Republican freedom offers initially failed because they matched Spain’s terms

Evidence

It was, he declared in early July, “with the natives of this country, that is, the Africans, that we will save Saint-Domingue for France.” But the liberty Sonthonax was offering the “Africans” in return for military service was nothing more than what the Spanish had been offering for several months, and there were few new converts. … On July 11 Sonthonax sought to make service in the Republic more enticing by declaring that, in addition to those who joined the Republic, their current—and future—families would be freed. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 552

Categorization

• XREF: This is an early counterweight to the later, better-known emancipatory moment of 1793-94; useful for tracing how the Republic’s antislavery credentials were initially not yet distinguishable from Spain’s offers.