Differences And Similarities Between The French And Haitian Revolutions

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A Comparison of the Causes and Consequences of the French and Haitian Revolutions
The French and Haitian Revolutions were similar in that the causes of both reflected the influence of Enlightenment thinking, and the effects of both revolutions brought hardships to both countries. However, they were different in that each revolution was influenced by a different set of Enlightenment theories with a differing focus—the French Revolution was influenced by theories that revolved mostly around natural rights and equal representation, while the Haitian Revolution was influenced mostly by theories concerning slavery. Both revolutions resulted in the rise of dictatorships in their respective countries in their aftermath. However, while the French …show more content…

The French Revolution was influenced by the Enlightenment concepts of fair representation, no person having arbitrary power over another, equality under the law, and equal rights — ideas which had been promoted by philosophers such as Rousseau and Montesquieu. The Haitian revolution was influenced by the Enlightenment as well — Haitian slaves wanted to be free and there were Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu and Diderot who condemned slavery as a violation of natural rights. This similarity was likely due to a fact that is common to all revolutions—they result from a paradigm shift caused by influential new ideas. In France, the spread of the Enlightenment can be attributed to people like Diderot—he sold his Encyclopedia to many people, thus spreading the ideas of Enlightenment and making them more popular. In Haiti, Touissant L’Ouverture learned about Enlightenment thinking through his education, and this guided his actions to help liberate the slaves in …show more content…

In France, the “Reign of Terror” instituted by Robespierre turned into a draconian dictatorship when his rivals were being eliminated to purify the body politic. In a coup d’etat, however, Napoleon, a person made general by Robespierre’s own Committee on Public Safety, took over France as its military dictator. Thomas Jefferson placed a sugar embargo on Haiti, which crippled its economy, and most of the former slaves refused to do any farm work because the association between farm work and slavery was too fresh in their minds. This led to the low economic output of Haiti, and the country quickly devolved into a dictatorship. The reason for this similarity lies in the fact that both countries had just overthrown their governments, and they needed time to recover from the effects of coping with the financial and social difficulties resulting from a revolution. In times like this, swift, unilateral decision-making seems like the best solution for people. This has happened repeatedly in history with people like

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