Planter defection to Britain forced France to court rebel slaves

Evidence

Turning to the enemy was a reasonable and a pragmatic choice for the planters. In the end, however, instead of saving slavery, it created the conditions for its final destruction. In making themselves traitors to the Republic, they opened the way for slaves to become citizens and defenders of France. The planters pushed the beleaguered Republican commissioners to find new allies. Like the Spanish, the French turned to the rebel slaves. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 531

Categorization

• XREF: Irony-of-history pattern echoing the corrupted-liberty arc elsewhere: the effort to preserve a social order accelerates its collapse.