American Revolution Dbq

The late eighteenth century experienced anti-colonial revolutions that lead to the abolition of slavery. The Haitian revolution was a successful anti-colonial and anti-slavery insurrection. The revolution although the revolution challenged the long held beliefs concerning the black communities and enslaved African Americans, Laurent Dubois looks at other factors other than race in the revolution. In his view, the revolution created a society of all colors where everyone was granted freedom and the right to become a citizen. He also believed that complicated political and ideological sources united the revolutionists. This, however, opposes the point of previous scholars that race united them. Latin America and the Caribbean had the same historical

development on the abolition of slavery. Like the Haitian revolution, American and Caribbean slavery is a topic of intense attention. Klein conducted research to show how the conditions in which slaves rebelled, reproduced, and toiled. Klein surveys the social and demographic history of the slavery system in Latin America and the Caribbean. He shows that there were variations in forms of the types of slavery and labor. This paper Compares Dubois’s discussion in his book, Avengers of the New World, in the abolition of slavery in Saint-Domingue with Klein and Vinson's discussion in their book, African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The first successful slave revolution began in 1791 when brutally exploited slaves came together to oppose the harsh rules of their masters in Saint Domingue. This was the most profitable colony in the Atlantic world in the eighteenth century. According to Dubois, “the fight in Saint-Domingue could not be reduced to class or race warfare.” Dubois claims that the war between Louverture and Rigaud was about conflict and political power and not racial identity. In his book, Avengers of the New World he states that slaves were recruited to fight for the whites during wars. Laurent Dubois tells the story of a single worst racial catastrophe that happened to the white Americans. The French National Convention abolished slavery in the colony in 1794. There was an urgent need to abolish slavery. The power of individuals, social, economic, cultural, and political factors facilitates the abolition of slavery. The French-controlled Saint Domingue colony had the largest slave population in the Caribbean. Slavery in Domingue was harsh with enslaved African living in huts without windows. According to Dubois, scholars need to look at the war before using racial labels to explain the revolution. Racial identification formed a crucial part of the revolution. It also influences the actions of individuals and groups and determines how they responded to one another. Social and cultural factors also contributed to the behavior of people and their relations with one another. Complicated political and ideological forces divide the groups that scholars are tempted to see as unified by race.
Dubois describes the negative effects of slavery while stating that the racism in France’s Caribbean colonies contributed to the revolt in Saint Domingue.

However, those who came out to fight racism were not of one race. They shared similar ideologies and experienced similar challenges. There was not freedom for men of all colors. According to Dubois’ analysis, the Haiti revolutionists were not primitive Africans who feared being killed in combat. They followed Condorcet and Diderot. The two people understood the principles of the declaration of human right better their supporters. This argument is convincing when applying it to white Jacobins whom he refers to as “free coloreds.” The endless debates forced the French national assembly to create a law that would protect the slaves. They won because of support from like-minded people. However, Dubois argues based on historical records that radical revolutionaries and white masters clashed during the debate on the rights of

slaves.
Dubois argues that the Haitian revolution transformed the world. His central theme for the narrative of the revolution is that independence from France was not the goal of the insurgents. However, independence later became a goal in the nineteenth century. The main aim of the insurgency at the beginning was the fight for freedom and racial equality. A chain of rebellion began when the French failed to grant citizenship to the freemen of color as required by the National Assembly of France. Freemen of color demanded the right to participate in political processes together with other Africans. Although they fought for their right, the process benefited the African Americans who also needed freedom. This outcome supports Dubois argument that the goal latter changed to independence. The parliament declared the “rights of man.” The free, wealthy men in the colony organized the campaign for the rights of men of color to claim voting rights.
According to Dubois, the violence in the Haitian revolution is often misrepresented. He believes that Haitians need the right reading that puts the violence into context while acknowledging its complexity. Another rebellion in Domingue began when enslaved Africans attacked buildings in the plantations with machetes, torches, and hooks. The slaves set fire to everything in the plantations since they hated the work in the sugarcane plantations. The rebellion in Domingue sent shock waves to Europe. European men and women died in the rebellion. Although scholars use the violence in Haiti to escape the political and ideological confrontation, Dubois puts the violence into its contexts. The French soldiers in Domingue had had confidence in their ability to defeat the revolts. However, in the next two months after the start of the uprising, rebels burned two thousand plantations and took over a large part of the colony towards the north. This is evident that the violence was not about race. African Americans were too few to win the war on their own. They received help from people of other colors.
The revolutions bore fruits; St Domingue was proclaimed Haiti Island, and slavery was abolished. This was the end of three centuries of slave trade. The abolition of slavery also leads to the end of the greatest military powers of Europe. In the end, the world could see the effect of ideological and political force. This is the main reason why British colonialists feared and joined those who supported abolition. The rebellions in Domingue terrified the plantation owners in Britain and West Indies. This fear contributed to the abolition of slavery in other colonies and encouraged more slaves in other regions to fight for their freedom.
Klein and Vinson give a detailed and comparative study of slavery in the Spanish, French, and Portuguese-speaking regions and the Dutch-speaking colonies. The two authors focus on the social theories of slavery in North America. The evolution of the slavery slave trade in America took a different approach from that of Domingue. Slavery varies from servitude. According to them, “the use of Africans as chattel slaved resulted from the Roman legal structure.” The idea of using Africans as slaves came from Romans. The Western societies adapted to this practice and adopted it in their colonies. Africans also had their slaves. However, these slaves were organized in a different way from the slaves in the Domingue colony. The French adopted the New World slavery where slaves consisted majorly of African Americans Domingue.
The Domingue colony is similar to Brazil and the Caribbean as far as slavery is a concern. Brazil and the Caribbean Islands had sugar plantations where slaves worked between the eighteenth and nineteenth century. However, Klein does not focus on the plantations and the slaves who worked on the plantations. Slavery was ubiquitous in Latin America and the whole of the Caribbean between the sixteen and nineteenth century. Other employments included mining, domestic services, and crafts. The slaves were used depending on the price. Later in the mid-nineteenth century, ethical consideration later arose. Klein and Vinson analyze slavery and its structure in the economic plantations. The social history of the Latin America influences the structure of the slave trade. The family set up, communities and the culture of the African Americans blended with the Western institutions.
Klein and Vinson argue, “Social factors influenced the fight for abolition in Latin American and the Caribbean.” This argument originates from the fact that the slaves understood their identity and understood their place in the community.

As they established their families, children received education and developed beliefs that brought legitimacy to their lives. The church used the social set up to fight for freedom of the slaves. Priests demanded that husband remained close to their wives despite the pressure to sell of slaves who were married. Although slaves could not control lives, they did not stop to struggle for identity. According to Klein and Vinson, their master defined African labor. They were under supervisions all the time. Their masters also restricted their social behavior. Physical violence was meant to create fear. This kind of pressure caused the slaves to rebel. They could not easily adjust to the American

culture.
In Domingue, slaves had not right in the eyes of people of color. However, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the government provided protection for them. This protection resulted from the medieval laws created by the Roman legal precepts. Religious groups in America also supported slaves. They were given time for worship and had the freedom to practice their marriage customs and kinship about Christian doctrines. The church even purchased slaves to allow them to enjoy their Christian rights. Christianity allowed slaves to know their rights in the Caribbean and America.
The Catholic played a big role in the abolition of slavery. The church forced the slave owners to allow the slaves to visit the church and take sacraments. The Catholic Church legitimized slave marriage. The church fought for the sexual, moral, and physical integrity of the slaves. Because of this protection, slave owners could not separate spouses during sales. The efforts of the church bore fruits since the slaves were granted holidays and free Sundays. Support networks also came up to support and protect the church. Although slavery was abolished in the Latin America and the Caribbean, some slave masters continued with this practice for fifty tears. The campaign ended the slave trade and took a more diplomatic approach with less war in both Domingue and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Dubois critically analyzed the developments of the Haiti revolution before and how the revolution influenced slavery. The Haitian revolution is important in the world because it leads to the creation of the first Latin American nation. It showed strong radicalization in the eighteenth century. The radicalization was not based on race but political and ideological forces. Dubois also opposes the popular belief that Haitian revolution was a slave uprising. It was a transcultural movement. The pressure was put on the imperial authorities to practice racial equality. The end to slavery formed part of the goals of the insurgents. Klein and Vinson look at the economic and demographic history of the systems created for slaves. The systems encouraged slave communities and the social groups such as the church to the unit with one goal, to give the slaves their freedom. Although Dubois focuses on the labor in the sugarcane plantations, Klein and Vinson show the different forms of labor. The two authors have a common stand on the reason for revolutions and rebellion. The revolutionists came together in large numbers without considering their race. In both cases, it was political ideology and abolition of slavery. The Catholic Church in the Caribbean joined in the fight for the freedom of the slaves. The religious leaders did not mind their race. In the end, the two regions gained their freedom from colonies and slaves became free.