Mansfield, Massachusetts: 1791.
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Unbound. One-page letter folded. Measuring 7½” x 10”. The letter is dated October 21, 1791 and is annotated “Favored per Capt Swift.” The letter is very good with some edgewear.
A 1791 letter to a creditor by Jonathan Nichols informing the creditor that he is unable to pay what he owes because trade has been interrupted by the Haitian Revolution. Nichols repeatedly apologizes for not being able to pay off his debt because he has been unable to sell a prize horse. He writes, “I have not forgot the debt I owe... I have got a yong shiping hors sutable for the French islands and there was a man that bought such horses told me that he could procure the money for the hors this fall but the difficulty that has arose with the Negrous has put a stop at preasant to all Exportation. I hope you wont think hard of me I had layed that plan...but hope that the markets will be opened before long.”
Haiti (then known as St. Domingue) was by far France’s wealthiest colony due to the massive use of slave labor in producing sugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton. In 1790, revolutionary fervor, spurred on by the French Revolution, ran high among the planters, white merchant class, and free blacks. However, although all three groups supported slavery, each sought different goals, and a three-sided civil war began among them. Simultaneously, a former slave, Toussaint l’Overture, inspired and led a tremendous uprising of the slave and free black populations which began on August 21, 1791. Despite forces sent from France to quell the rebellion, fighting continued until 1803 when the French realized it would be impossible to reestablish the slave-based colony and departed in defeat. This was the “difficulty” Nichols mentioned.
An interesting letter showing the effects of the Haitian Revolution.
Item #423811
