| Jean-Jacques Dessalines, pronounced zhahn zhahk day sa LEEN, (1758-1806), is one of Haiti's national heroes. He helped free the country from French rule and became its first chief of state. |
| |
| Dessalines was born a slave in Grande-Riviere-du-Nord, Haiti. In his early life he served as an officer in the French army. In 1791, Dessalines became a part of the freedom movement that lead to the total abolition of slavery in Haiti in 1793. After fighting under General Toussaint L'Ouverture against British and Spanish soldiers attempting to take the Haitian colony from France, Dessaline fought again under Toussaint to expel the French from Haiti. In 1802, when the French arrested Toussaint, Dessalines became the revolution's leader. The French, under General Rochambeau (successor of LeClerc who had died of malaria earlier), were finally defeated at the famed Battle of Vertieres on November 18th, 1803. Notably, it is Dessalines' victory overRochambeau in Vertieres that forced Napoleon to abandon his bid for the control of Louisiana and eventually, the rest of the 'New World'. |
| |
| In 1804, Dessalines declared the colony the independent country of Haiti and assumed the title of governor general for life. In 1806, He was murdered by political rivals. |
Born at the Cormiers Plantation north of Haiti in 1758, Dessalines was a slave on the plantation of Duclos who ran away to freedom at the age of 33. He was the principal lieutenant of Toussaint Louverture and became the General-in-Chief of the Revolution of St-Domingue after the deportation of Toussaint Louverture. He was a gifted soldier and distinguished himself during several combats, especially at the Battle of Crete-à-Pierrot. There he launched a splendid call to his soldiers and boosted their courage by leading them to blow up the fortress rather than give it up to the French. He led the indigenous army into victory over the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Vertières on November 18, 1803.
On January 1, 1804, he proclaimed the independence of the colony, which he renamed Haiti. The same day he was acclaimed Governor-General-for-Life of Haiti, and on September 2, 1804 he was crowned Emperor under the name of Jacques I.
Dessalines was assassinated in a revolt on October 17, 1806 at Pont-Rouge. He is remembered as the Father of the Haitian Nation and the Founder of the Independence of Haiti.
|
 |
|
|
