History SBA

Toussaint Louverture

Name: Kaiya Clarke

Form: 4-5
Subject: History
Teacher: Mrs. Reece
 TABLES OF CONTENT
Page
Introduction 1
Chapter One 3
Chapter Two 6
Conclusion 9
Bibliography 10
Research Question: How successful Toussaint Louverture as
a leader between 1792 and 1802 in San Domingue?

Rationale

The write has chosen to research the topic, How successful

was Toussaint Louverture as a leader between 1792 and
1802 in San Domingue?

It is important to study the leadership of Toussaint

Louverture because he led the blacks to freedom and he
inspired the black people to fight for equality in the society
and he encouraged them to fight for their freedom.
Introduction
In San Domingue the coloureds wanted equality with the
whites politically and socially and the slaves just wanted
their freedom. Each class selfishly pursued its own ends and
resisted gains by other classes. The and coloured tended to
combine to resist freedom for the slaves. In the colonies
nobody wanted to help the blacks l. There was help for the
blacks which came from a group called ‘Société des Amis
des Noirs’. Both the whites and coloureds combined with
the blacks only when they thought that the added strength
of the blacks would save them. The whites united as soon as
the slaves revolted and stayed united in 1790 to pit down a
rising among the coloureds who were demanding equal
political rights.
The number of slaves in St. Domingue was due to the rapid
expansion of the economy, especially the sugar industry. In
1789, San Domingue the economy was based on the
producing of nearly 9000 tons of sugar per year from 800
plantations. Cotton, coffee and indigo plantations employed
thousands of slaves.
The revolution started by the free coloureds because they
wanted equality with the whites.
1
Toussaint Louverture was born into slavery on May 20th
1743 in the French colony of Saint Domingue. He was the
eldest son of Gaou Gunion, an African prince who was
captured by slaves and who was also a coachman on the
plantation of a Mansieur Bréda in the north of St.
Domingue. He managed to have Toussaint educated in
French, Latin And Mathematics by his godfather. He wanted
emancipation more than anything and he was prepared to
fight France to secure freedom for slaves. He won friendship
and support of the Vice President of the United States in
1795 and President in 1797 and through that he got 30,000
guns for his black force in St. Domingue. As he distributed
the guns, he told his black forces ‘The gun is your liberty’.
They know they had to win or become slaves again. During
the revolution, he agreed to cease-fire in France, where
they captured and imprisoned him. Shortly after, he died in
1803.

2
 Chapter One
Freedom of the Enslaved
In order to liberate the enslaved, Toussaint used several
strategies. He joined the Spanish And French armies, trained
his army, received assistance from the United States and
defeated the British and free coloureds.
In 1792 France declared war on Spain and Toussaint joined
the Spanish forces as a mercenary because he thought that
the French would preserve slavery. The Spanish allowed him
to command his own force of 4000 blacks. The Convection
government in Paris abolished slavery in 1794. Toussaint
felt that he had to join the French republican forces in the
west. He fought his way out of the Spanish army. By 1795
he was command of 20,000 black soldiers in the north of St.
Domingue, fighting against the British for freedom from
slavery. Toussaint’s army was formidable because it was not
just the black rabble that had been roaming the north
before, but a well- disciplined, well-armed force. Toussaint
was known abroad and he won the friendship and support
of John Adams, the Vice President in United States in 1795
and President in 1797. Through Adams, Toussaint imported
30,000 guns for the black forces in St. Domingue.
3
As he distributed the guns he told his black force, “The gun
is your liberty”. They knew that they have to win or they
would become slaves again. Toussaint soon became the real
leader of the French forces. By 1798 the British were in
desperate position, as a result of disease and Toussaint’s
attacks. The commander was forced to make an armistice
with Toussaint. The British would withdraw from St.
Domingue, if Toussaint would agree to protect the French
inhabitants, refrain from attaching British trade from trying
to spread revolution to Jamaica. Toussaint himself kept the
terms honourably. By 1798 the British, who had lost 40,000
men from fighting and disease in a five year campaign in St.
Domingue. After the British evacuated St. Domingue,
Toussaint turned against the coloureds and French in the
west and south. Then the blacks turned on the coloureds an
mutilated and murder thousands in 1799 and 1800. In 1799
the government in France, powerless to do anything about
it, accepted that Toussaint was in control of St. Domingue
and appointed him Governor- General. Toussaint’s followers
called him ‘L’ Overture because he had ‘opened’ the door to
freedom. He assumed his name in 1793 and later dropped
the apostrophe and in 1800 Toussaint stopped the
widespread slaughter.
4
He wanted stability and economic recovery for St.
Domingue and he even managed to persuade some exiled
whites to return and resume planting. Unfortunately, his
only answer to the labour problem on the estates was force
labour. However there was a slight economic revival
between 1800 and 1802.

5
 Chapter Two
Building San Domingue Politically and Economically
The defeat of the British left the white planters with no
political support inside or outside Saint Domingue.
Toussaint’s next concern was to deal with the threat of
Rigaud ( his recent ally and leader of the mulatto armies)
who was conspiring against him. Rigaud had gone so far as
to re-introduce slavery on abandoned plantation and was to
protect the freedom of slaves. By 1795 Toussaint was very
much master of Saint- Domingue ( for that was his original
title) could not content himself with military and political
victory. He was anxious to restore pre- revolutionary
prosperity to Saint- Domingue on the basis of free (non-
slave) labour. Toussaint associated political stability with
increased production, particularly in agriculture. A
prosperous economy in Toussaint’s view, would also
provide material base for the growth of the arts and
industry. The Liberator began the reconstruction pf towns
and dwellings, roads and canals, and encouraged the
theatre. Toussaint’s arganan policy did not envisage much
more than a return to the old order of large commercial
sugar and coffee plantations worked by a large, disciplined
labour force.
6
Legal freedom for the slaves did not fundamentally alter the
social positions of the ex- slave. Toussaint had taken over
abandon plantations and rented them. Half of the profits of
the rented plantations went to the state and reminder was
divided between workers and proprietors. Planters were
expected to work among their labourers and Toussaint also
invited white planters to work among their labourers. He
protected those who returned, though he made it
abundantly clear that he had no intention of restoring the
old system of slavery. Toussaint accepted the strategy of
production organized for the exports of sugar and coffee. To
facilitate that policy he signed trade agreements with Great
Britain and the United States. One of Toussaint’s first acts in
Santo Domingo was to abolish slavery. He opened up the
ports of Santo Domingo to international trade, and reduced
export and imports duties in order to encourage trade with
Britain and the United States. He also tried to revive
agriculture in the Spanish colony which had witnessed mass
emigration during the turbulent 1791-1801 period. In
particular, Toussaint urged the need to produce coffee,
sugar cacao for export, and discouraged subsistence
production. Toussaint now had the power and is the master
of the whole island of Hispaniola.
7
While he had not declared independence, the island was
under his control. In all Hispaniola slavery had been
abolished and trade agreements had been worked out with
Britain and the United States. The food production in both
Saint Domingue and Santo Domingo had begun to pick up
under the rigorous labour system introduced by Toussaint.
The white planters were encouraged to return to manage
their plantations, and Toussaint still continued to pledged
his loyalty to France.

8
Conclusion
Toussaint Louverture was successful because he declared
war on Spain and joined the Spanish forces as a mercenary
because he thought that the French would preserve slavery.
The Spanish allowed him to command his own force of 4000
blacks. Toussaint felt that he had to join the French
republican forces in the west. So he fought his way out of
the Spanish army, and by 1795 he was in command of
20,000 blacks soldiers in the north of St Domingue, fighting
against the British freedom from slavery. Toussaint won the
friendship and support of John Adams. Through Adams,
Toussaint imported 30,000 guns and as he distributed the
guns he told his black force, “The gun is your liberty”.
Toussaint was successful in the freedom of the blacks.
By 1795 Toussaint was very much master of Saint Domingue
but he could not content himself with military and political
victory. He was anxious to restore pre-revolutionary
prosperity to Saint Domingue on the basis of free (non-
slave) labour. Toussaint associated political stability with
increased production, particularly in agriculture. Toussaint
accepted the strategy of production organized for the
export of sugar and coffee.
9
To facilitate that policy he signed trade agreements with
Great Britain and the United States. On of Toussaint’s first
acts was to abolish slavery in Santo Domingo. He opened
ports of Santo Domingo to international trade, and reduced
export and imports duties in order to encourage trade with
Britain and the United States. Toussaint was also successful
in the reproduction and building of Santo Domingo on the
basis of free (non-slave) labour.

Bibliography
Section One - Caribbean Certificate
Emancipation to Emigration Book 2
Authors- Robert Greenwood and Shirley Hamber
Section Two - The Haitian Revolution and Its Effects
Author - Patrick Bryan

10