Common people correctly predicted the French invasion months before Louverture admitted it
Evidence
In late December 1801 Louverture issued a decree condemning people who, having heard of the imminent peace between France and Britain, had circulated rumors that “France will come with thousands of men to annihilate the colony and liberty.” Some claimed that the government planned to gather all the “men of color” and “blacks” in France and make them march at the head of the army that was to come, while others asserted that Louverture’s children were being kept as hostages to use as leverage against him. How could these individuals, demanded Louverture, believe that France would, “for no reason,” wish to destroy those who had “spilled their blood for the triumph of liberty and the prosperity of the island,” who had “conserved” the colony and made it flourish? Such rumors, he insisted, must be baseless. Nevertheless, he warned cryptically: “I am a soldier, I am not afraid of men, I fear only God. If I must die, I will die as an honorable soldier who has nothing to be ashamed of.” — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 923
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
Related
- Popular rumors in 1801 accurately predicted France’s coming invasion (similarity 0.92)
- Louverture secretly prepared for war while publicly denying invasion fears (similarity 0.81)
- Louverture distrusted French émigrés who professed support for emancipation (similarity 0.79)