If you are an American, you are aware of the infamous revolution which was the start of the creation of our country. This revolution, however, was only one of three major events which took place during the end of the 18th century. The people of France and Haiti also decided to start a revolution against their government. Revolutionary can be defined as a complete change. Each country established their own objectives to help them win their independence from their oppressive government. Haiti accomplished the most objectives and changed the most from their original government. After analyzing each revolution, it is clear that Haiti was the most revolutionary. The first of the three revolutions started in 1775 in the American colonies. England …show more content…
The citizens were split into three estates: the clergy, the noblemen, and the commoners. There was widespread unemployment, making the third estate the largest of the three classes. The commoners decided they wanted equal rights and set forth to write their own declaration as the National Assembly. They formed a list of objectives, “All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents,” (Rights of Man, pg. 1). They spoke strongly about the rights between social classes by introducing new laws and forms of government. What came next was a social upheaval from the constitution of 1792. The country ended feudalism, but thousands were executed in suspicion of being enemies of the state. The guillotine, a death trap, became a part of everyday life. It took years before Napoleon Bonaparte effectively ended the revolution. Ultimately the French’s use of the guillotine distracted them from reaching their objectives of equal rights. Their biggest accomplishment was ending Feudalism. Nonetheless, the French was not the most revolutionary of the three countries. The French revolution did not top that of …show more content…
At the time, Haiti was a colony, known as Saint Domingue, made up of plantations producing sugarcane and coffee (Ways of the World, pg. 709). The majority of the population were slaves or people of color. When tensions rose between the Europeans, it triggered the Haitian revolution. Their objective was to ensure freedom from their enslavement under France. Their revolt started with much violence from the burning down of the plantations to the killing of hundreds. All white men living in Haiti either fled or were killed. The Haitians felt strongly towards their revolt and would not let anything get in their way. Afterwards they write their declaration stating, “Let us vow to ourselves, to posterity, to the entire universe, to forever renounce France, and to die rather than live under its domination; to fight until our last breath for the independence of our country,” (Haitian Declaration, pg. 3). The right of man was important, regardless of race. Everything from that point began to change. The social class had been flipped. What was once the bottom was now the top. The former slaves were now independent citizens. The Haitians accomplished their objectives by becoming independent of France, pushing out the landowners, and reclaiming their native land. By far, the Haitians were the most changed from their original state. They inspired the Abolition Movement in Britain and other slave rebellions. The Haitian
Even with Haiti being ostracized by many countries, merchants still spread the news and caused many countries to have slave revolts. The significance of the revolution has caused mass change around the world on its stance towards slavery. As the Haitian revolution was the first violent slave uprising the world had seen. With it, then came the concern around slavery and the spark for civil rights movements across the globe. The Haitian revolution was fought based on the American and French revolutions principals, which paved the way for Universal human rights we now have today.
The Haitian revolution was a global event in terms of its origin, its process, and its legacy. In 1791, within only two years of the start of the French Revolution, an organized slave revolution had begun in France’s richest colony of Haiti. There, slaves from Africa and their mixed race descendants learned of the result of the French Revolution which strove for equal rights and freedom of all men. In the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen document 2 of the Declaration, a result of the new National Assembly, setup a direct conflict with the French Code Noir, a code regulating slave colonies including the treatment of slaves. In the minds of Haitian slaves, the differences between their status and treatment in the Code Noir versus
Saint Domingue was one of the richest colonies of the Americas during the late eighteenth century. Its extravagance resulted from their large production of highly demanded coffee, cotton, and sugar, which heavily depended on strict slave regime. Slaves, many whom were African born, made up the vast majority of the population and suffered poor working and living conditions. The anger of slaves caused the Haitian Revolution, which would lead to Haiti freeing itself from its oppressor and becoming an independent republic in the Caribbean. The Haitian Revolution created a profound effect not only the former French colony, but also acted as a leader for reformation around the world.
My thoughts about the events leading to the Haitian revolution was the impacts taken by Toussaint Louverture. He had a major impact on the enslaved Africans rights, liberty, and prosperity. With the help of Louverture along with other world leaders, Haiti was able to find their independence. I personally feel like they were only country that the people belonging there actually fought for their rights and freedom. During that time many of the country’s had others trying to fight to lead the country to independence, but Haiti actually had there own fight for them.
Each ethnic group represented on the island had different reasonings for their part of the revolution. However, the white society had a common interest. The Ways of the World described the white society as being very persistent in opposing freedom to the slaves of Haiti (The Ways of the World, pg. 709). This unintentionally lit the fire of a revolution.
The stand against slavery persisted with the revolutionary ideals of personal liberty and fundamental rights for all. The free people of Haiti would never again return to their status of servitude and subjugation. Napoleon did not foresee the strength of free Haiti, and it cost him his ultimate
The Haitian Revolution changed the ideas of fighting for independence and decolonization after being ruled by the French. Haiti, formerly known by the French name of Saint Dominque, was a rich country in the Caribbean Sea. They were a crop-rich colony of France, producing the highest amount of cotton, coffee, sugar, and indigo. There was a huge divide between social classes and racism was extremly prevalent. The five distinct social classes caused the start of the revolution.
Were the revolutions of the Atlantic truly that revolutionary? During the Revolutions of the Atlantic, Including the French, American, Haitian, and South American revolutions, The world underwent huge changes. Not only were there changes in government, but changes in world ideologies. These changes changed the course of the world forever, and have brought the world into the modern era we are in today.
French overthrew their internal government, while Haiti overthrew their external government. The French revolution was the start of enlightenment ideas coming into place in Europe. The french were in debt The French monarchs had unlimited power and also declared themselves as representatives of god. This revolution stirred among the French leading to the rise of Napoleon. The Haitian Revolution influenced slave rebellions in the United States and the British Colonies.
The French, Haitian, and American Revolutions were all sparked from the minds of the colonists, slaves, or lower classes who were treated with inequality by their own governments. In each location, there was a noticeable trend of mistreatment between government and people. In Haiti, slaves brought over by the French who captured the island, and forced them into brutal labor in what was the most valuable and wealthy are at the time. The government and leadership in France was corrupt as they were in much debt. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette lived in Versailles far from the other forms of government, abusing the country wealth.
In 1804, Haiti became the first black independent country. Toussaint-Louverture who was a former slave, who took control of the rebels. Toussaint knew information about the military and he found two generals from other slaves, Dessalines and Henri, and that was how he was able to start the guerrilla war against the colonial population, and they were able to defeat the France and get peace. Also, in 1801 Toussaint became governor of the colony and was able to get slaves free from Spanish Portion Island. In 1802, Toussaint agreed to cease-fire against Napoleon after several months of fighting.
However, Haiti was an entirely unexpected circumstance. Haiti was a province of France and was misused for its monetary purposes and as a noteworthy market slave exchange. Consequently, it was under a remote control that had no goal of giving rights or freedom to the slaves. So, when France began writing its Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, it started many minor slave rebellions, eventually causing
The slaves of haiti, the people who were treated in an oppressive manner rebelled against their government to gain freedom and to have a better life. After the revolution the people became really poor and lived in harsh conditions because of the lack of
Overall, the Haitian Revolution is a contrast to the French Revolution because the main reasons and goals of the people were different. In Haiti, the news of American Independence motivated slaves to unite and fight for equality from European nations. Meanwhile in France, the radicals hoped that by overthrowing the monarchy, a new assembly would be created and France would become a republic. Enlightenment philosophies played a role in both revolutions, yet the main reasons for the events differed from one
In order to fully understand what took place in the Haitian Revolution, one must also be cognizant of why the revolution occurred in the first place. Before the Haitian Revolution, there were five distinct social groups on Saint-Domingue, now called Haiti. The white