Toussaint Louverture: A Revolutionary Life

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Toussaint Louverture is commonly known as a revolutionary hero; he was the prominent leader of Haitian Revolution in 1791. His involvement in the revolution is of vast importance because it was the only successful slave revolt to date. “He was young, black and enslaved and was a nobody by the standards of the colony yet fifty eight years later he would be the governor of Saint Domingue” (Girard, 17). Philippe Girard depicts Louverture’s influential life in his book Toussaint Louverture: A Revolutionary Life. Philippe Girard reveals the revolutionary life of Toussaint Louverture. Girard gives insight to the only successful slave revolt in history. Many people believe he was a revolutionary hero, yet many are skeptical and question the pureness …show more content…
During this time the French revolution began as well. The whites in Saint Domingue were in panic because they were aware of the potential of the the numerous slaves and they did not know what would happen since Saint Domingue was the number one exporter of sugarcane. For a few years Louverture and the slaves stood by while whites and free people of color had fought their revolution. In 1791, Louverture was decided that the slaves were ready to act, this is when the slave revolt finally broke out. Louverture was the mastermind behind all of the small acts, but stood in the sidelines for a while. Louverture longed to be accepted by whites and it became apparent that he would not be looked at equally as his white peers so he mastered the art of writing and this is when he began to tell his own story. Louverture’s most daunting task was “to convince the slaves to rise up despite the real risk of death and defeat” (Girar, 109). The slaves recaptured the Spanish cities and continued to fight. Louverture became one of the highest ranking officer and once he proved his loyalty he pursued the Haitian Revolution shortly after. He decided to pursue the revolt and it was an advantage on his part. The slave revolt was so successful because it was “a carefully planned operation overseen by the elite of the slave population” of Saint Domingue (Girard, 109). The reason
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