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Toussaint Expected Recognition But Paris Sent Outsiders
- Toussaint Louverture served the French Republic faithfully and expected official appointment as the colony's representative.
- Despite his loyalty, Paris sent Joseph de Duvile and later Hédouville, illustrating poor metropolitan personnel choices that alienated colonial leaders.
British Occupation Became A Costly Stalemate
- Britain occupied parts of Saint-Domingue from 1793 but found the campaign costly and ineffective by 1796, prompting a policy shift.
- General John Graves Simcoe, an abolitionist, briefly boosted black recruitment and captured territory but ultimately Britain began withdrawing.
Bad Appointments Undermined French Authority
- The Directory repeatedly made poor administrative appointments to Saint-Domingue, often recycling controversial figures chosen by planter factions.
- Hédouville embodied this problem: nominally liberal but racially retrograde, he was ill-suited to enforce liberty and equality locally.