The French Revolution spoke of liberty. Saint-Domingue asked whether the word crossed the ocean. When France hesitated, the enslaved answered for themselves. I negotiated when negotiation served freedom and fought when fighting served it better. Principles that require permission are not yet principles.
— Toussaint Louverture, correspondence and 1801 Constitution of Saint-Domingue; C.L.R. James, The Black Jacobins.
18th Century