In The Crisis of the Sugar Colonies, two of the major legal and political issues that arose in the Caribbean region during the Napoleonic wars are addressed: the Haitian revolution and the settlement of Trinidad. In a series of letters to the British prime minister, the author discusses the construction of a fleet of French ships destined for the Caribbean, the possibility that Napoleon could attempt to restore French colonial slavery, the potential outcomes, and what this would mean for British interests. He also argues for a reform of colonial governance, and sets out a plan for settling the newly-acquired colony of Trinidad without slavery.