The Haitian Revolution and its Impact in the Americas

The Haitian Revolution and its Impact in the Americas

Cover of the book Santo Domingo or History of its Revolutions, 1791-1804.

Données clés

Faculté	Lettres
Département	Département d’histoire générale
Professeur(s)	Aline Helg
Cours	The United States and Latin America: late 18th and 20th centuries

Lectures

• The Americas on the eve of independence
• The independence of the United States
• The U.S. Constitution and Early 19th Century Society
• The Haitian Revolution and its Impact in the Americas
• The independence of Latin American nations
• Latin America around 1850: societies, economies, policies
• The Northern and Southern United States circa 1850: immigration and slavery
• The American Civil War and Reconstruction: 1861 - 1877
• The (re)United States: 1877 - 1900
• Regimes of Order and Progress in Latin America: 1875 - 1910
• The Mexican Revolution: 1910 - 1940
• American society in the 1920s
• The Great Depression and the New Deal: 1929 - 1940
• From Big Stick Policy to Good Neighbor Policy
• Coups d'état and Latin American populisms
• The United States and World War II
• Latin America during the Second World War
• US Post-War Society: Cold War and the Society of Plenty
• The Cold War in Latin America and the Cuban Revolution
• The Civil Rights Movement in the United States

The goals of this course on the Haitian revolution are multiple; first, to bring the Haitian revolution out of oblivion maintained by historians through their Westernist vision of history. It is the most total revolution in history and the one that had an enormous impact both on the fate of Napoleonic France in the Americas and in general, but also in the independence struggles of Latin America and the Caribbean on the fate of the slave trade and slavery.

The Haitian revolution shows that there are structural causes to the great events with an explosive demography and external elements such as the French Revolution with its ideals of equality and freedom. This revolution changed the relationship between rulers and governed while individuals in positions of power were not equal to the events of which Napoleon and Toussaint Louverture were examples. Thus, Haiti's current status is due to its pariah status given by other nations and imposed after its independence in 1804.

The Haitian revolution that triumphed in 1804 is the nightmare of all slave owners, it is a terrible fear that will mark all the slave-owning Americas for decades. It is also the world upside down, the transformation of the most profitable slave colony in the West Indies into an independent black republic.

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The society of Santo Domingo in 1789

In 1789, the society of Santo Domingo (now known as Haiti) was a colony of France, and the island was divided into two parts: the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which occupied the western third of the island, and the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo, which occupied the eastern two-thirds. The French colony was the most profitable colony in the world at the time, due to its production of sugar, coffee, and other cash crops. The colony had a large population of enslaved Africans who worked on the plantations. The society was also divided by race and class, with a small white elite owning the majority of the land and wealth, while the majority of the population were enslaved people of African descent.

Populations

In 1789, the total population of the French colony of Saint-Domingue was around 500,000, of which approximately 88% were enslaved Africans. The majority of the enslaved population were brought to the colony from Africa as part of the transatlantic slave trade.

The enslaved population was divided between those born in the colony and those who were imported. The enslaved population born in the colony, known as Creoles, were considered to be more valuable as they were considered to be more acclimated to the conditions of the colony and less likely to rebel than the newly imported slaves.

African slaves represented 58% of the total population of the colony. The vast majority of enslaved Africans were women, who were considered to be more productive in the field than men. The female slaves were forced to work in the fields and also to breed to produce more slaves for the colony, which was a source of wealth for the French colony.

In the French colony of Saint-Domingue, most of the enslaved population worked on the sugar cane, coffee, and indigo plantations, which were the primary sources of wealth for the colony. The enslaved population was also used as domestic servants and in various trades in the cities and ports.

As a result of the forced labor, the enslaved population was composed of people from various African cultures, and through their interactions, they developed a common language, Creole, which was a mix of French and African languages. Similarly, the enslaved population also developed a syncretic religion, Voodoo, which was a mix of traditional African religious practices and elements of Catholicism, which was imposed on them by the French colonizers.

Voodoo became an important part of the enslaved population's culture and was used as a way to express resistance to their enslavement and to maintain their cultural heritage. It is still an important part of Haitian culture and is practiced by many people in Haiti and the diaspora today.

In 1789, the white population made up only about 7% of the total population, or around 40,000 people. Among this population, there were more men than women, as many women did not migrate to the colony.

The white population was divided into several groups. The minority of the population were planters, merchants and royal officials, who controlled the majority of the land and wealth. There were also soldiers and sailors among the white population.

Another group of white people were the so-called "little whites," who were poor men and women who worked in agriculture and handicrafts. These people were often of lower social standing than the wealthy plantation owners and merchants, and they often lived in poverty. They were also less likely to own slaves or have access to the wealth and privileges of the white elite.

The population of free people of color made up about 5% of the total population, or around 30,000 people. The majority of these people were mulattoes, people of mixed African and European descent, rather than black people.

Despite their free status, they were not equal to whites before the law and faced significant discrimination. They were not allowed to vote, and they did not have the same legal rights as whites. They were also restricted in terms of the types of jobs they could hold and the property they could own.

There were also significant differences among the free people of color. Some were freed slaves who were not much better off than slaves, while others were part of a kind of middle class, serving in the militia and the police. Some women were mistresses of white men and their descendants, while others became rich planters and merchants. Some among the men and among the descendants of the women who were the wives of white men, became rich planters, but also rich merchants, many of whom went to France to study. This group of free people of color represented a sort of intermediary group between the white elite and the enslaved population, with the ones near the white elite having more privileges and opportunities.

The population of Saint-Domingue was diverse and highly stratified. The free people of color, although they were free and had more rights and opportunities than enslaved people, they were still considered inferior to whites and faced significant discrimination. Despite some of them having economic wealth and culture, they were not able to fully escape the racial hierarchy that existed in the colony. The wealthy free people of color were able to move closer to the white elite, but they were still not able to fully join the white elite due to their racial background. The society of Santo Domingo in 1789 was heavily based on slavery and the racial hierarchy, with a small white elite controlling the majority of the land and wealth, while the majority of the population were enslaved people of African descent who worked on the profitable plantations, and a small group of free people of color, who represented a sort of intermediary group between the white elite and the enslaved population.

Regional differences

In 1789, the enslaved population made up about 88% of the total population. The majority of the enslaved population were concentrated in regions where the major cash crops were grown.

The "northern plain" was the region where sugar cane was grown. This was the most profitable crop in the colony and required a large workforce to plant, harvest, and process the sugar. Many plantations were located in this region and many enslaved people were forced to work in the sugar fields.

The southeast region was also known for growing cocoa and indigo. These crops were also important for the colony's economy and enslaved people were forced to work on these plantations as well.

In general, the population distribution was heavily influenced by the economic activities, and the enslaved population was disproportionately concentrated in regions where the major cash crops were grown, and where the labor was needed the most.

The high concentration of enslaved people in regions where the major cash crops were grown, such as the northern plain and the southeast, made these regions particularly explosive. The enslaved population was subjected to brutal conditions and treatment, and they were forced to work long hours with little rest. They were also separated from their families and culture, and were not allowed to practice their own religion or customs. These conditions led to a high level of discontent and resentment among the enslaved population, which in turn made these regions more susceptible to rebellion.

In addition, the high population density in these regions made it easier for enslaved people to organize and communicate with each other, which facilitated the possibility of rebellion. These regions would later become the most explosive regions during the Haitian revolution, where the enslaved population would rise up against their enslavers, ultimately leading to the abolition of slavery and the independence of Haiti in 1804.

0ther Caribbean colonies, such as Jamaica and Barbados, also had a large enslaved population and similar conditions to those in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) which could have led to an explosive situation. However, these islands did not experience a revolution of slavery.

One reason for this difference is that the enslaved population in Saint-Domingue was more diverse, with people from many different African cultures and languages, which made it easier for them to organize and communicate with each other. In contrast, the enslaved population in Jamaica and Barbados was more homogeneous, which made it more difficult for them to organize and communicate with each other.

Another reason is that the French colony of Saint-Domingue was more profitable and had a larger enslaved population than the British colonies of Jamaica and Barbados. The French colony of Saint-Domingue was the most profitable colony in the world at the time, due to its production of sugar, coffee, and other cash crops, which made it more important for the French to keep the colony under control. The British colonies of Jamaica and Barbados had a lower enslaved population and produced less profitable crops, which made it less important for the British to keep the colony under control.

In addition to that, the French colony of Saint-Domingue had a more complex social system than the British colonies of Jamaica and Barbados, which included a free people of color population, who played a significant role in the revolution, and were also a source of frustration for the white elite, as they were not allowed to fully join the white elite, due to their racial background.

Lastly, the Haitian revolution was also influenced by the political and social changes happening in France, which lead to the French revolution, which had a significant impact on the colony, making it easier for the enslaved population to gain their freedom and independence.

The causes of the Revolution

The Haitian Revolution was caused by a variety of factors, including the massive influx of enslaved Africans, the exploitation of the colony by the French colonial government, and the Enlightenment ideals of liberty and equality that were spreading throughout the world at the time. Additionally, the revolution was sparked by the rebellion of enslaved Africans and people of mixed race, who were tired of being treated as property and subjected to brutal conditions. The revolution was led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, a former enslaved person who became a skilled military leader and strategist. The revolution ultimately resulted in the abolition of slavery and the independence of Haiti from French colonial rule.

The high influx of enslaved Africans to Haiti in the late 18th century contributed to the revolution by increasing the population of enslaved people and exacerbating their conditions of oppression and suffering. The large number of enslaved Africans also created a demographic imbalance in the colony, with enslaved people outnumbering white colonists and people of mixed race. This led to increased tension and resentment towards the colonial government and the slave-holding class, ultimately fueling the rebellion and revolution that would lead to Haiti's independence.

The large population of free people of color in Haiti also played a significant role in the causes of the Haitian Revolution. Many of these individuals were educated and had access to the same Enlightenment ideals that were inspiring the revolution in France. They were also aware of the rights and privileges of French citizens, but were denied these rights in the colony. They felt the injustice of being treated as second-class citizens and were determined to fight for their rights and equality. Jean-Baptiste Belley, a free man of color, was elected as a deputy of Saint-Domingue to the National Assembly in Paris, he will be able to advocate for the rights of the colony and the abolition of slavery. Also, the participation of free people of color in the French troops during the American War of Independence exposed them to the ideas of freedom and equality, which they brought back with them to Haiti, further fueling the desire for revolution.

The French Revolution was a major external cause of the Haitian Revolution. The political and ideological upheaval in France had a significant impact on the colony of Saint-Domingue. The weakening of French authority in the colony as a result of the revolution created a power vacuum and created opportunities for enslaved people and free people of color to demand more rights and autonomy. The ideological impact of the French Revolution, with the declaration of the sovereignty of the people and the rights of man and citizen, also played a major role in the Haitian Revolution. These ideas, which were spreading throughout the world, inspired enslaved people and free people of color in Haiti to demand their own rights and freedom. They saw the opportunity to emulate the ideals of the French Revolution in their own colony and to fight for their own independence.

The impact of the French Revolution, both political and ideological, was a major catalyst for the Haitian Revolution and ultimately led to the abolition of slavery and the independence of Haiti.

On the French side, there was initially little intention of changing the status of the colonies, as they were seen as a valuable source of revenue for the French treasury, and the French government was heavily dependent on the income from the colony of Saint-Domingue, particularly from the production of sugar, coffee and other crops, which were grown by enslaved labor. However, the events in Saint-Domingue pushed the French Revolution to its extremes, as the enslaved people and free people of color in the colony began to demand their rights and freedom. The French government's attempts to maintain control of the colony and suppress the rebellion ultimately failed, leading to the abolition of slavery and the independence of Haiti. This marked the only successful slave revolt in modern history, and the first independent nation in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also had a significant impact on the French Revolution, as it highlighted the contradiction between the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity and the reality of colonial oppression and slavery.

The five stages of the revolution

1790 - 1791: color free vs. white

Vincent Ogé.
Physionotrace par Gilles-Louis Chrétien, 1790.

As early as 1789, news of the Paris revolution reached Santo Domingo. It was not the slaves who were the first to revolt, but the elite of white planters, merchants and lawyers who were inspired by the independence of the United States and who appropriated the idea of sovereignty of the people to form provincial assemblies and control the institutions of the colony themselves.

The other social group that will move quickly is the coloured freemen. First from the National Assembly in Paris, where some of them followed the debates; they demanded that the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen grant them the equality that was denied them by the monarchical laws.

In the face of resistance from white planters, Vincent Ogé, just arrived from Paris, mobilizes a small army of 300 men whose slaves are excluded to demand equality.

The rebels behind him were quickly defeated by the troops in the pay of the planters. News of Ogé's execution will cross the Atlantic and shock the National Assembly in Paris and push it to react. It will push it to grant freedom to free people of color born of free parents. This decision was rejected by the colonial white elite of Santo Domingo, while the freedmen of color were furious at the refusal of the elite and that it was only to this category of freedmen of color that freedom was granted, thus taking up arms against the whites leading the island to the brink of civil war.

1791 - 1793: Mass revolt of the slaves, Free of colour against whites and against slaves

When the slaves see that the white and coloured freemen are fighting among themselves, they take the opportunity of these disorders to revolt. It's something that takes everyone by surprise. This revolt breaks out around the Cape, which is the region with the highest density of slaves and Africans recently landed.

Slavery will quickly rise up under the leadership of "elite slaves", men who can make the link between ports and plantations and who also bring back news from France. Armed with machetes, they destroy one plantation after another by killing, looting and burning the sugar cane fields.

The revolt spread and soon the slaves who took part in it numbered in the tens of thousands. In one month more than a thousand plantations out of a total of 8000 were burned and hundreds of white people massacred.

Curieusement, les esclaves ne se réclament pas de l’idéal de liberté de la Révolution française, mais étant donné que nombre d’entre-deux viennent d’Afrique, ils affirment agir au nom du roi qui aurait déclaré l’abolition de l’esclavage.

Sonthonax.

From there on, war broke out everywhere between the coloured freemen, the whites and the slaves. Each side in the conflict commits atrocities; France sends troops to restore order, fails to do so and is decimated by yellow fever.

In April 1792, the assembly granted equality to all free men of colour and sent a commissioner, Sonthonax, a revolutionary and abolitionist, to settle the conflict. Upon his arrival, he alienated most whites, but he was supported by the Free Men of Colour and hired several of them in the administration.

The slave revolt diminished and in 1793, the Free Coloureds took over and many whites went into exile in Cuba, the United States and Louisiana.

In 1793, a new war broke out in France between revolutionary France and the monarchies of England and Spain. It also extends to the colonies that the three have in the Caribbean. In the face of an imminent British invasion of Santo Domingo in August 1793, Sonthonax felt that the only way to rally the slaves to the revolutionary cause and engage them in an army of defence, he signed a unofficial decree for the abolition of slavery in Santo Domingo.

1793-1798: Mobilization of freed slaves and rise of Toussaint Louverture

From then on, White is eliminated from the game, we enter a complex phase of the conflict. England and Spain occupy part of Santo Domingo. It will be necessary to react, which complicates the task and that the free of color divide, because Sonthonax abolished slavery. Some have established independent fiefdoms, others support revolutionary France, which granted them equality, while others are ready to ally themselves with the Spanish, but above all British, monarchies.

The former slaves tried to safeguard the freedom they had just received by establishing numerous communities of fugitive slaves. For Sonthonax, the question is to mobilize the fugitive slaves in the defence of Santo Domingo.

1800-1802: The reign of Toussaint

Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Santo Domingo insurgents.

In this chaos arose Toussaint Louverture. He's an elite former Creole slave born in Santo Domingo. He is 50 years old at the time of the events, freed some twenty years earlier from African, Creole and French culture. Moreover, he can read and write. He very quickly became a formidable military strategist, a leader of men and a politician who plays a double game.

He began to serve the interests of Spain and then allied himself with France with all of his 22,000 men. He waited for the French National Assembly to confirm the abolition of slavery in 1794.

André Rigaud.

He changes allies to unite with a mulatto, André Rigaud, who has an army of 10,000 men chasing the Spanish and English troops by freeing the 7,000 or so slaves who were in the occupied territories.

From then on, Toussaint Louverture took the upper hand against the other generals of Saint-Domingue and against the revolutionary French. France begins to realize that without him it will lose Santo Domingo.

In 1796, the French revolutionaries appointed him deputy governor of the entire colony of Santo Domingo. Toussaint gradually eliminates all his rivals, even expelling Sonthonax.

He controlled the whole west and north of the island, even occupying the Spanish region. He sent Jean-Jacques Dessalines to conquer the south against Rigaud. It will be a war close to genocide against the mulattoes of the South.

Toussaint was at that time the undivided master of Santo Domingo, whom he would rule with an iron hand.

1802-1804: Blacks and mulattos united for independence

At the same time Napoleon took power, the two men shared a common ambition, a love of absolute power and a certain conception of the egalitarian rights of the people as well as a contempt for political freedom.

Toussaint sought to revive the economic life of the country, and to do this he had to revive the plantation system. Thus he set up a forced sharecropping system for former slaves who were paid with part of their harvest. This encourages the return of white people not as planters, but as technical advisors. A new class of large black landowners and military men was formed.

This did not displease Napoleon, but at the same time Toussaint made decisions that went beyond those that Napoleon conceded to him. His decisions are close to the declaration of independence, especially when he proclaims a constitution that makes him governor for life, moreover he annexes the whole eastern part of the island unilaterally and without mentioning France.

It was too much for Napoleon, who sent Leclerc with an army of 10,000 men to invade Santo Domingo. First, they will fight the official armies of Dessalines and Henri Christophe. The latter will retreat to the mountainous regions and try to form guerrillas.

Many slaves feared that Napoleon wanted to re-establish slavery. Many of them will leave the army of Toussaint, Dessalines and Christophe to form autonomous entities. Their leaders are often Africans from the Congo and will wage a guerrilla war.

Quite quickly, many black high-ranking officers who had become plantation owners rallied to Leclerc taking over. On both sides, there are atrocities. In a few months of fighting, the three great Haitian generals surrender; Dessalines and Christophe are hired by Leclerc to put an end to the guerrilla war. Toussaint was arrested in June 1802 and deported to France. Toussaint was imprisoned in Fort de Joux and died there in 1803.

General Alexandre Pétion.

In Haiti, things changed, because in July 1802 Napoleon decided to re-establish slavery in the colonies. We have the historic meeting between the chief of mulattoes Alexandre Piéton and Jean-Jacques Dessalines who decided to join forces to fight the French.

Leclerc and Rochambeau have trained dogs imported into Cuba to attack and devour slaves, while the slaves carry out massacres of whites.

Jean-Jacques-Dessalines.

In May 1803, Napoleon entered the war against England and gradually had to abandon Santo Domingo. It was at this point that Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States for $15 million, putting an end to French power in the Americas.

We will never know how many tens of thousands of Haitians died for freedom, but there are 70,000 French soldiers and European sailors who died in the struggle to keep Santo Domingo.

In 1804 Dessalines proclaimed independence by renaming it Haiti in remembrance of its near-Colombian name. It was also a way of breaking with colonialism while smoothing relations between former slaves and former freemen.

The new constitution declares Dessalines emperor for life, but above all it defines all Haitians as black, forbids whites to own land and confirms the abolition of slavery. It must be seen that Haiti overturns all the established patterns and models of Western modernity established by the American and French revolutions.

In the case of Haiti we have:

1. A massive mobilization of the population
2. A struggle between different ideologies #
3. A concrete struggle for power
4. as a result of which the country is undergoing a profound transformation of its social and economic structures #

For all the slaves of the Americas, this victory becomes a source of hope that slavery can be destroyed. For all slave rulers and owners, it becomes a source of fear; for decades across the Americas slaves and free people of color were persecuted and often executed for being suspected of plotting.

Not surprisingly, given the scale of the revolution, Haiti has become a pariah state for the Americas in the midst of the slave boom.

Simón Bolívar.

What must be seen is that Haiti is under constant threat of foreign invasion by the great powers; for this reason, it must buy arms to defend itself, subjecting it to the dictatorship of US and European merchants, especially since no country has established diplomatic relations with the black republic.

In 1816, Haiti will help Bolivar to revive the guerre d’indépendance du Venezuela de façon décisive. However, Bolívar will exclude Haiti from the Congress of Panama which he organized in 1826 while the Republic of Bolívar did not recognize Haiti.

France recognized Haiti in 1825 against the payment of an astronomical compensation of 150 million gold francs, two and a half times the price at which Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States. This sum will be reduced to 90 million gold francs; Haiti will pay this sum in full until 1883. The United States had England recognize them only two years after independence without compensation.

After 14 years of war Haiti is completely financially devastated, economically devastated with an uneducated population, it no longer has the possibility of reviving a sugar economy, especially since the former slaves want anything but to return to the plantations developing their own ideals of equality through the development of small family farms living in autarky to have the essentials.

Alliances break up, political struggles begin, all the more so as a division is created around culture, religion and skin, Creoles against merchants, and a new class of black soldiers that continues through all the decades that follow.

Annexes

• Cours :
  • La conquête du territoire
• Monde-diplomatique.fr,. (2015). Les Spartacus de Saint-Domingue, par Christophe Wargny (Le Monde diplomatique, juin 2015). Retrieved 28 June 2015, from http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2015/06/WARGNY/53092