African-American Revolution Research Paper

In their demands for liberty and equality, African Americans would point to their role in all of America’s wars. Many fought for liberty in the American Revolution, like Philadelphia’s James Forten who served aboard an American privateer.

The Abolitionists and the Pro-Slavery population of the United States each took the story of Toussaint Louverture and tried to use it to further their cause. The Pro-Slavery South often told of the story of the horrific Haitian Revolution. It told of vengeful African slaves committing unspeakable acts of violence against innocent and defenseless white men, women, and children. The pro-slavery press documented the horrors of Saint Domingue at great length. “Upwards of one hundred thousand savage people, habituated to the barbarities of Africa, avail themselves of the silence and obscurity of the night, and fall on the peaceful and unsuspicious planter, like so many famished tigers thirsting for human blood.”1 Bryan Edwards, a chief antagonist of slavery to British Parliament, wrote multiple narratives that provided the text for images of the revolution that would haunt generations of American slaveowners.

After enlightenment ideals began to spread across the globe, revolutions and wars for independence became commonplace throughout the world. After the French revolution, many countries and colonies began to follow suit and desire major changes in their colonies whether it be independence or equality/rights for all citizens. One such colony where this took place was the French colony of Saint-Domingue. The revolution, which took place here, was one not originally for independence but for equality among at least three different classes of people. These classes were the white French settlers, the gens de couleur and finally the slaves. Many traditional narratives of the Haitian Revolution say the fighting in Saint-Domingue was civil war fought between three distinct groups , closer examination of primary sources show that some white settlers, many of the gens de couleur, and slaves fought toward the same goal.

African Americans in the American Revolution My essay will focus on, Did the slaves wanted to fight for the British because of how bad the Americans were treating them? Did the African American business owners had white - colonist workers? Did free slaves try to get other slaves out of slavery?

Which kind of made it a little harder for the slaves in Haiti to fight against slavery, but before they do so, the American Revolution and the French Revolution were going on. Those slaves from those wars had their own way of defeating their battle against slavery. This gave the African heritage an opportunity to escape and fight

In the 18th century, Saint Dominigue, now known and Haiti, was France’s most profitable oversees colony. This was due to its large production of sugar, coffee, and cotton that was generated by the enslaved labor work force. When the French Revolution (1789) broke out, there are five different interest groups in the colony. They included white planters, petit blancs, and three groups of African descents. The white planters owned plantations and slaves. The petit blancs were artisans, shop keepers and teachers. The African groups comprised of free blacks, slaves, and escaped slaves. There were many whites that lived in Saint Dominigue that supported independence from France once France began to impose steep tariffs on many items that were imported

The revolution in the French colony of Saint Domingue (now known as Haiti) was the largest and most successful slave uprising. The causes and the effects for this revolution come and go all across around the world, however I shall focus on the effects it has had on the United States. Although it had brought up harsh embargoes against the newly born Haiti, the impact of the Haitian Revolution on the United States affected the country socially, politically, and financially. I will begin with a brief explanation as to what happened before and during the revolution, just to give you some insight as to why this revolution was so significant. Then I shall go into those effects it had on the United States.

This contributed to the reason why the government tried to demolish the rebellion. In both the Haitian Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement, the government officials needed slaves to maintain their land. The United States already abolished slavery, but they wanted to limit the African-American’s rights. Slaves were a big part of the economy. Slaves were used to maintain plantations. The absence of slaves meant that the economy would suffer greatly. In the United States, Southern states were greatly affected by the abolishment of slavery. Their economy was based on farms and plantations, and slaves were needed to maintain the production of them. The Southern representatives and people were enraged by the abolishment of slavery,and disliked the thought of being equal to “property”, so they created laws to limit the African Americans rights. In the Haitian Revolution, Saint Domingue contributed to the French economy greatly. It was known as the richest colony in the world, producing 40% of the world’s sugar and 50% of coffee. Slaves made the production of sugar and coffee possible. They were a source of cheap

By the late 1700’s, the French Colony of Saint-Domingue was a pressure cooker about to explode. Inspired by the French Revolution, the large slave population was ready to start to explore their liberties and fight for change. In 1789(the year the revolution began) , 89% of Saint-Dominique’s 560,000 person population was comprised of slaves. A large majority of the few white people on Saint-Domingue were plantation owners. The Hundreds of sugar plantations led Saint-Domingue’s economy to be one of the strongest in the Western

In 1791 revolution broke out in the French colony of Saint Domingue, later called Haiti. The Haitian Revolution resounded in communities surrounding the Atlantic Ocean. One of the wealthiest European outposts in the New World, the Caribbean island's western third had some of the largest and most brutal slave plantations. Slave laborers cultivated sugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton, and they endured horrible death rates, requiring constant infusions of slaves from Africa. In 1789 roughly 465,000 black slaves lived in the French colony on the island, along with fewer than 31,000 whites. In addition, there were about 23,000 free blacks and mixed-race people called gens de couleur, who might own land and accrue wealth but had no political

The  Haitian Revolution was a successful  anti-slavery  and anti-colonial  insurrection that took place in the former  French  colony  of  Saint-Domingue  that lasted from 1791 until 1804. It affected the institution of  slavery  throughout the Americas.  Self-liberated slaves  destroyed slavery at home, fought to preserve their freedom, and with the collaboration of  mulattoes, founded the sovereign state of  Haiti. The  cause  of the  Haitian Revolution  was the inherent cruelty of slavery and the desire for  Haitian  blacks and multi-racial people to be treated with respect and decency. The citizens of France planted the seeds of revolt in  Haiti  during the French  Revolution.

(vii) The slaves, unlike the whites, were determined to fight to the end, even if it meant death. After all, they had little to lose in a society where they were seen and treated just a little better than animals.

The Haitian Revolution was a very successful anti-slavery and anti-colonial against French colonial rule in Saint Domingue, or present day Haiti, by self motivated colored slaves. This French colony of Saint Domingue was well known for their production of sugar which provided a great percentage of France’s income, but in return France was always replacing these “workers” due to Saint Domingue high death rate. Many slaves rarely lasted longer than ten years once arrived on the island. These slaves came from Kongo a region of West-Central Africa and also a very few were free people with a mixed and African heritage, these people were often referred to as “gens de couleur” or people of color. The people of color were often wealthy and educated but the whites of the island often humiliated them. The island was ran by wealthy planters who lived in their “own little worlds” of lavish parties, leisure society, and games. The Haitian Revolution began as a sub part of the French Revolution but quickly became the most successful slave rebellion of all time. During the time of the Haitian Revolution about one-third of French foreign trade was from sugar and sugar byproducts from Saint Domingue. The beginning of the revolution in Saint Domingue began when the petits blancs and gens de couleur began to fight for political rights and equalities following the calling of the Estates-General. The French National Assembly finally granted political rights to the gens de couleur, but the

The Haitian Revolution was the first and only successful slave revolution in the Americas. It began in 1791 with thousands of harshly exploited slaves rose up against their masters on Saint-Domingue, which at the time was the most profitable colony in the Atlantic world. By 1794, the French administration was forced to emancipate them and the decision was further enforced by the revolution in Paris. The Haitian victory challenged the established master and slave relationships throughout the Americans; it reinforced the hopes of slaves and their masters’ worst fears. Dubois weaves the stories of slaves, free people of African descent, wealthy whites, and French administrators into an unforgettable tale of insurrection, war, heroism, and victory and establishes the Haitian Revolution as a foundational moment in the history of democracy and human rights . Dubois, unlike Childs, relies on secondary sources and the published documents of prior scholars, including Beaubrun Ardouin, Pamphile de Lacroix, and David Geggus, rather than primary, archive based accounts of the revolution. The Revolution serves as a unifying force for rebels, especially those in Cuba.

Saint Domingue, which was what Haiti was known as back than, was the wealthiest overseas colony. It produced sugar, coffee, indigo and cotton. The colony of Saint Domingue was divided into 5 different groups. They were the the white planters, petit blancs, free, slaves, and the runaways. The white planters were those who had property and slaves. The petit blanc which means small whites were craftsmen, shopkeepers, and school teachers. They wanted independence but were set on the idea of slavery and wanted it to stay in practice. The total white population only numbered about 40,000 of the whole population.