Quote by Toussaint Louverture: “In overthrowing me, you have cut down in Saint‑Domingue only the trunk of the tree of liberty.”

Louverture defiantly warns Napoleon that while he may be captured, the core idea of freedom he planted in Haiti will endure and inevitably sprout anew. It’s a prophecy of future liberation.

Spoken as he was being deported to France, his capture was a strategic move by Napoleon. This quote served as a powerful prediction of Haiti's eventual independence, which was achieved in 1804.

Haitian revolutionary leader and the most prominent figure of the Haitian Revolution, the only successful slave revolt in history. Born into slavery, he rose to lead the liberation of Saint-Domingue, which became the Republic of Haiti in 1804.