... At the time, Napoleon Bonaparte had grand dreams of a French Empire in the New World. He was hoping to use the island of Hispaniola as the center of his domain, with the Mississippi Valley as the main food and trade route from which to support his empire. Unfortunately for him, a slave revolt led by Toussaint L'Ouverture dashed his plans. L'Ouverture and his fellow slaves seized control of the island by defeating Napoleon's troops there. Napoleon then sent an army under the command of his brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc to regain the island. Although the French probably could have regained control of the island through sheer numbers, Napoleon realized that the cost in French lives would have been enormous, not only due to battle losses, but also to malaria, yellow fever, and various other ailments. Therefore, he decided to give up the island and, without the Hispaniola, he had practically ...

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