History

At the time of the Indians, the region of Limbé consisted of small villages. The regions of Borgne, Limbé, Port-Margot and Plaisance were called Goacanacaric. The region of the bay of l'Acul, was called at the time Marien. Together, this whole great region was part of the country of the cacique of Goacanacaric. The current city of Limbé was founded in 1715 under the French colony with the formation of the parish of Limbé. Limbé appears on Sir Robert's 1750 map of Saint Domingue with the neighboring parishes of Port-Margot, Acul-du-Nord and Morne-Rouge. By way of comparison, the present towns of Plaisance, Borgne, Ennery, Marmelade for example were not indicated on this map.

The name Limbé in botany refers to the flat part of a leaf or the petal of a flower. It can also, from the English "Limb" or the French "Limbe", designate the main part or the large branch of a tree. Therefore, the name Limbé comes from the current location of the city in the flat part of the Limbé valley and from the presence of the river of the same name which is the main branch of this river formed by the tributaries La Soufriere and Grande Rivière having its source at the bottom of Bédorette mountain.

During the time of the colony, the location of Limbe had a great influence on the role that the region played. The Limbé valley was well isolated from the other regions bordering the Artibonite, by the northern mountain range then called La Coupe de Plaisance (current Mornes Pilboreau and Bédorette). The slaves of Limbé could communicate with those living further in the North Plain through the mountainous tracks of the Limbé Cup and the tracks across the Soufriere River. They could thus participate in secret meetings with other slaves in the area and thus create bonds of trust. 

Thus, from the point of view of the history of the Haitian revolution, a voodoo priest named Dutty Boukman lived in Limbé in Chabaud. Boukman organized the famous religious meeting of African slaves at Bois-Caiman in the region of Morne Rouge in August 1791. This meeting aimed to mentally prepare the slaves for the start of an uprising. After this meeting, the slaves set fire to dozens of plantations in the North, including that of the French colonist Sébastien - Francois le Normand de Mezy in Chabaud, in the 4th rural section of the town of Limbé (Chabotte in Creole). Let us quote Makandal in the list of famous slaves coming from the region of Limbe. 

On the other hand, a few years later in 1803, the army of slaves also gathered in Limbé, in the crossroads called Nan Canno (meaning "In the region of the guns" because of this historical fact) to prepare before the final assault on Cap-Haitien (26 km further north-east). The famous battle of Vertières took place during this assault, where the last French bastion was subdued by the revolutionary army of slaves during the Haitian revolution.

Let us mention that during this battle of Vertières, the Haitian general Capois-La-Mort, on horseback and his men encountered a barrage of fire during their advance. Although a bullet passed through his hat, Capois-La-Mort, mounted on his horse, continued to run towards the enemy and urged his men to move forward. A cannon ball mowed his horse to the ground. The general stood up and resumed his course towards the enemy line, shouting to his soldiers "Forward!" Forward! ". Another bullet from a French sniper took Capois-La-Mort's hat off. Once again, that didn't stop him from wielding his saber and leading his men forward with his continuous cry of "Forward!" "Observing this act of bravery, the French general Comte de Rochambeau in charge of defending Cap-Haitien, gave the order to cease the shooting and asked his guards to applaud this African warrior with a drum roll, before the resumption of the battle.

References:

  - Limbé Haiti, Historical Encyclopedia of the Pre-Columbian Period in the early 2000s, J. Luc Laguerre & Drelin Laguerre, June 2015

  - The Haitian Revolution And Its Effects, Patrick E. Bryan

  - Toussaint Louverture: A Biography, Madison Smartt Bell

  - Heroes of Haiti, WF Burton Sellers, January 11, 1999

  - History of Haiti, From independence to the present day, Middle and upper courts, Odette Roy Fombrun1