Histoire de la mort de dessalines biography

(1758-1806)

Who Was Jean-Jacques Dessalines?

Born around 1758, in Africa, Jean-Jacques Dessalines was enslaved in the French colony of Saint-Domingue.

He served as a lieutenant under Toussaint L'Ouverture after the 1791 slave revolt and later eliminated French rule. Dessalines renamed the colony Haiti in 1804 and declared himself emperor. Despised for his brutality, yet honored as one of Haiti’s founding fathers, he was killed in a revolt on October 17, 1806, in Pont Rouge, near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Histoire de la mort de dessalines biography

Colonial Life

Jean-Jacques Dessalines’ biography is a mix of legend and history. Haitian tradition says he was born in central West Africa and transported as a slave to Sant-Domingue, (Haiti) in the French West Indies.

However, most historians believe he was born Jean-Jacques Duclos, the name of his first owner, in Saint-Domingue, circa 1758. He became a field hand and eventually rose up to the role of foreman. At around age 30, he was sold to a free