Domingo the state
of their mission; when hearing, on his arrival in that island, of the
outrageous conduct of the whites of the committee of Aquin, who had
begun a persecution of the people of colour, for no other reason than
that they had dared to seek the common privileges of citizens, and of
the murder of Ferrand and Labadie, he imprudently armed his slaves. With
a small but faithful band he rushed upon superior numbers, and was
defeated; taking refuge at length in the Spanish part of St. Domingo, he
was given up, and his enemies, to strike terror into the people of
colour, broke him upon the wheel. From this time reconciliation between
the parties became impossible; a bloody war commenced, and with it all
those horrors which it has been our lot so frequently to deplore. It
must be remembered, however, that the Slave Trade, by means of the cruel
distinctions it occasioned, was the original cause; and though the
revolution of France afforded the occasion, it was an occasion which
would have been prevented, if it had not been for the intrigues and
injustice of the whites.
[Footnote A: Africa.]
Another upon whom I had time to call was the amiable bishop of Chartres.
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