3. Authority

It's 1798 and Napoleon sends his French Directory agent, Gabriel de Hedouville, to reduce Toussaint's power in the colony of Saint-Domingue.

Strategies are deployed by both men and, despite official affirmation on both sides, it is clear their relationship is cold.

Toussaint draws on his powers of diplomacy and his contacts, appointing key supporters as surveyors, priests and gendarmes.

The combination of his faith in God and his creative solutions to social problems make him a formidable match for Hedouville.

As Toussaint negotiates successfully with the British Government, Hedouville is humiliated and driven out of the colony.

In the London Gazette, Toussaint is described as ‘a negro born to vindicate the claims of his species, and to show that the character of man is independent of exterior colour’.

Written by Sudhir Hazareesingh

Abridged by Libby Spurrier

Read by Adrian Lester

Producer: Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2020.