Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803) was originally named Francois Dominique or Pierre Dominique. On May 20, 1743, he was born into a black slave family on the Breda plantation in Haiti. As a child, he herded sheep and fed horses for a plantation owner, and later became a coachman. When Dusan was 15 years old, a slave riot broke out locally. Soon, the rebellion failed. Toussaint saw with his own eyes that the French colonial authorities brutally threw a fugitive slave named McCandal who participated in the riot into a fire and burned him alive. This incident left a deep impression on him.

When Dusan was young, although he worked all day long, he loved learning. He learned some medical knowledge since he was a child, and later he learned French with amazing perseverance. He had read many French books, especially the works of French Enlightenment thinkers, which inspired him greatly. After the Haitian independence uprising broke out in 1791, Toussaint joined the northern black slave rebel army led by Jean Francois and became a military doctor. Soon, he transferred to another uprising team led by Biasu and served as the commander. During the battle with the enemy, Dusan showed his military talent. French colonial commander Lavaux exclaimed: "This Dusan opens gaps everywhere!" Dusan felt proud after hearing about it, and from then on he began to use Dusan - Louverture came to sign. "Louverture" means "open" or "open" in French. Du Sang worked hard all the time and always lived and ate with the soldiers. In the battles with the French colonial army, or the battles with the Spanish and British intervention forces, he always took the lead, was resourceful and brave, and was deeply loved by the revolutionary soldiers. He was wounded more than twenty times in combat.

During the struggle, Toussaint was also good at taking advantage of the conflicts between Western colonists fighting for Haiti, and successively defeated the French colonial army and the Spanish and British intervention forces. At the Haitian Constitutional Convention held in 1801, Toussaint was elected governor-general for life. At this time, Toussaint also led the Haitian people to step up economic construction. Large areas of barren plantation land were reclaimed as they were allocated to rebel officers and soldiers and landless peasants, and agricultural production gradually recovered and developed. Due to the incentives for production and the implementation of trade liberalization policies, Haiti's export trade soon exceeded the highest level in history.

The French colonists were unwilling to fail, and Napoleon sent his brother-in-law Leclerc to lead a huge expeditionary force in an attempt to reconquer Haiti. Toussaint ordered the burning of Cape Town in Haiti, led the revolutionary army to retreat to the hinterland and mountainous areas, implemented strongholds to clear the country, and waited for opportunities to attack, leaving the French army in a state of disarray. While Lecrane asked Napoleon for help, he also carried out political intrigues. Leclair asked Toussaint's two sons who were studying in France and their French teachers to meet with Toussaint and persuade him to surrender, but Toussaint said categorically: "I must be loyal to my compatriots and God!" The plan failed. Another plan. In June 1802, Leclair pretended to invite Toussaint to negotiate, but Toussaint believed him. At the beginning, a French general received Toussaint "warmly" at the negotiation location, but the general left soon with excuses. Suddenly, a group of French soldiers burst into the room and arrested Toussaint. Then, Dusan, whose hands were tied, was dragged into a car waiting at the door, taken to the seaside, put on the French warship "Hero", and sailed to France. Upon arrival, the French authorities imprisoned him in the prison of Jouux in the Alps. In prison, Dusan suffered severe interrogations and various tortures. Coupled with the extreme cold in the mountain prison, Dusan, who was accustomed to tropical life, soon fell ill. On April 27, 1803, when the guard entered Toussaint's cell, he found him dead in a chair.

Toussaint Louverture is the greatest national hero of the Haitian Revolution.

(Selected from "Handbook of Middle School History" compiled by Beijing Normal University Press, Beijing Normal University Press, 1986 edition.)