Toussaint Louverture

Louverture is believed to have been well educated by his godfather Pierre Baptiste, a free person of color who lived and worked on the Bréda plantation. Historians have speculated as to Louverture's intellectual background. His extant letters demonstrate a command of French in addition to Creole; and he reveals familiarity with Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher who had lived as a slave. His public speeches as well as his life's work, according to his biographers, show a familiarity with Machiavelli.[21] Some cite Abbé Raynal, who wrote against slavery, as a possible influence:[22] The wording of the proclamation issued by then rebel slave leader Louverture on 29 August 1793, which may have been the first time he publicly used the name "Louverture", seems to refer to an anti-slavery passage in Abbé Raynal's "A Philosophical and Political History of the Settlements and Trade of the Europeans in the East and West Indies."[23][24]

He may also have received some education from Jesuit missionaries. His medical knowledge is attributed to familiarity with African or Creole herbal-medical techniques, as well techniques commonly found in Jesuit-administered hospitals.[25] A few legal documents signed on Louverture's behalf between 1778 and 1781 suggest that he could not write at that time.[26] Throughout his military and political career, he used secretaries to prepare most of his correspondence. A few surviving documents in his own hand confirm that he could write, although his spelling in the French language was "strictly phonetic."[27] That is not to suggest, however, that Louverture did not have a complex understanding of diplomacy; even lacking formal education, his correspondence with France during the Haitian Revolution beyond proved a high level of intellectual competence.[28] At the expense of many potential intellectuals, the rapacious slave trade system often prevented many from seeing their in-built aptitudes come to full fruition; "Although the African Black populations were typically illiterate, this does not mean they were unintelligent. Rather, they had been educated in skills, crafts, and traditions which were often lost during centuries of slavery."[29]

19th century engraving of Louverture

In 1782, Louverture married Suzanne Simone Baptiste, who is thought to have been his cousin or the daughter of his godfather.[30] Toward the end of his life, he told General Caffarelli that he had fathered 16 children with multiple women, of whom 11 had predeceased him.[31] Not all his children can be identified for certain, but his three legitimate sons are well known.[31] The eldest, Placide, was probably adopted by Louverture and is generally thought to have been Suzanne's first child, fathered by Seraphim Le Clerc, a mulatto.[31] The two sons born of his marriage with Suzanne were Isaac and Saint-Jean.[31]

"I was born a slave, but nature gave me the soul of a free man."[32]

Until 1938, historians believed that Louverture had been a slave until the start of the revolution.[33] In the later 20th century, discovery of a marriage certificate dated 1777 documents that he was freed in 1776 at the age of 33. This find retrospectively clarified a letter of 1797, in which he said he had been free for twenty years.[34] He appeared to have an important role on the Bréda plantation until the outbreak of the revolution, presumably as a salaried employee who contributed to the daily functions of the plantation.[35] He had initially been responsible for the livestock.[36] By 1791, his responsibilities most likely included acting as coachman to the overseer, de Libertat, and as a slave-driver, charged with organising the work force.[37]

As a free man, Louverture began to accumulate wealth and property. Surviving legal documents show him renting a small coffee plantation that was worked by a dozen of his own slaves.[38] He would later say that by the start of the revolution, he had acquired a reasonable fortune, and was the owner of a number of properties and slaves at Ennery.[39]

Louverture's life philosophy, as a revolutionary spirit, not only incited widespread recognition of autonomy among his enslaved counterparts but evoked a collective sense of worry among colonialist nations, such as Great Britain, which feared the slave revolt and ideology would spread to other slave societies in the Caribbean.[40] In light of the given circumstance, "England found the French army preferable to the enlightened to Toussaint Louverture, while the United States, only just free of its own colonial oppression, opted to ally with the colonial powers of England and France rather than to give aid to Saint-Dominques's anti-colonial struggle."[40]

Throughout his life, Louverture was known as a devout Roman Catholic.[41] After defeating forces led by Andre Rigaud in the War of the Knives, Louverture consolidated his power by decreeing a new constitution for the colony in 1801. It established Catholicism as the official religion.[42] Although Vodou was generally practiced on Saint-Domingue in combination with Catholicism, little is known for certain if Louverture had any connection with it. Officially as ruler of Saint-Domingue, he discouraged it.[43]

Historians have suggested that he was a member of high degree of the Masonic Lodge of Saint-Domingue, mostly based on a Masonic symbol he used in his signature. The membership of several free blacks and white men close to him has been confirmed.[44] His membership is, considering his status as a devout Catholic, nonetheless unlikely due to the papal ban on Catholics holding membership in Masonic organizations introduced by Pope Clement XII having gone into effect in 1738.[45]

Toussaint Louverture, as depicted in an 1802 French engraving

Beginning in 1789, free people of color of Saint-Domingue were inspired by the French Revolution to seek an expansion of their rights and equality, while perpetuating the denial of freedom and rights to the slaves, who made up the overwhelming majority of population on the island. Initially, the slave population did not become involved in the conflict.[46] In August 1791, a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman marked the start of a major slave rebellion in the north, which had the largest plantations and masses of slaves. Louverture apparently did not take part in the earliest stages of the rebellion, but after a few weeks he sent his family to safety in Spanish Santo Domingo and helped the overseers of the Breda plantation to leave the island. He joined the forces of Georges Biassou as doctor to the troops, commanding a small detachment.[47] Surviving documents show him participating in the leadership of the rebellion, discussing strategy, and negotiating with the Spanish supporters of the rebellion for supplies.[35]

In December 1791, he was involved in negotiations between rebel leaders and the French Governor, Blanchelande, for the release of their white prisoners and a return to work in exchange for a ban on the use of the whip, an extra non-working day per week, and freedom for a handful of leaders.[48] When the offer was rejected, he was instrumental in preventing the massacre of Biassou's white prisoners.[49] The prisoners were released after further negotiations with the French commissioners and taken to Le Cap by Louverture. He hoped to use the occasion to present the rebellion's demands to the colonial assembly, but they refused to meet with him.[50]

Throughout 1792, as a leader in an increasingly formal alliance between the black rebellion and the Spanish, Louverture ran the fortified post of La Tannerie and maintained the Cordon de l'Ouest, a line of posts between rebel and colonial territory.[51] He gained a reputation for running an orderly camp, trained his men in guerrilla tactics and "the European style of war",[52] and began to attract soldiers who would play an important role throughout the revolution.[53] After hard fighting, he lost La Tannerie in January 1793 to the French General Étienne Maynaud de Bizefranc de Laveaux, but it was in these battles that the French first recognised him as a significant military leader.[54]

Some time in 1792–93, he adopted the surname Louverture, from the French word for "opening" or "the one who opened the way".[55] Although some modern writers spell his adopted surname with an apostrophe, as in "L'Ouverture", he did not, as his extant correspondence indicates. The most common explanation is that it refers to his ability to create openings in battle. The name is sometimes attributed to French commissioner Polverel's exclamation: "That man makes an opening everywhere". However, some writers think the name referred to a gap between his front teeth.[56]

Despite adhering to royalist political views, Louverture had begun to use the language of freedom and equality associated with the French Revolution.[57] From being willing to bargain for better conditions of slavery late in 1791, he had become committed to its complete abolition.[58]

On 29 August 1793 he made his famous declaration of Camp Turel to the blacks of St Domingue:

Brothers and friends, I am Toussaint Louverture; perhaps my name has made itself known to you. I have undertaken vengeance. I want Liberty and Equality to reign in St Domingue. I am working to make that happen. Unite yourselves to us, brothers and fight with us for the same cause.

Your very humble and obedient servant, Toussaint Louverture,

General of the armies of the king, for the public good.[59]

Toussaint Louverture's signature

On the same day, the beleaguered French commissioner, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, proclaimed emancipation for all slaves in French Saint-Domingue,[60] hoping to bring the black troops over to his side.[61] Initially, this failed, perhaps because Louverture and the other leaders knew that Sonthonax was exceeding his authority.[62] However, on 4 February 1794, the French revolutionary government in France proclaimed the abolition of slavery.[63] For months, Louverture had been in diplomatic contact with the French general Étienne Maynaud de Bizefranc de Laveaux. During this time, competition between him and other rebel leaders was growing, and the Spanish had started to look with disfavour on his near-autonomous control of a large and strategically important region.[64] In May 1794, when the decision of the French government became known in Saint-Domingue, Louverture switched allegiance from the Spanish to the French and rallied his troops to Laveaux.[65]

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After months of skillful maneuvering that kept him on nominally good terms with the Spanish, while he also had secret correspondence with the new revolutionary French colonial government, Louverture officially joined the French in early May 1794, raising the republican flag over the port of Gonaïves. This provoked an exodus of refugees, both whites and free people of color, with many taking slaves with them. In the first weeks, Louverture eradicated all Spanish supporters from the Cordon de l'Ouest, which he had held on their behalf.[66]

He faced attack from multiple sides. His former colleagues in the black slave rebellion were now fighting against him for the Spanish. As a French commander, he was under attack from the British troops who had landed on Saint-Domingue in September, as the British hoped to take advantage of the instability and gain control of the wealthy sugar-producing island.[67] On the other hand, he was able to pool his 4,000 men with Laveaux's troops in joint actions.[68] By now his officers included men who were to remain important throughout the revolution: his brother Paul, his nephew Moïse, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Henri Christophe.[69]

Before long, Louverture had put an end to the Spanish threat to French Saint-Domingue. In any case, the Treaty of Basel of July 1795 marked a formal end to hostilities between the two countries. Black leaders Jean-François and Biassou continued to fight against Louverture until November, when they left for Spain and Florida, respectively. At that point, most of their men joined Louverture's forces.[70] Louverture also made inroads against the British troops, but was unable to oust them from Saint-Marc. He contained them and rendered them ineffective by returning to guerilla tactics.[71]

Throughout 1795 and 1796, Louverture was also concerned with re-establishing agriculture and exports, and keeping the peace in areas under his control. In speeches and policy he revealed his belief that the long-term freedom of the people of Saint-Domingue depended on the economic viability of the colony.[72] He was held in general respect, and resorted to a mixture of diplomacy and force to return the field hands to the plantations as emancipated and paid workers.[73] Workers regularly created small rebellions, protesting poor conditions, their lack of real freedom, or fearing a return to slavery. They wanted to establish their own small holdings and work for themselves, rather than on plantations.[74]

Another of Louverture's concerns was to manage potential rivals for power within the French part of the colony. The most serious of these was the mulatto commander Jean-Louis Villatte, based in Cap-Français. Louverture and Villate had competed over the command of some sections of troops and territory since 1794. Villatte was thought to be somewhat racist towards black soldiers such as Louverture and planned to ally with André Rigaud, a free man of colour, after overthrowing French General Étienne Laveaux.[75] In 1796 Villate drummed up popular support by accusing the French authorities of plotting a return to slavery.

On 20 March, he succeeded in capturing the French Governor Laveaux, and appointed himself Governor. Louverture's troops soon arrived at Cap-Français to rescue the captured governor and drive Villatte out of town. Louverture was noted for opening the warehouses to the public, proving that they were empty of the chains that residents feared had been imported to prepare for a return to slavery. He was promoted to commander of the West Province two months later, and in 1797 was appointed as Saint-Domingue's top-ranking officer.[76] Laveaux proclaimed Louverture as Lieutenant Governor, announcing at the same time that he would do nothing without his approval, to which Louverture replied, "After God, Laveaux".[77]

A few weeks after Louverture's triumph over the Villate insurrection, France's representatives of the third commission arrived in Saint-Domingue. Among them was Sonthonax, the commissioner who had previously declared abolition of slavery on the same day as Louverture's proclamation of Camp Turel.[78] At first the relationship between the two men was positive. Sonthonax promoted Louverture to general and arranged for his sons, Placide and Isaac, to attend the school that had been established in France for the children of colonials.[79]

In September 1796, elections were held to choose colonial representatives for the French national assembly. Louverture's letters show that he encouraged Laveaux to stand, and historians have speculated as to whether he was seeking to place a firm supporter in France or to remove a rival in power.[80] Sonthonax was also elected, either at Louverture's instigation or on his own initiative. While Laveaux left Saint-Domingue in October, Sonthonax remained.[81]

Sonthonax, a fervent revolutionary and fierce supporter of racial equality, soon rivalled Louverture in popularity. Although their goals were similar, they had several points of conflict.[82] They strongly disagreed about accepting the return of the white planters who had fled Saint-Domingue at the start of the revolution. To Sonthonax, they were potential counter-revolutionaries, to be assimilated, officially or not, with the ‘émigrés’ who had fled the French Revolution and were forbidden to return under pain of death. To Louverture, they were bearers of useful skills and knowledge, and he wanted them back.[83]

In summer 1797, Louverture authorised the return of Bayon de Libertat, the ex-overseer of Bréda, with whom he had a lifelong relationship. Sonthonax wrote to Louverture threatening him with prosecution and ordering him to get Bayon off the island. Louverture went over his head and wrote to the French Directoire directly for permission for Bayon to stay.[84] Only a few weeks later, he began arranging for Sonthonax's return to France that summer.[76] Louverture had several reasons to want to get rid of Sonthonax; officially he said that Sonthonax had tried to involve him in a plot to make Saint-Domingue independent, starting with a massacre of the whites of the island.[85] The accusation played on Sonthonax's political radicalism and known hatred of the aristocratic white planters, but historians have varied as to how credible they consider it.[86]

On reaching France, Sonthonax countered by accusing Louverture of royalist, counter-revolutionary, and pro-independence tendencies.[87] Louverture knew that he had asserted his authority to such an extent that the French government might well suspect him of seeking independence.[88] At the same time, the French Directoire government was considerably less revolutionary than it had been. Suspicions began to brew that it might reconsider the abolition of slavery.[89] In November 1797, Louverture wrote again to the Directoire, assuring them of his loyalty but reminding them firmly that abolition must be maintained.[90]

General Thomas Maitland meets Louverture to discuss the secret treaty

For several months, Louverture was in sole command of French Saint-Domingue, except for a semi-autonomous state in the south, where general André Rigaud, a free man of color, had rejected the authority of the third commission.[91] Both generals continued attacking the British, whose position on Saint-Domingue was looking increasingly weak.[92] Louverture was negotiating their withdrawal when France's latest commissioner, Gabriel Hédouville, arrived in March 1798, with orders to undermine his authority.[93]

On 30 April 1798, Louverture signed a treaty with the British general, Thomas Maitland, exchanging the withdrawal of British troops from western Saint-Domingue for an amnesty for the French counter-revolutionaries in those areas. In May, Port-au-Prince was returned to French rule in an atmosphere of order and celebration.[94]

In July, Louverture and Rigaud met commissioner Hédouville together. Hoping to create a rivalry that would diminish Louverture's power, Hédouville displayed a strong preference for Rigaud, and an aversion to Louverture.[95] However, General Maitland was also playing on French rivalries and evaded Hédouville's authority to deal with Louverture directly.[96] In August, Louverture and Maitland signed treaties for the evacuation of the remaining British troops. On 31 August, they signed a secret treaty which lifted the British blockade on Saint-Domingue in exchange for a promise that Louverture would not export the black revolution to the British colony of Jamaica, which also used slaves to produce sugar.[97]

As Louverture's relationship with Hédouville reached the breaking point, an uprising began among the troops of his adopted nephew, Hyacinthe Moïse. Attempts by Hédouville to manage the situation made matters worse and Louverture declined to help him. As the rebellion grew to a full-scale insurrection, Hédouville prepared to leave the island, while Louverture and Dessalines threatened to arrest him as a troublemaker.[98] Hédouville sailed for France in October 1798, nominally transferring his authority to Rigaud. Louverture decided instead to work with Phillipe Roume, a member of the third commission who had been posted to the Spanish parts of the colony.[99] Though Louverture continued to protest his loyalty to the French government, he had expelled a second government representative from the territory and was about to negotiate another autonomous agreement with one of France's enemies.[100]

The United States had suspended trade with France in 1798 because of increasing conflict over piracy. The two countries were almost at war, but trade between Saint-Domingue and the United States was desirable to both Louverture and the United States. With Hédouville gone, Louverture sent Joseph Bunel to negotiate with the government of John Adams. The terms of the treaty were similar to those already established with the British, but Louverture continually resisted suggestions from either power that he should declare independence.[101] As long as France maintained the abolition of slavery, he appeared to be content to have the colony remain French, at least in name.[102]

In 1799, the tensions between Louverture and André Rigaud came to a head. Louverture accused Rigaud of trying to assassinate him to gain power over Saint-Domingue for himself. Rigaud claimed Louverture was conspiring with the British to restore slavery.[103] The conflict was complicated by racial overtones which escalated tension between blacks and mulattoes.[104] Louverture had other political reasons for bringing down Rigaud. Only by controlling every port could he hope to prevent a landing of French troops if necessary.[105]

After Rigaud sent troops to seize the border towns of Petit-Goave and Grand-Goave in June 1799, Louverture persuaded Roume to declare Rigaud a traitor and attacked the southern state.[106] The resulting civil war, known as the War of Knives, lasted over a year, with the defeated Rigaud fleeing to Guadeloupe, then France, in August 1800.[107] Louverture delegated most of the campaign to his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who became infamous, during and after the war, for massacring mulatto captives and civilians.[108] The number of deaths is contested: the contemporary French general François Joseph Pamphile de Lacroix suggested 10,000 deaths, while the 20th-century Trinidadian historian C.L.R. James later claimed there were only a few hundred deaths in contravention of the amnesty.[109]

In November 1799, during the civil war, Napoleon Bonaparte gained power in France and passed a new constitution declaring that the colonies would be subject to special laws.[110] Although the colonies suspected this meant the re-introduction of slavery, Napoleon began by confirming Louverture's position and promising to maintain abolition.[111] But he also forbade Louverture to invade Spanish Santo Domingo, an action that would put Louverture in a powerful defensive position.[112] Louverture was determined to proceed anyway and coerced Roume into supplying the necessary permission.[113]

In January 1801, Louverture and Hyacinthe Moïse invaded the Spanish territory, taking possession from the Governor, Don Garcia, with few difficulties. The area had been less developed and less densely populated than the French section. Louverture brought it under French law, which abolished slavery, and embarked on a program of modernization. He was now master of the whole island.[114]

An early engraving of Louverture

Napoleon had informed the inhabitants of Saint-Domingue that France would draw up a new constitution for its colonies, in which they would be subjected to special laws.[115] Despite his initial protestations to the contrary, the former slaves feared that he might restore slavery. In March 1801, Louverture appointed a constitutional assembly, composed chiefly of white planters, to draft a constitution for Saint-Domingue. He promulgated the Constitution on 7 July 1801, officially establishing his authority over the entire island of Hispaniola. It made him Governor-General for Life with near absolute powers and the possibility of choosing his successor. However, Louverture was not to explicitly declare Saint-Domingue's independence, acknowledging in Article 1 that it was a single colony of the French Empire.[116] Article 3 of the constitution states: "There cannot exist slaves [in Saint-Domingue], servitude is therein forever abolished. All men are born, live and die free and French."[117] The constitution guaranteed equal opportunity and equal treatment under the law for all races, but also confirmed Louverture's policies of forced labour and the importation of workers through the slave trade.[118] Louverture was not willing to compromise Catholicism for Vodou, the dominant faith among former slaves. Article 6 states that "the Catholic, Apostolic, Roman faith shall be the only publicly professed faith."[119]

Louverture charged Colonel Vincent with the task of presenting the new constitution to Napoleon, although Vincent was horrified to learn that the general had gone so far. Several aspects of the constitution were damaging to France: the absence of provision for French government officials, the lack of advantages to France in trade with its own colony, and Louverture's breach of protocol in publishing the constitution before submitting it to the French government. Despite his disapproval, Vincent attempted to submit the constitution to Napoleon in a positive light, but was briefly exiled to Elba for his pains.[120]

Louverture identified as a Frenchman and strove to convince Bonaparte of his loyalty. He wrote to Napoleon but received no reply.[121] Napoleon eventually decided to send an expedition of 20,000 men to Saint-Domingue to restore French authority, and possibly to restore slavery as well.[122] Given the Treaty of Amiens (March 1802-May 1803) with Great Britain, Napoleon was suddenly able to plan this operation without the risk of interception by the Royal Navy.

Napoleon's troops, under the command of his brother-in-law, General Charles Emmanuel Leclerc, were directed to seize control of the island by diplomatic means, proclaiming peaceful intentions, and keep secret his orders to deport all black officers.[123] Meanwhile, Louverture was preparing for defence and ensuring discipline. This may have contributed to a rebellion against forced labor led by his nephew and top general, Moïse, in October 1801. Because the activism was violently repressed, when the French ships arrived, not all of Saint-Domingue was automatically on Louverture's side.[124] In late January 1802, while Leclerc sought permission to land at Cap-Français and Christophe held him off, the Vicomte de Rochambeau suddenly attacked Fort-Liberté, effectively quashing the diplomatic option.[125]

Louverture's plan in case of war was to burn the coastal cities and as much of the plains as possible, retreat with his troops into the inaccessible mountains, and wait for yellow fever, which flourished on a seasonal basis, to decimate the European troops.[126] The biggest impediment to this plan proved to be difficulty in internal communications. Christophe burned Cap-Français and retreated, but Paul Louverture was tricked by a false letter into allowing the French to occupy Santo Domingo; other officers believed Napoleon's diplomatic proclamation, while some attempted resistance instead of burning and retreating.[127] French reports to Napoleon show that in the months of fighting that followed, the French felt their position was weak, but that Louverture and his generals did not fully realize their strength.[128]

With both sides shocked by the violence of the initial fighting, Leclerc tried belatedly to revert to the diplomatic solution. Louverture's sons and their tutor had been sent from France to accompany the expedition with this end in mind and were now sent to present Napoleon's proclamation to Louverture.[129] When these talks broke down, months of inconclusive fighting followed. On 6 May 1802, Louverture rode into Cap-Français to treat with Leclerc. He negotiated an amnesty for all his remaining generals, then retired with full honors to his plantations at Ennery.[130]

Anne Whitney, Toussaint L'Ouverture, 1870

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was at least partially responsible for Louverture's arrest, as asserted by several authors, including Louverture's son Isaac. On 22 May 1802, after Dessalines learned that Louverture had failed to instruct a local rebel leader to lay down his arms per the recent ceasefire agreement, he immediately wrote to Leclerc to denounce Louverture's conduct as "extraordinary." For this action, Dessalines and his spouse received gifts from Jean Baptiste Brunet.[131]

Leclerc originally asked Dessalines to arrest Louverture, but he declined. Jean Baptiste Brunet was ordered to do so, but accounts differ as to how he accomplished this. One version said that Brunet pretended that he planned to settle in Saint-Domingue and was asking Louverture's advice about plantation management. Louverture's memoirs, however, suggest that Brunet's troops had been provocative, leading Louverture to seek a discussion with him. Either way, Louverture had a letter, in which Brunet described himself as a "sincere friend", to take with him to France. Embarrassed about his trickery, Brunet absented himself during the arrest.[132] Brunet deported Louverture and his aides to France on the frigate Créole and the 74-gun Héros, claiming that he suspected the former leader of plotting an uprising. Boarding Créole, Toussaint Louverture warned his captors that the rebels would not repeat his mistake:[133]

In overthrowing me you have cut down in Saint Domingue only the trunk of the tree of liberty; it will spring up again from the roots, for they are numerous and they are deep.[134]

The ships reached France on 2 July 1802 and, on 25 August, Louverture was sent to the jail in Fort-de-Joux in Doubs. While in prison, he died on 7 April 1803. Suggested causes of death include exhaustion, malnutrition, apoplexy, pneumonia, and possibly tuberculosis.[135][136] In his absence, Jean-Jacques Dessalines led the Haitian rebellion until its completion, finally defeating the French forces in 1803, after they were decimated by yellow fever; two-thirds of the men had died when Napoleon withdrew his forces.

John Brown claimed influence by Louverture in his plans to invade Harpers Ferry. Brown and his band captured citizens, and for a small time the federal armory and arsenal there. Brown's goal was that the local slave population would join the raid, but they did not. Brown was eventually captured and put on trial, and was hanged on 2 December 1859. Brown and his band showed devotion to the violent tactics of the Haitian Revolution. During the 19th century African Americans referred to Louverture as an example of how to reach freedom. Also during the 19th century, British writers focused on Louverture's domestic life and ignored his militancy to show him as an unthreatening rebel slave.[140]