  From here Cooper details the geography of Santo Domingo and the conflicts (including slave revolts and the violence of the colonial and slave systems) that contributed to the white colonists of Santo Domingo approaching the National Assembly of France. Disturbed about the influence of the Society of the Friends of the Blacks, the colonists established an adversarial group called the Massiac Club, which claimed the right to be represented in the National Assembly. The unexpected result was the increased visibility of the colonial problem for the public, which actually strengthened the position of the Friends of the Blacks concerning the problem of human liberty and equality between the races, (SFHR, 48–49). Cooper states, “Thus the Friends of the Blacks profited from the admission of the deputies of Santo Domingo to draw attention toward the great problem of equality of the races, and to the concurrent problem of the suppression of slavery” (SFHR, 53). Another outcome of this debate was the question of the principle of colonial representation—the idea that the colonies are a part of the national territory of France, not just lands to be exploited, (SFHR, 56).