Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda was the best-known leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military and political acumen saved the gains of the first Black insurrection in November 1791. He first fought for the Spanish against the French; then for France against Spain and Britain; and finally, for Saint-Domingue (modern Haiti)'s colonial sovereignty against Napoleonic France.
Background
Toussaint L'Ouverture was a slave during the first three decades of Iris life. He was born on May 20, 1743 Saint-Domingue, Haiti. Very little is known about his childhood. His father, Gaou-Guinou, had been captured in West Africa and brought to the American continent as a slave to the Count de Breda, who was considered somewhat more humane than other slave-owners. Gaou-Guinou was an educated slave and a member of the Catholic Church who married and had eight children, the eldest of whom was François Dominique Toussaint.
Education
From childhood he manifested unusual abilities and succeeded, by making the utmost use of every opportunity, in obtaining a remarkably good education. He acquired through Jesuit contacts some knowledge of French, though he wrote and spoke it poorly, usually employing Haitian Creole and African tribal language. Toussaint received a rudimentary education from a Jesuit missionary, but continued to speak in his father's native African tongue within the family. He read the works of Julius Caesar and other military leaders, and is believed to have developed his skill in strategic and tactical military planning at this time.
Career
As a slave, he worked his way from shepherd to coachman and later steward. During these early years he witnessed all the misery of slavery, including the beating and separation of families. As he grew older he became more distressed about the incompatibilitv that existed between Catholic teaching and the institution of slavery. Legallv freed by his owner in 1777, he began his quest to liberate Haiti's slaves. Toussaint was already approaching his fiftieth birthday when the great slave revolt broke out in August 1791 near Plantation Bréda. After helping his master escape the slaughter, Toussaint entered the turbulent events of strife-torn Hispaniola, first by making a military reputation for himself.
With 600 black soldiers—former slaves—Toussaint crossed over to the eastern, and Spanish, part of Hispaniola, where he served with distinction in the Spanish colonial army, taking part in its campaigns against the French. During this time, his forces, organized and officered by French regulars who had deserted, steadily grew to a disciplined force of 4, 000 men. By mid-1794 Toussaint was ready for a crucial move.
The British, ever ready to harass France, had tried to take advantage of the confusion in Saint-Domingue (western Hispaniola) by sending troops to put down the slave revolt. Furthermore, they were concerned that the desire for freedom might spread to their nearby colony of Jamaica. At this juncture, Toussaint abandoned his Spanish allies and returned to Cap-Français, affording crucial strength to the beleaguered French garrison against besieging British forces. Toussaint defeated the British forces, freed the imprisoned French governor general, and with the help of General Rigaud, an outstanding Haitian mulatto general, drove the English from Saint-Domingue.
By 1796 Toussaint was the dominant figure in the colony. Hero to his victorious soldiers and to all former slaves, he was respected as well by the resident French authorities. Toussaint now showed that his political instincts were on a par with his military abilities. Even at this date was evident the black-mulatto rift which is one of the chief characteristics of Haitian history. Though the mulattoes, led by Gen. Rigaud, had cooperated with the blacks against the British, many of the mulattoes really wished to reimpose slavery. Before 1791 they had been free and in many cases were substantial slaveholders in their own right. Their desire was to participate with the French in governing Saint-Domingue.
In a series of deft military campaigns and political moves, Toussaint completed the task of eliminating his opposition. First, Rigaud and the mulattoes were defeated. Toussaint then arranged for his nominal French superiors to be sent to Paris as colonial representatives to the French Assembly. Early in 1801 his army captured Santo Domingo, capital of the Spanish part of Hispaniola. Thus the whole island passed under Toussaint's control.
Toussaint also turned his energies to rebuilding the plantation economy, shattered as it was by a decade of strife. Ironically, forced labor was the only way. Many former planters returned as contract administrators, and by 1801 the colony again knew a brief period of prosperity. Nevertheless, Toussaint's days were numbered. The "First of the Blacks" was about to meet in Napoleon his equal in cunning and ambition.
Napoleon's objections to Toussaint were both political and personal. Toussaint had used his friendship with the United States to loosen dependence on France and to negotiate with England. Furthermore, although Toussaint wanted to keep France at arm's length, Napoleon had ambitious plans to rebuild the French Empire. Louisiana was again passing from Spanish to French control, and a secure base in Saint-Domingue was the key to success.
In early 1802, Napoleon sent an army under General Leclerc, his brother-in-law, to subdue Toussaint, deport him and his principal collaborators to France, and return the colony to slavery.
In January 1802 Leclerc arrived off Cap-Français. He had hoped to be received without hostilities, but his desires were thwarted as General Henri Christophe, Toussaint's local commander, put the city to the torch and retreated inland. Thus began the true Haitian War of Independence.
In spite of the presence in Leclerc's army of many hardened veterans of European campaigns, Toussaint initially performed well against these forces. But the coastal centers soon fell to the French, often with the complicity of their garrison commanders. A notable exception was General Jean Jacques Dessalines. His strong support allowed Toussaint to retire inland with the bulk of his army intact. Finally, at Crête-à-Pierrot in March 1802 Leclerc's regulars overwhelmed Toussaint's forces, which had been handpicked and were led by Dessalines. In the north Christophe had surrendered to the French. By May Toussaint and Dessalines had also capitulated.
The end for Toussaint was fast approaching. Lured to Leclerc's headquarters by a dinner invitation, he was kidnaped and hustled aboard a waiting French warship; he died of cold and starvation in the fortress of Doubs, high in the Jura Mountains of eastern France, on April 7, 1803. In Haiti the revolt continued, and the following year Haiti proclaimed its independence.
Throughout his life, Toussaint was known as a devout Roman Catholic. Although Vodou was generally practiced on Saint-Domingue in combination with Catholicism, little is known for certain if Toussaint had any connection with it. Officially as ruler of Saint-Domingue, he discouraged it.
Views
He adopted the surname Louverture, from the French word for “opening” or “opening the way.’ After becoming a sole 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.
Quotations:
"I was born a slave, but nature gave me a soul of a free man. "
"It is easy to cut down the tree of liberty, but not so easy to restore it to life. "
"Unite; for combination is stronger than witchcraft. "
On 29 August 1793 he made his famous declaration of Camp Turel to the blacks of St Domingue:
"Brothers and friends, I am Toussaint Louverture; perhaps my name has made itself known to you. I have undertaken vengeance. I want Liberty and Equality to reign in St Domingue. I am working to make that happen. Unite yourselves to us, brothers and fight with us for the same cause.
Your very humble and obedient servant, Toussaint Louverture,
General of the armies of the king, for the public good."
Membership
Historians have suggested that he was a member of high degree of the Masonic Lodge of Saint-Domingue, mostly based on a Masonic symbol he used in his signature. The membership of several free blacks and white men close to him has been confirmed.
Personality
He was a very tactful, courageous and idealistic general.
Quotes from others about the person
Napoleon wrote to Toussaint, flattering him, asking him to assist Leclerc with his counsels, influence, and talents. Napoleon assured Toussaint that the French would not take away the freedom won by the former slaves and, further, drew up a proclamation to be published on Leclerc's arrival: "If you are told these forces are destined to ravish your liberty, answer: The Republic had given us liberty. The Republic will not suffer it to be taken from us. "
Interests
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
Connections
He married Suzanne Simone Baptiste in 1782. He had fathered several children with different women in his youth, many of who predeceased him. Though not much information is available about all his children, it is known for sure that he had three legitimate children: Placide, Isaac, and Saint-Jean.