Defense and distribution: Agricultural policy in Haiti during the reign of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, 1804–1806

Abstract

Between 1796 and 1801 Toussaint L'Ouverture emerged as the undisputed leader of the Haitian insurgents against French supremacy. During this period he gained military control over the entire island of Hispaniola. The insurgents were given a moment of rest in the long wars of liberation which had commenced in 1791. A rest was urgently needed, not least for economic reasons. The colonial economy, which had exported sugar, coffee, cotton and indigo, to mention only the most important products, was in ruins. Exports had been reduced virtually to nil. The only cultivation was of food for subsistence.