Gabriel Hédouville

French colonial governor

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June 29, 2026

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Gabriel Hédouville was a French official who served as a commissioner in Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti) during the tumultuous period of the Haitian Revolution. He was sent by the French Directory in 1798 to reassert French authority and manage the colony amidst the ongoing slave revolt and shifting alliances.12

Hédouville attempted to exploit divisions within the colony, particularly between the prominent Black leader Toussaint Louverture and the mixed-race leader André Rigaud. However, Louverture resisted these efforts, and Hédouville was ultimately forced to flee the colony. His tenure was marked by the internal conflicts and power struggles that characterized the revolution, ultimately failing to restore firm French control.12

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Toussaint Louverture
Elimination of rivals
…of another nominal French superior, Gabriel Hédouville, who arrived in 1798 as representative of the Directory (the French Revolutionary government). Knowing that France had no chance of restoring colonialism as long as the war with England continued, Hédouville attempted to pit against Toussaint the mulatto leader André Rigaud, who ruled…
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…of another nominal French superior, Gabriel Hédouville, who arrived in 1798 as representative of the Directory (the French Revolutionary government). Knowing that France had no chance of restoring colonialism as long as the war with England continued, Hédouville attempted to pit against Toussaint the mulatto leader André Rigaud, who ruled…
Read More