One of the worst criminal in History

It was written on 13 November 1801 to Tellyrand a British foreign Minister.

«Que dans le parti que j’ai pris d’anéantir à Saint-Domingue le gouvernement des noirs, j’ai moins été guidé par des considérations de commerce et de finance que par la nécessite d’étouffer dans toutes les parties du monde toute espèce de germes d’inquiétude et de troubles ; mais qu’il n’a pas pu m’échapper que Saint-Domingue reconquise par les Blancs serait pendant bien des années un point faible qui aurait besoin de l’appui de la paix et de la métropole ;»

This is the key passage. Let me do my best to translate it in full. The sentence is introduced in the subjunctive mood because he’s enumerating the things he wants Talleyrand to communicate to the British Cabinet. I want you to inform them that…, that…, that…, and that…

That in the decision I have taken to annihilate the government of the blacks in Saint-Domingue, I was guided less by commercial considerations than by the necessity of smothering in all parts of the world any kind of seed of worry and trouble; but that it has not escaped my notice that a Saint-Domingue reconquered by the Whites would be for many years a weak point that would need peace and reinforcement from mainland France.

This is very different. He realizes that he’ll lose money and resource, but since France is an imperial power (with many vassals in Europe), letting Toussaint get away with this semi-independent regime he has set up, would give ideas to other parts of the world now under French domination. Therefore this needs to be nipped in the bud.

This is very different from saying that he is doing it for the purpose of crushing black power.

[This certainly does not excuse Napoleon of the terrible things he has done]

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