Why Is Dessalines Called The Haitian Revolution
ean Jacques Dessalines
A prominent figure in Haitian society, or a sadistic psychopath? This is a question many individuals pose when evaluating the life of Jean Jacques Dessalines. A man who once was a slave but rose to power in treacherous conditions to lead an army of former slaves to free Saint Domonigue from the French.
Early Life
Little is known of Dessalines early life or birth place. Different scholars have different theories. Haitian tradition states he was born in central West Africa, and transported as a slave to Saint- Domingue. Joan [Colin] Dayan wrote [he was born] “sometime in 1758 on the Cormiers plantation in a parish now known as the Commune of Grande Riviere du Nord” (qtd in Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the African Character of the Haitian Revolution …show more content…
Who would have thought, slaves would come together, and succeed in becoming the first fully black nation in the world. It was truly a joyous occasion, but on January 2nd 1804, one day after declaring independence, the country began a downhill spiral that to this day they haven’t been able to get out of. Place yourself in that time, you are a black nation, just ran the French off of the island, and have a black leader. Who will you trade with? How will you get goods to feed the population? At that time, France, Spain, and the U.S. were still slave nations. What example would they be portraying to their slaves if they began trading with a nation ran by slaves? Because of these things, the country was in shambles. Most plantations had been burned along with the goods the plantations were producing “At any rate, January 1st 1804 left Haiti facing a desperate task . . . . her base of wealth, the agriculture of sugar, coffee, spices and indigo, was in physical ruins, most plantations having been burned and ravaged” said Bob Corbet in “Introduction and Setting the Problems Facing A
A prominent figure in Haitian society, or a sadistic psychopath? This is a question many individuals pose when evaluating the life of Jean Jacques Dessalines. A man who once was a slave but rose to power in treacherous conditions to lead an army of former slaves to free Saint Domonigue from the French.
Early Life
Little is known of Dessalines early life or birth place. Different scholars have different theories. Haitian tradition states he was born in central West Africa, and transported as a slave to Saint- Domingue. Joan [Colin] Dayan wrote [he was born] “sometime in 1758 on the Cormiers plantation in a parish now known as the Commune of Grande Riviere du Nord” (qtd in Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the African Character of the Haitian Revolution …show more content…
Who would have thought, slaves would come together, and succeed in becoming the first fully black nation in the world. It was truly a joyous occasion, but on January 2nd 1804, one day after declaring independence, the country began a downhill spiral that to this day they haven’t been able to get out of. Place yourself in that time, you are a black nation, just ran the French off of the island, and have a black leader. Who will you trade with? How will you get goods to feed the population? At that time, France, Spain, and the U.S. were still slave nations. What example would they be portraying to their slaves if they began trading with a nation ran by slaves? Because of these things, the country was in shambles. Most plantations had been burned along with the goods the plantations were producing “At any rate, January 1st 1804 left Haiti facing a desperate task . . . . her base of wealth, the agriculture of sugar, coffee, spices and indigo, was in physical ruins, most plantations having been burned and ravaged” said Bob Corbet in “Introduction and Setting the Problems Facing A