"Although the spirit of '89 is no easier to fix in words than in mortar and brick, it could be characterized as energy – a will to build a new world from the ruins of the regime that fell apart in the summer of 1789. That energy permeated everything during the French Revolution. It transformed life, not only for the activists trying to channel it in directions of their own choosing but for ordinary persons going about their daily business."
- Robert Darnton, The Revolutionary Character of the French Revolution
Represented by a three-man delegation from France to its prize colony, the delegates would arrive in the island to inform the local authorities of the decision made by the National Convention. Approaching the de-facto leader of the island, François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, to his joy, and to the anger of Rigaud and Sonthonax, they would tell him that the mainland has named him governor-in-chief of Saint-Domingue.
Upon being welcomed with great honor and aplomb for bringing such wonderful news, the delegates would be overwhelmed by a resulting charm offensive by the newly named governor-in-chief. Collective descriptions painting him as a towering figure, physically and intellectually. "There is no man more attached to the republican principles than him" it was said, and their marvel continued as they bore witness to what they described as a marvelous work ethic. A normal work day in the office would comprise of six hours, yet for Toussaint, it was far longer than that, his many aides and secretaries would be exhausted with work, as Toussaint himself would be kept busy by sending over 200 letters on average.
They would further elaborate on Toussaint's central importance as he would be seen travelling across the colony, and when arriving, would order the local administrators to bring him any correspondences. A great group of couriers would travel across the colony, each delivering a letter to Toussaint, or from Toussaint. There would be nothing in the colony he would not know.
Now both de-jure, and de-facto, leader of the colony, the colony would be shaped to his image. But first, an important move was taken before he would set to work on re-shaping the colony.
In the treaty that had signaled the end of Spanish participation in the war against France, they had agreed upon a cessation of hostilities and the transfer of valuable colonies. One of those colonies had been the sister state to Saint-Domingue, Santo-Domingo. While the treaty had been signed and agreed upon, the official transfer has not yet been fully undertaken, the colony, and France itself having been too consumed with survival to incorporate the other half of the island.
Well, peace has been restored, France is victorious, and Toussaint feels that it is an opportune time to claim what is theirs by right. Mobilizing his soldiers into action, he would order his nephew, the beloved Moïse, to take the soldiers of the colony into Santo-Domingo. They would find little to no resistance from the natives, many of them hopeful that the coming of Toussaint signals the end of their life as property to the Spanish plantations.
They would find themselves disappointed by what he would do next.
In a shocking act that seems absurd for a former slave, Toussaint has declined to act in abolishing slavery in Santo Domingo. Justifying this inaction by reminding everyone of the chaos that reigned following the badly applied emancipation in the French portion of the colony. The immediate freedom from slavery could not be applied, order must be maintained.
In the south, Rigaud would continue to run a portion of the colony near-separate from Toussaint. Perhaps in an act of karma, Toussaint would be beset by his own independently minded general in Andre Rigaud. As tensions with the people of the colony mount, Rigaud had already caused headaches for Toussaint as he sent a letter of protest in his mobilization of soldiers, stating that only the National Convention may be allowed to proclaim the incorporation of new territory. He would cause further headaches as he would not question the legality of his act, but of Toussaint's moral character. Why would a man who had known the sting of a master's lash refuse to be rid of this abominable practice, he suggests that Toussaint has his own ulterior motives. That he might one day wish to re-establish slavery himself, but with him as the master of the whites, the blacks, and the mulattoes.
Toussaint would be personally incensed at this attack, rhetorically asking "Who knows and loves liberty more, the child of a wealthy slave owner, or a former slave from Bréda"
In a move both paternal and militaristic. Toussaint would declare the plantation akin to a family, not one of blood, but a marriage between cultivator and worker, the father as the owner of the land, and the workers as their children. And much like children, the father is responsible for the well-being of the family unit, and that means doing things that the others would disagree with. Proclaiming that the migration of plantation cultivators from one plantation, or occupation, to another, would be ruinous to the colony, which is "essentially agricultural", those who work on the plantations shall be forbidden from any other occupation. They shall not be allowed to leave their place of work without the knowledge of the administrator of the plantation. As soldiers are forbidden to leave their units, so shall the cultivators be forbidden to leave the plantations under threat of the most severe of punishments.
Determined to create the Saint-Domingue he envisions, Toussaint would finally move to implement laws to mold civil society. While the mainland has denounced religion, seeing it as tainted by reaction and superstition, this is not so for Toussaint Louverture. Insisting on the importance of the Christian religion in maintaining morality, he would mandate its teaching in the schools that dotted the colony, and would institute ban on divorce, which had been legalized by the mainland.
Further moving to cement the new order of things, Toussaint would proclaim the importance of employment in Saint-Domingue, that idleness shall be eradicated, and any that does not show proof of being engaged in activities that would be considered fruitful, will immediately be detained and sent to work in the fields. Proclaiming that there are certain poisonous ideas that pervert the world, such as those that believe that liberty means the right to remain idle, to rely on the generosity of others, and to ignore laws that inconvenience them. Denouncing such ideas, Toussaint would proclaim that, in Saint-Domingue, work shall be the bedrock of society. As soon as a child may walk, he says, they must be put to work. There shall be no idle hands in the colony. He would even mull over the idea of importing Africans as cultivators.
In the mind of Toussaint, idleness was not only a refusal to work, but engagement in unproductive work. Believing that the concentration of land is the most efficient method of agriculture, he would decry those who had carved off pieces of the plantations for themselves, stating that Saint-Domingue is a special land. It requires the union of considerable means, and various arms to maximize it to its fullest potential. As to ensure that none will continue these activities, he would ban the sale of small plots of land under three acres. More arms involved in the plantation would mean the prosperity of the colony, and of France as a whole.
"Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor." he says, quoting Proverbs 12:24.
The people would recoil at the laws passed by the governor-in-chief, many of whom felt targeted, as a good chunk of the people were not even followers of Christianity at all, many of them having been followers of Vodou. And the prohibition of smallholdings further limited their independence from the plantations. Disobedience to these laws would be rampant, as many would find themselves joining the maroon towns concentrated in the mountainous parts of Saint-Domingue. Toussaint would personally punish these acts of disobedience, personally leading the military units to crush the rebellions, not showing any of his characteristic mercy, and instead having the ringleaders executed.
There are even rumors of certain disobedient figures having a hand in these rebellions.
Back in the mainland, as news of the new order in Saint-Domingue spread, some would raise their eyebrows at what they had heard. Catholicism as a near state religion? The paternalistic undertones of Toussaint's rhetoric? Workers and peasants chained to the land? The outlawing of divorce? Those all sounded like something they had once experienced. To those who would care, Saint-Domingue seemed a twisted reflection of the ancien régime, with a colored Bourbon proclaiming himself the sincerest of republicans in service to the republic and the principles of the revolution.
Setting aside this colored Bourbon, the mainland would be focused on the reformation of the nation, in lieu of the proclamation of constitutional government.
Already, many ideas have been suggested. Our intrepid industrialists, represented by Hugon Beaufort, who have clearly not been impressed with the assignats, have suggested abandoning them altogether, burn them for fuel for all they care, that is all they seem to be worth now. Proclaiming the experiment with fiat currency a dismal failure, they call for the return of metallic currency, backed by silver and gold.
The ever increasing influence of the Textile club has culminated in an open letter to the National Convention, asking for a reduction of their tax burden. In exchange for lower taxes, they promised to consult with their friends in the banking clans and businesses spread across the nation to be able to arrange loans to the government. In other news, the Textile club would receive a generous donation from the Golden Vineyard club, with Barbier asking if they would buy his wine in the meantime.
Over to those of a far different political and economic outlook, the club d'Egalite continue on their work. In their outreach to the people, with an official partnership with the Pantheonists, have set up independent economic units to aid the people. Encouraging the members of the club, and of those who would attend the meetings of the club as spectators to pool their resources together so as to better afford their basic necessities, and to foster a sense of solidarity between their fellow poor.
This approach, though limited due to the still burgeoning nature of the club de Egalite, has seen some success. Those they were able to convince to share their resources have reported that they have been able to start a workshop or retail store, selling used goods. Even more than that, some have even used their shared resources in renting apartments. Though only able to afford the less furnished and admittedly poorer parts of a building, often being on the top most floor, this outreach has given the poorest of the nation a lifeline to tie themselves to.
In the midst of this radical maneuvering, the ever radical Rosaline Picard would take up the cause of the nascent workers movement, taking up their cause all the way to the halls of the Jacobin club itself. While some would murmur and shake their heads at a woman speaking in their club, her energy would soon overwhelm their doubts. With a heart filled with conviction and animated by the energy of a righteous cause, Picard would honor the workers of the republic, they had been the ones who had won them the revolution. It was the working men of France, not the intellectuals, not the philosophers, not the so-called great men of France, but the workers of the nation. "The French people are the first who have established real democracy, calling upon all men to equality and full rights of citizenship" she says, quoting Robespierre, who she has vigorously defended in the past. and in a real democracy, the people must be listened to. Their demands must be met.
And to those who would see the revolution as over, Picard proclaims that is not over. It is ever on-going, vigilance must be maintained. The revolution is not yet secure if the forces of reaction continue to remain. The army must be maintained, expanded even, the light of our revolution must overwhelm the darkness of reaction. "Viva la France! Viva la France!" she ended her speech to thunderous applause, the deputies mixed on their reaction but the spectators that had made the Jacobin club a national entity would be unanimous in their approval of her speech.
As Picard rallies the Jacobins to the cause of the people, the Pantheonists would earn their victories as well. The deputy Jean-Marc Bourdon would join, aligning himself with the patriots of '89 and lending a sense of legitimacy to the club, as more than a gathering of embittered radicals. Already filled with ideas for the future, he saw in the dismissed officers a chance at a new wave of supporters. He would, in a meeting near the Pantheon, and saying that he would bring this up at the National Convention, suggest making use of them. Even if they were unfit for the army, to be an officer meant at the least a level of education that eludes most of France. Rather than letting them wander the nation, they should be re-positioned as members of the bureaucracy, helping to fill up the beleaguered tax collectors. Or if not, transfer them to the navy, after all, how different is the army and the navy?
In an amusing incident L'ivrogne Barbier, in a poor disguise consisting of a fake moustache and clothing he had borrowed from a local theatre troupe that was practicing for a play highlighting the plight of the wretched of Paris, has infiltrated the meetings organized by the club d'Egalite. Asking very unsubtle questions about the rights they work towards, and accidentally slipping out of his exaggerated lower class accent, which according to those in attendance sounded like he came from Quebec, he would attempt to derail the conversation by asking for the most ridiculous of propositions. Why must France follow the republican calendar and subject themselves to nearly 10 days of work when they can revert to the old calendar with its much lighter schedule? It would be much better if they, instead, worked a concentrated 10 hours every 5 days so they may be better rested. And importation? What poppycock! France should not be binding itself to the goods of foreign nations, and should buy French only. Particularly in the realm of wine. Drink only wine. Particularly the wine of Barbier, it was wonderful, he says as some notice his moustache nearly dropping.
Those in attendance paid him no mind and thought he was from the local theatre groups, paid for by the club d'Egalite as a way to bring some light amusement. The current club president in Paris, Claude Quinault would be confused at the letter of thanks, and the theatre troupe would be even more so as the letter gave praise to their satire of the selfish, self-interested bourgeois, and they would look forward to their performance.
Was that man a fellow actor, practicing his craft, an escaped madman? Either way, they hoped that the items he had borrowed would be returned to them.
Though the two groups could not be any further in their way of thinking, and those who would attend the meetings, they have a queer sense of unity in wishing for the sale of Louisiana. Seeing it as nothing more than a useless expanse of land, with miles of marshes, swamps, and unproductive soil that is only partially redeemed by the productivity of certain urban areas, they seek its sale to those United States.
Maissenç Oienart, a deputy from Toulouse, would position himself as a champion of the patois. "France is not Paris" he would say, and French is not the language of all the people. France is a land of great diversity, comprised of many people, and of many cultures. France, one and indivisible, is the motto of the French Republic. And those who state this use this as justification for the eradication of the cultures of the regions of France, proclaiming it as reactionary, the domain of superstition and of priests.
In an essay that was to be disseminated to those who would print it, and read in The Society of Equal French Languages, he would push back against those who would lump the whole of France' regional cultures with reaction and federalism. Is there anything inherently reactionary about the regional cultures? Is there some metaphysical force that makes those who speak Breton an enemy of the revolution? No, there is not. If there is any to be blamed, it was those true agents of reaction: the priests and aristocrats of the ancien regime. They had been the ones who had sullied the reputation of the regional cultures. The patois, the regional cultures, they were as much of a victim of the reactionaries that had sullied France as a whole as any in France. If France is to be regenerated, to be made pure of reaction, then the regional cultures should be regenerated as well, and this starts with the acknowledgment of the patois, and officially equal with French.
As these men offer a way forward, what shall be done? How shall France move forward? Which shall be the focus of the nation You may choose 2.
[] Economic: Increased trade with our sister republics, and admittedly the great loot that was obtained in our campaigns have been a soothing salve to France's economy, fundamental reforms are still needed. The assignats continue to depreciate in value, trade has still not recovered to pre-war levels, and the debt that has accumulated to titanic levels since our participation in the American Revolution has yet to be fully paid.
[] Administrative: The organization of a nation with more than 246 varieties of cheese is not an easy matter. Taxes meant for the state remain uncollected, local governments struggle with discontent, much work remains to be done.
[] Education: "The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant." we have kept this in mind, yet to educate the whole of France remains an elusive goal. Our republic remains dedicated to the promise of universal education, yet the resources remain elusive, and the parents of the children who are meant to be our future, remain obstinate in their refusal to send their children to the state schools.
[] Military: The army of the revolution stands triumphant over the whole of Europe, its standard having been planted from Spain to the farthest reaches of the Habsburg lands, yet it has grown unwieldy. The ever looming question of conscription, the bedrock of the republican army, supplies, officers, and so much more remain to be answered. That is not to mention the 25,000 officers dismissed from the army.
[] Diplomacy: Since the proclamation of the republic, any official communications between us and hostile states had been cut. Only those republican governments, and our most stalwart and natural allies to the east, the Turks, have been graced with an official diplomatic presence. Mayhaps it is time to change that, without the haze of war fervor clouding our judgement?
[] Religion: Religion, that bedrock of the ancien regime, and to many in France, still constitutes an importance aspect of our lives. While religious freedoms have been proclaimed, the masses who still hold Catholicism close to their hearts have not truly been reconciled to the republic. Resolving the religious question will go a long way in making France truly whole.
