Black Talleyrand: Toussaint Louverture's Diplomacy, 1798-1802

• Published in: The William and Mary quarterly 2009-01, Vol.66 (1), p.87-124
• Main Author: Girard, Philippe R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abolition of slavery; Archives; Archives administration; Consuls; Diplomacy; Diplomatic & consular services; Emancipation of slaves; Foreign policy; Governors; International relations-US; Louverture, Toussaint; National archives; Navies; Political revolutions; Slavery; War
• ISSN: 0043-5597; 1933-7698

Toussaint Louverture's record as an international statesman remains largely occluded, though he served as quasi-independent ruler of Saint Domingue for nearly four years. Atlantic historians studying the Haitian Revolution remain focused on the racial and social dimensions of the slave revolt, paying far less attention to the diplomatic ramifications of this dramatic event. What scholarship exists deals largely with Louverture's relations with the US and US objectives and policies, not Louverture's own goals. Books on England's Caribbean policy in the 1790s are far outnumbered by the outpouring of research on its abolitionist movement. Works on Louvertures relations with Cuba and Santo Domingo are few and generally old. There is a greater array of solidly researched accounts of US diplomacy toward Saint Domingue. By their very nature, however, these studies focus on US policymakers' motives, leaving Louverture as the person on the receiving end of a policy rather than as an actor with his own well-developed agenda. Here, Girard discusses Louverture's diplomatic efforts to abolish slavery.