Гаити революциясының алғашқы көшбасшысы Жорж Биассу

Early leader of the Haitian Revolution

George Biassou (1 January 1741 – 14 July 1801) was an early leader of the 1791 slave rising in Saint Domingue that began the Haitian Revolution. With Jean François and Jeannot, he was prophesied by the vodou priest Dutty Boukman to lead the revolution. Like some other slave leaders, he fought with the Spanish royalists against the French Revolutionary authorities in colonial Haiti. Defeated by his former ally Toussaint Louverture, who had allied with the French after they promised to free the slaves, Biassou remained in service to the Spanish Crown. He withdrew from Santo Domingo in 1795 and moved with his family to Florida, which was then part of the Spanish colony of Cuba. In Florida, Biassou changed his first name to Jorge. Spanish leaders put him in charge of the black militia in Florida. He began to build alliances there when his brother in law married a fugitive from South Carolina. Florida had provided refuge for both planters and slaves during the American Revolution. Georges Biassou was born in 1741 on the island of Hispaniola, as a slave on a sugar plantation in the French colony of Saint Domingue, modern day Haiti. He was an early leader of the 1791 slave revolt in Saint Domingue, in which he and his fellow leaders, Jean François Papillon and Jeannot Bullet, killed the plantation owners to whom they were enslaved. This ultimately led to the Haitian Revolution (1791 1804). Biassou and Jean François offered to cease the revolt, in exchange for emancipation, however France was preoccupied with multiple wars, and hence dismissed this proposal. In 1793, a war between France and Spain manifested in Hispaniola. Biassou and his fellow revolutionaries were requested to aid Spain in fighting against France in exchange for freedom, to which they agreed. France abolished slavery throughout its empire in 1794, however Biassou remained loyal to Spain. In 1796, Biassou relocated to St. Augustine, Florida, where he became the general of the free black militia stationed at Fort Matanzas. He died there in 1801.

Georges Biassou was born in 1741 in Saint Domingue, Hispaniola. Hispaniola is an island which previously consisted of Saint Domingue on the western third, and Santo Domingo on the east. Saint Domingue is now recognised as the Republic of Haiti, and Santo Domingo as the Dominican Republic. The island lies in the Greater Antilles, a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea Saint Domingue was initially claimed by Spain, which later ceded the colony to France. France controlled Saint Domingue from 1659 to 1804, and it became the most lucrative colony in the French colonial empire, as well as throughout the Caribbean. Saint Domingue was known as the “Pearl of the Antilles” for its resources, subsequent profitability and beauty.

Saint Domingue's population was stratified with a rigid caste system. who were usually shopkeepers, artisans and labourers. This colonial stratification pattern laid the foundation of Haiti's present day class system. Georges Biassou attended the Vodou ceremony at Bois Caiman where Vodou priest, Dutty Boukman, declared that Georges Biassou, Jean François Papillon and Jeannot Bullet would lead the insurrection. Jean François executed Jeannot early in the uprising due to his excessive violence and cruelty, particularly that he commanded a rebel camp in which he tortured and executed white prisoners. Sonthonax also offered freedom to slaves who joined his army. Despite this, Governor Quesada made an effort to maintain Biassou's image as a loyal soldier, rather than a rebel. Biassou wore gold trimmed clothing and carried both a silver sabre and an ivory dagger.

Georges Biassou lived in the Salcedo House in St. Augustine. He bought a plantation, farmed by slaves of his own. Biassou continued to serve Spain in his final years, defending Florida against attacks of the Seminole Indians. He had achieved 10 years of freedom before he died at age 60 on 14 July 1801,