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Toussaint Louverture (1743 -1803)

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Trouble started in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) in 1790 when the Declaration of the Rights of Man, made after the French Revolution was denied to the freed coloured population by the white plantation owners. In October 1790 Vincent Ogé, a wealthy freed man organised a campaign to claim voting rights for coloured people, which was brutally crushed. This was followed by several slave uprisings. Toussaint, a slave, was initially against the rebellion and bloodshed, protecting the plantation and helped his master’s and his own family to escape to safety. When a slave revolt broke out in the Northern Province in August 1791, he travelled to the slave camp. He found the rebels very unorganised. He trained a guerilla force of his own. In 1793, he became an aide to Georges Biassou (an early leader of the 1791 slave rising). His army proved successful against the European troops. When France and Spain went to war in 1793, his army joined the Spaniards. By this time recognised as a general, Toussaint demonstrated extraordinary military ability. Later that year, the British had occupied most of the coastal settlements and Toussaint's victories in the north, together with the successes of rebel forces in the south, brought the French close to disaster. However in 1794, the French Revolutionary Government abolished slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic. In May 1794, Toussaint went over to the French. His reason, he said. was Spain and Britain had refused to free the slaves and he had become a republican. Under Toussaint's increasingly influential leadership, his French army defeated the British and Spanish forces. By June of 1795, the English had been driven back to the coast and in July the Spanish officially withdrew. The British left Sanit-Domingue in 1798, leaving Toussaint to fight against other rebel forces for control. Toussaint appointed Jean-Jacques Dessalines to govern the South Province. Dessalines killed thousands and crushed the resistance but his brutality left bitterness among people in that area. By 1799, Toussaint had subordinated all remaining rebel forces. He expelled the French commissioner and wrote a constitution naming himself governor. Between the years 1800 and 1802 he tried to rebuild the collapsed economy of Haiti and reestablish commercial contacts. He was to become appreciated by most ethnic groups on Saint-Domingue for helping to restore the economy. He allowed many planters to return, and used military discipline to ensure former slaves worked. However they now shared the profits of the restored plantations. Toussaint preached reconciliation. However he was deceived by Napoleon and exiled to France and an early death. Nevertheless had given the colony a taste of freedom that could not be taken away.

Photograph of painting. Toussaint Louverture. From a group of engravings done in post-Revolutionary France. (1802)

Added:
22nd Sep 2007 by Diane Earl

Subjects:
History

Key Stages:
Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, Key Stage 4+

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