Toussaint L'Ouverture -- Haiti

Statesman, and one of the worlds greatest generals, he defeated Napoleon long before the defeat by the Duke of Wellington.

Toussaint L'Ouverture (Toussaint Breda) sometimes called “black Napoleon” was the remarkable leader of the successful slave revolt in the French colony of Saint Dominique (Haiti).  It is the only country where slaves gained their freedom as a result of a successful slave revolution, and established an independent nation free of slavery.  Slave revolts around this time normally ended in failure and executions.

Born a slave in Saint Dominique, Toussaint learned of Africa from his father, who had been born there a free man. He learned that he was more than a slave, that he was a man with great intelligence and dignity.  He was fortunate in having a liberal master who had him trained as a house servant, Toussaint took full advantage of this and taught himself to read and write, reading every book he could find. He particularly admired the writings of the French Enlightenment philosophers, who spoke of individual rights and equality, then in 1789 the French Revolution rocked France and Saint Dominique would never be the same.

The early moderate revolutionaries considered the question of slavery and while they were not willing to end slavery they did apply the "Rights of Man" to all Frenchmen, including free blacks and mulattoes (those of mixed race).  Plantation owners in the colonies were furious and fought the measure; finally the revolutionaries gave in and retracted the measure in 1791 and the news of this triggered mass slave revolts in Saint Dominique.

Toussaint became the leader of the slave rebellion and brilliantly led his freedom fighters.  Toussaint demonstrated extraordinary military ability and attracted such renowned warriors as his nephew Moïse and two future monarchs of Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henry Christophe, he defeated the French as well as the invading Spanish and British forces.

By 1793, the revolution in France was in the hands of the Jacobins, the most radical of the revolutionary groups.  Though the Jacobins brought indiscriminate death to France, they were also idealists who wanted to take the revolution as far as it could go.  So they again considered the issue of “equality” and voted to end slavery in the French colonies, including what was now known as Haiti.  Toussaint then agreed to help the French army eject the British and Spanish from other parts of the Island.  Toussaint proved to be a brilliant general, winning 7 battles in 7 days and became a defacto governor of the colony. 

By 1795 Toussaint L'Ouverture was widely renowned, he was adored by blacks and appreciated by most Europeans and mulattoes as he did much to restore the economy.  Defying French Revolutionary laws, he allowed many émigré planters to return, and he used military discipline to force the former slaves to work, and he maintained an effective disciplined army.  Convinced that people were naturally corrupt, he felt that compulsion was needed to prevent idleness.  All men were now free, equal and they shared the profits of the restored plantations, racial tensions were eased because Toussaint preached reconciliation and believed that blacks, of whom the majority were African born should learn from Europeans and Europeanised mulattoes.

Britain tried to capture St Domingue, but the attempt ended in a costly and humiliating failure, the high British losses had caused them to negotiate secretly with Toussaint, notwithstanding the war with France.  Treaties in 1798 and 1799 secured their complete withdrawal, lucrative trade was begun with Britain and the United States.  In return for arms and goods, Toussaint sold sugar and promised not to invade Jamaica and South America. The British offered to recognise him as king of an independent Haiti, but, scornful of pompous titles, and distrustful of the British because they maintained slavery, he refused.

In France the Jacobins lost power and more moderate leaders came and went, eventually replaced by Napoleon who ruled France with dictatorial powers. He responded to the pleas of the plantation owners by reinstating slavery in the French colonies, once again plunging Haiti into war.  Napoleon had a far bigger army but was unable to defeat Toussaint and in 1803 they agreed to terms of peace. Napoleon agreed to recognise Haitian independence and Toussaint agreed to retire from public life, a few months later, the French invited Toussaint to come to a negotiation meeting with full safe conduct.  When he arrived, the French acting on Napoleon's orders betrayed the safe conduct and seized him, putting him on a ship headed for France.  Napoleon ordered that Toussaint be placed in Fort-de-Joux in the French Alps where he was interrogated, tortured and later died in prison, but others continued the fight against oppressive and interfering colonial powers. 

As a result of his defeat by Toussaint and the continuing problems in Haiti, Napoleon gave up the possessions in the New World.  He abandoned Haiti to independence and sold the French territory in North America to the United States (the Louisiana purchase).  Years later, when asked of his treachery, deceit and the dishonourable treatment of Toussaint L'Ouverture, Napoleon remarked, "What could the death of one wretched Negro mean to me?"

Toussaint caused European governments to deal with the aspirations of black colonial people for the first time, and his example was followed by Simon Bolivar in South America, he also inspired revolts in other Caribbean colonies. With the victory of Haiti, the brilliance of its revolution and the endurance of its independence, slaves everywhere took heart, and the oppressors saw a foreshadowing of their defeat.  

“But the prejudice of race alone blinded the American people for the debt they owed to the desperate courage of 500,000 Haitian Negroes who would not be enslaved.”....Henry Adams America’s foremost Historian of the 18th and 19th centuries.

“Whatever defamation of character my enemies are spreading about me, I do not feel the need to justify myself toward them.  While discretion obliges me to remain silent, my duty compels me to prevent them from doing any more harm.”

Toussaint L'ouverture