The Founders
Toussaint Louverture
c. 1743 – 1803
General and governor. The architect of freedom.
Toussaint Louverture was born into slavery around 1743 on the Bréda plantation, near Cap-Français. He gained his freedom as an adult, learned to read and write, and joined the uprising of 1791. Within a few years he was the leading general of Saint-Domingue.
He defeated Spanish and British armies, negotiated with foreign powers, and governed the colony. In 1802 Napoleon’s army arrested him and deported him to France. He died at Fort de Joux on 7 April 1803, months before the independence he had made possible.
Achievements
- Turned an uprising of enslaved people into a disciplined army.
- Drove Spanish and British forces out of Saint-Domingue.
- Issued the Constitution of 1801, which abolished slavery forever on the island.
- Governed the whole island of Hispaniola as governor for life.
