Louis Delgrès was a mulatto

Mulatto

Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...

leader of the movement in Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

 resisting reoccupation (and thus the reinstitution of slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

) by Napoleonic France

First French Empire

The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

 in 1802. An experienced military officer who had long experience fighting Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 in the many wars that country had with Revolutionary France

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, Delgrès took over the resistance movement from Magloire Pélage after it became evident that Pélage was loyal to Napoleon. Delgrès believed that the "tyrant" Napoleon had betrayed both the ideals of the Republic

French First Republic

The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...

 and the interests of France's colored citizens, and intended to fight to the death.

The French army led by Richepance

Antoine Richepanse

Antoine Richepanse was a French revolutionary general and colonial administrator.-Military career:Richepanse was born in Metz as the son of an officer of the Regiment of Conti...

 drove Delgrès into Fort Saint Charles which was held by the slaves. After realizing that they could not overcome the French forces and refusing to surrender, Delgrès left with 400 men and some women. At the battle of Matouba on May 28th, 1802, Delgrès and his followers fired their gunpowder stores, committing suicide in the process, in an attempt to kill as many of the French troops as possible.

In April of 1998, Delgrès was officially admitted to the French Panthéon

Panthéon, Paris

The Panthéon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens...

, although the actual location of his remains is unknown.

External links

• Louis Delgrès Le souffle de la liberté