Philip de la Vache ""The Canterbury Tales"". However, the reference to Vache in Chaucer's poem may on good grounds also be a pun on his own name. The phrase Vache, leve! in the first line of the Envoy corresponds to medieval French Vache, reïs!, 'cow, leave!'. The French phase reïs, Vache!, (REISVACHE), when reversed, becomes CHAVSIER, the French form of the poet's name (this is a so-called palindrome). In the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament, the cows on their way to Beth Shemesh are likened to holy men, or monks on their way to the Heavenly Jerusalem. Chaucer may have regarded
Île-à-Vache by the quality and immediately saw a business opportunity. He was an ardent abolitionist, but he believed that after they were freed, former slaves had to have meaningful work. Therefore, he conceived the plan to develop Île-à-Vache by sending 5,000 emancipated slaves from the United States to grow cotton there. He left for Haiti on May 17, 1862 and arrived in Jacmel on June 3. From there he went on horseback to Port-au-Prince, where he was warmly received by the president of the country, Fabre Geffrard. The negotiations were difficult, however. On the one hand, the president supported the arrival