Uprising in Haiti

The 1791 Slave Rebellion that Led to Independence in 1804

Sep 21, 2009

The 1791 Slave Revolt of the French colony of Haiti is regarded as the first successful rebellion of the Latin American colonies against European rule.

Saint Domingue, as the colony of Haiti was known at the time, was France’s most thriving and economically successful colony in the Western Hemisphere. Comprised of large plantations, Saint Domingue was a leading exporter of sugar, cotton and coffee.

As was the case with American plantations, the crops increased and grew thanks to the blood and sweat of African slaves. By the late 1700s, over 500,000 of the 560,000 inhabitants of Saint Domingue were slaves or former slaves of African origin. Due in part to the great numbers that needed controlling, French land owners regularly went to atrocious and vile extremes to keep the slave majority in check.

Caste System in Colonial Haiti

The society of French colonial Saint Domingue was greatly divided by issues of race (skin tone, in particular), class and gender. Race and class were often interwoven. The upper stratum of Haitian society was held by the French (white) colonists, followed by mulattoes and lastly, the African-born slave. This was the ruling caste system at the time preceding the revolt.

Significance of the Affranchis

The affranchis – free people of color - were in essence the middle class of the time. They were mostly mulattoes (offspring of one white parent and one black parent), and often were even slave owners themselves. Most of the affranchis were literate and sought to achieve equality with the French regarding economic and social matters. Though mostly light-skinned, they were still discriminated against.

Factors of the Haitian Revolution

No one isolated thing caused the Haitian Uprising; it was an amalgamation of a number of factors. Among the precipitating issues were the wars between the European powers, a newly found sense of national identity and want for recognition, the ongoing brutal treatment of slaves, an overall frustration with racism – especially on behalf of the affranchis – and the French Revolution.

Another relevant factor and one which many Haitians regard as the initial manifestation of the Slave Revolt was an increase in the number of Maroons (runaway slaves) deeply entrenched in the mountainous region of Haiti who carried out guerrilla-style attacks on surrounding plantations.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Among the most significant aspects of the French Revolution in relation to the Slave Revolt was the Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen (Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen). The document approved by the National Assembly of France in August of 1789, gave inspiration to the free men of color of Saint Domingue to increasingly demand their rights as citizens with all the protection such status affords.

Vincent Ogé: 1790

Drawing motivation from the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a mulatto named Vincent Ogé petitioned the revolutionary government of France for the rights of Haitians. The petition was granted, but not well received by Haitian aristocrats. In October 1790, Ogé, along with Jean Baptiste Chavannes, led an unsuccessful uprising which ended with Ogé’s capture, torture and public death just a few months later.

Slave Uprising August 21, 1791

The spark that ultimately set off the successful revolt came in the form of a prophecy during a voodoo ceremony at Bois Caïman. Voodoo houngan (priest) and leader among the Maroon, Dutty Boukman held a service where a woman prophesied who the leaders of the revolt would be. Within a matter of weeks, the rebels seized control of a large portion of the colony.

François Toussaint L'ouverture: Great Slave Commander

François-Dominique Toussaint L'ouverture, a former slave, initially joined the rebellion in the capacity of a medic – using herbal and African healing - but it wasn’t long before he rose to be one of the most effective rebel generals of the revolt.

Toussaint L’ouverture was successful in leading his forces against the English and Spanish (both of whom invaded Saint Domingue), before his greater success of leading the rebellion that ultimately abolished slavery and gave Haitians their independence.

Lured to a meeting with the French under the guise of Napoleon granting Haiti independence and negotiating the terms of peace in May of 1802, Toussaint L’ouverture was arrested and sent to France to be imprisoned at Fort-de-Joux in the Jura mountains of France. Due to cold, starvation and neglect, Toussaint L’ouverture died in the French prison in 1803.

The Fight for Independence didn’t Die with Toussaint L’ouverture

One of François Toussaint L'ouverture’s closest allies who ultimately wound up fighting for the French during the rebellion was Jean-Jacques Dessalines. A few months following Toussaint L’ouverture’s death, Dessalines switched sides again. This time, Dessalines decidedly defeated the French colonial army with the aid of an epidemic of yellow fever which killed thousands of French soldiers. On January 1, 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Saint Domingue independent. Along with declaring the colony's independence, he renamed the island after its original native name.

Though slave rebellions have been a part of any society that has practiced ownership of other people, the Haitian Slave Revolt stands as the only successful slave insurgency.

The copyright of the article Uprising in Haiti in Latin American War/Revolution is owned by Elvira Nieto. Permission to republish Uprising in Haiti in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.