By Ambassador Phatse Justice Piitso
20 March 2025
History chronicles human civilisation, from the epochal age of monarchical and aristocratic despotism to the modern era of democratic supremacy. It has long been a subject of scholarly and philosophical inquiry, illuminating generations of human society. It reflects the past, present, and future – serving as a living catalogue of civilisation’s growth and evolution.
From medieval times, various philosophical schools have explored the moral order of the universe, how societies become reflections of their past and present, and the continuity of civilisation. They have documented the trade routes of the great Egyptian kingdom stretching into East Asia, the Silk Road winding through Africa and Mesopotamia, and the voyages of discovery that shaped the modern world. These journeys – from the Middle Passage of the Atlantic slave trade to the emergence of the capitalist world order – narrate humanity’s transition from serfdom to slavery, from working-class struggles to the pursuit of an egalitarian society.
History is the natural phenomenon of our mother earth, a science of self-consciousness in the age of humanity. It compels us to reflect on the past to comprehend the realities of the present and future. We revere its heroes and heroines – warriors of their time – whose battles defined future generations. The magnitude of their sacrifices remains inscribed in the struggles for human freedom.
Today, I invite the young generation of Africa, the Americas, and the world to walk with me through the melancholic shadows of history. To journey through the legendary odyssey of one of Africa’s greatest daughters – from the parched desert kingdom of Dahomey, through the Middle Passage, into the magical rainforests of Saint-Domingue. The warrior woman of the Amazons of Dahomey, transformed into the warrior woman of the Antilles – a figure shaped by history’s events and epic struggles against adversity, an emblem of our shared human resistance.

I invite them to trace the journey of Victoria Adbaraya Toya Montou, the mother of the first independent slave republic of Haiti. To follow the remnants of her footprints through the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, across the blooming beauty of mother nature – the mother of the dead and the living. To traverse the hidden tranquility of the ocean’s vast expanse, to witness the towering majesty of the Atlantic and Caribbean waters.
I urge them to see the wonders of creation through the turbulent waves of history – waves that erase footprints yet etch their own eternal marks. To gaze upon the endless horizon where the sun rises and sets, where the moon bathes the stars, where volcanic forces shape ocean islands – testaments to the universe’s unfathomable power. In these struggles, agony is transformed into hope, forging a better future for humanity.
The renowned abolitionist William Wilberforce, reflecting on the horrors of the slave trade, once declared:
“There can never be so much misery condensed into such a small place as in a slave ship.”
A chilling testament to this reality was The Sea Surgeon, a handbook for doctors aboard slave ships, published in 1729. It advised enslavers on how to sustain their captives, prescribing forced dancing as a remedy for melancholy. It stated:
“Seeing that the only thing which contributes to the health of these poor creatures, and on which the good of the voyage and your reputation depends, is to nourish them well, deal kindly with them, and divert them often with drums and dance, in order to dissipate the sorrowful thoughts of quitting their own country, friends, and relatives.”
But in Victoria Adbaraya Toya Montou, they did not merely seek to sustain a broken heart. They did not merely nourish a soul. Instead, they unknowingly forged the courage of a celebrated freedom fighter – one who would not only battle against colonial rule but dismantle the vile system of slavery itself. She would become the mother of the new independent slave republic of Haiti.

A General, A Mother, A Revolutionary
Victoria Adbaraya Toya Montou was no ordinary woman. She was a high-ranking General of the Dahomey Amazons, an elite battalion that inflicted devastating defeats upon French colonial forces. A fearless warrior of extraordinary courage, she led countless battles in defense of her homeland. Wounded in combat, she was captured and sold into slavery – forced through the Middle Passage into the American archipelago.
On the brutal plantations of Saint-Domingue, she became a close friend of Jean-Jacques Dessalines’ mother. A healer, midwife, and a revered figure among enslaved workers, she tended to the sick and wounded who suffered under merciless slave masters. Yet, she endured and rose – becoming a Lieutenant in Toussaint Louverture’s revolutionary army.
Her military brilliance, resilience, and unwavering dedication to freedom made her instrumental in the Haitian Revolution. She built an indigenous army of former slaves and native Saint-Domingue people, training them in guerrilla warfare and combat tactics. She instilled the highest discipline—the art of dying with dignity – fighting for the liberation of humanity against colonial death squads.
She taught the Amazons of the Antilles never to submit to their oppressors. Facing execution, they refused to be blindfolded, choosing to meet their deaths with open eyes. Many stood defiantly before firing squads, offering their chests to the bullets – martyrs in the struggle for freedom.
Under her leadership, a formidable resistance was born. The warrior women of the Antilles fought with unbreakable resolve. Their defining moment came at the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot, where they helped defeat Napoleon’s elite French forces – ushering in a new era and the birth of the first independent slave republic of Haiti.

A Mother to a Nation
She remained true to the promise made to her dearest friend from Guinea-Bissau, who, at the moment of death, entrusted her son, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, into her care. She raised him as
a warrior, teaching him the art of survival and battle. Together, they escaped to the mountains, joining Maroon communities, where she honed his skills as a master soldier.
During the historic Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot, Dessalines, emboldened by her teachings, declared:
“Take courage, I tell you, take courage. The whites from France cannot hold out against us here in Saint-Domingue. They will fight well at first, but soon they will fall sick and die like flies.
Listen well: If Dessalines surrenders to them a hundred times, he will betray them a hundred times.
I repeat it – take courage! And you will see that when the French are reduced to a small number, we shall harass them, defeat them, burn their harvests, and take refuge in the hills.
They will be forced to leave. Then, I will make you independent. There will be no more whites amongst us!”

A Legacy of Strength and Freedom
In his 2010 article, The Curse on Haiti, Henry Louis Gates Jr. contends: “It was not the devil that hurt Haiti; it was Thomas Jefferson.” He argues that Jefferson’s betrayal – imposing economic sanctions and refusing to recognise Haiti’s sovereignty – was driven by fear that a successful black republic would inspire slave rebellions across the Americas.
This echoes the words of a U.S. ambassador to Haiti in 1893:
“A deeper reason for the coolness between our countries is this – Haiti is black, and we have not yet forgiven Haiti for being black, nor forgiven the Almighty for making her black.”
These are the tales of the founding mother of Haiti, a woman whose legacy remains a symbol of strength, resilience, and sacrifice for oppressed people worldwide. She defied history and geography, choosing to live not for herself, but for eternity.
A warrior of uncommon bravery, a guerrilla fighter of the Amazons, a conqueror of the new world of democracy, she is the beauty of creation itself – the enduring spirit of human civilisation.
Her legacy has secured future generations their glorious freedom, planting the roots of an undying tree. Today, I declare Victoria Adbaraya Toya Montou the blossoming flower of our universe.

• Ambassador Phatse Justice Piitso is a member of the African National Congress. He wrote this article in his personal capacity)