Jean-Jacques d'Esparbès (or Desparbès; 12 January 1720 – 13 March 1810) was a French soldier who was briefly Governor of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

in 1792 during the French Revolution.

Life

Jean-Jacques d'Esparbès was born on 12 January 1720. He married a cousin of

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

. He was made ''

maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général'') ...

'' on 25 July 1762, and lieutenant general on 1 March 1780. He commanded the 20th Military Division at

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

in July 1790. D'Esparbès was appointed governor of Santo Domingo in 1792 and accompanied three new civil commissars to the island,

Léger-Félicité Sonthonax Léger-Félicité Sonthonax (7 March 1763 – 23 July 1813) 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 ...

Étienne Polverel Étienne Polverel (1740–1795) was a French lawyer, aristocrat, and revolutionary. He was a member of the Jacobins, Jacobin club. In 1792, he and Léger Félicité Sonthonax were sent to Saint-Domingue to suppress the slave revolt and to imple ...

and

Jean-Antoine Ailhaud Jean Antoine is a French given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Antoine Alavoine (1778–1834), French architect * Jean Antoine de Baïf (1532–1589), French poet * Jean-Antoine Carrel (1829–1891), Italian mountain climber * J ...

. He was to replace governor

Philibert François Rouxel de Blanchelande Philippe François Rouxel, viscount de Blanchelande (21 February 1735 – 15 April 1793) was a French Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Saint-Domingue from 1790 to 1792. He was born on 21 February 1735 in Dijo ...

. The expedition included 6,000 soldiers. The future governor

Étienne Maynaud de Bizefranc de Laveaux Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Artists and entertainers * ...

was lieutenant-colonel in command of a detachment of 200 men of the 16th regiment of dragoons. They reached Cap-Français (now Cap-Haïtien) on 18 September 1792. The commissioners found that many of the white planters were hostile to the increasingly radical revolutionary movement and were joining the royalist opposition. The commissioners announced that they did not intend to abolish slavery, but had come to ensure that free men had equal rights whatever their color. D'Esparbes worked against the commissioners and became popular with the royalist planters. On 21 October 1792, the commissioners dismissed d'Esparbès and named the

vicomte de Rochambeau Divisional-General Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau (7 April 1755 – 20 October 1813) was a French Army officer and colonial administrator who served in the American Revolutionary War and French Revolutionary and Napoleoni ...

governor general of Santo Domingo. Both D'Esparbès and his predecessor Blanchelande were deported to France. D'Esparbès was accused of disloyalty on 4 February 1793, but was acquitted by the

Revolutionary Tribunal The Revolutionary Tribunal (; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. In October 1793, it became one of the most powerful engines of ...

on 27 April 1793 and withdrew from public life. He died on 13 March 1810.

Work

Surviving writings by d'Esparbès include: * * * *

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esparbes, Jean Jacques d' 1720 births 1810 deaths French generals Governors of Saint-Domingue