The Seven Stages of the Haitian Revolution
According to Crane Brinton's Anatomy of Revolution published in 1938
1. The Normal Stage (1789-1791)
Before the revolution has started, three thousand to four thousand Haitians were trained for twelve years to learn military techniques and skills to fight the French, British and Spanish army; many other Haitians were assigned to do slave work and take care of the plantations in Coffee farms. During 1789, sugar and grease value rose and France slowly arose and became the ‘Sugar Capital’ of the world; soon after, more and more enslaved Haitians were put into Coffee farms to cut and extract sugar from the coffee farm because the sugars are extracted from these farms. However, there are lethal and dangerous ants in the plants which are cause infections and may lead to death without proper care, as a result some slaves refused to work which made the planters and the whites come up with the rule to shoot them immediately if they ever refuse to work and to not let any slave work more than three years to ensure their healthiness.
They massively tortured the blacks, using gruesome torturing methods such as chopping off legs and arms, amputation, putting hot powder on wounds and so much more as punishments for running away. Over the years, many more mix raced children were born, one of which a child name Toussaint Louverture was born as a black. He was on very good terms with managers and masters of the plantation and he was free from doing slavery work. As he grew up, he had contacts with the United States and he was great at managing affairs. Although he was given freedom from slavery, he was not equal. He had to show respect to the whites he meets and call them using honorifics such as mister and ma’am, moreover he had to stand up when whites came along.
They massively tortured the blacks, using gruesome torturing methods such as chopping off legs and arms, amputation, putting hot powder on wounds and so much more as punishments for running away. Over the years, many more mix raced children were born, one of which a child name Toussaint Louverture was born as a black. He was on very good terms with managers and masters of the plantation and he was free from doing slavery work. As he grew up, he had contacts with the United States and he was great at managing affairs. Although he was given freedom from slavery, he was not equal. He had to show respect to the whites he meets and call them using honorifics such as mister and ma’am, moreover he had to stand up when whites came along.
2. Criticism of Existing Regime (Early 1791- Mid 1791)
In Paris, intellectuals from the national assembly have taken notice to the unfair and unequal rights and treatments that mix raced and Black people were receiving from the Whites of Saint Domingue, to solve that issue they had issued a landmark decree for equal rights for mix raced children born of free parents, they tried to establish equal rights for them. However, white people from Saint Domingue refused to obey to the decree and the rights established, which has caused the Blacks and the mix-raced raise up against them in hope to gain equality and liberty and to stop slavery work and tortures.
3. Widespread Dissatisfactory (Late 1791)
As a result of their disobedience, the Blacks has decided to revolt them, the had set up secret and hidden meeting amongst themselves to discuss, figure out strategies and wait for the right time to revolt the Whites.Slaves of different and neighboring plantations whom were kidnapped from different parts of Africa joined up and reinforced; they all had one common tradition, which was to use voodoo to diminish the bad, hence, the slaves joined up secretly on the night of August 22nd, 1791 to perform a voodoo ceremony before their revolt; they have all swore to secrecy and decided to attain freedom from the slavery and labor they received and revenge the Whites.
4. Transfer of Power (1791-1792)
During the night of August 22nd, 1791, 1000 enslaved Africans led by Toussaint Louverture attacked their masters, releasing all their hatred towards them, using the same amount of violence the Whites had asserted into them, stabbing them non-stop during their sleep despite them being dead already and brutally killing Whites from the plantations one by one. More and more slaves joined and the amount of rebels and fight slaves has grew from 1000 to 20,000 over night. They burned the White’s fuel and finery to destroy the system that caused them to be enslaved. Over a period of three days, the most profitable plantations in the United States of America had already become waste, 184 sugar plantations were burnt within 1000 Coffee farms, causing Saint Domingue’s political system and structure to completely collapse. Horrified by their insanity and mass violence, the Whites and mix-raced people had fled to the capital to look for protection due to the eruption of their slaves and corruption of their economy source and plantations.
5. Civil War (1792)
Soon after, the Whites had launched and sent their own defensive army to fight against the Blacks which at the end, the army caught their voodoo priest and decapitated him and burnt the body. However, the prolonged revolution and the lack of military techniques, skills and knowledge caused them to lose hope as the New French Government in Paris sent ten thousand more miltary reinforcements to help the White colonist reestablish the White rule causing more than a thousand black slaves to surrender.
However, Toussaint Louverture was requested to write a settle offer to set two hundred slave leaders to have better working condition and treatment when they go back to the plantations and also wanted the Whites to be the lookout so that the slaves won’t be further assaulted, hurt or tortured by any of the planters or farmers, he tried to negotiate with them but they did not agree and he got rejected. The French and the Whites, whom supports the old regime were strongly opposing of Toussaint Louverture’s proposal of the rather new regime.
However, Toussaint Louverture was requested to write a settle offer to set two hundred slave leaders to have better working condition and treatment when they go back to the plantations and also wanted the Whites to be the lookout so that the slaves won’t be further assaulted, hurt or tortured by any of the planters or farmers, he tried to negotiate with them but they did not agree and he got rejected. The French and the Whites, whom supports the old regime were strongly opposing of Toussaint Louverture’s proposal of the rather new regime.
6. Reign in Terror (1793-1803)
Toussaint Louverture wrote an open letter to the Island of disenfranchised, stating his commitment to the emancipation, how he wants liberty and equality, and he will bring freedom to them. His proclamation was not only addressed to the island of disenfranchised, specifically focused on Spain. The Spain agreed to help and provided weapons, guns to the slave army. With the help gained from Spain, Toussaint Louverture was able to capture three cities within eight months. Explosions happen throughout the countries and causes chaos, the invasion caused cities to burn down in flames and white colonists fought each other. Soon after, Spain and Great Britain takes advantage of the revolution and launches military campaigns to capture the lucrative colony. Toussaint Louverture joined forces with Spain to defeat the French’s proposal to re-establish slavery. More and more cities were burned to ashes. The French was slowly retreating, the slaves of the North side of Saint Domingue had regained freedom and free of slavery.
The French officially abolishes slavery in its country and Toussaint Louverture joins forces with French again to fight for equal rights for the blacks. In 1795, Spain and Great Britain signed the documents to recognize Saint Domingue as a part of French. Soon after, Toussaint Louverture rose to power and became the commander-in-chief of the army in 1796. However, this was not the end of the revolution, in between 1796-1800, Napoleon Bonaparte asserted pressure to France and tried to re-establish slavery, but Toussaint Louverture fought over them and won the political rivals and won over Napoleon, making him gain authority again. In 1801, Toussaint Louverture proclaims the new constitution to make his point clear that he wants slavery to forever be abolished, but President Thomas Jefferson took this as a threat and apposed of his informal declaration of independence. Napoleon attacks Saint Domingue with 20,000 European military members and took Toussaint Louverture as hostage and Napoleon announces hat slavery will be re-established.
However, although it was announced, mass dissatisfactory arose and the blacks went against the army, which to their surprise caused 50,000 military member’s death and France had admitted defeat and has evacuated their army.
The French officially abolishes slavery in its country and Toussaint Louverture joins forces with French again to fight for equal rights for the blacks. In 1795, Spain and Great Britain signed the documents to recognize Saint Domingue as a part of French. Soon after, Toussaint Louverture rose to power and became the commander-in-chief of the army in 1796. However, this was not the end of the revolution, in between 1796-1800, Napoleon Bonaparte asserted pressure to France and tried to re-establish slavery, but Toussaint Louverture fought over them and won the political rivals and won over Napoleon, making him gain authority again. In 1801, Toussaint Louverture proclaims the new constitution to make his point clear that he wants slavery to forever be abolished, but President Thomas Jefferson took this as a threat and apposed of his informal declaration of independence. Napoleon attacks Saint Domingue with 20,000 European military members and took Toussaint Louverture as hostage and Napoleon announces hat slavery will be re-established.
However, although it was announced, mass dissatisfactory arose and the blacks went against the army, which to their surprise caused 50,000 military member’s death and France had admitted defeat and has evacuated their army.
7. Thermidorian Reaction (1804)
In 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines signs the Saint Domingue’s declaration of independence to approve of Haiti’s Independence making Haiti the world’s first republic of the Black which Saint Domnigue is approved to be abolished forever and that Haiti, Saint Domingue’s original Arawak name has been restored.