Toussaint L’Ouverture & the

Haitian Revolution

In 1743, a small, puny baby boy was brought into the world. This was
Toussaint L’Ouverture. He was the child of two slaves, one of whom was a prince
of the Aradas tribe back in Africa. His father brought him to a medicine woman and
future teller at his birth, who pronounced that he would grow up to be more than a
man. He would be a nation.
Despite such large expectations, L’Ouverture was a sickly child. His
childhood nickname “Little Stick” because he was so scrawny. To get rid of this
nickname, he strengthened his body every day by swimming rivers and riding
horseback until he was exhausted. The owner of his plantation noticed his tenacity
and treated him better than other slaves. Not only was , L’Ouverture never
whipped, a local priest was impressed with his intelligence and taught him to read
and write. Soon, he was devouring books on the Enlightenment and the military
tactics of Julius Caesar.
When L’Ouverture learned of a slave uprising of 50,000 started by Boukman
Dutty, he rushed to offer medicine to those slaves wounded in the revolt. Even
though he was 48, he believed the disorganized slaves needed a leader, and felt his
age was his strength, as most slaves did not live to that age and therefore had less
experience. He sent his wife and children to a cottage safely hidden in the woods
and advised his former master to flee for the United States. With the help of the
ingenious military commander, Jean Jacques Dessalines, he won many battles.
Dessalines was a military prodigy – although he could not read or write, he was a
brilliant strategist who fought with unmatched ferocity. He was nicknamed “The
Tiger” both for both his fierceness and the stripes on his back from a lifetime of
whippings.
The revolt was a success; in 1793 the revolutionary government in Paris
passed a law freeing all slaves in the French colonies. It was time to rebuild the
island. Now all the people of Haiti had to act as one for the good of all. Many
former slaves wanted revenge against their despised masters, but, L’Ouverture
urged cooperation. He was convinced revenge gained nothing. It would only bring
more fighting, death, and destruction. Now fields had to be replanted. Towns and
roads had to be rebuilt. Children had to be cared for.
L’Ouverture sent his oldest sons to Paris to be educated and urged those
capable to do the same. The island needed engineers to keep the roads in repair, to
keep the irrigation canals French engineers had built flowing. The island needed
the skills of white people who hadn’t run away or been killed in the uprising. He
believed the former slaves should continue to work as hard as they did when they
were slaves to grow sugar, coffee, cotton, and tobacco to sell to the United States.
L’Ouverture felt if they didn’t, they would starve in isolation from the world.
Some people resented L’ouverture’s commands. He never discussed his
plans with others until he was ready to act. He had a habit of abruptly leaving
meetings, mounting a horse, and galloping off without explanation. Many believed
they had no need to grow cash crops and wanted to farm as they did in Africa.
They wanted to work in small fields outside small villages, growing just what they
needed for their family and perhaps a little extra to sell in market – no more.
Aside from the difficulty creating a viable economic program, L’ouverture was
faced with the difficult problem of creating a new government. Governing more
than half a million people was different than being in charge of the livestock of one
plantation, , L’Ouverture former job. Additionally, he could not communicate with
the people who still owned the island – the French – because he spoke mainly
Creole.
As , L’Ouverture was navigating the difficult problem of creating an effective
government, Napoleon had risen to power in France and planned to restore slavery.
He sent his best military general – LeClerc- to force the island nation restore slavery
and grow more profitable sugar. Toussaint divided his island and effectively
defended it using guerilla tactics and the scorched earth technique. He even
ordered one of his own generals to burn down his mansion so French soldiers would
have no shelter. Additionally, many soldiers of Napoleon who saw who they were
fighting against felt sympathy for the Haitians. One day, an entire Polish regiment
stumbled upon the barracks of L’Ouverture’s troops singing the French National
Anthem. This anthem, called the Marseillaise, was famous for stressing the equality
among people and the right fight against all people. Sensing the hypocrisy of
slaughtering an entire group of people who were fighting for preserve the equality
of the French Revolution, Napoleon’s regiment surrendered without battle.
Toussaint felt he was in a position of power. He offered to surrender to
Napoleon’s general, retire from service, and keep Haiti as part of the French empire.
In return, he wanted a promise that slavery would not be restored. LeClerc seemed
to accept this agreement. He offered to meet with , L’Ouverture to work out the
details. Toussaint arrived at dinner with the French only to be ambushed and
placed on a ship heading for France. He was imprisoned in a dark and dreary
prison where he died.
The revolution was not over, however. Dessalines took up the cause. A new
French general sent to the island began to massacre women, children, and the
elderly. This proved to Dessalines what he had always believed – that whites could
never be trusted. Dessalines and his men returned atrocity for atrocity, killing all
white plantation owners they found and even mulattoes. He ordered that every
white person should be shot, hanged, burned, or taken offshore and drowned.
Every day international newspapers carried the news of the slaughter by the
Haitians. American businessmen were afraid to trade with Haiti. Although
Dessalines appeared merciless, this strategy convinced Napoleon the island was not
worth the trouble and he withdrew troops, in exchange for .
Dessalines ordered a solid gold crown from goldsmiths in Philadelphia and
beautiful velvet robes from England. Since Napoleon was about to be crowned
Emperor Napoleon I of France, Dessalines decided he should be crowned Emperor
Jacques I of Haiti. His rule was short. He was assassinated by followers of Henry
Christophe, another one of Toussaint’s advisors. Christophe crowned himself King
Henry I of Haiti. Christophe lived extravagantly, throwing parties and building
palaces that rivaled King Louis XVI who had been overthrown by the hungry and
neglected people. He also may have suffered from bipolar disorder or some other
psychological illness. After six years, Christophe committed suicide. These two
dictators were only two in a long line of dictators who came to power after this
corrupt government system was established.
Name _________________________ Date_________ Per________ New World
Independence Leaders

Guiding Question: Do the leaders or the people shape a revolution?

Individual jobs: Read through the biography of your leader and write down the
answer for your specific question(s) in the space provided.

Person 1: What characteristics of Toussiant L’Ouverture made him a successful

leader? In what ways did he shape the revolution?

Person 2: What characteristics of Jose de San Martin made him a successful

leader? Why did he have conflict with L’Ouverture?

Person 3: Describe 4-5 major events in the Haitian Revolution.

Person 4: In your opinion, who was more important in shaping the South American
Revolution: the leaders or the people?

Person 5: What problems did Haiti face after independence? How did these
create modern problems today?

TASK 2:
• When you are done with your individual roles, decide the order of who is
presenting which information
• Complete the graphic organizer as a group what is most important to
represent in a 5-10 minute presentation to the class