LITTLE HAITI FREEDOM GARDEN / GENERAL TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE

Toussaint L’Ouverture was instrumental in the fight for Haitian independence, which grew out a successful slave revolt. In 1791, in the wake of the French Revolution, enslaved Haitians in Saint-Domingue revolted in an attempt to overthrow French domination. Toussaint, a free Haitian, joined the revolution, and quickly gained a reputation as a strong military leader. By 1797, Toussaint was the Governor-General of Saint-Domingue, and in 1801, his government submitted its own Constitution to France with the intention of preserving Saint-Domingue’s autonomy. In 1802, French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte responded by dispatching soldiers to retake the colony and restore slavery. During the fight for control of Haiti, Toussaint was captured and imprisoned in France, never to return. The Haitians ultimately secured their independence following the French defeat at the Battle of Vertières in 1804. The City of Miami commissioned this seven-foot-tall bronze statue of Toussaint and unveiled it in 2005. It serves as a reminder of the struggle against oppression. The statue has been the site of an annual candlelight vigil to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of lives lost during the devastating Haiti earthquake of 2010.