French & Hatian Revolution

Throughout the course of history, civilizations have become discontent with their government or governing force and demanded change. When this change is not proposed or given, the people of the civilization revolt. This concept is justified very well when looking at the the revolutions of 18th century France and Haiti. France and Haiti both revolted against the France; however, these two nations revolted for different reasons. The causes of these two revolutions resemble one another. The ideas that started these revolts were the opinions and gossip of citizens spread throughout the land. In France, the citizens discussed the absurdity of the monarchy that controlled France. Another topic highly discussed was how the monarchy was to blame for all of the high taxes. It was mainly the monarchy’s fault for fighting in wars that were not their own, such as the War of Austrian Succession and American Revolution; these foreign wars led France to be heavily in debt. This caused the bourgeoisie, or middle class, and lower class to revolt due to the high, unwanted taxes they had to pay. These two lower classes wanted liberty and equal rights. Haiti, was a french colony and contained ⅓ of France’s foreign trade. News of the revolts traveled to Haiti and crop production and trade increased. This required longer work hours and more slaves to work. The slaves of Haiti demanded freedom and equality; which caused them to revolt against French leaders in France. As you can see, both France and Haiti’s citizens had similar reasons for revolt. During these revolutions, the events that had occurred were somewhat similar. Violence partook in both Haiti and France as an act of revolt. The french attacked stores, houses of noblemen, and manor houses. The Bastille of France was also attacked and many people were killed and injured. They did not care if they died, as long as they got their point through to the monarch. Similarly, slaves in Haiti also used actions of violence to