Adolf Hitler, one of the most evil men to ever walk on the face of this Earth had a goal to kill every Jew that walked on this planet. Although he was evil, he had ways of influencing and captivating others to join his mission. He killed over 6 million Jews. He was a great public speaker and he spoke with eloquence and had influential speeches to persuade people to follow him. There were many men like this; Martin Luther King Jr., who convinced the blacks being discriminated against by his famous "I Have a Dream" speech to arise as one to end discrimination. Alex the Great was the military commander of Egypt influenced his men to follow his leads and ended up winning the major battles he took part in. Then came Toussaint L'Ouvreture. He was a former slave who worked as a herder and then became a coachman leading to be an overseer of slaves. He then was granted freedom from his owner and rented a small coffee plantation and acquired one dozen slaves of his own. Eventually, he became frustrated with the treatment of slaves and started to lead rebellions against landowners. Then, he became the ruler (for life) of Saint Domingue. While in power, he was able to put down revolts from Napoleon trying to bring back slavery and from the slaves whom he stood on the side of when his policies for their work were enforced. Hereby, we should remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture as a liberator of slaves, the ruler of Saint Domingue, and as a military commander.
One way we should recognize Toussaint L'Ouvreture's past life is a liberator of slaves. The French Revolution had just began in 1789 (Doc. A). Free men of color in Saint Domingue had proclaimed themselves Frech citizens which gave they full civic rights (Doc. A). This lead to a slave revolt in Northern Saint Domingue (Doc. A). In 1791, Toussaint and joined the revolution and served as a doctor to the troops while also commanding a small detachment of slave soldiers (Doc. A). With non-stop revolts occurring, the French Government under Maximilien Robespierre abolished slavery in 1794 in France and all of its colonies in which Toussaint stopped their revolts and now supported the French because he was supporting any side against slavery (Doc. A). In 1797, he wrote a letter to the French Directory who was the government at the time (Doc. B). "He states "But today when they have left it, if they had a thousand lives, they would sacrifice them all rather than be subjected to slavery again" (Doc. B). He then was the ruler of Saint Dominque capturing Santo Domingo which was the Spanish portion of the island in 1801 (Doc. A). Prior to that, he put down a revolt against the British whom were worried that the movement would spread to their colony of Jamaica (Doc. A). However, he was able to put it down. He also in 1801 assembled Saint Domingue's Constitution (Doc. C). It states that "all men are born, live, and die free" (Doc. C). Also, it states that the workers will be paid for their work that benefits the economy (Doc. C). In 1802, Napoleon sent 21,000 troops to Saint Domingue to reinstate slavery (Doc. A). To counter them, he burned the down a small city and they waited in the mountains. Napoleon withdrew from Saint Domingue but he withdrew with Toussaint after he was able to trick him into a negotiation meeting and they captured him and sent him by ship to France (Doc. A). But in the end, Saint Domingue was victorious over Haiti and declared independence (Doc. A). Now, all of these events are individual achievements that was all for the great purpose of the abolition of slavery. He did all of this work just to set everyone else who was enslaved free. Now, the letter he wrote to the Directory basically said it would be impossible to reinstate slavery because the people had gone through it once and would not go through it again. He said that the people would fight to the death to prevent slavery from being reinstated and that he would do everything in his power to keep it abolished. Lastly, the Constitution of Saint Domingue of 1801 promised that all men were born, live, and die free. It encourages agricultural work because it would help grow the island's economy. Without that work being done, the economy would collapse just based on where they are located and why their products are valuable especially sugar. Each worker would share the revenues equally which is fair to all. All of the acts and beliefs brought up by Toussaint L'Ouvreture benefited all whom he supported, while being a strong liberator of slaves.
Another way we should remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture is the Ruler of Saint Domingue. In 1801, he signed the Saint Domingue Constitution (Doc. C). While its citizens were all free, it still remained a colony of France (Doc. C). There are three titles provided in the document that were the most important. Titles II is "Of the Inhabitants", Title VI is "Of Culture and Commerce", and Title VIII is "Of the Government" (Doc. C). To be more specific than I explained it before, the work encouraged by the island is agricultural work as it states "The colony being essentially agricultural work cannot suffer the least disruption in the works of its cultivation" (Doc. C). "Each plantation shall represent the quiet haven of an active and constant family, of which the owner of the land shall be the father" (Doc. C). "Each cultivator and each worker is a member of the family and is entitled to share the revenues" (Doc. C). The father and family are just fancy names for land owner and cultivator. Article 28 states "The Constitution nominate citizen Toussaint L'Ouvreture,....he is entrusted the direction thereof for the remainder of his glorious life" (Doc. C). This made him the governor or ruler of Saint Domingue for life. Now, also included in 1801 was the Proclamation 25. It states "As soon as a child can walk, he should be employed on the plantation according to his strength in some useful work" (Doc. D). Now, the two most important statements are these; "Any manager or driver of a plantation upon which a foreign cultivator shall have taken refuge shall denounce him to the captain or commander of the section within 24 hours under penalty of one week in prison" and
"Vagabond cultivators arrested....shall be taken to the commander of the quarter, who will have sent them to the gendarmerie on their plantation" (Doc. D). Now, the constitution have the landowners the rights to run the plantations but each worker would share the revenues. Now, the support of the slaves gives an advantage to L'Ouvreture being governor for life. However, if he is governor for life, he has to stay for life and can't change if he wants to. Now, the reason why Toussaint made the Proclamation is because workers were refusing to work on their plantations. The reason for that is because although they are not treated like it and they are getting paid, they are doing the work that they did when they were slaves. So, they still feel like slaves. The word 'free' was also getting to their heads because they thought that they didn't have to work because they were free but Toussaint originally said you will be free but you still have to work to support the economy. Now, he has to enforce it. The time span between these two primary sources is 4-5 months. Both show how he set certain policies and enforced them on the people. The constitution is the policies that are set and the proclamation now truly enforces them. Therefore, we should remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture as the Ruler of Saint Domingue.
The last way we should remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture is a military commander. In the fall of 1801, L'Ouvreture's nephew Hyacinthe Moyse became a focal point of a gathering of discontent with Toussaint's draconian labor policies (Doc. E). There was also suspicion of friendliness with the white painter class (Doc. E). Toussaint appointed Moyse as commander of the all the Northern Department and he planned to have allow the plantations in the North to be parceled out into small holdings (Doc. E). Then, on October 29th, a revolt broke out in the Northern Plain (Doc. E). Whites were massacred from Fort Liberté to the gates of Cap Français and the war cry was "General Moyse is with us-death to all whites" (Doc. E). This made Toussaint so furious that he ordered certain men to step out of the ranks and commit suicide and he had Moyse arrested and had him confined in the fort of Port de Paix (Doc. E). Then, he was brought to a firing squad and was executed on his own order (Doc. E). At this point, there was still uncertainty among Toussaint and the slaves but the entire island soon had to come together as one. Great Britain and Spain were worried about the spread of the abolition of slavery spreading to their colony of Jamaica by using his genius and surpassing activity while raising the reputation of the army (Doc. F). "Toussaint, by his superior knowledge of character of his race, his humanity, generosity, and courage, had gained the confidence of all whom he had under his command" (Doc. F). Napoleon sent 21,000 troops to Saint Domingue in an attempt to reinstate slavery. So, when Toussaint saw the ships coming towards the city of Samana, he burned the city to ruins and fled to the mountains and waited (Doc. F). The attempt was to draw the troops to the mountains and it worked (Doc. F). The French entered the mountains and were defeated by an onslaught by Toussaint's army. Now, the reason why the slave revolts were breaking out in the North like I said before was because the workers were doing the same work when they were slaves so they still felt like they were being enslaved. They felt restricted because they could not leave a plantation without permission. And, rumors of conspiracy with white landowners was started by Moyse. So, a revolt broke out but it would not have happened had Toussaint listened to his people and tried to make it better instead of enforcing new policies. The workers needed to do that work for the economy but Toussaint did not make an attempt to try to resolve things and make compromises which led to the rebellion. He learned his lesson the hard way. However, he did make ends meet and he was able to get all of the island on his side to defeat the French and help carry out his plan. He knew the French were coming to enslave them so burning the city which they would arrive and fleeing to the mountains worked because the people of the island knew the mountains and were familiar with them and knew the ins and outs of them. Not only that, but Toussaint's traits of his courage, generosity, humanity, race, and most importantly confidence and superior knowledge show the strength of an army's commander and the effect he has on his army. We should remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture as a military commander.
"Vagabond cultivators arrested....shall be taken to the commander of the quarter, who will have sent them to the gendarmerie on their plantation" (Doc. D). Now, the constitution have the landowners the rights to run the plantations but each worker would share the revenues. Now, the support of the slaves gives an advantage to L'Ouvreture being governor for life. However, if he is governor for life, he has to stay for life and can't change if he wants to. Now, the reason why Toussaint made the Proclamation is because workers were refusing to work on their plantations. The reason for that is because although they are not treated like it and they are getting paid, they are doing the work that they did when they were slaves. So, they still feel like slaves. The word 'free' was also getting to their heads because they thought that they didn't have to work because they were free but Toussaint originally said you will be free but you still have to work to support the economy. Now, he has to enforce it. The time span between these two primary sources is 4-5 months. Both show how he set certain policies and enforced them on the people. The constitution is the policies that are set and the proclamation now truly enforces them. Therefore, we should remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture as the Ruler of Saint Domingue.
The last way we should remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture is a military commander. In the fall of 1801, L'Ouvreture's nephew Hyacinthe Moyse became a focal point of a gathering of discontent with Toussaint's draconian labor policies (Doc. E). There was also suspicion of friendliness with the white painter class (Doc. E). Toussaint appointed Moyse as commander of the all the Northern Department and he planned to have allow the plantations in the North to be parceled out into small holdings (Doc. E). Then, on October 29th, a revolt broke out in the Northern Plain (Doc. E). Whites were massacred from Fort Liberté to the gates of Cap Français and the war cry was "General Moyse is with us-death to all whites" (Doc. E). This made Toussaint so furious that he ordered certain men to step out of the ranks and commit suicide and he had Moyse arrested and had him confined in the fort of Port de Paix (Doc. E). Then, he was brought to a firing squad and was executed on his own order (Doc. E). At this point, there was still uncertainty among Toussaint and the slaves but the entire island soon had to come together as one. Great Britain and Spain were worried about the spread of the abolition of slavery spreading to their colony of Jamaica by using his genius and surpassing activity while raising the reputation of the army (Doc. F). "Toussaint, by his superior knowledge of character of his race, his humanity, generosity, and courage, had gained the confidence of all whom he had under his command" (Doc. F). Napoleon sent 21,000 troops to Saint Domingue in an attempt to reinstate slavery. So, when Toussaint saw the ships coming towards the city of Samana, he burned the city to ruins and fled to the mountains and waited (Doc. F). The attempt was to draw the troops to the mountains and it worked (Doc. F). The French entered the mountains and were defeated by an onslaught by Toussaint's army. Now, the reason why the slave revolts were breaking out in the North like I said before was because the workers were doing the same work when they were slaves so they still felt like they were being enslaved. They felt restricted because they could not leave a plantation without permission. And, rumors of conspiracy with white landowners was started by Moyse. So, a revolt broke out but it would not have happened had Toussaint listened to his people and tried to make it better instead of enforcing new policies. The workers needed to do that work for the economy but Toussaint did not make an attempt to try to resolve things and make compromises which led to the rebellion. He learned his lesson the hard way. However, he did make ends meet and he was able to get all of the island on his side to defeat the French and help carry out his plan. He knew the French were coming to enslave them so burning the city which they would arrive and fleeing to the mountains worked because the people of the island knew the mountains and were familiar with them and knew the ins and outs of them. Not only that, but Toussaint's traits of his courage, generosity, humanity, race, and most importantly confidence and superior knowledge show the strength of an army's commander and the effect he has on his army. We should remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture as a military commander.
Although Toussaint in 1803 was tricked into a negotiation meeting and captured in the battle against the French and then died in a French jail, we should still remember Toussaint L'Ouvreture as a liberator of slaves, the Ruler of Saint Domingue, and a military commander. His success on this island is incredible. The letters, pep-talks, prepping for battles, revolts, and battle plans for defeating whoever stood in front of them all show Toussaint's willingness, passion, and dedication to fight for the greater cause really shows you what he is made of and how he can use his knowledge and gain support to fight for what he truly believed in; all men and women are viewed as equals.
Bibliography:
Document A: Created from various sources
Document B: Toussaint L'Ouvreture, "Letter to the French Directory, November 1797."
Document C: The Saint Domingue Constitution of 1801. Signed by Toussaint L'Ouvreture in July 1801.
Document D: Toussaint L'Ouvreture, "Proclamation, 25 November 1801."
Document E: Madison Smartt Bell, Toussaint L'Ouvreture: A Biography, 2007.
Document F: William Wells Brown, "A Description of Toussaint L'Ouvreture," from The Black Man, His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements, 2nd edition, 1863. Engraving of Toussaint L'Ouvreture, 1802.
Bibliography:
Document A: Created from various sources
Document B: Toussaint L'Ouvreture, "Letter to the French Directory, November 1797."
Document C: The Saint Domingue Constitution of 1801. Signed by Toussaint L'Ouvreture in July 1801.
Document D: Toussaint L'Ouvreture, "Proclamation, 25 November 1801."
Document E: Madison Smartt Bell, Toussaint L'Ouvreture: A Biography, 2007.
Document F: William Wells Brown, "A Description of Toussaint L'Ouvreture," from The Black Man, His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements, 2nd edition, 1863. Engraving of Toussaint L'Ouvreture, 1802.
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