During the late eighteenth century, the French colony of Saint-Domingue was going through a dramatic transformation. It was in full revolution, with the slaves rebelling against their cruel and unjust masters. A slave army lead by Toussaint Louverture swept the colony and secured victory over the white minority that had for so long kept them oppressed. Ultimately, Toussaint was outsmarted by Napoleon but not before he paved the way for Haiti gaining its independence. Through out this unit one question has plagued me, whether Toussaint was in fact a strong leader or merely a weak instrument of that the Haitian people used to achieve independence. Despite how I voted today in class, I feel that Toussaint was both. The challenge that he had was immense, to take an untrained army, put it against one of the most professional armies in the world and succeed. For the most part, Toussaint succeeded. He is credited with putting Haiti in a position to gain its independence form France. He used many clever tactics to secure his victory. Originally allied with the Spanish against France he abruptly switched sides and expelled the Spanish from Haiti, thereby forming a sort of truce between the French and Haitians. Once all was set and done France was in control of Haiti once more and Toussaint was its leader. It was here that Toussaint started making some flawed decisions. He appointed himself emperor for life and lost the respect and trust of his people. Then when Napoleon’s troops invaded, his people were not willing to back him and fight under him once more. It was due to this that Toussaint was ultimately had to surrender to Napoleon. So, although he may have started off strong, when he was truly put to the test, ultimately he failed.