BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : HAITIAN BLACK REVOLUTIONARY FRANCOIS-DOMINIQUE TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, also Toussaint Bréda, Toussaint-Louverture, or Toussaint L'ouverture 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803, was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free, self-governing people. The success of the Haitian Revolution shook the institution of slavery throughout the New World.
Toussaint Louverture began his military career as a leader of the 1791 slave rebellion in the French colony of Saint Domingue. Initially allied with the Spaniards of neighboring Santo Domingo, Toussaint switched allegiance to the French when they abolished slavery. He gradually established control over the whole island, expelled British invaders and used political and military tactics to gain dominance over his rivals. Throughout his years in power, he worked to improve the economy and security of Saint Domingue. He restored the plantation system using paid labour, negotiated trade treaties with Britain and the United States and maintained a large and well-disciplined army.
In 1801 he promulgated an autonomist constitution for the colony, with himself as governor for life. In 1802 he was forced to resign by forces sent by Napoleon Bonaparte to restore French authority in the former colony. He was deported to France, where he died in 1803. The Haitian Revolution continued under his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared independence in 1804.

BLACK   SOCIAL   HISTORY

General Toussaint Louverture, pictured here on a Haitian banknote.

The earliest records of Toussaint Louverture's life come from a small number of his recorded remarks and the reminiscences of his son Isaac Louverture. Most histories identify Toussaint's father as Gaou Guinou, a younger son of the king of Arrada in modern-day Benin, who had been captured in war and sold into slavery. His mother Pauline was Gaou Guinou's second wife. The couple had several children and Toussaint was the eldest son. Other historians believe that his father was Pierre Baptiste, who is usually considered to have been his godfather.
Toussaint is thought to have been born on the plantation of Bréda at Haut de Cap in Saint-Domingue, which was owned by the Comte de Noé and later managed by Bayon de Libertat. His date of birth is uncertain, but his name suggests he was born on All Saints Day and was probably about 50 at the start of the revolution in 1791. In childhood, he earned the nickname Fatras Baton, suggesting he was small and weak, though he was to become known for his stamina and riding prowess. An alternative explanation of Toussaint's origins is that he arrived at Bréda with Bayon de Libertat when the new overseer took up his duties in 1772.

Toussaint is believed to have been well educated by his godfather, Pierre Baptiste. Historians have speculated as to Toussaint's intellectual background. His extant letters demonstrate a command of French in addition to Creole patois; he was familiar with Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher who had also lived as a slave; and his public speeches as well as his life's work, according to his biographers, evidence a familiarity with Machiavelli. Some cite Abbé Raynal, who wrote against slavery, as a possible influence:
He may also have attained some education from Jesuit missionaries. His medical knowledge is attributed to familiarity with African herbal-medical techniques as well those techniques commonly found in Jesuit-administered hospitals. A few legal documents signed on Toussaint's behalf between 1778 and 1781 raise the possibility that he could not write at that time. Throughout his military and political career, he made use of secretaries for most of his correspondence, but a few surviving documents in his own hand confirm that he could write, though his spelling in the French language was "strictly phonetic", as is the spelling of Haitian Creole (Kreyol)

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

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

Until recently, historians believed that Toussaint had been a slave until the start of the revolution.^[19] The discovery of a marriage certificate dated 1777 shows that he was actually freed in 1776 at the age of 33, and this retrospectively clarified a letter of 1797 in which he said he had been free for twenty years. It seems he still maintained an important role on the Breda plantation until the outbreak of the revolution, presumably as a salaried employee. He had initially been responsible for the livestock, but by 1791, his responsibilities most likely included acting as coachman to the overseer, de Libertat, and as a driver, charged with organising the work force.
As a free man, Toussaint began to accumulate wealth and property of his own. Surviving legal documents show him briefly renting a small coffee plantation worked by a dozen slaves. 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 at Ennery.

Throughout his life, Toussaint was known as a devout Catholic. Although Vodou was generally practiced on Saint-Domingue in combination with Catholicism, little is known for certain of Toussaint's connection with it, except that, as effective ruler of Saint-Domingue, his official policy was to discourage it.
It has been 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.