Differences And Similarities Between The French And Haitian Revolutions

A Comparison of the Causes and Consequences of the French and Haitian Revolutions

The French and Haitian Revolutions were similar in that the causes of both reflected the influence of Enlightenment thinking, and the effects of both revolutions brought hardships to both countries. However, they were different in that each revolution was influenced by a different set of Enlightenment theories with a differing focus—the French Revolution was influenced by theories that revolved mostly around natural rights and equal representation, while the Haitian Revolution was influenced mostly by theories concerning slavery. Both revolutions resulted in the rise of dictatorships in their respective countries in their aftermath. However, while the French

Revolution ended up contributing to the creation of an enduring political ideology, liberalism, the Haitian Revolution did not.
The French and Haitian Revolutions both were influenced by Enlightenment theory.

The French Revolution was influenced by the Enlightenment concepts of fair representation, no person having arbitrary power over another, equality under the law, and equal rights — ideas which had been promoted by philosophers such as Rousseau and Montesquieu. The Haitian revolution was influenced by the Enlightenment as well — Haitian slaves wanted to be free and there were Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu and Diderot who condemned slavery as a violation of natural rights. This similarity was likely due to a fact that is common to all revolutions—they result from a paradigm shift caused by influential new ideas. In France, the spread of the Enlightenment can be attributed to people like Diderot—he sold his Encyclopedia to many people, thus spreading the ideas of Enlightenment and making them more popular. In Haiti, Touissant L’Ouverture learned about Enlightenment thinking through his education, and this guided his actions to help liberate the slaves in

Haiti.
Despite their similarities, the Enlightenment theories that influenced both revolutions focused on different concepts. The French Revolution was influenced more by theories of natural rights, representative government, and equal representation under the law for everyone as expressed in documents like “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.” By contrast, the Haitian Revolution appears to have been influenced by the Enlightenment theories that revolved around slavery, as demonstrated by the fact that the Haitian Revolution was a slave rebellion. The reason for the difference in Enlightenment theories that influenced both revolutions probably lies in the fact that Haiti had a 90% slave population at the time, and the abolition of slavery was a high priority for the enslaved people. France, on the other hand, had no reason to worry about this—the revolution revolved mostly around already free whites whose main grievances were the deprivation of natural rights, equal representation, and getting rid of the relics of the feudal system.
In terms of their consequences, the French and Haitian Revolutions were similar in that both brought dictatorships to their respective countries.

In France, the “Reign of Terror” instituted by Robespierre turned into a draconian dictatorship when his rivals were being eliminated to purify the body politic. In a coup d’etat, however, Napoleon, a person made general by Robespierre’s own Committee on Public Safety, took over France as its military dictator. Thomas Jefferson placed a sugar embargo on Haiti, which crippled its economy, and most of the former slaves refused to do any farm work because the association between farm work and slavery was too fresh in their minds. This led to the low economic output of Haiti, and the country quickly devolved into a dictatorship. The reason for this similarity lies in the fact that both countries had just overthrown their governments, and they needed time to recover from the effects of coping with the financial and social difficulties resulting from a revolution. In times like this, swift, unilateral decision-making seems like the best solution for people. This has happened repeatedly in history with people like

Solon.
While the French revolution contributed to the creation of a political ideology, the Haitian revolution did not. Out of the Enlightenment, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution came the idea that people should be more free than restrained. This developed into an ideology known as Liberalism. The Haitian Revolution did not lead to the creation of any sort of political ideology—in fact, it furthered a pre-existing ideology known as abolitionism. One reason for this lies in the fact that Liberalism was a European concept. While one could argue that the reason is not valid because America is not Europe, many people in America considered themselves European. In Haiti, however, there was a racial barrier that allowed the Haitian Revolution to develop independently—the slaves kicked out all other people off the island. This probably excluded Haiti from the “European” label. Also, the French revolution happened first, which allowed Liberalism to develop originally in France.
The French and Haitian revolutions were both similar and different in a number of ways in their causes and their consequences. Their causes are similar in that both revolutions were influenced by Enlightenment theory. However, for each revolution, the theories dealt with different concepts. The consequences are similar in that both of the revolutions brought dictatorships to their countries. However, while the French Revolution ended up creating a political ideology, the Haitian Revolution did not.