blacks against the mulattoes, Sonthonax and his colleagues tried to cast upon Toussaint the responsibility of the discord which they had fomented. In their report to the Directory of the events which occurred in Saint-Domingue they wrote the following: "Some of the black generals remained faithful. They rescued General Laveaux by force. Two opposite factions were the outcome of the disturbance: the blacks and the mulattoes. General Toussaint increased the confusion and instigated the blacks to the severest measures against the colored men. He provoked the conflict and inspired hatred in the heart of both parties."[1]
Toussaint Louverture was nevertheless appointed commandant of the Western province.
General Rochambeau, who stopped at Cap-Français on his way to Santo Domingo, did not approve of all the doings of the Agents; the corruption of the officials was what he censured most severely. He was summarily dismissed by Sonthonax and sent back to France.
While all these intrigues were taking place, the presence of the English seemed to have been entirely forgotten. As a matter of fact they made no effort to avail themselves of the division existing among their opponents.
On June 14, 1796, the Spaniards evacuated Fort Dauphin, which Laveaux occupied; its name was changed to Fort Liberté, which it still retains.
Rochambeau having been deported, there remained but three major-generals in the colony: Laveaux, Commander-in-Chief; Desfourneaux, and Toussaint Louverture. Should Laveaux also be sent off the island, Toussaint would in all probability succeed him, Desfourneaux being already in disfavor. And if only the same could be done to Sonthonax, then would the black general have before him the possibility of attaining the position of highest authority. To obtain this result,
- ↑ B. Ardouin, loc. cit., Vol. III, p. 274.
