Haiti In The 19th Century

In the 18th century, the American Colonies of Britain began to get disgruntled from British taxes. The Americans started a revolution and declared themselves independent of Britain in 1776 with little violence. Although the administrative government changed dramatically, the social lifestyle and culture barely changed at all. Haiti, on the other hand, had a much different revolution. Before the 19th century, Haiti was a French colony with a heavy emphasis on sugar-cane plantations run by slaves. However, the blacks of Haiti heavily outnumbered the whites of Haiti and were able to maintain their African cultures. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Haitian slaves were able to revolt against French authority, and managed to fend off …show more content…
In a journal containing the claims of free and colored people it said “[t]he inhabitants of the French colonies are exclusively and generally divided into two classes, Freemen and those who are born, and live, in slavery” (Exploring the French Revolution; George Mason University). There was a clear distinction between slaves and free men: the color of one’s skin. Although some Haitians were granted freedom, most still worked as slaves, establishing a relationship of hate and racism between the two groups. Plantation owners had little regard for their slaves, working them under cruel and merciless conditions, with high mortality rates (Traditions & Encounters; Bentley and Ziegler). These circumstances led to anger being built up among the enslaved population. In François Dominique Toussaint L’Ouverture's Constitution of 1801 he wrote that “[t]here can be no slaves in this territory… [a]ll men are born, live and die there free.” In his country, he would abolish slavery immediately, and restore the sacred right of freedom. L’Ouverture applied his anger and writes new laws to arouse his fellow blacks into rebellion. In Haiti, there were over ten times more slaves than free citizens (Traditions & Encounters; Bentley and Ziegler). With that crucial advantage, they realized that freedom was within reach, and often skirmished with white planters. The Haitians became aware