Also known as: Constitution de 1801, Saint-Domingue Constitution of 1801
Last updated: April 26, 2026
Constitution promulgated by Toussaint Louverture on July 8, 1801, making him Governor-General for life and effectively autonomous ruler of Saint-Domingue while nominally remaining within the French Empire. The constitution abolished slavery, granted equality regardless of color, and organized the colony under a strong executive. Napoleon viewed it as a direct challenge to French sovereignty and used it as justification for sending the Leclerc expedition to reassert French control.
Toussaint authored and proclaimed the constitution, making himself Governor-General for life.
The paternal labor language of the 1801 Constitution was among the provocations the cultivators rose against
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