Haitian Revolution Slavery

Superior Essays
Essay #1 “Eyewitness Accounts of the Haitian Revolution
One of the key contributors to the expansion of the French Empire is the Haitian colony of the Caribbean. After the invasion of Haiti by the French in the mid-16th century, permanent settlements were then developed including enclave trading colonization when the French Indies Corporation was founded in the 1660s. With international trade underway slave labor was needed to cultivate the plantations within the colonies. The black slaves bore the burden and the labor of the plantations, additionally suffered torment and torture from their dehumanizing white masters. In 1789 in 1790 in an effort to extend the liberty and freedom of the French Revolution abroad, the French national assembly
…show more content…
In one portion of the readings the author draws their perspective on how important slavery was to the colonies to white slave owners. Although white colonists were not on board with the French national assembly’s decision to allow free people of color civil and political liberties, they felt they needed to enlist the help of free blacks to maintain slavery in the colonies. White colonists felt they could appeal to free people of color who some of them were slave owners also to revolt against the abolishment of slavery to preserve their own economic gains as well as white slave owners. Free men of color along with mulattos denounced this alliance with white colonists and align themselves with slaves complying with the French national assembly to the principles of liberty and equality. Despite poor planning and insufficient training leading into the invasion of Tiburon, with staggering numbers in the favor of the black revolutionaries of Haiti they were able to extract one of the most horrific and staggering acts of mass murder scene during the revolution. The eyewitness account of the carnage draws a perspective of the situation by saying “they wanted to reach the seashore to escape up the main road, to hide themselves in the woods, but the blacks, who had …show more content…
During Verneuil’s eyewitness account he divulged about his encounter with Vincent Oge and the fair treatment he received from him. Verneuil’ encounter with Oge was one of the battles in what was a short-lived rebellion in the name of Civil liberties and freedoms to free black men, and not the abolishment of slavery. Verneuil also reflects on several conversations with Oge on trying to persuade him into reconsidering his plans to merge his ranks with slaves because Oge is to a slave owner and is seen in the same manner as white slave. The author of this eyewitness account is also vital from a political standpoint as he was one of many white refugees deported back to France by the French Commissioner Leger-Felicite Sonthonax. Verneuil later gave a testimony to the French national assembly of the incidents being counted during the Haitian

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Nova Scotia Book Report

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How were the Blacks who migrated to Nova Scotia treated in comparison to what they expected? The two sources chosen for this historical essay is a journal called “Black Immigrants into Nova Scotia, 1776-1815” and the book entitled From Slavery to Freetown: Black Loyalists after the American Revolution. The significant reason why these two sources were chosen is because they consist of detailed information that depicts a considerable description of the slavery movement from the different places to Nova Scotia. These resources also provides a broad data regarding the lifestyle endured by the slaves during the 1700s to 1800s. “The Journal of Negro History” was written by John Grant and was published by association for the study of African American life and history in October 1960.…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The excerpt from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, by Olaudah Equiano, touches upon the treatment and lives of slaves in the West Indies. Through this short excerpt the reader learns about what he saw while he was a slave in the West Indies islands. Not only are there very few primary sources that have survived from the eighteenth century to modern day, but also there are hardly any sources that come from the viewpoint of a well-educated, free slave. When reading this excerpt one needs to keep in mind biases when it comes to reading an excerpt of a freed slave. Historians can use this excerpt to better understand what it meant to be a slave during this viewpoint.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many high school students today studied the Opium War, a battle that is fought between China and Britain. The end result concludes that China lost, so Britain demands reparations from China because they cut off the opium trade with Britain. The British also colonized Hong Kong and restructured the Chinese government, leaving the Chinese powerless. The concept of reparations is used worldwide, whether it be used for justice or for power.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Haiti and Latin America share many similarities including their revolutions. The Haitian and Mexican revolutions are moderately similar in that they fought for independence with multiple leaders, slavery was abolished in both; however, Haiti experienced debt and Mexico resulted in little social change. One of the main causes of both The Haitian and Mexican revolutions was independence. In both places there was slavery and an unequal social system. Many groups of people were treated unfairly.…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How Did The Creoles Fight

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Although the Creoles made up only 23% of the population, they were the ones who lead the fight for Latin American independence. The Latin American revolution took place between 1810 and 1826. The Revolution was lead by the Creoles, people born in America, but of pure Spanish blood. The Creoles led the fight for independence because they wanted more power and to break free of Spain’s economic control all while maintaining their social dominance over the lower classes. The Creoles wanted to maintain their social status over the lower classes despite the social pressure.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Chapter 2, there is a man name Philipeau and he is writting a letter to Madame de Mauger. Philipeau is a slave on Madame de Mauger 's sugar manor in Saint Dominque, Haiti. Be that as it may, he 's not a typical slave on the manor, he is a commander/slave driver, which is a spot of higher power on the estate, but he is still a slave. chapter 2 is called Fermentation since it is about the occasions that hinted at section 6 to reality, which is called resistance. Development allows you to think then sit and the more it sits, the more grounded it gets.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Old Calabar Massacre

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages

    During the slave trade massacre of 1767, two princes with the name of Little Ephraim Robin John and Ancona Robin John were captured by English slavers in Old Calabar, Africa’s slave port. As a result, the Robin Johns’ story was written by them with firsthand experience of the Atlantic slave trade, which details the role of enslaved Africans, history of determined slaves that seek freedom, and the early British anti-slave movement. Thus, this contributed to the reasons why Robin Johns’ are products of the Atlantic world history and are understood as Atlantic creoles. In Chapter 1 & 2, it describes the Old Calabar massacre which resulted in the disappearance of the two princes.…

    • 1180 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Olaudah Equiano Thesis

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Olaudah Equiano, a victim to the malicious slave trade, gives vivid detail and insight into the world of slavery from a slave’s point of view. The article studied was written by Equiano himself, an Ibo prince who was seized from his homeland of Africa and thrust into a cruel life of bondage at the age of only eleven. Equiano writes of the hardship of his voyage overseas in the late years of the seventeenth century. Part of his story is shared in this article, the story of an African male going from slavery to freedom. He records and shares his story in 1789 as he worked to further the Church of England after purchasing his freedom from a Quaker merchant.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Haitian Revolution DBQ

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Document 3 is an image of the Haitian Revolution from the French perspective. It clearly makes the Haitians out to be irrational and radical. This is a good representation of how the French government was reacting, because they wanted to control the Haitians during the Revolution. The French didn’t seem to care that the Haitians were being used as slaves in inhuman conditions. Another place this ignorance is present is in John Adams’ letter to James Sullivan.…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Frederick Douglass was the minister resident and general American consul to Haiti; while defending himself was a primary priority for Douglass, he also seemed much invested in constructing a particular image of Haiti as well to his audience. Frederick Douglass constructed an image of Haiti that is conflicting and variant at best in his document “Life and times”. These images can be deducted based on his personification of Haiti, the imagery that he invokes, and the diction he uses throughout certain passages. While mentioning Haiti in “Life and Times”, Frederick Douglass uses a feminine pronoun at various times of the document; By doing this, he personifies Haiti as Female. For example, he refers to Haiti’s government by saying her government.…

    • 914 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Creole's Fight

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Creole’s Fight Pain, deprivation, hunger, inequality, and poverty describes the conditions that the lowerclassmen of the Spanish-controlled land in the Americas faced in the Colonial Era of the late 1700s and early 1800s. At the top of the social tower sat the Peninsulares in luxury. Born in Spain, these pure-blood Europeans worked high-ranking jobs in the church, military, and government, yet they only took up 1% of the population. Beneath them were the Creoles, people with pure European blood, but they were born in the Americas. The Creoles, quite wealthy, owned land, but they held very few governmental jobs even though they took up nearly a quarter of the population.…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Haiti Health Care Essay

    • 2468 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The French established their presence in the 17th century. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French and the western half of the island later became known as Haiti. The French were able to run sugar-related industries becoming one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only due to the importation of slaves and environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti’s slaves revolted declaring their independence in 1804” (CIA, 2016). From the start Haiti’s success depended on the slaves that were brought into the county for their labor.…

    • 2468 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Olaudah Equiano

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the first autobiography written by a former slave, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African,” Olaudah Equiano examines the beginning of his life before, during, and after his enslavement. Published in 1789, the narrative serves as an explicit examination of 18th century slave trade from Equiano’s point of view, detailing his experiences. Born in Eboe in a farming village in what is now Nigeria, Equiano recounts his peaceful and quiet life in Africa, although Equiano witnessed the kidnapping of his people by Africans and foreigners from a young age. Equiano’s recount begins at the age of eleven, when he and his sister are kidnapped into slavery and ends with his life in England after his enslavement. His narrative argues against the institution of slavery, specifically the cruelty of the system, and for glorious freedom of humans through the…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During this era, most whites owned slaves in fact on some plantations, slaves outnumbered the white owners. Before discussing the relationship between the American Revolution and black freedom, we must internalize the conditions slaves live in and why would slaves fight for freedom with possibly the ultimate sacrifice death. According to the authors of the Declaration of Independence, living under the British rule was like being a slave. However, these rights did not include enslaved Africans.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the eyes of the masters, the Haitian Revolution will harm the wealthy because the slave labor is the reason for their wealth. Their dependence on slaves to labor in the fields, build ships, and perform a horde of other subsidized labors is absolute. France uses the United States refusal to abandon its stance on slavery to do the same with its…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays