Political Factors Of The Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution was one of the most important slave revolts in Latin American history. It started a succession of other revolutionary wars in Latin America and ended both colonialism and imperialism in the Americas. The Haitian Revolution affected people from all social castes in Haiti including the indigenous natives, mestizos, mulattos and the Afro-Latin. The idea of starting a rebellion against France began with the colony’s white elite class seeking a capitalist market. These elites in the richest mining and plantation economies felt that the European governments were limiting their growth and restricting free trades. However, the Afro-Latin, mestizos and mulattos turned the Haitian Revolution into a war for equality and built a new state. The Haitian Revolution, with the support of it large slave population and lower class citizens, eliminated slavery and founded the Republic of Haiti. Tin this essay I will discuss how mestizos, mulattos and the Afro-Latin Americans population in Haiti participate in the fight for independence and how they creation of new republics.

The Haitian and French Revolutions both aimed to overthrow the unjust influences of the French monarchy and ultimately succeeded in positively obtaining more social equality for the majority of their people, with differing impacts on their political and economic structures. The Haitian slaves in Haiti and the Third Estate in French were both large social classes that had very little power and influence in their countries. By ignoring the welfare of these populations, the ruling classes were eventually overthrown with significant impacts on the political, social, and economic futures of both France and Haiti

John Locke and Voltaire had similar views on several important sectors of “The Enlightenment”; especially those concerning human rights, education and religion. Both Voltaire and Locke believed that freedom of thought was the key to a brighter future, and they agreed that basic rights should have been in place from birth as freedom was a necessity not an “earned privilege”.

One way the French Revolution impacted the Haitian Revolution was by changing the mindsets of the Haitians in all social classes. The events occurring in France opened the Haitians’ eyes to a point where slaves weren’t the only ones in Haiti who wanted a change, but thanks to the French Revolution, everyone was angry. To begin with, the grand blancs wanted to terminate their trade agreement with France so they could sell to the highest bidder and keep the money they earned. Like the members of the Third Estate, they didn’t want to be controlled by the weak and tyrannical French monarchy. Speaking of the Third Estate, they might have been located in France, but the petit blancs still associated themselves with them, which is logical, as they were poor working classmen. These blancs were inspired by the citizens in France and their determination, as well as their desire for acquiring the rights they felt they deserved. Nevertheless, they turned to violent measures and began attacking the grand blancs. The petit blancs weren’t the only ones who wanted to be treated equally to the grand blancs; the gens de couleur had a yearning for this as well. Although they had

Before beginning, a legal code was put in place regarding regulation of slavery in Haiti and surrounding areas. This code, knows as “Black Code”, regulated everything from religion, to food (Doc 1). The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was the France claim of Independence. They believed that “all men were born and remain free and equal in rights”. Haitians believed that this also applied to them, but even though authors Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson believed people in their own countries had God-given rights, Haitian slaves did not because they were African (Doc 2). A helpful extra document would be of a Haitian reaction to France’s independence not being applied to Haiti. Because, they fought for the same thing, they should not be un-included in absolute freedom. Jean-Marie d’Aguay was president of the colonial Assembly in Saint Domingue in 1790, and was quoted saying “We have not brought half a million slaves from the coast of Africa to make them into French citizens.” This quote explicitly shows the amount of racial prejudice that Haitians slaves had to withstand prior to the revolution. (Doc

Both the American Revolution and the Latin American Independence were inspired by ideas of the Enlightenment, which was a major movement in Europe, which emphasized having natural rights. These ideas were said and written by John Locke, who believed that everyone should be able to express their ideas, have a right to their own property, and be able to live freely. It was simply said in a more concise manner, life, liberty and property. These ideas appealed to the Americans because the

The success and vigorous pursuit of freedom from oppression in the French Revolution inspired the Haitians to believe that they were capable of doing the same; the Haitians, being treated like animals, wanted their inherent rights. The overbearing French governing body had collapsed and the Third Estate was likely to receive a brighter future. The Haitians were still locked down as property and animals, but they craved to have the inherent rights that all men are privileged to. The French got their rights while the Haitians did not; this was quite the volatile scenario ready to fall off the self and spark revolution.

The Haitian revolution was from 1791 to 1804 and it happened when Saint-Domingue(Haiti) was under French rule therefore making it a French colony. Saint-Domingue was a very important colony for France due to its production of sugar as well as coffee. It was also a strategic point due to it being close to North America (Source C). This is why Napoleon Bonaparte’s plans to conquer North America as well as the West Indies and establish France and himself as dominant powers in Europe were centralised around Saint-Domingue (Source E).

Racial inequality along with slavery played an important part in influencing this Revolution. Document 3, an excerpt from Voltaire’s A Treatise on Toleration, poses the question that many people have asked throughout history: If we are all humans and children of God, why can’t we tolerate each other?. Voltaire’s aim was to plant these ideas in the heads of other enlightenment thinkers by presenting these not-so-popular ideas in a sarcastic way. Although they may not have directly come in contact with this document, supporters of the Haitian Revolution were definitely influenced by these same ideals. In fact, the Haitian Revolution successfully overturned slavery and racial inequality in the former colony. Document 7 directly relates to the Haitian Revolution. It is the Constitution of Haiti written by Jacques Dessalines, and declares Haiti’s independence from any other world power as well as equality and independence for all of Haiti’s people. This equality and independence idea originates from John Locke’s unalienable rights of life, liberty, and property, an Enlightenment Era idea. The document’s purpose is to tell the rest of the world that the Haitian people will not stand for their basic rights being violated, which is a concept that is also expressed in Document

The Haitian Revolution produced the second independent nation after the United States of America became independent in the early 1780’s. The political leaders, countless of them who owned slaves, reacted to the appearance of Haiti as a nation created out of a slave rebellion with uncertainty, at times supplying assistance to control and put down the rebellion, and later on in the revolution, giving support to the French forces. Proper to these changes in plans and internal concerns, the United States of America would not formally accept the Haitian independence until the year 1862. Since the revolutionaries clearly asserted independence as their topmost ideal, slavery was enclosed to come into dispute during the French Revolution. Even

Finally, Haiti got quite a bit of their motivation and reason for revolt from some of the Eighteenth century Enlightenment philosophers. These philosophers played a very big role in the development of many revolutions across the globe, including Haiti’s. “Throughout history, revolutions have started because of new ideas that change thinking and disrupt the status quo. The Haitian Revolution of 1789-1804 is no exception.”(Nicholson). The main philosopher that the Haitians took their ideas from is John Locke. Some of Locke’s ideas were previously unheard of, and started quite a debate when he published his books. These ideas gave people a new view on the way that things were seen all across the world, and gave people ideas they would have never had before. (“The Enlightenment”) “A government, he said, has an obligation to the people it governs. If a government fails its obligations or violates

The Haitian Revolution is based on the political purpose that France had when they fought to possess Saint-Domingue (now called Haiti). France, like other empires at the time, was trying to extend its wealth and power. Therefore, possessing Haiti, having a lot of gold, sugar, coffee, indigo and others were one way to be strong and powerful. Being driven by the profits that Haiti were emanating, African slaves were continuously brought to Haiti, first to replace the Aboriginals that had died previously, but also to increase their profits. This led to the slaves outnumbering the French colonizers. Later on, the free people of color were demanding more right to the French government and after their refusal, the slaves and the free people of color revolted which led to the Haitian revolution (Simpsons 1942, 487). The French colonizers were already struggling about the equality between themselves because there was a hierarchy present within the White community. Moreover, what created a reaction to help slaves to revolt was the “religious ceremony performed at Bois Caïman by the Maroon voodoo priest Dutty Boukman, which was attended by representative slaves from several plantations” (Laguerre 1989, 1). Boukman called the help of the spirits to revolt against the white colonists. The revolution of Haiti in 1804 was a social and political uprising in the French Colony of Saint-Domingue. Voodoo rapidly became Haiti’s way out of slavery, as it helped them reunite together and gain the

The Haitian revolution took place in Saint-Domingue, a French colony and one of the richest of all European colonies in the Caribbean, on the western part of the island of Hispaniola, a major center of sugar production with hundreds of prosperous plantations. The population of the colony comprised of three groups, the white colonials, the gens de couleur, and the slaves. Many slaves ran away and established maroon communities that were self-sustained. As more and more slaves ran away, more and more slaves were being imported from Africa and other Caribbean islands, which resulted in the high prices of slaves. Since the French aided the North American colonists in their war for independence, they sent several hundreds of gens de couleur to the colonies. Once they returned to Saint-Domingue, they wanted independence themselves from the French.

”1 This revolution was prompted by the harsh cruelty of slavery along with a longing for the multi-cultural people and the Blacks of Haiti to be regarded and treated with decency and respect. The French Revolution, playing a major role as

It wasn't until the American Revolution halfway across the world on the other side of the Atlantic ocean that the metaphorical seed planted in France finally sprouted. The Americans took these Enlightenment ideas of freedom, liberty and equality, and immediately put them into effective action against British oppression, and thus the American Revolution began. The American Revolution borrowed heavily from Enlightenment ideas. In fact, Thomas Jefferson, a key character in the the Revolution, based his ideas directly on the ideas of Locke, declaring that all men were equal. Although he altered these ideas slightly by stating a more radical idea that the people could overthrow oppressive government, his idea that the government exists solely to serve its people was nonetheless identical to that of Locke.