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Secondary sourceBook1850

Vie de Toussaint-L'Ouverture

Joseph Saint-Rémy · 1850

An 1850 French biography of Toussaint Louverture written by Haitian historian Joseph Saint-Rémy.

An early Haitian biography of Toussaint, reflecting how his own people remembered and recorded his life.

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About this source

What it is

This is a biography of Toussaint Louverture written by Joseph Saint-Rémy, a historian from Les Cayes, Haiti, and published in Paris in 1850. The book opens by describing a portrait of Toussaint said to have been given by him personally to the French agent Roume, kept afterward by Roume's family.

Why it matters

Written by a Haitian author less than fifty years after Toussaint's death, this biography shows how Haitians themselves were constructing his historical memory and connecting him to the wider story of the Haitian Revolution. The mention of the portrait's provenance also shows how people worked to verify what Toussaint actually looked like.

Look closer

  • Why might it matter that this biography was written by a Haitian historian rather than a French one?
  • What does the detailed story about the portrait's origin tell you about how people tried to establish an authentic image of Toussaint?
  • How might a biography written in 1850, during a period of ongoing debates about slavery, shape its portrayal of Toussaint?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Toussaint Louverture on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Book cover in green, pink, red, blue, black and orange marbled paper with a black spine on the left. A white label at top left shows handwritten call numbers 'Lk 554' and 'g°'. Text at bottom reads 'Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France'.Document

Primary source

Constitution républicaine des colonies française de Saint-Domaingue

Toussaint Louverture · 1801

Title page of a book, a scan of a yellowed printed page reading 'Mémoires du Général Toussaint-L'Ouverture, écrits par lui-même', with a publisher's ornament and 'Paris, Pagnerre, Libraire-Éditeur, 1853' at the bottom. The book is attributed to Saint-Remy, not handwritten manuscript.Book

Primary source

Mémoires du Général Toussaint-L'Ouverture écrits par lui-même

Toussaint Louverture · 1853 (text written 1802)

Painted portrait of a man in a dark-blue and red military uniform with gold epaulettes, a white sash with gold stars, and white trousers. He holds a folded paper in his right hand and stands before a stormy blue sky and dark mountains, with a sword hilt visible at his left side.Painting

Secondary source

Général Toussaint Louverture

19th century

Sepia-toned engraving of a standing man in a black top hat with a tall plume, a dark military-style coat with chevron-patterned sleeves, and a sash at the waist. He holds a folded paper in one hand and a curved sabre in the other. Behind him are a fortified hillside, a small building on top, palm trees, and a second figure in uniform with a plumed hat.Painting

Secondary source

19th century engraving of L'Ouverture

J. Barlow, after a sketch by Marcus Rainsford · 19th century

Sepia engraving of a scene in a tropical landscape: a tall officer in a plumed hat and uniform stands center, receiving a letter from a man in a long coat at right, while a woman in a long dress, children, and other figures gather around, with palm fronds and trees behind.Painting

Secondary source

Toussaint Louverture reçoit une lettre du Premier Consul

Charles Monnet · 1802

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