Toussaint Louverture

Toussaint Louverture

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Toussaint Louverture

Toussaint Louverture
Born / 20 May 1743
Saint-Domingue (later Haiti)
Died / 7 April 1803(1803-04-07) (aged59)
Fort-de-Joux
Othernames / Toussaint L'Ouverture, Toussaint Bréda, The Black Napoleon
Movement / Haitian Revolution
Religion / Roman Catholic
Military career
Allegiance / France
Haiti
Service/branch / French Army
French Revolutionary Army
Haitian Army
Rank / General
Battles/wars / Haitian Revolution

François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, also Toussaint L'Ouverture, Toussaint-Louverture, Toussaint Bréda, nicknamed The Black Napoleon[1] (20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803), was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen transformed an entire society of slaves into the independent state of Haiti.[2] The success of the Haitian Revolution shook the institution of slavery throughout the New World.[3]

Toussaint Louverture began his military career as a leader of the 1791 slave rebellion in the French colony of Saint-Domingue; he was by then a free black man. Initially allied with the Spaniards of neighboring Santo Domingo, Toussaint switched allegiance to the French when they abolished slavery. He gradually established control over the whole island and used political and military tactics to gain dominance over his rivals. Throughout his years in power, he worked to improve the economy and security of Saint Domingue. He restored the plantation system using paid labour, negotiated trade treaties with Britain and the United States, and maintained a large and well-disciplined army.[4]

In 1801 he promulgated an autonomist constitution for the colony, with himself as governor for life. In 1802 he was forced to resign by forces sent by Napoleon Bonaparte to restore French authority in the former colony. He was deported to France, where he died in 1803. The Haitian Revolution continued under his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared independence in early 1804. The French had lost two-thirds of forces sent to the island in an attempt to suppress the revolution; most died of yellow fever.[4]

Early life

General Toussaint Louverture, pictured here on a Haitian banknote.

Little is known for certain about Toussaint Louverture's early life, as there are contradictory accounts and evidence about this period. The earliest records of his life are his recorded remarks and the reminiscences of his second legitimate son Isaac Louverture.[5] Most histories identify Toussaint's father as Gaou Guinou, a younger son of the king of Arrada (Allada) in modern-day Benin, who had been captured in war and sold into slavery. His mother Pauline was Gaou Guinou's second wife. The couple had several children, of whom Toussaint was the eldest son.[6] Pierre Baptiste is usually considered to have been his godfather.[7]

Toussaint is thought to have been born on the plantation of Bréda at Haut de Cap in Saint-Domingue, which was owned by the Comte de Noé and later managed by Bayon de Libertat.[8] His date of birth is uncertain, but his name suggests he was born on All Saints Day. He was probably about 50 at the start of the revolution in 1791.[9] Various sources have given birth dates between 1739 and 1746. Because of the lack of written records, Toussaint himself may not have known his exact birth date.[10] In childhood, he earned the nickname Fatras Baton, suggesting he was small and weak, though he was to become known for his stamina and riding prowess.[11] An alternative explanation of Toussaint's origins is that he arrived at Bréda with a new overseer (Bayon de Libertat) who took up his duties in 1772.[12]

Education

Toussaint is believed to have been well educated by his godfather Pierre Baptiste. Historians have speculated as to Toussaint's intellectual background. His extant letters demonstrate a command of French in addition to Creolepatois; he was familiar with Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher who had lived as a slave; and his public speeches as well as his life's work, according to his biographers, show a familiarity with Machiavelli.[13] Some cite Abbé Raynal, who wrote against slavery, as a possible influence:[14] The wording of proclamation issued by then rebel slave leader Toussaint on August 29, 1793, which may have been the first time he publicly used the moniker "Louverture", seems to refer to an anti-slavery passage in Abbé Raynal's "A Philosophical and Political History of the Settlements and Trade of the Europeans in the East and West Indies."[15]

He may also have attained some education from Jesuit missionaries. His medical knowledge is attributed to familiarity with African herbal-medical techniques as well those techniques commonly found in Jesuit-administered hospitals.[16] A few legal documents signed on Toussaint's behalf between 1778 and 1781 raise the possibility that he could not write at that time.[17] Throughout his military and political career, he made use of secretaries for most of his correspondence. A few surviving documents in his own hand confirm that he could write, though his spelling in the French language was "strictly phonetic",[18] as is the spelling of Haitian Creole (Kreyol).

Marriage and children

In 1782, Toussaint married Suzanne Simone Baptiste Louverture, who is thought to have been his cousin or his godfather's daughter.[19] Towards the end of his life, he told General Cafarelli that he had fathered 16 children, of whom 11 had predeceased him.[20] Not all his children can be identified for certain, but his three legitimate sons are well known.[20] The eldest, Placide, was probably adopted by Toussaint and is generally thought to be Suzanne's first child with a mulatto, Seraphim Le Clerc.[20] The two sons born of his marriage with Suzanne were Isaac and Saint-Jean.[20]

Slavery, freedom, and working life

I was born a slave, but nature gave me the soul of a free man.[21]

Until recently, historians believed that Toussaint had been a slave until the start of the revolution.[22] The discovery of a marriage certificate dated 1777 shows that he was freed in 1776 at the age of 33. This find retrospectively clarified a letter of 1797, in which he said he had been free for twenty years.[23] It seems he still maintained an important role on the Breda plantation until the outbreak of the revolution, presumably as a salaried employee.[24] He had initially been responsible for the livestock,[25] but by 1791, his responsibilities most likely included acting as coachman to the overseer, de Libertat, and as a driver, charged with organising the work force.[26]

As a free man, Toussaint began to accumulate wealth and property. Surviving legal documents show him briefly renting a small coffee plantation worked by a dozen slaves.[27] He would later say that by the start of the revolution, he had acquired a reasonable fortune, and was the owner of a number of properties at Ennery.[28]

Religion and spirituality

Throughout his life, Toussaint was known as a devout Catholic.[29] 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.[30]

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.[31]

Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) was a slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and established the Republic of Haiti. It was the only slave revolt which led to the founding of a state and is generally considered the most successful slave rebellion ever to have occurred in the Americas.

The Rebellion: 1791–1794

Toussaint Louverture, as depicted in an 1802 French engraving

Beginning in 1789, free people of color of Saint-Domingue were inspired by the French Revolution to seek an expansion of their rights. Initially, the slave population did not become involved in the conflict.[32] In August 1791, a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman marked the start of a major slave rebellion in the north. Toussaint apparently did not take part in the earliest stages of the rebellion, but after a few weeks he sent his family to safety in Spanish Santo Domingo and helped the overseers of the Breda plantation to leave the island. He joined the forces of Georges Biassou as doctor to the troops, commanding a small detachment.[33] Surviving documents show him participating in the leadership of the rebellion, discussing strategy, and negotiating with the Spanish supporters of the rebellion for supplies.[24]

In December 1791, he was involved in negotiations between rebel leaders and the French Governor, Blanchelande, for the release of their white prisoners and a return to work in exchange for a ban on the use of the whip, an extra non-working day per week, and freedom for a handful of leaders.[34] When the offer was rejected, he was instrumental in preventing the massacre of Biassou's white prisoners.[35] The prisoners were released after further negotiations with the French commissioners and taken to Le Cap by Toussaint. He hoped to use the occasion to present the rebellion's demands to the colonial assembly, but they refused to meet with him.[36]

Throughout 1792, Toussaint, as a leader in an increasingly formal alliance between the black rebellion and the Spanish, ran the fortified post of La Tannerie and maintained the Cordon de l'Ouest, a line of posts between rebel and colonial territory.[37] He gained a reputation for running an orderly camp, trained his men in guerrilla tactics and "the European style of war",[38] and began to attract soldiers who would play an important role throughout the revolution.[39] After hard fighting, he lost La Tannerie in January 1793 to the French general Étienne Maynaud Bizefranc de Lavaux, but it was in these battles that the French first recognized him as a significant military leader.[40]

Some time in 1792-3, Toussaint adopted the surname Louverture, from the French word for "opening". (Although some modern writers spell his adopted surname with an apostrophe, as in "L'Ouverture", Toussaint himself did not, as his extant correspondence indicates.) The most common explanation is that it refers to his ability to create openings in battle, and it is sometimes attributed to French commissioner Polverel's exclamation: "That man makes an opening everywhere". However, some writers think it was more prosaically due to a gap between his front teeth.[41]

Despite adhering to royalist political views, Louverture had begun to use the language of freedom and equality associated with the French revolution.[42] From being willing to bargain for better conditions of slavery late in 1791, he had become committed to its complete abolition.[43] On 29 August 1793 he made his famous declaration of CampTurel 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 L'Ouverture,
General of the armies of the king, for the public good.[44]

On the same day, the beleaguered French commissioner, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, proclaimed emancipation for all slaves in French Saint-Domingue,[45] hoping to bring the black troops over to his side.[46] Initially, this failed, perhaps because Toussaint and the other leaders knew that Sonthonax was exceeding his authority.[47] However, on 4 February 1794, the French revolutionary government proclaimed the abolition of slavery.[48] For months, Louverture had been in diplomatic contact with the French general Étienne Maynaud Bizefranc de Lavaux. During this time, competition between him and other rebel leaders was growing, and the Spanish had started to look with disfavor on his near-autonomous control of a large and strategically important region.[49] In May 1794, when the decision of the French government became known in Saint-Domingue, Louverture switched allegiance from the Spanish to the French and rallied his troops to Lavaux.[50]

Allegiance with the French: 1794–1796

Toussaint joined the French in early May 1794, raising the republican flag over the port of Gonaïves and provoking a mass exodus of refugees. In the first weeks, he eradicated all Spanish supporters from the Cordon de l'Ouest, which he had held on their behalf.[51] He faced attack from multiple sides. His former colleagues in the black rebellion were now fighting against him for the Spanish. As a French commander, he was under attack from the British troops who had landed on Saint-Domingue in September.[52] On the other hand, he was able to pool his 4000 men with Lavaux's troops in joint actions.[53] By now his officers included men who were to remain important throughout the revolution: his brother Paul, his nephew Moïse, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe.[54]

Before long, Louverture had put an end to the Spanish threat to French Saint-Domingue. In any case, the Treaty of Basel of July 1795 marked a formal end to hostilities between the two countries. Even then, the black leaders, Jean-François and Biassou, continued to fight against Toussaint until November, when they left for Spain and Florida, respectively. At that point, most of their men joined Toussaint's forces.[55] Toussaint also made inroads against the British troops, but was unable to oust them from Saint-Marc, so he contained them and rendered them ineffective by returning to guerilla tactics.[56]

Throughout 1795 and 1796, Louverture was also concerned with re-establishing agriculture and keeping the peace in areas under his control. In speeches and policy he revealed his belief that the long-term freedom of the people of Saint-Domingue depended on the economic viability of the colony.[57] He was held in general respect and resorted to a mixture of diplomacy and force to return the field hands to the plantations as emancipated and paid workers.[58] Workers regularly created small rebellions, protesting poor conditions, their lack of real freedom or fearing a return to slavery.[59]

Another of Louverture's concerns was to manage potential rivals for power within the French part of the colony. The most serious of these involved the mulatto commander Jean-Louis Villatte, based in Cap-Français. Toussaint and Villate had competed over the command of some sections of troops and territory since 1794. Villatte was thought to be somewhat racist towards black soldiers such as Toussaint and planned to ally with André Rigaud, a free man of color, after overthrowing French General Étienne Lavaux.[60] 1796 Villate drummed up popular support by accusing the French authorities of plotting a return to slavery. On March 20, he succeeded in capturing the French Governor Lavaux, and appointed himself Governor. Louverture's troops soon arrived at Cap-Français to rescue the captured governor and drive Villatte out of town. Toussaint was noted for opening the warehouses to the public, proving that they were empty of the chains supposedly imported to prepare for a return to slavery. He was promoted to commander of the WestProvince two months later, and was eventually made Saint-Domingue's top-ranking officer in 1797.[61] Lavaux also proclaimed Toussaint Lieutenant Governor, announcing at the same time that he would do nothing without his approval, to which Louverture replied "After God, Lavaux".[62]

The Third Commission: 1796–97

A few weeks after the triumph over the Villate insurrection, France's representatives of the third commission arrived on Saint-Domingue. Among them was Sonthonax, the commissioner who had previously declared abolition on the same day as Louverture's proclamation of CampTurel.[63] At first the relationship between the two was positive. Sonthonax promoted Toussaint to general and arranged for his sons, Placide and Isaac, to attend the school that had been established in France for the children of colonials.[64]

In September 1796, elections were held to choose colonial representatives for the French national assembly. Toussaint's letters show that he encouraged Lavaux to stand, and historians have speculated as to whether he was seeking to place a firm supporter in France or to remove a rival in power.[65] Sonthonax was also elected, either at Toussaint's instigation or on his own initiative, but while Lavaux left Saint Domingue in October, Sonthonax remained.[66]

Sonthonax, a fervent revolutionary and fierce supporter of racial equality, soon rivalled Louverture in popularity. Although their goals were similar, there were several points of conflict.[67] The worst of these was over the return of the white planters who had fled Saint-Domingue at the start of the revolution. To Sonthonax, they were potential counter-revolutionaries, to be assimilated, officially or not, with the ‘émigrés’ who had fled the French revolution and were forbidden to return under pain of death. To Toussaint, they were bearers of useful skills and knowledge, and he wanted them back.[68]

In summer 1797, Toussaint authorised the return of Bayon de Libertat, the ex-overseer of Breda, with whom he had a lifelong relationship. Sonthonax wrote to Louverture threatening him with prosecution and ordering him to get Bayon off the territory. Toussaint went over his head and wrote to the French Directoire directly for permission for Bayon to stay.[69] Only a few weeks later, he began arranging for Sonthonax's return to France that summer.[61] Toussaint had several reasons to want to get rid of Sonthonax; officially he said that Sonthonax had tried to involve him in a plot to make Saint-Domingue independent, starting with a massacre of the whites of the island.[70] The accusation played on Sonthonax's political radicalism and known hatred of the aristocratic white planters, but historians have varied as to how credible they consider it.[71]

On reaching France, Sonthonax countered by accusing Toussaint of royalist, counter-revolutionary and pro-independence tendencies.[72] Toussaint knew that he had asserted his authority to such an extent that the French government might well suspect him of seeking independence.[73] At the same time, the French Directoire government was considerably less revolutionary than it had been. Suspicions began to brew that it might reconsider the abolition of slavery.[74] In November 1797, Toussaint wrote again to the Directoire, assuring them of his loyalty but reminding them firmly that abolition must be maintained.[75]