Jean-Jacques Dessalines
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Jean Jacques Dessalines (1758 - 1806) fought with [[Toussaint Louverture] "Koupe tet, boule kay" - "Cut off the head, burn down the house." (Wilentz) Dessalines declared Saint-Domingue's independence on January 1, 1804, and became the Black republic's first leader. You can read an English translation of his Proclamation of Haiti's Independence here.
"A handsome, 'red-skinned' Negro from Senegal, fearless in the field and unscrupulous off it." (Parkinson, p. 67)
On declaring independence, Dessalines is reported to have created the Haitian flag by tearing out the white out of the French tricolor.
