Toussaint Louverture

Latin Revolutions

Hispaniola was colonized by the French and

the colony was named Saint Dominique Main source of profit was sugar cane Used African slaves to harvest the sugar cane Very labor intensive crop

Saint Dominique

White planters were outnumbered by slaves

10 to 1 Used violence to control the slaves and

prevent rebellion Common practices of violence were whipping,

burning, and castration Escaped slaves lived in the jungles and

survived off of stealing from plantations Constant importation of new slaves from Africa

because of the high death rate

Treatment of Slaves

Colony was producing 60% of the world’s

coffee and 40% of the world’s sugar Word of the French Revolution reached

St. Dominique in 1789 Planters supported the revolution and

wanted St. Dominique to be more independent of French rule

Slaves supported King Louis because they were afraid of the planters having total control

Black free men on the island began pushing for better treatment of slaves and more equality for free blacks

Several were violently executed by being “broken on the wheel”

Saint Dominique in 1789

Was born into slavery on St. Domingue, father had been a tribal chief in Africa

Received a good education from his godfather and Jesuit missionaries

Was freed in 1776, but worked on the plantation and an important overseer and advisor

Married in 1782 and bought a small plantation

Acquired a small fortune before the Haitian Revolution

Toussaint’s Early Life

Free blacks demanded plantation

owners recognize the “Rights of Man”

Planters refused and many reform seeking free blacks were executed

These executions ignited slave rebellions across the island in 1791.

Spanish and British forces also attempted to conquer the island during the turmoil.

The Haitian Revolution became a 4 way war for the island: The slaves, British, Spanish, and French all fought for control.

The Haitian Rebellion

Toussaint organized over 100,000 slaves into

an army Focused on discipline and respect, they did

not slaughter or butcher the enemy forces Agreed to help the French take back St.

Dominique…the French promised to free all the slaves in return

Toussaint and his forces defeat the Spanish and British

St. Dominique came back under French control in 1801, but all the slaves were freed

Toussaint Takes Command

Napoleon sent 27,000 French troops to betray Toussaint, take back St. Dominique, and re-establish slavery

Toussaint attempted to negotiate a peace, but was arrested and sent to France where he died in prison

Haitians continued the fight without Toussaint and defeated the French

24,000 French soldiers died and Haiti won its independence

Independence

Most of South America was under Spanish colonial rule Nationalists and revolutionaries in many South American

countries were inspired by the ideas and successes of the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions

The birth of so many new independent nations in the Western Hemisphere led to the creation of the Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine was written by the US government and said that the United States would not tolerate any European interference in the Western Hemisphere

Latin America