Comparative Essay The late 18th and 19th century brought about the French and Haitian Revolutions. Both revolutions were connected to each other because of the link between France and Haiti, known then as St Domingue. However, there were also differences as far as political, economic and social causes were concerned. One of the political causes of the French revolution was the weak monarchy. This was so because the kings were responsible for taking all of the taxes that the peasants earned, along with even the crops that they grew. The peasants were therefore ill-treated, as they did not have proper food to eat or a suitable place to sleep. However, in the Haitian revolution, things were quite different. There were slaves fighting for their …show more content…
They had formed a caste system where the Grand Blancs who were from the royal family were at the top. Then came the free people of colour, who were Frenchmen. Then came the Black Slaves who were slaves who worked in the plantation. Lastly, there were the Maroons who were the runaway slaves. They thought that working hard on the plantation without any payment would not get them anywhere, so they ran away and stayed in small villages. Lastly, the economic causes of the French revolution were the high taxes for the middle class people during that time. The slaves worked day and night to earn money but because of the taxes that the nobles proposed, they could not pay for it. Therefore, there was a large economic strain on France which was not the case with Haiti since they were thriving due to free labour and surplus goods. Despite their differences, the French and Haitian revolutions are also similar because of St. Domingue which was the common link between France and Haiti. This meant that Haiti was a rich plantation colony that France owned. Due to this link, any political tension in France would have an effect in Haiti eg. Enlightenment ideals that led to political tensions in France, also led to Haitian revolutions. What were similar in both revolutions were the social classes and social inequalities of both France and