The Haitian Revolution: Abolish Slavery

The Haitian Revolution

On August 21, 1791, led by former slave Toussaint l'Overture and inspired by the French Revolution, the Haitian slaves began rebelling against planters in Haiti in an attempt to abolish slavery. By 1792, the rebellion gained control of one third of the island. By the end of the battle, 100,000 of the 500,000 blacks and 24,000 of the 40,000 whites were killed. In 1793, both French and British forces arrived in an attempt to conquer the colony, but failed and withdrew in 1798 after a series of defeats. By 1801, the revolution was able to expand into the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo where they were able to abolish slavery there also. Toussaint l'Overture then declared himself Governor-General for life over the entire

One major advantage that the Prussian Army had was that they used breech-loading rifles that could be loaded while a solider was seeking cover, whereas the Austrian Army used muzzle-loading rifles, which could only be loaded while standing. When the two armies met at the Battle of Königgrätz on July 3, 1866, the fate of Austria was decided, with Austrian battle deaths nearly seven times the Prussian figure. Austria instantly and rapidly sought peace after this battle. The result of this war was the dissolution of the German Confederation, Prussian annexation of Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, and Frankfurt, and the permanent exclusion of Austria from German

In the 1830s, millions of Chinese citizens were addicted to opium, causing significant damage to the health and productivity of the nation. At the time, China had lots of resources that Britain needed, but in return China did not want any goods. Instead, at first Britain traded these resources for silver. Then, after so long Britain no longer wanted to pay in silver so they forced China to accept opium instead. Although it was illegal, corrupt Chinese officials allowed it to take place. In 1839 the Chinese government decided to crack down on the smuggling. This angered the British government and in June 1840, a British naval fleet arrived attacking along the Chinese coast. Due to their lack of military technology, the Chinese lost by a landslide. In return the Chinese had to pay a large fine to Britain, open up five more ports to foreign trade, give the British a 99-year lease on the island of Hong Kong and offer British citizens special legal rights in