Louverture stayed with Spain because the Republic’s emancipation looked unstable and local

Evidence

Louverture had good reasons to be suspicious of the solidity of the Republic and its policy of emancipation. Sonthonax’s hold on the Northern Province was tenuous, and, like many others in mid-1793, Louverture probably thought that the French Republic was heading toward defeat in Europe as well. There was no reason to join the losing side. Sonthonax’s abolition, furthermore, was a local decision, and Louverture understood that it would not be secure until it had been ratified by the government in Paris. Louverture, meanwhile, enjoyed a great deal of autonomy, commanding—with little Spanish supervision—territory stretching from Santo Domingo all the way to the west coast of the colony. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 612

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why Louverture delayed his switch to the Republic is settled here as strategic calculation based on the tenuousness of Sonthonax’s abolition.