Liberator of Slaves. Ruler of Saint Domingue. Military Commander. Toussaint Louverture, the legendary leader of the Haitian Revolution was one of the most influential military commanders in the late 1700s to early 1800s. He fought against France for the freedom of Haitian slaves, and, through great cunning, guerilla warfare, and sheer military prowess, he succeeded in freeing the slaves of Haiti. The three reasons listed above were his main personal achievements, and what he will forever be remembered as. His strong leadership and morals contributed to how we know him today: a liberator of slaves, ruler of Saint Domingue, and a military commander.
All that Toussaint Louverture did in Saint Domingue (now called Haiti) was towards the effort of making the island a better place to live, mainly by abolishing slavery. Throughout the slave uprising and rebellion that started in 1791, Toussaint Louverture was devoted to do anything needed to end slavery. Louverture didn’t just start out as a commander, however. He joined the rebellion as a doctor, but, due to his intelligence and drive, quickly rose through the ranks and ended up in charge of the rebellion. He gathered many unhappy slaves, all ready to fight for freedom, and went on a crusade against the French. Slaves struck in the night, killing their masters, swiftly and often brutally. The ratio of slaves to wealthy whites was too large for the present French Army to do anything. The Spaniards, who were elated at the fact that someone was fighting their enemy, and also enticed by the possibility of joining Saint Domingue with Santo Domingo (their part of the island), joined sides with the slave uprising and assisted in taking down the French. By now, Louverture was essentially the leader of Saint Domingue. Fearing further uprisings and revolutions in their other colonies, the French caved and finally abolished slavery in Saint Domingue. Louverture made a series of laws that supported his beliefs, and secured the abolishment of slavery in Saint Domingue. Following this, in 1794, Toussaint quickly switched sides to fight for the French against Spain and England (Document A). The French, knowing how cunning of a militant Louverture was, decided to accept his decision and make him a member of their military. Later, after he had served with the French for a while, in 1797, Toussaint learned that the French were on the brink of reinstating slavery in Saint Domingue. Enraged, he informed the French that those who had tasted freedom would now never go back to being slaves, and would fight to the death to maintain their freedom. Toussaint Louverture dared the French to prove him wrong. (Document B). When the French decided to ignore his threats, he rejoined the former slaves and prepared to fight. However, when Louverture was tricked into a meeting and surprise ambush by the French, he was taken away to France and put in jail, where he died. Ironically, he died way behind enemy lines, in enemy captivity, unable to do anything about what mattered to him the most. (Document A)
All that Louverture did was for the slaves, he also did for Saint Domingue. After he succeeded in driving the French to abolish slavery, he knew that he had to make laws (and enforce them) to keep the people of Haiti free. He, and a group of close associates, created the Constitution of 1801. This document ‘officially’ abolished slavery, but also stressed the fact that people would keep on working, telling farmers that they should keep their old jobs, but making sure they were paid and given enough money for their time. (Document C). Also in (Document C+D), Louverture created laws that helped maintain order on the old (but newly managed) plantations for high productivity, product and profit. Some of these laws seemed a bit harsh, like a penalty for not turning in a runaway worker, making children work as soon as they could, even if it was a small job, and putting people in prison for being vagabond. (Document D) Louverture knew that this was a bit harsh, but he established his leadership and stood by these rules, as the ruler of Saint Domingue. In the end, Louverture knew what he had to do to keep the people free, and would do anything to maintain it.
The last way we should remember Toussaint Louverture is by his military career (as a commander.) In the slave revolt of 1791, Louverture first started as a doctor, then rose through the ranks to become a commander,training rebel slaves in common European fighting styles and guerilla warfare. (Document A). He was key asset in fighting Napoleon's recently landed troops. In a cunning yet brutal act, Louverture defied the French and ordered that the port city the French were to be landing at be burned. Louverture’s army then retreated to the mountains (where they knew the territory), while the French found their foothold destroyed. The French then advanced into the jungles,where they were destroyed by Louverture’s forces, as they did not know the territory (Document F). Furthermore, Toussaint would not hold back if he felt that order in the country was threatened. He wasn’t afraid to employ his militant force against people who defied him. He even arrested and executed of his own nephew, along with all of his fellow rebelling farmers. (Document E) Though he was a cunning and brutal military commander, all that he did was for Saint Domingue, and the people knew it.
Whether he was liberating slaves, ruling Saint Domingue, or commanding his military forces, Toussaint Louverture will forever be remembered for his historic feats of fighting for freedom for his country.
Sources:
Link for the original documents
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