THE MAIN LEADERS OF THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION

DUTTY BOUKMAN

Dutty Boukman was born in the region of Senegambia (present-day Senegal and
Gambia), where he was a Muslim cleric.

He was captured in Senegambia, and transported as a slave to the Caribbean, first to the island of Jamaica,
then Saint-Domingue, and then Haiti, where he became a Haitian Vodou houngan priest. After he attempted to
teach other slaves how to read, he was sold to a French plantation owner and placed as a commander (slave
driver) and, later, a coach driver. His French name came from his English nickname, "Book Man," which some
scholars have interpreted as having Islamic origins, since in many Muslim regions the term "man of the book" is
a synonym for an adherent of the Islamic faith. According to historians Sylviane Anna Diouf and Sylviane
Kamara, Boukman "was a Jamaican Muslim who had a Quran, and that he got his nickname from this." Laurent
Dubois argues that Boukman

JEAN-JACQUES DESSALINES

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a military leader who worked with Toussaint L'Ouverture
and gave the country of Haiti its name.
Born around 1758, in Africa, Jean-Jacques Dessalines was enslaved in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. He served as a lieutenant under
Toussaint L'Ouverture after the 1791 slave revolt and later eliminated French rule. Dessalines renamed the colony Haiti in 1804 and declared himself
emperor. Despised for his brutality, yet honored as one of Haiti’s founding fathers, he was killed in a revolt on October 17, 1806, in Pont Rouge, near
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 

In 1791, a slave rebellion broke out in Sant-Domingue and Dessalines was able to escape the plantation and join rising rebel leader Toussaint
L'Ouverture. Though illiterate, Dessalines was a quick study, positioning himself as L’Ouverture’s lieutenant and earning the nickname “the Tiger”
for his ferocity in battle. Initially, their fight was to free all slaves on the island, but over time the goal would become independence.

In 1793, the French Republic declared an end to slavery in France and all colonies and soon after L’Ouverture and Dessalines switched their
allegiance to the French against the Spanish and British. Over the next ten years Dessalines’ skill and leadership proved vital to L’Ouverture’s
success in capturing the Spanish-controlled eastern half of the island. By 1799, Dessalines had risen to the rank of brigadier general.

With Europe temporarily distracted due to the rise of Napoleon, the slave rebellion turned into a civil war and L’Ouverture and Dessalines fought for
control of the island, crushing rivals and slave owners alike. By 1801, L’Ouverture was serving as governor-general of Haiti and Dessalines was
second in command. Many whites and mulattos in Santa Dominque had lobbied France to reestablish slavery and the Napoleon sent a force to restore
French rule on the island. L’Ouverture and Dessalines repelled the invading forces in the battle of Crête-à-Pierrot.

After the battle, Dessalines became disenchanted with L’Ouverture’ leadership and briefly sided with the French, possibly causing L’Overture’s
capture and arrest in 1802. When it became clear that the French intended to reinstate slavery, Dessalines switched sides again and commanded rebel
forces against the French. In a series of victories, Dessalines’ coalition of blacks and mulattos were successful in forcing the French to surrender and
leave the island. In 1804, Dessalines proclaimed independence and in 1805 declared himself emperor. Haiti became the first black independent
republic in the world

JORGE BIASSOU

When Jorge Biassou (1741-1801) arrived in St. Augustine in 1796, he was already a legend in his
own time. He was the fieriest leader in the Haitian slave revolt against the French. He became a decorated
Spanish general, yet did not speak Spanish and was virtually banned from Hispaniola and Havana. He was
Florida's only black caudillo (a militant political leader), and came with his own Haitian entourage. He flaunted
pagan religious practices, but was buried with full Catholic honors. A hero, a family man, a threat, and a
spectacle; this ex-slave demanded respect.

Biassou proved to be that unique blend of dynamo and diplomat. He and Francois wrote multiple offers to end
the slave revolt in exchange for the basic human rights promoted by the French Revolution. Mainland France
dismissed those peace offers from Hispaniola; they were too busy declaring war on Spain. Since Spain shared
Hispaniola with France, the war found its way to the island. There, Spanish Governor Garcia recruited the
rebel slaves. For their assault on the French, the slaves were given weapons, supplies, salaries, and Spanish
citizenship. Francois, Biassou, and his aid Toussaint L'Ouverture received gold medals and letters of thanks
and confidence from the Spanish government. At that point in 1793, "Georges" became "Jorge" Biassou, a
free, French-speaking, Spanish general of his freed rebels, the Black Auxiliaries of Carlos IV.

FRANCOIS TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE

. Toussaint L’ Ouverture – born in St. Domingue in 1743, was a domestic slave who have steward of all the
livestock on his master’s estate- a position usually given to a white man. He had some medical knowledge and
was able to read.

He eventually established control of the island, using military and economic tactics to gain power and
improve the livelihood of the majority of people. François Toussaint Louverture was a former Haitian slave
who led the only successful slave revolt in modern history. Standing steadfastly, he fought to end slavery and
gain Haiti’s independence from European powers, France and Spain. Forming an army of former slaves and
deserters from the French and Spanish armies, he trained his followers in guerrilla warfare and successfully
ended slavery in Hispaniola by 1795.

Though he didn’t live to see it, Francois Toussaint’s actions set in motion a series of global events that changed
the geography of the western hemisphere and spelled the beginning of the end for European colonial domination
in the Americas. Frustrated by a rebellion he couldn’t control in Hispaniola, Napoleon Bonaparte decided not to
expand his empire into North America and sold the Louisiana territory to the United States in 1803. This paved
the way for western expansion throughout the 19th century. Toussaint’s actions also inspired revolutions in
several Latin American countries over the next 100 years and American abolitionists, both black and white, to
fight for an end to slavery.