Toussaint Louverture: The Haitian Revolution

Toussaint Louverture was one of the leaders of the first successful slave revolt on a large

scale. He was born into slavery, and he spent over fifteen years fighting for freedom and equality. He helped spur into motion the slave revolt which led Haiti to be the free state it is today. Louverture stepped forward to guide Haiti through a brutal revolution fighting one of the strongest militaries in history. In turn, he became the first black head of state in Haiti. He was a strong leader on the battlefield as well as in governmental issues. His goals were to abolish slavery in what was then known as Hispaniola and to establish equality for the people of his land. Louverture was successful in getting rid of slavery in Haiti, but he was not

the person to establish equality in his short lifetime.
After fighting off thousands of French troops and declaring The Colonoy of Saint
Domingue separate from the French, Toussaint Louverture became the leader of what is now Haiti. Because of the economic strain of revolting, the country was basically in shambles. Louverture realized that the only way to keep the economy and government from failing was to have dictator-like laws. He set these laws in place in order to build and keep order in the budding nation. All were forced to work but weren't whipped or beaten anymore. This symbolized the end of slavery in the country. Even though working conditions were poor at best and the management was harsh, there was no more legal harm of the workers. All were free in the colony for the first time. All were given salaries from the plantations on which they worked which was another sign of the end of slavery. These tight restrictions caused growth in the struggling economy. Even though the nation’s wealth was improving, small rebellions occurred due to the working conditions being similar to those of slavery. The ideas of Louverture differed most greatly, from the other leaders of the island, in that he believed that whites should not be killed. He thought the plantation and shop owners had useful skills and could help the country rebuild. Most black leaders thought all whites deserved to die because they had oppressed the blacks for so long. At this point, being the head of all of Saint Domingue, Louverture let power go to his head. Napoleon told him that he was forbidden from fighting the Spanish in the east of Hispaniola. Louverture refused and fought the Spanish off the island due to their continual ownership of slaves. He began to worry that Napoleon would come back to re establish slavery.
Toussaint Louverture composed a constitution for the island which was, in some parts,
inspired by The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen paired with the Declaration of Independence. It spoke of equality and stated that no form of slavery would ever be lawful on the island again. This was one of the parts that was working in the direction of a free, equal country. Louverture made himself the “Governor for life” of Hispaniola. Louverture was a strict Christian on an island where the major religion of his people was Voodoo. He also banned Voodoo from being practiced in any public place. These were just two of the pieces that suggested towards Toussaint Louverture becoming an oppressive dictatorship in what some suggested to be a jingoistic state. Those people thought his killing of Spaniards on the island was too harsh and said he was too militaristic. However, most blacks on the island believed he was not harsh enough with the Spaniards and the whites who had resided on the island. Many were beginning to dislike the leadership of Louverture.
At this point, Toussaint Louverture had succeeded in his initial goal of abolishing slavery
on the island of Hispaniola. No people on the island were enslaved, and beating of workers was illegal. The symbol of white oppression, the whip, had been silenced and banned from plantations. People on the island were all considered free in the eyes of the government, which was a first for many. Salaries were received for the long days of farming. Despite all of these new things, most people were not much better off than they were before the revolution and rule of Louverture. Living and working conditions were very low, similar to what was seen before the revolt. The laws put in place on the island were very strict, and the country was ruled by what was basically a dictator. The island was in a state of semi slavery of the masses even though they were considered free.
As Louverture feared, Napoleon came back to the island. He was met with strong forces
from the Haitian army.

However, after a few months, much of Haiti was destroyed. Louverture was forced to sign a peace treaty which caused him to be put under house arrest. Napoleon devised a trap for Toussaint that resulted in his capture. Louverture was taken to prison in France where he was tortured for months while sending multiple letters to Napoleon asking for fair trial. He died in prison after a very long period of being tortured and no trial. Napoleon figured Haiti was a waste of his time at that point, and he allowed it to be its own sovereign state. The new Haitian government started its rule by massacring every white on the island of Hispaniola. The country helped show other Latin American colonies that they could successfully revolt. The state of semi dictatorship and semi slavery, seen during Louverture’s reign, reappeared in Haiti. The government shared similar views as Louverture except for what to do with the white oppressors. Even though Toussaint Louverture fought for over a decade to create a free black country, he was only a piece in the puzzle that made what Haiti is today.

It is clear that Toussaint Louverture, in his military strategy, as well as his skill

in
negotiations, was one of the largest reasons that slavery was abolished in Haiti.

But the question still remains: Did he achieve equality for the people of Haiti? He set out to establish equal rights, through force or otherwise, and took control of the country. When Hispaniola was under his control, all people were dubbed “free citizens”, but everyone who worked hard did not have a chance to move up in society. There were technically “equal rights” because everyone who was not a government official or a plantation operator was treated equally poorly. Louverture had luxury found by no others in the country, and his trusted advisors and officials lived lavishly as well. The people of his country lived the same way they always had with little wage to show for it. The government was condoning and enforcing what was almost the same as a type of slavery. Thus, there was not equality on the island at the

time.
Equality in Haiti was non existent under Louverture’s rule because he didn't have much
time to establish any sort of equality. The temporary government wasn't equal. The country had to choose between equality and a stable economy and government. Toussaint Louverture made that choice for them. He believed that, if the country was to survive, they would need a government like that until they were stable enough. Famine could have swept the country due to unequal distribution of resources. They could have been taken over by other countries that wanted their natural resources. This meant it was necessary, at least at that time for Haiti to have a strong military. All of this would almost definitely have changed after ten or twenty years one the economy began to flourish.
After Louverture was killed, the whites of Hispaniola followed. Louverture believed
whites were useful throughout his time and the Governor for life of the country. He negotiated for their lives on numerous occasions, and put their knowledge to good use. Many did not agree with him. This was because of the horrible oppression coming from whites to blacks for hundreds of years. Most blacks on the island believed all whites deserved to die. When they killed every white on the island after Louverture’s death, they made sure that racial equality between whites and blacks would be unachievable in the country. Haiti continued with the dictator-like rule for decades after the massacre of whites and Louverture's death.
Through vigorous effort, slavery was abolished in Haiti by Toussaint Louverture and his
army. Hundreds of years of oppression were ended, and a new chapter began for Haiti. Unfortunately, this chapter was riddled with blood and very similar oppression of its people. Toussaint Louverture fought, and gave his life, for his country. Nevertheless, he failed to see his final goal reached his his short lifetime of 59 years. He pushed the country forward with a strong fist and well educated mind. His time in power is to be remembered, sadly, with oppression and inequality. He never saw his ultimate goal of reaching duality for Haitians achieved. Toussaint Louverture was successful in freeing the slaves of Hispaniola, but he was unsuccessful in establishing equality for the country he loved most.