Étienne Polverel

In 1792, he and Léger Félicité Sonthonax were sent to Saint-Domingue to suppress the slave revolt and to implement the decree of 4 April 1792, that gave equality of rights to all free men, regardless of their color.

Although Polverel and Sonthonax were abolitionists, they had no intention of abolishing slavery when they arrived in September in the colony, and they had not received the right to do so.

[3] Born in Bearn, Polverel served as syndic for the region, and he was hired as a jurist by the Estates of Navarre to represent and defend the independence of the kingdom before the Parlement of Paris.

Some of the members in his Masonic lodge in Bordeaux were free blacks from Saint-Domingue, so he had early contacts with them before being sent to the colony on 17 September 1792.

[4] Polverel was sent to Saint-Domingue along with Leger Felicite Sonthonax to enforce a law passed on 4 April 1792, which decreed that free blacks and whites in the colony were to have equal rights.

[8] Following the French Revolution in 1789, Polverel began contributing to radical newspapers where he published articles against slavery.

Coffee and sugar plantations produced tremendous wealth for France and its colonies, but the slave-laborers could not enjoy the fruits of their labor because they had few, if any, rights.

While the truth of this statement from the King was disputed, it nevertheless encouraged some slaves to join the revolt so as to gain the rights allegedly promised to them.

Polverel arrived in Le Cap aboard the America as a Civil Commissioner to Saint-Domingue on 17 September 1792, along with Sonthonax and Jean-Antoine Ailhaud.

Sonthonax and Polverel returned to Le Cap (they were in different regions of Saint-Domingue) and imprisoned Galbaud in a ship because of his defiant behavior.

[21] On 20 June 1793, Galbaud managed to escape and attack Le Cap, aiming to capture Sonthonax and Polverel.

To recapture the city, Polverel and Sonthonax issued a statement saying that all blacks who would join them and fight against Galbaud would be granted French citizenship.

Aware of the numerous threats to Republican control in the colony, Polverel quickly realized he needed to gather even more support to preserve French rule in Saint-Domingue.

In August 1793, Polverel and Sonthonax issued general emancipation for all Blacks born in France's colonies, including for their families.

Polverel followed that proclamation with another in October, which stated that all blacks were to be French citizens and enjoy full and complete equality.

He also passed other laws on post-slave labor, including a requirement that freed slaves continue to work on their plantations for one year following the decree.

This measures eventually won over the Black population of Saint-Domingue to the Republican cause, where Polverel wasted no time in drafting them into the pro-Republican forces active on the island.