Latin American Revolutions Project

Toussaint L' Ouverture -(1791-1804) Toussaint brought independence to Haiti which was once the colony of both Spain and France. Toussaint was born as a slave and worked to end slavery. He wanted to rebuild the country and expand trade with other countries. In 1791 just after shortly being freed as a slave, at the age of 33, he led a slave revolt and by 1798 the slaves were free. In 1802 Napoleon sent an army against Toussaint to try and gain control of Haiti again, but soon after the two made an agreement. Napoleon agreed with Toussaint to recognize Haiti's independence because Napoleon wanted to get rid of Haiti. L' Ouverture tried to rebuild and reform the economy in Haiti. After the agreement Haiti was free and had independence from both France and Spain. The enlightenment and the French Revolution both influenced L' Ouverture in the independence movement. The ideas from those two events helped him realize what actions to take to bring reform to Haiti and also what beliefs to follow in order to make peace throughout the newly formed country, Haiti.