Alright, so I'm Haitian. Both of my parents were born in Haiti, and growing up Haitian,

one thing we really take pride in is the Haitian Revolution.

It's when four million slaves people rose up and defeated not just the French army, but

the British and the Spanish over the course of about 12 years, ending in 1804.

The man who ultimately led Haiti to win the revolution was Jean-Jacques Desilions.

He's one of Haiti's founding fathers. In fact, he might be the person Haitians are

most proud of because of how defiantly he stood against white supremacy.

After the revolution, Desilions established the capital city for the new country, and

he named it after himself. Today, the town of Marcian Desilions is literally surrounded

by its history, and the form of forts Desilions built to keep his new capital safe.

I'm Baudelaire, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible

and wondrous places. Today, we're talking to one of Jean-Jacques Desilions' direct

descendants to learn more about Haiti's beloved liberator and the town that bears his name.

More, after this.

Dr. Lewis J. August lives in the US now, but he was born in Haiti, and he's committed

to supporting the people of Haiti. He donates regular rehabilitation hospitals and medical

schools, and he mentors Haitian doctors who are on the ground. In that passion for helping

the people of Haiti makes sense because Dr. August is also the great, great, great, great

grandson of Jean-Jacques Desilions.

Dr. August only found out about that family connection as an adult.

I didn't know that until I came to United States. I was always passionate about my family

history, and I was able to go back as far as 1791 on my mother's side of the family.

...