Toussaint Louverture, << too SAN loo vair TOOR, >> (1743-1803) became one of the best-known black revolutionaries of all time. He played a major role in ending slavery in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) and in leading a revolution in which Haiti gained its independence from France. Toussaint also served as a general in the French army and as the colonial ruler of Saint-Domingue.
Toussaint was born into slavery near what is now Cap-Haitien, Haiti. His full name at birth was Francois Dominique Toussaint. He later became known as Toussaint Louverture. Toussaint taught himself to read and write and became well educated, even though he was a slave until he was almost 50 years old.
In 1791, a slave revolt erupted in Saint-Domingue, and Toussaint became one of its leaders. He led a black army against the French, helping to force France to abolish slavery in the colony in 1793. He then helped France by defeating British and Spanish troops that had invaded Saint-Domingue. By April 1796, he ruled the colony with the consent of its French governor.
Saint-Domingue prospered under Toussaint. But France’s ruler, Napoleon I, wanted to regain full control of the colony. In 1802, Napoleon sent a large army to reestablish slavery in Saint-Domingue. Toussaint and others resisted and began a revolution to free the colony from French control. Later that year, Toussaint was captured. He was imprisoned in France, where he died on April 7, 1803. Jean Jacques Dessalines succeeded Toussaint as leader of the revolution. He declared Saint-Domingue the independent country of Haiti in 1804.
