On May 8, 1802, the Senate of the Directory passed a proposal extending the Consulate by another ten years.
It passed by a vote of 60 to 1, the sole opposing vote coming from Count Lanjuinais, a former Girondin.
The Girondins had Madame Roland, nicknamed the "Uncrowned Queen." Her husband, Jean-Marie Roland, was also one of the Girondin leaders. During the Reign of Terror, he was sent to the guillotine by the Jacobins in 1793 during Robespierre's great purge.
Like Georgiana, Madame Roland was not a legislator and had never held public office, yet her opinions shaped the Girondins' political direction. Nearly all the political platforms and decrees issued in Roland's name had been written by her.
She had once spoken a famous line:
"Liberty, how many crimes are committed in thy name."
While France was beset by troubles at home and abroad, Toussaint Louverture had already signed trade agreements with America and Britain. Through a constitution, he declared himself Consul for Life and granted himself the right to choose his successor.
With the war having reached this point, even Louverture's immense ambition had been defeated by his own humanity. Or perhaps he wanted to take a more tactful approach, allowing his officers to infiltrate the French army. In any case, Napoleon's plan to restore slavery in the colonies was impossible to realize. Even Thomas Jefferson had passed a proposal through the Court of Equity to halt the importation of slaves.
This time, both America and Britain chose neutrality. Both sides sent observer forces to watch the situation in Saint-Domingue. Toussaint's slogan for the Saint-Domingue army was "To defend liberty." Having received advance intelligence, they set fire to the French landing sites and burned everything there, clearly intending to carry out a scorched-earth policy.
But the French had brought their