under a decree of accusation, on that day, Sonthonax and Polverel’s names were not pronounced in the convention, not even by Dufay, the deputy of Saint-Domingue sent by Sonthonax to explain to the deputies of the convention why slavery had been abolished in the colony. Emancipation was one of the most momentous events in the history of the Americas. The enslaved population of Saint-Domingue did not flock to Sonthonax's side as he had anticipated, while white planters continued to resist him. They were joined by many of the free men of color who opposed the abolition of slavery in the colony, many of them being planters themselves. It was not until word of the ratification of emancipation by the French government arrived back in the colony that Toussaint Louverture and his corps of well-disciplined, battle-hardened former slaves came over to the French Republican side in early May 1794. A change in the political winds back home caused Sonthonax to be recalled to France to defend his actions. When he returned in the summer of 1794, he argued that the free people of colour, whom he had been originally sent to defend, were no longer loyal to France, and that the Republic should place its faith in the freed slaves. Vindicated, Sonthonax returned to Saint-Domingue a second time. The Comte d'Hédouville was sent by France to be governor of the island, but was eventually forced to flee. Death and legacy Toussaint, in the meantime, was consolidating his own position. The black general arranged for Sonthonax to leave Saint-Domingue as one of its elected representatives in 1797, and when Sonthonax showed himself to be hesitant, Toussaint placed him under armed escort onto a ship bound for France on 24 August. He died in his home town 16 years later. Léger-Félicité Sonthonax is a controversial figure of the Haitian Revolution. His critics (Toussaint, Jean-Jacques Dessalines or André Rigaud) have denounced him as being vain, power-hungry and duplicitous. Thomas Madiou, one of Haïti's most famous historians, writing in the middle of the 19th century deduced that his ultimate goal was to become Governor General of the island, autonomous from France and Napoleon Bonaparte and so General Toussaint exiled him back to France. Toussaint felt that Sonthonax was using their plight to further his own agenda of a power grab. Sonthonax is considered a controversial figure in Haitian history because of his alleged duplicitous nature.