The Haitian Revolution
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MAKING
SENSE
OF THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION
LAH 4471. Notes to guide your
reading
of
The Black Jacobins
.
The Haitian Revolution of
1789-1803
transformed French Saint Domingue, one of the most productive European
colonies of its day, into an independent state run by former slaves and
the descendants of slaves. It produced the world's first examples
of wholesale emancipation in a major slaveowning society, of colonial
representation
in a metropolitan assembly, and of full racial equality in a European
colony.
It occurred when the Atlantic slave trade was at its peak, and when
slavery
was an accepted institution from Canada to Chile. The slave revolt that
between 1791 and 1793 laid waste the immensely wealthy colony was
probably
the largest and sole fully successful one there has ever been. Of all
American
struggles for colonial independence, the Haitian Revolution involved
the
greatest degree of mass mobilization, and brought the greatest degree
of
social and economic change. In an age of tumultuous events and world
war,
it seized international attention with images of apocalyptic
destruction
and of a new world in the making.
The Black Jacobins
by Trinidadian
intellectual C.L.R. James remains, although written in the 1930s, the
best
introduction to the subject.
When reading
:
Don’t get bogged down in all the details. Treat the book as a good,
fast
read, but take notes. Look out for the major turning-points in the
revolution
and the main causal factors at work. One helpful way to get to a hold
on
the narrative and the key analytical issues is to think of the Haitian
Revolution as a contest between three groups with three conflicting
agendas,
in other words, as three revolutions in one. The only individuals you
need
be able to identify are those listed below.
3 broad social groups:
whites,
free coloreds ("mulattoes"), slaves
3 broad issues associated
with
each social group:
- Colonial Autonomy
(either
self-government or independence)
Autonomy
:
planters
achieve (and France concedes) self-government 1790-92, till ended by
Sonthonax
(dismissed colonial assembly). Toussaint Louverture effectively
achieves
self-government mid-90s till 1802 (outmaneuvers French officials).
Colonial
independence won by blacks/free coloreds 1804.
Racial Equality
:
Vincent Og? revolt fails Oct. 1790. May 1791 equality granted to
some free coloreds; then withdrawn Sept. 1791. Free coloreds of
west/south
rebel Aug. 1791. Full equality conceded April 1792.
Emancipation
:
revolt in north Aug. 1791; gradually spreads. Leaders' committment to
full
emancipation ambiguous/wavering. Rebel leaders join Spanish 1793. Aug.
1793 Sonthonax abolishes slavery unilaterally. Feb. 1794 France ends
slavery
in all its colonies. Toussaint Louverture rallies to French. 1794-97
France
seeks spread slave rebellion in enemy colonies. 1802 Napoleon tries to
restore slavery.
3 provinces
: north
(Og?
and slave revolts),
west (British occupation, 1793-98),
south (free colored stronghold, 1791-99)
Key Events
:
- French Revolution
starts
1789 (States-General
called).
- Uprising in northern
plain Aug.
1791.
- Outbreak of war
(France
v. Britain+Spain)
spring 1793.
- Emancipation decrees
of
Aug. 93
and Feb. 94.
- Toussaint changes
sides
spring
1794.
- British occupation
1793-98.
- Toussaint's secret
treaty
with
England 1798/99.
- War between Toussaint
and
Andr?
Rigaud 1799-1800.
- Toussaint's
constitution,
and occupation
of Santo Domingo 1801.
- War of Independence
1802-3.
Key Individuals
:
Vincent Og?, Jean Fran?ois, Toussaint Louverture,
Sonthonax, Andr?
Rigaud,
Moise, Alexandre P?tion, Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
French Revolution
:
increasingly radical, 1789-94; increasingly conservative, 1794-1804.
Absolute monarchy (to 1789);
constitutional monarchy (1789-92); republic (1792-1804).
National and Legislative
Assemblies
(1789-92); Convention (1792-95); Directory (1795-99); Napoleon (1799+).
In power: moderate liberals
(89-91); Girondins (92-93); Jacobins (93-94); moderate liberals
(1794-99);
Napoleon (1799+).
Questions to consider
:
1) How are the Haitian and French
Revolutions
related?
2) Do you think internal factors
(class
conflict, population growth, etc.) or external influences
(French politics,
international war) best explain the development of the Haitian
Revolution?
3) How does James strike a
balance
between leadership and impersonal forces
(class conflict,
libertarian ideology, racial antagonism)?
4) Why was this the first
Caribbean
colony to (i) abolish slavery (ii) achieve independence?
5) What did each of the "key
individuals"
listed above contribute to these two developments?
6) In what ways do you think
C.L.R.
James’s political beliefs shaped his interpretation of the revolution?
CHRONOLOGY
1789
| Jan.-Mar.
|
Wealthy colonial activists illegally elect
deputies
to the States-General in France
|
| Aug.
|
White and free colored colonists form
separate political
clubs in Paris to press their interests
|
| Oct.
|
Inspired by the Bastille’s fall,
democratic protesters
force the Intendant to flee Saint Domingue
|
|
Free coloreds calling for political rights
meet
with persecution
|
|
Slaves voicing protests on some
plantations brutally
suppressed
|
1790
| Mar.
|
National Assembly allows colonies internal
self-government
under metropolitan supervision. Is
deliberately evasive about the rights of free
people
of color.
|
| July
|
Governor Peinier closes the autonomist
Colonial
Assembly at Saint Marc
|
| Oct.
|
Vincent Og? leads brief free
colored rebellion
in the north
|
1791
| Feb.
|
Grisly execution of Og?
|
| Mar.
|
White radicals drive governor out of
Port-au-Prince
|
| May
|
National Assembly decrees political rights
for freeborn
men of color
|
| July
|
White colonists discuss secession and
organize to
resist the May 15 decree
|
| Aug.
|
Insurrection of slaves in the north and
free coloreds
in the west
|
| Sept.
|
National Assembly annuls the May 15 decree.
|
| Nov.
|
Port-au-Prince burned in fighting between
white
radicals and free coloreds.
|
1792
| Jan.-Mar.
|
Slave rebellion spasmodically spreads in
west and
south
|
| Apr.
|
Legislative Assembly ends racial
discrimination
in the colonies
|
| Sept.
|
Arrival of second Civil Commission with
6,000 soldiers.
France becomes a republic
|
| Oct.-Dec.
|
Commissioners form alliance with free
coloreds and
deport white conservatives and radicals
|
1793
| Feb.-Mar.
|
War begins with Britain and Spain
|
| May
|
Spanish conclude alliance with
Jean-Fran?ois
and Biassou
|
| June
|
Civil commissioners’ struggle with
Governor Galbaud
causes
|
|
burning of Cap Fran?ais and
emancipation
of slave recruits
|
| Aug.
|
Sonthonax abolishes slavery in the north.
Abolition
extended to
|
|
the west in September and south in October
|
| Sept.
|
British forces begin five year occupation
in parts
of south and west
|
1794
| Jan.
|
Fall of Fort Dauphin completes Spanish
conquest
of most of north
|
| Feb.
|
Jacobin government ends slavery in all
French colonies
|
| Apr.-July
|
Toussaint Louverture turns on his Spanish
allies
and joins the French
|
1795
| July
|
Spain makes peace and transfers Santo
Domingo to
France
|
| Dec.
|
Jean-Fran?ois and Biassou leave for
exile
|
1796
| Mar.
|
Toussaint foils free colored coup against
Governor
Laveaux and becomes deputy-governor
|
| May
|
Sonthonax returns with new civil commission
|
| Oct.-Dec.
|
Toussaint and Sonthonax consolidate their
control
of the north. British switch to a defensive strategy
|
1797
| May
|
Sonthonax names Toussaint Commander in
Chief
|
| Aug.
|
Toussaint forces out Sonthonax
|
1798
| Mar.-Oct.
|
General H?douville’s mission
creates friction
with emergent power of ex-slaves under Toussaint
|
| May-Sept.
|
British withdrawal. Toussaint signs trade
and non-aggression
treaty
|
| Nov.
|
Toussaint orders army to impose forced
labor on
the plantations
|
1799
| June
|
War of the South begins
|
| Dec.
|
Napoleon becomes head of state. Colonies
lose right
of metropolitan representation
|
1800
| Aug.
|
Completing his defeat of Rigaud, Toussaint
controls
all Saint Domingue
|
1801
| Jan.
|
Toussaint flouts French orders to occupy
Santo Domingo
|
| Feb.
|
Toussaint announces project for a
constitution.
Napoleon names him
|
|
Captain-General of Saint Domingue but not
commander
in chief,
|
|
then retracts his decision.
|
| July
|
Toussaint’s constitution makes him
governor for
life
|
| Oct.
|
Franco-British peace preliminaries permit
the Leclerc
expedition
|
| Nov.
|
Rebellion of Mo?se
|
1802
| Feb.-May
|
Leclerc conquers Saint Domingue
|
| June
|
Toussaint deported to France
|
| Aug.
|
News of reestablishment of slavery in
Guadeloupe
|
|
rekindles resistance in Saint Domingue
|
| Oct.
|
Dessalines and P?tion unite in
rebellion
|
1803
| May
|
Franco-British war resumes
|
| Dec.
|
Last French troops evacuated
|
1804
| Jan.
|
Dessalines declares independence at
Gona?ves
|
|
Massacre of remaining colonists begins
|
Sources of Illustrations
: www.stanford.edu/dept/AAAS/right.html
(C.L.R. James); www.internetactu.com/archives/butinage/butinage102.html
(Toussaint Louverture);
www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/haitian-revolution.htm (Slave revolt
and Battle scene); www.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Toussaint.htm (L.F.
Sonthonax
and General Leclerc).
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LAH4471