Though still fairly unknown in Europe, Toussaint Louverture was the first great Black leader, prior to Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. 
Born a slave in the French settlement of San Domingo - present-day Haiti - Louverture had an extraordinary career, becoming General of the French army and eventually the Governor of the colony. Opposing Napoleon, wishing to reestablish slavery, he died in 1803. 
200 years after Independence, gained at a very high cost, we discover a proud Haitian people referring to French culture and the ideals of the Revolution, though their impoverished country still suffers from Napoleon's betrayal.