Within a year, after burning former slaves who refused to go back to the plantations plantations, Ernouf had restored slavery and agricultural production. From his base on Guadeloupe, he dealt generously with many of the refugee planters who escaped the previous years' carnage. He also took over the Swedish island of St. Barts, where the rebels of St. Domingo had taken refuge, and from which they coordinated privateering 80 million francs. There is some evidence to suggest that he either actively encouraged, or at least permitted, the earlier practice of privateering against British and American shipping; British officers later found open commissions, signed by Ernouf, which suggested he was granting commissions to pirates for "services" rendered. Four privateer ships sailing from Guadeloupe between 1805 and 1810 bore the name "Général Ernouf", one of which was the captured sloop-of-war HMS "Lilly"), which underscores his encouragement of privateering. His task was further complicated by the failure of the Treaty of Amiens and the outbreak of war with Britain. To protect Guadeloupe, he established coastal batteries.