The Haiti Slave Revolt
In 1791, in the French colony of St. Domingue, there were 68,000 French and free citizens, and 500,000 slaves, most of which were from Africa. St. Domingue was the richest of all of the colonies in the Caribbean; it had the most slaves and the most sugar plantations.
From 1751-1757 slaves revolted in St. Domingue. Their leader was a man named Francois Mackandal. He was from a rich family in Africa and was well educated - - the French did not know this because they did not believe Africans could be so smart. However, Mackandal noticed that a poison plant that grew in Africa… just so happened to grow in Haiti. He escaped from his plantation and brought several others with him. For six years he and his followers would poison water supplies on sugar plantations. This would kill the plantation owners and their animals, but would not hurt the slaves, they had a separate water supply from the owners and animals. Mackandal and his followers killed 6,000 French. Mackandal was eventually caught and burnt to death…
After Mackandal, sugar plantation owners on St. Domingue knew that slaves were unhappy, and made their lives even worse……….
By 1791 the slaves knew from runaway slaves that they outnumbered the French - - AND since they outnumbered the French by so much, the older slaves had kept and taught African customs and culture, as well as ideas of freedom…The slaves began a large revolt - - - -
In 1791, starting with free Africans..and later slaves, there was a massive revolt against the French. The free Africans and the slaves killed many of the French. A man named Toussaint L’Overture, a 50 year old slave took control of the island. He was smart, and all of the slaves and free Africans liked him.
He did a good job ruling what is now called Haiti until 1801. He had to fight off the French, as well as the Spanish and British that wanted the fertile sugar cane soil. When he retired from “public duty” in 1801, the French captured him and brought him back to France where he quickly died in prison.
After L’Overture died, the French sent 20,000 troops from France to take back control. However, two things happened, the Haitians found a new leader, and the French could not handle the climate…
The new leader’s name was Jean Jacques Dessalines. He fought the French soldiers only when he wanted to. He knew that the climate would take its toll… and it did. By 1803 the French had completely left, most of them were dead.
Haiti was the first and only country that was begun by slaves …
1.)Why do you think that Haiti was the only place in the Western Hemisphere with a successful slave revolt?
2.) Mackandal was captured and killed by the French… do you think that he helped the slaves, or contributed to them gaining freedom much later? Explain.
3.) Explain the role of the climate in the Haiti Slave Revolt. How did Jean Jacques Dessalines use it to his advantage?
4.) In a paragraph find one difference and one similarity between the Haitian and American Independence.