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St. Domingue: The Haitian Revolution

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INTRODUCTION The Haitian Revolution was one of the largest and most successful slave revolutions in the Western Hemisphere, because it consisted of several synchronized revolutions. St Domingue was considered to be one of the richest colonies in the West Indies. There were many conditions in the society of Haiti that contributed to the rebellion in 1791. The main points focused on are the ruthless treatment of the enslaved and the desire for Haitian blacks and multi-racial people to be treated with respect and decency THE FREE PERSONS OF COLOUR While discussing the issue of free colored the writer states that there were approximately 35,000 free persons of color in 1789. (Beckles and shepherd 183). The free colored also known as the gens …show more content…

Furthermore some slaves were killed by hanging and burning to re-affirm the supremacy of the overseer or as a word of warning for other slaves to obey their master. Slaves in St. Domingue like many parts of the world were viewed merely as property that the whites can treat as they desire. Women slaves were required to abide by the sexual actions by their master and if they resisted they were beaten. In addition most of the masters were married which led to resentment among the wives and the slave being sexually abused, especially when the slave was impregnated by the master and had …show more content…

“In these early years, Boukman, originally from Jamaica was the leading thinker and strategist” (Beckles and Shepherd 184). Boukman was a commander in the French military where he learned to use European arms and afterward he was the leader that gave directions to start the rebellion. The slaves knew him as ‘Zamba’ which was a spiritual leader in the voodoo faith and therefore was considered to be larger than life and thought to be immortal. Therefore when he was killed it broke the spirit of his followers. Another leader that assisted in the Haitian revolution is Toussaint L’Ouverture’s, who was the son of an educated slave. He was one of the most successful black commanders and he was in the minority of slaves that were able to read and write. Toussaint was an experienced organizer with a sharp intellect, whose main focus was independence for the slaves. He formed an army of his own and trained his followers in the strategy of guerrilla warfare. He led thousands of former slaves into battle against the French, Spanish and English

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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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Aristocracy, Haiti struggled with slavery. France was dealing with unequal distribution of wealth while Haiti had little wealth at all. Finally, While France is attempting to change it’s form of

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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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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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L’Ouverture hoped to gain full independence and liberation of slaves on the entire island of Haiti. However, France had no intention of letting Haiti go free. When Napoleon Bonaparte sent troops to reclaim Haiti for France, he failed because his troops died from yellow fever. As a result, the independent nation of Haiti was born. The outcome of the Haitian Revolution was in favor of the slaves on the island because they gained their freedom from the French and Spanish.

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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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As France was facing the beginning of the revolution, on the night of August 21, 1791, a well-organized slave revolt conducted by a voodoo priest named Dutty Boukman, broke out in the north of Saint-Domingue; where largest plantations were located. Black slaves massacred their masters and set fire to the sugar and coffee plantations. Although the revolts did extensive damage, the Whites kept control of the colony’s major cities. The issue with this revolt was not the total abolition of slavery, but a negation of the freedom of the slaves and their families. Also, they negotiated for a new system in which the week was divided into six days, 3 of these days would be work for their master and three days for themselves.

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Toussaint was brought into the world when all of the odds were against him. He was born into slavery and had nothing. With the help of those around him, as an African, he mustered up the ability to learn how to read and write. He eventually gained a reputation as a skilled horseman, for his knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs, and his practice as a doctor. Most importantly, Louverture had

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When one looks at all the revolutions the earth there are many differences. Evry revolution is different but every revolution have one thing in common, one group of people is being oppressed by another. For this essay we are supposed to compare two different revolutions to the American Revolution. The two others I chose are the Cuban revolution and the Haitian revolution. To begin, I will look at a little back ground of each revolution and then the main cause.

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Although there were attempts to improve the treatment of slaves such as the 1685 Code Noir (Black Code), the tenets rarely enforced this code. In addition to physically harming their slaves, masters would ruthlessly overwork their slaves and starve them. Instead of restoring their health, masters would let them die and purchase new slaves to replace the perished ones. News of abolitionist movements and freedom reforms to gain political enfranchisement and reassert equal status had spread throughout Saint- Domingue.

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Slavery is the result of taking away one’s freedom and humanity by exploiting the individual physically and psychologically to be productive on the plantation. The maximization of profit is of essential goal. Viewed as the largest and most successful revolution of its era, Haiti became the first black Republic in the western hemisphere. The once pearl of the Caribbean consisted of large coffee and sugar plantations turned to blood and fire with its ruling class eliminated and economy ruined. Very few revolution could be compared as the slaves of Saint Dominique took charge of their fate by ruling themselves politically and economic.

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The Haitian Revolution greatly brought out social and economic changes in various ways, but the biggest impact it made, was in the lives of the slaves. There lives had GREATLY been influenced and their daily work had now become less harsher and more livable and practical. Although Haiti won their side of the revolution, hardships were still being faced. Like for example, their economy was going through a major downfall which occurred due to their crash in “agricultural production of coffee, spices, indigo and sugar.”

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