Jean - François Papillon Jean - François Papillon ( died 1805 ) , was an African - born slave who had worked in the plantation of Papillon in the last decades of the 18th Century , in the North Province of Saint - Domingue . He escaped from that plantation and became a maroon , so when the Haitian revolution started in August 1791 he had already enjoyed a direct experience of freedom . Ascent to power . Right after the tragic death of Boukman Dutty , the insurgent slaves ’ first leader , Jean - François Papillon imposed his authority over the other black generals , especially Georges Biassou , Jeannot Bullet and Toussaint Bréda ( later Toussaint Louverture ) , and became commander - in - chief of the Haitian former slaves . By late 1791 , some weeks after the revolutionary outbreak , Jean - François and Biassou set their rivalry aside in order to oppose Jeannot , who not only massacred the French but also all the black soldiers that contested his authority . For that reason , Biassou and Jean - François arrested and executed him by November 1791 . It has usually been assumed that Jean - François and his men rose up in rebellion to conquer universal freedom , but their real intention was to conquer as much power as possible and return the rest of the slaves to plantation when the revolution was over , and the generals had already achieved power . Jean - François confessed his convictions to the North American agents in Le Cap François : “ [ . . . ] that General told us that he had not created himself General of the negroes , that those who had that power had confered [ sic ] upon him that title ; that in taking up arms , he never pretended to fight for General Liberty , which he knew to be an illusion ” . Relation with Spain . There are many chances that the Spaniards backed the Haitian revolution from the beginning , providing the insurgents with food and weapons : they knew that the episode would cause chaos in Saint - Domingue , giving Spain the chance to send troops to that territory and re - annex it , since it had been a Spanish possession taken by the French in the Peace Treaty of Ryswick ( 1697 ) . In October 1791 , the black General Toussaint Bréda admitted his contacts with the Spaniards , who had promised them provisions . As Spain was officially neutral towards the French revolution , of which Saint - Domingue ’ s revolution was regarded as a mere echo , it kept its contacts with the black leaders in secret . Spain ’ s attitude changed from late January 1793 , when the French National Convention executed Louis XVI . From then on , the Spanish government considered that it was unnecessary to stay officially neutral towards France and both countries declared war to each other in March 1793 . As a consequence , the Spanish King issued his instructions to the Dominican authorities , which needed to begin official dealings with Saint - Domingue ’ s black generals to persuade them to join the Dominican army . Negotiations , which were carried out by the mulato priest José Vázquez , finished on May 6 , 1793 with Jean - François ’ oath of loyalty to the Spanish King in his name and in the name of his soldiers . The said oath was confirmed by Jean - François some days later , in an official letter addressed to the Dominican Archbishop , Fernando del Portillo y Torres . Nevertheless , the slave leaders made it clear that they did not support the Spanish King as an end in itself , but as a means of avenging the French King , the Spanish sovereign ’ s cousin . Triumphs and problems at the service of Spain . Jean - François and his collaborators became Carlos IV ’ s black auxiliary troops , since the colour of their skin prevented the Spaniards from considering them part of the colonial regular army . Their alliance to Spain was crucial for the Spanish army to make important progress in Hispaniola against the French , conquering important positions like Gonaïves , Gros - Morne , Plaisance , Acul , Limbé , Port - Margot , Borgne , Petit - Saint - Louis and Terre - Neuve . Nevertheless , there had always existed a strong tension between Jean - François and Biassou that led to an armed confrontation in September 1793 . Both generals confronted each other and the French took advantage of the instability within the black auxiliaries to re - conquer the Tannerie fort , recently occupied by Jean - François ’ troops . That episode convinced the Dominican government of the necessity to put an end to the internal tension of the black army , which was achieved thanks to the intervention of the Dominican Brigadier Matías Armona , who persuaded them to meet in Dondon and come to an agreement by late November 1793 . In the following weeks , the black auxiliaries achieved many other victories at the service of Spain , especially the conquest of Port Margot at the beginning in 1794 , which earned them several golden and silver medals given by the Spanish Crown . Bayajá . The prestige of the black auxiliaries started to decay in July 1794 , after the massacre of Bayajá . This place had been a French possession ( Fort Dauphin ) until the Spaniards conquered it in January 1794 . At that moment , the authorities of the village asked the Spaniards to not let Jean - François ’ troops enter the place in the future , because they were afraid that the latter would massacre them , provided that most of its inhabitants were the former owners of Jean - François ’ collaborators , and also that one of the officers that surrendered the city to Spain was the mulato Candy , Jean - François ’ former subordinate that had deserted to the French camp . Despite the described circumstances , on July 7 , 1794 Jean - François entered the place with his troops and massacred the French inhabitants , mostly , though many Spaniards died also in the episode . The Spanish garrison of the place did not interfere to stop the killing , for which they were criticised by other foreign governments that even accused Spain of supporting the killing from the shadow . From that moment on , not only did the Spaniards realise that the black auxiliaries were dangerous , but they also prevented them from taking part in any other important campaign in the future , so abuses like the one just described did not occur any more . Basel and the diaspora of the auxiliaries . The Spaniards ’ awareness of the black auxiliaries ’ “ natural savagery ” as well as Santo Domingo ’ s cession to France in the Peace Treaty of Basel , persuaded them to get rid of Jean - François and his troops , since the circumstances that had justified their alliance to the former slaves , that is , Spain ’ s plan to conquer the western part of Hispaniola , had failed . First , Jean - François and his main collaborators were taken to Havana . But the Cuban governor , Luis de las Casas , was so afraid that their presence there provoked a massive black insurrection in that island , that he pressured the Spanish government to throw them out of his colony . In March 1796 they arrived to the Spanish city of Cádiz , where they were kept almost as prisoners . Their situation in that city was dramatic : the generals lost their military ranks and their right to any economic compensation after their retirement and , in addition , Jean - François had to use the few resources he had to assist his family and his companions . In 1813 , the Spanish Council of Regency decided to throw them out of that city and take them to the Coast of the Flies . Unfortunately , Jean - François never saw the resolution of the conflict that concerned his troops , as he had already died in the early days of the 19th Century , maybe in 1805 , totally forgotten by the Spanish government , which “ rewarded ” him for his loyal services denying any official link with him or any other slave general in the past .