Choices Part II -The Haitian Revolution

THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION Part II: Revolution in Saint-Domingue Introduction In 1789 revolution broke out. But this revolution was not in Saint-Domingue, it was in France. Eventually the French Revolution would result in the overthrow of the French king and the establishment of a republican government in France. (A republic is a representative government without a monarch.) It would also throw the colony of Saint-Domingue into tumult. The French Revolution created the external conditions that helped Saint-Domingue’s enslaved people lead a successful revolt. Just two years after the start of the French Revolution, the people of Saint-Domingue would rise up in the largest revolt by enslaved people in the history of the world. Part II Definitions Abolition—Abolition refers to the end of slavery and the slave trade. Emancipation—Emancipation is the process by which enslaved people were freed and released from slavery. The French Revolution In the early years of the French Revolution, there was intense debate and discussion in France about a number of issues—the rights of individuals, political participation, and the future of French government. Of particular importance to the people of Saint-Domingue, French legislators also discussed the future of France’s colonies, the rights of free people of color, and whether to abolish slavery and the trade in enslaved people. How did people in France view slavery? In France, a small but growing population had begun to protest France’s support of slavery. In 1788, a group of French men and women formed an association called the Société des Amis des Noirs (Society of the Friends of the Blacks) to write pamphlets and lobby the French government. France’s antislavery campaign had its roots in the French Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a period in which writers and philosophers introduced new ideas and ways of thinking about improving society and government. It took place across Europe in the eighteenth century. Some Enlightenment writers and their followers condemned slavery. They opposed slavery because they claimed that it was a stain on the French character. Still, most supported the colonial system and called only for a gradual end to slavery. Events in Saint-Domingue would later push many in France to oppose slavery more strongly. This engraving is from a book by Abbé Raynal, a French Enlightenment philosopher who wrote of the horrors of slavery in the colonies in the eighteenth century. In this image, men beat and kill enslaved people, while a man in classical clothing writes on a pillar. The John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. At the same time, many French revolutionary leaders cautioned against abolishing the system of slavery. Although most were appalled by the brutal treatment of enslaved people by colonial planters, they knew that France’s economy depended on trade with its colonies. Saint-Domingue in particular was crucial. It supplied the goods for more than 40 percent of France’s foreign trade. “ [The colonial]...regime is oppressive, but it gives a livelihood to several million Frenchmen. This regime is barbarous but a still greater barbarity will result if you interfere with it without the necessary knowledge.” Antoine-Pierre Barnave, spokesman for the colonial committee of France’s National Assembly, September 1791 In 1789, the National Assembly decided that France’s new constitution, which gave many new rights to citizens of France, would not apply to France’s colonies. How did events in France affect Saint-Domingue? The preface of France’s new constitution was called the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The Declaration’s first proclamation—“Men are born and remain free and equal in rights”—resonated with many enslaved people across the colony. The debates in France also fueled the growing divisions among the rest of the population of Saint-Domingue. For example, whites interpreted the Declaration of the Rights of Man differently. Planters and other wealthy colonists believed the Declaration  VIDEO AVAILABLE ONLINE How did the French Revolution affect Saint-Domingue? Anthony Bogues, Brown University applied only to the rights and privileges of the white elite. Poorer whites, on the other hand, wanted the new French constitution to provide them equal privileges to the wealthy. The French Revolution also fueled new divisions among the white population. Many saw the changes in France as an opportunity to gain more autonomy (or even outright independence) for the colony. They were tired of decrees issued by distant French officials, whom they saw as ignorant of the needs of the colony. Others, who were loyal to the king, were concerned that the revolutionary government threatened the king’s authority. But despite these differences, nearly all whites agreed that it was necessary to maintain slavery and to limit the power of the affranchi population. The affranchis, for their part, hoped to convince the new French government to award them equal rights to whites. They were frustrated by the repressive regulations of the colony. They did not want economic change; many were slaveholders and supported the institution of slavery. Instead, they wanted an end to racial discrimination among free people. Much to the anger of Saint-Domingue’s whites, the affranchis worked with sympathetic groups in France to have their views heard among French decision makers. In the months leading up to the Revolution in Saint-Domingue, the divisions among whites and affranchis intensified, often to the point of violence. In addition, the political turmoil in France left Saint-Domingue’s colonial administrators with little authority to control these growing disputes. Nearly every planter was too preoccupied with the colony’s power struggles to pay attention to the growing unrest of the enslaved population. Revolt in the North Although there were a number of local revolts by enslaved people in early 1791, historians generally consider August 1791 the start of the Haitian Revolution. The Revolution began with a rebellion in the north that soon engulfed the area and inspired revolts across the colony. This rebellion was not spontaneous. It was the result of months of planning and strategizing by enslaved people, maroons, and some free blacks. Enslaved people built networks of communication among the different plantations, eavesdropping on whites and exchanging information. An enslaved man named Boukman Dutty was the rebellion’s lead organizer. In early August 1791, delegates from plantations across the central region of the North Plain met in secret to set a date for the insurrection to begin. On this day, Boukman would give a signal, the plantations would be set on fire, and a general revolt by enslaved people would begin. This image is from an engraving entitled “The Pillage of Cap Français in 1793.” Cap Français, the largest city in the colony, was the scene of many fierce battles during the Revolution. The artist depicts scenes of warfare, celebration, and looting. The John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. Once the decision was made, a group of enslaved people and maroons met to solemnize their pact to fight together in a Vodou ritual. “ The god of the white man calls him to commit crimes; our god asks only good works of us. But this god who is so good orders revenge! He will direct our hands; he will aid us. Throw away the image of the god of the whites who thirsts for our tears and listen to the voice of liberty which speaks in the hearts of all of us.” Boukman Dutty, in an August 1791 speech that was recounted in an 1824 memoir What happened in the early months of the rebellion? From the first night, this revolt was the largest and most violent yet experienced in the American colonial world. Enslaved people led rebellions on plantations throughout the north, burning fields, sugar processing facilities, and homes. The insurrection quickly grew. Over the next several months, enslaved people on more and more plantations in the north rose up. Armed with torches, guns, sabers, and makeshift weapons, they spread from plantation to plantation. By the end of September, the rebels had burned more than one thousand plantations and killed hundreds of whites. They had also burned Cap Français, the largest city in the colony, to the ground. Many whites panicked, sending frantic requests for military aid to Santo Domingo, Cuba, Jamaica, and the United States without success. Others increased their repression of the remaining populations of enslaved people. They sought to uncover new plots and conspiracies and killed hundreds in an attempt to limit the spread of the revolt. “ There can be no agriculture in Saint Domingue without slavery; we did not go to fetch half a million savage slaves off the coast of Africa to bring them to the colony as French citizens.” A colonist in Saint-Domingue, 1792 As the rebel armies grew and gained territory, rebel leaders focused their energies on strategic military operations, tactical maneuvers, and new political alliances. The rebels raided plantations for military equipment, traded with the Spanish for weapons, and caught colonial forces off guard with surprise attacks and ambushes. More and more joined their ranks. By November, nearly half of all enslaved people in the northern part of the colony had joined the rebel armies. What did the rebels want? In the beginning, many of the rebels had limited goals. Most wanted to achieve better working conditions on the plantations. For example, they wanted additional days of rest and the end of the use of the whip as punishment. In addition, there was a rumor that the French king had already emancipated the enslaved people but that Saint-Domingue’s colonists were refusing to accept the king’s decree. Some rebels fought for a freedom they believed they already had been granted. As the revolt progressed, the goals of the rebels became more radical. Many began to see general emancipation and the expulsion of whites from the colony as the ultimate goals of the struggle. In fact, in November 1791, when rebel leaders tried to negotiate with the colonists for better working conditions and an end to fighting, their troops forced them to return to battle. The troops vowed they would continue fighting for freedom, even if it meant killing their own leaders. How did the affranchis and whites use enslaved people in their own power struggles? In the midst of the revolts in the north and central regions of the colony, the divisions among affranchis and whites sparked violence. On May 15, 1791, the French government had declared that all free people of color born of free parents were equal in rights to whites. Although this decree affected only a few hundred people, the whites of Saint-Domingue vigorously opposed it and refused to put it into practice. Four months later, France repealed the law. Incensed, many affranchis joined the rebel armies or began rebellions of their own. At the same time, the divisions between colonists loyal to the king and those who wanted autonomy from France deepened as the political tumult in France continued. The various factions of affranchis and whites organized their own armies to fight for power. Many armed the enslaved people they owned to fight with them. These groups believed that once they defeated their rivals, they could convince enslaved people to return to the plantations. How did events in Europe shift the balance of power in SaintDomingue? In April 1792, the French government decreed that all free people of color would be given the full rights of citizenship. The colonial government and the affranchi armies worked together to overpower the whites—who strongly opposed this decree—and suppress the revolt by enslaved people. The French government dispatched three new commissioners to take control of the colony. These commissioners imprisoned many whites and appointed prominent affranchis to positions of power. As the conflict between whites and affranchis eased, the colonial government had some success containing the revolts by enslaved people. Then, in September 1792, the French government deposed the French king and declared France a republic. Later that year, French officials put King Louis XVI on trial, found him guilty of treason, and executed him. Almost immediately, France was at war with most of Europe, sending shock waves throughout the colony. Europe in SaintDomingue This engraving from 1807 shows English and Dutch ships battling each other in the Caribbean. European wars in the Caribbean had a major impact on the development of Saint-Domingue as well as on the course of the Haitian Revolution. The John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. Many European countries, still ruled by monarchs, had watched the French Revolution unfold with unease. They were appalled by the execution of the king and strongly opposed to the creation of the French republic. These leaders believed France’s revolution might inspire their own populations to revolt. At the same time, they believed they could take advantage of a weakened France to claim more power and territory for themselves. Saint-Domingue—one of the greatest wealth-producing colonies in world history—held particular appeal. By the late eighteenth century, Saint-Domingue produced more exports than all of Spain’s and Britain’s Caribbean colonies combined. Spain and Britain each hoped to seize the colony, simultaneously striking a blow at France’s economy and taking the lucrative colony for themselves. How did Spain and Great Britain become involved in the conflict in Saint-Domingue? In the early years of Saint-Domingue’s rebellion, both Spain and Great Britain had tried to remain neutral, fearful of provoking war with France. At the same time, both were afraid that the revolution in Saint-Domingue would spread to their neighboring colonies, inspiring enslaved people to revolt in places like Jamaica and Cuba. Spanish Santo Domingo, which shared a long border with Saint-Domingue, was particularly affected by the conflict. Many enslaved and free people of color in Santo Domingo were sympathetic to the rebels’ cause. In addition, white colonists and rebel soldiers from SaintDomingue regularly crossed the border into Santo Domingo for safety or provisions. While this was profitable for traders on the frontiers, Santo Domingo’s government worried about the consequences of supporting either the French or the rebels. “ We do not know in the end which side will be our enemy.” Governor Joaquín García of Santo Domingo, May 1792 Spain and Great Britain’s policy of neutrality ended with the execution of the French king. Within days, both were at war with France. Saint-Domingue quickly became one site of these European wars. Britain and Spain’s involvement threw much of the island back into chaos. British and Spanish troops joined the colonial militia and white, rebel, and affranchi armies vying for territory and power in the colony. How did the involvement of European powers affect the colony? All sides in the conflict relied on enslaved people or rebel troops to do the bulk of their fighting. The colonial government continued to arm thousands of enslaved people who, up to that point, had still been enslaved on the plantations. Although these enslaved people were under the command of others, they had their own motivations for fighting. With military arms, they could now fight for their own freedom. In addition, British, Spanish, and colonial government leaders tried to win the allegiance of rebel leaders. They knew that whoever had the support of the rebels held the balance of power in the colony. The rebels, for their part, used the involvement of European countries to their advantage, changing alliances throughout the course of the Revolution to advance their own cause. To win rebel support, the Spanish promised land and freedom to all rebel soldiers and their families. In early 1793, many rebel leaders joined the Spanish against the French. Under the Spanish, a military leader named Toussaint Louverture rose to prominence. Louverture, who later became one of the central leaders of the Revolution, was a free black man. Known for his military and strategic brilliance, Louverture’s army grew to several thousand troops under the Spanish. Revolution, Freedom, and Land In the early days of the Revolution, the enslaved people of SaintDomingue responded to the conflict in many different ways. Hundreds of thousands became soldiers in the rebel armies. Many others joined in the fighting at various points in the conflict or helped the rebels in other ways. For example, some provided food and information. Others were forced by the rebels to join the cause. Some helped their white slaveholders escape the rebel armies, while others were killed or This engraving depicts Thomas Hédouville speaking to a black general, possibly Toussaint Louverture. Hédouville was the French governor of Saint-Domingue in 1798. He had been ordered by France’s government to inflame the rivalry between Louverture and Rigaud. The John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. tortured by whites seeking to uncover information about rebel plans. Still others chose to remain on the plantations in spite of the fighting. As whites abandoned their lands in droves, blacks took over the land, growing food for subsistence and adopting a peasant lifestyle. As more enslaved people won their freedom, many who were not soldiers became less enthusiastic about joining in the continued fighting. The power struggles of the affranchi, colonist, and European groups on the island meant little to their day-to-day lives. More and more settled on abandoned plantations and grew their own crops. Most of the formerly enslaved people equated freedom with the right to possess and work their own land for their own purposes. When colonial administrators tried to coerce formerly enslaved people to return to work for wages, they faced a great deal of resistance. “How does one prove to a person who fulfills his needs on very little and who has not the desire for wealth that he must work without respite, as the prosperity of the colonies and the interests of national commerce do require, if just a few days work each month suffice to fill his individual needs?” —Colonist in Saint-Domingue, as quoted in P. M. Duboys’s early nineteenth century work, Précis historique des annales de la révolution à Saint Domingue As the Revolution progressed, it became clear that there was a division between the desires of the masses and the aims of rebel leaders. Most leaders interpreted “freedom” to mean the end of slavery and colonial oppression, but they supported the plantation system as long as workers were paid wages. For many of the formerly enslaved of Saint-Domingue, “freedom” meant owning land and working for oneself. The discrepancy between the aims of these two groups became increasingly important as the Revolution continued. “ You know, brothers, that I have undertaken this vengeance, and that I want liberty and equality to reign in Saint-Domingue. I have worked since the beginning to make that happen, and to bring happiness to all. Unite yourselves to us, brothers, and fight with us for the same cause.” Toussaint Louverture, August 29, 1793 While the Spanish focused their campaign in the northern part of Saint-Domingue, near the border with Santo Domingo, British forces took over parts of the south and southwest. They allied with white planters. These planters believed that siding with the British was the only way to maintain slavery in Saint-Domingue. In 1794, the French government abolished slavery in France and all French colonies. This was done, in part, to win the support of the rebels in Saint-Domingue. Later that same year, Louverture and his troops abandoned the Spanish to join the French. By 1795, facing mounting losses in both Europe and the Caribbean, Spain decided to sign a peace treaty with France. In the Treaty of Basel, Spain gave its colony Santo Domingo to France and withdrew its troops from the island. Many historians mark Louverture’s volte-face (about-face) as a major turning point of the Revolution. Although many disagree about why Louverture chose to leave the Spanish and side with the French, his support of the French tipped the balance of power among the Europeans on the island. France was able to keep control of the colony, at least for the time being, and Louverture’s power in Saint-Domingue continued to grow. Meanwhile, the British continued to occupy regions of the colony until 1798. In the areas they occupied, the British preserved slavery and kept the plantations in operation. But the costs of occupation were great. In 1797, Louverture and André Rigaud, an  VIDEO AVAILABLE ONLINE Why was there a war between Louverture and Rigaud in 1799? Alex Dupuy, Wesleyan University affranchi leader who controlled most of the south, united forces to push the British out. The departure of the British freed the last remaining enslaved people in the colony.But the alliance between Louverture and Rigaud proved temporary; by mid-1799 a new war had begun between the two for control of the colony. Civil War By the time civil war broke out between supporters of Louverture and supporters of Rigaud, Louverture had established himself as Saint-Domingue’s most powerful leader. With France’s power in the colony weakening, in March 1796, the colony’s governor general proclaimed Louverture lieutenant governor of Saint-Domingue. In October 1796, Louverture became commander-in-chief of the colonial army. Louverture’s authority was also acknowledged beyond Saint-Domingue’s borders. In 1798, he signed a secret alliance treaty with England and the United States against France. This was significant because European leaders had recognized Louverture as a major player to be reckoned with. Why did war break out between Louverture and Rigaud? By 1799, Louverture controlled the north and west regions of the colony and Rigaud controlled the south. Although the two had enjoyed good relations and cooperated in the past, French colonial officials had attempted to sow division between them in order to weaken Louverture’s authority. Once the British left the colony, Louverture and Rigaud were the only significant sources of power in Saint-Domingue. The civil war that began in July 1799 was a struggle to determine who would control SaintDomingue and whose interests would be promoted in this new society. Some observers considered the war between Louverture and Rigaud to be a race war. This was because Rigaud’s officers were all of mixed descent and Louverture’s were all black. But the leaders in this conflict were not motivated by race as much as they were by their economic interests. Many mixed-race people—who had made up the bulk of the affranchi population in colonial society—had wealth and property. Before the Revolution, they owned as many as 25 percent of all enslaved people in the colony. They were concerned with preserving their political and economic privileges. Many black leaders did not believe that the affranchis would uphold the end of slavery or promote equality for black people if they were in power. The war between Louverture and Rigaud, known as the War of the Knives, lasted for a little more than a year. Each side used violence against the other. Louverture’s troops blockaded the southern part of the colony for five months, pushing Rigaud’s army to the brink of starvation. How were foreign powers involved in the war? Louverture’s success against Rigaud was due in part to support from the United States and Great Britain. Louverture signed a trade treaty with both countries, which supplied him with the funds to feed and equip his troops. In addition, the United States provided ships to help Louverture blockade the south. This was the United States’ first armed intervention overseas. Great Britain and the United States both hoped to take advantage of France’s declining power in Saint-Domingue and negotiate valuable trade concessions. Throughout the 1790s, despite the conflict, Saint-Domingue had purchased 10 to 15 percent of U.S. exports. In  VIDEO AVAILABLE ONLINE What challenges did Louverture face in 1800 and 1801? Alex Dupuy, Wesleyan University addition, both the United States and Great Britain were in conflict with France. They hoped that when Louverture defeated Rigaud he would declare independence, further weakening France’s position in the Caribbean. In July 1800, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of Louverture’s top officials, defeated the last of Rigaud’s army. Rigaud left for exile in France. Louverture set upon rebuilding SaintDomingue’s society after nearly a decade of fighting. In Part II of the reading, you have read about the first ten years of the Haitian Revolution. You have explored how different groups in the colony were involved in the conflict, as well as the varying motivations of these groups. You have also considered the effect that European countries had on the conflict. In 1800, Louverture faced the daunting task of charting a course for the future of SaintDomingue. France too had to weigh its options. How would it respond to Louverture and a Saint-Domingue controlled by black people? In the coming days, you will explore the considerations of people on both sides of the Atlantic. The decisions made by people in both places would have serious repercussions for Saint-Domingue, for France, and for the world. Previous - European Colonization of the Americas Next - Study Guide—Part II The Choices Program ■ Brown University Department of History ■ www.choices.edu