First edition. 8vo. Recent paper covered boards, red morocco label gilt to spine, some spotting to title-page and text, otherwise very good. 15, [1]pp. Port-au-Prince, Mozard, 1790.
Rare and important: a substantial pre-revolutionary Saint-Domingue imprint concerning the reorganisation of colonial forces preceding the Haitian Revolution.
Dated 27 July, 1790, Governor of Saint-Domingue, Comte Antoine de Thomassin de Peynier, orders the disbandment of existing regiments and the establishment of the Gardes nationales soldées.
It was a turbulent time in Saint-Domingue. The French Revolution’s slogan of liberté, égalité, and fraternité reverberated strongly across France’s Caribbean colonies, fuelling demands for equality by free people of colour and an increasingly rebellious enslaved population.
Here the Governor attempts to stabilise the colony. He commences in a conciliatory tone, emphasising that the National Assembly had never intended to subject the colonies to laws which were incompatible with their local and particular circumstances [convenances] and that colonial assemblies should not feel their independence was in any way impugned. The decree includes provisions for soldiers and officers transitioning to the new corps or civilian roles, along with detailed administrative guidance aimed at maintaining stability during its restructuring.
It mattered little, as white planters were determined to preserve their privilege and, in the case of the Assembly of Saint-Marc, went so far as to declare independence just two days after this decree was issued. While that Assembly was immediately suppressed it highlights the colonial administration’s struggle to manage revolutionary ideals with a plantation economy reliant on enslaved labour.
Printed by Charles-Théodore Mozard, a prominent printer and bookseller in Saint-Domingue, known for works such as Affiches américaines and the Almanach général de Saint-Domingue. Mozard's career in the colony ended abruptly during the revolts of 1791, when his workshop and store were destroyed by fire. Fleeing to Paris in 1792, he later served as French consul in Boston (1794-1799) before returning to Paris to continue his work as a printer and public servant.
OCLC locates copies at Columbia, Yale, Brown, AAS, and BnF. No copies listed on auction records.
