Toya: Dahomey

By Gabriel Souleyka

Toya, known as Victoria Montou, embodied the resistance of Haitian women during the revolutionary era. Born in Dahomey (now Benin) around 1730, she distinguished herself as a warrior and member of the Minos. Wounded during a battle against French incursions into the kingdom, she was captured and sold into slavery. Deported to Saint-Domingue, she set out to escape at all costs. She succeeded, finding refuge in the island's vast forests, but an encounter was to shape her destiny. A young woman, a runaway slave, is about to give birth to a baby boy. Toya assists her, but she loses her life, leaving the child to Toya, who promises to treat him as her own son. Toya finds herself with a newborn baby in a hostile forest. She has no choice but to return to the plantation from which she escaped, accepting her condition as a slave in order to save the boy. Throughout the boy's childhood, she will educate him, love him, and initiate him into the art of war and the combat techniques of Dahomey.
But at the age of 15, the boy is sold to another dwelling, breaking Toya's heart. As the years go by, she never ceases to condition herself for the simmering revolt, training the slaves, never ceasing to cultivate the warrior spirit that has never left her. When Saint-Domingue rose up, she took an active part in the fierce fighting, eventually reuniting with her son, now named Jean Jacques Dessalines. In 1804, the Republic of Haiti was proclaimed, and Toya's son became the first Emperor of the nascent Republic. Discover his untold story, through the two novels dedicated to him.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 2487324155
• ISBN13: 9782487324152
• Release Date: September 2024
• Publisher: Tioleja Editions
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"