Biography of Toussaint Louverture, Haitian Rebel Leader

Franà §ois-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (May 20, 1743–April 7, 1803) led the only victorious  slave revolt in modern history, resulting in Haitis independence in 1804. Toussaint emancipated the slaves and negotiated for Haiti, then called Saint-Domingue, to be governed briefly by black former slaves as a French protectorate. Institutional racism, political corruption, poverty, and natural disasters have left Haiti in crisis for many of the succeeding years, but Toussaint remains a hero to Haitians and others throughout the African diaspora. Fast Facts: Franà §ois-Dominique Toussaint Louverture Known For: Led a successful slave rebellion in HaitiAlso Known As: Franà §ois-Dominique Toussaint, Toussaint LOuverture,  Toussaint Brà ©da, Napolà ©on Noir, Black SpartacusBorn: May 20, 1743 on the Breda plantation near Cap-Franà §ais, Saint-Domingue (now Haiti)Father: Hippolyte, or Gaou GuinouDied: April 7, 1803 at Fort-de-Joux, FranceSpouse: Suzanne Simone BaptisteChildren: Isaac, Saint-Jean, multiple illegitimate childrenNotable Quote: We are free today because we are the stronger; we will be slaves again when the government becomes the stronger. Early Years Little is known about Franà §ois-Dominique Toussaint  Louverture before his role in the Haitian Revolution.  According to Philippe Girards Toussaint Louverture:  A Revolutionary Life, his  family came from the  Allada kingdom of West Africa. His father Hippolyte, or Gaou Guinou, was an aristocrat, but around  1740, the  Dahomey Empire, another West African  kingdom in what is now Benin,  captured his family and sold them as slaves. Hippolyte was sold  for 300 pounds of cowrie shells. His family now  owned by European colonists in the New World, Toussaint was born on May 20, 1743, on the Breda plantation near Cap-Franà §ais, Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), a French territory. Toussaints gifts with horses and mules impressed his overseer,  Bayon de Libertat, and he was trained in veterinary medicine, soon becoming the plantation’s chief steward. Toussaint was fortunate to be owned by somewhat enlightened masters who allowed him to learn reading and writing. He read the classics and political philosophers and became devoted to Catholicism. Toussaint was freed in 1776 when he was around 33 but continued to work for his former owner. The next year he married Suzanne Simone Baptiste, who was born in Agen, France. She is believed to have been his godfathers daughter but may have been his cousin. They had two sons, Issac and Saint-Jean, and each had children from other relationships. Contradictory Personal Traits Biographers describe Toussaint as full of contradictions. He ultimately led a slave insurrection but didnt take part in smaller revolts in Haiti prior to the revolution. He was a Freemason who  practiced Catholicism devoutly but also secretly engaged in voodoo. His Catholicism might have factored into his decision  not to participate in voodoo-inspired insurrections in Haiti before the revolution. After Toussaint was granted freedom, he owned slaves himself. Some historians have criticized him for this, but he may have owned slaves to free his family members from bondage. As the New Republic explains, freeing slaves required money, and money required slaves. Touissant remained a victim of the same exploitative system hed joined to free his family. But as he returned to the  Brà ©da plantation, abolitionists began gaining ground, convincing King Louis the XVI to give slaves the right to appeal if their overlords subjected them to brutality. Before the Revolution Before the slaves rose in revolt, Haiti was one of the most profitable slave colonies in the world. About 500,000 slaves worked on its sugar and coffee plantations, which produced a significant percentage of the worlds crops. The colonists had a reputation for being cruel and engaging in  debauchery.  The planter Jean-Baptiste de Caradeux, for example, is said to have  entertained guests by letting them shoot oranges off the tops of slaves heads. Prostitution was reportedly rampant on the island. Rebellion After widespread discontent, slaves mobilized for liberty in November  1791, seeing an opportunity to rebel against colonial rule during the throes of the French Revolution. Toussaint at first was uncommitted to the uprising, but, after hesitating a few weeks, he helped his former master escape and then joined the black forces fighting the Europeans. Toussaints comrade  Georges Biassou, who was leading the rebels, became the self-appointed viceroy and named Toussaint general of the royal army-in-exile.  Toussaint taught himself military strategies and organized the Haitians into troops. He also enlisted deserters from the French military  to help train his men. His army included radical whites and mixed-race Haitians as well as blacks, whom he trained in guerrilla warfare. As  Adam Hochschild described in The New York Times, Toussaint used his legendary horsemanship to rush from one corner of the colony to another, cajoling, threatening, making and breaking alliances with a bewildering array of factions and warlords, and commanding his troops in one brilliant assault, feint or ambush after another.  During the uprising he took on the name Louverture, which means the opening, to emphasize his role. The slaves  fought  the British, who wanted control over the crop-rich colony, and French colonizers whod subjected them to bondage. French and British soldiers left journals expressing their surprise that the rebel slaves were so skilled. The rebels also had dealings with agents of the Spanish Empire. Haitians had to confront internal conflicts that sprang from mixed-race islanders, who were known as  gens de couleur, and black insurgents. Victory By 1795 Toussaint was widely renowned, loved by blacks and appreciated by most Europeans and mulattoes because of his efforts to restore the economy. He allowed many planters to return and used military  discipline  to force former slaves to work, a system that was virtually the same as the slavery he had criticized but ensured that the nation had sufficient crops to exchange for military supplies. Historians say he maintained his abolitionist principles while doing what was necessary to keep Haiti secure, intending to free the laborers and let them profit from Haitis achievements. By 1796 Toussaint was the leading political and military figure in the colonies, having made peace with the Europeans. He turned his attention to putting down a domestic rebellion and then set to work bringing the entire island of Hispaniola under his control. He wrote a constitution that gave him the power to be a lifelong leader, much like the European monarchs he despised, and to choose his successor. Death Frances Napoleon objected to Toussaints expansion of his control and sent troops to oppose him. In 1802,  Toussaint was lured into peace talks with one of Napoleon’s generals, resulting in his capture and removal from Haiti to France. His immediate family members, including his wife, were captured as well. Abroad,  Toussaint was isolated and starved in a fortress in the Jura mountains, where he died on April 7, 1803, at Fort-de-Joux, France. His wife lived until 1816. Legacy Despite his capture and death, Toussaints biographers describe him as far savvier than either  Napoleon, who ignored his attempts at diplomacy,  or Thomas  Jefferson, a slave owner who sought to see Toussaint fail by alienating him economically.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"If I were white I would receive only praise,† Toussaint said of how hed been slighted in world politics, â€Å"But I actually deserve even more as a black man.†Ã‚   After his death, Haitian revolutionaries, including Toussaints lieutenant Jean-Jacques Dessalines, continued to fight for independence. They finally won freedom in January 1804, two years after Toussaints death, when Haiti became a sovereign nation. The revolution Toussaint led is said to have been an inspiration to abolitionists such as John Brown, who attempted a violent overthrow of the American system of slavery, and to many Africans who fought for independence for their countries in the mid-20th century. Sources Berman, Paul. â€Å"A Biography Reveals Surprising Sides to Haitis Slave Liberator.†Ã‚  The New York Times.Hochschild, Adam. The Black Napoleon. The New York Times.Harris, Malcolm. Giving Toussaint Louverture the Great Man Treatment. The New Republic.Toussaint LOuverture  Biography. Biography.com.Toussaint Louverture: Haitian Leader. Encyclopaedia Britannica.