Mountain bases let slave insurgents survive French campaigns and strike the plains at will

Evidence

In late October and early November 1792 a large and wellarmed expedition led by Rochambeau flushed insurgent bands out of the northern plain and captured their stronghold at Ouanaminthe, along the border with Santo Domingo. But most of the insurgents simply retreated into the mountains, and in the end the mission did little but “inflame the pride of the enemy,” who had realized that they could survive even when an impressive army was sent against them. The rebels remained “masters of the mountains, from which they could, at will, bring fire and iron to the plains.” — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 506

Categorization

• SEED: The dynamic of lowland armies unable to dislodge mountain guerrillas recurs across colonial histories and could anchor a comparison essay.