The Founders
Dutty Boukman
died 1791
Leader of the Bois Caïman ceremony and the uprising of 1791.
Dutty Boukman was enslaved in the north of Saint-Domingue, where he worked as a driver and coachman. He was a respected spiritual leader among the enslaved people of the northern plain.
On the night of 14 August 1791 he led the gathering at Bois Caïman, where the leaders of the plantations swore to rise up. Days later the north was in flames. Boukman was killed in battle in November 1791, but the revolution he helped start did not stop.
Achievements
- Led the Bois Caïman ceremony of 14 August 1791.
- Helped organize the uprising across the plantations of the north.
- Was one of the first commanders of the revolution.
- Became a lasting symbol of the moment enslaved people chose freedom.
