“Her Liberty Born in Blood”: Haiti’s “Storm of Revolutionary Turbulence”

(F. Douglas)

Krishna Nautiyal Junior Essay Division

1

Although Haiti fought for freedom, she was not successful; she is still, to this day,

stuck in the serfdom set up by early revolutionaries after they struck down slavery. As

Frederick Douglas observed, Haitians “struck for the freedom of every black man in the

world,” and in this they were successful, but for their own turbulent insurrection, when

Haitians lost their “Black Napoleon,” they lost their “champion [of] liberty and equality

for all” (Egalite for All). Despite the tumult of political disorder and poverty of modern

Haiti, Haitians feel that they “have been resisting for 200 years and we will win”

(Rezistans).

Before the 1791 Haitian revolution, “Spanish Christians found in Haiti a million

of harmless men and

women [Taínos], and in

less than sixty years they

had murdered nearly all of

them. With…the slave

whip in their hands, they

lashed these innocent

natives to toil, death and

extinction. When these

pious souls had destroyed

the natives, they opened

the slave trade with Africa

as a merciful device”

King Louis XVI was inspired to write the Code Noir by slave conditions that began inhumanely and then got worse: “the slave ship, followed by hungry sharks, greedy to devour the dead and dying slaves flung overboard, ploughed in peace the South Atlantic, painting the sea with the Negro’s blood” (Douglas).

2

(Douglas). Because of the decimation of the Taínos, France’s King Louis XVI passed the

Code Noir, the Black Code, in 1865 to protect the fifteen million slaves taken out of

Africa, of which fourteen percent were brought to the French colonies to produce almost

half the world’s sugar and more than half the world’s coffee. Code Noir proclaimed that

masters could not: work the slaves to death or mutilate them; work slaves on Sundays and

Catholic holidays; sell slaves separately from their families; and “their freedom [was]

granted if their place of birth was in the islands…[with] the same rights, privileges and

immunities that are enjoyed by free persons” (“Le Code Noir”). Because of the distance

from France, Haiti’s slave owners did not follow the Code Noir.

Obviously, one of the causes of the Haitian revolution was the brutal disregard of

Code Noir to the point that in 1780 Guillaume Raynal, a French historian influenced by

the Enlightenment, published his prediction of the revolution and had to flee France to

avoid arrest. Haitian slaves were often given fifty lashes in fifteen minutes, and

runaways had their arms and legs cut off (“French Cruelties”), and this led to the 1789

failed rebellion in Martinique, because slaves believed the French had abolished slavery

in Europe through the French Revolution. After the July 14, 1789 storming of the

Bastille, Haiti’s slaves were inspired by the slogan, “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity”

that French peasants proclaimed in their own rebellion. In the same year, the passage of

the Rights of Man declaring natural rights to property, liberty, and life inspired the

French and Haitians to believe that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights”

(Lafayette).

The first Haitian revolution--- which failed---was led by the mulatto Vincent Ogé,

who had fought in the French Revolution. When the Blancs, French Whites, refused to

3

give equal rights to the gens de colour, free Haitians of color, Ogé and Jean-Baptiste

since Chavannes, another mulatto and veteran of the American Revolution, formed a

force of three hundred rebels. Since Chavannes had fought along side the seven hundred

Haitian mulatto

volunteers in the

Siege of Savannah,

Ogé knew he would

be able to purchase

weapons there for

their own uprising.

Ogé and

Chavannes’ force

was captured on the

Spanish side of

Hispaniola under the orders of French Governor-General Blanchelande and were

promised a guarantee of safety, but instead they were broken on the wheel---the first

martyrs of the Haitian Revolution.

After Ogé’s revolt, the Colonial Assembly in St. Domingue agreed to the Paris

Decree of May 15, which granted citizenship to all free Blacks. White planters objected

and violence erupted. Four hundred and fifty-two thousand hopeful slaves joined the

side of the free Blacks to fight for their rights. As Frederick Douglas later said, “the

freedom of Haiti was not given as a boon, but conquered as a right.” The rebellious

slaves gathered on August 14, 1791 in the mountains at Bois Caiman to perform voodoo

Inspired by the French Revolution, seven hundred free Haitian mulattos, known as Chasseurs Volontaires de Saint-Domingue, joined the American Revolution and bravely fought in the Siege of Savannah; they are honored by this statue (Our Heritage).

4

ceremonies and plan the revolution, led by Dutty Boukman. Boukman inspired them

with these words:

Listen to the voice of liberty that speaks in all our hearts. The Lord seeth what the blancs have done. The Good Lord hath ordained vengeance. He will give strength to our arms and courage to our hearts. Hearken unto Liberty that speaketh now in all your hearts. (Heinl 46)

Another voodoo priest, Aboudja says of voodoo and Haitian people, “the history of the

people of Haiti

has always been

the history of

resistance”

(Resistanz).

Although

early weapons

were rocks rolled

down mountains,

the Haitian rebels

still managed to

kill twenty-four thousand whites by the end of 1793. “The mulatto, Candy, had the eyes

of whites who’d fallen into his hands torn out with corkscrews, reddened by fire”

(Decourtilz). In retaliation, the whites fought back with “acts of barbarism more

atrocious than those committed by the most ferocious blacks” (Decourtilz). French

troops were told to “use…severity to inspire terror” (LeClerc). Léger-Félicité Sonthonax,

“If the revolution in Saint-Domningue [Haiti] was a roaring fire, then Boukman’s rebellion was the spark” (“The Boukman Rebellion”).

5

a lawyer who rose to power during the French Revolution and was a member of the

Society of the Friends of the Blacks, was the head commissioner sent to Haiti to calm the

insurrection. He officially freed all the slaves and instead of calming the situation, there

were now five warring factions: slaves, free persons of color, Blancs with British aid,

Spanish, and French troops.

To modern, educated Haitians, Toussaint L’Ouverture is their Moses: born a

slave, L’Ouverture was educated in France, and rose up in 1791 to lead his people to

freedom (Guerriem). Originally named Toussaint Bréda, his maroon soldiers gave him

the name “L’Ouverture,” meaning “a man who always found his opening” (Edgerton). In

the “Memoir of Toussaint L’Ouverture,” he said, “I have been a slave. I was once rich.

At the time of the revolution, I was worth six hundred and forty-eight thousand francs. I

spent it in the service of my country. I shed my blood for my country; I have sacrificed

everything for [Haiti].” Not only did Toussaint L’Ouverture refer to himself as an

inspiring Black Napoleon because of his military successes, but so did many others,

including American abolitionist Wendell Phillips, “I would call him Napoleon, but

Napoleon made his way to empire over broken oaths and through a sea of blood. This

man never broke his word. I would call him Washington, but the great Virginian held

slaves. This man risked his empire rather than permit the slave trade” (DuBois).

Although L’Ouverture had owned slaves before the revolution, he freed them and in the

new Constitution that he wrote, he declared that “there cannot exist slaves on this

territory, servitude is…abolished. All men are born, live and die free” (“Haitian

Constitution”).

6

In the American Revolution, the world celebrated when a small country (aided by

France, Spain, Haiti, and others) defeated a major world power. In the Haitian

Revolution, a small country of Blacks defeated France and its conveniently temporary

allies, Britain and Spain, with no outside help, because “the idea of an equal republic

[was] equally disturbing to the Spanish, the English, and the Americans” (Egalite for All).

The reason Haiti was able to do all of this was because of their “Black Napoleon” who

“championed liberty and equality for all” (Egalite for All).

Napoleon Bonaparte crushed resistance and reinstated slavery on the other French

islands of Martinique and Guadaloupe, and dispatched a force of 44,000 troops led by his

brother-in-law Charles LeClerc to crush Haitian resistance. Although the Haitians were

winning their rebellion, and only three thousand French troops survived, on May 5, 1802

Toussaint L’Ouverture surrendered when Napoleon promised not to reinstate slavery in

Haiti. After receiving “the word of honor of the general, [L’Ouverture] submitted

himself” to General Leclerc who also promised the protection of the French government

and that he could “retire to [his] home in perfect security” (“Memoir of Toussaint

L’Ouverture”). Two weeks later, Napoléon Bonaparte issued a decree re-establishing

slavery in Haiti, and Toussaint L’Ouverture declared, “in overthrowing me, you have cut

only the trunk of the liberty tree. It will spring up again from the roots, for they are

numerous and deep” (Rezistans). Afterwards, L’Ouverture “learned that LeClerc had his

wife and nieces arrested and “treated his family with great cruelty…and [his house] had

been pillaged and sacked” (“Memoir of Toussaint L’Ouverture”). In his memoir,

Toussaint L’Ouverture questioned why the French did not treat him honorably,

concluding “doubtless I owe this treatment to my color; but my color—has it hindered me

7

from serving my country with zeal and fidelity? Does the color of my skin impair my

honor and my bravery?” (“Memoir of Toussaint L’Ouverture”).

Even when held behind bars at Fort de Joux in the cold Jura mountains, Toussaint

L’Ouverture continued his resistance through his letter to Jean-Jacques Dessalines who

had taken command of the Haitian army. L’Ouverture advised Dessalines to stop the

French troops from advancing by “burn[ing] and annihilate[ing] everything in order that

those who have come to reduce us to slavery may have before their eyes the image of hell

which they deserve” (L’Ouverture). When LeClerc died of yellow fever, Napoleon

replaced him with a more vicious adversary, Viscount Rochambeau, who

brought in man-eating dogs. In a letter to Rochambeau, L’Ouverture declared (from

prison), “I would fight to the last to avenge the death of those brave soldiers, for my own

liberty, and to reestablish tranquility and order in the colony” (“Memoir of Toussaint

L’Ouverture”).

Although Britain was no longer allied with the French, their naval blockade of

Haiti helped the revolutionaries, and on November 18, 1803 Dessalines defeated

Rochambeau in the last battle of the Haitian Revolution. Jean-Jacques Dessalines

became the first leader of a free Black Haiti, but this is where the revolution failed.

Dessalines made himself Emperor Jacques I, and newly freed blacks effectively became

serfs with few rights, serving the elite mulattos. After the revolution, 90% of Haitians

were kept in forced agricultural labor, and marriage between upper and lower class blacks

was prohibited (“Dictatorial Proclamation”). It was further decreed that “all those who

cannot fulfill the conditions rigorously necessary…will be sent to the fields if they are

Creole, or sent away from the colony if they are foreigners” (“Dictatorial

8

Proclamation”). No whites could own land in Haiti, so ten thousand white refugees fled

to the United States. Emperor Jacques then “imported four thousand Negroes from

Africa” (Dubois).

Although the Haitian Revolution was not successful in truly freeing its people, it

inspired Britain’s William Wilberforce to help abolish slavery in 1807, and as American

abolitionist Frederick Douglas said, it “has taught the world the danger of slavery and the

value of liberty. In this respect she has been the greatest of all our modern teachers”

(“Lecture on Haiti”). Slaves who accompanied fleeing white masters to the United

States formed a large part of Philadelphia’s abolitionist communities. They inspired Nat

Turner’s Rebellion of 1831, and, of course, fueled the disagreements leading to the

American Civil War. “Haiti represented the living proof of the consequences of not just

black freedom, but indeed, black rule. It was the latter which was feared; therefore the

former had to be curtailed if not totally prohibited” (Knight 9).

Another successful consequence of Black Rule was the destruction of Napoleon’s

empire in the Americas. After losing Haiti on April 30, 1803, Napoleon sold the territory

of Louisiana to the United States for fifteen million dollars. Napoleon said, "This

accession of territory affirms forever the power of the United States, and I have given

England a maritime rival who sooner or later will humble her pride" (“Jefferson

Authorizes Louisiana Purchase”). W.E.B. DuBois said that the legacy of all of the new

states was valuable, but more importantly, “let us not forget our debt to Toussaint

L’Ouverture, who was indirectly the means of America’s expansion by the Louisiana

Purchase.”

9

Besides successfully influencing the United States, in 1815 Haiti sheltered other

revolutionaries, such as Simón Bolívar, the liberator of Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador

and Bolivia. While in Haiti, Bolívar’s fight against Spain was aided with a gift of four

thousand rifles, ammunition, provisions and the best weapon of revolution---a printing

press. In 1844, although Haiti did not encourage this rebellion, the Spanish people in the

Dominican Republic rebelled against their Haitian masters and proclaimed their own

independence.

Modern Haiti still suffers from the legacy of Dessaline’s dominant elite mulatto

control, and “since independence in 1804, there have always been corrupt governors. We

need a revolution to

change the structure of

this society”

(Resistanz). The spirit

of revolution still

remains strong in the

hearts of the Haitian

people, and “the tree of

liberty sprang to life

once more in 1985

when people revolted

against the murderous

dictatorship of the

Duvalier family”

Aristide’s non-violent political revolution inspired Haitian-Americans by saying, “When you see people lying to have political power, don’t lie with them. Stay strong. Have your ethical way to do politics and you will realize how many changes you will do” (Rezistans).

10

(Rezistans). Even though Duvalier sent his personal army, the Macoutes, to burn the

church of the non-violent priest, Jean Bertrand Aristide, for leading liberation theology

inspired by Gandhi

and Martin Luther

King Jr., and ten

thousand poor

Haitian rioters

were killed, the

people fought back

by voting in

Aristide as

president. Later

the United States’

CIA publicly

condemned the coup against Aristide, but privately supported it both politically and

financially. Referring to the U.S. fight against Aristide, a modern Haitian rebel said, “I

do not think they want us to return to democracy…let’s keep fighting our own fight”

(Rezistans).

Although the American CIA backed coup d’états removed Aristide twice, and he

is now living against Haitian wishes in exile in South Africa. Wyclef Jean led a singing

resistance by publishing his Soundtrack for a Revolution and said in his songs, “the

people will be enraged and demand their country back” (Rezistans). Haitian people are

still not free and most are desperately poor today, living on $320 a year. When

Against Haitians wishes, the United States’ CIA led 91 coups against Aristide, who attributed it to the fact that “I speak the truth and it hurts so people call me a radical. This is a revolution. We want to improve the lives of the people. There is no room for compromise” (Rezistans).

11

questioned about the legacy of Toussaint L’Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution, the

average Haitian knows nothing, not even who L’Ouverture was nor that there was a

revolution---it was not successful and they are not really free (Guerriem, Delongue).

There are still

300,000 child

slaves in Haiti,

restavecs, and

it is easy to

purchase one in

just ten hours,

“to buy another

human being---

an 11-year-old

girl, whose

value is set at

just $150”

(Harris). That

is not freedom. A modern voodoo priest, much like Boukman, says of the rebellious

condition of Haiti, since “they brought the black slaves on this island, they have been

always fighting against repression, against slavery, and until today they are still fighting

against any kind of oppression” (Resistanz).

Toussaint L’Ouverture led the successful part of Haiti’s revolution. When

Haitians lost their Black Napoleon, they lost their courage and honor. Dessalines

Modern educated Haitians feel that the current president, Michel Mathely, used his music skills and American influence and money to gain power, and is “a musician with a vision to change the situation for Haitians” even though he is now implementing socialistic reforms against U.S. wishes (Guerriem).

12

replaced white oppression with black oppression, and to this day Haiti has not yet

realized that “a system such as the Caribbean slave system bore within itself the seeds of

its own destruction and therefore could not last indefinitely” (Knight 4). Until Haiti’s

political system is free and open, and all her people are educated and valued, Haiti will

never be truly be free despite all the blood that was shed to gain her liberty.

13

Works Cited

Primary: Aristide and the Endless Revolution. Dir. Nicholas Rossier. Perf. John Shattuck. First Run Features, 2005. DVD This documentary gave me information about the 91 coup attempts sponsored by the United States CIA against Aristide. I can’t believe we spent 5 million dollars on that. "Boston Review — Junot Díaz: Apocalypse (Haiti, Japan, Earthquake, Tsunami)." Boston Review — Home. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. <http://bostonreview.net/BR36.3/junot_ diaz_apocalypse _haiti _ earthquake.php>. This article is important because of its strong views on the natural and manmade disasters that have occurred in Haiti starting with the revolution. "The Boukman Rebellion - TLP." Main Page - TLP. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=The_Boukman_Rebellion>. This article has a very good quote about the voodoo inspiration for the Haitian revolution. Decourtilz, Michel Etienne. "History of the Disasters in Saint-Domingue 1791." Marxists Internet Archive. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://www.marxists.org/history/haiti/1791/history-disasters.htm>. This history from the time is gruesome and has an interesting view of the revolt. The writer is pointing out all the bad things the slaves did to the whites, like tearing eyes out with cork screws reddened by fire. DeLongue, Lucinda. Personal interview. 27 Dec. 2011. I was in the Dominican Republic and interviewed Haitian refugees like Lucinda. The Haitian Revolution left them so poor that they could not be educated. None of them know about the revolution and it made me sad. When I asked About Toussaint L’Ouverture, her first response was “does he live near here?” Douglass, Frederick. “Lecture on Haiti (1893) - TLP." Main Page - TLP. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Frederick_Douglass_lecture _on_Haiti_(1893)>. This was totally full of information and beautifully written. There were so many strongly worded quotes in here, but unfortunately I could not fit them all in my paper. This is also where I got my title. Dubois, Laurent, and John D. Garrigus. Slave Revolution in the Caribbean, 1789-1804: a Brief History with Documents. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. This book gave me so much information that I could only use a quarter of it, like 10 percent of slaves died of overwork, malnutrition, and harsh treatment every year. Code Noir was supposed to protect them, but it was ignored. Du Bois, W.E.B. "Text on Haiti by." Main Page - TLP. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Text_on_Haiti_by_W.E.B._Du_Bois>. This speech gave me the idea that the Revolution is a lot like dominoes set up in a row. Egalite for All: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution. Dir. Sujewa Ekanayake. PBS, 2009. DVD.

14

This documentary gave me lots of quotes and more information than I could use, like fifteen miles away from the burning plantations you could read by their light! End of Poverty. Dir. Philippe Diaz. Perf. John Christensen. Cinema Libre, 2010. DVD. This documentary confirmed my thoughts about the Haitian Revolution and the what it would take to end the serfdom. "French Cruelties in St. Domingue (1802) - TLP." Main Page - TLP. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=French_Cruelties_in_St._Domingue_(1802)>. Although all the information in this article is true, it is very gruesome in detail and I almost stopped reading. Ghost of Cite Soleil. Dir. Asger Leth. Perf. Wyclef Jean. Image/Thinkfilms, 2006. DVD. Eight year olds with guns, and people shooting each other over nothing made me believe that maybe the Haitian revolution wasn’t a good thing because in the end, nobody has yet won. My favorite quote, but I couldn’t fit it into my paper was “power is a gun in Haiti. If you don’t have a gun, no power.” Guerriern, Josephe. Personal interview. 26 Dec. 2011. While in he Dominican Republic, I met a rich, educated Haitian, a college student who shaped my essay (along with the other interviews of uneducated Haitians). His answer was biased, because he is a mulatto, part of the 10% elites. In his opinion, Toussaint L’Ouverture is a second Moses. "Haitian Constitution of 1801 (English) - TLP." Main Page - TLP. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Haitian_Constitution_of_1801_(English)

Written by L’Ouverture, this Constitution seems fair and almost like a present-day Constitution, except for him giving himself all the power. Dessalines took the power after he died in prison. Harris, Dan. "How to Buy a Child in 10 Hours - ABC News." ABCNews.com - Breaking News, Latest News & Top Video News - ABC News. 8 July 2008. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/buy-child-10-hours/story?id=5326508>. This article was the saddest of all. It was hard to believe until I read another book about modern Haitian slaves. "Jefferson Authorizes Louisiana Purchase, Nov. 10, 1803 - Andrew Glass - POLITICO.com." Politics, Political News - POLITICO.com . Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29358.html>.

Although Napoleon made a lot of money from this sale, it wasn’t how much the land was worth. After losing the sugar plantations in the Caribbean, he was desperate to sell.

LeClerc, Charles. "'Show No Mercy' Letter." Main Page - TLP. Web. 24 Dec. 2012.<http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title='Show_no_mercy'_letter_by_Leclerc_(1802)>. This 1802 letter shows the unimaginable brutality shown towards the slaves. "Le Code Noir - TLP." Main Page - TLP. Web. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Le_Code_Noir>.

Written by King Louis XIV, some of these laws are more humane than others, however most are still very brutal toward the slaves. L’Ouverture, Toussaint. "Dialogue with Léger Félicité Sonthonax." The L’Ouverture Project. Web. 3 Jan. 2012.

15

<http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Toussaint_dialogue_ with_L%C3%A9ger_F%C3%A9licit%C3%A9_Sonthonax_%281797%29>. This article made me realize that the some of the whites don’t care if they kill other whites. L’Ouverture, Toussaint. "Dictatorial Proclamation." Marxists Internet Archive. Web. 31 Nov. 2011. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/toussaint-louverture/1801 /dictatorial.htm>. Written during L’Ouverture’s time, this is very biased and says that Haitian people will become vagabonds and thieves. I did not like this source, but I got some good quotes. L’Ouverture, Toussaint. "Letter to Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1802) - TLP." Main Page - TLP. Web. 21 Jan. 2012. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Toussaint _Louverture_letter_to_Jean-Jacques_Dessalines_(1802)>.

.It is short and only has one good quote but it is very inspiring. L’Ouverture, Toussaint. "Letter to Napoléon on the 1801 Constitution - TLP." Main Page - TLP. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title= Toussaint_letter_to_Napoleon_on_the_1801_Constitution. This letter from L’Ouverture to Napoleon basically is gloating about his victory. L’Ouverture, Toussaint. "Memoir of Toussaint L’Ouverture." Main Page - TLP. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Memoir_of_Toussaint_ Louverture,_Written_by_Himself>. This autobiography was written when L‘Ouverture was in jail after being captured by the French under a white flag and he was basically buried in a snowy mountain until he died. This justifies his actions as he tried to escape death. L’Ouverture, Toussaint. "Toussaint During Boukman’s Rebellion." Marxists Internet Archive. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/toussaint-louverture/1791/to-biassou.htm>. This letter to L’Ouverture’s friend Biassou, one of the commanders of the rebellious slaves, details what weapons the slaves used, even rocks rolled down mountains. Napoleon, Bonaparte. "Letter to the Citizens of Color and Free Negroes of Saint-Domingue by Haiti 1791." Marxists Internet Archive. Web. 13 Dec. 2012. <http://www.marxists.org/history/haiti/ 1791/gregoire.htm>. This source has a lot of good quotes about being turned into slaves. Napoleon, Bonaparte. "Napoleon Decree Re-establishing Slavery in the French Colonies." The Louverture Project. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Napol%C3%A9on_decree_reestablishing_slavery_in _the_French_colonies_%28French%29>. This is short and doesn’t have much, but it makes the point that Napoleon was still trying to reinstate slavery near the end of the revolution, despite his promise that he wasn’t. Cadet, Jean-Robert. Restavec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle-class American. Austin: University of Texas, 1998.

16

This book had a lot of gruesome information, but made me realize just how bad the modern slave chidren are treated. A Restavec is a child who is sold to somebody and is supposedly getting an education, but really is being treated as slave. Rezistans. Dir. Katharine Kean. Crowning Rooster Arts, 1997. DVD. From the very title, this documentary gave me tons of quotes, of which only four or five fit in my paper. My favorite one (that didn’t fit) was “They can kill 1 person, they can kill 10,000 people, but they cannot kill the will of the people.” "The Last Days Of Toussaint L'Ouverture - TLP." Main Page - TLP. Web. 9 Jan. 2012. <http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=The_Last_Days_Of_Toussaint_L'Ouverture>. This said a lot about how Toussaint L’Ouverture’s last days in prison were. He was probably poisoned. The Road to Fondwa. Dir. Dan Schnorr and Justin Brandon. CreateSpace, 2009. DVD I like this documentary because it showed that the Haitians in one town could work together, and could overcome economic and political slavery. This one didn’t leave me depressed when it was over. Secondary: “Africans in America: Part 3. Douglas Edgerton on the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint L'Ouverture, and Jefferson." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3i3130.html>. This did not have very much that I didn’t know already, but I learned that L’Ouverture was thought of as a “black Napoleon” and that his name comes from something the soldiers applied to how he opened opportunities to the slaves. Heinl, Robert and Nancy. Written in Blood. New York: University Press of America, 1996. The best part of this history of Haiti is the voodoo prayers and how voodoo was the catalyst for the Haitian revolution in the Caiman Woods. James, C. L. R. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. New York: Vintage, 1989. The title refers to the French Revolution and the connection to the Haitian Revolution. This wasn’t much fun to read; it had lots of information that made me feel that although it seemed unjust, killing your own child to keep them away from slavery was the best option. (1/3 were killed by their parents). Knight, Franklin. ”The Haitian Revolution.” The American Historical Review. The History Cooperative. 11 Nov. 2011. This article stresses the social and political revolts that the Haitian revolution has caused, like William Wallace. "Our Heritage Magazine: U.S. & Haitian Sacrifice ~The Battle of Savannah." Our Heritage Magazine. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. http://ourheritagemagazine.com/everyone/the-battle-of-savannah I did not know until I read this Magazine that seven hundred Hatians helped in the Siege of Savannah, of their own will.