Marie-Jeanne Lamartinière is thought to have been born in Port-au-Prince, Saint-Domingue, and is described by later historians as a mulâtresse (of mixed race) who grew up on a plantation and received some formal education. Though the sources are fragmentary and often contradictory, she is sometimes depicted as the daughter of an African slave woman and a French colonist, perhaps with some Taíno ancestry.
Her early life is shrouded in uncertainty: no reliable records survive to confirm her birthdate, parentage, or precise upbringing. What does emerge from the historical and oral tradition is that she entered into the revolutionary struggle, eventually marrying Louis Daure Lamartinière, an officer in the Armée Indigène, and became famous for her courageous participation in the defence of Crête-à-Pierrot in 1802.
Marie-Jeanne Lamartinière is thought to have been born in Port-au-Prince, Saint-Domingue, and is described by later historians as a mulâtresse (of mixed race) who grew up on a plantation and received some formal education. Though the sources are fragmentary and often contradictory, she is sometimes depicted as the daughter of an African slave woman and a French colonist, perhaps with some Taíno ancestry.
Her early life is shrouded in uncertainty: no reliable records survive to confirm her birthdate, parentage, or precise upbringing. What does emerge from the historical and oral tradition is that she entered into the revolutionary struggle, eventually marrying Louis Daure Lamartinière, an officer in the Armée Indigène, and became famous for her courageous participation in the defence of Crête-à-Pierrot in 1802.