Suzanne Louverture, an unsung heroine
Lecture by Gabriel Osson

The Canadian Cultural Centre invites you on December 11 at 8 p.m. to a lecture by Franco-Ontarian writer Gabriel Osson on the trail of Suzanne Louverture, First Lady of Saint-Domingue, a historical figure and unsung heroine who contributed to Haiti’s independence.

Suzanne Simon Baptiste was a “négritte,” or “Creole Negress”, born on the Bréda du Haut-du-Cap plantation, near Cap-Français in Saint Domingue, around 1754. Her parents were former freed slaves. In 1781, she married Toussaint de Bréda—who would become Toussaint Louverture. In 1797, when Toussaint was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Saint-Domingue and then self-proclaimed Governor General for life in 1801, she became “Dame Consort” of the French colony of Saint-Domingue and then occupied the role of “First Lady.” Toussaint Louverture was captured by order of Bonaparte and deported to France with his wife Suzanne and his children. After a turbulent crossing, Suzanne and her family, accompanied by two nieces and a servant, arrived in Brest in July 1802. Her husband and her valet were transferred and interned at Fort de Joux in the Jura, where Toussaint died in April 1803.

From Brest, Suzanne was transferred to Bayonne and Agen in 1804 and where she remained under surveillance until her death in 1816. Suzanne left few documents written by her hand.

Gabriel Osson is a poet, novelist and painter. Born in Port-au-Prince (Haiti), he lives in Toronto. In 2017, he published “Hubert, le restavèk”, a first novel on the condition of child servants in Haiti, with Éditions David. The work was a finalist for the Christine-Dumitriu-van-Saanen prize. His novel, “Le jour se lèvera”, also published in 2020 by Éditions David, won him the 2021 Alain-Thomas Prize. Gabriel Osson is preparing the publication of a new novel on the life of Suzanne Louverture.

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