[Payment Authorization for Carpentry Work at the State Warehouses in Saint-Domingue, Signed by Paul Louverture as Général de Brigade and Commandant en Chef du Département.] Louverture, Paul 18th century,Americana,Autographs & Manuscripts,Economics,History

Manuscript on paper, single sheet (32 × 20 cm), written on both sides in brown ink. Recto with marginal note signed Paul L Ouverture; also signed by the Garde des Magazins Morilia (?); verso with endorsement and verification signature by the administrateur particulier, undecipherable. With decorative separating lines. Rare administrative manuscript from Saint-Domingue, 1801, signed by Paul Louverture, younger brother of Toussaint, as général de brigade and commandant en chef. Manuscript payment authorization, signed and approved by Paul L Ouverture, the younger brother of Toussaint Louverture and one of his closest allies. Paul served as Chief of Brigade and commanded the Eastern Division of the revolutionary forces in 1802. He also held the rank of Colonel of the 10th Infantry Regiment, and exercised authority over the eastern part of Hispaniola, including Mirebalais and Port-au-Prince, under the Louverture regime. This manuscript, issued at Saint-Domingue on 3 Nivôse An 10 (24 December 1801), records payment for carpentry work in the Magazins de l État (state warehouses): a partition of seven square toises executed by Citizen Guenard, calculated at deux gourdes et un gourdin la toise, the total certified at 129 francs 93¾ centimes. The account was attested by the warehouse keeper Morilia (?) and verified on the verso by the administrateur particulier. In the margin of the recto appears the approval for payment, signed by Paul Louverture in his capacity as général de brigade and commandant en chef of the department: "Vu par Mons. le Général de Brigade, Commandant en Chef du Département, pour être payé, Paul L Ouverture." This document dates from the Haitian Revolution (1791 1804), the only successful slave uprising in history, which under Toussaint Louverture s leadership abolished slavery and colonial rule and gave rise to the world s first Black republic. In its final phase, Paul Louverture served as the operational head in Saint-Domingue, directing military, financial, and administrative affairs. His approval here provides a rare, tangible witness to that authority, and this manuscript stands as a scarce surviving example of his hand attesting to his central role in governing Saint-Domingue on the threshold of independence. We have been unable to trace any other autograph, signature, or official document of Paul Louverture on the market, underscoring the exceptional rarity of this piece. Note: In 1801 the gourde was not a Haitian coin but the local name for the Spanish piastre (peso de a ocho), used as the principal unit of account in Saint-Domingue (1 gourde = 8 gourdins). In this document, a charge of 14? gourdes is certified at 129 francs 93¾ centimes, giving an exchange of c. 1 gourde ? 8.7 francs well above the metropolitan norm of c. 5 francs per piastre. The rate closely anticipates the parity fixed in 1813, when independent Haiti officially adopted the gourde as its national currency (Lacombe, 1956; Mazard, 1953). Reference: Lacombe, R. (1956). Histoire monétaire de Saint-Domingue et de la République d Haïti, des origines à 1874. Revue d histoire des colonies, 43(152 153), 273 337. h; Mazard, H. (1953). Histoire monétaire et numismatique des Colonies et de l Union Française. Paris: Bourgey. . Light overall toning, stronger toning and edge wear at the lower right corner, with small chipping and tears causing tiny loss of a few letters but not affecting legibility. Horizontally folded. Otherwise well preserved. Manuscript on paper, single sheet (32 × 20 cm), written on both sides in brown ink. Recto with marginal note signed Paul L Ouverture; also signed by the Garde des Magazins Morilia (?); verso with endorsement and verification signature by the administrateur particulier, undecipherable. With decorative separating lines.