To Thomas Jefferson from Jean Jacques Dessalines, 23 June 1803

In December 1801, Napoléon Bonaparte sent a massive expedition to the French colony of Saint-Domingue. His goal was to restore direct French rule and overthrow former slave Toussaint Louverture, then governor and general of Saint-Domingue who had been suspected of plotting independence. Bonaparte’s secondary goal may have been to reinstate slavery, which France had abolished in 1793–1794 in an attempt to revitalize a failing, bankrupt French economy.

Leading the expedition was General Victoire Leclerc. After several months of difficult fighting, he managed to defeat Louverture’s army. Louverture was then sent to France as a prisoner, where he died in exile. The French lost many men to the fighting, as well as to yellow fever. 

After dying in November of 1802, Leclerc’s successor, General Donatien de Rochambeau, battled Louverture’s successor, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines, in a tragic conflict. This time, however, Saint-Domingue had the upper hand, a lack of support from France, epidemic disease, the renewal of Britain’s war with France eventually doomed the French effort in Saint-Domingue. On 1 Jan. 1804, Dessalines and his generals formally proclaimed their independence from France, naming their new country Haiti. The French, however, maintained nominal authority over the eastern, formerly Spanish, a portion of Hispaniola, where they continued to occupy the port city of Santo Domingo.

Following his victory against the French, Dessalines wrote to Thomas Jefferson informing him of the outcome in Haiti. There are two important things he talks about in his letter. The first of which is “The people of Saint-Domingue, tired of paying with our blood the price of our blind allegiance to a mother country that cuts her children’s throats, and following the example of the wisest nations, have thrown off the yoke of tyranny and sworn to expel the torturers.” In this sentence, Dessalines informs President Jefferson that the Haitians have won and also nods to the US in solidarity for overthrowing their former colonizers, maintaining that they share a common history. Secondly, Dessalines also talks about relations between the US and Haiti and hopes that they can continue to have good relations. “Please be sure, Mister President, of the eagerness with which I will exert all my authority for the safety of the United States’ ships and the benefits they will reap from trading with us.” 

This letter represents a critical time in Haiti’s history, winning independence from France, and building a strong relationship with the US. To this day, the US maintains a strong relationship with Haiti. 

Translated Letter to Jefferson:

Translated, Dessalines letter reads as follows:

Headquarters, Frère plantation,

Cul-de-Sac plain

23 June 1803

Mister President,

The American schooner The Federal, under Captain Nehemiah Barr, forced by our patrol boats to enter the port of Petit-Goâve, provides me the honor of informing you of the events that have occurred on our unfortunate island since the arrival of the French and the revolution caused in France by the tyranny of their oppressive government.

The people of Saint-Domingue, tired of paying with our blood the price of our blind allegiance to a mother country that cuts her children’s throats, and following the example of the wisest nations, have thrown off the yoke of tyranny and sworn to expel the torturers.

Our countryside is already purged of their sight. A few cities are still under their domination but have nothing further to offer to their avid rapacity.

Commerce with the United States, Mister President, offers a market for the huge harvests we have in storage and the even more abundant ones that are now growing. Your country’s shippers are calling for it. Your nation’s long-standing relations with Saint-Domingue are evidence of the loyalty and good faith that await your ships in our ports.

The return of the schooner The Federal will prove to your country our current disposition.

Please be sure, Mister President, of the eagerness with which I will exert all my authority for the safety of the United States’ ships and the benefits they will reap from trading with us.

Accept, Mister President, the expression of my highest consideration.

Works Cited

“To Thomas Jefferson from Jean Jacques Dessalines, 23 June 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0450. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 597–599.]

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Haitian Revolution.” Encyclopedia Britannica, March 9, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Haitian-Revolution.