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Invasion of Cap Haitien -- Dated Using French Republican Calendar!
Rare copperplate engraved view of the capture of Cap Francais (Cap Haitien) by the French in February 1802.
The view shows the French army attacking the local Haitian soldiers guarding the fortress and harbor of Cap-Haitien in February 1802, toward the end of the Haitian Revolution.
Cap Francais or Cap-Haitien, had been founded in 1670 by the French and was in the 18th Century referred to as the “Paris of the Antilles.” It was the capital of the French colony of Saint-Domingue until 1770. It was also famed as the scene of slave uprisings in 1791.
On December 14, 1801, Napoleon Bonaparte sent an expeditionary force to Saint-Domingue, led by General Leclerc. There were four invasion points chosen: Cap Haitien, Port-au-Prince, Santo Domingo and Les Cayes. Upon arrival to Cap Haitien, Le Clerc ordered the Haitian commander Henri Christophe to turn over the city to the French. After Christophe's refusal, the French attacked and the Haitians set the city afire rather than surrender it. The title translates as follows:
Capture of Cap Français by the French Army. Under the command of General Le Clerc: on 15 and 20 Pluviose, Year X (February 4-9, 1820). Captain Magon enters the harbor, where he is received with cannon shots from the Fort, he engages with two Vessels within Rifle range, and forces the 'Blacks' to escape . . .
Pluviose was the fifth month of the French Republican calendar, from the Latin word (pluviosus) for rainy.
Rarity
The view is apparently very rare on the market.
OCLC locates only the example at the Bibliotheque National de France.
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