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Religious Protectionism and the Slave in Haiti
Author(s): George Breathett

Source: The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 55, No. 1 (Apr., 1969), pp. 26-39
Published by: Catholic University of America Press
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RELIGIOUS PROTECTIONISM
AND THE SLAVE IN HAITI
BY
George Breathett*
One of the most difficult problems facing the Catholic Church

throughout the centuries has been the protection and preservation
of the faith among its adherents from what it considers corruptive
influences and forces. This problem also manifested itself in Haiti,1
and was complicated further by the diverse attitudes, backgrounds,
and characteristics of the colony's inhabitants?a mixture of buc?
caneer, filibuster, Huguenot, Jew, slave, free person of color, oppor?
tunist, and earnest habitant. It was in this diversified setting that the
Church moved to convert the Negro slave and imbue him with the
tenets of Catholicism. Of immediate concern was how well the task
of conversion could be accomplished, and the faith protected and pre?
served, in an environment with such heterogeneity, and where the
majority of those professing the faith were none too diligent in pro?
moting missionary activity among the slaves.
In extending missionary activity to the slaves, then, the Church
found it necessary to institute a policy of "religious protectionism."
This policy was designed to make secure and maintain a "purity"
of faith among the converted slaves by requesting and securing gov?
ernmental support for those policies which the Church considered
necessary for the slave's religious well-being.2 A multitude of prob?
lems and conflicts were encountered and generated by the Church
in the pursuit of its protectionist policy, and in an effort to minimize
colonial hostility against a particular Order, the Crown, when issuing
ordinances and instructions designed to protect the religious life of
the slave, spoke only of "the missionaries," "the clergy," or "the
Orders." As a result of this practice by the king, the religious were
seldom hesitant in bringing particular concerns to his attention.
* Mr. Breathett is a professor of history in Bennett College, Greensboro,
North Carolina.
1 Haiti, rather than the official name of the colony, Saint Domingue, is being
used for the sake of geographical clarity.
2 Religious protectionism should not be considered anti-slavery.
26
BY GEORGE BREATHETT 27
France, from her earliest ventures in colonization, considered the

extension of the Catholic faith into her new domains to be of prime
importance. The commission from Cardinal Richelieu to Pierre
Belain d'Esnambuc and Urbain DuRoissey to establish the first
French colony in the Antilles contained a clause stating that they
should instruct the inhabitants in Catholicism.3 All subsequent patents
and commissions issued to individuals and colonizing companies car?
ried identical clauses. In fact, Richelieu made it explicit that the
establishment of the Catholic faith in all French territories was
mandatory.4
In establishing the Catholic faith in Haiti, those engaged in mis?
sionary activity took a special interest in the Negro slave. Although
there is little information as to the exact times and places of the first
missionary activity in Haiti, it has been established that missionaries
accompanied the French and their slaves to Tortuga and later to the
western part of the island proper.5
In writing about the early missions to the Negro slave, Father Jean
Baptiste Margat stated that "the Negro slaves are the object of our
most zealous efforts, and we regard them as our crown and glory."
It was his feeling that the natural simplicity of the Negro slave made
him especially suited to receive the Christian teachings of the mission?
aries. In speaking of the newly-arrived Negroes, he was enthusiastic.
He wrote that though they were the objects of prejudice and other
forms of injustice, their spirits were exceptionally high and receptive
to Christian teaching.6
As the missionaries began their work with the slaves, however,
they found their effectiveness hampered by a number of colonial prac?
tices that had grown out of the modus vivendi of the early French in
3 Commission, Richelieu to Esnambuc and de Roissey, October 31, 1626,

Loix et constitutions des colonies fran?oises de r Am?rique sous le vent, collected
by M. Moreau de St. Mery (Paris, 1790), I, 20. Referred to hereafter as
Loix et constitutions.
4 Contrat, Compagnie des Isles de VAm?rique, February 12, 1635, Loix et
constitutions, I, 29.
5 Note Nellis M. Crouse, French Pioneers in the West Indies (New York,
1940), pp. 39, 56, 131, and Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1910), VII,
114-115.
6 Lettre du P?re Margat, Missionaire de la Compagnie de Jesus, February 27,
1725, in Lettres ?difiantes et curieuses ?crites des missions ?trang?res (n.p.,
n.d.), VII, 108-111. Referred to hereafter as Lettres des missions.
28 RELIGIOUS PROTECTIONISM AND SLAVE IN HAITI
habitants, as well as the attitudes of the slaveholders toward the

Christianization of their slaves. It should be noted that Louis XIII
never favored authorizing slavery in the French colonies and was
persuaded to do so only with the stipulation that slaves would be
converted to Catholicism. Louis XIV and Jean Baptiste Colbert,
his chief minister, however, regarded slavery in the same light as
they did other commercial activities.7
Although Louis XIV and Colbert gave little early support to mis?
sionary activity, the Dominicans, Jesuits, and Capuchins set out not
only to convert the slave, but to correct existing abuses within the
slave system?a necessity if the faith were to be protected and pre?
served among the Negroes. These Orders wished to protect the in?
tegrity of family life and to safeguard the natural rights of slaves.
They insisted upon religious equality and sufficient instruction to
ensure an understanding of the fundamental truths of religion.
In so doing, the fathers continually set forth an ideal of human nature
which emphasized the "essential and inherent equality of mankind"
and the capacity of all men, free or slave, to serve God. Masters were
exhorted to remember the reciprocal duties of each, but the record
of missionary activity abounds in expressions of regret and discour?
agement over the failure of slave owners to apply the teachings of
the Church to the management of their slaves.8 Indeed, a frequent
source of conflict between clergy and planter throughout the develop?
ment of Haiti lay in the insistence by the former, and disregard by
the latter of the edict that slaves receive adequate religious instruction
and participate freely in the religious life of the community.
Although the planters disregarded some of the commands of the
Church, there were also many instances of failure on the part of the
clergy, usually secular, to give full support to Church policy. It may
be said that the conditions under which they worked in Haiti, often
cut off from proper supervision and exposed to a variety of tempta?
tions, made control of such clerics difficult.9 Among the regular
clergy, however, the discipline imposed by their organization en?
couraged a more zealous performance of duty. It was not uncommon
for them to act as physical protectors of the slave population against
7 Pierre de Vaissi?re, Saint Domingue: La soci?t? et la vie cr?ole sous

Fanden r?gime (Paris, 1909), p. 153.
8 Jean Baptiste Labat, Voyages aux isles de VAm?rique (Paris, 1931), I, 40f?.
9 Augustin Cochin, The Results of Slavery (Boston, 1863), p. 172.
mistreatment, and other misfortunes arising from slave status. Al?

though members of the clergy were also slaveholders, being partially
dependent for support upon the products of their own estates, which,
for the lack of any other form of labor, they cultivated with the use of
Negro slaves, these clergymen attempted to set positive examples for
the colonists by the paternalistic way they treated their own slaves.
As a rule such slaves were not sold, and if they were, it was usually
in family units. Manumission was fairly common.10
Much has been written concerning the treatment of slaves in Haiti,
but it is still difficult to determine the truth. Certainly, ill-treatment
was not uncommon, and the high degree of absentee landlordism
contributed to it. Paid overseers in some instances drove their slaves
mercilessly in order to prove their own capabilities to landlords.
When such situations became known, the religious Orders set out to
correct existing abuses by persuading the Crown, governor, or council
to take some action. Consistent with Church policy, instructions issued
by colonial officials were simply in line with protecting the religious
prerogatives of the slave, the Church having emphasized the "essen?
tial and inherent equality of mankind." The Church made no direct
attack on the institution of slavery, accepting it as a consequence of
original sin and not in itself sinful. However, principles which
proclaimed the equality of the human race before God and the im?
mortality of bondman and freeman alike were obviously at variance
with a system which reduced human beings to the status of chattel
property and virtually deprived them of human dignity and person?
ality. The official point of emphasis remained, nevertheless, one of
protecting the faith and alleviating the hardships connected with
involuntary servitude.
In 1652, in line with this policy, the Jesuits and Dominicans per?
suaded the Council of Martinique, whose jurisdiction extended to
Haiti at this time, to issue an arr?t forbidding slaveholders to work
their slaves on Sundays and feast days.11 The colonists were vehement
in their criticism of the clergy and council for this decision, but the
Orders continued their protectionist agitation for amelioration of the
conditions of the slave. It has been stated by some that the attitude
of the Church was responsible for thoughtful Frenchmen commencing
10 Labat, op. cit., passim.

11 Arr?t du Conseil de la Martinique, October 7, 1652, Loix et constitutions,
1,73.
to take the interests of the Negro to heart, with this interest being
heightened in the eighteenth century as larger numbers of colonial
Negroes migrated to France.12 There were those Frenchmen, however,
whose attitudes remained in disagreement with the philosophy of the
clergy, and they consistently spoke out against clerical interference.
The persistence of agitation against the Orders because of their
work with the slaves resulted in the passing of a regulation by Alex?
andre Prouville de Tracy, Governor General of the French Islands,
branding such agitation anticlerical. To prevent further criticism
of the Church and to regulate those whose actions and attitudes were
considered impediments to missionary activity, it was made a crimi?
nal offense for any person to speak critically in public against the
articles of the Catholic faith, and the ceremonies practiced by the
Church. The regulation also stated that masters, regardless of their
personal religious beliefs, were forbidden to institute any deterrents
to the attendance of their slaves at Mass on Sundays and feast days.
Furthermore, they were ordered to take them to divine services and
catechism. Violation of this order carried a fine of 120 pounds of
tobacco. Tracy also ruled that all slave masters, again regardless
of their personal religious beliefs, must provide for the baptism and
marriage of their Negroes, and the baptism of all infants resulting
from such marriages. To eliminate excuses on the part of the slave's
owner, no curial fees were attached to the administration of these
sacraments. Disobedience of this command was punishable by a fine
of 150 pounds of tobacco for the first offense, 300 pounds for the
second, and if a third offense were incurred the Negroes would be sold
and placed in the hands of a more Christian colonist. Huguenots were
especially enjoined to obey these regulations.13
Although the Jesuits, Dominicans, and Capuchins continued to work
diligently with the slaves, it was their feeling that Haiti had become
a paradise for unscrupulous persons, and that religious work with
the slaves was constantly being negated by the poor example being
set by such persons. In 1669 the Jesuits, the most aggressive of the
Orders and attending the largest number of Negro slaves, appealed
to Jean-Charles de Baas, Crown Representative, to take some action
12W. A. Roberts, The French in the West Indies (Indianapolis, 1942),
pp. 151-152.
^R?glement de M. de Tracy, Gouverneur G?n?ral de VAm?rique, June 19,
1664, Loix et constitutions, I, 117-119.
against tavern keepers, undesirable women, and Jews. These persons

were considered working contrary to the best Christian interests of
the colony. De Baas repeated the law of 1664 with regard to anti
clericals, slaves, and the obligations of slaveholders to their slaves.14
The continued ability of the Orders to secure regulations from the
Crown and colonial officials favorable to their point of view gave the
missionaries needed support with which to attack those inhabitants
of Haiti whom they viewed as hindrances to the propagation and
maintenance of the Catholic faith among the Negro slaves. Especi?
ally did they feel this to be true of the Jews and Huguenots, who were
following their own religious beliefs and who felt no compulsion to
co-operate with the established religious program for the slaves.
As a result of continued agitation Louis XIV bowed to the wishes
of the clergy and on September 30, 1683, expelled all Jews from the
colony.15 Huguenots were tolerated but were forbidden to proselytize
or practice any external signs of worship.16 From this time on religi?
ous tests were given all intending colonists, in order to prevent any but
Catholics from migrating to Haiti.
With action having been taken against the Jews and Huguenots, the
Church as a body turned its attention to additional legislation designed
to protect the basic human rights of the Negro slave. It was felt that
there would be great difficulty in instilling lasting principles of a
religion that emphasized the equality of all men under God in persons
denied such rights. In 1685, after continued agitation by the Church,
Louis XIV promulgated the Code Noir. A charter for the protection
of the slave, the Code was intended to control existing and future
relations between blacks and whites in the areas of social intercourse,
judicial proceedings, slave rights and privileges, and religion. The
Code confirmed the obligations of all masters, who were required to
be Catholics, to impart religious instruction to their slaves. Only
Roman Catholicism was to be practiced by the slaves, to the exclusion
of every other mode of worship.17
14 Ordonnance de M. de Baas, August 1, 1669, Loix et constitutions, I, 180.

15 Ordre du Roi, September 30, 1683, Loix et constitutions, I, 388.
16 Letter, Louis XIV to MM de Blenac and Begon, September 30, 1683,
Loix et constitutions, I, 390.
17 The basic text of the Code Noir is contained in F. A. Isambert, et al.,
Recueil g?n?ral des anciennes lois fran?aises (29 vols.; Paris, 1821-1833),
XIX, 494-504.
Was the Code Noir effective and enforced ? While there were evi?
dences of cruelty and religious indifference toward slaves in Haiti,
with the Code providing some basis for cruelty in the punishments
prescribed for several offenses, it can be said that this document at
least gave the slave a form of constitutional protection, though un?
enforceable and often ignored on a day-to-day basis. Vassi?re states
that notwithstanding some abuses, the more responsible colonist ap?
proved the Code. Those who did not expressed their resentment by
ignoring the Church's coffers.18 The Crown responded to this re?
action by placing a tax receiver in each district to collect monies
destined for the Church.19
The promulgation of the Code Noir represented a triumph, legally
at least, for the religious protectionist, and theoretically protected the
slave from many of the injustices that had been suffered even by the
earlier indentured servants.20 However, this triumph was subordin?
ated for a time to the struggle of Haiti for survival.
The military conflicts that had embroiled the other French West
Indian islands reached Haiti in 1690. Lasting for seven years, this
period adversely affected the morality of both clergy and laity.21
It also witnessed a return of the old buccaneer spirit, a long-standing
concern of the Church. The position of the religious in dealing with
this phenomenon was made extremely difficult since the use of the
buccaneers as warriors made them invaluable to the colony. Among
those buccaneer habits most disturbing to the clergy was the total
disregard for marriage regulations. Many now made a common prac?
tice of living in concubinage with slave women. Although Louis XIV
stated that disciplinary action should be taken by colonial officials to
alleviate this situation, neither the council nor the governor complied.22
With the signing of the Peace of Ryswick the war years ended.
Relative peace and stability were maintained and the colony grew in
18Vaissi?re, op. cit., pp. 153-253.

19 Lettre du Ministre ? M. de Cussy, October 7, 1688, in Series F 5 A,
Archives Nationales de France (Colonies^), Paris. Ail documents from this
series will be referred to hereafter as AN F (Col).
20 Labat, op. cit., I, 40ff.
21 Pierre-Francois Xavier de Charlevoix, Histoire de Y isle espagnole ou de
Saint Domingue ?crite particuli?rement sur les m?moires manuscrits du P. Jean
Baptiste le Fers (Amsterdam, 1733), III, 284-297.
22 Lettre - Roi ? Blenac, September 10, 1692, Loix et constitutions, I, 516.
every respect. There was an increase in the number of "respectable"

colonists and a grand influx of Negro slaves, with the Church con?
tinually attempting to provide for their spiritual protection.
The eighteenth century witnessed a tremendous expansion of
Church activity, and concomitantly conflicts between Church and col?
onists, and between Jesuits, Dominicans, and Capuchins relative to
their rights, privileges, and geographical areas of missionary activity.
This was intensified by the favoritism showed the Jesuits by the
Crown. The century was also marked by phenomenal prosperity,
based on a plantation economy with slave labor. The number of
slaves increased from 100,000 in 172623 to 452,000 by 1789.24 Such
numbers made instruction and rapid indoctrination by the available
priests difficult, and resulted in a transitional period when old pagan
beliefs and the newly taught Catholicism were on an equal plane.
The difficulty involved in instructing the larger number of slaves
in the eighteenth century did not deter the Orders from their goal
of bringing the Catholic faith to all within their reach, and protecting
it in every way possible. Writing in this regard, Father Jean Baptiste
Le Pers stated in his M?moire:
. . . when they arrive in my quarter I have them make the sign of the
cross as I demonstrate, in order to take possession of them in the name
of Jesus Christ and His Church. They do not understand what they
are doing, but through an interpreter I repeat the words of Saint Peter,
"You will know in time."
Perhaps, the missionary is not always scientific about instruction,
that is to say, theologians may disagree with his methods, but can he
allow a man to die without baptism because of instructional scruples?
Once a slave is baptized, everything is done to protect him morally,
but masters often do not co-operate, especially in marriage, which is
not in the master's best interest.25
This limited instruction resulted quite often in slaves mixing Catholi?

cism with their native beliefs, and it was not uncommon to find them
acting as "missionaries" and "priests."
When the "missionary" and "priestly" actions of the slaves were
discovered by the clergy, the Orders moved to have colonial officials
23 Charlevoix, op. cit., IV, 341.

24 J. N. Leger, Haiti (New York, 1907), p. 41 and fn. 1.
25 Charlevoix, op. cit., IV, 369-372.
institute regulations to protect the slave from himself. Since much

of this clandestine activity took place in the churches during the hours
of darkness, colonial officials forbade any meetings after sundown.
Marguilliers, lay officials in charge of non-spiritual activities of par?
ishes, were ordered to close churches to slaves after sunset, under pain
of punishment. Slaves were forbidden to perform the functions of
beadle under pain of being lashed, and were not to teach the catechism
to other slaves in their houses and habitations. It should be noted
that earlier the shortage of priests had necessitated the use of Negro
slaves in certain instructional capacities. The Church, and royal offi?
cials, emphasized that such regulations should not be interpreted as an
indictment of all Negro slaves ; for many had been well indoctrinated
in the Catholic faith and formed a hard core of faithful adherents.26
Father Margat blamed the "bad example" of the colonists, witnessed
by the slaves, as the basic source of the problem.27 Others felt, how?
ever, that the slaves coming from different sections of Africa naturally
made different kinds of converts. Congolese and Senegalese, it was
believed, made the best converts because they had been recipients of a
more organized native religion.28
If the faith were to be protected and preserved, in light of corrupt
practices exhibited by some of the slaves, the Church felt that a more
organized and positive form of education needed to be instituted.
Father Margat, a Jesuit, emphasized the importance of missionaries'
imparting knowledge to the children at the earliest possible time. In
this connection he stated that those slaves who had been taught
properly had none of the coarseness of their parents and spoke French
with greater facility than most of the peasants and artisans in France.
"When the time of marriage arose among the educated group," stated
Father Margat, "the exercise of Christian principles was at its highest,
and gave joy to those missionaries who had been instrumental in
piloting them along the way."29 It should be noted that the Jesuits
assumed greater responsibility in this direction than the other Orders,
26 Arr?t de R?glement du Conseil du Cap, February 18, 1761, Loix et

constitutions, IV, 352-356.
27 Lettre du P?re Margat, February 27, 1725, Lettres des missions, VIII,
108-111.
28 Charlevoix, op. cit., IV, 360-366.
29 Lettre du P?re Margat, February 27, 1725, Lettres des missions, VIII,
108-111.
even imparting sufficient business training to their Negro slaves to

make them useful in a variety of capacities in Jesuit economic
enterprises.30
The continued expansion of Church activity among the Negro
slaves and the increased financial exactions this action required did
not go unchallenged by the slaveholders, and the hostility generated
in the latter quarters manifested itself in a variety of ways. Many col?
onists refused to contribute to the Church, and others, in plantation
isolation, ignored ordinances. The governor was informed of this
"negligence" and "inexactitude" on the part of the parishioners by
the clergy. In turn, he insisted that the marguilliers devote increased
time to the collection of the assessments imposed upon each parish?
ioner. Many of the unwilling colonists yielded, but paid with exces?
sively priced sugar in lieu of money. To the Crown it was unbeliev?
able, so it said, that persons could have so little concern for their
spiritual obligations that they would react in this fashion.31 To ensure
that ways of evading payment were eliminated, the government or?
dered that all payments be made quarterly in cash and in advance.
In case of a default in payment, the marguillier was empowered to
seize the debtor's slaves and sell them at public auction.32
The very stern measures enacted by the colonial government at the
behest of the Crown to ensure payment of curial assessments caused
even greater discontent among the colonists. They protested that the
small number of white parishioners made it difficult to support
a church and its religious program for the slaves. Realizing the legiti?
macy of this complaint, and bowing to the rise of anticlericalism in
France and the colony, the government consolidated several of the
parishes for the purpose of curial assessments. The Crown in stating
its position in this matter made it clear, however, that it was not
bowing unequivocally to the anticlericals, but was attempting to ensure
the availability of a priest to administer the sacraments and provide
for the exercise of the Catholic faith by every person in the colony.33
30 M. L. E. Moreau de Saint Mery, Description topographique, physique,

civile, politique et historique de la partie fran?aise de Saint Domingue (Phila?
delphia, 1798), I, 157.
31 Ordonnance des Administrateurs, September 12, 1710, Loix et constitutions,
II, 211.
32 Ibid.
33 Ordonnance, February 25, 1712, Loix et constitutions, II, 299.
After consolidation of the parishes a new levy was worked out,

with 7,000 livres being assessed for the religious care of the Negro
slaves. To collect for the slaves who had arrived after the last census
each master was levied forty sous for each one acquired since that
time. The marguillier was empowered to make an additional levy if
necessary.34 Later, a notice of the amount assessed each parishioner
was placed on the door of each church for three consecutive Sundays
so that each parishioner would be informed publicly of his obligation.
The members of the parish were to bring or send their assessed
amount to the marguillier within four months from the date of publi?
cation of the lists.35 Further, because of the tremendous increase in
the number of slaves, curial rites which had been gratis were discon?
tinued and a levy of thirty sous was assessed each slaveholder for the
administration of rites, e.g., marriage, burial, and baptism of his
Negroes. This assessment was resented by all slaveholders.36
The new sense of power on the part of the clergy resulting from
its ability to secure orders and pronouncements favorable to its point
of view continued to increase the hostility of the colonists, and they
moved in every possible way to obviate this influence and power.
Colonial discontent was aided by the increase of anticlericalism in
France itself, generated by the Enlightenment, and a changing Crown
philosophy based on the economic value of Haiti. Thus, the middle
of the eighteenth century marked the height of Church influence and
from this point to the revolution, the colonists moved against the
Church in a variety of ways, all designed to decrease its influence.
With the acceleration of anticlericalism in the second half of the
eighteenth century, and with the Crown responding more favorably
to the colonists' wishes, the colonial inhabitants began to ignore
religious pronouncements in general, and those concerning slaves in
particular. Zealous priests were openly accused of agitating the
slaves, and thereby undermining the foundations of colonial society.
In fact, the Jesuits, who had the greatest percentage of the slaves un?
der their religious charge, had this specific accusation leveled against
them.37 The colonists were likewise irritated by the Jesuits' engaging
34 Ibid.
35 Arr?t de R?glement, January 21, 1727, ANF (Col).
36 Arr?t du Conseil, May 15, 1751, ANF (Col).
37 Arr?t du Conseil du Cap, October 7, 1762, Loix et constitutions, IV,
505-506.
in economic activity on a grand scale, owning and operating five sugar

refineries which brought them inestimable revenue, and the accom?
panying business involvement.38 The Jesuits felt that their engagement
in personal profit-making activity was necessary for the implementa?
tion of their work with the slaves, and they made it apparent that
the Order considered itself above all forms of temporal authority.39
The Haitian colonists moved against the Jesuits in 1762. The
Society was accused of instituting a protectionist policy which had
corrupted the slaves, led to economic mismanagement, distortion of the
faith to suit the Order's purposes, and insubordination to the
Crown.40 Of greatest concern to the colonists was the zealous man?
ner in which the Jesuits had worked to protect the religious interests
of the slaves. The colonial council referred to the Jesuits as "self
styled," a "strange order" following a "strange rule," and a group
which had avoided having its statutes examined and confirmed. The
council stated further that the regulations governing the activities of
the Jesuits were shrouded in obscurity and mystery. It was thus
necessary, declared the magistrates, that colonial officials assure
themselves that the regulations governing the Order contained nothing
contrary to the authority of the king, the liberties of the Gallican
Church, and the maintenance of law, order, and public tranquility.41
In the eyes of the colonists even the limited degree of slave enlighten?
ment that had come with religious instruction served as a threat to the
maintenance of the status quo, and subsequent events gave some valid?
ity to this colonial concern. It was also remembered that the Church
had been among the first to encourage manumission, and the resulting
increase in the number of free Negroes who regarded the missionaries
as their benefactors was likewise a disturbing factor.
The Jesuits, therefore, who had been responsible for approximately
fifty percent of the slaves42 were, in the eyes of the colonists, account?
able for all of the ills growing out of the Church's protectionist atti
38 Moreau de Saint Mery, op. cit., I, 157.

39 L. von Pastor, Geschichte der P?pste, XVI, 656 (Note 1), 641 (Note 5),
622 (Note 2), 617.
40 Arr?t du Conseil du Cap, December 13, 1762, Loix et constitutions, IV,
518-519.
41 Arr?t du Conseil du Cap, October 7, 1762, Loix et constitutions, IV,
505-506.
42 Charlevoix, op. cit., IV, 341.
tude toward the Negro slave. The Society of Jesus was found guilty
as charged on November 24, 1763, and ordered to withdraw from
their parishes in Haiti within six weeks. Final disposition of the
priests and their assets was left to the king.43
The suppression of the Jesuits in Haiti served as a warning to the
Dominicans and secular priests remaining in the colony, the Capuchins
having phased out their religious during the first half of the eighteenth
century, that those priests showing enthusiasm for their duties with
the Negro slaves were almost certain to be accused by the planters
of agitating the slaves and undermining the foundations of colonial
society. The several slave uprisings which had taken place over the
years were used as a justification for this point of view, although it
is equally valid to conclude that the natural desire for freedom was
the stronger motivation.
The years following the expulsion of the Jesuits from Haiti saw a
tightening of regulations by the Crown designed to control the col?
onial Church. Louis XV stated the Superior Council in the colony,
with the approval of the Crown, would inform the priests of the
extent of their powers, and the manner in which their duties could
be exercised.44 This new attitude in governmental circles was seen
readily when new priests arrived in Haiti to administer to the Negro
slaves who had been under the jurisdiction of the Jesuits. Colonial
administrators were reminded that they should maintain a constant
check on such priests' activities. Subsequently, governors and in?
tendants were given the right of "inspectorship and authority" over
the personal conduct of the priests and their superior, and were to
report any "corrupt abuse of power."45
Now at the height of power and economic prosperity, the latter
dependent upon slavery, the colonists ignored the Church in the grand
manner, and this state of affairs existed down to the Haitian revolt.
The Church protested vigorously, but the sentiments of the time in
most quarters gave her little support.46 In addition, many of the mis
43 Arr?t d?finitif du Conseil du Cap, November 24, 1763, ANF {Col).
44 Ordonnance du Roi, July 21, 1763, Loix et constitutions, IV, 613-615.
Although this ordinance was issued prior to the final disposition of the Jesuit
case, it did not become operative in Haiti until final judgment against the
Order had been rendered.
45Lettre du Ministre aux Administrateurs, November 5, 1772, ANF {Col).
46 M?moire de P. Damien-Daguet, Pr?fet Apostolique de Saint Domingue,
ANF {Col).
sionaries became so demoralized by the new regulations and attitudes

after the expulsion of the Jesuits that they became poor religious
examples themselves ; so much so that many of the slaves lost much
of the religious fervor and sentiment instilled by the Jesuits.47
The policy of religious protectionism which had been practiced
by the missionaries in Haiti in earlier years was made impossible
in the latter half of the eighteenth century by the stringent regulations
issued by the Crown to control religious activity. In addition, the
growing dissatisfaction of the slave with his lot began to manifest
itself in a desire for total freedom, culminating in a war of inde?
pendence that eventually separated Haiti from France and Rome.
When revolution engulfed Haiti, the majority of the missionaries
fled, along with the slaveholders. A few remained, however, and
worked admirably to minister to the religious needs of the revolu?
tionary leaders and populace, but organized Roman Catholicism
ceased to exist in Haiti until the signing of a concordat with the
Holy See in 1860.
Notwithstanding the fact that some historians have attempted to
minimize the intensity of Catholic indoctrination in Haiti, the mere
fact that this religion remained alive at all during the period 1801-1860
?a span of three generations?is a clear indication that Catholicism
had made a significant impact upon the Haitian Negro.
47 P. A. Cabon, Notes sur l'histoire religieuse d'Haiti, 1789-1860 (Port-au

Prince, 1933), Ch. I.

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Religious Protectionism and the Slave in Haiti

Author(s): George Breathett

One of the most difficult problems facing the Catholic Church

France, from her earliest ventures in colonization, considered the

3 Commission, Richelieu to Esnambuc and de Roissey, October 31, 1626,

habitants, as well as the attitudes of the slaveholders toward the

7 Pierre de Vaissi?re, Saint Domingue: La soci?t? et la vie cr?ole sous

mistreatment, and other misfortunes arising from slave status. Al?

10 Labat, op. cit., passim.

against tavern keepers, undesirable women, and Jews. These persons

14 Ordonnance de M. de Baas, August 1, 1669, Loix et constitutions, I, 180.

18Vaissi?re, op. cit., pp. 153-253.

every respect. There was an increase in the number of "respectable"

This limited instruction resulted quite often in slaves mixing Catholi?

23 Charlevoix, op. cit., IV, 341.

institute regulations to protect the slave from himself. Since much

26 Arr?t de R?glement du Conseil du Cap, February 18, 1761, Loix et

even imparting sufficient business training to their Negro slaves to

30 M. L. E. Moreau de Saint Mery, Description topographique, physique,

After consolidation of the parishes a new levy was worked out,

in economic activity on a grand scale, owning and operating five sugar

38 Moreau de Saint Mery, op. cit., I, 157.

sionaries became so demoralized by the new regulations and attitudes

47 P. A. Cabon, Notes sur l'histoire religieuse d'Haiti, 1789-1860 (Port-au

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