Dessalines became a lieutenant in Papillon's army and followed him to Santo Domingo, where at first he enlisted to serve Spain's military forces against the French then he joined the "real" slave rebellion that was inspired by Dutty Boukman, a voodoo priest, and led by Toussaint.
According to historical records and stories passed down by the griots in Haiti, Christophe was born around October 6, 1767 in Grenada and brought to Haiti (then Saint Domingue) as a slave.
Dessalines became a lieutenant in Papillon's army and followed him to Santo Domingo, where at first he enlisted to serve Spain's military forces against the French then he joined the "real" slave rebellion that was inspired by Dutty Boukman, a voodoo priest, and led by Toussaint.
Born Francois Dominique Toussaint, he gained historical recognition as "Toussaint L'Ouverture"-the "L'Ouverture" part of his name was bestowed upon him as a result of his freedom-fighting exploits later in his life. He was a self-educated slave who joined other slaves to fight for their common goal-their freedom and the establishment of a free country. He had no military training, or formal education but he possessed a passion for freedom, and an innate ability to organize. He was born on the island of Hispaniola on the Breda plantation between 1743 and 1746 having descended from the Arrada people of the Dahomey Coast, Africa. Toussaint was the oldest son of a slave brought to the French colony of Santo Domingo located on the eastern part of the island At that time, the island was called "Hispaniola;" the name "Haiti" came later on. It was Toussaint who eventually brought Haiti into being as an independent country. His slave-master was one Count de Breda who originally named him Toussaint Breda. The master also encouraged young Toussaint to learn to read and write, a rarity for a slave-master. It was because of Toussaint's assistance, the French were victorious against the British and the Spanish forces, yet the French were not willing to grant freedom to the slaves, which was the primary teason that Toussaint had lent his expertise to them. His series of military campaigns became known as "L'Ouverture" or "the opening," because he exploited openings in the defenses of the opposition. And Francois Dominique Toussaint then became known as "Toussaint L'Ouverture." In addition to their treachery and deception, France sent more regiments to the island m furtherance their scheme to renege on the moderate terms of peace and freedom that were promised to Toussaint and his men. The French were contemptuous and they boldly proclaimed, "Did Toussaint think that they had brought half a million African slaves to the New World to make them French citizens?" As leader of the nation, L'Ouverture organized a structured government and instituted public improvements. He was widely renowned, revered by Blacks and detested by Whites-the French and the Americans. L'Ouverture's activities did not go unnoticed by the U.S., a country that was prospering off slaves and their free labor. In his book "In the Matter of Color," author and noted jurist, A. Leon Higginbotham noted a French historian and politician who at that time wrote, "Thus it is that in the U.S., the prejudice rejecting the negroes seems to increase in proportion to their emancipation." (These events apparently propelled Nat Turner's rebellion as he attempted to follow the footsteps of L'Ouverture in Virginia).
