The Haitian revolution was actually a series of conflicts during the period 1791–1804 that involved shifting alliances of Haitian slaves, affranchise (former French legal term denoting a freedman or emancipated slave), mulattoes, and colonists, as well as British and French army troops. Several factors caused the event, including the affranchis’ frustrations with a racist society, the French Revolution, nationalistic rhetoric expressed during Voodoo ceremonies, the continuing brutality of slave owners, and wars between European powers. Vincent Ogé, a mulatto who had lobbied the French assembly for colonial reforms, led an uprising in late 1790 but was captured, tortured, and executed. In May 1791 the French revolutionary government granted citizenship to the wealthier affranchis, but Haiti’s European population refused to comply with the law. Within two months isolated fighting broke out between Europeans and affranchis, and in August thousands of slaves rose in rebellion. The Europeans attempted to appease the mulattoes in order to quell the slave revolt, and the French assembly granted citizenship to all affranchis in April 1792. The country was torn by rival factions, some of which were supported by Spanish colonists in Santo Domingo (on the eastern side of the island, which later became the Dominican Republic) or by British troops from Jamaica. In 1793 Léger Félicité Sonthonax, who was sent from France to maintain order, offered freedom to slaves who joined his army; he soon abolished slavery altogether, and the following year the French government confirmed his decision.
In the late 1790s Toussaint Louverture, a military leader and former slave, gained control of several areas and earned the initial support of French agents. He gave nominal allegiance to France while pursuing his own political and military designs, which included negotiating with the British, and in May 1801 he had himself named “governor-general for life.” Napoléon Bonaparte, wishing to maintain control of the island, attempted to restore the old regime (and European rule) by sending his brother-in-law, General Charles Leclerc, with an experienced force from Saint-Domingue that included several exiled mulatto officers. Toussaint struggled for several months against Leclerc’s forces before agreeing to an armistice (peace treaty) in May 1802; however, the French broke the agreement and imprisoned him in France. He died on April 7, 1803.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henry Christophe led a black army against the French in 1802, following evidence that Napoleon intended to restore slavery in Saint-Domingue as he had done in other French possessions. They defeated the French commander and a large part of his army, and in November 1803 the viscount de Rochambeau surrendered the remainder of the expedition. The French withdrew from Haiti but maintained a presence in the eastern part of the island until 1809.
QUESTION: How was the Haitian Revolution similar to the American Revolution? How was it similar to the French Revolution? Finally, how is it different than both of these other rebellions? Please answer in at least five complete sentences. Thank you for being a spectacular person.
Your reading for Friday is pages 632-641 on the Ottoman Empire. Look out for the following:
- Who was Muhammad Ali and why was he important? (pg. 634)
- Explain what happened in Serbia involving the Janissaries (pg. 635)
- Who was Mahmud II and what did he do to the Janissaries? (pg. 636)
- What was the tanzimat and what types of reforms did it include? (pg. 636)
- What was the significance of the Crimean War? (pg. 639