GRADE 9 HISTORY

HAITIAN REVOLUTION

MISS B. WRIGHT
NOV 15-18, 2021
POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS

• The term Political Revolution refers to the process by which a radical change occurs in the
government of a country. It may be relatively short, such as four years or it may go on for
decades. The process is usually a violent and bloody one. This is called “Coup d’état”.
• Three important revolutions that have occurred in the Caribbean are:
HAITIAN REVOLUTION

• Haitian Revolution was a series of conflicts between 1791 and 1804, it was the overthrow of
the French regime in Haiti by the Africans and their descendants who had been enslaved by the
French and the establishment of an independent country founded and governed by former
slaves.
• The Haitian Revolution has often been described as the largest and most successful slave
rebellion in the Western Hemisphere. Slaves initiated the rebellion in 1791 and by 1803
(November 9) they had succeeded in ending not just slavery but French control over the
colony.
• Independence (January 1, 1804)
ST. DOMINGUE BEFORE THE REVOLUTION
• St Domingue was the western section of the island of Hispaniola which was owned by France
by the 17th century (1600s). Of the crops cultivated in St. Domingue, sugar, coffee and indigo,
sugar was the most important. At the peak of its prosperity, the latter part of the 18th century,
St. Domingue produced more sugar than the entire British Caribbean islands combined. As a
result of this prosperity, the island was of value to France and was called the Pearl of the
Indies. Despite the obvious prosperity, St. Domingue was overflowing with problems. The root
of the problems was in the racial composition and the relationship among the various racial
groups.
• By the late eighteenth century, St. Domingue (Haiti) was a very rich colony. She was producing
one third of the sugar that was sold in the markets of Europe. Haiti was also the leading coffee
producer. This meant that the sugar and coffee planters were very wealthy. They felt that they
should also be more powerful, but Haiti was a colony of France.
• There were four groups in the Haitian society. The whites (grand blancs) were at the top of
the social ladder. They were the wealthiest, since they were the ones who owned the
plantations, and the slaves. This group also consisted of aristocrats, rich planters, military
officers and top government officials. Although the grand blancs were the most prominent
group in the society they had grievances. The first grievance concerned the general control
exercise over them by the French government. A second grievance was the trade restriction
which prevented them from trading with whomever they wanted.
• Then came the petit blancs, which is French for the “poor whites”. The petit blancs were
often shopkeepers, artisans, and teachers. They did not enjoy the wealth and privileges of the
grand blancs.
• The coloureds/affranchis/ mulattos/ Gen de couleur were the third group. This social
class was created by children of white men and slave women. These children were often freed
from slavery by their fathers, since they were higher in the social ladder. The wealthy free
people of colour could even own plantations and slaves of their own. However, there was a
long list of activities that the people of colour were not allowed to engage in:

• They could not wear the same clothes as the whites

• They could not sit in the front pew of the church
• They were assigned special places at the theatre and inn
• There was to be no intermarriage between the free coloureds and whites
• They were not allowed the title of Mr. and Mrs.
• They could not participate in election either as a candidate or as voters
• They could not play European games
• The slaves were the fourth group, they were at the bottom of the social pyramid numbering
approximately 500,000. They resented the fact that they were the property of someone else.
The enslaved Africans were considered as ‘things’ thus they were treated inhumanely. This was
so as they had no rights. They had to work from sunup to sundown on the sugar and coffee
plantations of their masters without pay; they were not allowed to own properties, they were
overworked, underfed, abused and cruelly punished. By 1791, the majority of slaves in St.
Domingue were African born hence they clearly remembered the freedom which they had
recently lost and desired to reclaim that freedom. As a result of these grievances in the society
of St. Domingue a revolution transformed the society between 1791 and 1804.