Thank you for this exposition of part of history which is generally not taught in our schools. A related story I found fascinating was the life of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. Born a slave in what is now Haiti, he went on to become possibly the most successful general of the French Republic, earning the jealousy of Napolean. The Count of Monte Cristo and many other novels by his son, Alexandre Dumas, were based on the true stories of his life. See Tom Reiss, The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo (Crown 2012).