ABSTRACT

Toussaint was one of eight children born to an enslaved African couple on the plantation known as Breda. His father being a very privileged slave, the young creolespeaking Toussaint was allowed to learn French, Latin, and reading and writing from Pierre Baptiste, his godfather, a slave working at the nearby hospital run by the Fathers of Charity. Toussaint also became a Roman Catholic. At first assigned to work with the estate animals, L’Ouverture became coachman to the estate manager and then steward of all the livestock. He married and had a number of children.