Leclerc, Charles Victor Emmanuel
Leclerc, Charles Victor Emmanuel
(shärl vēktôr` ĕmänüĕl` ləklĕr`), 1772–1802, French general. He served under Napoleon Bonaparte in the Italian campaign, married (1797) Pauline BonaparteBonaparte, Ital. Buonaparte , family name of Napoleon I, emperor of the French. Parentage
Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, 1746–85, a petty Corsican nobleman, was a lawyer in Ajaccio.
..... Click the link for more information. , and took part in Napoleon's coup of 18 Brumaire (1799). In 1801 he commanded the French expedition to Portugal. He then headed the force sent to subdue HaitiHaiti
, Fr. Haïti , officially Republic of Haiti, republic (2015 est. pop. 10,711,000), 10,700 sq mi (27,713 sq km), West Indies, on the western third of the island of Hispaniola.
..... Click the link for more information. , where François Dominique Toussaint LouvertureToussaint L'Ouverture, François Dominique
, c.1744–1803, Haitian patriot and martyr. A self-educated slave freed shortly before the uprising in 1791, he joined the black rebellion to liberate the slaves and became its organizational genius.
..... Click the link for more information. had established a virtually autonomous state. The French won several victories after severe fighting, and an agreement was reached. This was broken by Leclerc, who, acting on Napoleon's secret instructions, had Toussaint seized by trickery and deported to France. The natives, led by Jean Jacques DessalinesDessalines, Jean Jacques
, c.1758–1806, emperor of Haiti (1804–6), born a slave. A shrewd general, he served under Toussaint Louverture in the wars that liberated Haiti.
..... Click the link for more information. and Henri ChristopheChristophe, Henri
, 1767–1820, Haitian revolutionary leader. A freed black slave, he aided Toussaint Louverture in the liberation of Haiti and was army chief under Dessalines.
..... Click the link for more information. , rose in revolt and expelled the French, who were weakened by an epidemic of yellow fever. Leclerc died of the fever.