“The Other Revolution”1791-1804

THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION

The Haitian Revolutions are often neglected, but they are incredibly important to the historical narrative.

• Haiti is the first independent nation in the Caribbean

• The second independent nation in the Americas (the US is first)

• The second democracy in the Western Hemisphere• The first black republic in the world• The sight of the first and only slave revolt in

history (and the reason Jefferson gets Louisiana)

Geography and Early History • The Haitian Revolutions occur in the French colony of Saint Domingue. • It is located in the Caribbean Sea 700 miles southwest of Florida• In 1492 Haiti was claimed by Christopher Columbus for the Spanish who named the island Hispaniola• Columbus builds a fort named La Navida and leaves behind 39 Spanish men to look for gold but who mistreat the Taino natives; So the Taino burn down the Fort and kill the Spanish• Columbus returns one year later with 17 ships and 1,200 men•Navidad is in ruins

Geography and Early History• The island is inhabited by Taino people who call the island “Ayti” meaning mountainous land• Hispaniola is the island shared by modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic• Fray Bartholomew de las Casas goes to the colony to “stop the suffering of the Indians under Spanish exploitation,” and is shocked by the treatment of “this most lovable and tractable people.” So Bartholomew begins to import slaves as an alternative labor force• For 269 years before the Revolution, slaves revolt against Spanish rule; but they are always harshly and quickly suppressed• French pirates and buccaneer settlers begin to occupy western Hispaniola

Geography and Early History

• British and French settlers increasing occupy the island and compete fro control threatening the Spanish claim• This battle would continue to the end of the Haitian Revolution • French colonists would inhabit the area bringing millions of slaves to work on the colony’s plantation. • French settlers bring both tobacco and Indigo plantations which require more slaves • The economy of Saint-Domingue is plantation-oriented In 1697 in the treaty of Ryswick, the Spanish cede the western third of the island to France; naming it Saint Domingue • The Spanish maintain control over the eastern part of the

island and call it Santo-Domingo

The Slaves• 1697: Importing 2,000 slaves per year; over 800,000 are brought between 1680 and 1776• Imported primarily from Congo and Angola, a few from as far as Mozambique •Many of them die due to harsh treatment and conditions• The survivors are soon inspired by the United States declaration of independence from England; especially the idea that all men are created equal

Saint Domingue• Sugar plantations thrived on the island • It became the most valuable island in the West Indies and possibly the world, more lucrative than the 13 colonies• Produced: 40% of Europe’s Sugar; 60% of its Coffee•Home to more slaves than any other place except Brazil• By the 19th century slaves made up about 90% of the population who were mostly African born because the brutal conditions prevented natural reproduction• Slaves in sugar production had a particularly hard life • The plantations were quite large with more than 200 slaves; often mostly women

The Five Main Groups• Big Whites or gran blancs; Planters who owned the plantations and

the slaves, often absentee landlords who lived in France and allowed their agents to carry out the day to day business of the plantation• Poor “little” Whites or petite blancs who worked as artisans and

laborers, merchants, shop owners, etc…• Mulattos were the wealthy free people of color, or gens de couleur,

who were mixed race often between French whites and African slaves because there were few French women on the colony. The children of those relationships were usually freed by their fathers (How nice)• Mulattos often enjoyed enough wealth to own their own plantations

and slaves; they also served in the militia and the constabulary • Maroons – runaway slaves living off subsistence farming in the

mountains of Saint Domingue• Slaves – at the bottom of the social ladder but the overwhelming

majority; roughly half a million

Social Stability • By 1789, there were 24,800 free people of color; 30,000 white people, and approximately half a million slaves

• The social framework of Haiti did not produce an equation for stability

• The sharp class distinctions aggravated by racial divides created resentment among the different groups for different reason

• Everyone felt they didn’t have it good enough because others, who should not, had it too good

The Economics of Saint Dominque • After the French gain control of Saint Dominque and establish a thriving plantation system, these colonist grow increasingly frustration with the fact that “France” is still in charge of them• France dictates that 100% of Saint Dominque’s goods must be sent to France, and 100% of Saint Dominique’s needs be bought from France• This prevents the colonists gran blancs from profiting from trading with other countries • The planters sought autonomy and self-government and they want greater administrative control over their local affairs• 1776- Adam Smith argues that Saint Domingue is “the most important of the sugar colonies of the West Indies.”

The Code Noir 1685• In 1777, Spain and France sign the Treaty of Aranjuez which officially recognizes French Saint-Domingue on the western third of Hispaniola• Because of planter abuses, France re-imposes the Code Noir from 1685, but issues reforms that address slaves’ hours, food rations, and quality of life. • The Code restricts punishments and establishes minimal controls over the whites• The Code also legally obliges owners to provide slaves with small plots of land to grow food exclusively for their personal (issuing land rights would become a central focus of slave demands during the revolutions) • 1784-1785- New royal ordinances from France make it possible for slaves to legally denounce abuses of a master, overseer, or plantation manager. But they look good on paper more than add any real justice for the slaves.

Groups and Gripes • The slaves were not content with being slaves, and they resented the

cruel treatment they received from the whites• Mulattos or gens de couleur were still subject to legal

discrimination because of they were mixed • The petite blancs resented the little bit of power that the mulattos

did enjoy while these petite blancs were too poor to own their own slaves and plantations. They felt there was not enough discrimination toward blacks because the wealthy people of color enjoyed too many privileges. They wanted lower interest rates and colonial independence where democracy would be instituted for white colonists (excluding the 95% of the population who were not white)• The Gran Blancs were upset about French trade laws and

government attempts to regulate the treatment of slaves and slightly improve the working conditions (Gran Blancs felt the government should stay out of business). They also resent the Mulattos as they grow more powerful, more rich and more militant than in any of France’s other colonies

The French Revolution, 1789• The French Revolution began in France as was inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment• These Enlightenment ideas are reflected in the political documents that the revolutionaries penned • On the eve of revolution, the Third Estate gathers in the tennis court of Versailles to write a constitution and declare themselves the true representatives of the people• Nearly all colonial deputies participate • Third Estate recognizes the principle of colonial representation • Gens de Couleur seek representation and equal rights as free persons and property owners, but are blocked by white colonists •White planters fear the growing power of Mulattos and begin executing them when possible in Saint Domingue

The French Revolution, 1789•Third Estate names itself the National Assembly, June 1789•Vote to seat six delegates from Saint Domingue•The Revolution begins with the fall of the Bastille •France’s political and social structures descend into chaos and violence, July 1789•Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens is adopted by the National Assembly, August 1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man … Articles • Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.• The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.• The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.• Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.

Declaration of the Rights of Man• Documents like the Declaration of the Rights of Man included articles confirming that men have the right to liberty and equality • But such ideas are a bit ambiguous• Thus, one is left to apply different interpretations to just what it means to treat men fair and equally • Does that mean slaves too? Again, open for interpretation • The ambiguous nature of the article was quickly interpreted by those in favor of rights for slaves and people of color as being an articulation against slavery • This led to a rumor that the King of France had abolished slavery (the King of France was not really even king anymore)

Reactions from Saint Domingue• The Colonial Assembly forms to combat actions that the French National Assembly had taken on behalf of free blacks and mulattoes, Oct. 1789• March 1790- France grants full legislative powers to the Colonial Assembly giving the colony almost complete autonomy • The mulatto question is left to the planters to interpret, and France states that those attempting to undermine or agitate against the interests of the colonists are guilty of a crime against the nation• The Colonial Assembly issues decrees and reforms moving the colony toward autonomy • Conflict rises between royalists and patriots on the island• Planters vow to never grant any rights to the mulattoes and free blacks: “They are a bastard and degenerate race”• Mulattoes grow more frustrated

Reactions from Saint Domingue• The Colonial Assembly issues a decree submitting only to the King of France, May 1790• The French National Assembly then dissolves the Colonial Assembly • The governor of Saint Domingue amasses troops to dissolve it by force • The colony is now divided by patriots and royalists• Both groups seek mulattos support • The Colonial Assembly refuses to disband and issues a call to arms of all citizens, Oct. 1790• They are soon outnumbered by the governor’s forces and they escape to France where they seek to reaffirm their right to legislate free persons of color

Ogé Rebellion • Jacques Vincent Ogé an affranchis representing the colony in France leads a revolt against the white colonial authorities in Saint-Dominigue • Colonists fail in their attempts to keep him from leaving France, Ogé makes it to England where he his secretly helped by abolitionists• Then, Ogé he sailed to the US where he bought weapons • Arrived in Saint-Domingue on Oct. 21, 1790 • Eluding police he unites friends and family to organize the gens de couleur against the forces of white supremacy • He amasses 300 men consisting of mostly mulattoes and some free blacks • They march to Grande-Riviere, just south of Le Cap, and joins with others to take the city and disarm the white population• The colonists disband Ogé by outnumbering the rebels • Ogé goes into hiding in Santo-Domingo • He is extracted and brutally executed, March 1791

Tensions Build • General insurrection breaks out among 10 – 15,000 slaves until half the province is in armed rebellion, April 1791• The debate on Mulatto rights gets more tense • The National Assembly responds by declaring a limited number of free-born persons of color voting rights and other liberties• Slaves are fighting for freedom from their leaders and not general emancipation, additional free days during the week, and abolition of the whip as punishment. • Colonists refuse to negotiate at all • Slave forces continue to grow – reaching nearly 4,000 by the end of July, 1791• Summer 1791 – Mulattoes leaders increase organization efforts, and slaves begin to call for general emancipation and independence

Tensions Build • Colonists revolt against the May 15th decree • Colonial Assembly members are pardoned in France• Return to Saint Dominique and exclude blacks and mulattoes from voting• Slaves begin abandoning their plantations holding revolutionary meetings in the woods• Fighting is occurring between slaves and planters• Fighting disrupts between the warring factions:Royalists and Patriots, Slaves and Planters, Planters and colony officials • Saint Domingue is in social and administrative chaos • France dismantles the colony’s power structure

Tensions Build• July 1791- Violence breaks out in Les Cayes 2,000 slaves attack a plantation being used as a military camp by the planters• Slaves kill slaves who refuse to join their forces • Local governor organizes against the slaves but is unsuccessful• Slaves light string of fires burning plantations • France revokes the May 15 decree and hopes to restore order in Saint-Domingue • 1791 – Radical Petite Blancs seized the port city of Port au Prince • By 1791 France is at war with most of Europe• This upset the petite blancs – fighting ensued

Toussaint L’Ouverture• Toussaint Breda – renamed himself Toussaint L’ouverture was a former slave who was able to gain freedom for himself. He was very intelligent and would be the leader of this slave revolt. He was of full African descent.• He molded the slaves into a discipline army that could withstand attacks from French troops

Fighting Ensues• Spanish had supported slave revolts in Saint Dominque to weaken the French • L’Ouverture becomes an officer in the Spanish military because emancipation of slaves was more important to him than keeping his rights as a French citizen • Then the British invade Saint Dominque because they were also at war with France• So the French freed the slaves giving them an incentive to fight for the French • These decrees were ratified by the French National Convention in Paris on Feb. 4, 1974• By May, L’Ouverture switches allegiance to France because of this and turned the tide of the war•Winning freedom and citizenship for all

Napoleon: An Undoing • Toussaint worked to guide Haiti both socially and politically• He drafted a constitution ensuring freedom • But – Toussaint believed in the necessity of the sugar

plantations for Haiti to thrive economically • So the plantation system was not ended• Instead of slavery, the former slaves were paid for their work

and were no longer threatened with harsh treatment• But – a civil war broke out between disagreeing factions when

Toussaint’s and his compatriot Rigaud fought over Rigaud’s refusal to give up one of the island’s southern states• Toussaint won with help from his Lieutenant Dessaline • Toussaint writes a new constitution • But Saint Dominque was still technically a colony of France• Then Napoleon takes over France and the dynamics change

Napoleon’s Impact• Napoleon takes power in 1799 in a coup • His new regime the Consulate • Established that France’s law did not apply to overseas colonies• Napoleon needed money – best way to maximize profits –

reintroduce slavery • Haitian blacks believed that was what Napoleon meant to do• Napoleon sent troops to Saint Dominque• Toussaint was arrested and he died in a French prison in France• But by then Toussaint had lost a lot of popularity on the island

because he wanted most blacks on the island to continue to grow sugar • Haitians only started fighting when Leclerc tried to take their guns • This sparked a guerilla war that the French had no chance of

winning

The Second Haitian Revolution • The French were exceedingly cruel toward the Haitians • They even imported man-eating dogs from Cuba • Executed men and women • The Haitians had biological warfare on their side as many of the French were to succumb to yellow fever• Napoleon decided to cut his losses and recalled his troops • Of the 40,000 who left only 8,000 can back • On Jan. 1804 was declared independent by Dessaline and it was named Haiti – which was what it had been called before it was renamed Saint-Domingue

Influence on America • American slave owners were obviously concerned about the slave revolt in Haiti • Adams offered aid because Adams was anti-slavery, but Jefferson was also disturbed by Deassaline’s execution order for whites after Napoleon’s efforts on the island threatened the reinstitution of slavery• • However, the success of Haitian slaves caused Napoleon to give up on his dreams of an American Empire, and to gain some money for France he sold Louisiana to Thomas Jefferson• The US refused to recognize Haiti’s sovereignty until 1862• Jefferson quite supplying aid to L’Ouverture.

Assignment Write a paper discussing the origins and impacts of Haitian Revolution, explaining all of the following points: 

1. How did the French Revolution and the ideas of the Enlightenment contributed to the Haitian Revolution.

2. What were different goals of the five main groups in Haiti: wealthy whites, poor whites, mulattos, maroons (escaped slaves encampments), and enslaved people?

3. What contributed to the success of the revolution?4. How did the Haitian Revolution impact the rest of the

Americas?5. What are some of the legacies of the Haitian

Revolution in Haiti today?

Assignment • In order to gain a better understanding of the Haitian Revolution,

watch the following film and review the following timeline:Koval, M., & Asté, P. (Producers). (2009). Égalité for all: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian revolution [Video]. Retrieved from the Films On Demand database.• Shen, K. (2008, December 9). History of Haiti 1492-1805 [Timeline].

Retrieved from http://library.brown.edu/haitihistory/index.html• To undertake the research for this assignment, review the following

online exhibition, and read the following scholarly source:(n.d.). The other revolution: Haiti, 1789 – 1804 [Online exhibition]. Retrieved from http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/haitian/index.html#• Knight, F. W. (2005). The Haitian Revolution and the notion of human

rights. Journal of the Historical Society, 5(3), 391-416. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5923.2005.00136.x. Retrieved from the Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost) database.

Assignment• The paper must:Be two to three pages in length, not including title and reference page.• Be formatted according to APA style.• Contain at least one quote from “The Haitian Revolution and the Notion of Human Rights.” For information on how to do this, visit the Ashford Writing Center.• Contain one quote from a primary source from the online exhibition of the Haitian Revolution.• Cite sources in text and on the reference page.• For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, and for using scholarly and primary sources, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.