麻豆约拍

A gripping biography of the leader of the slave revolt which sparked the independence of Haiti.

Toussaint Louverture summed up the inhumanity of slavery in its systematic tendency:

鈥榯o tear away the son from his mother, the brother from his sister, the father from his son鈥�.

Sudhir Hazareesingh looks at what little is known of Toussaint's early life, his progress to coachman and his education by the Jesuits.

As an intelligent man who could read, it is likely he was key in shaping the strategy of the slave uprising in 1791.

But he was also a man of mystery and very little is documented about his life. He spread misinformation about himself and had a complex extended family with possibly 16 children.

Toussaint was a tactical leader and, after the uprising, he took time to consolidate his military position and as a rebel leader declared;

鈥業 was the first to favour a cause that I have always upheld ...what we have begun, I will finish鈥�.

Written by Sudhir Hazareesingh

Omnibus of five parts abridged by Libby Spurrier.

Read by Adrian Lester.

Producer: Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for 麻豆约拍 Radio 4, first broadcast in 2020.

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