The Republic in ca. 1818

Whilst perusing references on 19th century Haiti, we recently encountered De la République d'Haïti: île de Saint-Domingue, considérée sous ses différents rapports, ses forces, ses moyens physiques et moraux, et le caractère national de ses habitants by A. Rouzeau. Published in 1818, the author, Rouzeau, wrote a brief work on economic, political and social conditions in Haiti at the time. According to Rouzeau, it would have been impractical, expensive and unsuccessful for France to try to reconquer Haiti militarily. Instead, he focused on an alternative that would foment France's economic advantages in Haiti. 

Part of this included a rather grandiose idea of France freeing its colonies in the Americas and promoting a federation arrangement that would encourage trade with the metropole. Obviously, things did not quite work out according to Rouzeau's proposition to the French king, but it is important for recognizing how unfeasible a French military conquest of the island would be. Even with a lengthy blockade, France might still lose the conflict if other European powers drew their attention to other affairs. Moreover, the mountainous terrain and climate would make things difficult for French troops. Even against barefoot Haitian soldiers, which would have included over 30,000 in Petion's state (and about 30,000 in Christophe's kingdom), the French would have struggled to hold the island. Once the conflict ended, all that would be left is ruins, and France would have had few means of rebuilding the colony's agriculture. 

Besides his ideas about France's future in the Americas and how to increase their economic advantages in Haiti, there are a number of details here on Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes, Jacmel, Leogane, and the exports of each area. Throughout, one finds allusions to the conflict with Christophe in the Nord. Although Rouzeau was not able to visit Christophe's kingdom, which he dismissed as a barbaric despotism, he did note that people fleeing the Nord for the republic was a constant factor. Indeed, some of the officers in Petion's guard were said to have been individuals who fled Christophe's kingdom. While the Republic lacked proper regulations and laws to encourage agriculture and worker-proprietor relations, and sucreries (about 70 in the Cul-de-Sac plain) were not as productive as they could be, Christophe's kingdom did not pay ouvriers on the estates enough. In fact, Rouzier hypocritically referred to Christophe's treatment of the masses as a horror unequaled in the annals of Saint Domingue. This is rich, since the history of slavery was so recent.