Toussaint L’Ouverture was a former slave who rose to become the leader of the only successful slave revolt in modern history known as the Haitian Revolution. Born into slavery on May 20, 1743 in the French colony of Saint Dominque, L’Ouverture was the eldest son of Gaou Guinon, an African prince who was captured by slave traders. At a time when revisions to the French Code Noir (Black Code) legalized the harsh treatment of slaves as property, young L’Overture instead inspired kindness from those in authority over him. His godfather, the priest Simon Baptiste, for example, taught him to read and write. Impressed by L’Ouverture, Bayon de Libertad, the manager of the Breda plantation on which L’Ouverture was born, allowed him unlimited access to his personal library. By the time he was twenty, the well-read and tri-lingual L’Ouverture—he spoke French, Creole, and some Latin—had also gained a reputation as a skilled horseman and for his knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs. More importantly, L’Ouverture had secured his freedom from de Libertad even as he continued to manage his former owner’s household personnel and to act as his coachman.
Have you heard of…?
Zainab al-Nafzawiyya of the Berber Empire, co-ruled the kingdom with her husband Yusuf ibn Tashufin who was the founder of the Tashufinid Dynasty. The influence of their empire spread from Spain and across North Africa. https://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslim-woman/zainab-al-nafzawiyya-7/
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history-timeline/ A very interesting website