This supplement to the Réplique, or “counter argument”, made by the Deputies representing the French merchants and manufacturers, argues that the rhetoric of the Deputies of Saint-Domingue is not only petulant, but that it also serves as an attempt to deceive the Metropole.
Sipleman pou Replik la, oubyen “Diskisyon kont sa yo di” ke Depite ki reprezante machann Franse yo ak mèt faktori yo bay di ke depite Sendomeng yo te sèvi ak yon bèl langaj ki te sèvi tou tankou yon fason pou bay Metwopòl la koutba. Dokiman sa a retire pwen santral la de kiltivatè kolonyal yo pou mete li sou machann Fransè rich yo, li mande pou yo mete yon regleman sevè konsènan komès ke Asanble Nasyonal la ap fè nan koloni an.
In his “reflections,” M. de Cocherel outlined a plan to import much-needed flour to Saint-Domingue while simultaneously refuting merchants’ claims that French trade would suffer if the colonies were allowed to bypass the laws handed down by the French Metropolitan government. Arguing that the three main ports of Saint-Domingue, le Cap, Port-au-Prince, and les Cayes, were insufficient to supply the colony with enough grain, Cocherel urged the “Comité des Six” to open all of Saint-Domingue’s ports to foreign trade of grain and flour.
A Colony in Crisis: The Saint-Domingue Grain Shortage of 1789 