Toussaint Louverture and the 1801 Constitution

Toussaint Louverture and the 1801 Constitution

Claude Moise's Le projet national de Toussaint Louverture et la Constitution de 1801 is rather short yet raises some important questions. Since Toussaint Louverture, by the time he promulgated the 1801 Constitution, was the most powerful person on the island of Hispaniola and therefore needed a constitution to legitimize and protect the administrative structure he headed, one can see the seeds of future Haitian governments in the text and the practice of government. In addition, Toussaint must have seen the importance of establishing a clear government structure for Saint-Domingue as largely autonomous but still attached to the metropole. Such an attachment was likely believed to be necessary given the possible threat of maritime powers such as England, Spain, or the US, not to mention other cultural and economic ties to France that likely weighed in consideration. For Moise, what Toussaint envisioned was comparable to the free state association of Puerto Rico with the United States, although it is possible that if his regime had endured, independence may have become more attractive. 

Unfortunately, Toussaint Louverture's Constitution symbolized the failure to reconcile irreconcilable conflicts of interest. Former slaves who believed liberty and freedom entailed more individual liberties and control of their labor unsurprisingly butted heads with the government and planters (both the colons and the nouveaux libres elites who gained control of estates). The attempts to limit smallholder proprietorship of land and to regulate the movement of ex-slaves through the militarized administrative structure of the administration undoubtedly fueled discontent and continual marronage (vagabondage). Indeed, according to Moise, this is what led to the rebellion associated with Toussaint Louverture's nephew, Moise. Although the author suggests that Moise himself was not directly involved in orchestrating the revolt, his sympathetic words and inaction in suppressing it warranted his punishment by Toussaint Louverture. However, this impasse imperiled the longevity of the type of state envisioned by Toussaint and maintained by his successors in independent Haiti. 

Despite these fundamental contradictions of the social order of the Louverturian regime, independent Haiti endeavored to follow it. Of course, without the whites or colons as an integral part of the imagined Haitian nation. Nonetheless, Henri Christophe's government may be the best indication of what Louverture's vision of Saint Domingue would have looked like had it survived. The survival of large estates, the use of the military to police rural laborers, and the commitment to antislavery, educational reforms, and attempts to inculcate values approved of by the government in the masses certainly resemble the goals of the Louverturian regime. However, would Toussaint have taken the step to declare himself a king in a future Saint Domingue or Haiti had the autonomous relationship with France become more of a burden or threat?

Black Spartacus

I recently perused Sudhir Hazareesingh's Toussaint Louverture book and found it very worthwhile. It is a welcome change from some of the more reactionary and questionable interpretations of Toussaint Louverture, as Hazareesingh seems to be more aligned with C.L.R. James. Of course, like many liberals, Hazareesingh seems most comfortable when stressing the revolutionary republicanism of Toussaint, particularly its promise of a multiracial fraternity that never really or deeply materialized. To his credit, he also stresses the various African and Creole (or "Caribbean") elements in Toussaint Louverture's politics, kinship practices, spirituality, and social relations, so he cannot really be accused of overly Westernizing Toussaint. However, one could do without the unfounded claims of "Amerindian" influences on Haitian Vodou. Perhaps the growing contradiction between the masses of ex-slaves and Toussaint's emerging elite could have also been more worthy of scrutiny, even though external threats probably made it increasingly difficult for the revolutionary leadership to imagine a world of peasant proprietorship. But overall a fine synthesis of the latest scholarship on the Haitian Revolution and provocative work on the legacy of Toussaint Louverture for Haiti and the rest of humanity. 

Les trois lions

Tracking down examples and detailed information on Haitian art before 1930 can be difficult. With the exception of a hard to find key text by Lerebours or Alexis, there is only an issue of Conjonction which touches upon the subject. That is what led me to Edouard Goldman, a Haitian painter and actor whose work, mostly based on past photographs or sketches (such as this), brought a lively color to the Haitian past while glorifying strong or important leaders and intellectuals. Unfortunately, the text is hard to decipher in many of his works, and the book of the exposition at the Grand Palais, which featured several of Goldman's portraits, does not feature the best reproductions. 

Anyway, Goldman was trained by his father, and is one of more than a few painters whose work depicted politicians, prominent members of society, or historical figures. As a painter, his medium gave him the ability to bring color to the depiction of Haitian reality, as well as integrate text to tell a story of those depicted. For example, the above painting on the left of Toussaint Louverture quotes Lamartine, saying that Toussaint made the nation. Goldman's early 20th century portraits make the case for taking Haitian art before 1930 seriously, particularly since it represents certain themes which loom larger in later work, especially portraits of Haitian founding fathers. The quiet dignity with which Goldman imbues these portraits are a powerful assertion of national pride.

Monsieur Toussaint: A Play

"Only Toussaint Abreda can defeat Toussaint L'Ouverture."

Edouard Glissant's Monsieur Toussaint, translated by the author himself and J. Michael Dash, is an interesting theatrical take on the Haitian Revolution. While at times a little hard to follow, the play juxtaposes the dead spirits of numerous historical actors in Saint Domingue conversing with Toussaint Louveture as he awaits death in Fort de Joux with Toussaint's memories of important moments in the Haitian Revolution. While clearly literature and not an accurate retelling of the actual history of the Haitian Revolution, the work captures many of the complexities of the postcolonial state, such as relations between the state and the masses. 

Toussaint Louverture, in Glissant's play, is modeled on the perspectives of Cesaire and CLR James, as a tragic hero who distanced himself from the masses but, following the lead of the former, sacrifices himself willingly so a united, free Haiti will emerge. This perspective on Toussaint, something new to me, also leads to a favorable depiction of Dessalines as the necessary leader who will consolidate and complete the mission of Toussaint, while Christophe only has a few lines. Like other plays treating the subject of the Haitian Revolution, the attempts to maintain the plantation system and the belief in 'order and prosperity' favored by Toussaint is shown as incompatibile with the goals of the masses, or the dead shadows who accompany the dying Toussaint in exile. Mackandal, Vodou (Toussaint as a Legba and Ogou figure, Dessalines also as Ogou), Macaya (spelled differently in this text), Moyse, and even Dessalines are shown as representing the masses, albeit through a fictionalized and rather short play such as this. 

The ultimate tragedy, therefore, lies in Toussaint necessarily sacrificing himself to pave the way for unity, to lead to conditions in which blacks and mulattoes could work together to defeat Leclerc and Rochambeau. In addition, battles are prominent in the text, but often hinted at, and its interesting how Christophe is largely silenced, Petion makes no appearance, and the conflict between Toussaint and Rigaud is presented as having been entirely orchestrated by the settler royalists, favoring a return to slavery. Toussaint Abreda, the slave Toussaint, caught up in the French modes of civilization and governance, ultimately undoes Toussaint Louverture, making the play very analytical in how once being a privileged slave and free person, Toussaint Louverture was restricted by the norms of 'order and prosperity' antithetical to the radical need for independence.

Moreover, Glissant makes things even more fascinating by including Delgrès, the commandant who led his forces into a mass suicide at Matouba rathern than submit to French forces restoring slavery. This, as well as the Dokos (Macaya and the African-born revolutionaries of the Haitian Revolution, the Maroons) makes the play clearly pan-Africanist and Pan-Caribbean, with the mission for black independence and emancipation tied to liberation of Africa. In the author's own words, the prophetic vision of Toussaint Louverture's leadership and sacrifice is connected with wider anti-colonial movements. 

Toussaint Louverture

CLR James's play on the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint Louverture, is an excellent companion to his classic, The Black Jacobins. Focusing on Toussaint Louverture as a tragic hero, which is not uncommon when writers of African descent wrote literary works on the "fathers" of Haitian independence, the play, written in 1934, foreshadows arguments of James in the future. For instance, the presence and influence of the masses is a consistent theme in the play, although it is certainly centered on Toussaint Louverture. The play also features historically accurate portrayals as well as some composites, but the omission of certain actors (such as Sonthonax) is intriguing and raises more questions. Indeed, James even includes Macaya (rendered here as Macoya) in the narrative, the African-born slave revolutionary whose seeming monarchical leanings complicate the question of ideology and the role of the French Revolution. 

As a play, the work functions quite well with the tragic hero of Toussaint Louverture and powerful monologues. Little action or combat scenes are in the play, but its an intriguing work that reflects the importance of Haiti and the Haitian Revolution in the Black Atlantic of the 1930s. For example, Christian Hogsberg's introduction explains the context of the play in the leftist scenes of London as well as opposition to the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and European colonialism in Africa and the West Indies. Included in the text are additional essays and writings, as well as reviews of the play. One of the supplementary readings is an essay by CLR James refuting white supremacy, which argues against it using Toussaint Louverture. 

Jazz for Toussaint Louverture

English Jazz artists Courtney Pine has recorded a fine jazz tribute to Toussaint Louverture. While not really bearing any obvious Haitian musical traits, it does have Afro-Caribbean and 'Latin' influences in the pianist's style. Also worth hearing is Pine's composition, "Haiti," which features more "Latin" percussion.

The Black Jacobins

"But if, to re-establish slavery in San Domingo, this was done, then I declare to you it would be to attempt the impossible: we have known how to face dangers to obtain our liberty, we shall know how to brave death to maintain it."

CLR James has written the seminal English language text on the Haitian Revolution. After re-reading it for the third time, it becomes clearer how influential his analysis and prose of the text was to understanding Toussaint Louverture. The Black Jacobins places the Haitian Revolution in the broader history of revolution, compares it with the French and Russian Revolutions, notes parallels between Saint Domingue and colonial Africa (predicting decolonization), and still manages to put together social and class analysis within a broader critique of slavery, capitalism, and colonialism.

His influence on the work of Eric Williams is conspicuous in how the author links the merchant bourgeoisie of France to the slave trade and the ulterior motives of British abolition of the same trade. James's second edition of the work includes an appendix with a brief analysis of the Caribbean after the Haitian Revolution to the Cuban Revolution, thereby placing the 'Black Jacobins' into the larger picture of Caribbean history and struggle, too.

Of course, The Black Jacobins has its flaws, too. It is a product of its time and the particular colonial British West Indian education of James, who occasionally refers to the black masses of Saint Domingue as lacking in culture, and the like. Considering the original publication in the 1930s, and the type of education and knowledge accessible to Caribbean scholars regarding Africa, it is no surprise James does not really delve deeper into African influences and cultures in Saint Domingue beyond Vodou.

His treatment of the Haitian Revolution is most certainly centered on Toussaint Louverture and the military leadership of the blacks, as well as how Enlightenment ideology and the French Revolution shaped the political beliefs and ideals of the 'Black Jacobins.' James's portrayal of Toussaint is complex and certainly one of the more significant influences on how Madison Smartt Bell approaches the historical figure in a biography I reviewed here.

Unfortunately, Dessalines is not given the equal attention, nor are his motives and interests as clear, so James reduces Dessalines to a 'soldier' who did what was necessary to consolidate independence. Rigaud, Sonthonax, Leclerc, the early slave uprising of 1791, Toussaint receive far more coverage and more nuance than Dessalines, who James even refers to as 'barbarian.'

While one could take issue with his overt political bias and sometimes unnecessary wit, James manages to dismiss with thorough research many white supremacist takes on the Haitian Revolution. For instance, many European and North American scholars saw the blacks of Saint Domingue as unusually violent and savage in their reprisals against French colonists, but it was truly inherent violence and barbarism of colonists and the French forces that exceeded the responses of the oppressed. James also elucidates how white Americans and British influenced the massacres of the remaining whites in Haiti after independence, blaming the business interests of the two nations in wanting to prevent a strong French presence.

On the color and race question, James, coming from a Marxist perspective, sees the latter as subsidiary to the former. And while, at times, alluding to racism among the three groups in Saint Domingue, James is careful to note class distinctions and status among blacks, mulattoes, and whites that complicate easy assumptions about race relations. At times I felt as if James was stretching the truth to refer to the working masses of France as having abolitionist sympathies, given how weak the abolitionist movement in France was, say, compared to Britain. However, James complicates easy assumptions about Toussaint Louverture's conflict with Rigaud, preferring not to blame color as some lazy analysis might.

Overall, James has written a timeless study of the Haitian Revolution. His political bias notwithstanding, James persuasively links capitalism, slavery, and colonialism in a compelling narrative that explains the who, where, when, and why of Toussaint Louverture. While new sources have come to light that challenge some of the assertions of the author (Bell suggests Louverture had been free several years by 1791, and was a successful free black who owned a few slaves) and scholars know they must study the African dimensions of the Haitian Revolution and the role of subaltern agency.

Below are a few favorite quotes from the text:

"Men make their own history, and the black Jacobins of San Domingo were to make history which would alter the fate of millions of men and shift the economic currents of three continents" (25).

"But he accomplished what he did because, superbly gifted, he incarnated the determination of his people never, never to be slaves again" (198). 

"General Hédouville does not know that at Jamaica there are in the mountains blacks who have forced the English to make treaties with them? Well, I am black like them, I know how to make war, and besides I have advantages that they didn't have; for I can count on assistance and protection" (221).

"The cruelties of property and privilege are always more ferocious than the revenges of poverty and oppression" (88).

"The struggle of classes ends either in the reconstruction of society or in the common ruin of the contending classes" (128).

"The rich are only defeated when running for their lives" (78).

Toussaint Louverture: A Biography

"All that the negroes lack is a leader courageous enough to carry them to vengeance and carnage. Where is he, this great man, that nature owes to its vexed, oppressed, tormented children? Where is he? He will appear, do not doubt it. He will show himself and will raise the sacred banner of liberty. This venerable leader will gather around him his comrades in misfortune. More impetuous than the torrents, they will leave everywhere ineffaceable traces of their just anger."
― Abbé Raynal 

Madison Smartt Bell has written a very accessible but detailed biography of Toussaint Louverture. Inclusive of Toussaint Louverture's origins, the broader story of the Haitian Revolution, its context, and the diplomatic and military engagements this book is perfect for initiates in the study of Saint Domingue/Haiti. In addition to being useful as an introductory, this text also taught myself a few things, too (such as Moyse being the adopted nephew of Toussaint, and possibly a former slave owned by Toussaint). The specific way in which Toussaint Louverture fell for Leclerc's trap, his time imprisoned in the cold Jura Mountains, and Bell's conjecture pertaining to Toussaint's thought processes, diplomacy, economic interests, etc. from 1791 to 1803 are informative. What was strange was the author's somewhat ambivalent stance on the question of a royalist conspiracy behind the 1791 slave revolt, especially because Bell acknowledges how unlikely and insane the the idea was (but he does allude to instances where Toussaint, Rigaud, and other significant players in the tale of the Haitian Revolution orchestrated coups or revolts that only they could crush for power plays and manipulation).

Furthermore, Bell might be stretching the truth by describing Toussaint as a Vodouisant. He refers to Toussaint's quasi-Vodou references to spirits in his writings, the fact that Toussaint wore a red head-band or headress symbolizing Ogou Feraille, and one white writer (who described Toussaint in racist terms through her father, who worked with the 'Black General') who mentions an incident that might be trance or spirit possession. There is no incontrovertible evidence Toussaint practiced Vodou, although I suppose there is nothing to prove conclusively he did not, either (after all, devout Catholics like Toussaint were and are known to also practice Vodou in Haiti). Regardless, it is pure speculation on the part of the author that Toussaint practiced Vodou, and sought to use both the 'left hand' and 'right hand' to achieve a balance spiritually and politically.

Another flaw was a consistent reductionist model applied to conflicts that emerged between free 'coloreds' and blacks, free 'coloreds' and whites, and whites vs. 'blacks.' For instance, when discussing the conflict between Toussaint Louverture and Rigaud, Bell recognizes that mulattoes served under Toussaint just as blacks fought for Rigaud, yet the fighting is still reduced to a black vs. mulatto/color war. I am not sure if this is a result of an attempt to simplify the vicissitudes of the Haitian Revolution, but it contradicts some of the nuances and social complexities of Saint Dominguan society and the revolutionary period Toussaint Louverture shaped.

Ultimately, Toussaint Louverture's complexity, contradictions, and greater meaning and symbolism for world history can be gleamed from solely a cursory read of this work. Not only full of information and specificity for the various phases of the Haitian Revolution, Bell's biography examines the origin stories for Toussaint Louverture, his experiences as a slave and wealthy free black, the color nuances, conflicts between civil and military leadership in the course of the Haitian Revolution, the role of the slave and ex-slave masses, and the future of racial harmony and an end to racial discrimination, 200 years before its time. Although I have a few quibbles, Toussaint Louverture: A Biography is a worthwhile portrait of the 'Black General' who guaranteed the liberty of Saint Domingue. For more detailed, academic writings on Toussaint Louverture, certainly read anything from Laurent Dubois, Carolyn Fick, and CLR James.