Victoria Montou
Encyclopedia
Victoria Montou, known as Toya (d. 1805), was a soldier and freedom fighter in the army of Jean-Jacques Dessalines
during the Haitian revolution
. She was reportedly the aunt of Dessalines.
Toya worked by the side of Dessalines as a slave before the revolution. She was described as intelligent and energetic, and shared a close relationship with Dessalines and the same hatred toward slavery. During the revolution and civil war, she fought as a soldier in active service: on a least one documented occasion, she commanded soldiers in action during battle. In 1804, Dessalines became emperor. When Toya was dying, the emperor demanded of the doctor to treat her as he would with him, and stated that Toya was his aunt who had shared his feelings since before the revolution. She was given a state funeral with a procession of eight sergeants and the empress Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité
. She was not the only women to have served in the Haitian army during the revolution, but mostly, the names of the female soldiers are forgotten. Another example is Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniére, who served at the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot
in 1802, and Sanité Belair
.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1801 constitution. Initially regarded as Governor-General, Dessalines later named himself Emperor Jacques I of Haiti...
during the Haitian revolution
Haïtian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
. She was reportedly the aunt of Dessalines.
Toya worked by the side of Dessalines as a slave before the revolution. She was described as intelligent and energetic, and shared a close relationship with Dessalines and the same hatred toward slavery. During the revolution and civil war, she fought as a soldier in active service: on a least one documented occasion, she commanded soldiers in action during battle. In 1804, Dessalines became emperor. When Toya was dying, the emperor demanded of the doctor to treat her as he would with him, and stated that Toya was his aunt who had shared his feelings since before the revolution. She was given a state funeral with a procession of eight sergeants and the empress Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité
Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité
Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité was the Empress of Haiti as the spouse of Jean-Jacques Dessalines.- Background :She was born in Léogane to a poor but free family as the daughter of Bonheur Guillaume and Marie-Élisabeth Sainte-Lobelot. She was educated by her aunt Elise Lobelot, who was the...
. She was not the only women to have served in the Haitian army during the revolution, but mostly, the names of the female soldiers are forgotten. Another example is Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniére, who served at the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot
Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot
The Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot was a major battle of the Haitian Revolution. The battle took place at the fort of Crête-à-Pierrot , east of Saint-Marc in the Artibonite River valley. General Charles Leclerc's French colonial army besieged the heavily barricaded fort, which was defended by Haitian...
in 1802, and Sanité Belair
Sanité Belair
Suzanne Bélair, called Sanité Belair, , was an Haitian Freedom fighter and revolutionary, sergeant in the army of Toussaint Louverture....
.