The Haitian revolution
1789-1804
KEY Causes
• 1. Harsh exploitation of Slaves
- Colony of St. Domingo= most valuable sugar Caribbean colony produced enormous amounts of sugar for the French –
plantations ran by slave labor - produced 40% of Europe's and
sugar 60% of their coffe
- Slaves in Haiti suffered under some of the harshest treatments
found in the Caribbean.(The master provided for the barest
necessities of life for his slave) so many died from harsh
conditions that they had to send 40 thousand new slaves a year
- Slaves in Haiti were legally considered to be property of the public
- This treatment evoked an often resentful and disobedient
demeanor among the slaves
KEY Causes
• 2. The guidance of the Mulattoes
- Mulattoes in Haïti possess limited freedom.
- Mulattoes were required to enlist for a mandatory three-year term
in the military establishment known as the marechaussée. *gave
them military training*
- They were then forced to serve in their local militia without
compensation *gave them organization*
*required to provide their own supplies*
- Mulattoes were angered by the fact that they were outlawed from
holding office and were totally excluded from Haitian society. (could
hold land but govt. restraints disabled them from really doing
anything with it) Lead them to begin plotting revenge/an uprising as
retribution to the way the whites treated them.
*waited for right moment*
KEY CAUSES
• 3. The French Revolution
-The French Revolution furnished the Mulattoes and slaves with an
opportunity and an inspiration after having witnessed the successful
insurrection in France against the government’s long-standing denial
of equal representation of the Commons to that of the Nobility and
Clergy.
-ideas of social restructuring + Declaration of Rights and Citizens
spread like wild fire-provided perfect stimulus the slaves and
Mulattoes in Haiti needed to inspire their revolt. *What the
Mulattoes were waiting for*
-Haitian revolution started before the end of the French revolution*shows how bad things really were*
Goals
• First a small revolt broke out, in which the goals of
free mulattoes was to achieve a higher status in society
but it evolved/escalated into a full fledged revolution in
which slaves were fighting for an end to slavery in St.
Domingo(their freedom), and later independence.
Key Figures
• 1. Toussaint Louverture
- the son of an educated slave
- inspired by the developments that occurred simultaneously in
France
- Very inspirational and charismatic
- He formed his own army, inspiring hundreds to join him and
displayed an impressive talent for designing and leading
militaristic strategies and tactics that would enable him to make
the slave insurgency one of the most successful in history.
- Achieved aid from the Spanish and actually became an officer in
the Spanish Military then when the slave were emancipated
switched allegiance to French
Key Figures
• 2. Jean Jacques Dessalines
-
Born in a sugarcane plantation in the Grande Riviere du Nord, from enslaved African parents
whose country of birth place are still unknown.
-
At about 30 years old, Dessalines escaped and joined the slave revolution.
-
He was then trained by François Papillon and Georges Biassou in the mountains, who were
already training a few escaped slaves.
-
Dessalines, under the command of his aforementioned mentors, traveled to Santo Domingo,
the western part of Hispaniola to fight along side the Spaniards against the French in St.
Domingo
-
There he met Toussaint and became his chief lieutenant – he was an intreped soldier and
formidable general, making him an instrumental part of the Haitian Revolution.
-
He was extremely brutal – killed nearly all wealthy white French men in St. Domingo.
-
Defeated 60,000 French with only 20,000 Haitians at an important battle
Key figures
• 3. Napoleon Bonaparte
- French Consul and then Emperor from 1799-1821
- Dispatched a large expeditionary force of French
soldiers and warships to the island, led by Bonaparte's
brother-in-law Charles Leclerc, to restore French rule,
and under secret instructions to later restore slavery.
Key Figures
• 4. Charles Leclerc
- French general, brother-in-law of Napoleon, who attempted to
suppress the Haitian revolt led by the former slave Toussaint
Louverture.
- Leclerc played a decisive role in the coup that brought Napoleon
to power.
- Leclerc, accompanied by 23,000 French troops, landed in Haiti in
1802 and soon took possession of most of the island and made
peace with the rebel leaders Dessalines, Henry Christophe, and
Toussaint.
- By treachery, Leclerc captured Toussaint and sent him to France.
This and Napoleon’s restoration of slavery touched off renewed
fighting with the black rebels lead by Dessalines.
- Leclerc’s army was decimated by yellow fever and he ultimately
lost the war and his life.
Key Figures
• 5. Henri Christophe
- One of Toussaints chief lieutenants
- Joined Dessalines in ousting the French
- After Dessalines’s assassination he was appointed
provisional chief of the nation by a military council.
- He later became the first Haitian President (1807-11)
and self proclaimed king Henry I (1811-20) of
northern Haiti.
Timeline
• 1789 Saint Domingue (Haiti): First revolts (led by whites,
mulattos)
• 1790 Saint Domingue: “Night of Fire”—well-organized slave
revolt
• 1791 France: National Assembly declares full civil rights for
mulattos (free men of color) –Slaves still revolt
• 1792 Saint Domingue: Commissioner Sonthonax grants freedom
to slaves in the North Province who fought for the French
Republic, then orders general abolition
• 1793 France: National Assembly extended freedom to slaves in all
its colonies in the Emancipation Decree of 1794. Saint
Domingue: Toussaint l’Ouverture leaves alliance with British &
Spanish to help France drive them from the island
• 1799 France: Napoleon Bonaparte seizes power Saint Domingue:
British expelled from Saint-Domingue
Timeline
• 1801 France: Napoleon dispatches General Leclerc to subdue
Haiti
• 1802 France : Reestablishment of slavery (May), Bonaparte
named Consul for life -Saint Domingue: Death of LeClerc
(November)
• 1803 Saint Domingue: General Dessalines proclaims
independence of Haiti (August 29) -France/U.S.: Signature of
treaty of purchase, Louisiana Territory
• 1804 France: Implementation of the Civil Code; declaration of
empire (Dessalines declared independence and renamed the
Island Haiti)
Results
• Successes:
• Socially:
• Slaves had freedom
• Whites fled or were killed
• Politically:
• Independent country
• Second independent republic in the Americas
• Napoleon unable to control over Haiti -> did not have the money to keep up with
Louisiana (French territory) -> sold it to the American government
• Economically:
• No longer a country based on a plantation system
• Became small-scale farmers
Racial divides and sectional politics ended the idealism of the Revolutionary
period
Comparison
• The French Revolution lit a fuse for the Haiti
Revolution
• Different from the American Revolution in that the
colonies were very different
• As we have seen in the past chapter, the Caribbean
colony had enormous inequality and rampant
exploitation which led to more of a slave revolt than the
American revolt which was led strictly by white wealthy
men
Sources
• “Another Side of Haiti.” Haitian Heroes. N.p, n.d. Web. 15 Feb.
2014.
• “Charles Leclerc.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Maren Goldberg, n.d.,
Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
• “Henry Christophe.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Aakanksha Gaur, 23
May 2013, Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
• “The Haitian Revolution.” The Haitian Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web.
16 Feb. 2014.
• “Haitian Revolutions: Crash Course World History #30.”
YouTube. YouTube, 16 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. “Haitian
Revolution.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Feb. 2014.
Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
• “What role did Napoleon play in the Haiti revolution?”
WikiAnswers. Answer Corporation, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2104.