Haitian Revolution 1791 1804 French Colony of SaintDomingue

Haitian Revolution 1791 -1804

French Colony of Saint-Domingue 1760 -1789 Richest colony in the West Indies Slave labor, fertile soil, ideal climate allowed the production of sugar, coffee, cocoa, indigo, tobacco, cotton and sisal for France. What kind of colony is this?

Three Distinct Social Groups Whites (20, 000+) v Planters ▪ Plantation owners ▪ Slave owners ▪ Strongly opposed French colonial laws that prohibited trade with anyone but mother country ▪ Monarchy set the prices and enforced the law ▪ Carried out illegal trade ▪ Independence minded, revolutionary, and defiant of French laws

Three Distinct Social Groups Whites (20, 000+) v Petit Blancs Less power than planters Shop keepers, artisans, merchants, teachers Middle and lower class Less independence minded, more loyal to France Were very anti-black, and very pro slavery

Three Distinct Social Groups Free People of Color (FPC) (30, 000) v About half were Mulattoes – children of white Frenchman and slave women v Others purchased their freedom or were freed by their masters for various reasons v Owned plantations, owned slaves, v Dressed and acted as Europeans, denied their black heritage v Like the Planters were against “exclusif” v Catholics, denounced Voodoo religions of Africa

Three Distinct Social Groups Black Slaves (500, 000) v Outnumbered free people by about 10 -1 v Treated especially cruelly - more so by freed black population than white population v Slave owners felt it was much easier to replace/purchase slaves, than worry about preserving lives of existing slaves v Three distinct groups Domestic Slaves (100, 000) Field Hands Maroons (Run-away slaves)

Racial Tension Describe the tension you see in Saint- Domingue between whites, mulattos, and slaves. What do you think will happen? What role might the population breakdown have on this tension and your prediction? Why does it matter if there are more slaves or whites? How would the relative treatment of slaves affect this tension and your prediction?

Impact of the French Revolution 1789 the National Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man On St. Domingue the issues = not only loyalty to the revolution or the king, but also the issues of the independence movement, the movement for the rights of FPC, and the question of slavery were important.

Impact of the French Revolution September 20, 1791: anti-slavery groups in France convinced the Legislative Assembly in Paris to pass a new law which said that “all the proprietors ought to be active citizens. ” v. Made FPC who owned property citizens, but not Petit Blancs! v. Natural allies = white planters and the FP of C. Both were wealthy, supported independence and slavery, and neither wanted to change the traditional control of wealthy propertied people

Impact of the French Revolution The FPC wanted their share of power, wealth and social prestige. v. Some white planters some saw this as a necessity, but many refused to accept it. Petit Blancs wanted to see the island remain a colony of France, and were completely against any further rights for any non-whites.

The division between slave owners, between different groups of whites, between the French in the colonies and those in France, and between wealthy planters who were white or FPC all set the stage to make possible and more successful the slave rebellion that would have been previously impossible.

Slave Rebellion August 21, 1791 Hundreds of thousands of slaves, under the leadership of a religious/voodoo leader named Boukman Dutty, set fire to plantations, torched cities, raped, tortured, and massacred thousands of white plantation owners. The assault concentrated on attacking the whites, even though the freed black owners were much more harsh in their treatment of slaves

Boukman Dutty “[I am Boukman Dutty, former slave and voodoo priest. ] God who made the sun that shines on us from above, who makes the sea to rage and the thunder roll, this same great God from his hiding place on a cloud, hear me, all of you, is looking down upon us. He sees what the whites are doing. The God of the whites asks for crime; ours desires only blessings. But this God who is good directs you to vengeance! He will direct our arms, he will help us. Cast aside the image of the God of the whites who thirsts for our tears and pay heed to the voice of liberty speaking in our hearts…. ”

Revolution Unlike the French Revolution and the American Revolution, the Haitian Revolution was entirely driven by the anger of men and women who had been enslaved most or all of their lives. They didn’t just want freedom, they wanted vengeance. Over the next two months, the slaves burned 280 plantation in Haiti and executed all white Frenchman they could find. To stop the rebellion French government sent in 6, 000 troops – it proved useless against the numbers of slaves

Toussaint L’ouverture 1791 became the leader of the revolutionary army. He took charge of the poorly organized slaves and molded them into an efficient, disciplined fighting force. His leadership steered the revolution through years of fighting in a 3 -way war between whites, blacks and mulattos.

Toussaint L’ouverture (1743 -1803) Born into slavery as François Dominique Toussaint Bréda Informal education from father or godfather and relatively kind master Freed at age 33 Married, had 2 children, rented a plot of land which had 13 slaves attached to it Personally owned at least 1 slave; later freed him.

Toussaint L’ouverture (1743 -1803) Toussaint realized that the slaves were caught between three contending European forces, all of whom wanted Haiti for themselves. The French wanted full control of Haiti back, and the Spanish and the English saw the revolution as a way of getting Haiti for themselves.

Abolition of Slavery in Haiti 1793 the colonial commissioner Leger Felicite Sonthonax abolished slavery on the colony, mainly because he was hoping blacks who were former slaves would now fight with him against those groups who wanted the colony to become independent. He believed that with the help of black slaves, who now had an interest in maintaining the new status quo, France would be able to keep control of its colony. 1794 National Convention officially abolished slavery.

Letter from Toussaint L’Ouverture, 1793 Brothers and friends. I am Toussaint L’Ouverture, my name is perhaps known to you. I have undertaken vengeance. I want Liberty and Equality to reign in San Domingo. I work to bring them into existence. Unite yourselves to us, brothers, and fight with us for the same cause, etc. Your very humble and very obedient servant. (signed) TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE, General of the Armies of the King, for the Public Good.

Toussaint L’ouverture In the end, Toussaint allied his forces with the French and Haiti remained part of France under the consulship of Toussaint. 1797 -1802 appointed Governor General of Saint. Domingue by the National Convention, and he began moving towards independence from France. Managed to maintain a certain level of racial harmony and was loved by many of the French still on the island, as well as by the freed slaves. Known as the Black Napoleon.

Napoleon and Haiti Meanwhile, Napoleon took over France (1799)and decided to retake control of Haiti as part of his plan to reestablish the French Empire in the Western Hemisphere. A large army was sent to take out Toussaint, who was a problem for Napoleon since Napoleon intended to bring slavery back to the colony. Napoleon’s army was devastated by guerrilla warfare, insurrection, and yellow fever. In June 1802 the French army pretended to surrender and lured Toussaint to them ostensibly to discuss a peace treaty. Instead, they captured him and sent him to France, where he died in prison 10 months later.

Independence Achieved This incited Toussaint’s followers to fight even harder. The second Napoleonic war between Britain and France began in 1803 v This cut off supplies to the French army in Haiti (the ones sent in to re- capture the island) v Haitians revolted in huge numbers and French leaders finally asked for a truce so they could leave the island without being killed 1803: after having lost more than 40, 000 troops, the French surrendered and left St. Domingue. After Toussaint died, his former general Jean-Jacques Dessalines took command & defeated French troops, declaring the independent country of Haiti on Jan. 1, 1804

Historical Significance of the Haitian Revolution Without control of St. Domingue, Napoleon saw the Louisiana Territories as a useless drain on its resources and sold it to the U. S. In doing so, France removed itself as a power in the western hemisphere. For slaves and slave owners throughout the New World, the Haitian Revolution was an inspiration and a warning Slave rebellions in the U. S. , and elsewhere in the western world greatly increased. The Haitian Revolution led ultimately to Civil War in the U. S. , as the question of slavery was put to the forefront with the new Louisiana territories, and it proved to many people that blacks could rule themselves.

Nat Turner and Toussaint’s Ghost