How Did The French Revolution Influence The Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution lasted from 1791 to 1804. Before the revolution, blacks and mulattoes wanted equality, and also independence from France. Slaves worked from before dawn till after dark. They were underfed, undernourished, and overworked by their owners. Owners used violence and terror to force slaves to work. They would burn them in ovens, pour boiling cane sugar on them, and put salt, pepper, or lemon on whip wounds. Slaves resisted slavery through infanticide, suicide, and plotting to kill their owners. Many slaves would run away to less populated places to become maroons and form their own communities. They also practiced Vodou, an outlawed religion that was created by the slaves in Haiti. As time passed by, things began to change and the colony would be different from then on. “In July 1801, Toussaint Louverture issued a new constitution that pleased neither the French nor the masses in Saint-Domingue. The constitution completely abolished slavery [...] and declared that all citizens had equal rights.” (Choices 34). Although the constitution sounded like it benefitted the blacks, it did not do much. “But it also upheld some of the tenets of the colonial system. For example, it outlawed Vodou, in
favor of Catholicism. According to the constitution, Louverture would be governor general for life of Saint Domingue. The constitution did not declare independence for Saint-Domingue but instead claimed that all people in Saint-Domingue were French citizens.” (Choices 34). Whites, mulattoes, and leaders owned the land, and former slaves were forced to work on them. Former slaves saw this as another form of slavery. In October 1801, workers called for independence from France, and to kill off the white population in Saint-Domingue. 300 whites were killed before they were stopped. In France, Napoleon Bonaparte saw Louverture’s constitution as almost a declaration of independence, and an insult to France. Louverture had made a constitution that angered both Napoleon Bonaparte and the citizens of Saint-Domingue, which fueled the cause of the war. The war began when Napoleon Bonaparte sent 20,000 troops under the command of General Charles Leclerc to invade and regain full control of Saint-Domingue.
French troops arrived in Saint-Domingue in February 1802. They captured the southern part of the colony in just a few weeks. Many citizens saw themselves as French citizens, and joined the French army. Soon, nearly half of Louverture’s army was fighting for France. Toussaint Louverture was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. Louverture realized his position was weakening, and agreed to negotiate with Leclerc. Little did Louverture know, he would be tricked. “A month later, Leclerc betrayed his agreement with Louverture. Tricking him to a false meeting, Leclerc and his men captured [him] and put him on a boat to Europe.” (Choices 36). Louverture was imprisoned in the French Alps, and died there less than a year later. Even though most of Louverture’s army was fighting for the French, there were still many armies that resisted them. These were former maroons who never joined Louverture’s army. The French assured that they were not restoring slavery, but the people did not believe them. Nearly the entire population of Saint-Domingue revolted against the French. Many of Louverture’s soldiers realized the French’s true intentions, and joined the revolt. “In response, the French waged a campaign of brutal terror to put down the revolt.” (Choices 37). The French used extreme violence to try to scare and discourage the blacks. They killed hundreds of people at a time in public, but this only motivated the blacks to continue fighting.
Napoleon Bonaparte thought the invasion would take 3 months, but it lasted for almost 2 years. Dessalines burned the land against the French, burning plantations and towns to ashes. Dessalines’ army, with the help of yellow fever and diminishing supplies of food, weakened the French army in the middle of 1803. In April, Napoleon Bonaparte sold their land in the Louisiana Purchase Treaty to the United States, showing that he gave up on the Western Hemisphere, including Saint-Domingue. “In May of that year, Dessalines created the Haitian flag by ripping the white fabric from the French tricolor. He kept the red and blue to represent the unity of blacks and mulattoes against the whites.” (Choices 38). Dessalines declared the colony independent. The colony of Saint-Domingue was forever abolished, and the original Taino name “Hayti” became the official name of the country. After their victory, Haiti faced many challenges. Countries isolated Haiti and forced them to agree to unfair trade agreements. Haiti’s infrastructure was destroyed during their plan against the French when they burned everything that connected them to slavery. Haiti had to pay for damages caused to the French during the revolution in order for France to recognize their independence, and to trade, because they believed that international trade was the best way to grow their economy.
The French Revolution heavily influenced the way the Haitian Revolution would play out.
The French Revolution was started by the underrepresented majority of the population, and the Haitian Revolution started in the same way. The French Revolution also embodied ideas from The Enlightenment. “[...] the French Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights.” (History.com). These ideas spread all over the world including the Caribbean, which influenced the slaves’ way of thinking in Saint-Domingue. The slaves would use ideas from The Enlightenment to rationalize how wrong and unfair it was for them to be oppressed and forced into their current situation, which led to their unity and
uprising.