Haitian Revolution: A History From Beginning to End by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hourly History
Published: 2016-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

The Haitian Revolution and the World

“We receive with regret daily information of the progress of insurrection and devastation in St. Domingo. Nothing indicates as yet that the evil is at its height, and the materials as yet untouched, but open to conflagration, are immense.”

—Thomas Jefferson

Like all revolutions during the Age of Atlantic Revolutions, the Haitian Revolution had worldwide implications. No historical events ever occur in a bubble, but the Haitian Revolution was especially resonant at the time. As previously stated, all whites in slave societies feared slave uprisings. They were afraid of both the loss of their valuable property (not to mention the fact that they were completely economically dependent on slave labor) and the violence that might accompany a slave rebellion. As the situation worsened in Saint Domingue, they watched their worst fears come to life.

Obviously, the situation was the most dire for the French. They had hoped that the forces that existed already on the island would be able to put down the rebellion, but by early 1792, the freed slaves controlled about one third of Saint Domingue and showed no sign of slowing down. In response, the French government (which had recently changed hands and been re-established) sent several thousand troops to aid in stopping the rebellion.

By the time they arrived, the situation was far worse than they anticipated. They faced a well-organized, well-armed group of fighters. This was thanks at least in part to Toussaint Louverture, whose loyalties had been increasingly aligned with those of the freed slaves. He was a gifted leader who helped the very large army of freed slaves train and organize themselves. What was more, the slaves were fighting for their own freedom and that of their loved ones. They were responding to centuries of brutality; certainly, they cared more about the fight than the troops arriving from France.

Other global events would soon impact Saint Domingue, just as the events in Saint Domingue would impact other global events. First, European warfare became a factor. As the French troops sent in 1792 were failing to secure Saint Domingue, France and Great Britain went to war. While liberated slaves continued to gain ground in Saint Domingue, the colony was still technically governed and controlled by white elites. These white elites entered into an agreement with the British and Spanish[5] to also fight the French on the island and accept British rule. Now, the freed slaves and the whites on Saint Domingue were technically fighting a common enemy: France. While they had not reconciled each other’s interests, by 1793 they were working together, along with their new foreign allies.

Fighting in Saint Domingue was already going poorly for the French, but when the British and Spanish began supplying the freed slaves with ammunition, arms, and food in order to fight both French troops and French loyalists, the situation became disastrous; in a word, it was unwinnable. What was more, Louverture’s leadership was proving more decisive, and by this point, he was clearly aligned with the slaves and the Spanish, who had crossed over from the other side of the island to aid in the fight.

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