Blades of Freedom: A Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase

The 10th installment in Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series tells the story of the Haitian Revolution and the Louisiana PurchaseThe Louisiana Purchase (1803) is today seen as one of history’s greatest bargains. But why did Napoleon Bonaparte sell this seemingly prosperous territory? At the time, France controlled Haiti, and there, slaves were used to harvest sugar. But in 1791, Toussaint Louverture led the largest slave uprising in human history, the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804). Napoleon had originally wanted to use Louisiana for trade, but with Haiti out of his control, Napoleon’s dream of making a French empire in North America seemed doomed. So when Thomas Jefferson and James Madison tried to buy New Orleans, Napoleon sold them the whole Louisiana Territory.