Why Did The American Revolution Occur

Occupying the eastern half of the island of Hispaniola, modern Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, yet is it also has a rich history and culture. When Haiti won its independence in 1804, France had recently beheaded their century old monarchy, replaced the feudalist system of old with new enlightenment ideals, guillotined their entire aristocratic class, and then out of the chaos, through the strong hand of Napoleon Bonaparte, became the most powerful empire in the world. Across the Atlantic ocean, in France’s small colony of Haiti, then known as Saint Domingue, racial tensions were brewing; the minority white french colonists held power over the “people of color” or mixed race class, free blacks, and the lowest class: the slaves. However, this racially unstable caribbean island provided financial stability to the French mainland being one of France’s most profitable colonies. These racial tensions and extreme inequalities in conjunction with the French revolution’s new enlightenment ideas provided the perfect
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. Some of these include: the storming of the Bastille to