Haitian Revolution in 1791-1804 Analysis

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Overview
Literature review
Discussion
Analysis
Conclusion
Works Cited
Bibliography

Introduction

On January 1, 1804, Haiti declared independence, becoming the second independent nation in the West and the first free black republic in the world. This triumph followed the long and violent Haitian slave revolution in which Haiti, specifically the island of Saint Dominique, suffered from. After the enlightenment, the Rights of Man act provided equality among all Frenchmen, including blacks and mulattos. In reply, the Haitian slaves originally from Africa revolted. During the rebellion, “the Haitian slaves burned every plantation throughout the fertile regions of Haiti and executed all Frenchmen they could find” (Hooker, par 2). A vast amount of people living in Saint Dominique fled the island in fear of their lives. On the other hand, this revolution freed the African people of Saint Dominique from the inexcusable harsh treatments that they had to tolerate. This revolt has been considered both the best thing that Haiti had ever experienced and also the most disastrous. The Haitian slave revolution was justified because of the harsh working conditions within the plantations, the callous living conditions, and the unbelievable successes. The working conditions on the plantations within Saint Dominique provided reasoning for the slaves to revolt. During the rebellion, the plantations were the main workplace for the slaves. The sugar and coffee plantations provided France with their most rich overseas possession. The development of plantation agriculture profoundly affected the island’s ecology. African slaves toiled ceaselessly to clear forests for sugar fields, and massive erosion ensued, particularly on the steep marginal slopes that had been allocated to slaves for their subsistence crops. (Thomas, pp. 144-46)

Slavery is a social institution based upon dominance and submission. Slavery involves a person owning another person and using the latter for labor. Persons who are the property of others are also slaves. Slavery is a cruel and oppressive system in which people are held against their will either by warfare, purchase, or birth (Aufhauser 811). Slavery has been outlawed in almost every country. But it is still practiced today. Capitalism which is a system based upon exploitation has been the primary cause of slavery. It is an inhuman system organized around profit. It is a system of inequality, forced labor, slavery, and servitude. The genesis of capitalism was based upon the increased influence of the ruling classes, the amassing of wealth, the development of the European states, and the underdevelopment of their colonies. This naturally led to a profit-seeking system that would lead to exploitation, slavery, and servitude. African slaves were first shipped to Portugal by Henry the navigator (Aufhauser, p. 811).

Overview

The start of the European colonial age also marked the destruction of the Native American cultures. European states began seizing, plundering, and decimating the Native American cultures and their resources. The destruction of the Native American populations fueled the demand for slaves that built the European economies, industrial revolution and transformed the United States from an agricultural state into an industrialized state in the nineteenth century. The glorious progress and impressive economic standards of the United States and Europe have been built upon the backs of millions of slaves. The United States had an agrarian-based economy before and after its war of independence. Since the British colonists did not find any gold, they harvested crops. They required African slaves for agriculture. As the colonists created plantations, they required labor for their economic expansion and profit. Racist ideologies were invented to justify the subjugation of the slaves (Blackburn, p. 56). African slaves who had been beaten, starved, and transported in subhuman conditions were now sold to white owners who grew rich and powerful. African slaves were subjected to the most vicious system that continues to dominate the United States. According to Walter Prytulak, all political systems are capitalist in nature and derive their power from slavery. The difference is that in some countries, the state owns the slaves, while in others, the private corporations own the slaves. Each state has injustice, inequality, crime, and corruption. To survive in these states, one has to become a slave to the system. Prytulak argues that “American capitalism” is unique because slavery is “appreciated” and that its glitter is so bedazzling that it is impossible to believe that there is any lack of freedom. Capitalism gives the slave a human face by giving him dignity and making him believe that if he works hard, he will be valued as an asset. (Collins, pp. 11-32)

Literature review

Slavery has never been abolished, but instead, it has become more refined in a capitalist society. Capitalist societies use legal loopholes to make sure that the system of slavery is not removed and the Lady of Justice is not offended or overlooked. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the subsequent transformation of China’s communist-based economy into a capitalist-based economy, there was much talk of new world order. Globalization was hailed as the new solution for the world’s problems. Globalization was considered as the springboard for capitalism to launch its revolution to unknown frontiers. The technological revolution has simply aided capitalism in making slavery a global phenomenon. Capitalism has bypassed national sovereignty and transformed the world into one large market. It has made capitalism more powerful by enhancing its capacity for production and attracted more consumers. (Thomas, pp. 144-146) Capitalism has evolved from an economic viewpoint to being an entire mode of life (Rajaee, p. 32). The brutal exploitation of African slaves bred resistance. The Haitian slave revolt is an example of a successful anti-capitalist struggle. Under French rule, Haiti had become a rich colony. It had sugar and coffee plantations with African slave labor. The upper-class whites enjoyed a luxurious life while the black slaves had to endure poor living conditions. Many died because of malnutrition and abuse. They had no rights and could be beaten or killed by their owners (Hogg, p. 29). France was weakened after the revolution of 1789. Taking advantage of the internal situation, Haitian freedom fighters rose against their oppressors, wiping them out and destroying the plantations. The uprising had become a full-scale civil war. France tried to reach an accommodation with the slaves by abolishing slavery. Fighting, however, continued, and European powers also intervened in the hopes of seizing the colony. François Dominique Toussaint Louverture, a former slave, took part in the slave revolt. He was initially part of the Spanish army, but when France abolished slavery, he joined forces with them and defeated the Spanish. Toussaint Louverture unified Haiti by defeating his internal rivals. He never declared independence, but he demanded that both whites and blacks continue to produce their crops without slavery. By 1804 Haiti had become an independent state by defeating all the French armies and massacring the white inhabitants (Hogg, p. 33). The heroic Haitian struggle for independence was spearheaded by slaves. It had far-reaching effects on the United States and its neighbors. The successful revolution by Toussaint and the Haitians was a source of pride for many African slaves. Many uprisings were launched in the United States. Southern American owners were now even more reluctant to free their slaves and increased their oppression of the slaves. Simon Bolivar made slavery one of his objectives after Haiti supported him in his independence war against the Spanish. Slavery was a system used to increase profits and reinforce capitalism. It was also used to suppress blacks and subjugate those (Boney, p. 449).

Discussion

The profits from slave trading and from tobacco, sugar, and coffee plantations helped develop West Europe’s economies, banking industry, insurance, shipbuilding, iron and other industries. Seaports like Bristol, Liverpool, and Seville became the first industrial powerhouses because of the arrival of slaves. In England, the county of Lancashire became the first major manufacturing town. The county’s growth depended upon the growth of Liverpool through slave trading (Thomas, p. 420). The dominance of West Europe during the colonial age was due to its colonies in the New World, abundant coal, and access to West Africa. African slaves were working in the New World, and the profits derived from those products fueled the drive for European domination of Asia. The markets created by the African slave trade and the plantation economies for British manufactured goods as diverse as iron, textiles, glass, and china were important stimuli for the growth of industrial capitalism in Britain (Post, p.290). While slavery effectively transformed Europe and the United States into major economic and military powers, they devastated Africa. Slavery had a detrimental effect on the economy of Africa. Slavery also created insecurity and a massive depopulation of the continent (Thomas 600). The United States established the most powerful form of capitalism by wiping out the indigenous people and using the labor of millions of African slaves. Cotton, which was a major export of the United States, was driven by slaves living in plantations in the American South (Collins, p. 59). The huge number of slaves that reached America is staggering. There were 33,000 slaves in 1700, and they reached a number of six million by the 1850s. At least 500,000 Africans died during the passage to the New World. This huge and despicable trade remains one of the greatest tragedies of the world. According to Lewis Gray: ‘The plantation was a capitalistic type of agricultural organization in which a considerable number of unfree laborers were employed under unified direction and control in the production of a staple crop.’ The planters were socially committed people, individually driven, and successfully utilized the slaves for the accumulation of profits. The “plantations on Haiti [offered] some of the [cruelest] conditions that African-American slaves ever had to suffer” (Hooker, par 1) because the sugar and coffee crops required vast amounts of labor done by slaves. As a result, the slaves largely outnumbered the French. “They worked from sun up to sun down in the difficult climate of Saint-Domingue” (Corbett, par 20). Consequently, the slaves had a high mortality rate from overworking. In fact, these conditions were so atrocious that the African slaves only lasted about ten years on the plantations. The burning of the plantations was, in a way, just a symbol of the end of slavery on the plantations in Haiti. The long working hours and high death rate that the slaves endured justifies the Haitian Slave Revolution.

The “brutal and dehumanizing” (Thomson, par 3) conditions that the slaves of Haiti experienced were enough to provide reasoning and validity for the mayhem in the revolution. The slave owners feared the slaves because the “slaves outnumbered slaveholders by fifteen to one” (Thomson, par 4). The slave owners took unspeakably cruel and punishing conditions to keep the slaves confined and to deter any thoughts of rebellion. “Malnutrition and starvation also were common because plantation owners failed to plan adequately for food shortages, drought, and natural disasters, and slaves were allowed scarce time to tend their own crops. The slaves have also had “virtually no medical care, were not allowed to learn to read or write, and in general, were treated much worse than the work animals on the plantation. The slaves in the United States were often threatened to be sold to Saint-Dominique. The American slaves with brutal conditions were very reluctant to work in Saint Dominique because of the much more cruel conditions. The cruel and harsh conditions were mainly caused because “the French slave owners found it much easier to replace slaves by purchasing new ones than in worrying much to preserve the lives of existing slaves. This animal-like treatment that the slaves encountered fuelled the slaves for the revolt. The Haitian Slave Revolt is justified because of the inexcusable treatment they were faced with. (Prytulak, pp. 84-89)

Analysis

As humanity evolved, they began to form groups and classes. Eventually, some groups acquired power, wealth, and military might. They used their superior technology and military might subjugate other people. Slavery, dictatorship, class exploitation, and war were all products of this primitive capitalism. History also records that the oppressed people resisted this primitive form of oppression. Capitalism evolved into a more sophisticated one about five hundred years ago. Capitalism is the most direct form of exploitation and slavery. It is based upon profits and exploitation. Modern racism also developed alongside capitalism. This racism was used against slaves from Africa as well as other people. Capitalism has been responsible for much social degeneration and crisis in the world. It has deluded the world into believing that it is the solution for the world’s problems. It has been responsible for mass starvation, disease, warfare, racism, nationalism, and fascism. Communism, on the other hand, is a system that seeks not to reform capitalism but to destroy this system of oppression and classes. It strives for the destruction of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie and replaces it with a society dominated by the worker’s class. Communism is based upon creating an economy and educational system which is egalitarian in nature (Pipes, p. 67). The USSR was a primary example of a communist state where the workers had more political power than any other nation. There was universal education and health for everyone. The economy and society were organized alongside egalitarian principles (Pipes, p. 67). However, Communism was also responsible for mass starvation, gulags, forced industrialization, and collective agricultural policies that killed millions of people. It is estimated that millions of people were killed by Stalin’s forced industrialization and collectivization program. Under communism, China mass murdered millions of its people. Famine and social chaos caused mass murders in China during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge destroyed every pillar of society and forced everyone to work in agriculture. It is estimated that millions of people died during the Khmer Rouge’s control of Cambodia. Eventually, while the communist elite preached the equality of workers inside their regimes, they lived a life of luxury by using goods from the West. The average person was fed on the slogans of Karl Marx, Lenin, and Stalin that the West is the source of all evil and that the USSR is the primary example of a worker’s paradise. In the end, however, this system was bound to collapse due to the inherent contradictions inside it. By the 1990s, industrial production was lagging behind the West, and there were grain shortages. The political repression and dictatorship created by the Soviets worsened the conditions of the workers. It was a new form of slavery. The ideals of Karl Marx and Lenin were never achieved and implemented. The communist elite, like their capitalist counterparts in the West, began to exploit the workers. The achievements following the Haitian Slave Revolt were so outstanding that they could justify the rebellion. Prior to the revolt, the slaves could be considered the lowest order of society. Within fifteen years following the revolt, the slaves were able to better transform the social, political, and economic life of the colony. Socially, the slaves became free and independent citizens. They also declared equality between all men regardless of race. Politically, the former slaves created a second American state which was the first independent non-European state to be carved out of the European universal empires. The slaves also improved their economy by transforming their conventional tropical plantation agriculture, especially in the north, from a structure dominated by large estates into a society of small-scale, marginal self-sufficient producers. They also reoriented away from export dependency toward an internal marketing system supplemented by a minor export sector. Haiti’s improved colony following the Haitian Slave Revolt illustrates the true success of the revolution. (Rajaee, pp. 52-59)

Conclusion

The Haitian Slave Revolt was a major accomplishment for people of African-American descent. The Haitian revolution was justified because of the iniquitous workplace, the dehumanizing conditions, and the astonishing outcomes. The ultimate solution to end slavery is a middle way between Capitalism and Communism. At the same time, the evils of Communism must not be forgotten. A society must be created where there is a balance between individual rights and community rights. (Wallerstein, pp. 117-128) A society must be created where the right to undertake private enterprise is respected yet also helps protect the individual from the evils of capitalism. A mixed economy ensures the freedom of people to travel, buy, organize, communicate and sell freely. The state subsidizes or controls strategic assets like electricity, water, schools, banks, etc. A mixed economy is the best solution to the current evils of Capitalism. It also would act as a shield to prevent the evils of Communism from happening again. Mixed economies are economic systems that mix elements of the free market and planned economies. A mixed economy keeps loss and gain to a minimum. This is because the economy changes. The economic success of the community also results in raising the standards of living of the citizens. Mixed economies also have types of welfare systems to help the poor people in bearing health and education costs. It also provides support to unemployed people. This also helps doctors and health professionals gain training before seeking employment. The government also has a major role in the corporate sector. This can increase production and efficiency. The result of this revolution still has its mark in the present day, which shows its true success. This revolution fueled by the “passions of men and women slaves has brought equality and power to the modern-day African society. Despite the tragedies and violent actions taken by the slaves, the Haitian Revolt is a well-earned accomplishment for not only the slaves but for the nation for creating equality. The Haitian Revolt is considered a remarkable feat and is well justified. (Blackburn, pp. 38-44)

Works Cited

Aufhauser, R. Keith. Slavery and Scientific Management. US: Journal of Economic History, 1973.

Blackburn, Robin. The Making of New World Slavery: From the Baroque to the Modern,. London: Verso, 1997.

Hogg, Peter C. African Slave Trade and Its Suppression. US: Routledge, 2006.

Thomas, Hugh. The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440 – 1870 . US: Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Wack, Henry Wellington. The Story of the Congo Free State: Social, Political, and Economic Aspects. US: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1950.

Collins, Winfield Hazlitt. The Domestic Slave Trade of the Southern States . US: Broadway publishing, 1999

Prytulak, Walter. Working for Living: Slavery Masquerading As Freedom And Democracy. authorhouse, 2005.

Rajaee, Farhang. Globalization on Trial: The Human Condition and the Information Civilization. IDRC, 2000.

F.M Boney, “Nathaniel Francis Representative Antebellum Southerner.” American Philosophical 118(1974): 449.

CHARLES POST, “Plantation Slavery and Economic.” Journal of Agrarian Change 3(2003): 290.

Gray, Lewis Cecil. History of Agriculture in the Southern United States to 1860. Washington DC: The Carnegie Institution, 1933

Pipes, Richard. Communism: A History. US: Random House Publishing, 2003.

Bibliography

Anderson, Perry, 1974. Lineages of the Absolutist State. London: New Left Books. Anderson, Ralph V. and Robert E. Gallman, 1977. ‘Slaves as Fixed-Capital: Slave Labor and Southern Economic Development’. Journal of American History, 64 (1): 24–46.

Ashworth, John, 1995. Slavery, Capitalism, and Politics in the Antebellum Republic. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Berlin, Ira and Philip D. Morgan, 1993. ‘Labor and the Shaping of Slave Life in the Americas’. In Cultivation and Culture: Labor and the Shaping of Slave Life in the Americas, eds I. Berlin and P.D. Morgan, 1–45. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia.

Blackburn, Robin, 1997. The Making of New World Slavery: From the Baroque to the Modern, 1492–1800. London: Verso.

Botwinick, Howard I., 1993. Persistent Inequalities: Wage Disparity under Capitalist Competition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Braverman, Harry, 1974. Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century. New York: Monthly Review Press

Wade, Richard C., 1964. Slavery in the Cities: The South 1820–1860. New York: Oxford University Press.

Wallenstein, Peter, 1985. ‘More Unequally Taxed than any People in the Civilized World: The Origins of Georgia’s Ad Valorem Tax System’. Georgia Historical Quarterly, 64 (4): 459–87.

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