Haitian Revolution Research Paper

Slavery changed society outlook in life, it also created many memories which would be rather forgotten. Many countries were turned into colonies and were made victims of slavery. One country that had one of the biggest impacts on the abolishment of slavery was Haiti. Many historians have considered Haiti and their actions against slavery to be a great milestone in its abolition. The Revolution was not know for it uniqueness but the most successful of the rebellions that took place in history. This essay seeks to highlight the circumstances in society that made the Haitian revolution inevitable by 1791 and its relevance in history.

The Haitian Revolution is recorded as the only known completely successful slave revolt in world history. Taking place from 1791 to 1804, the rebellion ended slavery in Saint Domingue, and rebirthed the area into the Republic of Haiti. The Revolution carried effects on a grand scale. Globally, other countries began to become fearful due to the rebellions, and this rage was voiced by citizens around the world. The French government’s political role in the lives of Haitians during the rebellion was expressed in numerous governing documents. The social impact of the revolution can be seen through the perspectives of slaves during the time period.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizens in 1789 was a key incentive for the Haitian Revolution of 1789-1803. This declaration was pivotal in defining the rights that all men were entitled to. For instance, the framers of the declaration proclaimed that “men are born…free and equal in respect of their civil rights…” and that all men were entitled to liberty, rights to own property, security, resistance of oppression, freedom of speech, and protection under the law. The declaration was perceived by members of society very differently. For example, the people of color view the declaration as a tool for demanding their rights. For the slaves, the declaration was a motivation to fight for their freedom. In 1789, the Haitian Revolution officially started with uprising commanded by people of color and slaves. This revolution proved to be one of the most successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere, and in 1803, Haiti became the first country to gains its independence and be governed in the Americas by people of African ancestry. The Haitian Revolution completely transformed Saint Domingue, one of the most prosperous colony in the Caribbean. Considering the importance of the Haitian Revolution, it is unfortunate that there are few accounts of what was happening during the time. Yet, three very important documents that teach us about the society during the revolution are “The Ogé Insurrection”, “The Battle in the Harbor: The Testimony of a Man of Color”, and

The cause and effects of the Haitian Revolution have played, and continue to play, a major role in the history of the Caribbean. During the time of this rebellion, slavery was a large institution throughout the Caribbean. The success of the sugar and other plantations was based on the large slave labor forces. Without these forces, Saint Domingue, the island with the largest sugar production, and the rest of the Caribbean, would face the threat of losing a profitable industry.

After the slave rebellion, lasting from 1791-1804, Haiti won its independence from European dictatorship in 1804. Two hundred+ years later, Haiti’s governmental assembly now lies within the voice of the people; the citizens have the power to elect their representatives based on the popular vote. Similar to the US, Haiti is governed by three branches of government: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The vision of the “new” Haiti would be a strong, yet fair government; the intention was to protect the citizens’ freedoms while preventing governmental abuses of power. Although the government has implemented a more fair system, social relations remain unbalanced. Haiti's most blatant social disparities lie in race and in the disproportionate dispersal of wealth. The

By understanding the development of the Haitian State, one can therefore derive the dynamics of power built into the rising nation. Moreover, James analyzes well the external forces of control on Haiti, which allows a better understanding of the ability of the state to control its own future. Together, these arguments provide excellent examples of the inequalities within Haiti and externally effecting the nation, and the development of these inequalities as an inherent part of the Haitian and world economies. In such arguments, The Black Jacobins supports the assertion that the changes created in the revolution survived only because of the static qualities created after the

The historiography of Haiti with respect to the Atlantic Revolutions has been one of a gradual acceptance with a few exceptions. In the United, the Haitian Revolution posed a problem for not only the slave owner but the government. President Jefferson struggles with Haiti by denying any recognition of Haiti and yet writing privately, he supports emancipation. This is not only an American struggle with Haiti but also European. Blackburn sees the reason for ignoring Haiti is based on the fact the blacks of Haiti was the first to abolish slavery and makes for an uncomfortable if not embarrassing national historiography for France, Britain, and the Unit States.

The uprising of nearly 100,000 slaves in Saint-Domingue from 1791-1804 was the largest insurrection of slaves in history. The Haitian Revolution resulted in the creation of the first successful independent freed slave state in the world, a fact that rocked the socio-political, economic, and moral foundations of the Caribbean.[1] However, in the period following the Revolution, there is a noted increase of slavery in the Caribbean as a whole. Did the success of the Haitian uprising merely serve as a lesson for Caribbean planters and reinforce the slave society? To answer this question one must examine the factors that led to the Revolution’s success both externally, in the European metropoles, and internally, in the psychological and

The Haitian Revolution was an iconic and world altering overthrow of power that took place on the French colonized island of Saint Domingue in August 1791, two years after the more famous French Revolution. The mistreated slaves of the colony banded together to abolish slavery on the island once and for all, and it was one of the first slave revolutions in history to succeed. The idea of the revolution emerged during religious meetings celebrating the colony’s native religion, voodoo. During these meetings the slaves hatched a plan to overthrow the system they were trapped in. They carried the plan through, and during the chaos and bloodbath that followed, the new leaders of Haiti came into power. The main leader that emerged from the ashes was a man named Toussaint L'Ouverture, who became the first governor of Haiti and wrote the constitution. Though the newly freed slave society faced many struggles, including military opposition from France, the colony remained free and slavery never

In the intellectual, social, and political ferment of the 18th century, no one was ready for a revolution in 1789. The ideology and meaning behind a revolution did not exist and, when the word ''revolution" is looked up in dictionaries from the eighteenth century, the only definitions that can be found derive from the verb “to revolve.” During these decades of economic and social transformation, Western Europe experienced a massive political change known as “The Age of Revolution.” The central event throughout much of the continent was the French Revolution and its aftermath. This was accompanied by a concerted effort at political reaction and a renewed series of revolutions from 1820 through 1848. This revolution paved the way for the Haitian Revolution, the most successful anti-slavery and anti-colonial insurrection. The Haitian Revolution was deeply connected to the principles of political change and socioeconomic upheaval. Economic grievances associated with early industrialization and human rights fed into later revolutions, particularly the outbursts in 1848. Revolutions also resulted from new political ideas directed against the institutions and social arrangements of the preindustrial order. In a world where slavery was commonly practiced throughout the world, the Haitian Revolution represented a new era of human rights, universal citizenship, and hope for those who were imposed through arduous labor. In the 18th century, people around the world described the events

Haitian Revolution is one of the most successful slave revolts in the History of African Slavery. The slaves in this territory didn 't just free their lives from slavery but they also had taken away control of French colony which was known at time as Saint Dominigue. Saint Domingue was the top sugar producing island at this time thanks to slave labor. Slaves were the reason why the French Colony was so prosperous in the first place. At this time Saint Domingue soon to be Haiti was the top producer in creating sugar.

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 struggles of the people of Saint Domingue were also abundantly associated with the French Revolution. When Haiti became France’s most industrially successful and wealthiest colony, the enslaved labor force broke out. The spark that slaves put on the revolution was the imbalance in the Haitian society, as the colony was 90 percent slave. The desire for Haitian blacks and multiracial people to be treated with respect and decency was so strong it spread from Saint Domingue, to many parts around the world.

This investigation will explore the question: To what extent is the success of the Haitian Revolution due to military strategy? My research will determine if the military organization which rivaled many other slave revolts was the key driving factor to the success of the revolution, or whether or not it was due to political and economic distractions in France due to the French Revolution. The majority of my research will be contain information going back to the American Revolution in 1775 and conclude with the end of the Haitian Revolution in 1804. I will specifically be analyzing Haitian and French perspectives during this time period and what is emphasized by

The Haitian Revolution started to bring the idea that slaves have the ideas that can cause them to go against their “owners”. The Haitian Revolution created the first state to abolish slavery and be ran by a blacks. This changed the way not only slaves thought about what was there for them, but also what the ones in control now had to think about because they never thought about that ever happening. The Haitian Revolution changed the political world of the modern