Louverture, Toussaint, 1743-1803
Dates
- Existence: 1743-05-20 - 1803-04-07
Parallel Names
- L'Ouverture, Toussaint, 1743-1803
- Louverture, François-Dominique Toussaint, 1743-1803
Biographical note
Toussaint Louverture was a Haitian general and prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. Louverture was born enslaved around 1743 on the plantation of Bréda in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). Louverture was given his freedom in 1776, and after the Haitian rebellion began in 1791, he left Bréda and joined the Spanish-allied military forces. Louverture became a leader in the rebellion, campaigned for the complete abolition of slavery and, in 1794, switched his allegiance to the French. He was promoted to Saint-Domingue’s highest-ranking officer in 1797. By 1801, Louverture had extended abolition to the whole island, and in 1802, established a constitution for the colony, instating himself as governor. Louverture was arrested and deported to France during Napoleon’s expedition to subdue the colony. He died in prison in 1803.
Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) Identifier
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Louverture, Toussaint. Letter to "Citizen Pascal in Paris" (#5034), 1799
Includes the original letter in French (box 21), and a transcription and a translation to English (box 13).
Collection open for research except for Series I, which is closed due to fragility. However, portions of the collection--including Series I-- are available digitally.