When was toussaint louverture born

Toussaint louverture timeline

Who was Toussaint Louverture? How did this former slave come to lead the forces of the Haitian Revolution? How did his combination of military success and diplomatic skill help steer the colony to independence? And why did he die alone in a prison cell? Learn about the Haitian Revolution 's greatest leader and his accomplishments and impacts in this article.

Toussaint Louverture's biography is an interesting one that traces his rise from a slave to the leader of an autonomous colony, achieving practical Haitian independence. However, the biography of Toussaint Louverture ultimately ends in betrayal when his former French allies turned on him.

Toussaint louverture early life

Records of his birthdate are unclear but historians agree it was either in May or His last name was that of the plantation he was born on, a common practice for slaves in Haiti and the Atlantic World at the time. Haiti was at this time a French colony known by the name Saint-Domingue. Sugar and coffee plantations had made the island colony enormously valuable to the French, in fact, the most valuable colony in the Atlantic World.

The plantation system also caused the mass importation of African slaves. Work and slavery on the plantations were especially brutal for the enslaved people. The young slave could speak three languages: Creole, French, and Latin. His father also educated him in traditional African healing practices. Soon, he would become the leader of the most successful slave rebellion in history, leading the Haitian Revolution and helping establish the second independent state in the Atlantic World.

Behind Brazil, it had the largest slave population of any colony in the Atlantic World.