SAINT-DOMINGUE. - HUMBERT (Jean-Joseph-Amable). Letter signed to the President or Vice-President of the Paris Chamber of Commerce. Château du Crévy near Ploërmel [in Morbihan], 15 ventôse an XII [6 mars 1804]. One p. folio; foxing and dusty margins. Dealing with the victorious blacks in Saint-Domingue to save what could be saved from colonial trade. After the slave insurrection of 1791, and the failure of the 1802-1803 expedition sponsored by Bonaparte, the western part of the island came under the control of the black general Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who proclaimed independence on January 1, 1804. However, some French troops still remained in the eastern part of the island, under the command of General Ferrand. "Citizen, the impossibility of subduing the colony of Saint-Domingue by force of arms, and the fear of seeing the great advantages offered by this colony pass into foreign hands, lead me to propose to you the means of calling it back to the mother country. Although the agents of the Government, as inept as they are unfaithful to their duties, have exercised all kinds of vexations against the blacks, I have no doubt that, by skilful negotiation and by sending them an agent in whom they can place their trust, we could thwart the plans of the United States, of England and even of a large part of the Creoles who are not in the case and who do not even wish to fulfill their commitments to the French trade. The short time I spent in the colony enabled me to appreciate and even to perceive that the chiefs were devoted to the French trade and always intended to serve it in preference to any other. If you were to ask the Government to allow you to send an agent to France, I would be happy to advise him on the steps and means to be taken to ensure the success of an undertaking that would give you back some of your fortunes, which you must consider lost without such a step. Moreover, the course of action I propose can only accelerate a prompt recovery in the colony; the continuation of a war can only lead to its total destruction...". The Paris Chamber of Commerce, freshly created by Bonaparte's decree of February 25, was placed under the nominative presidency of Nicolas Frochot, Prefect of the Seine, and under the effective direction of vice-president Pierre Vignon, who was also president of the Paris Commercial Court. Dominated by the wealthy bourgeoisie of merchant-bankers, this Chamber was linked to liberal economists, and interested in sponsoring major maritime operations, favorable to colonial ventures. A republican and abolitionist, General Humbert (1767-1823) led a colorful life: after taking part in operations against emigrants disembarking at Quiberon (1795), he distinguished himself in the Irish Expedition (1798) and served in Helvetia (1799), then in Saint-Domingue (1802), where he was accused of prevarications, liaisons with housing managers and rebel chiefs. It seems that he protested against the torture of the black general Morpas (Maurepas) and the flogging of prisoners, and that he sometimes took initiatives without orders, thus upsetting part of the high command. In any case, General Leclerc sent him back to France, where he was dismissed - the fact that he had shared the same return boat with Pauline Bonaparte, who would not have remained insensible to his charms, is said to have precipitated his disgrace. He joined Jean Lafitte's piracy crew in the Gulf of Mexico for a time, then served in the War of 1812 on the side of the United States against England (on the staff of future President Andrew Jackson), as well as in the Mexican War of Independence against Spain. He died in New Orleans.