The Haitian Revolution: A Short History

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“The Haitian Revolution: A Short History” seeks to provide a concise account of the very long and complex Haitian Revolution, which led to the creation of the republic of Haiti out of the ashes of the French colony of Saint-Domingue.

The Haitian Revolution was the only successful slave revolution in the history of the Americas. It led to the destruction of the most productive French colony in the New World, and the establishment of the second independent republic in the hemisphere.

On the eve of the Haitian Revolution, what is now Haiti was known as Saint-Domingue, a French Caribbean plantation colony that was the world’s largest producer of sugar and coffee. Much of Saint-Domingue’s wealth went into the pockets of French metropolitan merchants, and colonial planters.

The labor on the plantations, however, was done by thousands of enslaved people of African descent. The slaves made up the vast majority of the colony’s population, and usually led short and miserable lives. Death rates among the enslaved workers were high, so thousands of additional Africans had to be brought to the colony every year just to maintain the workforce.

Even though they did all of the work, slaves didn’t benefit at all from the slavery system. They even produced most of the food they at themselves, on provision grounds. But before the Haitian Revolution, the authorities were able to maintain control over the enslaved majority. Different elements in society worked together to keep order- rich white planters, poor whites, free mixed-race people of color, and the relatively privileged slaves who held elite or managerial positions.

When the French Revolution began in 1789, however, the coalition that held the status quo in place fell apart. The free population split into factions that fought against each other- poor whites and rich whites, those who favored greater autonomy for Saint-Domingue against those who preferred metropolitan rule, and free people of color against whites.

Finally, in August 1791, the elite slaves from several plantations organized a massive slave revolt on the northern plain. Within weeks, most of the region’s sugar plantations had been destroyed, and whites had been killed or fled to the port of Le Cap . Colonial authorities eventually mounted a counter-offensive against the rebels, but were never able to defeat and re-enslave them. The slaves of Saint-Domingue had taken their freedom by force.

The Haitian Revolution continued for almost 15 years. It was a very complex process, involving many different individuals, factions, and political twists and turns. The early rebel leader Boukman was killed in battle soon after the revolt began, only to be replaced by Biassou and Jean-Francois.

The two latter men allied themselves with Spain and Britain when Revolutionary France went to war with much of Europe. But one of their subordinates, Toussaint Louverture, defected to the French Republic when France abolished slavery in its empire. Louverture went on to defeat France’s enemies in Saint-Domingue, conquer the entire island, and appoint himself Governor-for-Life.

Meanwhile Napoleon Bonaparte, the new dictator of France, decided to depose Louverture and the ex-slave black military elite of the colony. He sent an army under his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc to carry out this mission in 1802. Louverture, along with his lieutenants Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe, fought against the French at first, only to surrender after a few months.

Louverture was arrested and deported to France, where he died. Dessalines and Christophe fought for the French against the black rebels who continued to resist Leclerc.