What Are The Causes 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

Similar to the American Revolution, the Haitians too seeked to create a republic founded on the values of the Enlightenment - but unlike the Americans, Haiti took this a step further, by outlawing slavery and becoming the first modern nation ruled by Africans. As the French Revolution began, there was a political crisis in St. Domingue, France’s wealthiest colony, and supplier of nearly 40% of Europe’s sugar imports. Planters were threatened by the Revolution, which aimed to remove many of the privileges enjoyed by the aristocracy (who made up the planter class). Wealthy free blacks, some of who owned plantations themselves, began to demand equal rights to whites. Poor whites, felt that the Revolution did not include blacks, and imagined a new society where they had enough to own slaves themselves. Out of the chaos of this political struggle, the slave population of St. Domingue, which made up nearly 90% of the colony’s population, revolted and seized power for themselves. By 1794, Haiti had seen one of the largest, and successful, slave rebellions in the course of human

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 critical explanation behind the Haitian Revolution was the slave resistance, due to France's brutal and coldblooded

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.

That’s why the French Revolution, along with Haiti, exhibited new and unconventional ideas[Kaiser Encyclopedia]. The ideas of “liberty, equality, and fraternity”[Chapter 10, Brittanica] were supposedly though valid for all peoples, but that was considered troublesome for those who wished to control the social hierarchy. King Louis XVI was unable to adequately reform the french fiscal system, which laid the foundation for the revolution[Voyages 495-496]. When he showed reluctance to rule as a constitutional monarch, he was beheaded by french revolutionaries. Later, the National Assembly had to force their ruler to sign the Assembly’s constitution. In Haiti, the prosperity of the colony was based upon slavery. This was an issue because the majority of the population were slaves, and had no say in the government. Both the Haitians and the French had to fight for what they wanted and were strongly opposed. The political changes taking place in France at the time of the French Revolution brought change for the

The slaves were not the only black inhabitants of Saint-Domingue. The free black inhabitants were called Mulattoes. Like the slaves, they too were oppressed in some way. While they had some sense of freedom, they were oppressed by the structure of the white government of Saint-Domingue. Upon reaching manhood, they were required to serve in a mandatory three-year term in the military. Upon release, they were then forced to serve in their

While France had just underwent its own revolution San Domingue, unlike the 18th century, became France’s wealthiest colony due to its mass production of goods, The production of the goods was run by an enslaved labor force (Sutherland). On the contrary to the American Revolution, San Domingue was populated with slaves and owners who made money for France unlike the British colonies who seeked freedom from England. As the production of goods began to boost French revenue and economy, “ San Domingue became a vast killing killing field, sacrificing life for profit. The labor conditions were so brutal that half the slaves died within ten years of arrival” (Smith). This is in contrast to the American Revolution in which San Domingue’s people were coldly treated by the French rather than being unmonitored like the British colonies. While the slaves were being harshly treated, the white population of San Domingue had tensions growing with France due to not having any type of representation in France. The colonists were also angered by the fact that France had prohibited trade with other nations (Sutherland). Similar to the American Revolution, both colonies were secluded from the rest of the world due to the demands of the dominant nations. This seclusion will ultimately lead to both colonies wanting independence. The treatment

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.

The events that led up to the Haitian Revolution were some very good key points. During the video, I thought about the certain events that caused the French Revolution. For example, in the video it states that when the slaves would act up or run away, the owners would amputate their legs and arms, rubbing hot powder or pepper into the slave’s wounds as “punishment”, or lynching slaves and leaving them to die. I feel that these things were small causes that changed into big causes that sparked the Haitian Revolution. Being mistreated went far too long, and they had enough. Another example is how skilled the slaves were in causing this revolution. Everything was planned, and executed properly. It took three days to burn down majority of the

Although the Haitian Revolution inspired many revolts made from African Americans, African American themselves were not significantly responsible for slavery’s end. However, different regions had different circumstances that caused African Americans to either have an abundance amount of influence to slavery’s end or little to no influence. The reason being is due to the level of resistance that varied depending on the location of the slaves. Many of the slaves had to depend on the number of supporters that they had to work with because without enough support, the revolts would not go well, which then would not lead to the end of slavery. “Rebellion began at the initial point of capture within Africa itself, continuing down to the barracoons, and it often erupted into mutiny aboard the slavers” (Gomez 110). This quote signifies that rebellion has always been there through each suffering; it was just never prominent enough at the moment because African Americans could handle it at the time since the torments just began. Yet, as time goes by, their ability to endure decreases having to deal with the tortures and sufferings weekly if not daily. Slavery’s end sparked when the debate over the future of slavery began. The dispute then led to secession in which it brought about a war in which the Northern and Western states and territories fought to preserve the Union, while the South fought to establish Southern independence as a new confederation of states under its own

In 1697, after France established the colonial in the west of the Haiti, a larger numbers of black slaves were inputted to develop the plantation economy. Colonists abused black slaves and discriminate colored people. In the end of the 18th century, black slaves struggled to fight with slavery and strived for freedom. Moreover, colored people and free blacks got together and fight for civil rights. All of the fights result Haitian

There were many effects of the Haitian Revolution. Slaves of the French colonies were declared free by the National Convention in 1791, and men were declared equal by law. Under the new Republic, slave owners wanted compensation for their financial burden of losing slaves. This Revolution ended the plantation complex as it was in the early modern world. The Haitians were able to form the black republic and get out from underneath France’s control. After the Haitian Revolution, many nations were slave-free and investors considered imperialism rather than slaves in hope of getting control of foreign markets and laborers. The freedom that the Haitians won made slave-owners in the United States worried about losing control of their slaves. (Acrobatiq, 2017)

The Haitian Revolution (1791-1803) has been regarded as one of the largest and most successful slave rebellions across the entire Western Hemisphere due to its ruthless power and the fact that it took most people by an unfortunate surprise. Once the violent events in Saint-Domingue, now known as Haiti, had ended, the world simply would not remain the same. Slaves became figures of strength and ability, which had varying effects internationally. The slave influence resulting from the Haitian Revolution impacted how other nations, especially Brazil, viewed minority authority; most countries developed a fear of the