HAITIAN REVOLUTION

peggymddltn
Jan 6, 2019
7 min read

François Toussaint Louverture was a former Haitian slave who led the only successful slave revolt in modern history.

1_Toussaint Louverture - Youtube

2_Toussaint Louverture - Youtube

3_Toussaint Louverture - Youtube

Born May 20, 1743, François Toussaint early life is not well documented. It is believed his father was Gaou Guinou, the younger son of the king of Allada, a West African kingdom. His family was sold into slavery and sent to the Caribbean. Toussaint was fortunate to be owned by enlightened masters who allowed him to learn to read and write. He read the classics and the Enlightenment political philosophers, who deeply influenced him. He also developed a deep devotion to the teachings of Catholicism.

4_Toussaint Louverture - Youtube

Intelligent and hardworking, Toussaint became an expert in medicinal plants and horsemanship. Recognized by his master for his abilities, he quickly rose to become the plantation’s chief steward. It is said that he was given his freedom in 1776, the same year the United States declared its independence from Great Britain. Toussaint continued to work for his former owner and married Suzanne Simone Baptiste in 1782. The couple had three children: Placide, Isaac, and Saint-Jean.

5_Toussaint Louverture - Youtube

He fought to end slavery and gain Haiti’s independence from European powers, France and Spain. Forming an army of former slaves and deserters from the French and Spanish armies, he trained his followers in Guerrilla (same as Seminole Wars/Vietnam Wars) Warfare and successfully ended slavery in Hispaniola by 1795.

Francois Toussaint’s actions set in motion a series of global events that changed the geography of the western hemisphere and spelled the beginning of the end for European colonial domination in the Americas. Frustrated by a rebellion he couldn’t control in Hispaniola, Napoleon Bonaparte decided not to expand his empire into North America and sold the Louisiana territory to the United States in 1803. This paved the way for western expansion throughout the 19th century. Toussaint’s actions also inspired revolutions in several Latin American countries over the next 100 years and American abolitionists, both black and white, to fight for an end to slavery.

France, Haiti and Louisiana (Louisiana Purchase) - Youtube

Toussaint first secured safety of his wife and family in the Spanish-controlled eastern half of the island, away from the rebellion. He then saw to it that his former master’s family was on a boat bound for the United States. Toussaint joined Georges Biassou’s rebels who had allied with the Spanish against France. During his time in slavery, Toussaint had learned African and Creole herbal-medical techniques. He now served as a doctor to the troops as well as a soldier. Toussaint quickly developed a reputation and was given command of 600 black former slaves. His forces were well-organized and steadily grew to 4,000 men. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, an escaped slave, joined Toussaint and quickly became a close confident and able lieutenant. It was during this time that Toussaint adopted the surname Louverture, from the French word for “opening” or “opening the way.’

The British government was concerned that the slave revolt would spread to their neighboring colony of Jamaica. Seeking an opportunity to harass the French, the British sent troops to put down the slave revolt. Fearing defeat, the French National Convention acted to preserve its colonial rule and secure the loyalty of the black population. In 1794 France granted freedom and citizenship to all blacks in the Empire. But the British troops remained determined to wreak havoc on France’s tenuous hold on Saint-Domingue.

Following France’s decision to emancipate the slaves, Toussaint Louverture reversed his allegiance and joined forces with the French against Spain. His first mission was to attack Spanish-controlled Santa Domingo on the eastern side of the island. He was now fighting his former black colleagues, who were still loyal to Spain. Under his leadership, Toussaint’s troops were able to capture Santa Domingo. The Treaty of Basel, in July 1795, ended the hostilities between France and Spain and the Spanish pulled out of Hispaniola. Toussiant contained the remaining British troops, rendering them ineffective and soon they too withdrew from the island.

By 1796 Toussaint was the leading political and military figure in the colonies. Admired by the former slaves, whom he’d help free, he was also well respected by the many French authorities who technically still controlled Saint-Domingue. Having temporarily secured peace with the European powers, Toussaint turned to the domestic unrest still festering on the island. Prior to 1791, the mulatto population, who were not enslaved, had owned slaves themselves. Many wanted them back. In 1799 Toussaint was able to defeat the mulatto army with the help of Dessalines. The contest lasted a year with claims of atrocities committed by Dessalines’ army.

Toussaint was now the de facto ruler of the entire island of Hispaniola. He introduced a constitution, which reiterated the abolition of slavery and declared himself Governor-General for Life, with nearly absolute powers. Hoping to bring some stability back to Hispaniola, he set out to reestablish agriculture and improve the economic conditions. Toussaint established trade agreements with the British and the Americans, who supplied his forces with arms and goods in exchange for sugar and the promise not to invade Jamaica or the American South. Defying French Revolutionary laws, he allowed plantation owners, who had fled during the rebellion, to return. He imposed military discipline on the workforce, while at the same established reforms that improved workers’ conditions.

Though Toussaint was able to put up strong resistance for several months, eventually his coalition fell apart. Most Europeans and mulattos living on the island sided with the French. In time, even Toussaint’s best generals, Henri Christophe and Dessalines joined Leclerc. By June, 1802, the end was near. Under the pretense of discussing peace, French General Jean-Baptiste Brunet sent a letter to Toussaint inviting him to his quarters. There Toussaint was arrested and sent to Fort-de-Joux in the Jura Mountains of France. Under intense interrogation, he died of pneumonia and starvation on April 7, 1803.

Soon after, Jean-Jacques Dessalines switched sides again and commanded rebel forces against the French. In a series of victories, Dessalines’ coalition of blacks and mulattos were successful in forcing the French to surrender and leave the island. In 1804, Dessalines proclaimed independence and declared himself emperor. Hispaniola became the first black independent republic in the world.

Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution - Youtube

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a military leader who worked with Toussaint L'Ouverture and gave the country of Haiti its name.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines by Prof. Bayyinah Bello

Born around 1758, in Africa, Jean-Jacques Dessalines was enslaved in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. He served as a lieutenant under Toussaint L'Ouverture after the 1791 slave revolt and later eliminated French rule.

The Haitian Revolution: / How Blacks Defeated Whites ! - Youtube

Dessalines renamed the colony Haiti in 1804 and declared himself emperor. Despised for his brutality, yet honored as one of Haiti’s founding fathers, he was killed in a revolt on October 17, 1806, in Pont Rouge, near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Haitian tradition says he was born in central West Africa and transported as a slave to Sant-Domingue, (Haiti) in the French West Indies. However, most historians believe he was born Jean-Jacques Duclos, the name of his first owner, in Saint-Domingue, circa 1758. He became a field hand and eventually rose up to the role of foreman. At around age 30, he was sold to a free black man named Dessalines and his surname was changed again. Jean-Jacques’ master proved to be cruel and brutal, treatment that he may have adopted later in life as a means to an end..

In 1791, a slave rebellion broke out in Sant-Domingue and Dessalines was able to escape the plantation and join rising rebel leader Toussaint L'Ouverture. Though illiterate, Dessalines was a quick study, positioning himself as L’Ouverture’s lieutenant and earning the nickname “the Tiger” for his ferocity in battle. Initially, their fight was to free all slaves on the island, but over time the goal would become independence.

In 1793, the French Republic declared an end to slavery in France and all colonies and soon after L’Ouverture and Dessalines switched their allegiance to the French against the Spanish and British. Over the next ten years Dessalines’ skill and leadership proved vital to L’Ouverture’s success in capturing the Spanish-controlled eastern half of the island. By 1799, Dessalines had risen to the rank of brigadier general.

The slave rebellion turned into a civil war and L’Ouverture and Dessalines fought for control of the island, crushing rivals and slave owners alike. By 1801, L’Ouverture was serving as governor-general of Haiti and Dessalines was second in command. Many whites and mulattos in Santa Dominque had lobbied France to reestablish slavery and the Napoleon sent a force to restore French rule on the island. L’Ouverture and Dessalines repelled the invading forces in the battle of Crête-à-Pierrot.

Battle of Crete-a-Pierrot - Youtube

After the battle, Dessalines became disenchanted with L’Ouverture’ leadership and briefly sided with the French, possibly causing L’Overture’s capture and arrest in 1802. When it became clear that the French intended to reinstate slavery, Dessalines switched sides again and commanded rebel forces against the French. In a series of victories, Dessalines’ coalition of blacks and mulattos were successful in forcing the French to surrender and leave the island. In 1804, Dessalines proclaimed independence and in 1805 declared himself emperor. Haiti became the first black independent republic in the world.

1805 Constitution, Haiti

Haitian History with Professor Bayyinah Bello - Youtube

Even today, most U.S. history textbooks tell the story of the Louisiana Purchase without admitting that slave revolution in Saint-Domingue made it possible. And here is another irony. Haitians had opened 1804 by announcing their grand experiment of a society whose basis for citizenship was literally the renunciation of white privilege, but their revolution’s success had at the same time delivered the Mississippi Valley to a new empire of slavery. The great continent would incubate a second slavery exponentially greater in economic power than the first.

HAITIAN REVOLUTION OF 1791:BAYYINAH BELLO:PT1