Léger-Félicité Sonthonax was a French politician and colonial administrator. He was a Jacobin before joining the Girondins, which emerged in 1791. During the Haitian Revolution, he controlled 7,000 French troops in Saint-Domingue. His official title was Civil Commissioner. From September 1792, he and Polverel became the de facto rulers of Saint-Domingue's non-slave population. Because they were associated with Brissot’s party, they were put in accusation by the convention on July 16, 1793, but a ship to bring them back in France didn’t arrive in the colony until June 1794, and they arrived in France in the time of the downfall of Robespierre. They had a fair trial in 1795 and were acquitted of the charges the white colonists brought against them.
Key Facts
| Subject | Léger-Félicité Sonthonax |
| Category | French politician and colonial administrator (1763–1813) |
| Reading time | 1 min · Intermediate |
| Key date | 1791 |
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