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French and Haitian revolutions
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Based on my understanding of the Haitian Revolution and the Haitian Constitution of 1801, the articles of the Haitian Constitution were truly revolutionary, due to the fact that there was significant progress on rebuilding the colony. To start off, article 3 states, “There can be no slaves on this territory; servitude has been forever abolished.” This was written by a former slave, Toussaint Louverture, and because of that, it shows the improvement of how slaves, who were dehumanized by their owners, are now getting a voice in the colony. Not only was Louverture able to create a new constitution, he remarkably removed slavery from Saint-Domingue overall. Slavery being the demand that they pushed for in the end, since in the beginning they had only wanted better working …show more content…
Even if they were to work, like before, now they are getting paid for it, and can work any time of employment. Even in article 76 it explains that, everyone will get treated equally, stating, “It proclaims that every citizen owes his services to the land that nourishes him and that saw him born; to the maintenance of liberty equality and property every time the law calls him to defend them.” Furthermore, article 16 states, “Every worker is a shareholder in the agricultural revenues.” Unlike previous years, workers are now gaining profit from the work towards the economy. Since they are shareholders, they get paid for their contribution to the plantations. This also helps to restore the colony since, Saint-Domingue is a colony based on plantation, so having workers here would destroy the economy, and it doesn’t matter what color the workers were since anyone could now
Reviving the crumbling Saint-Domingue economy was a crucial determining factor in France’s involvement with the colony. Toussaint’s ability to create a thriving economy would determine his position as a leader. If he was unable to create a stable economy, then there was someone else that could replace him. This revival was key to slavery not being re-imposed in the colony. Toussaint L’Ouverture had to prove that the Saint Domingue colony could succeed and be profitable within a slaveless economy. As much as he could comprehend the morality of ending slavery, he was also very aware of the importance slavery had to the West Indies in maintaining France’s economy. Although there are some arguments that state that slavery’s importance to their
This particular revolution was meant to rid the country of its dependency upon slavery; however, it did very little to procure the exact solution that the natives of this country wanted. It’s stated more than once in this story that a true and honest living is not easily come by for any native of Haiti and they earn very little money when a job is available. People are paid an insubstantial wage, live in shantytowns, and often times go to bed with their stomachs distended from a voracious and unforgiving hunger. In The Norton Mix Introduction to Literature, Danticat shows these significant consequences of the Revolution by stating that when it got really bad for the family, they would boil ground sugar cane so that it would get rid of the hunger pangs that often tormented the children of the poor (p. 229).
The 1805 Constitution of Haiti is a document that first declares Haiti’s independence from any colonizing power. It declares that the people of Haiti are free and will forever be free, which in many ways is similar to the list of grievances in the United States Declaration of Independence. The people of Haiti would not be subjected to living and working for a king or emperor. The Constitution then goes on to list the rights that Haitian Citizens will have under their new found government. In these rights they use the same language as the United States Constitution, which was made popular by the period of enlightment. This suggest that Haiti was capable of creating a civilized society, which counteracted the notion that blacks were incapable of creating and maintaining civilized society.
The Haitian Revolution was time of hectic blood shed war. Toussaint Louverture was the leader of the Haitians out of slavery and free from the Spanish. The colony of St. Domingue was a slave island, where slaves would work to make goods to be sent to Spain in return for nothing. The people were treated harsh and done wrong but by the efforts of Louverture they will become free. Louverture was the leader of the revolution but failed to complete his duties because of capture Jean- Jacques Dessalines took over in 1802. He was captured before the war before the end of the war. The Revolution lasted from 1789-1803 until everything was settled and St. Domingue was a free land called Haiti.
Haiti began as the French colony of Saint-Domingue. The island was filled with plantations and slaves working on them. Almost a decade and a half after its settlement, this colony paved the way for many changes throughout the French empire and many other slave nations. Through its difficult struggle, we examine whether the slave revolt of Saint-Domingue that began in the late 16th century was justifiable and whether its result in creating the free nation of Haiti was a success. The slave insurrection began in August 1791 in Saint-Domingue.
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
Although, after the revolution, both France and Haiti’s economy was negatively impacted, as a result of the violent rebellions that occurred in order to acquire independence. France was required to overthrow their own government, which was an internal force, however Haiti was required to overthrow an external force, which was France. Nevertheless, both applied violence in their movements and were influenced by significant leaders who enabled the success of the revolution, as they desired political equality within society. Plus, each possessed the same government after the revolutions took place. Thus, even though the French Revolution and Haitian Revolution occurred chronologically in this era of changing society, they both possess distinct aspects, as well as certain similarities.
Haiti, previously known as Saint-Domingue, was a slave island and one of the wealthiest of France’s colonies. Up until this point in time, slavery was still common and, as mentioned above, continued throughout the world even after such freedom declarations such as, the Declaration of Independence in the newly formed United States, and the Declaration of Rights of Man in the Republic of France. The Haitian Revolution was brought on by the want for liberation of slaves, and was largely inspired by the French Revolution and the Declaration of Rights of Man. “Even though the early leaders of the French Revolution had no intention of exporting the upheaval, it spread to the colonies, especially to Saint-Domingue” (Ott 1973). This revolution proved to be a major event as it was the most successful slave revolution in history. The slavery population in Haiti, vastly outnumbered the white colonists in Haiti, and therefore, when the slave population banded together, led to a full-scaled rebellion. Revolts would continue to occur until finally in 1793, the slaves got their freedom, with slavery officially being abolished in all French territories in 1794. From this point until 1802, small rebellions continued to occur as not much changed in the daily lives of slaves, despite technically having their freedom. After the French Revolution and with Napoleon taking power in 1799; Napoleon reinstated slavery in all French colonies, including Haiti. Napoleon also sent an army to Haiti to enforce these new slavery laws and Haiti returned to a slave economy in 1802 (Doyle 1943). The Haitian Revolutionaries finally get their win after defeating the French soldiers in the Battle of Vertieres in 1803; the final part of the revolution. The revolution officially ended in 1804, with Haiti gaining its independence from France and permanently abolishing slavery
The island of Saint-Domingue was made up of a mixture of people including whites from France, creoles, free people of color, and slaves. Once sugar became a major cash crop on the island, an estimated half-million African slaves were brought in to work the land. These slaves outnumbered their white masters more than ten to one and made up the majority of the island inhabitants. Even so, the island had the most secure slave regime in the Caribbean because of the cooperation between masters and free men of color. Due to the difficult policing jobs given to the freed men with little reward, the communication between them and the white masters broke down. Now that the white slaveholders were on their own, it was only a matter of time before their brutal treatment of slaves would lead to an uprising. Once enslaved Africans received word of the revolution in France they too began demanding freedom. After years of civil unrest and vicious fighting, Haiti declared its freedom from France in January of 1804. What makes the Haitian Revolution more radical than the two before it is the fact that it was led by slaves. Throughout the previous revolutions, the main goal was for white men, essentially, to be free from oppressive government rule. There were few thoughts regarding the rights of slaves, even though they too were men. The fact that this group of people were able to remove the colonial authority and establish their own country during this period of time was particularly radical and unheard
After the revolution, the author discusses the changes in power in how leaders like Dessalines and Christophe both had tried to start the plantation system all over again. This was due to the fact that there was no other real source of income to rely on at the time other than the plantation system. Later on Haiti could create its first independent constitution which recognized guaranteed equal treatment to all residents of Haiti. However, this would soon change as legal and regional distinctions became evident which would lead to problems over distribution of land among mulattoes and blacks. This problem was recognized by revolutionary leader Dessalines who said in a historical quote (in Ibid VI) “The sons of the colonists’…have taken advantage of my poor blacks” (Nicholls
The word of the changes in France had reached the people of Haiti where the declarations of the rights of man and citizens gave hope both to free people of color and slaves. At the same time, some Petit Blancs argued that there was inadequate discrimination against blacks. They identified with the third state in France and they called for interest rates to be lowered so they could more easily pay their debts and they began lobbying for colonial independence by 1791. These radical petit Blancs seized the city of Port au Prince forcing the French government to send troops into Saint Domingue. Meanwhile, urges toward liberty, fraternity, and equality were only growing in France and it didn’t seem very equitable to grant citizenship based solely on race. In May of 1791 the National Assembly gave full French citizenship to all free men of color. In august of 1791 a massive slave revolt broke out, among the leaders of this revolt was Toussaint Bbreda, a former slave of full African descent who later took the name Toussaint l’ouverture. L’Ouverture heeled mold the slaves into a disciplined army that could withstand attacks from the French troops. The Spanish consistently supported slave revolts in Saint Domingue hopping to weaken the French, and by 1793 they were offered even more support. L’Ouverture became an officer in the Spanish military because the
The Haitian Declaration of Independence was composed by the Commander in Chief, after Haiti officially declared its independence. The purpose of this document was to end slavery as well as gain independence. After examining the letter thoroughly, you see that the he was writing to the people of Haiti. On the first page of the letter, he explained that the Haitians, had gathered for “with one last act of national authority,” pledged “to live independent or die,” (Dessalines,1) and would destroy any French invading force. The Haitian
The legacies of both the French and Haitian Revolutions not only affected the countries involved but the world at large. From lasting political ideas to huge land transactions that nearly doubled the sizes of the original territories. These revolutions have helped shaped the world we live in today. Both the French and Haitian Revolutions began based upon the principles of fighting for liberty and equality which paved the way for future change both politicly and socially; on the contrary, the turmoil of the French Revolution was looked down upon by many surrounding countries and had a domino affect on the Haitian revolution, whereas the Haitian Revolution set an example of a successful fight for independence against European colonizers that
The late 18th century and early 19th century was a prominent time period in which the French Revolution and Haitian revolution occurred. Both revolutions were connected to each other such that they shared similar causes and consequences. Together, France and Haiti were angered by the inequality and unfair privileges that continued to appear in their societies. At the same time, they were inspired and hopeful of bringing the Enlightenment ideas into reality. Although they were able to accomplish most of what they fought for, such as the abolition of slavery, they still took part in bloody revolutions. However, one of the greatest differences in their outcomes was that France emerged as a new, firm government as Haiti staggered with its new independence.
The word revolution can be defined as a sudden, radical, or complete change. The French Revolution was a period of social and political upheaval in France 1789 to 1799. The revolution marked the decline of monarchy and the rise of democracy. One of the more important documents to rise out of this democracy was Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Within this document contains the words “that all men are born free and equal in rights” (Hunt, et al, 641). The revolution did not just affect continental France it also had an affect on France’s Caribbean colonies, where the use of slaves was integral to the revenue that was being generated from those colonies. Leaders of the French Revolution, specifically the Society of the Friends of Blacks, pushed the abolition of the slave trade. Their address in a pamphlet written in February of 1790 on the abolishing of the slave trade reveals that they did not support abolishing slavery altogether just the abolition of the actual slave trade itself.