Saad Ghaffar Mr. Legat World History Honors 18/1/23 Is Toussaint L’Ouverture Machiavelien? Machiavelli is an Italian philosopher who is famous for his own Machiavelli theory. His theory states that a person needs to do certain things to attain and keep power. Toussaint was a former slave who rose to power and became the leader of the only successful slave revolt in history. Toussaint L'Ouverture was born on May 20th, 1743, and died on April 7, 1803. He was feared by others, rose to power by wickedness, and was deceitful, showing how he is Machiavellian. One reason why Toussaint Louverture is Machiavalien is that he is feared by many others and was even called the white Napolian. Machiavelli states, “The prince who relies on promises is ruined; because benevolence cannot be relied upon in a time of need. …show more content…
Machiavelli states, “Nevertheless experience shows that princes who do great things have neglected honesty, and in the end, have triumphed over those who have relied on the princes’ promises”. The quote that supports that Toussaint L’Ouverture was deceitful and smart is, “To his detractors, he was a murderer and a fraud. Some of his enemies faulted him for being too close to white planters; others accused him instead of being too friendly to them. He was the liberator of the black slaves; he was their oppressor.” This quote was written by Vanessa M. Holden, an assistant history professor at Michigan State University. Toussaint was smart enough to come close to his white planters, which is why he was granted freedom in 1776, he was close to his owner and freed. When he became a leader over other freed slaves, he was like a dictator. No one could stop him from ruling over them, he may have freed many slaves and made the first black nation, but he was still like a dictator over them and used this power to fight against possible threats and control more