George Biassou (1 January 1741 – 14 July 1801) was an early leader of the 1791 slave rising in Saint-Domingue that began the Haitian Revolution.

Like some other slave leaders, he fought with the Spanish royalists against the French Revolutionary authorities in colonial Haiti.

[2] Georges Biassou was born in 1741 on the island of Hispaniola, as a slave on a sugar plantation in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, modern day Haiti.

Biassou and Jean-François offered to cease the revolt, in exchange for emancipation, however France was preoccupied with multiple wars, and hence dismissed this proposal.

Biassou and his fellow revolutionaries were requested to aid Spain in fighting against France in exchange for freedom, to which they agreed.

[5] In 1796, Biassou relocated to St. Augustine, Florida, where he became the general of the free black militia stationed at Fort Matanzas.

Enslaved Africans grew sugar in the northern plains around Cap Français, and coffee in the mountainous terrain.

The plantation owners were notoriously brutal, often using whips for the punishment of their slaves, producing an unprecedented standard of violence.

[11] Free persons of colour, or 'gens de couleur libres', were 'mulattoes'[11] who were decedents of white fathers and black mothers.

Paul Fregosi, in his book Dreams of Empire: Napoleon and the First World war 1792-1815, emphases that each of the three social classes in Saint-Domingue despised one another.

The revolution was initially an insurrection against French imperial authority; however, it later became a battle of racial inequity, and then of slavery in general.

[13] Biassou and Papillon proposed peace negotiations with France, offering to cease the revolt in exchange for emancipation.

Some insurgents, including Toussaint Louverture, withdrew from the Black Auxiliaries to return to Saint-Domingue and support the French.

[13] Spain was grateful for this loyalty, however, as the war concluded, the Spanish government no longer knew what to do with its Haitian "wolves".

[11] Spain subsequently disbanded the Black Auxiliaries, meaning that its members, including Biassou, were to leave Hispaniola.

St. Augustine had already enforced racial equality laws in 1792, thus providing refuge for emancipated slaves, and even former planters.

[5] Upon arrival, St. Augustine's Governor, Juan Nepomuceno de Quesada y Barnuevo, provided two nights worth of dinner for Georges and his Haitian followers, who he considered family.

[5] Whilst Biassou settled in St. Augustine, Napoleon Bonaparte developed a new French constitution for all its colonies.

[17] Biassou continued to serve Spain in his final years, defending Florida against attacks of the Seminole Indians.

[9] Haiti's independence exposed an interdependence between slave emancipation and the construction of a sovereign state, giving rise to issues such as the definition of citizenship and difficulties in laying political foundations.

[19] Georges Biassou's impact surpassed the domestic threshold and influenced world politics permanently.

The Haitian revolution dictated the structure of international relations in the forthcoming 19th century with its defeat of the French colonial empire, and subsequent impact on Spain and England, who emerged weakened from the conflict and remained cautious for years to come.

[20] In August 2009, the US Ambassador to Haiti, Raymond Joseph, visited St. Augustine to raise awareness for Haitian-American heritage.

[5] A witness account titled 'The revolution of Saint-Domingue, containing everything that occurred in the French colony from the start of the revolution until the author's departure for France on 8 September 1792' (title translated to English) is written by an anonymous author, who is only identified by the fact that he is a white male.

Landers is a historian who has conducted research on Biassou and black society in Spanish Florida for decades, with a PhD in Latin American Colonial History.