John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” During the 1700s, Toussaint L’Ouverture and Napoleon Bonaparte lead violent revolutions that propagated many changes that perpetually impacted the world. Despite the many differences between them, the similarities they shared were salient. Furthermore, both leaders held mass revolts and violent riots, demanded equality among their people, and destroyed their former government. Due to these leaders not being able to peacefully revolt, their only option was to approach it in a violent manner. In the same way, L’Ouverture and Bonaparte believed that a violent approach was the most promising way to achieve their goals of abolishing
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For instance, in Haiti, the colored people were not given the right to speak freely, the right to vote, the right of freedom from torture, or the right to live. With regards to this, the courageous slaves risked their lives and abandoned their plantations to fight for their rights (Brainard “Toussaint L’Ouverture”). Dubois stated in her book that “If we live in a world in which democracy is meant to exclude no one, it is in no small part because of the actions of those slaves in Saint Dominigue who insisted that human rights were theirs too” (Dubois 3). Based on Dubois’s statement, democracy is a representation of the voices of the people. Therefore, L’Ouverture and Bonaparte both used violence to fight for the voices of their people to be heard. The slaves captured the wives of the plantation owners and held them hostage; furthermore, the wives were brutally tortured and eventually killed. Also, in France, there was no equality among the social class due to France’s feudal system. The main issue in France was economic inequality, as the peasants were demanded by law to remain poor. In addition to this, the appointed taxpayers were the peasants, tax farmers and tax gatherers, who paid what they could afford. However, the nobles and clergymen were privileged and did not have to pay tax. To add to this, only the peasants were authorized to purchase land. However, due to their financial status, they could never afford it. Therefore, the government owned a majority of the lands (Mimms “Culture and
For instance, in Haiti, the colored people were not given the right to speak freely, the right to vote, the right of freedom from torture, or the right to live. With regards to this, the courageous slaves risked their lives and abandoned their plantations to fight for their rights (Brainard “Toussaint L’Ouverture”). Dubois stated in her book that “If we live in a world in which democracy is meant to exclude no one, it is in no small part because of the actions of those slaves in Saint Dominigue who insisted that human rights were theirs too” (Dubois 3). Based on Dubois’s statement, democracy is a representation of the voices of the people. Therefore, L’Ouverture and Bonaparte both used violence to fight for the voices of their people to be heard. The slaves captured the wives of the plantation owners and held them hostage; furthermore, the wives were brutally tortured and eventually killed. Also, in France, there was no equality among the social class due to France’s feudal system. The main issue in France was economic inequality, as the peasants were demanded by law to remain poor. In addition to this, the appointed taxpayers were the peasants, tax farmers and tax gatherers, who paid what they could afford. However, the nobles and clergymen were privileged and did not have to pay tax. To add to this, only the peasants were authorized to purchase land. However, due to their financial status, they could never afford it. Therefore, the government owned a majority of the lands (Mimms “Culture and