25167: Hermantin (News)What's in a Name (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, May. 22, 2005



WHAT'S IN A NAME




TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE

Pierre Dominique Toussaint Louverture, a former slave who earned his freedom
at 33, was one of the most important leaders of the Haitian 1791-1804
Revolution.

He organized armies of former slaves who defeated the Spanish and British
forces. By 1801, he conquered Santo Domingo -- the Dominican Republic --
abolished slavery and proclaimed himself the island's governor-general for
life.

That same year, Napoleon Bonaparte dispatched General Leclerc and thousands
of troops to reinstate slavery and restore French rule. Toussaint was
captured and sent to a prison in France, where he died in 1803.