Who Is Toussaint L Ouverture?

Toussaint L’Ouverture was born in 1743 in Saint Domingue on a plantation in Cap-Haïtien. He was quite prodigious as a young child: rather than working as a field slave and toiling in the hot sun, he began his slave existence as a herder. Later on, he became a coach driver and waiter for his owner. Ultimately, his owner saw such promise in him that he appointed L’Ouverture as an overseer of fellow slaves who were working in the field. Throughout his tenure, being a more “upscale” slave, he was given access to the plantation library. It was in that library that L’Ouverture’s godfather taught him how to read and write, and the seeds of his future were sown.

By 1792, the French had sent troops in to try and restore order. These battles differed from the battles in the United States because they centered on ideas of racial equality. Poorly treated slaves and angry mixed race citizens fought not only for their right to have an independent nation, but for a literal freedom and equality for themselves. When Toussaint L’Overture, a former slave, took over the Haitian armies in 1793, he was fighting both the British and the French, two armies fighting to possess an island rich in resources, including the slaves who were fighting against them. He was a powerful leader and an intelligent military strategist, and his capacity to control the rebelling slaves greatly improved their organization. Battles with the French dragged on until 1803, when Napoleon no longer had the resources to sustain the warfare and withdrew his troops. By 1804, Haiti was an independent republic governed by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who in a final expression of racial tension had the remaining white citizens massacred. Both the United States and Haiti helped secure their independence through successful military campaigns, but Haiti’s independence had race as a focal point in a way colonists of the United States did not

When Napoleon conquered France, he tried to reinstate slavery in Haiti. In May of 1802, a French commander kidnapped the head of the

Toussaint L’ouverture was not only a good liberator but he was also a great ruler of Saint Domingue. Saint Domingue was not a good country without Toussaint. Toussaint was a great leader for Saint Domingue and changed their lives forever. He wrote a document that restricted the slaves. (Doc. C) He created this document so that the slaves are free but, they still have to follow the rules like all the others. Toussaint also created a proclamation stating that “Any individual… tending to incite sedition shall be brought before a court martial and be punished in conformity with the law.” (Doc. D) Toussaint states here that if any slave that breaks the law will go to the military court and be punished with the law. He uses this law to help all the

Toussaint L’ouverture must be remembered by how he was a good liberator for the slaves. Like, during 1791, a slave revolt began in the north of Saint Domingue, Toussaint joined the revolution and served as a doctor and commanded a small part of the slave soldiers. (Doc. A) His courage to join the revolt and help the slaves that got injured shows that he is dedicated to the slaves and shows that he is a superior liberator. When the French Directory was the government they replaced the government that had abolished slavery. (Doc. B) Toussaint wrote a letter to the French Directory to help the slaves and make them free for the second time. He tried to help the slaves as much as he could. When Toussaint got the French Directory to free the

b. François Toussaint L’Ouverture became the leader of the former slaves. Toussaint remained in charge in the following many years of frequent battles, but in 1802 he was captured by French forces and later died in a French prison.

Not many people know about the Haitian Revolution. The first successful slave revolution that was led by Toussaint L’ouverture. In what way Toussaint L’ouverture significant? Toussaint L’ouverture should be remembered as a military commander, ruler of Saint Domingue, and the liberator of slaves. L’ouverture should be remembered as a liberator of slaves.

Toussaint was born into slavery on May 20th, 1743. On the events of August 22, 1791 the “Night of FIre” inspired Toussaint to join in the revolt. Toussaint joined the slave insurgency and proved himself as a capable soldier. And as a military secretary. Eventually he became a leader figure, and was accepted by many Haitians as such. France denied his and the people’s of Haiti’s declaration of Toussaint being the leader of the Colony. Toussaint was eventually captured by the French and died in fort Joux while the war in Haiti continued. The question is, was Toussaint truly a great leader?

However, when Napoleon Bonaparte attempted to reinstate slavery at the beginning of the 19th century, there was much objection specifically by Toussaint (de Breda) Louverture. Toussaint created a new constitution for Saint-Dominque without slavery and placed administrators in charge over the islands government, commerce, and legislation (Dubois/Garrigus,169). Napoleaon sent troops to Saint-Dominque, arrested Toussaint and deported him to France; however, this only furthered intensified the fighting. After much strife, Napoleon eventually gave up and the Haitian Declaration of Independence was created on January 1, 1804 and later a constitution in 1805 (Dubois/Garrigus,188).

For Toussaint, the majority of the Haitians supported him throughout his time in power. Most of all they feared Toussaint’s power, not many made attempts towards dethroning him. The main goals of the revolution in San Domingo were gaining independence for a black-led nation without the influence of other foreign governments. I chose Toussaint as the better revolutionary leader because he continuously strived towards the goal of gaining independence, facing numerous enemies and setbacks. Although it was not until after his time that the revolutionary 100% achieved their goals, he put in tremendous effort and laid down the groundwork for the revolution to succeed. Toussaint pulled off the impossible, he managed to create a country led by blacks, for a majority black population that slavery for a while with French conquest controlling everyone. He created the very first ever black led nation-state.

What makes Toussaint Louverture so historic? In 1790 Colored French citizens were granted civic rights, but in 1791, Saint Domingue, a slave rebellion began against the French. Louverture took numerous leadership responsibilities during the revolt. He had an abundance of successes over wars, but the streak ended when France captured Toussaint in 1802 (Doc A). Toussaint Louverture's roles make him noteworthy because of how effective his work was on Saint Domingue. He is notable because he was the liberator of slaves, ruler of Saint Domingue, and military commander.

Before looking at whether or not Toussaint L’Ouverture was a true follower of the enlightenment, we must have to know who he is first. L’Ouverture was born a slave until the start of the Haitian Revolution in Saint Domingue or modern day Haiti. Despite being a slave most of his life and having no military prowess, L’Ouverture quickly became

How We Chose Our Topic:As our point, we picked Toussaint Louverture. We picked this theme by looking through the saple point list and chose an !ew that spoke to our interests. We as a whole concurred that Toussaint and his administration amid the Haitian "advancement was a fitting decision since it was a subject that we didn't know anything about. Additionally, the sub#ect was one that was ore uncoon, not at all like any different subjects on the rundown. The exact opposite thing that persuaded us to coplete our pro#ect on Toussaint Louverture was that he drove the main success!ul slave defiance

Toussaint Louverture organized an army of twenty thousand that controlled most of Saint-Domingue and spread a constitution that granted equality and citizenship to all of its residents. However, he did not want to declare independence from France because he did not want to aggravate Napoleon Bonaparte into attacking the island, which he ended up doing later. After his death following his arrest, the black generals that succeeded Toussaint defeated the French troops that survived yellow fever and had driven them out of the colony. In late 1803, they declared independence, the establishment of Haiti soon followed. Although they had abolished French rule, French is the main language spoken in Haiti today. The victory of the Haitian revolution signifies the first and only successful slave revolt in modern

Avengers of the New World: The story of the Haitian Revolution by Laurent Du Bois retells the story of the Haitian Revolution. The narrative that Dubois imparts on the reader is in a story-like format, greatly accessible to all readers regardless of the level of prior knowledge the reader has about the Haitian Revolution. The narrative is awash with detailed descriptions of all the events and actors and consequences of the Haitian Revolution, maps are even included to aid the most geographical illiterate reader. Dubois’s central premise is that the Haitian Revolution was a consequence of the 1789 – 1791 French Revolution. Toussaint L’Ouverture, a leader in the Haitian Revolution, has been portrayed in scholarship alternatively as an icon by