Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)
In 1938, Crane Brinton dissected revolutions into 7 stages, and published his ideas in a book titled The Anatomy of Revolution. We have adapted and modified his 7 stages to describe the Haitian Revolution.
The Haitian revolution can be separated into different stages, while there are two sides of the revolution: the fight for the freedom of slaves and the fight for independence from France.
The Haitian revolution can be separated into different stages, while there are two sides of the revolution: the fight for the freedom of slaves and the fight for independence from France.
Stage 1: Normal
"The person or group in power before the revolution takes place. The regime that gained power through traditional means."
In 1492, Columbus discovers this island and names it "Hispañola". The indigenous Taino inhabitants are put under his rule and become slaves. In the 1600s, both British and French settlers occupy a portion of Hispanñola, and by 1659, the island was established as a French colony and renamed "Saint Domingue". The people of St Domingue sold leather and boucan (a type of smoked beef) to make a living. By 1640, the people began to run low on beef and resorted to robbing Spanish galleons (ships) loaded with silver mined in South America. They invested this silver in sugar plantations, and by 1700, these plantations were thriving. They produced 40% of Europe’s sugar, and soon enough they became one of the most valuable colonies in Central America. However these plantations employed thousands of slaves in order to make it such a successful business. By 18th century, more than 400,00 slaves were imported every year - which was more than the entire white population (300,00). These slaves had brutal working and living conditions and were exploited for profits.
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There population of Saint Domingue was separated into four classes:
1. Big white planters (Grand Blancs)
These were white men who owned plantations as well as all of the slaves. Most of them stayed in France while their agents in Saint Domingue did the work of running the plantations.
2. Wealthy people of color (Mulattoes)
When white men first came to Saint Domingue during the start of the colonization, many of them fathered children with slave women. These children were freed from slavery and became free men. There were around 248,000 free people of color, which was almost the same number of white people, 300,000. Unlike other colored people, they often served in the colony's military and the local constabulary. The wealthiest also had plantations of their own with their own slaves. Some even happened to be more brutal to the slaves than white plantation owners.
3. Poor whites (Petite Blancs)
These were white people who were poor and worked as artisans and laborers.
4. Slaves
Slaves made up 90% of the population in Saint Domingue by the 19th century. They worked in sugar plantations where they suffered terrible working conditions. They were considered property instead of another human being, and their children were also property of the planters.
Asides from these four classes, there were a group of people called maroons, fugitive slaves who escaped into the mountains. They believed in freeing the slaves and independence from France, the main ideas of the Haitian revolution. While they were small in numbers, they played an important part in the revolution as they were responsible for organizing slave revolts and other attacks.
1. Big white planters (Grand Blancs)
These were white men who owned plantations as well as all of the slaves. Most of them stayed in France while their agents in Saint Domingue did the work of running the plantations.
2. Wealthy people of color (Mulattoes)
When white men first came to Saint Domingue during the start of the colonization, many of them fathered children with slave women. These children were freed from slavery and became free men. There were around 248,000 free people of color, which was almost the same number of white people, 300,000. Unlike other colored people, they often served in the colony's military and the local constabulary. The wealthiest also had plantations of their own with their own slaves. Some even happened to be more brutal to the slaves than white plantation owners.
3. Poor whites (Petite Blancs)
These were white people who were poor and worked as artisans and laborers.
4. Slaves
Slaves made up 90% of the population in Saint Domingue by the 19th century. They worked in sugar plantations where they suffered terrible working conditions. They were considered property instead of another human being, and their children were also property of the planters.
Asides from these four classes, there were a group of people called maroons, fugitive slaves who escaped into the mountains. They believed in freeing the slaves and independence from France, the main ideas of the Haitian revolution. While they were small in numbers, they played an important part in the revolution as they were responsible for organizing slave revolts and other attacks.
Stage 2: Criticism of Regime
"When intellectuals begin to publicly criticize the regime in power. It can be spoken or written criticism."
In 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man was adopted by France as the French Revolution gained momentum. The following are some of its articles.
This caused dissatisfaction amongst several groups of people on St Domingue:
Free people of color
Jacques Vincent Ogé, a wealthy free person of color, felt it was unjust for the Rights of Man not to extend to mulattoes. He wrote a letter addressed to the National Assembly to obtain voting rights for mulattoes like himself.
Petit blancs
At the same time, some petit blancs were dissatisfied with the inadequate discrimination held against the free people of color. They believed they were superior to them because of their skin color. They identified with the third estate of France, and they called for interest rates to be lowered so they would be able to pay off their debts.
Slaves
Toussaint Brenda was a former slave who gained freedom. He believed that all slaves deserved to be free and equal and did not think this decision was fair. He took the name Toussaint L’ouverture and decided to lead the slaves to revolt. He wrote an open letter to the French, declaring his presence as a leader to fight for the emancipation of slaves.
- Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.
- The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
- The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.
This caused dissatisfaction amongst several groups of people on St Domingue:
Free people of color
Jacques Vincent Ogé, a wealthy free person of color, felt it was unjust for the Rights of Man not to extend to mulattoes. He wrote a letter addressed to the National Assembly to obtain voting rights for mulattoes like himself.
Petit blancs
At the same time, some petit blancs were dissatisfied with the inadequate discrimination held against the free people of color. They believed they were superior to them because of their skin color. They identified with the third estate of France, and they called for interest rates to be lowered so they would be able to pay off their debts.
Slaves
Toussaint Brenda was a former slave who gained freedom. He believed that all slaves deserved to be free and equal and did not think this decision was fair. He took the name Toussaint L’ouverture and decided to lead the slaves to revolt. He wrote an open letter to the French, declaring his presence as a leader to fight for the emancipation of slaves.
Stage 3: Widespread Dissatisfaction
"When a large portion of the population join the criticism and the intellectuals' 'movement'. "
Petit Blancs
In 1791, the petit blancs seized the city capital of Port-au-Prince in hopes of gaining colonial independence from France. They believed that if they gained independence, the social structure of the island would change and they could take power from the free people. This movement caused the French government to send 18,000 troops to Saint Domingue.
Free persons of color
From October to November 1790, Ogé led a revolt against colonial authorities in St Domingue. While colonists tried to prevent it, he sailed to the United States to purchase firearms to bring back to St Domingue. He amasses 300 men of mulattoes and freed blacks, and they took the city of Grande-Riviére while disarming the whites.
Slaves
On August 21, 1791, the slaves rebelled against their owners late at night. It began with the Bois Caiman ceremony with the slaves participating in a voodoo ritual. The revolt was a result of months of planning and strategizing by almost two hundred slave leaders, including L'Ouverture,
that hold privileged positions in plantations. They had gathered mulattoes, maroons, and free blacks to take part in the revolt. With a given signal, thousands of them set fire to plantations and brutally massacred their masters. They attacked agriculture and plantation buildings, destructing over a thousand of plantations. While this was not the first slave revolt to happen, it was one of the most widespread, destructive, and overall successful revolts at that time.
In 1791, the petit blancs seized the city capital of Port-au-Prince in hopes of gaining colonial independence from France. They believed that if they gained independence, the social structure of the island would change and they could take power from the free people. This movement caused the French government to send 18,000 troops to Saint Domingue.
Free persons of color
From October to November 1790, Ogé led a revolt against colonial authorities in St Domingue. While colonists tried to prevent it, he sailed to the United States to purchase firearms to bring back to St Domingue. He amasses 300 men of mulattoes and freed blacks, and they took the city of Grande-Riviére while disarming the whites.
Slaves
On August 21, 1791, the slaves rebelled against their owners late at night. It began with the Bois Caiman ceremony with the slaves participating in a voodoo ritual. The revolt was a result of months of planning and strategizing by almost two hundred slave leaders, including L'Ouverture,
that hold privileged positions in plantations. They had gathered mulattoes, maroons, and free blacks to take part in the revolt. With a given signal, thousands of them set fire to plantations and brutally massacred their masters. They attacked agriculture and plantation buildings, destructing over a thousand of plantations. While this was not the first slave revolt to happen, it was one of the most widespread, destructive, and overall successful revolts at that time.
Stage 4: Transfer of Power
"Those who supported the revolution or movement gain power and begin reforms or changes."
Free people of color
As the free people of color were one of the wealthiest on the island, the French did not want them against them. Therefore in May 1791, the National Assembly gave full French citizenship to all free men of color who owned property and were not the children of slaves. However, both grand blancs and petit blancs objected against this decision, making tension between them rise. They protested against this, and the National Assembly thought that the decision had endangered the colonial status of St Domingue. On September 23 1791, the May decree was revoked.
The French promised to send 18,000 troops to St Domingue to restore order, but only 6000 troops came to the island. This was not enough to bring peace back, and authorities in France realized that the problem was the rebelling slaves. They had to bring unity between the free people of color and the whites in order to tackle the slaves. Therefore the National Assembly reversed itself again and on April 4, 1792, the free people of color were given full citizenship with the whites.
Slaves
After the slave revolt in 1791, the messages of freedom and liberty spread even more amongst mulattoes and slaves. Hope to overthrow plantations and gain equality grew amongst them, and L'Ouverture's troops became stronger. By 1793, the Spanish, who were at war with France, was giving support to L’Ouverture because they believed that slave revolts would weaken the French. In October, 1793, the British, who were also at war with France, decided to invade St. Domingue as well. The French decided that they would lose the war fighting the Spanish, the British, and the slaves at the same time, and decided to free the slaves. On February 4, 1794, the National Convention in Paris officially ratified this decree. The blacks were no longer slaves but paid labor for their work. After hearing about the National Convention's decisions, L'Ouverture switched allegiance to the French and helped fight the Spanish and the English, which turned the tide of the war. His troops attacked parts of the island that the British and the Spanish had claimed, and helped the French defeat them. This led to L'Ouverture gaining a higher position amongst French generals.
As the free people of color were one of the wealthiest on the island, the French did not want them against them. Therefore in May 1791, the National Assembly gave full French citizenship to all free men of color who owned property and were not the children of slaves. However, both grand blancs and petit blancs objected against this decision, making tension between them rise. They protested against this, and the National Assembly thought that the decision had endangered the colonial status of St Domingue. On September 23 1791, the May decree was revoked.
The French promised to send 18,000 troops to St Domingue to restore order, but only 6000 troops came to the island. This was not enough to bring peace back, and authorities in France realized that the problem was the rebelling slaves. They had to bring unity between the free people of color and the whites in order to tackle the slaves. Therefore the National Assembly reversed itself again and on April 4, 1792, the free people of color were given full citizenship with the whites.
Slaves
After the slave revolt in 1791, the messages of freedom and liberty spread even more amongst mulattoes and slaves. Hope to overthrow plantations and gain equality grew amongst them, and L'Ouverture's troops became stronger. By 1793, the Spanish, who were at war with France, was giving support to L’Ouverture because they believed that slave revolts would weaken the French. In October, 1793, the British, who were also at war with France, decided to invade St. Domingue as well. The French decided that they would lose the war fighting the Spanish, the British, and the slaves at the same time, and decided to free the slaves. On February 4, 1794, the National Convention in Paris officially ratified this decree. The blacks were no longer slaves but paid labor for their work. After hearing about the National Convention's decisions, L'Ouverture switched allegiance to the French and helped fight the Spanish and the English, which turned the tide of the war. His troops attacked parts of the island that the British and the Spanish had claimed, and helped the French defeat them. This led to L'Ouverture gaining a higher position amongst French generals.
Stage 5: Civil War
This stage is supposed to be war between the old and new regime, however in this case it is between to leading revolutionary powers.
I did not want this! I told him to prune the tree, not to uproot it." |
André Riguad was a mulatto leader and one of L'Ouverture’s companions. However, even with the success for both slaves and mulattoes, they did not trust each other and it soon led to disagreements and conflicts between them. With previous conflicts between them, it led up to a dispute over land that ignited this war. Riguad took over Léogåne and Jacmel, while L’Ouverture took over Petit-Goåve. This power struggle between the two of them fueled the 'War of Knives' in 1799, a civil war between L’Ouverture with his army and André Rigaud and his men. Ethnic conflict was one of the underlying reasons for the war, as mulattoes and blacks did not trust each other. Mulattoes were ultimately thought to be the higher class while the blacks the lower, and with this class difference came conflicts. After 13 months of fighting and with the help of his lieutenant Jacques Dessalines, L'Ouverture was able to defeat Riguad, thus becoming the sole ruler of St Domingue.
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Stage 6: Independence
We have modified the Reign of Terror into the strive for independence, as the Haitian revolution had two parts: abolition of slavery and the independence from France. This is the second part of the revolution.
In 1799, Napoleon seized power over France and he passed a constitution so that its laws did not apply to overseas colonies outside of France. This meant that the Declaration of the Rights of Man did not apply to the people in Saint Domingue. During the Seven Years' War, France had lost most of its colonies in North America, and Napoleon wanted to regain them back. It required a lot of money to do so, therefore Napoleon decided to reintroduce slavery into Saint Domingue in order to maximize profits from plantations. He sent his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc to Saint Domingue and he arrested L'Ouverture and shipped him off to France, where he died in 1803. Leclerc also tried to take back firearms from the people, and this sparked an outrage against the French.
A guerrilla war started between them, which means a small group of armed civilians fighting against well-trained military. Despite the French’s obvious military advantages, their military was hit with a wave of Yellow Fever and thousands of French soldiers were killed. With this defeat, Napoleon recalled back his troops in defeat. Out of the 40,000 who arrived in St Domingue, only 8,000 made it back.
A guerrilla war started between them, which means a small group of armed civilians fighting against well-trained military. Despite the French’s obvious military advantages, their military was hit with a wave of Yellow Fever and thousands of French soldiers were killed. With this defeat, Napoleon recalled back his troops in defeat. Out of the 40,000 who arrived in St Domingue, only 8,000 made it back.
Stage 7: Theridorian Reaction (return to normalcy)
"A period of recovery from the "fever of revolution". Often, a strong decisive leader takes power and brings the country back to normalcy."
On 1st January, 1804, after 13 years of revolutionary struggle, the French were defeated by Dessalines and he declared the island of St Dominigue independent. Its name was changed back to Haiti, its name before it was colonized. The Haitian Declaration of Independence was released, promising the protection of colored people as well as the autonomous rule of Haiti. Dessalines became Haiti's first president.
The country was in a mess with the fighting it had endured. The masses, mostly freed slaves, were mainly uneducated and poor, which added fire to Haiti's struggle. The western world was skeptical about an all-black republic as the large nations at that time were all slave-owning states. Nonetheless, Haiti was born became the second independent state in the Americas, as well as the first self-governed country of African descent.
The country was in a mess with the fighting it had endured. The masses, mostly freed slaves, were mainly uneducated and poor, which added fire to Haiti's struggle. The western world was skeptical about an all-black republic as the large nations at that time were all slave-owning states. Nonetheless, Haiti was born became the second independent state in the Americas, as well as the first self-governed country of African descent.