Dutty Boukman

Dutty Boukman
Bornc. 1767
Senegambia[1]
Died7 November 1791
Other namesBoukman Dutty
Known forCatalyst to the Haitian Revolution

Dutty Boukman (or Boukman Dutty; died 7 November 1791) was an early leader of the Haitian Revolution. Born in Senegambia (present-day Senegal and Gambia), he was enslaved to Jamaica.[1] He eventually ended up in Haiti, where he became a leader of the Maroons and a vodou houngan (priest).[2]

According to some contemporary accounts, Boukman, alongside Cécile Fatiman, a Vodou mambo, presided over the religious ceremony at Bois Caïman, in August 1791, that served as the catalyst to the 1791 slave revolt which is usually considered the beginning of the Haitian Revolution.

Boukman was a key leader of the slave revolt in the Le Cap‑Français region in the north of the colony. He was killed by the French planters and colonial troops on 7 November 1791,[3][4] just a few months after the beginning of the uprising. The French then publicly displayed Boukman's head in an attempt to dispel the aura of invincibility that Boukman had cultivated. The fact that French authorities did this illustrates their belief in the importance Boukman held to Haitian people during this time.[5]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Tickner was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Edmonds, Ennis B.; Gonzalez, Michelle A. (2010). Caribbean Religious History: An Introduction. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0814722503.
  3. ^ Girard, Philippe R. (2010). "Haitian Revolution". In Leslie, Alexander (ed.). Encyclopedia of African American History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1851097692.
  4. ^ Poujol-Oriol, Paulette (2005). "Boukman". In Appiah, Kwame Antony; Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (eds.). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195170559.
  5. ^ James, C. L. R. (1989). The Black Jacobins: Toussaint Louverture and the San Domingo Revolution (2nd ed.). New York: Vintage Books. p. 96. ISBN 0-679-72467-2. When Boukman was killed (fighting bravely) the Assembly stuck up his head in Le Cap with a placard: 'This is the head of Boukman, chief of the rebels.'