Legendary Women in the Haitian Revolution

             



Often, when we discuss history, we ignore the role of women.  Doing this not only marginalizes women but also reifies patriarchy.  Haitian women played a decisive role in the Revolution.  These women, much like the males, provided a wide range of skills.  First and foremost, Haitian women served as combatants.  Such skills they had been trained in various West African societies, which allowed women to participate in war actively.   (Boisvert 2001) Some Haitian women were trained in a variety of herbs and medicinal products.  These women, who formally served as midwives, rejected the colonial-imposed Catholicism and again practiced Voodou.  As priestesses, they weaponized their medicinal training and created poisons against the French enslavers.  (Boisvert 2001)

 

Here are just a few of the legendary women who fought in the Haitian Revolution:

 

Legendary Women in the Haitian Revolution:

  • Suzanne Bélair, known as Sanité Bélair, was a Haitian revolutionary leader and served in Toussaint Louverture's army. She and her husband, another lieutenant in Louverture's army, were eventually found and executed at Napoleon's command.
  • Marie Sainte Dédée Bazile was an important figure in the Revolution and is known for having gathered the remaining parts of Haiti's first Emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, after his brutal assassination.
  • Marie-Louise Coidavid was the first and only Queen of an independent Haiti.  She and her husband, Henri I of Haiti, endured the difficulties of military life, and she was forced to witness the assassination of her firstborn child. After she lost her husband, she settled in exile in Italy.
  • Catherine Flon was a seamstress who famously sewed the first Haitian flag at the request of Dessalines, but she is also known for having nursed the sick and wounded after nearby battles.
  • Cécile Fatiman was a mambo (a vodou priestess) who is believed to have formed networks on the island of Haiti that would transfer information from plantation to plantation.
  • Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité was an educator who shared her knowledge of French to free blacks.  She was married to a French painter who died shortly after. Eventually, she became the first Empress of Haiti after her marriage to General Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who crowned himself emperor of Haiti on October 8, 1804. Emperor Jacques I was assassinated on October 17th, 1806.
  • Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniére was a Haitian soldier known for her courage and skills in battle and strategy.  She was a leading figure in the pivotal Battle of Crête-á-Pierrot in 1802.  She fought in a male uniform and was well-respected by her male compatriots.
  • Suzanne Simone Baptiste Louverture was the dedicated wife and caretaker of Toussaint Louverture. Reports about her life contradict one another but she certainly underwent horrific torture when captured by Napoleon.  They demanded information about her husband's whereabouts, which she never divulged.  The details surrounding her death are unclear.
  • Victoria Montou known as "Toya" was a fighter in Jean-Jacques Dessalines army during the Haitian Revolution.  She had served as a warrior for the Empire of Dahomey in Africa before she was shipped as a slave to Haiti.  She soon escaped the plantation and some report that she agreed to rescue a newborn baby and train him in battle skills she learned as a warrior in Africa.  This young boy allegedly became the future leader, Dessalines.

source: Women in the Haitian Revolution - Women in the French Revolution: A Resource Guide - Research Guides at Library of Congress (loc.gov)

 [RC1]Boisvert, Jayne (2001). "Colonial Hell and Female Slave Resistance in Saint-Domingue". Journal of Haitian Studies. 7 (1): 73. 

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