I would appreciate tips on a project in embryo.

The overall project concerns the U.S. and Haiti from the earliest stage of
the revolutionary process (1791) to the 1870s (the failed attempt to annex
the Dominican Republic which had separated from Haiti a few decades
earlier).

After dipping into the French archives, these questions have arisen that
require aid:

I noticed a number of 1830s petitions from Bordeaux from those who had
fled Hispaniola, clamoring for Paris to pressure Port-au-Prince for a kind
of reparations beyond what had been paid in the 1820s.

Was there a special tie between Bordeaux and French colonialism?  Was this
manifested e.g. in Algeria, elsewhere in Africa or Indo-China?
Historically, has Bordeaux played a special role in the trajectory of
French conservatism?

Did the events in Hispaniola play any role in the construction of 'racial'
theories devised by Arthur de Gobineau?

I know that there is a literature on the French who fled Hispaniola for
the U.S.  Is there a companion literature for those who arrived in Quebec
and the French islands off the coast of Canada?  For all of these exiles
in North America, what role did they play in constructing conservatism in
their new homelands?

In terms of Franco-phonie, I know that Albert Gallatin had roots in
Switzerland and I noticed letters from him in the French archives:  what
other U.S. leaders emerged from the French sphere (setting aside Louisiana
and e.g. Pierre Soule), particularly those who fled Hispaniola and went on
to play a role in the defense of U.S. slavery.

Of course, offline responses are welcome and encouraged, thank you.

Gerald C. Horne,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

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