Haitian revolution Essay

By 1792, the French had sent troops in to try and restore order. These battles differed from the battles in the United States because they centered on ideas of racial equality. Poorly treated slaves and angry mixed race citizens fought not only for their right to have an independent nation, but for a literal freedom and equality for themselves. When Toussaint L’Overture, a former slave, took over the Haitian armies in 1793, he was fighting both the British and the French, two armies fighting to possess an island rich in resources, including the slaves who were fighting against them. He was a powerful leader and an intelligent military strategist, and his capacity to control the rebelling slaves greatly improved their organization. Battles with the French dragged on until 1803, when Napoleon no longer had the resources to sustain the warfare and withdrew his troops. By 1804, Haiti was an independent republic governed by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who in a final expression of racial tension had the remaining white citizens massacred. Both the United States and Haiti helped secure their independence through successful military campaigns, but Haiti’s independence had race as a focal point in a way colonists of the United States did not

Little is a town is rooted and build on the back bone of Haitians. This city now known as little Haiti was once known as the lemon city continues to face struggled that has placed them as an oppressed society. Many of the residents are oppressed for many reasons ranging from factors such as education, income, and physical power over their community. The Haitian and residents do not hold their power of influence in their community.

As the revolutionary time period continued to surge, the Haitian revolted against the French as giving way for political independence and the freedom of the inhabitants, however the economy diminished for many countries did not want to trade with the Haitians. With the success in the Haitian revolution, the Haitians gained political freedom from the French and created their own government in 1804. Not only did the Haitians gain political freedom, but they also abolished slavery for the citizens and gained the right to be a free man and a citizen. Since the slave revolution succeed, many countries blocked communication and economic trade with the Haitians in fear of their slaves revolting which dwindled the economic success that previously occurred with the French.

a. According to Jacob Crawfurd of crawfurd.dk With the French arrival a revolution started once again and when it was finally over, an army of black slaves had their victory against the army of Napoleon. On January 1st 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, an African-born ex-slave could declare Haiti independent. It was the first black republic in the world and the first country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery completely

He was also very successful in negotiating with the French General Leclerc, who misrepresented France's orders by attacking L'Ouverture and his forces. L'Ouverture was able to calmly respond by arranging a diplomatic meeting and creating a resolution about territorial boundaries, proving his advanced diplomatic ability. He also proved advanced military ability by defending cities against French Gen. Rochambeau. One specific battle was at La Croix, during which L'Ouverture fought off Rochambeau's force which far outnumbered his own (304). Dessalines and Christophe also proved very capable and they worked cohesively with each other and with L'Ouverture . L'Ouverture's leadership empowered the Haitian people and the slave armies and his reputation had such a lasting effect that he became a heroic figure for anti slavery activism in the U.S. He was described by some activists in the mid-1800s as being "among history's greatest men" (Clavin 38). His character became a symbol of anti slavery idealism and, on a larger scale, of racial equality (35). L'Ouverture was proof of the ability of black men to achieve feats comparable to white men, showing that the races were equal (38). His success had "revolutionary implications" because this was the first time a black slave population had ousted a white population

Soon, the French realized that they might lose Saint-Domingue as a colony altogether, something many Frenchmen felt would be a disaster to the French economy, as the sugar plantations on the island had filled the French treasury for years. The French were right to fear this. As the rebellion escalated, the Spanish and English had begun sending troops to Saint-Domingue, hoping to claim some of it for themselves. So, in 1794, in an effort to keep Saint-Domingue, the French decided they would abolish slavery in all of their colonies. Soon after, Toussaint agreed to keep his supporters loyal to the French. Fighting still continued on the island between various warring factions, but Toussaint’s forces largely maintained

However, when Napoleon Bonaparte attempted to reinstate slavery at the beginning of the 19th century, there was much objection specifically by Toussaint (de Breda) Louverture. Toussaint created a new constitution for Saint-Dominque without slavery and placed administrators in charge over the islands government, commerce, and legislation (Dubois/Garrigus,169). Napoleaon sent troops to Saint-Dominque, arrested Toussaint and deported him to France; however, this only furthered intensified the fighting. After much strife, Napoleon eventually gave up and the Haitian Declaration of Independence was created on January 1, 1804 and later a constitution in 1805 (Dubois/Garrigus,188).

In France at the time, "the relatively homogenous ethnicity allowed for the convenient and commonly accepted divisions of social ?estates?. By contrast, the colonies were culturally and ethnically plural. Rather than ?estates,? the colonies,...had ?castes?, whites, free persons of color, and the slaves" (Knight 203). While the black slaves formed about 80 percent of the population on the island of Saint Domingue, the upper strata was divided between color and class. The population of Saint Domingue at the time was classified into three main categories. Each main category was then subdivided. The whites were divided between the gran blancs and the petit blancs; the free blacks were usually referred to as the gens de couleur; and the slaves were called affranchis.

Firstly, Toussaint Louverture assisted the liberation of slaves. In 1791, Louverture was the troop doctor and commander. His aid in the troops and intelligent warfare strategies greatly

In the Haitian Revolution that was taken place in the Americas and one of the revolutions that was going on through the Atlantic world. Haiti was under the rule of the French known as St. Domingue. Where they had slaves working in the sugar and coffee plantations

Haiti was once the first black independent republic in the world and the richest island in the Caribbean. Today Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world. What could have happened to Haiti in almost two hundred years of history? The country experienced repeated civil war and foreign intervention. Haiti is not isolated from the international world. Thus, it was not out of concern for ordinary Haitians that the United States intervened in Haiti. It was out of concern for profit and stability within the United States' own backyard. The purpose of this paper is to show the negative aspect that the United States had played in the government of Haiti.

The Black Jacobins is a rich historical narrative of the Haitian Revolution, known as the “the only successful slave revolt in history” and its leader Toussaint l’Ouverture. James uses the narrative as a critique of western imperialism and colonists’ and slaves’ interpretations of the revolution. Other European scholars with aristocratic, imperial mindsets believe that the main reason the San Domingo revolution was successful because of the result of yellow fever, guerilla fighting, and black revolutions are known to be natural warriors; could only be defeated by white officers. They also

Domingue. The revolt began when free Blacks and mulattos were denied citizenship rights promised by the French Revolutions. As the revolt spread, enslaved Africans rose up against their French masters. During the disturbance there was cruelty from both sides.

Toussaint Louverture organized an army of twenty thousand that controlled most of Saint-Domingue and spread a constitution that granted equality and citizenship to all of its residents. However, he did not want to declare independence from France because he did not want to aggravate Napoleon Bonaparte into attacking the island, which he ended up doing later. After his death following his arrest, the black generals that succeeded Toussaint defeated the French troops that survived yellow fever and had driven them out of the colony. In late 1803, they declared independence, the establishment of Haiti soon followed. Although they had abolished French rule, French is the main language spoken in Haiti today. The victory of the Haitian revolution signifies the first and only successful slave revolt in modern

The blacks of Saint Domingue were treated cruelty. They were forced to live in villages with low access to medical and clean water. There Village was full of disease. Slave women were forced to say yes to do have the sexual thing done by their masters on the regular basis. Blacks were punished all through the days and night rules weren't being followed. The would receive whipping and beating. A lot of time there also hung from a tree. Lives were being lost on the regular basis but the population of black stayed high. This was because each week white colonists brought new slaves to Saint Domingue. There was a high number of innocent blacks getting killed. The blacks of Saint Domingue feared for their