The process of taking weapons away, however, confirmed the suspicions many had about the intentions of the French: both Sonthonax and Louverture had warned that the rifle was the guarantor of liberty in Saint-Domingue.6 The disarmament process, meant to destroy the population's capacity to defend itself, backfired. It incited uprisings in several parts of the colony, including Port-de-Paix and the island of Tortuga, and helped to propel a series of defections among the colonial troops in the north.

Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ …, loc. 414