Boisrond-Tonnerre
Encyclopedia
Louis Félix Mathurin Boisrond-Tonnerre (1776–1806), better known as simply Boisrond-Tonnerre, was a mulatto Haiti
an writer and historian who is best known for having served as Jean-Jacques Dessalines
' secretary. Boisrond-Tonnerre was educated in Paris until 1798 when he returned to Haiti (Daut 56). He is the author of the 1804 Independence Act of Haiti, which formally declared Haiti's independence from the colonial rule of France
. He is also known for his work chronicling the Haitian Revolution
, Mémoires pour Servir à l'Histoire d'Haïti.
Boisrond-Tonnerre was born Louis Boisrond in Torbeck
in southwest Haiti. He acquired the name "Tonnerre", French
for "thunder", as an infant when his cradle was hit by lightning. His father, a carpenter named Mathurin Boisrond (see Daut below), amazed that his infant son was unharmed, gave him the name "Tonnerre". Boisrond-Tonnerre studied in France before returning to Haiti.
According to the Haitian author Christophe Phillippe Charles, Boisrond-Tonnerre scribbled the following quatrain on the walls of his cell before his execution on either the night of the 23rd or the 24th of 1806:
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an writer and historian who is best known for having served as Jean-Jacques Dessalines
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...
' secretary. Boisrond-Tonnerre was educated in Paris until 1798 when he returned to Haiti (Daut 56). He is the author of the 1804 Independence Act of Haiti, which formally declared Haiti's independence from the colonial rule of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He is also known for his work chronicling the Haitian Revolution
Haitian 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...
, Mémoires pour Servir à l'Histoire d'Haïti.
Boisrond-Tonnerre was born Louis Boisrond in Torbeck
Torbeck
Torbeck is a municipality in the Les Cayes Arrondissement, in the Sud Department of Haiti.It has 60,012 inhabitants....
in southwest Haiti. He acquired the name "Tonnerre", French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for "thunder", as an infant when his cradle was hit by lightning. His father, a carpenter named Mathurin Boisrond (see Daut below), amazed that his infant son was unharmed, gave him the name "Tonnerre". Boisrond-Tonnerre studied in France before returning to Haiti.
According to the Haitian author Christophe Phillippe Charles, Boisrond-Tonnerre scribbled the following quatrain on the walls of his cell before his execution on either the night of the 23rd or the 24th of 1806:
Humide et froid séjour fait par et pour le crime
Où le crime en riant immole sa victime
Que peuvent inspirer tes fers et tes barreaux
Quand un coeur pur y goûte un innocent repos? (Christophe 35).
External links
- The Louverture Project: Louis Boisrond Tonnerre