Haitian Revolution

Facts about the Haitian Revolution

It's a very big topic, so here we will discuss some of the most important facts about the Haitian Revolution. By 1659 the French had established themselves on the western third of the island of Haiti in the Caribbean. The island became split between the French (Saint Domingue) and Spanish (Santo Domingo) which later became Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Saint Domingue became known as the 'pearl of the Caribbean' and became the world's largest exporter of coffee and sugar. Commercial activity in France was dependent on the institution of slavery and Saint Domingue was at the top of it.

The Haitian revolution is often credited with being the first successful slave insurrection though this does not mean it was the first slave insurrection. Slave revolts were endemic to the Caribbean and prior to the success of the 1791 slave revolt, there were eight failed revolts in Saint Domingue. There was hardly a generation of enslaved men and women who did not take their actions to the level of violent revolt.

By 1685 Saint Domingue was also under the Black Codes of King Louis XIV of France which restricted the movement and activity of slaves and prescribed corporal punishment against slaves in order to maintain order. The treatment of slaves in the Caribbean was incredibly violent and cruel.

The Haitian Revolution took place amid the backdrop of the French Revolution, which sought to highlight French hypocrisy. Whilst the French sought freedom from monarchal control and advocated for liberty and equality in Haiti, they denied enslaved Africans those rights.

Haitian Revolution leaders

Every great revolution needs courageous leaders, let's take a look at two of the Haitian Revolution's leaders.

Toussaint L’Ouverture 1743-1803

Toussaint L'Ouverture was a military general and was the most prominent leader of the Haitian independence movement. L'Ouverture facilitated the emancipation of the slaves in Haiti and negotiated for Haiti to be governed by former slaves as a French protectorate.

Fig. 1 Painting of Général Toussaint L'Ouverture

L'Ouverture was born a slave in Haiti and began his military career as a leader of the 1791 slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue.

L'Ouverture's relationship with France was tumultuous as he fought both for France and against them before finally firmly fighting against France for Haitian independence which led to his death in 1803. Louverture is referred to fondly as the "Father of Haiti today.

Jean-Jacque Dessalines 1758-1806

The Haitian revolution was led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines after Toussaint L'Ouverture was captured and died in prison. Dessalines had previously been L'Ouverture's principal lieutenant.

Fig. 2 Painting of Jean-Jacque Dessalines

At the Battle of Vertières in 1803, Dessalines defeated a French army and under the 1805 constitution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines became the first ruler of an independent Haiti. Under the rule of Dessalines, Haiti was the first nation to abolish slavery permanently. Jean-Jacque Dessalines was named Emperor of Haiti which was stylised as Jacques I until his 1806 assassination. Alongside L'Ouverture, Dessalines is regarded as a founding father of Haiti.

Battles of the Haitian Revolution

There were three important phases and battles of the Haitian Revolution these were: the slave revolt of 1791, the abolition of slavery in 1794, and Napoleon's challenge from 1802-1804.

The slave revolt of 1791

On the night of 24th August 1791, thousands of slaves attended a Bois Caiman Voudou ceremony that signalled the beginning of the revolt. Over the next ten days, slaves had gained control of the entire Northern Province and within weeks, 100,000 slaves had joined the revolt. As the violence escalated, the revolting slaves burned 180 plantations and killed 4,000 white people on the island, the total damage amounted to 2 million francs. In September of 1791, surviving white people organised themselves into militias and fought back resulting in the death of around 15,000 Black people.

Though demanding freedom from slavery, the slaves did not demand independence from France at this point. In fact, many of the revolting slaves argued that they were in fact fighting for the King of France in order to demand their rights as recognised Frenchmen.

The abolition of slavery in 1794

Select slaves in Haiti were declared free in 1973 by Léger-Félicité Sonthonax and Étienne Polverel who had been sent to Haiti with thousands of soldiers after the Haitian Revolution to reestablish French control. Sonthonax and Polverel were able to convince the French government to abolish slavery as they argued that if slavery was not abolished the French would lose Haiti altogether. However, it was not until 1974 that the French government confirmed this and abolished slavery, both in France and within all its colonies.

The abolition of slavery, however, did not mean there was an end to the plantation system, and in order to keep the colonies running former slaves returned to the plantation system. Under Toussaint L'Ouverture's leadership, the military was used to coerce former slaves into going back to return to work on the plantations. Whilst slaves were free, they still were essentially forced into labour. Saint Domingue still maintained loyalty to France at this point in time and therefore there was a desire to keep the colony up and running.

Napoleon's challenge from 1802-1804

Toussaint's loyalty towards France in this period had shifted and in his 1801 declaration, L'Ouverture decreed himself as governor-for-life and called on the establishment of an independent Saint Domingue. The shift occurred due to tensions and distrust between L'Ouverture and Napoleon, as Napoleon secretly planned to remove all Black officials from Haiti.

Napoleon Bonaparte took this as a threat and dispatched French forces to Saint Domingue in 1802 resulting in a descent into violence. Amidst the violence, Toussaint L'Ouverture was arrested and placed in a French jail where he subsequently died and Jean-Jacques Dessalines became the new leader of the Haitian Revolution.

Fig. 3 Painting of the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot

The French eventually surrendered during the continued violence, as they were also faced with outbreaks of yellow fever and also faced Polish troops who had joined the side of the Black population. Saint Domingue was established as an independent state under the name Haiti on the 1st of January 1804.

Haitian Revolution consequences

The Haitian Revolution and the establishment of Haiti as an independent nation serve as a symbol of hope for, anti-colonial nationalism, black nationalism and nationalism in general. The citizenry of Haiti was defined as Black and this served as the first occurrence of the identification of Blackness as a political identity.

The Haitian Revolution serves as more than a symbol and more than a vague memory of a revolution. The events of the Haitian Revolution represent an existing space without slavery which gave people hope within a context where slavery was so rife and all-encompassing. The revolution is widely considered to be the most defining event in the history of Africans in the New World and served as an inspiration to later acts of anti-colonial nationalism such as the decolonisation era of the 1950s and 60s, particularly the events of the Algerian War.

The Haitian Revolution led to the creation of the first sovereign and post-colonial state in Latin America led by Black people. This created profound changes and affected world affairs. The decline and subsequent demise of the trans-Atlantic slave trade have been directly attributed to the events of the Haitian Revolution and Haiti serves as an example for the liberation movements of many nations.