Friday, November 21, 2014

Toussiant Louverture; A Liberator of Slaves

A leader is a person who commands a group, organization, or even a country, however they are also much more than just that. A leader is someone who  is looked up to and acts as a role model , and sets examples for those that they lead. A good leader possess the qualities of moral leadership, and honesty, as well as compassion, commitment, and confidence. A leader can be anywhere from the president who has the job to command everyone in the country, to a parent or relative who’s job it is to be someone who can be looked up to as a role model, to set good examples for their loved ones. Toussaint Louverture is a historical figure who can also be thought of as a leader. Toussaint Louverture was born in the 1740’s , and was once a young slave of the large Caribbean island, Saint Domingue, now known as Haiti. After he had been freed from slavery, Toussaint Louverture lead the Haitian revolution with the goal of abolishing slavery.  He encouraged slaves of Saint Domingue to fight for their freedom, and his good leadership skills helped Saint Domingue into gaining their independence. Being a military commander, and the ruler of Saint Domingue are two aspects of Toussaint Louverture's legacy, however being remember as a liberator of slaves is the most important because without his leadership the slaves wouldn’t have been freed, and Saint Domingue may not have gained its independence.

The main aspect of Toussaint’s legacy that he should be remember him for was being a liberator of slaves. While Toussaint may have been switching back and forth between the two sides of the revolution, he always represented the side that supported the abolition of slavery. In the Timeline of Abolition in Saint Domingue is states that in 1791 Toussaint Louverture played the role as a doctor to the troops during the slave revolt as well as the commander of a small detachment of slave soldiers.( Document A) He was leading the slaves to fight for their freedom. However, the document also states that in 1794 the french government abolished slavery in France and all of its colonies, and because of this Toussaint and all the troops in which he was leading stopped their revolt and supported the french. ( Document A) Toussaint switched from revolting against the french, to supporting the french because they had now abolished slavery. Toussaint was doing whatever he could to lead the slaves to their freedom, and when Napoleon sent 21,000 soldiers to the island to reinstate slavery after the slaves had already been freed he had to stand up for what he believed was right. In Toussaint Louverture’s “Letter to the french Directory” he states, “Could men who have once enjoyed the benefits of liberty look on calmly while it is taken from them!...But today when they have left it, if they had a thousand lives they would sacrifice them all rather than to be subjected again to slavery.” (Document B) The people have already been freed, and they would do anything to prevent slavery from being restored to Saint Domingue. They won't just stand there watching their freedom that they just earned being taken right from them, and they are willing to fight to the death to prevent that. Another reason in which Toussaint Louverture should most importantly be remembered as a liberator of slaves is because he helped to write the Saint Domingue Constitution of 1801. Toussaint assembled and headed the commission that created this document that clearly stated the rights of the freed slaves. the constitution states, “There cannot exist slaves in this territory, servitude is therein forever abolished. All men are born, live and die free and french.” (Document C ) In this document Toussaint is making it clear that every man, whether they are freed slaves or not has equal rights and freedom. Because Toussaint did everything in his power to fight with the slaves of Saint Domingue to gain their independence, he really should be remembered as a liberator of slaves. While he was also a military commander, he cared more about freeing the slaves than he did actually fighting with the french, and his overall goal was to abolish slavery in Saint Domingue which is why being a liberator of slaves is the most important aspect of his life  that he should be remembered for.

Toussaint  Louverture may have be a leader of the slaves in fighting for their freedom, but he also held the leadership position of being a military commander. While it may not be the most significant and important part of his legacy it is also something that he should be remembered for. Toussaint had a large impact on the success of the Haitian revolution. In a Timeline of Abolition in Saint Domingue, it says that in 1792 as a military commander toussaint gained a reputation for running an orderly camp and for training his men in both guerrilla tactics and the European shoulder to shoulder style. ( Document A ) Toussaint was a well known intelligent military leader who prepared his men to use an ambush and surprise technique that would be unexpected by the opponent, as well as the tactic of their opponent so they would be prepared for anything.  One example of this guerilla style tactic which was unfamiliar to the french is in an excerpt from The black Man, His Antecedents, Genius, and His Achievements, when it states, “The French however [landed], but they found nothing but smoldering ruins, where once stood splendid cities. Toussaint and his generals at once abandoned the towns and betook themselves to the mountains, those citadels of freedom in st. Domingo where the blacks have always proved too much for the whites. ” ( Document F) Toussaint and his army had burned down the city, and retreated to the mountains causing the French army to follow so that when they arrived they could use the guerrilla style warfare, which was not at all expected by the French. Toussaint Louverture had great military skills and used them to benefit him and his army making him a very successful military leader. Toussaint was a strong leader who was also very tough for when his own nephew rebelled against him, he knew that he had to treat him as he would any other person. In an expert from Toussaint Louverture: A biography, it states, “ Toussaint ordered Moyse’s arrest and had him confined in the fort of Port De paix...Brought before a firing squad, Moyse himself gave the order to fire.” ( Document E ) Because the slaves were now freed and no longer could be owned to work the plantations, Toussaint had to force the former plantation slaves to do the labor, and when the Moyse who was the leader of the Northern department started a revolt against Toussaint and his new policies, Toussaint knew he had to do whatever needed to be done to stop the revolts. All of Toussaint great military achievements were all done in an attempt to gain the independence of saint Domingue as well as to keep the independence of the freed slaves that lived there, which is why he should be remembered as a military leader.

Lastly, Toussaint Louverture should be remembered as  a ruler of Saint Domingue, which was also a leadership position that he held. As well as being a way to show that he was a liberator of slaves, The Saint Domingue Constitution of 1801 that was signed by Toussaint, shows that he held an important position in the government of the nation. Title Viii: Of the Government, Article 28 states, “The constitution nominate citizen Toussaint-Louverture, Chief General of the army of Saint-Domingue and… he is entrusted the direction thereof for the remainder of his glorious life.” ( Document C) This is saying that until his death Toussaint shall be the ruler of Saint Domingue. As a ruler Toussaint tried his best to protect the rights of his citizens, and he also took risks to pursue what he believed was right for everyone. In Toussaint Louverture’s Proclamation, 25 November 1801, he proclaims, “Any individual… tending to incite sedition [actions against the authority of the nation]  shall be brought before a court martial [military court] and be punished in conformity with the law.” and, “Vagabond cultivators arrested… shall be taken to the commander of the quarter, who will have them sent to the gendarmerie [local police] on their plantation.”  (Document D) Throughout this proclamation Toussaint is trying to keep order to the nation and to do so he must enforce laws and punishments if  those laws are broken. He has the best interest for the greater population in mind, and he is willing to be unpopular and disliked as a leader and as a person to do what he feels is the right thing to do. Both the Constitution of 1801, and Louverture’s proclamation of 1801 are trying to get the same message across, they both have the same purpose, however, the constitution wasn't working and people werent following it so, Louverture felt as though he had to word it more strongly and harshly to get his point across better to the citizens that he was ruling. His proclamation was a more harsh way of saying what was being stated in the constitution. While Toussaint may have come across as a mean and harsh ruler, he was doing what he was for the benefit of Saint Domingue, and for the citizens of it. Toussaint Louverture should be remembered as a ruler because even though he may have not been well liked, he was trying to keep everything in order in saint Domingue and he tried his best to avoid violence.    

Toussaint Louverture possess many of the qualities that make up a great leader. He had moral leadership, toughness, determination, commitment and confidence, and he showed these values through his leadership positions as a liberator of slaves, a military commander, and the Ruler of saint Domingue. While Toussaint should be remembered as being a liberator of slaves and a military commander it is truly most important that we remember him as a liberator of slaves, for he led the slaves to fight and win their freedom, something that couldn't have been done without him, and is one of the most important parts of his impact on Saint Domingue.  




No comments:

Post a Comment