Dessalines

Dessalines, Jean Jacques (circa 1760-1806), an Emperor of Hayti, was born in Africa, and till 1791 was a slave. He was set free in 1794 with the other slaves in St. Domingo, and had great influence with his fellow-insurgents through his skill in war, his courage, and his unscrupulousness. After the deportation of his chief, Toussaint l'Ouverture, and the evacuation in 1803 by the French Government, he was made governor-general for life with dictatorial power, and in 1804 he made himself emperor. His savage disposition and oppressive habits made him hated, and both troops and people conspired against him. He was killed by a soldier who succeeded him as emperor. Michael Scott, in Tom Cringle's Log, gives a good idea of the condition of Hayti at this period or a little later.