The Haitians revolted because the French revolution caused turmoil between the free and White peoples of Haiti, and the Haitians seized the opportunity to stage a rebellion. Also, up until the rebellion, there had been growing animosity between the white and African peoples. This was largely due to racism. The French Code Noir, which was written by Louis XIV in 1685 shows reforms made against the Africans (1). The Code states that the all slaves must be baptized, and they are only allowed a certain amount of rations each week. This is a reliable source because it came from the king, which shows how the French government thought of the slaves. Jean-Marie d'Augy, a white official at an execution of a mulatto leader also thought that the slaves were useless (3).
“We have not brought half a million slaves from the coasts of Africa to make them into French citizens.” This shows that d'Augy thought of the slaves as lesser people then the French. This racism towards the Africans led to the revolution. Mark Almond, a 20th century historian showed a more direct cause as to the reason why the Haitians revolted (4). Almond said that Napoleon's forces tried to re-establish slavery, and deported Toussaint back to France. These “reforms” just enraged the African community and produced a larger rebellion. This source is reliable because the information is not biased, it just states the facts. Thomas Jefferson also influenced the Haitian revolution. In Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette's Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, they state that “Men are born and remain free…” This perspective on life could have influenced the Haitians to revolt. A document that would have been helpful is one that specifically shows that the Declaration of Rights affected the Haitians.
The actual events of the Haitian revolution consisted of the Haitians rising up and overthrowing the white slave owners. The French tried to fight back, but because France was to far away, it was impractical to send reinforcements, and the Haitians gained their independence. “Revenge Taken By the Black Army”, and sketch by Marcus Rainsford shows the European view of what happened during the revolution (6).
The picture shows Africans hanging French soldiers. This is not a reliable source because is taken from a European perspective, and therefore would attempt to make the Africans seem savage and barbaric. A document that would be helpful is one taken from the African's perspective on the situation. This would be more likely to be less biased. One of the keys to the Haitian's success was their unity. What provided this unity was the religion of voodoo. An excerpt from a College World History Textbook from 2002 illustrates a voodoo ritual (5). All of the people at the ritual swore to Boukman, an influential voodoo chief who helped immensely to inspire the Haitians to revolt. Although Toussaint was the official “leader” of the revolution, Boukman helped inspire the people.
The Haitian revolution left a lasting mark on the global community. During the first year of Haiti's independence, Jean Jacques made an address to the people (7).In it, Jacques tells the people to be strong and not give in to European customs. This shows that their independence gave them even more unity and allowed them to be strong. This strength after fighting off the French showed to other countries in the what could happen if the slaves revolted.
The slaves took notice of the Haitian's achievements, but so did the white slave owners. Because of this, two close nations to Haiti, Cuba and Puerto Rico, were among the last to gain their independence. However, in other countries, the Haitian revolution had a bigger impact. David Geggus, a historian, stated in his book The Modern Caribbean that slaves in Jamaica were singing songs about Haiti's uprising within a month after the revolution (10). This shows that the Haitian revolution served as a turning point for many Latin American colonies. The rebellion in Haiti also influenced the decisions of the United States of America. Douglas Egerton, a professor of history at Le Moyne College talked about Jefferson's feelings regarding the revolution (9). Egerton said that Jefferson was afraid that the revolution might inspire black Americans to revolt. To stop this from happening, Jefferson blocked trade and communication with Haiti. A document that would have been helpful is one written by Thomas Jefferson relating his feelings towards the Haitian rebellion. This is not a reliable source because it is not directly from Jefferson.
The Haitian revolution influenced the global network in many ways and vice versa. Because of global attitudes and social and political actions, Haiti was driven to revolution. The revolution then, in turn, changed the social, political, and economical views of the world.
