[SAINT-DOMINGUE] & PEYNIER (Louis-Antoine Thomassin de).
M. le Gouverneur général a reçu presqu'en même temps trois Décrets de l'Assemblée générale, ci-devant séante à Saint-Marc ...
QUASHING THE REBELLION AT SAINT-MARC
An exceedingly rare handbill printed in the immediate lead up to the Haitian Revolution which coincided with the earliest days of the French Revolution.
The National Assembly in Paris recognised that slavery was incompatible with the slogan of liberté, fraternité, egalité and announced on 15 May, 1790 that equal political rights would be extended to Saint-Domingue’s free people of colour. The white planters in Saint-Marc were so outraged that they published their own constitution for the colony, declaring the port open to international trade, and demanded secession. It created havoc among all levels of government in Saint-Domingue. Governor Peynier who also refused to implement the Assembly’s decrees that applied to Saint-Domingue, later arrested the revolutionary committee at Saint-Marc and dissolved the local assembly.
In this handbill, Peynier declares that the actions of the Saint-Marc assembly left no doubt that they were trying to usurp the sovereignty of Saint-Domingue and create their own colony. As such his orders to arrest anyone involved or supporting "ces abominable projets" were essential for the stability of Saint-Domingue.
Very rare, while eighteenth-century Saint-Domingue printed pamphlets appear on the market from time to time, ephemeral items such as this handbill almost never do.
It's little surprise that this doesn't appear on OCLC.
