Women of the Haitian Revolution

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Roles of Women during the Haitian Revolution

Women played an essential role in the time preceding and during the Haitian Revolution. They served as spies and participated active involvement in combat. Though documents prove that women actively fought, they do not reveal their specific names often. Armed women could be found among the bands of maroons as well as escaped slaves that often operated independently. Women also contributed in defending towns besieged by the British. One Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniére joined the heroic defence of a redoubt near Crête-à-Pierrot in 1802, where the French lost nearly 1.500 men until they managed to capture the position. In a rebel attack against another fortification, women were found in the first wave, carrying fascines to cover the trenches. In addition to actively fighting, women often initiated war. Mambo were known to often cause rebellions against or poison planters. In moral tradition, a mambo, sacrificed a pig in the Vodum ceremony that led to the 1791 uprising. Women warriors are also seen in Haitian tradition. The Vodun Iwa Marinet bwa-cheche is believed to be the Haitian Marianne who fought with Dessalines' army and lit its cannons. In addition, the Vodun Iwa of maternal love, Erzulie, believed to be based on a black slave who allegedly fought in the Haitian revolution Women were also often at the centre of local revolts. In the 1791 insurrection, a ‘girl of color’ called Princess Améthyste is said to have organised a company of Amazons. This was probably linked to a religious cult, voodoo playing an important role as a means of communication and community building among enslaved Africans. In 1802, we hear of a woman called Lazare who was a ringleader of an insurrection against the napoleonic expedition. Woman warriors played an essential role in the enslaved Africans’ struggle for freedom and even their enemies acknowledged their courage. General Leclerc, the commander of the French expeditionary force who was sent by Napoleon to reestablish slavery in the colony, wrote exasperated: “[T]hese men die with an incredible fanaticism; they laugh at death; it is the same with the women.”

Notable Women of the Independence Movement

Few females are recognized for their contributions and one of them being Sanité Bélair . Sanité was a Haitian freedom fighter and revolutionary, and one of the few female soldiers who fought during the Haitian Revolution. Sanité, whom Dessalines nicknamed as “a tigress,” is formally recognized by the Haitian Government as a National Heroine of Haiti. In 2004, she was featured on the 10 gourde banknote of the Haitian gourde for the “Bicentennial of Haiti” Commemorative series. She was the only woman depicted in the series, and the second woman ever (after Catherine Flon) to be depicted on a Haitian banknote. Sanité became a sergeant and later a lieutenant during the conflict with French troops of the Saint-Domingue expedition. Her exact reason for joining the revolutionary army was never explicitly stated but it is understood that she wanted to help Haiti claim its independence. She later married General Charles Bélair, nephew of Toussaint Louverture. Together, she and her husband are responsible for the uprising of almost the entire enslaved population of L’Artibonite, against their enslavers. According to C.L.R. James in The Black Jacobins after the death of Toussaint L’Ouverture, Dessalines betrayed Charles Bélair in a meeting. Sanité attended the meeting with her husband and Dessaline arrested them both and sent them to the French general, Leclerc. Another account, however, states that Dessalines did not personally nab the Bélairs, but after their capture he wrote Leclerc that he had “undeniable evidence that Charles Bélair was the leader of the latest insurrection,” and asked that they are punished for their crimes. Dessaline had considered Charles Bélair his rival for leadership of the Haiti revolution and ceased the opportunity.

On October 5th 1802, they were sentenced to death. Sanité in particular was sentenced to death by decapitation, and Charles by firing squad. She refused to die by decapitation and demanded to be executed just like her husband, whom she had witnessed being executed by firing squad.

References

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