Historical Figures

Sanité Belair, heroine of Haiti's independence

Heroine of the independence of Haiti, Sanité Belair (1781 – 1802) distinguished himself during the Haitian Revolution by taking up arms against the Leclerc expedition, which came to restore French authority on the island.

Toussaint Louverture

Suzanne Belair, known as Sanité Belair, was born in 1781 in Verrettes, in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). Little is known about her early years, except that she was born free.

In 1795, she married Charles Belair, an officer of Toussaint Louverture, who rallied Saint-Domingue General Maynaud and the French Republic. Appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Santo Domingo, Toussaint Louverture establishes his authority on the island, defeats the English, invades the Spanish part of the island and obtains the rank of Captain-General of Santo Domingo.

The revolt of Sanité and Charles

Considering that Toussaint Louverture was becoming too dangerous, Bonaparte decided to send a military expedition to the island to restore French authority and restore slavery, which had been abolished in 1794. It was General Leclerc who was sent to Saint- Domingue, and who arrived on the island in February 1802. Toussaint Louverture was forced to capitulate three months later.

At the initiative of Sanité, she and her husband took up arms the following August, in the mountains surrounding the town of Verrettes. They rally the population of the department as well as part of the troops in the pay of Leclerc, and reach the heights from where they win several successes.

The independence of Haiti

To defeat them, Leclerc sent them Jean-Jacques Dessalines, former lieutenant of Toussaint Louverture submitted at the same time as the captain-general. Leaving with the intention of joining the insurgents, Dessalines judges that the revolt is premature and not strong enough; he defeats the rebels, pushes them back into the woods and manages to capture Sanité. To save her, Charles constitutes himself a prisoner. Judged together, Sanité and Charles were unanimously condemned to be shot. The sentence was carried out in October 1802.

After defeating the French in 1803, Dessalines proclaimed the independence of Haiti on January 1, 1804. Sanité Belair is considered one of the most important heroines of this independence.