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Year 8

Toussaint L'Ouverture and the fight for independence

I can describe the role of L'Ouverture in the Haitian Revolution.

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New
New
Year 8

Toussaint L'Ouverture and the fight for independence

I can describe the role of L'Ouverture in the Haitian Revolution.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In 1791, a slave revolt erupted in the French colony of Saint-Domingue and Toussaint L'Ouverture became its leader.
  2. L'Ouverture aimed to emancipate all people on the island, including in the island's Spanish-controlled territory.
  3. L'Ouverture organised the rebels into a formidable army. Britain, worried Caribbean slave revolts would spread, invaded.
  4. Britain tried to restore slavery there so France promised L'Ouverture's soldiers freedom if they helped defeat Britain.
  5. Britain's defeat saw France allow L'Ouverture to rule as governor of Saint-Domingue.

Common misconception

Toussaint L'Ouverture was fighting against the French during the entirety of the Haitian Revolution.

He first fought Saint-Domingue's ruling French elites and slave-owners. He then fought Spanish troops after invading Spain's territory on the island. He then defeated a British invasion and became Haiti's official governor until France betrayed him.

Keywords

  • Economic - a term to describe activities that involve trying to make money

  • Guerilla - refers to a style of fighting that is not out in the open, but instead is conducted as secretly as possible

  • Governor - the title given to the ruler of a country, that usually still has to answer to someone above them, such as a king or emperor, or a government in another country

  • Elites - the people at the top of society with access to money and power

  • Autonomous - refers to the idea that a person, organisation or nation can act independently from anyone else’s control

Ensure students have a secure understanding of who L'Ouverture was opposing at each point during the revolution and why.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What word describes the 'stratification' of a society into levels where those at the top have power and authority, and those at the bottom have no power or authority?
order
stratus
ranking
Correct answer: hierarchy
Q2.
Starting with the earliest, arrange the following events into chronological order.
1 - Enlightenment ideas spread throughout Europe and the Americas.
2 - France experienced revolution and their king was executed.
3 - France promised freedom and equality for everyone living under French rule.
4 - Grands blancs refused to pass rights on to the free people of Saint-Domingue.
5 - Free people of Saint-Domingue formed an alliance with the enslaved Africans.
6 - Revolt broke out in Saint-Domingue.
7 - Toussaint L’Ouverture became the leader of the revolt.
Q3.
Roughly how many free people of colour were living in Saint-Domingue at the time of the Haitian Revolution in 1791?
3000
Correct answer: 30 000
300 000
3 000 000
Q4.
Match the group or person to their description.
Correct Answer:Toussaint L'Ouverture,originally enslaved, then a free man who became leader of the revolt

originally enslaved, then a free man who became leader of the revolt

Correct Answer:grands blancs,the group of white French elites who owned slaves and ruled the colony

the group of white French elites who owned slaves and ruled the colony

Correct Answer:free people of colour,the two groups, aside from the grands blancs, who were free in Haiti

the two groups, aside from the grands blancs, who were free in Haiti

Correct Answer:enslaved Africans,the 500 000 people forced to work in the colony in dire conditions

the 500 000 people forced to work in the colony in dire conditions

Q5.
What did the French Revolution promise to all who lived under French rule?
Correct answer: liberty (freedom)
Correct answer: equality (everyone having the same opportunities)
Correct answer: fraternity (togetherness or brotherhood)
eternity (lasting forever)
Q6.
There were around half a million enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue at the time of the revolt in 1791. How is half a million written numerically?
50 000
Correct answer: 500 000
5 000 000
5000

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Complete the following sentence with the correctly spelled region: Saint-Domingue was France's most profitable colony in the __________.
Carribean
Correct answer: Caribbean
Carribbean
Q2.
Which method of warfare did L’Ouverture’s troops use?
open warfare on flat terrain
Correct answer: ‘hit and run’ guerilla warfare
naval warfare fighting at sea
Q3.
In what year did revolt break out in Saint-Domingue?
1789
1790
Correct answer: 1791
1792
Q4.
Britain was worried about slave revolts spreading to which of its colonies?
Correct answer: Jamaica
Hong Kong
Correct answer: Barbados
India
Q5.
Which of the below did Toussaint L’Ouverture attempt to do during his time as official French governor of Saint-Domingue?
Correct answer: re-stabilise the economy
reinstate enslavement
Correct answer: restart agricultural production
Correct answer: meet with foreign leaders
Correct answer: maintain economic and political ties with France
Q6.
Which word describes the group in a society who are at the top of the social hierarchy with power and authority?
Correct answer: elites
working class
middle class
peasants

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