Fox of France

Hearing this question, Toussaint Louverture laughed.

"Mr. Treville, I heard that during the Great Revolution, many nobles were hung on lampposts. Since there is already a parliament, why do you hang those nobles?"

"That's because they tried to subvert the republic system." Victor immediately said firmly, "The republic has given them many opportunities, but they don't know how to repent."

"Of course this is a reason, but I want to say that this is not the most fundamental reason." Dusan Louverture shook his head and said, "The most fundamental reason is that they occupy too much land. If the French Revolution If their control over the land cannot be destroyed, the ordinary people of the third class will still have a hard life. If this is still the case, then what is the point of the revolution?

It's the same in Santo Domingo. Just like France before the revolution, society was divided into three classes: priests, nobles, and commoners, and Santo Domingo also had such a class division.

The first class is the white slave owners, and their number is very small, just like in France, the first class and the second class combined are only a few percent, and in terms of number, they are only a handful. "

Having said that, Dusan Louverture even stretched out his hand and made a gesture with three fingers together:

"Well, it's just a little bit, there can't be more. But just like the first and second classes in France, although they are small in number, they occupy most of the land in France, these white slave owners also occupy the entire Santo Most of the land in Mingo. If this situation continues, black people will still not have a good life, and will still be struggling with hunger and death. If the result is still like this, what is the point of our previous revolution? ?”

"That is to say, the reason why you want to be independent is to solve the land issue?" Victor said, "But have you thought about the economic consequences of doing so?"

"The economic consequences?" Toussaint Louverture said, "Can you describe it in detail?"

"First of all, you must know that Santo Domingo's economy is actually very dependent on trade. Whether it is sugar or coffee, it must be traded to become useful things. Without trade, these things are worthless in life Waste. And these things are not irreplaceable, and there are many places in the Caribbean that have the potential to replace Santo Domingo.

I believe you can also know the attitude of the Spaniards and the British towards your ideal country. Even Americans, they are also countries that use a large number of black slaves, and they are also unwilling to see a rich and free black country appear in the Caribbean, because this will become a model for their internal slaves to imitate.

To put it more clearly, if the blacks in Santo Domingo gained a prosperous life through rebellion, why don't the blacks in the United States and Cuba follow your example? The better your life is, the greater the motivation for their black slaves to revolt, and the higher the cost they need to pay whether it is to suppress or appease those black slaves. Conversely, the worse your living conditions are and the more difficult your life is, the more stable they will be.

Therefore, Your Excellency, if Santo Domingo is independent and the blacks are generally given land, then neither the British nor the Spaniards or the Americans will trade with Santo Domingo. I guess they must have made a lot of guarantees to you now, but Mr. Governor, guarantees are the most unreliable thing. As long as you analyze where everyone's interests are, you can see. "

"But..." Toussaint Louverture said.

"Your Excellency, I understand what you mean. Even if excluded from the chain of trade, for most blacks, independence is still cost-effective. Because under the existing system, the benefits of trade do not fall on the blacks at all. In this case, what does it have to do with black people whether they can make money? Even if a pound of sugar or coffee in Santo Domingo cannot be sold, even if the land in Santo Domingo must be converted to grow food that can feed the stomach , Black people still get more than they do now.”

"Isn't that right?" asked Toussaint Louverture.

"There's nothing wrong with that. But the First Consul felt that there was a better way for the black people to go—a much better way than the current way." Victor said.

"What way?"

"Saint Domingo remains in France. At the same time we find a way to solve the problem of lack of land for black people." Victor said.

"How?" asked Toussaint Louverture.

Victor replied: "The first option is that the blacks can leave Santo Domingo freely and go to Louisiana. This land has now been returned to us by the Spaniards. In order to develop this land, the First Consul just The policy was passed. Anyone who is willing to swear allegiance to France can receive no more than 6,500 hectares of state-owned land in Louisiana as an allotment. Cultivate for 5 years-during these five years, the land applied for There must be no abandonment—after 5 years, or within 5 years, those who live on the house for half a year and pay the fee of 21 centimes per hectare will own the land they receive. In addition, within five years, these lands will be is tax-free.

Blacks in Santo Domingo also had French citizenship, and they could go to Louisiana to apply for land. Of course, one person cannot really cultivate such a large land, but as long as you can cultivate it, after five years, it will be his own. And if he stayed in Santo Domingo, he would never be able to get so much land anyway. "

"Hehe..." Dusan Louverture sneered, "Mr. Treville, the reason why I am still qualified to let the first consulate send you to negotiate with me is because we black people are now united. And Are you trying to separate us black people first?"

"Your Excellency, the First Consulate and I have absolutely no intention of doing so. If you do not agree with this plan, or if you feel that you cannot accept this plan for the time being, then we have a second plan, which is to solve it in other ways The question of land."

"Redemption?" Toussaint Louverture laughed, "Other ways? Do you mean redemption? Am I not doing redemption now? And isn't that why the white people of Santo Domingo are trying to oppose me? And Didn't you come here for this? Of course, I know that the price I gave is very low, but it is much gentler than you hanging the nobles directly. At least, the money I gave is enough for them to go to Louis Anna claimed the land, didn't she?"

"Mr. Governor, I suddenly discovered that there may be a serious misunderstanding between us." Victor frowned and said, "You may have mistakenly thought that I and the First Consul are white, so you will definitely side with those whites. However, That's absolutely wrong. It's like, Americans, Brits are also white, but are they on our side this time?"

"What do you mean?" Toussaint Louverture was a little surprised.

"From the perspective of the government of the Republic, most of the white slave owners in Santo Domingo are the remnants of the feudal aristocracy. After that, they were full of hatred for the Republic. I am sure that most of them had secret contacts with those nobles in exile. If they were in France, they would have been guillotined for counter-revolutionary crimes. Today's executive The government is also a republican government that wants to defend the achievements of the revolution, how can we stand by these people?"

"So what does the First Consul mean?" asked Toussaint Louverture.

"Although these guys are our enemies politically, it is not the time to set up revolutionary courts casually after all. The First Consul has just promulgated the "Law Code", I wonder if you have read it?"

"I have seen it. It is indeed the immortal "Code of Laws." Dusan Louverture praised.

"The "Code" stipulates that private property should be protected. Although these guys are our enemies, we cannot break our own rules. Therefore, it is not acceptable to confiscate their land directly. However, if they commit treason first , that is naturally different. Do you understand what I mean?" Victor replied with a smile.

"You mean..."

"As the highest authority of the French Consulate in Santo Domingo, the Governor's Office has the right to investigate any crime of treason and punish those treasoners, and the Governor's Palace is punishing traitors, so these behaviors are naturally no problem. Economically At least, the French businessmen will not abandon Santo Domingo..." Victor said, since those white slave owners will not really appreciate anyway, and really support the French Republican government, since the Consul I have already decided to sell them out, so I might as well sell them outright, so as not to leave any hidden dangers.

"Your Excellency, I don't think you have any doubts about our sincerity now?" Victor said with a smile, "Of course, if you still want Santo Domingo to become an independent country, then you can talk about it. "

Dusan Louverture thought for a while and asked, "What if I still want Santo Domingo to be independent?"

"Then, France must get some compensation. First of all, those white slave owners, although they are our political enemies, they are French after all. And if you become independent, you are foreigners. We cannot tolerate foreign countries. People bully the French casually and deprive the French of their legal property. So if you want to continue to keep the trade route, you must adopt a real 'redemption' method, and it must be on a real 'voluntary' basis.

In addition, Santo Domingo is a French territory. If you want to be independent on French territory, the cost of buying these lands is also essential. Of course, we can provide you with a loan. Finally, Santo Domingo's military status is very important. If you stand on the side of Britain and the United States after independence, it will pose a great threat to the interests of France. Therefore, if you still wish to be independent, then you must accept France as a protectorate. In addition, France also needs to have some military bases in Santo Domingo to ensure that the connection between Louisiana and mainland France will not be easily cut off..."