How Did The Haitian Revolution Affect Slavery

The Haitian Revolution has been seen as the first successful slave revolt in the western hemisphere where the slaves got rid of their oppression and created their own government. Hatie claimed to be a republic, and wrote their own declaration to rule by. In the declaration it clearly outlaws slavery and legal bias from skintone. “Men are born free and equal in rights; social distinctions may be based only upon the general usefulness. ”(Document 2).

In Documents 1, 2, and 10, the Haitian Revolution was the spark

The impact of slavery on the Old South is a difficult measure to establish because slavery was the Old South. While the popular adage was “Cotton is King,” it was simply a microcosm of the delusion of the day. Truly, slavery was king. Slavery was the growing tension of the time, political catalyst and ironically crux of American power. To the masses, slavery was a social defining stance; the “peculiar institution” to some and a defining moral line to others, American life was changed depending on what view you took of slavery.

During the 19th century, slavery was one of the biggest controversial. Slavery was hated from one side of the country and needed, at least to the people with large farms, in the south. The actions taken by the private citizens was more important. The citizens wrote petitions, women’s participation started a sudden change, and the abolition movement. Petitions were one way these citizens took control when it came to anti-slavery.

After hundreds of years of proven service to Spain, the Creoles felt that the Bourbons were now treating them like a recently conquered nation. The Haitian Revolution is known to be the largest and most successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere. Slaves initiated the rebellion in 1791 and by 1803 they had succeeded in ending not just slavery but French control over the colony. The Haitian Revolution, however, was much more complex, consisting of several revolutions going on simultaneously.

Other Articles in the constitution were also utilized to aid other enslaved people from other colonies in the Caribbean that sought freedom. In the Haitian constitution of 1816, Article 44 states, “All Africans and Indians, and the descendants of their blood, born in the colonies or in foreign countries, who come to reside in the Republic will be recognized as Haitians, but will enjoy the right of citizenship only after one year of residence”. This clause was cited by Alexandre Petion, president of the Republic of Haiti when he defended the right of several Jamaican men to remain in Haiti in 1817 after they had commandeered a vessel and sought protection and freedom from slavery in Haiti. Haiti’s involvement in this matter set a precedent, where it marked the colony as a free soil nation, wherein all those who were looking to escape from slavery, would be welcomed with freedom. It is important to note that, these extraordinary acts occurred as, “the American Revolution preserved enslavement and segregation of its populations and the French maintained forms of domination and exclusion with their colonies and over their colonized populations”.

In America, opposition to slavery started with acts of defiance such as “slave resistance”, where African American slaves would rebel in several ways to attain greater freedom. While this “revolution” gathered steam, with slaves often running away from their masters and finding shelter in swamps, lakes or in cities that believed in their cause, more organized forms of opposition, led by reformers like William Garrison (Document E), who founded The American Anti-Slave Society, also started gaining traction. The growing opposition to slavery, by both slaves and their white sympathizers, eventually culminated in a determined abolitionist movement that highlighted the plight of so many and galvanized public opinion against an appalling institution. The abolitionist movement (the organized opposition to slavery) gained momentum in the late 1700s as state after state in the north abolished slavery (Document A), starting with Vermont in 1777.

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.

Slavery through the eyes of activists On December fifteenth, in eighteen sixty-five, the United States abolished slavery with the thirteenth amendment. Powerful individuals such as Frederick Douglass, David Walker, Nat Turner, Sojourner Truth, and Benjamin Banneker were people that longed to see the day that they would be free from slavery. Although these five individuals were never in contact with one another they all shared the same drive and motivation to change the way people viewed slavery for the better. These individuals accomplished their goal of changing slavery with a strong belief in god, a strong political voice and a light in them that never died.

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

At Saturday, April 20, 1793, many of the slaves revolted in order to gain freedom. The passage states ”hundreds of enslaved blacks revolted in the area surrounding the village of Trois- Rivières, Guadeloupe… they were quiet, orderly and unaggressive… the soldiers schedule scrot the enslaved into basse-terre where they would be placed into custody.” ( Insurrection and the Language of rights) This is an example of why the slaves wanted a social change as Toussaint Louverture believed that the blacks were not treated the way they should be.

During the Revolution, thousands of slaves obtained their freedom by running away. Around by the 1790s, however, the slave population was growing again and was beginning to spread into new lands in what would become the cotton belt. Inspired by the natural rights of the Revolution, free blacks moved against slavery. They petitioned Congress to end the slave trade and state legislatures to abolish slavery.

L’Ouverture hoped to gain full independence and liberation of slaves on the entire island of Haiti. However, France had no intention of letting Haiti go free. When Napoleon Bonaparte sent troops to reclaim Haiti for France, he failed because his troops died from yellow fever. As a result, the independent nation of Haiti was born. The outcome of the Haitian Revolution was in favor of the slaves on the island because they gained their freedom from the French and Spanish.

From 1791 to 1804, the country that had the biggest impact on the Haitian Revolution was France. In fact, the French Revolution was a significant catalyst to the Haiti’s own revolution despite having started a few years prior. At this point, France’s economy was still suffering after their involvement in both the American Revolutionary War and the Seven Years’ War. To combat the huge amount of debt they owed, France issued widely unpopular taxation schemes which ultimately caused more harm than benefit. Additionally, the heightened privileges enjoyed by the aristocracy and the clergy drew popular resentment.

The Haitian revolution was triggered by the desire for Haitian blacks and multi-racial people to be treated with respect and decorum and the cruelty faced by slaves. The Haitians took pattern from the French in carrying out there revolts. The successful revolts from the French inspired the free people of color and the enslaved Haitians to revolt against the systems which treated them unfairly, this revolt led to represent a new notion of human rights, partaking in government, and universal nationality. In the 18th century, Haiti as we know it, was France 's wealthiest overseas colony, solely because of its production of coffee, sugar, indigo, and cotton produced by an enslaved labor force. Before the revolution occurred, Haiti had three classes