Some southern planters grew concerned that the presence of these slaves who had witnessed the revolution in Haiti would ignite similar revolts in the United States. Revolutions also featured supplemental episodes, excluded from the normal count of episodes, and of varying length (compared to roughly half-hour normal episodes). In addition, Haiti was the first country in Latin America to gain independence, second only to the United States in the Americas as a whole. Saint-Domingue's Northern province was the center of shipping and trading, and had the largest population of grands blancs. Accessed 26 March 2015. Greg Jenner is joined by Professor Marlene Daut and comedian Athena Kugblenu to examine the events and aftermath of the revolution in Haiti, the first nation to abolish slavery. [146], Historians continue to debate the importance of the Haitian Revolution. Philippe Girard, "Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the Atlantic System: A Reappraisal," William and Mary Quarterly (July 2012). [82] By 1 June 1796, of the 1,000 from the 66th Regiment, only 198 had not been infected with yellow fever; and of the 1,000 men of the 69th Regiment, only 515 were not infected with yellow fever. [25] In an interview with the Washington Post Worldview, Duncan claimed his aim for the book was to "pull back two generations [from the time of Caesar] and ask, 'What was it that opened the cracks in the foundation of the Republic? [95] According to the Encyclopedia of African American Politics, "Between 1791 and independence in 1804 nearly 200,000 blacks died, as did thousands of mulattoes and as many as 100,000 French and British soldiers. The Blockade of Saint-Domingue not only cut the French forces out from reinforcements and supplies from France, but also meant that the British began to supply arms to the Haitians. During February and March, Dessalines traveled among the cities of Haiti to assure himself that his orders were carried out. Like Jean Franois and Biassou, he initially fought for the Spanish crown. Among Saint-Domingue's 40,000 white colonists, European-born Frenchmen monopolized administrative posts. The name of the Spanish side, Santo Domingo, would be literally translated as "Holy Sunday" and in French it would be "Saint Dimanche". [52], Though demanding freedom from slavery, the rebels did not demand independence from France at this point. With Napoleon's inability to send the requested massive reinforcements after the outbreak of war on 18 May 1803 with the British, the Royal Navy immediately despatched a squadron under Sir John Duckworth from Jamaica to cruise in the region, seeking to eliminate communication between the French outposts and to capture or destroy the French warships based in the colony. In July 1825, the French King, Charles X, sent an armed flotilla of warships to Haiti with the message that the young nation would have to pay France 150 million francs to secure its. In February 1797, General John Graves Simcoe arrived to replace Forbes with orders to pull back the British forces to Port-au-Prince. [114] Trapped, engaged in a vicious race war, and with much of his army dying of yellow fever, Rochambeau fell to pieces. The immigration intensified after the journe (crisis) of 20 June 1793, and soon American families began to raise money and open up their homes to help exiles in what became the United States' first refugee crisis. [82] The government attracted criticism in the House of Commons about the mounting costs of the expedition to Saint-Domingue. [66], To prevent military disaster, and secure the colony for republican France as opposed to Britain, Spain, and French royalists, separately or in combination, the French commissioners Sonthonax and tienne Polverel offered freedom to the slaves who would agree to fight alongside them. Accessed 26 March 2015. As someone who was born and raised in Haiti and moved back there a couple of years ago (Cap-Haitien), I am so stoked for this series! Toussaint defeated a British expeditionary force in 1798. ", Archive on the History of the Haitian Independence Struggle 17911804, "galit for All: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution", France Urged to Pay $40Billion to Haiti in Reparations for "Independence Debt", Two Revolutions in the Atlantic World: Connections between the American Revolution and the Haitian Revolution, Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau, Philibert Franois Rouxel de Blanchelande, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Haitian_Revolution&oldid=1152186210, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from March 2020, Articles with incomplete citations from January 2018, Articles with dead external links from December 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with dead external links from October 2017, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022, Articles containing Haitian Creole-language text, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2020, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from August 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from April 2018, Articles with failed verification from April 2018, Articles needing additional references from August 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles with dead external links from July 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Though not referred to by name, Haiti is the backdrop for the 1990 Broadway musical, In 2004, an exhibition of paintings entitled, Philippe Niang directed the 2012 French two-part television film. "[8], Regarding modern history, Duncan has predicted that Silicon Valley may be seen in the future as groundbreaking as the Renaissance was, stating that "we have lived in the last twenty years through some of the most impressive advances in human civilization. While the southern republic did not have as much focus on economic development, and put more attention on liberal land distribution and education, the northern kingdom went on to become relatively wealthy, though wealth distribution was disputed. The 1804 massacre was carried out against the remaining white population of French colonists[128] and loyalists,[129] both enemies and traitors of the revolution,[130] by the black population of Haiti on the order of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared the French as barbarians, demanding their expulsion and vengeance for their crimes. The poor whites couldn't stand the rich whites, the rich whites despised the poor whites, the middle-class whites were jealous of the aristocratic whites, the whites born in France looked down upon the locally born whites, mulattoes envied the whites, despised the blacks and were despised by the whites; free Negroes brutalized those who were still slaves, Haitian born blacks regarded those from Africa as savages. [94], In the early 21st century, historian Robert L. Scheina estimated that the slave rebellion resulted in the death of 350,000 Haitians and 50,000 European troops. Mulatto domination of politics and economics, and urban life after the revolution, created a different kind of two-caste society, as most Haitians were rural subsistence farmers. [114] In November, Leclerc died of yellow fever, like much of his army. [147] In the opposing camp, African American historian W. E. B. Posted by: [114] Dessalines marched into Port-au-Prince, where he was welcomed as a hero by the 100 whites who had chosen to stay behind. Appendix 1- Coming Full Circle. Now: The Russian Revolution Next: ??? Find the Data. S2 Ep 5: Nouveaux Dsordres Coloniaux. As such, they were demanding their rights as Frenchmen which had been granted by the king. They still practiced traditions and religions that they brought with them from Africa, and that influenced the revolution as well. [68] On 4 February, Dufay gave a speech to the convention arguing that abolishing slavery was the only way to keep the colony in control of the French, and that former slaves would willingly work to restore the colony. M. Degros, Cration des postes diplomatiques et consulaires, Revue d'histoire diplomatique, 1986; in French, J-F. Brire, Hati et la France, 18041848: le rve bris, Paris, Karthala 2008; in French, Newman, Simon P. "American Political Culture and the French and Haitian Revolutions: Nathaniel Cutting and the Jeffersonian Republicans.". While distinguished, the portrait still portrays a man trapped by the confines of race. Main, Here is a link to the map if you don't like the embed: The July Revolution Map. The French were particularly cruel to their slaves. [34] The death rate in the Caribbean exceeded the birth rate, so imports of enslaved Africans were necessary to maintain the numbers required to work the plantations. The comedy podcast that takes history seriously is back with a new series. Main [106] With March, the rainy season came to Saint-Domingue, and as stagnant water collected, the mosquitoes began to breed, leading to yet another outbreak of yellow fever. This map will be handy. [106] Over the following days, the French kept on bombarding and assaulting the fort, only to be repulsed every time while the Haitians defiantly sang songs of the French Revolution, celebrating the right of all men to be equal and free. The existence of slavery in Enlightened society was an incongruity that had been left unaddressed by European scholars prior to the French Revolution. The portrait of Belley by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson depicts a man who encompasses the French view of its colonies, creating a stark dichotomy between the refinement of Enlightenment thought and the reality of the situation in Saint-Domingue, through the bust of Raynal and the figure of Belley, respectively. [107] Under the terms of surrender, Leclerc gave his solemn word that slavery would not be restored in Saint-Domingue, that blacks could be officers in the French Army, and that the Haitian Army would be allowed to integrate into the French Army. The conflict up to this point was between factions of whites, and between whites and free blacks. [102] Leclerc sent Toussaint letters promising him: "Have no worries about your personal fortune. They didnt ration food like they were supposed to. While some white refugees blamed the French Revolutionary government for sparking the violence in Haiti, many supported the Republican regime and openly expressed their support of the Jacobins. Kate Hodgson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in French at the University of Liverpool, Tim Lockley, Reader in American Studies at the University of Warwick, Karen Salt, Fellow in History in the School of Language and Literature at the University of Aberdeen, Kate Hodgson at the University of Liverpool, Joan Dayan, Haiti, History and the Gods (University of California Press, 1998), Laurent Dubois, Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution (Harvard University Press, 2004), Carolyn E. Fick, The Making of Haiti: The Saint-Domingue Revolution from Below (University of Tennessee Press, 1990), John D. Garrigus, Before Haiti: Race and Citizenship in French Saint-Domingue (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), David P. Geggus, Haitian Revolutionary Studies (Indiana University Press, 2002), David P. Geggus (ed. [45] The signal to begin the revolt had been given by Dutty Boukman, a high priest of vodou and leader of the Maroon slaves, and Cecile Fatiman during a religious ceremony at Bois Caman on the night of 14 August. In addition to all of these groups, there were the slaves, who were by far the majority of the population. And forbidding burial, he left stacks of corpses rotting in the sun to strike terror into the French detachments as they toiled behind his flying columns". [103] When Toussaint still failed to appear at Le Cap, Leclerc issued a proclamation on 17 February 1802: "General Toussaint and General Christophe are outlawed; all citizens are ordered to hunt them down, and treat them as rebels against the French Republic". In the colony, there were various groups vying for power and influence. This also separated new slaves from Africa from creoles (slaves born in the colony), who already had kin networks and often had more prestigious roles on plantations and more opportunities for emancipation. The planters would be free to operate slavery as they pleased without the existing minimal accountability to their French peers. [114], Dessalines matched Rochambeau in his vicious cruelty. However, much like his predecessors, this was achieved through forced labor which ultimately led to his downfall. The Haitian Revolution (French: rvolution hatienne French pronunciation:[evlysj a.i.sjn]; Haitian Creole: revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. One of the state's first significant documents was Dessaliness' "Liberty or Death" speech, which circulated broadly in the foreign press. With that, he withdrew a majority of the French forces in Haiti to counter the possibility of an invasion from Prussia, Britain, and Spain on a weakened France. I learned about History of Rome about a year ago, and I got caught up just as we finished the French Revolution. In 2018 Duncan relocated to Paris, France in order to do research for his 2021 book Hero Of Two Worlds, a biography on the Marquis de Lafayette. Tour dates and links: Sept. 6 Madison -- Mystery to Me Sept. 7 Chicago -- Seminary Co-Op Sept. 8 Portland -- Powell's Books Sept. 9 Seattle -- Elliott Bay Book Company Sept. 12 Boulder -- Boulder Book . "Black Talleyrand: Toussaint Louverture's Secret Diplomacy with England and the United States," William and Mary Quarterly 66:1 (Jan. 2009), 87124. Waves of suspicion meant that the government rounded up and killed thousands of suspects, ranging from known aristocrats to people thought to oppose the leaders. PBS. In November 1803 slaves managed to defeat the greatest European military power. Polish soldiers participated in the Haitian revolution of 1804, contributing to the establishment of the world's first free black republic and the first independent Caribbean state. The indemnity bankrupted the Haitian treasury and left the country's government deeply impoverished, causing long-term instability. However, Toussaint sent a message to Balcarres, warning him that if he persisted, to remember that Jamaica was not far from St Domingue, and could be invaded. On 31 October, Polverel did the same in the other two western and southern provinces. Haitian Revolution, series of conflicts between 1791 and 1804 between Haitian slaves, colonists, the armies of the British and French colonizers, and a number of other parties. In addition, he led an invasion of neighboring Santo Domingo (December 1800), and freed the slaves there on 3 January 1801. Akamefula, Tiye, Camille Newsom, Burgey Marcos, and Jong Ho. Many of the free people of color, by contrast, were raised in French culture, had certain rights within colonial society, and generally spoke French and practiced Catholicism (with syncretic absorption of African religions. [89] Maitland disbanded his "Black Shot" troops, and left them in St Domingue, fearing they might return to Jamaica and start a revolution to overthrow slavery in the British colony. [93] Though Toussaint maintained he was still loyal to France, to all intents and purposes, he ruled Saint Domingue as its dictator. ), The Impact of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World (University of South Carolina Press, 2001), Malick Ghachem, The Old Regime and the Haitian Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2012), C. L. R. James, The Black Jacobins: Toussaint LOuverture and the San Domingo Revolution (first published 1938; Penguin, 2001), Madison Smartt Bell, Toussaint Louverture: A Biography (Vintage, 2007), Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (Beacon Press, 1997). For tickets to the October dates: Oct. 3 Austin TX @ Paramount Theater Oct. 4 San Francisco @ Palace of Fine Arts Oct. 5 Seattle @ Town Hall Oct. 25 Chicago @ Vic Theater Oct. 26 Boston @ The Wilbur Oct. 27 Washington DC @ Lisner Auditorium Oct. 29 Newark NJ @ New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way For tickets to the October dates: Oct. 3 Austin TX @ Paramount Theater Oct. 4 San Francisco @ Palace of Fine Arts Oct. 5 Seattle @ Town Hall Oct. 26 Boston @ The Wilbur Oct. 27 Washington DC @ Lisner Auditorium Oct. 29 Newark NJ @ New Jersey Performing Arts Center, [insert obligatory joke about being triggered] Upcoming live events! Obliged", "Who Paid for That Mansion? On 24 October 2017, Duncan published The Storm Before The Storm, a non-fiction work which explores Rome between 14678 BC, the period predating the end of the Roman Republic. [102] When Christophe refused, the French assaulted Le Cap and the Haitians set the city afire rather than surrender it. Prominent wealthy American slave owners, reading about the revolution, also read speculation about what might come in their own states. In 2017, Duncan wrote The Storm Before the Storm, which was well reviewed and appeared on The New York Times Best Seller List. Duncan was born in Redmond, Washington, and attended Western Washington University, attaining a degree in political science with a minor in philosophy. [148], Other historians say the Haitian Revolution influenced slave rebellions in the U.S. as well as in British colonies. distinguish the Haitian Revolution from the French Revolution. [88] British morale had collapsed with the news that Toussaint had taken Port-au-Prince, and Maitland decided to abandon all of Saint-Domingue, writing that the expedition had become such a complete disaster that withdrawal was the only sensible thing to do, even though he did not have the authority to do so. Great start and overview. The Declaration was ambiguous as to whether this equality applied to women, slaves, or citizens of the colonies, and thus influenced the desire for freedom and equality in Saint-Domingue. In 1789, there was a population of 40,000 whites and 500,000 slaves. The end of the Haitian Revolution in 1804 marked the end of French colonialism on the island. Napoleon then turned his attention towards France's European enemies such as Great Britain and Prussia. Troops under the command of John Whyte did not arrive in Saint-Domingue until 19 May 1794. The National Convention abolished slavery by law in France and all its colonies, and granted civil and political rights to all black men in the colonies. [14] Publications including Time,[15] Popular Mechanics,[16] and The Guardian [17] have included Revolutions on their lists of recommended podcasts. 06 April 2017 at 12:46 PM, 6.03- Help Yourself And Heaven Will Help You. [36], Benjamin Wittes directly modelled the introduction to the Lawfare Podcast on The History of Rome. Raimond used the French Revolution to make this the major colonial issue before the National Assembly. In it, the new head of state made the case for the new nation's objective: the permanent abolition of slavery in Haiti. [16] The slaves developed their own religion, a syncretic mixture of Catholicism and West African religions known as Vodou, usually called "voodoo" in English. April 27, 2023, 3:48 p.m. And boy did it get messy. "[123] Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. Woohoo! [122] His secretary Boisrond-Tonnerre stated, "For our declaration of independence, we should have the skin of a white man for parchment, his skull for an inkwell, his blood for ink, and a bayonet for a pen! [39] Rian Johnson was listening to the History of Rome podcast as he was writing the script for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The independence of Haiti was a major blow to France and its colonial empire, but the French state would take several decades to recognize the loss of the colony. In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Hispaniola. [6][7], The revolution's effects on the institution of slavery were felt throughout the Americas. Available on. Within two months of arriving in Saint-Domingue, the British lost 40 officers and 600 men to yellow fever. In 1758, the planters began passing legislation restricting the rights of other groups of people until a rigid caste system was defined. "Impact of the French and Haitian Revolutions." One British officer wrote of his horror of seeing his friends "drowned in their own blood" while "some died raving Mad". Posted by: The average life span of a slave in Haiti was 7 years. Within the first couple of years, Toussaint LOuverture arose as a leader. Once the French got control of Haiti [St-Domingue], what was life like in the colony? Posted by: S2 Ep 2: Les . This was fairly common with the Spanish . 07 December 2015 at 11:56 AM. There was a growing population of affranchis, which were freed blacks or freed slaves, and then what were called gens de couleur, or people of color. [115] After acknowledging defeat in Saint-Domingue, Napoleon withdrew from North America, agreeing to the Louisiana Purchase by the United States. Those who refused were slaughtered. During this time, there was a familiar situation going on back in their homeland as these Polish soldiers were fighting for their liberty from the occupying forces of Russia, Prussia, and Austria that began in 1772. [82] Ultimately, 10,000 British soldiers arrived in Saint Domingue by June, but aside from some skirmishing near Bombarde, the British remained in Port-au-Prince and other coastal enclaves, while yellow fever continued to kill them all off. In 1801, Louverture issued a constitution for Saint-Domingue that decreed he would be governor-for-life and called for black autonomy and a sovereign black state. Haiti was hell, but Haiti was rich". [127] Furthermore, Dessalines ordered the construction of massive fortifications throughout the island, like the Citadelle Laferrire, the largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere. Find the Data. The British force that landed in Saint-Domingue in 1793 was too small to conquer the colony, being capable only of holding only few coastal enclaves. [97][98] There has been considerable debate over whether the number of deaths caused by disease was exaggerated. Georges Danton, one of the Frenchmen present at the meeting of the National Convention, expressed this sentiment: Representatives of the French people, until now our decrees of liberty have been selfish, and only for ourselves. This is one I know absolutely nothing about, and it sounds really interesting (and bloody and horrible) from the first episode. Citizenship was offered to any slave or oppressed person that made it to Haiti's shores as mandated by Dessaline's constitution. There was a lot of tension between the grand blancs and the petit blancs who were vying for power and control in the colony. He sent a general, who tricked Toussaint LOuverture, arrested him, and shipped him off to France where he eventually died in prison, but the revolution did not end. Historical themes, events and key individuals from Akhenaten to Xenophon. In April 2021, with Duncan's work on the book completed, he and his family returned to the United States. [105] All of the French assaults ended in total failure, and after the failure of their last attack, the Haitians charged the French, cutting down any Frenchmen. The remaining French settlers were forced to leave the island. [40] He was captured in early 1791, and brutally executed by being "broken on the wheel" before being beheaded. Haiti struggled to recover economically from the war. Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Brooklyn College professor Jean-Eddy Saint Paul about the country's history. But this freedom came at a price. Dessalines had specifically stated that France is "the real enemy of the new nation." [36] The lower-class whites, petits blancs (literally "small whites"), included artisans, shopkeepers, slave dealers, overseers, and day laborers. They were very important predecessors to the Haitian revolution, and they were heavy influences on Haitis freedom fighters. From this premise, the narrative began with the enslaved blacks' bid for freedom through armed struggle and concluded with their victory over slavery powers and the creation of an independent state. Revolutions Podcast by Mike Duncan - S4: Haitian Revolution - Episode 19 7,324 views Jun 20, 2018 83 Dislike Share Khwarezmid 3.67K subscribers Link (s) to the episode (s):. [135] In the 1805 constitution that declared all its citizens as black,[136] it specifically mentions the naturalizations of German and Polish peoples enacted by the government, as being exempt from Article XII that prohibited whites ("non-Haitians;" foreigners) from owning land. [21] The Kongolese at 40% were the largest of the African ethnic groups represented amongst the slaves. You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post. Also Place Hotel de Ville. He is an avid fan of the Seattle Mariners baseball team. [126] Likewise, the working day was shortened by a third. There were large differences in governance between Petion's republic, and what would eventually become Christophe's kingdom. So this further inflamed things. Tear up the roads with shot; throw corpses and horses into all the foundations, burn and annihilate everything in order that those who have come to reduce us to slavery may have before their eyes the image of the hell which they deserve". Posted by: Slave quarters were built on the lowest part of the property where there was no wind or ventilation, and there was excessive heat and it was very crowded. On 16 November 1803, Dessalines began attacking the French blockhouses outside of Le Cap. Saint-Domingue's free people of color, or gens de couleur libres, numbered more than 28,000. [119] Dessalines thanked them all for their kindness and belief in racial equality, but then he said that the French had treated him as less than human when he was a slave, and so to avenge his mistreatment, he promptly had the 100 whites all hanged. 4.01- Saint-Domingue. LS 77 Global Rank TOP 0.01% ABOUT THIS PODCAST A weekly podcasting exploring great political revolutions. [110][111][112] A Senator or the Haitian People? The Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class, What You Already Know About the Origins of WWI, Long Live the Bolsheviks Death to the Communists. The end of French rule and the abolition of slavery in the former colony was followed by a successful defense of the freedoms the former slaves won and, with the collaboration of already free people of color, their independence from white Europeans. Despite racial tensions in Saint-Domingue, the French revolutionary government at the time welcomed abolition with a show of idealism and optimism. [127] In fact, because young fit men were the most likely to be drafted into the army, the plantations were thus deprived of the workforce needed to function properly.[127]. If a page linked from a footnote that cites the Haiti study bears a title different from that cited next to the link, consult, United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Polish Legions (Napoleonic period) The Haitian campaign, occupying forces of Russia, Prussia, and Austria that began in 1772, Learn how and when to remove this template message, An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President, "Why Haiti should be at the centre of the Age of Revolution Laurent Dubois", "The Polish Influence in Casale, Haiti and Contribution to the Haitian Revolution", "Slave Hounds and Abolition in the Americas", "Chapter 6 "Haiti: Historical Setting", in, "The History of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, Volume 2", "Dominican Republic Haiti and Santo Domingo", "A Country Study: Haiti Boyer: Expansion and Decline", "La premire ambassade franaise en Hati", "The Realities in Africa: European Profit or Negro Development?