Preview

Napoleon’s influence on Haitian Revolution

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3709 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Napoleon’s influence on Haitian Revolution
Name
Institution
Course
Instructor
Date
Napoleon’s influence on Haitian Revolution
It is one of the most known successful slave rebellion ruled by blacks that took place between the years 1791 to 1804 in the western hemisphere. It lasted for a period of 12 years. ‘Haiti’ was renamed after the indigenous Arak name. The Haitian Revolution is the only revolution that leads to the founding of a state. Animosity grew between the African people and the whites due to racism (Geggus 45). In those years, the Haitian Revolution established Haiti as the first republic ruled by the blacks and therefore the only successful slave revolt in the history. Haiti became self governed directly from French colony.
Back at the time of the revolution, Haiti was called Saint-Domingue, a French colony. Different colonies across the world, such as the islands of Saint Kitts, Guadeloupe, Marbados, and Jamaica rebelled slavery but the only revolt on Saint-Domingue succeeded in 1791. The Saint-Domingue slaves fought a lot to end slavery (Garraway 79). It consisted of 50,000 slaves , 28,000 blacks (which were both mullatos and blacks ) and 32,000 whites. Blacks who were said to be free had the ownership of one-third of the property which is the plantation, and one-quarter of the Saint Domingue slaves. However they could not practice a couple of professions for example medicine. Alongside with that it is one of the most successful revolution to achieve permanent independence . Napoleon was a French and political leader. He served as the Emperor of French from 1804 – 1815. After L’Overture defeated French forces for the first time, Napoleon got his troops back to Saint-Domingue by 1803 to reclaim slavery and colonialism secretly though his plans hardly succeeded
In the year 1804 the slaves ended the slavery. It is well known that the rebellion was influenced by the 1789 French revolution which presented human rights concept , citizenship , and government participation. By

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The revolutions in both of these countries would have been unsuccessful were it not for the crippling problems faced by both opposing superpowers. The success of the Haitian revolution was due in no small part to the political turmoil brought about by the French revolution. This weakened the ability of the colonial administrators in Haiti to maintain order and caused the authority of colonial officials to no longer be clear; even the very legitimacy of slavery was even being challenged in France. The turmoil in France and Haiti paved the way for a struggle between the elite plantation owners and the free black slave owners. This fighting in turn gave the slaves, under the leadership of Toussaint L 'Ouverture, the unheard of opportunity to revolt against their owners and emancipate themselves from a brutal system of bondage (Corbet).…

    • 1107 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Haitians, like the colonists of the America wanted to be independent from Britain. The Haitians wanted become independent of France and the white settlers that shared their Island and those of Saint-Domingue who sought to control the colonist. The white settlers of Saint-Domingue sought to govern the colonist and thought of themselves as superior to their native counterparts who were freed slaves. The Haitian Revolution went down in history as the only successful slave rebellions. The freed slave leader was Toussaint Louverture. Louverture was smart enough to have the Spanish, French, and British, forces fight each other and while they were fighting the freed slaves gained power. Enlightenment ideas were…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    tell the story of the revolt in Haiti. One Million black slaves became French citizens in 1794…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Haitian Revolution DBQ

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The concepts of equality and liberty drove revolutionaries to expel their colonial overlords to abolish slavery and create an equal and just society. The idea of equality appealed to lower class Americans such as mestizos, mulattoes and natives, but especially inspired black slaves. Lower class Americans believed a revolution would move them up in society to the level of creoles while slaves saw revolutions as a way to gain freedom. Haiti’s declaration of independence in 1904, showed slaves’ motivations by stating that they would rather die than be forced back into in slavery and that they must create a government that protects the Haitians’ freedom. As former slaves, the Haitians were extremely worried the French would try to invade them again, as Napoleon had tried to do to fund his wars in Europe. Thus,…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    There were anywhere from five to seven-hundred thousand slaves on the island by 1791. The slave population, fed up with the way they were treated, led a revolt against the French. The rebellion left an "estimated 10,000 blacks and 2,000 whites dead and more than 1,000 plantations sacked and razed" (Haggerty). This was the first and only successful slave rebellion and is the reason for the ethnic background of Haiti today.…

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This article shares the many views of Thomas Jefferson on the issue of slavery and how Haiti shaped his views. The author outlines the ways that the French attempt to regain control over St. Domingue. Finally, the article provides a connection from the slave revolt to the Louisiana…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ap History

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages

    New economic structures 3. Haiti and other slave revolts 4. British leadership 5. Resistance to abolition 6. Emancipation without socio-economic changes 7.…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In order to fully understand why the Haitian Revolution occurred, and was able to occur, one must understand the situation of France at the time as well as the French Revolution. In 1783, the thirteen colonies broke free of the British government, partially because of the supplies and funds of Britain’s ultimate enemy: France. The money that France poured into the American revolution combined with a weak and vain monarch, Louis XVI, put France on the verge of bankruptcy. With continuing poor harvests, and these empty royal coffers increased taxes, leaving the general population even more destitute than previously. These factors and more pushed France into series of events, later known as the French Revolution.…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the course of American history, the late 1700s and early 1800s were the main eras when the abolition of slavery was most rooted for. After the Haitian Revolution, in which the former state of Saint Domingue freed itself from the rule of the French colony, abolitionists around the world began to rise up and form organizations and societies to grant freedom to slaves. Although it was an informal and gradual process, anti-slavery movements were successful through votes in Congress, consistent petitions, passed laws, and published literature. Most interestingly, both whites and blacks were involved in the abolitionist movements, and believed that the use of slaves was destroying the unity of the nation. One of the earliest and most notable…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slavery In Saint Domingue

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Who knew at its start in 1791, a slave revolt in Saint Domingue would lead to the first Black republic that continues to have global implications on the rest of the world? The African slaves that were viewed as being socially, culturally and intellectually inadequate more than proved their worth by defeating their colonizers. Now the Republic of Haiti, the country’s revolution serves as a symbol of Black intellectual and social greatness that continues to contradict the standard, set by a White oppressive world.…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unlike the revolution of North America, the early revolutions of Latin America started with subordinated Amerindians and blacks. The elite Creoles responded to Andean Indians almost conquering the Spanish army by breaking ties with Spain and Portugal. They however established governments under their control. A rebellion in 1791 led to a civil war in Haiti. The opposing army, led by Napoleon, did not stand a chance against guerrilla warfare accompanied by yellow fever. This led to Haiti declaring its independence in…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Haitian Revolution Essay

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages

    During the Haitian Revolution, slaves went from total submission to personal and political liberation due to the weakening of the colonial power (French Revolution), the economic wealths of Haiti, and the aspirations brought by the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers that all men were born free and equal. The slave rebellion lead by Toussaint L’Ouverture, is a turning point as it is the first successful one. It took ten years (1794 - 1804) for Haiti to go from a French colony to a Free Independent Republic, making the most important effect of the Haitian Revolution to be, liberation from slavery to the many enjoyments of freedom. Slaves went from being brutally abused creatures, to being…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    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…

    • 2865 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    On January 1st 1804, a former slave by the name of Jean Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti’s independence against the French colony, thus making Saint Domingue, now Haiti the first black independent nation. Thirteen years before, in 1791, with the help of Toussaint l’Ouverture, the slaves in the north side of Saint Domingue started a rebellion to revolt against the French. This rebellion will open the gates of the revolution, defeating the French and forcing them out of Haiti. This first slave-led revolution caused fear and confusion among slave owners, but an apparent beacon of hope for slaves, and became an inspiration to many slaves and civil rights activists abroad, such as Frederick Douglas, Nat Turner and many more. Jean Jacques Dessalines,…

    • 2237 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Haiti

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Explored by Columbus on Dec. 6, 1492, Haiti's native Arawaks fell victim to Spanish rule. In 1697, Haiti became the French colony of Saint-Dominique, which became a leading sugarcane producer dependent on slaves. In 1791, an insurrection erupted among the slave population of 480,000, resulting in a declaration of independence by Pierre-Dominique Toussaint l'Ouverture in 1801. Napoléon Bonaparte suppressed the independence movement, but it eventually triumphed in 1804 under Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who gave the new nation the Arawak name Haiti . It was the world's first independent black republic.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays