Matteo Silva 10A1

Haiti Source Based Task: 50 Marks

Written Source Analysis: Questions

A comment by the Martinican poet and activist Aimé Césaire in a 1967 interview
with the Haitian poet René Depestre, stressing the inspiration for him of the
Haitian Revolution.

1.1) Is this a primary or a secondary source? Justify your answer. The source
above is a secondary source because the source of information is one
that was created later by someone who did not experience or participate
in the events of the Haitian Revolution first-hand. The Haitian revolution
took place from 1791 till 1804 and the comment of Aimé Césaire (a
Martinican poet and activist) from the source is from 1967, making it
impossible for this source to be a primary source and thus making it a
secondary source.

1.2) What is the tone of the extract? Justify with a short quote from the
text. The tone of the extract is prideful and informative of Haiti. The tone
is prideful, because Aimé Césaire is has pride in mentioning how in Haiti
was the first-time negro people stood up and had started shaping a free
world. A short quote that indicates this pride is the following— “Haiti is
the country where Negro people stood up for the first time”.

1.3) According to your knowledge, what was the Haitian Revolution.

Mention TWO points. The Haitian Revolution was the period from 1791
to 1804 in the French colony of Saint Domingue, the eastern part of the
island of Hispaniola called Haiti. This revolution brought forth ideas of
racial equality that proved threatening to the rest of the Americas,
especially to the regions that depended on slave labour. During this
revolution a leader of the slaves emerged named Toussaint L’Ouverture
Matteo Silva 10A1
The American Civil War Assessment: 70 Marks

— who was a strong leader that managed to organize the ‘blacks’ to

fight against the invading armies. Haiti broke free of the French rule and
became independent during the end of the revolution.

Thus, the Haitian Revolution was a pivotal event in world history as it led
to the establishment of the first independent black republic in the
Americas— Haiti. After gaining independence from French colonial rule,
Haiti faced numerous challenges (both internally and externally) which
significantly impacted its post-revolutionary development.

1.4) What does Cesaire mean with “Haiti is the most African of the
Antilles”? With this statement, Cesaire means that ‘Haiti is the most
African out of all of the islands in the West Indie’. Translating this,
Cesaire means that Haiti has the most amount of people—of African
origin (meaning people of colour) out of all the other island that form
part of the Antilles.

1.5) Briefly explain who Toussaint Louverture was. Mention TWO points .
Toussaint L’Ouverture, 33-year-old man, was set free and emerged as a
leader of the slave revolt in Haiti during the Haitian Revolution.
Toussaint initially fought with the Spanish— rather than fighting with
the others, but later switched to the French side.

Toussaint recognized the need for the slaves to have military

organization and temporarily joined with the Spanish forces. Capitalizing
on his success of being a military leader, he started governing the island
of Haiti. He was named the governor-general of St. Domingue and
governed autocratically rather than democratically—although he was a
radical who desired change. Napoleon started fearing Toussaint in the
early 1800’s, because he challenged Napoleon’s authority and renewed
warfare against the colony once he concluded peace with British. Thus in
1802 Toussaint was betrayed by France, captured, and sent to France
where he passed away in prison.

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The American Civil War Assessment: 70 Marks

Toussaint L’Ouverture led a successful slave revolt and emancipated the

slaves in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti). He had
contributed to the independence of Haiti and had a big influence on the
abolishment of slavery and slave labour and was a catalyst for the new
ideas of abolishing slavery being spread to the Americas.

Visual Source Analysis: Questions

2.1) Explain how Toussaint is being shown in this illustration. Provide

ONE visual clues from the source to support your answer. From the
visual text on the source,” The slave who saved Haiti”, it indicates how
Toussaint is shown as a hero and Haiti’s saviour. The words—” The
slave” referrers to Toussaint (who was a slave before he became a
military leader) and the words, “who saved Haiti”, refers to Toussaint
who abolished slavery in Haiti and saved the people of Haiti. More visual
evidence that shows Toussaint’s ‘hero’ status and his high status in Haiti
is the fact that he is the focus of the source (because he is in the highest
position and above all the other Haitians in the source, indicating his
status above the other)— Toussaint is the man on the right side of the
source. Toussaint’s visual clothing from the source also indicates his
military/ ‘hero’ status— he is wearing the clothes of a military leader,
e.g. the jacket with the tassels on his shoulders.

2.2) Toussaint is often called “The Black Napoleon”. Looking at the

source give ONE reasons to support this comparison. Napoleon was an
extremely strong military leader/ general that led the French army from
the 1700’s till the 1800’s, and gave a lot of the French people hope, after
their horrible recent rules— King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette— for
the future of their country. In comparison to Napoleon, Toussaint was an
extremely strong military leader/ general that led the Haitian army and
abolished slavery in Haiti and was a big influence to Haiti’s
independence. Thus, Napoleon and Toussaint are very similar— because
of their similar military status and influence— and Toussaint is often
called ‘Black Napoleon’, because Toussaint is a black man which is
contrasting to Napoleon, a white man.

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The American Civil War Assessment: 70 Marks

2.3) Provide TWO visual cues to support the idea that the Haitian
Revolution was a violent event. First visual clue to indicate that the
Revolution was a violent event are the fires on the right side of the
source. The houses of Haiti are on fire, which indicate how violent the
Revolution and wars were in Haiti.

Second clue that indicates how violent the revolution was, are the ships
approaching the shore of Haiti that are most likely full of military men.
Napoleon attacked Haiti with his army from France which brutally
murdered a lot of the Haitians. Another visual clue can be the people in
the bottom right corner of the source running. They are running towards
someone or something, which could indicate they were running towards
battle.

2.4) What document do you think Toussaint is holding in his hand?

Provide ONE comprehensive point this document embraced in it.
Toussaint is holding the declaration of St. Domingue of 1804, which
made Toussaint general of Haiti for life. The comprehensive point this
document embraced was that the declaration made him general of Haiti
for life.

2.5) How useful is this source for an historian studying the Toussaint’s
role in the Haitian Revolution. Provide TWO points in your answer.
The usefulness of the source depends on how it is used to be study. The
usefulness of a source is assessed as a combination of how much
information is in the source and how reliable that information is: the
most useful sources are those which we can trust, and which tell us a
great deal; the least useful are those that tell us very little and whose
reliability is questionable as well. Since this source does not provide
major amounts of information, it isn’t ideal for studying and even though
the reliability of the source isn’t definite, it doesn’t mean it makes the
source more useful. Concluding that the source isn’t that useful for
historians to study since it only indicates the military status of Toussiant
and the brutality of the Haitian Revolution.
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Matteo Silva 10A1
The American Civil War Assessment: 70 Marks

3.1) Use your own knowledge to briefly explain why Napoleon was
fighting in Haiti. Your answer should include TWO points. The reason
why Napoleon was fighting Haiti was because Napoleon was very
intimidated by the military power that Toussaint possessed, and
Napoleon thus wanted to restore the direct French rule in Haiti and
overthrow Toussaint L’vourture. Another reason why Napoleon went to
fight in Haiti was because the French had fought in the Dominican
Republic (the other half of the island that was a part of Haiti)/ Spanish
which eventually led to the French fighting with Haiti.

3.2) Identify the bias in this source. Provide TWO visual clues to
support your answer. _________________________________________
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Matteo Silva 10A1
The American Civil War Assessment: 70 Marks

3.3) Why is the Haitian revolution such an important historical event?

The Haitian revolution is such an important historical event because it
was the first and only slave revolt that resulted in the creation of a free
state free from slavery, governed by people of colour and freed slaves.
The Haitian revolution was so important because it sparked ideas of
abolishing slavery, which had eventually spread to the Americas at the
time. Thus, making it one of the reason and contributions to the
abolishment of slave labour globally. The Haitian revolution also created
the second independent country of the Americas.

3.4) Mention ONE strength and ONE limitation of political cartoons as

historical sources.
Limitation:
The author/cartoonist of a political cartoon can very much be bias or
only correct from one point of view. The author/cartoonist can also
exaggerate or simplify complex historical events. Other limitations of
cartoons as historical sources are that it could be misleading or not even
true to other historical events.
Strength:
Political cartoons can be used in a way to imagine and have an idea of
how the historical event unfolded, even if the cartoon is biased, since the
first camera was only invented in the 1800’s. Political cartoons are also
far more vivid and likely to be remembered than a text of information.
And if a cartoon was biased, it would give us, as historians, a very good
idea of what a certain group of people were thinking.

Bibliography
1. Pinimg.com. (2024). Available at:
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0e/8c/6d/0e8c6d939f9c704cf5c00f6546124511
--haitian-revolution-toussaint.jpg [Accessed 30 Apr. 2024].
2. How to do sourcework at GCSE Originally published in the Times
Educational Supplement. (2002). Available at:
https://www.activehistory.co.uk/igcse/practice/swk.pdf [Accessed 30 Apr.
2024].

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Matteo Silva 10A1
The American Civil War Assessment: 70 Marks