Introduction
The turn of the 19th century was a period of revolutions that brought about drastic impacts and changes to many Western nations. The driving force for the majority of the revolutions during this time was the pursuit of freedom, a universal right that all people are guaranteed equality and liberty. When it is threatened, an uprising of the masses becomes evitable to ensure protection of such freedom. The French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution were two key examples that resulted from the concept of freedom. The French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution overlapped, and the challenges in France against the old order created a wave of rebellion in Saint Domingue. This paper will compare and contrast the similarities and differences of the revolution through the different lenses: the precursor and causes, ideas and philosophies, roles of violence, social, political, and economic changes, impacts of wars, and great power politics.
The French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution made significant changes politically, economically, and socially. They both shared common characteristics of how the revolution began with a common precursor and method to achieve the end state. The pursuit of equality and liberty was the driving force that had awakened the French citizens and the Saint Domingue slaves to challenge and take action. While the two revolutions were similar, there were some differences. The French Revolution was an internal rebellion with the rise of the peasants and middle classes that fought to overthrow the monarch government, whereas the Haitian Revolution was a slave rebellion that revolted against an external threat, the French colonial government. The French Revolution occurred in 1789 and did not end until 1799. The Haitian revolution started in 1792 and ended in 1802.1 Both revolutions were fueled by the success of the American Revolution that ended in 1783. In addition, the Declaration of Man