Toussaint Louverture

Toussaint Louverture 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. In 1782, Toussaint married Suzanne Simone Baptiste Louverture 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. Toussaint L'Ouverture was the guiding light of the revolution. He was a military genius and adept and playing the great powers off against each other.
Toussaint l'ouverture's greatest strengths were that he was an educated (mostly self-taught) man and that he was a great strategist and delegator. He was able to appoint men like Cristophe and Breda who were very able generals. He was also lucky that his rebellion occurred at the right time - during the French revolution when ideas about liberty, fraternity and equality were being formulated. He used these ideas to show France that unless ALL men are free, not just the free-born, then equality is just another form of tyranny.

He cleverly used Spanish / French rivalries on the island to his own ends, and was able to unite the maroons with the slave, mixed-race and some free black population of the island against the French. Cunningly he used the British - in nearby Jamaica against the French, although this did not stop a Royal Naval blockade of all the