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Saint-Domingue: The Haitian Revolution

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Today, the Haitian people adore their unique culture along with their country’s rich history. Much like citizens of The United States, the Haitian people hold their revolution as a symbol of nationalistic pride. In fact, the Haitian Revolution was the second revolution in the Americas: following the United States Revolution. However, the two revolutions weren’t as alike as one might think. While the United States used guns to fight off their colonial ties, Haiti used a religion: Vodou. But how effective was this tactic? Did the people who practice Vodou actually put spells on their enemies? Or can it be seen more as a motivator? The answer can be found in the history of the island and the revolution itself.
The Haitian Revolution took …show more content…

This dramatic growth in the colony was made possible by the French planter’s use of African slaves at an ever-increasing rate. The huge growth of economy and slave population in Saint-Domingue in the late 1700s was greater than any of its neighboring Caribbean colonies. The large import of the African slaves turned the colony into a melting pot of many different races, cultures and religions. In fact, it is for this reason that some historians claim the burst in growth may be a reason why the slave revolt was so successful in Saint-Domingue, but failed in several other colonies around the …show more content…

While Roman Catholics have a central figure, the pope, and a book, the bible, which define the religion, Vodou does not. This causes many beliefs and practices of the Vodou practitioners to widely very between the different regions. The majority of the variations include the belief of the Iwa. Practitioners often pray to a specific Iwa for a specific purpose. Often times, Vodou priests and priestesses call on the Iwa for help in healing and administering natural medicines. Iwas work through the transformative powers of magic that can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes. Not all magic is good, many practitioners believe in a dark magic that can put curses and spells on the person it is directed

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There are several similarities and differences between the American and Haitian Declarations of Independence. The Haitian Declaration of Independence seems to focus primarily on freeing themselves from the French’s influence and slavery. Several times throughout the document, the French are referred to as a tyranny. It is very clear that the new Haitian government wants nothing to do with the French. In fact, they want to “wash away” all memories of what life was like with the French in power.

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Allison Yi 10/17/16 10th Grade Global History Period 7 Introduction: Revolutions were significant events in history that dramatically affected the rights of the inhabitants. The Latin American revolution as well as the Haitian revolution were led to gain independence from the colonial power of France, Spain, and Portugal. The Latin American revolution led by Simon Bolivar and the Haitian Revolution have both similarities and differences as they both started due to the want for political, economic and social changes. BP1 Topic Sentence: The Latin American and Haitian revolution were both started due to the want for social change because of the inhumane treatment they were receiving.

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The French, Haitian, and American Revolutions were all sparked from the minds of the colonists, slaves, or lower classes who were treated with inequality by their own governments. In each location, there was a noticeable trend of mistreatment between government and people. In Haiti, slaves brought over by the French who captured the island, and forced them into brutal labor in what was the most valuable and wealthy are at the time. The government and leadership in France was corrupt as they were in much debt. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lived in Versailles far from the other forms of government, abusing the country wealth.

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Revolutions were a common occurrence in many parts of the world. The 17th century was miserable. Between 1790 and 1848 many different people in Europe, Central America, the Caribbean, and other areas of the world struggled to gain freedom and independence from oppressive and dictatorial regimes. While the the French and Haitian Revolutions, inspired by the American Revolution, were alike in many areas such as social class struggles, economic inequities, and personal freedoms. In spite of their similarities the revolutions in France and Haiti were  more different than similar because pitted While France struggled with it’s

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Saint Domingue was one of the richest colonies of the Americas during the late eighteenth century. Its extravagance resulted from their large production of highly demanded coffee, cotton, and sugar, which heavily depended on strict slave regime. Slaves, many whom were African born, made up the vast majority of the population and suffered poor working and living conditions. The anger of slaves caused the Haitian Revolution, which would lead to Haiti freeing itself from its oppressor and becoming an independent republic in the Caribbean. The Haitian Revolution created a profound effect not only the former French colony, but also acted as a leader for reformation around the world.

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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

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People created change by revolting against the power who enslaved them. The Haitians created change by rising against their captors based on the text. With that revolution, the French had lost money from the war that they were fighting and had to make some tough decisions. According to the text, the Haitians revolted against the French, and because of that, the French lost money because Haiti was the wealthiest colony of the French.

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Background Information on the Enlightenment: In the year of 1791, The French and Haitian Revolution coexisted simultaneously. France was trying to pick up the pieces of a country left in shambles, while across the hemisphere, Haiti was about to ignite the fire. In France, they were in the process of creating a new government, in which all citizens would have equal rights, as based on the Declaration of the Rights of Man. In Haiti, a shocked oppressed populace was discovering the power that was held by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and was keen to set their own revolution.

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In our history there have been many wars, revolutions, and consequences to all of these things, such as lives lost or land being destroyed but it was all worth it when they succeeded and got what they wanted, freedom. Many countries go through revolutions because they might have been under rule from another person and or country and wanted their independence. A revolution is when people overthrow a social order or even a government and are in favor of a new system or government. The American Revolution and Haitian Revolution had some similarities and some differences and this is what my argument will be about, comparing and contrasting both revolutions.

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Overall, the Haitian Revolution is a contrast to the French Revolution because the main reasons and goals of the people were different. In Haiti, the news of American Independence motivated slaves to unite and fight for equality from European nations. Meanwhile in France, the radicals hoped that by overthrowing the monarchy, a new assembly would be created and France would become a republic. Enlightenment philosophies played a role in both revolutions, yet the main reasons for the events differed from one

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From 1791 to 1804, the country that had the biggest impact on the Haitian Revolution was France. In fact, the French Revolution was a significant catalyst to the Haiti’s own revolution despite having started a few years prior. At this point, France’s economy was still suffering after their involvement in both the American Revolutionary War and the Seven Years’ War. To combat the huge amount of debt they owed, France issued widely unpopular taxation schemes which ultimately caused more harm than benefit. Additionally, the heightened privileges enjoyed by the aristocracy and the clergy drew popular resentment.

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A large portion of the population in Haiti follow the Roman Catholic Religion, however, there is an understanding that Voodoo may be the National Religion of Haiti. In the

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Even with Haiti being ostracized by many countries, merchants still spread the news and caused many countries to have slave revolts. The significance of the revolution has caused mass change around the world on its stance towards slavery. As the Haitian revolution was the first violent slave uprising the world had seen. With it, then came the concern around slavery and the spark for civil rights movements across the globe. The Haitian revolution was fought based on the American and French revolutions principals, which paved the way for Universal human rights we now have today.

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Haitian Vs Americans Culture According to Samuel Lagerlof “Culture is what remains when that which has been learned is entirely forgotten” (as cited in Usunied,1996, p.94). Every single country in the world possesses his own culture no culture is more important than another. They’re just different. However, Haiti’s culture differs from the United States in three major points; Values, religion, and norms.

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Power is not evenly distributed in the country and there are times where the citizens will try to rectify that imbalance of power. Other times, citizens will just accept their place in society without making any political waves. Haiti is much more a collectivist society rather than an individual society because family is crucial in the Haitian household. This is because it can take several incomes and individuals to pool their resources together to sustain life.

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