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Essays on the causes of the haitian revolution
Essays on the causes of the haitian revolution
The haitian revolution thesis
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In the book Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History, author Michel-Rolph Trouillot argues that the Haitian Revolution was an event that was thought of as impossible by the world during its time. Because Westerners’ have dictated the Historiography of the Haitian Revolution it has caused, not only a silence in sources but also a false narrative. By the late 1700s, Westerners had already coined black as something that was universally bad and already categorized blacks as destined to be slaves. With the rise of scientific Racism and the existence of slavery for more than a century, it seemed impossible to Westerners that slaves could successfully revolt. As Trouillot puts it, “The Haitian Revolution thus entered history with the peculiar characteristic of being unthinkable even as it happened” (73). Trouillot then reasons that because the Haitian Revolution was …show more content…
As the Western world was not ready to confront the humanity of blacks or the idea that blacks desired freedom, the Haitian Revolution became a stain in the common Western ideology that blacks were destined to be slaves. The need for Westerners to remain superior caused a silence in the discussion of the Haitian Revolution. In fact, Western countries like France and America did not recognize Haiti’s independence until “the second half of the nineteenth century” (95). America likely did not recognize Haiti’s independence because it feared that recognition of the Haitian revolution would spark slave rebellions within their own country. France, on the other hand, was likely embarrassed that a former colony was able to defeat their military and declare independence. Most Historians in the 19th century do not even discuss or lightly touch on the Haitian Revolution. The first scholarly, detailed and well- researched account of the Haitian Revolution is not published until the year of 1900 by Carolyn
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.
In 1845, Ebenezer Carter Tracy published a book titled, Memoir of the Life of Jeremiah Evarts. Within this book is a statement from the Cherokee people from 1830 called, “Appeal of the Cherokee Nation.” In this statement, The Cherokee Indians refuse to move west of the Mississippi River. They made this refusal for two main reasons. The Indians believed that they had a right to remain in the lands of their ancestors and they also insisted that their chances of survival would be very low if they moved west. Their survivability would be impacted by their lack of knowledge of the new lands, and by the Indians that were already living in the western lands, and who would view the Cherokee as enemies.
A fifty-thousand French force of experienced soldiers arrives on the shores of Saint-Domingue. Not ready to give up their freedom and return to their previous servitude, the Africans of the colony defend themselves. Assisted by yellow fever and other diseases, they are a force to be trifled with. By November of the following year, the French surrender and within three months Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares independence from France and the new nation of Haiti is created. Frederick Douglass attributes their great success to the Negros themselves and their manhood, courage, and military skill in his Lecture on Haiti in 1893. He even solidifies these claims by pointing out how their intelligence and bravery has conserved their independence since 1804, almost ninety years prior to his lecture. By this time, Haiti has been around for almost a century and her supporters and opponents debate whether the Haitian revolution was a success or not. The citizens are labeled as lazy and superstitious, stereotyped in that neat little box with no room for movement. Douglass agrees that they can be a bit lazy and are ignorant, but they are not simple idle at all times. By this time, Haiti prospers on a coffee economy and continue to import and export goods from within her borders. Its important to recognize that this nation and its citizens were the first to fight and win their emancipation. The slave revolution in the former French colony of Saint-Domingue was a historic event that brought about universal liberties as other nations followed suit. In solidarity the slaves took up arms and fought until their chains broken. This should vindicate Haiti, at least in the eyes of Douglass. He believes that even though she has not yet met her full potential, she will become a
This article explores Haitian Independence in terms of a war for national liberation. The disassociation from white governance left a window of opportunity for long-term nat...
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.
The study of past events have been a common practice of mankind since the verbal telling of stories by our ancestors. William Cronon, in his article “Why the Past Matters,” asserts that the remembrance of the past “keeps us in place.” Our individual memories and experiences shape how we act in our daily lives. In addition to influencing us at an individual level, our collective history binds us together as a society. Without knowing where we have been or what we have experienced, it is nearly impossible to judge progress or know which courses of action to pursue. The goal of the historian is to analyze and explain past events, of which they rarely have firsthand memory of, and apply the gained knowledge to make connections with current and future events.
Katz, William L. Toussaint L’Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution by William Loren Katz. HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. .
According to E.B. Skinner, author of A WORLD Enslaved, 2008, “There are now more slaves on the planet than at any time in human history. True abolition will elude us until we admit the massive scope of the problem, attack it in all its forms, and empower slaves to help free themselves,” (Pg. 62). Approximately 250,000 restavecs work in Haiti today; most were born into extreme poverty. A restavec is a young, child slave. Poverty in Haiti provides few options for young people and results in greater vulnerability of children. The lack of health care, increase in unemployment, and the continuous cultural stereotypes of Haiti all contribute to the consistency of child slavery in Haiti.
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
In 1791 revolution broke out in the French colony of Saint Domingue, later called Haiti. The Haitian Revolution resounded in communities surrounding the Atlantic Ocean. One of the wealthiest European outposts in the New World, the Caribbean island's western third had some of the largest and most brutal slave plantations. Slave laborers cultivated sugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton, and they endured horrible death rates, requiring constant infusions of slaves from Africa. In 1789 roughly 465,000 black slaves lived in the French colony on the island, along with fewer than 31,000 whites. In addition, there were about 23,000 free blacks and mixed-race people called gens de couleur, who might own land and accrue wealth but had no political rights. In 1791 this tense racial situation exploded.
In From Slavery to Freedom (2007), it was said that “the transition from slavery to freedom represents one of the major themes in the history of African Diaspora in the Americas” (para. 1). African American history plays an important role in American history not only because the Civil Rights Movement, but because of the strength and courage of Afro-Americans struggling to live a good life in America. Afro-Americans have been present in this country since the early 1600’s, and have been making history since. We as Americans have studied American history all throughout school, and took one Month out of the year to studied African American history. Of course we learn some things about the important people and events in African American history, but some of the most important things remain untold which will take more than a month to learn about.
In the night of August 22, 1791, which initiated the Haitian Revolution, Dutty Boukman, a slave and religious leader gathered a gang of slaves and uttered one of the most important prayers in the Black Atlantic religious thought.1 The prayer embodies the historical tyranny of oppression and suffering, and the collective cry for justice, freedom, and human dignity of the enslaved Africans at Saint-Domingue. The Guy who is not happy with the situation tha...
Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History by Michel-Rolph Trouillot focuses broadly on the themes of history, narratives, power, and silence and with these topics discusses how history is produced, who does the producing of historical narratives, and how this production contributes to silences and erasure of historical events.