Born in 1708 in West Africa, and in 1758 Dessalines was enslaved by the French in the colony of Saint-Domingue, a West Indian Colony in Haiti. In 1791, he was involved in a slave revolt and later became a military leader. During the years of the slave rebellion against colonial power, 1791 – 1793, Dessalines proved himself a capable leader and became a lieutenant under the leadership of Toussaint L’Overture, who lead the revolt. In 1793 slavery was abolished in the colony. In 1803, the French attempted to reinstate slavery and Dessalines became the leader of the new revolution that opposed the French regime. In 1804, under his leadership the French were defeated and the island was declared an independent republic, and Dessalines called the island Haiti. Haiti became the first independent republic globally. A Declaration of Independence was signed and Dessalines was named the Governor General for life. In 1805 Dessalines declared himself emperor of Haiti. Over the years he became a ruthless leader to both the black and the whites. The blacks were required to work in the fields or join the military. The whites were not allowed to own property and as a payback to the French enslavement, he killed thousands of whites in a mass genocide. The mulattoes were violently discriminated against as well. On October 17, 1806 the mulattoes revolted and Dessalines was assassinated. Despite his oppression of the people and his violent reign, he remains a symbol of pride for Haiti and he is honored not only by the national holiday, Death of Dessalines; but the national anthem, “La Dessalinienne” honors him as well. youtu.be/rPRsoMrgXxc?list=RDfCr-AE1u59k
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:03:27 +0000
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