Hannah Henry
Tshana Thomas-Francique
West Indian History
18 March 2014
Haitian Revolution: Circumstances
Haiti was the French of Santo Domingo, the most prolific colonial economy in the world. Monopolized by plantation agriculture, mainly to stock coffee and sugar to the world market, practically 90 percent was Haiti’s slave population. African slaves were brought to the island in the Atlantic slave trade. The fragment of the populace subsisted of peoples of European ancestry and of mixed heritage, delineated in the law of the colony as “white” or people of color, proportionately. Both of these groups owned slaves. French bureaucrats subjugated the island. By 1788, the native Indian populace had died out completely as result of
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He also overtook the heads of the free coloreds and rival black commanders. Toussaint oversaw undisclosed consultations with the British that led to their disengagement from Santo Domingo in 1798; he also had contacts with the United States government, which was then entangled in an implicit war with France and was elated to sabotage French jurisdiction over their colonies. Historians contradict about what Toussaint was intending during these years. Some think he already predetermined to establish an autonomous country; others consider he was hoping for an agreement in which Santo Domingo would stay a French colony, but with a government of its own, selected by all its citizens, despite race. Toussaint was mindful that, as subversive earnestness in France was fading, some legislators were calling for the rehabilitation of slavery in the colonies; he had no motive of letting making that come to past. But he needed French support against the British, and so he played a perplexed game and kept his real aims vague.
Toussaint did hope to rehabilitate Santo Domingo’s economy. Although he guaranteed the black populace that there would be no return to slavery, he reiterated that most former slaves had to go back to their plantations and continue field work. They would now be paid and have more free time, but they were still not free to leave or to become
Toussaint L’ouverture was not only a good liberator but he was also a great ruler of Saint Domingue. Saint Domingue was not a good country without Toussaint. Toussaint was a great leader for Saint Domingue and changed their lives forever. He wrote a document that restricted the slaves. (Doc. C) He created this document so that the slaves are free but, they still have to follow the rules like all the others. Toussaint also created a proclamation stating that “Any individual… tending to incite sedition shall be brought before a court martial and be punished in conformity with the law.” (Doc. D) Toussaint states here that if any slave that breaks the law will go to the military court and be punished with the law. He uses this law to help all the
For Glissant, the rootless cell Toussaint should be seen as an island in the archipelago of the New World that connects the Atlantic and Caribbean early in the hemisphere, certainly a prophetic vision of his revolutionary past. This 'island', a common Caribbean place par excellence, after two hundred years of solitude, should not be quarantined, or serve as a stage to be cynically exploited by political opportunists, but be freed from the prison of the imperial
Toussaint knew what he wanted, and he had his constitution written with all of the things he wanted to have be incorporated into the Haitian society. (Doc C) When he gave himself the role of Saint Domingue’s chief general for life- with his very own constitution- it showed his power over what he wanted, and how he wanted life with his land and people. (Doc C) Adding to this, in the proclamation that Toussaint made as chief general, he specifically stated his unwanting of vagabonds in his land, and how he wanted more people to work keep the island running.
The statements that Toussaint makes in document B show how he is bold enough to stand up to one of the world’s superpowers at the times, and say enough is enough. Toussaint would not stand for mere empty promises from France of no more slavery, he knew there was a danger of them reinstating it if haiti submitted.So he made his stance clear and quite uncensored.
Slavery on Saint Domingue took a nasty turn against the white and mix raced people living there. “On the night of October 29, a revolt broke out on the Northern Plain – whites were massacred from Fort Liberté to the gates of Cap Français” (Doc. E). This Revolt was a declaration of something big, freedom. Toussaint encouraged the freedom of slaves when claiming “how could men just watch calmly as their liberty is being taken away” and “we know how to confront danger to our liberty,” (Doc. B). This is all evidence of his support of the abolishment of slavery and how he wants and knows how to keep it free for all in Saint
Later, when France threatened to reinstate slavery, Toussaint sent a letter to the French Directory in 1797. Toussaint stated that reinstating slavery would be almost impossible because the people of Saint Domingue had already known what it is like to be free. He said that
Toussaint L’Ouverture was born into slavery in 1743. He was the oldest child of an African Prince that was captured and forced into slavery. L’Ouverture was taught to read and write by his godfather as a child, which greatly impressed the manager of the plantation where he lived. The manager allowed L’Ouverture to use his personal library which helped him learn 3 languages and become well versed in the medicinal use of plants and herbs. Despite having worked as a slave, he also became a skilled horseman. As L’Ouverture grew older he gained his freedom from slavery, continuing to have a close relationship with his former owner regardless of any negative stigma he may face.
b. Dessalines, who had commanded the black and the mulatto forces during the final phase of the revolution, became the new country's leader; he ruled under the dictatorial 1801 constitution. The land he governed had been devastated by years of warfare. The agricultural base was all but destroyed, and the population was uneducated and largely unskilled. Commerce was virtually nonexistent. Contemplating this bleak situation, Dessalines determined, as Toussaint had done, that a firm hand was needed.
However, in spite of his positive effect upon Haiti, the fact that he appointed himself governor general calls into question some of his motives. When he saw that there was no strong French government on the island, Toussaint
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
Though the colony was returned to Spain in 1809, weak support led to a decay in colonial infrastructure, leading to a revolt, led by José Núñez de Cáceres and Don Manuel Carvajal, which declared “Spanish Haiti” independent. However, the new nation was vulnerable, and Boyer immediately seized on the opportunity to unite the island for security purposes, seeking to impose “Haitianization” on Santo Domingo economically and politically. Such aspects of “Haitianization” included abolition of slavery, land redistribution, settlement of Haitians, and forced cultivation of crops in a region dominated by cattle ranchers. (Moya Pons 123, 133) An insurrection group named los trinitarios seized on the discontent of the Dominican people in the 1830s and 1840s, leading to independence in 1844. (Black 19)
Although there is a lot of controversy surrounding the term dual-identity or dissociative identity disorder, various research and the behavior of characters in The Scarlet Letter and Speak prove it to be a very serious illness. In The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale are both characters that appear to be highly respected but in reality they struggle with internal shame. Andy Evans, on the other hand, thinks of himself as the most popular kid in school and allows his ego to get in the way, but other characters in Speak see his true identity. The illness can be described as a disorder characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states. “Dissociative identity disorder is characterized by identity
The San Domingo revolution led to the abolition of slavery, independence of Haiti from France and the proclamation of a black republic. However, unlike many historians, CLR James in his work, The Black Jacobins, does not depict the struggle for independence as merely a slave revolt which happened to come after the French Revolution. He goes beyond providing only a recount of historical events and offers an intimate look at those who primarily precipitated the fall of French rule, namely the black slaves themselves. In doing so, James offers a perspective of black history which empowers the black people, for they are shown to actually have done something, and not merely be the subject of actions and attitudes of
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