecombe and his son had questions for Lamarck. Jean-Paul observed that several slaves were missing an arm or an ear. Lamarck explained that the work of feeding cane stalks into the heavy rollers was dangerous, slaves were often injured. He added that, when a slave was disobedient, a plantation owner would sometimes remove an ear – or, as they had seen, lock up a slave in a cachot, a private prison. Lamarck hated the treatment of the slaves and he didn’t care that his anger was obvious as he described the conditions in which they lived and worked.

“Does the law allow this?” asked Jean-Paul.

“It certainly does not!” replied Lamarck. “In 1685, King Louis XIV issued a law on the treatment of Africans here, the Code noir. The plantation owners are supposed to supply slaves with food, clothes and education.”

“Why isn’t the law enforced?” asked Jean-Paul.

Now, I will see what sort of governor de Bellecombe will be, thought Lamarck. “The plantation owners have been using a mixture of persuasion and bribery to make the governor ignore their harsh treatment of the Africans.”

“Persuasion? How could the plantation owners persuade a governor to ignore such suffering?” asked Jean-Paul, looking at his father. Surely my father could not be persuaded to allow this, he thought – could he?

“If the slaves learn that the plantation owners cannot treat them harshly, that could encourage the slaves to overthrow their European masters. At least, that is what the plantation owners tell each governor,” said Lamarck. “When the chevalier de Beauvois urged you to see a plantation, he wanted you to believe that the Africans are so dangerous that they must be controlled using these brutal methods. In the minds of the slave owners, their harsh methods are justified by the threat of a slave rebellion.”

Lamarck watched Guillaume de Bellecombe closely as he spoke. He must realise that the threat of a slave rebellion is real – and the plantation owners will hate him is he enforces this law. It would take courage to enforce the Code noir. Now I will see whether this governor is really different from his predecessor.

“It is time that the Code noir was enforced,” said Guillaume de Bellecombe. Lamarck noticed the horrified look on the face of Jean-Paul and the angry look of Guillaume de Bellecombe as they looked back at the plantation. These people actually care about the treatment of Africans here. I think I like this young man and his father, the new governor, thought Lamarck.

They saw a wooden watch-tower with a couple of guards. Jean-Paul said he noticed that they were not watching the slaves in the plantation. They were watching the land outside, as if expecting an attack. Lamarck said, “You are observant, Jean-Paul. You are right, they are watching the land beyond the plantation. Sometimes the escaped slaves raid the plantations. They liberate slaves and take away coffee or sugar.”

Jean-Paul replied, “I can understand why they want to free slaves. But why do they take the produce?”

Lamarck explained, “Some people say that they sell it to smugglers, in exchange for things that they cannot grow or make themselves. The law on trade in French colonies, the exclusif, forbids merchants in Saint-Domingue from trading with anywhere except France. The smugglers trade with nearby territories, such as the United States.”

As they returned from the plantation, Lamarck took them by a different route. They walked through an area of land covered in tree stumps. There were few scraps of parched vegetation in the dry, sandy soil. Without shade from trees, Jean-Paul sweated under the blazing sun. The wind was throwing up dust. Their throats felt dry and Jean-Paul found himself coughing. He asked Lamarck why he had brought them this way. Lamarck explained, “Every year, more trees are felled to supply timber for France. When the trees are not replaced, the wind blows away the topsoil. Today, Saint-Domingue is a fertile land. But, if the loss of good soil continues, then in a few generations this land will lose its fertility. We found a bountiful garden here and we are slowly turning it into a desert.”


Historical Note

Lamarck was a historical character and the account of his military service in the Seven Years’ War is based on history: source. The book A treatise on common plants (Traité des plantes usuelles), a botany book by James Francis Chomel really existed and was the inspiration for Lamarck’s interest in botany.

The information about conditions for slaves on plantations in Saint-Domingue came from Jeremy D. Popkin’s book A Concise History of the Haitian Revolution (Wiley Blackwell 2012). The lawsmentioned in this chapter, the exclusive and the Code noir, existed historically. In actual history, the Code noir was not enforced for more than a decade after the year when this chapter is set (1782); this did not happen until 1793, under civil commissioners sent by the French Republic. The slaves reportedly said “Long live the Republic, long live the civil commissioners. Our fathers won’t allow anyone to cut off our ears or to bury us alive or to throw us in ovens for displeasing our masters.” (Popkin 2012, p.55). That is my source for the idea that the slaves called the private prisons ‘ovens’.

Lamarck’s concern about the loss of fertile land in Haiti is based on history, my source is Jared Diamond’s book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive (Penguin 2005). Diamond comments that, while 28% of the land in the Dominican Republic (the former Spanish colony in eastern Hispaniola) is still forested, only 1% of Haiti’s land is still forest, with consequences including a loss of building materials, soil erosion and loss of soil fertility (chapter 11). Since this AAR uses ideas from Frank Herbert's Dune, and because ecology is a theme of that book, it seems to make sense to make ecology part of this story too.

[Johnadiw26]

Thank you, Johnadiw26 and Merchant!

Your welcome Alwyn, and your story became more interesting..great update as usual �� (Sorry for broken English,still improvising and learning a lot ��)

[waveman]

I like the black and white pic. Its a nice touch