He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 319

(319) Eugene Subdues the Black Revolutionary

Even with thorough planning on a map, everything changes when you arrive on-site for a long-distance expedition.

“As expected, it’s too far. That’s the problem.”

Eugene sat in the cabin of the Horus, muttering while looking at the map.

In September 1802, after a three-month journey, the Nouvelle France-bound immigrant fleet crossed the Atlantic.

Considering that as many as 100,000 people were being transported on 300 ships, it was an incredible feat.

This would have been impossible without the assistance of the East India Company, which specialized in large-scale, long-distance maritime transport.

But it was obvious that many events would have already occurred on land in the meantime.

For example, Pitt might have returned to power, Tsar Paul of Russia might have faced the risk of a coup, and Napoleon might have appointed the first 13 Marshals.

But the most important thing is:

Josephine would have given birth in the meantime.

The birth of a sibling is a joyous event, but I can’t help but be on edge.

This is the world of power.

Suddenly, a shout came from outside.

“Land, ho! Land!”

“Hey, don’t get off the ship without permission! This is British territory!”

“When will we finally reach French land? I’m dying here!”

Eugene chuckled and left the cabin.

Now that I’ve come to the New World, I need to change my thinking.

For example, the problem of long distances needs to be addressed with the New World in mind.

Right now, it’s too far to project military power from Europe.

That’s the most important reason why the United States was able to become independent.

It is the cause of the independence of various South American countries in the early 19th century in the original history.

But Eugene, who became the viceroy of France, is in a position to prevent this New World independence.

What method is there?

With the vast ocean behind me and an island in front of me, I feel a sense of helplessness.

At that time, someone shouted from another ship next to us, the British ship Theseus.

“Since you have requested the cooperation of our East India Company, I hope you will follow British rules. I am the admiral of the transport fleet, and all of you passengers are under my control!”

Eugene looked at him and nodded.

The captain of the Horus, Nicolas Surcouf, glared coldly at the captain of the Theseus and turned away.

The immigrants, who were about to jump off, also stopped.

The soldiers and former soldiers of the Nouvelle France fleet, who looked like they were about to fight, sat down again.

The British admiral doesn’t matter, but their leader agreed.

The savior who saved everyone in the Vendée, in Italy, and in the Orient.

But Eugene’s chief aide, Ippolito, waved his hand and approached.

“Wow, the captain is scary. But when will we really reach French land?”

“If you go south, there’s Martinique.”

“Huh? Really? But why didn’t we stop there and come here?”

Eugene looked at the admiral of the Theseus, who was guiding the ship to the pier in an orderly manner, and replied.

“Firstly, this Dominica is a disputed area.”

“Huh? Disputed area?”

“This place was originally a French colony. It was taken away during the Seven Years’ War, and then regained and held until 1784. The British East India Company wants to be recognized by me and France that this island is British territory, right?”

Here is Dominica, a British colony in the West Indies.

The location is north of Martinique and south of the Virgin Islands.

If you sail west from here, you will find Puerto Rico Island and Saint-Domingue Island (modern-day Haiti and Dominican Republic).

If you sail northwest again, you will find the Bahamas.

It sounds like modern tax havens, and that’s right.

All are places where rich people flee to avoid taxes in the future of the original history.

But now, when Europe goes to the New World, it is an important stopover on the route.

“Secondly, Dominica is originally an important stopover on the British route. It is a common trade route from here to Jamaica or the United States.”

“What are you trading?”

“Sugar, coffee, and slaves.”

Eugene shrugged, looking at the other ships entering Dominica Island in the distance.

“It’s an unavoidable reality of the New World.”

The harbor is full of scenery like dried fish.

-Step, step, step.

The blacks dragged out of the ship walk on the harbor.

Most of them lived in the African interior before being dragged here.

It is no secret that the best commodity in the Atlantic trade in the 18th century, when Europe roamed the world, was slaves.

In fact, France gave up the slave trade more because it was defeated by England than because of the revolution.

Nevertheless, it is also true that the Great Revolution was the first to attempt to abolish the slave trade.

From this, England, Spain, and eventually the United States will also embark on the path of abolishing slavery.

A sweet voice reached Eugene’s ears, who was lost in thought.

“Then what’s the third thing?”

Surprised, Eugene turned his head and saw Marie smiling.

“Oh, are you okay with seasickness? You seemed to be having a hard time.”

“I’ve adapted. I’m more worried about Louis.”

“Louis? Ah, you mean Louis Charles.”

Ippolito smirked beside him and dared to hit the viceroy on the shoulder.

“He’s your brother-in-law now. Hehe! Get to know each other!”

That’s right.

Louis Charles, soon Marie Antoinette’s son and Marie Therese’s brother, also participated in this New World schedule.

It’s something he participated in to pioneer his own life, but it’s quite uncomfortable for Eugene.

Eugene is the one who forcibly created the secret of his birth, even though his father Louis XVI committed suicide.

Eugene turned his head with a face that claimed he was not yet a formal brother-in-law.

“I’ll get to know you later. Anyway, the third thing is simple. There’s a friend I need to meet in the middle. It’s hard to meet if I go straight to Florida.”

“Who is it?”

“Toussaint Louverture.”

Suddenly, Eugene’s gaze turned far to the west.

“He’s the one who became the de facto king of Saint-Domingue.”

He was a former slave who was the de facto ruler of Saint-Domingue, the largest French colony in the West Indies.

***

This era was when it was common sense in the New World for blacks to be treated as slaves.

“Receive, gun! Salute to the arrival of His Royal Highness the Viceroy of the mainland!”

But there is a man who overturned his fate and became the owner of this land.

Toussaint Louverture, now a middle-aged man who has reached the age of 59.

When the revolution broke out in France, he took the opportunity to revolt and repelled the invasions of the British and Spanish armies.

Thanks to Toussaint’s efforts, France also acquired the remaining half of the island of Hispaniola in the Treaty of Basel, which ended the First Coalition War.

Thanks to this, the island, which was originally French in the west and Spanish in the east, became entirely French territory.

That’s nominally.

In reality, Toussaint has been in de facto control ever since.

-Chuck, chuck, chuck!

Toussaint’s revolutionary army took a salute posture in unison.

This place is the west of Hispaniola Island, called Santo Domingo.

Until France nominally and Toussaint actually occupied it, Spanish troops were stationed here.

Currently, the island’s 300,000 residents, including Creoles (people of European descent born in the Americas), mulattoes (people of mixed white and black ancestry), and former black slaves, are all under Toussaint’s command.

However, Toussaint knows that all of this can be blown away in an instant.

Only because France has not had the opportunity to pay attention to the West Indies until now, Toussaint has been able to act as Governor.

But finally, a supervisor of the New World comes from the mainland.

Suddenly, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the self-proclaimed Deputy Governor of Saint-Domingue, asked.

“Why are you doing this, Governor Louverture?”

“Well, we are strictly soldiers under the French government.”

“Who recognizes that? The planters of Saint-Domingue? The whites of France? That viceroy and princess who live across the sea and suddenly come to the New World?”

Toussaint looked at Dessalines, who had the same black skin as him, and smiled.

“Right now, we can’t even properly reconcile the conflict between ‘Noir’ [Black] and ‘Mulatto’ [Mixed-race]. Dessalines.”

Originally, the ancestral home of both Toussaint and Dessalines would be Africa.

But they call themselves Noir, or black, or Mulatto, but at the same time they name themselves in French and speak in French.

What’s in their heads is Catholic faith and Enlightenment philosophy, the clothes they’re wearing are French army uniforms, and the guns they’re holding are muskets made in French armories.

Toussaint, a descendant of completely Frenchified black slaves, narrowed his brows.

“Especially André Rigaud, Alexandre Pétion, and Jean-Pierre Boyer, who rule the south. In order to somehow drive these three out of Jacmel or subdue them, we need the authority of the mainland.”

“Didn’t the home government give any special instructions?”

“The viceroy who comes this time will deliver those instructions.”

All three are mulattoes, that is, those born as mixed race between whites and blacks.

In the New World, including the West Indies, there is a kind of hierarchy based on skin color.

Whites have the highest hierarchy, followed by mestizos, who are mixed race between whites and natives, followed by mulattoes, who are mixed race between whites and blacks, followed by freed slaves and newly dragged slaves.

Toussaint and Dessalines are from freed slaves.

On the other hand, Rigaud, Pétion, and Boyer were mulattoes, so they hated pure blacks.

Of course, Toussaint won so far because the Vendée Hell Brigade sent by Eugene first joined hands with Toussaint.

But what if the viceroy coming from the mainland changes his policy?

In fact, in the original history, Leclerc, sent by Napoleon, joined hands with Pétion, and Toussaint was captured and killed.

Toussaint, a freed slave who is sensitive to the political situation even if he doesn’t know history, flashed his eyes.

“We must receive the instructions first, and furthermore, we must change them to a form that is favorable to us. Huh?”

Beyond the coast in the distance, a ship was visible on the horizon.

“There, it’s coming! A ship!”

As Henri Christophe, the 35-year-old commander of the Governor’s Guard, reported, Toussaint nodded.

“Is it one ship?”

“But it’s big. Is that the battleship that the mainland operates?”

“Even when the British attacked us, they mainly used smaller ships than that.”

Toussaint answered Dessalines and widened his eyes.

“Wait, something else is coming behind it?”

More ships appear over the horizon.

-Shhh, shhh, shhh.

Each time he blinked, the ship appeared as if it was floating above the horizon.

All are battleships boasting hundreds of tons of weight, barriers of the sea.

The ships that had already formed a line in a row on the horizon were rushing in.

“Oh, oh, oh?”

“No, what are there so many of?”

“10 ships, no, 20 ships! Besides, if you add the transport ships behind them, at least!”

Dessalines, the 44-year-old Deputy Governor, who had been calm until then, shouted.

“200 ships!”

Toussaint also muttered with a dumbfounded face.

“The new viceroy really came with a plan.”

“Shouldn’t we run away from here right now? First to Port-au-Prince, our base in the west!”

“If we run away?”

Toussaint shook his head vigorously at Dessalines’s claim.

“Are we going to start a war with mainland France? That’s crazy. Dessalines.”

Originally, Toussaint is extremely reluctant to fight with the French government even in the original history.

France is the dream country that Toussaint, who had read Voltaire’s books since he was young, had never been to.

So, in the end, he is deceived by Leclerc, sent by Napoleon, and dragged to France and dies.

That’s why Toussaint mentioned faith at this moment.

“Let’s trust the style of the revolutionary government, or rather, the viceroy of mainland France.”

The waves crashed violently into the island of Saint-Domingue.

-Splash!

Along with the advance of as many as 20 battleships.

***

French flags and revolutionary songs resound in Santo Domingo, once a Spanish colonial city.

-Bbaam bbaam! Bbaam bbaam! Bbaam bbaam!

While La Marseillaise was being played, Toussaint took a salute and shouted.

“Welcome the arrival of the new Viceroy. I am Louverture, a loyal soldier of the Republic, no, France.”

The person who got off the ship is surprisingly a young man who is only about 21 years old.

However, none of the Saint-Domingue black soldiers lined up could look down on the young man.

Anyone would if they saw the huge fleet of 20 battleships and the harbor parked in the sea behind them.

Eugene Bonaparte, the owner of the battle fleet, smiled brightly.

“General, thank you for your hard work in protecting Saint-Domingue.”

Toussaint stepped forward with a delighted expression.

“Thank you. Then.”

“I am appointing you as the official governor of Saint-Domingue. However, the governor’s office will be located in Florida.”

“Yes?”

Eugene ordered firmly to the embarrassed Toussaint.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll give you a seat in the mainland Senate instead of the governor. Which one would you choose? I will not accept any objections to the headquarters of the governor’s office.”

Toussaint won’t know.

Eugene has now made the best offer France can give.

Currently, French bourgeois merchants who have interests in the West Indies are lobbying the parliament, the government, and the new imperial family.

They say slavery must be revived.

But Toussaint had no choice but to accept Eugene’s demands for other reasons.

Because of the battle fleet behind Eugene, and the former Vendée postal regiment that landed.

Toussaint sighed, looking at the new guns held by the soldiers who are now the Viceroy’s Guard.

I don’t think I can win if I fight.

“I understand. Your Royal Highness.”

Looking at Toussaint turning around powerlessly, Ippolito whispered next to Eugene.

“He accepts it surprisingly willingly?”

“He’s just overwhelmed by the amount.”