Independence of Haiti

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In 1789, France's National Constituent Assembly made the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. [1] [2] In 1791, the enslaved Africans of Saint-Domingue began the Haitian Revolution, aimed at the overthrow of the colonial reign.

Contents

History

Background

For more than one thousand years, Arawak and Taino people inhabited what was later known as Hispaniola. The name Haiti (or Hayti) comes from the indigenous Taíno language and was the native name [3] [4] given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean "land of high mountains." [5] [6] Christopher Columbus arrived on the island on December 5, 1492 and claimed it for the Spanish Empire, after which it became known as Hispaniola. Later, under French colonial rule, the Caribbean island was known as Saint-Domingue (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃.dɔ.mɛ̃ɡ] ) and was a French colony from 1659 to 1804. [7]

Early on, enslaved people on the island began resisting captivity and fighting to restore their freedom. Examples of this resistance include the uprising of Padrejean in 1676 and the uprising of François Mackandal in 1757. [8] [9]

The French Revolution began in 1789. On June 21st, 1791, King Louis XVI and his family attempted to flee Paris, but the plan failed due to a series of misadventures, delays, misinterpretations, and poor judgments. [10] Louis was officially arrested on August 13th, 1792, and sent to the Temple, an ancient fortress in Paris used as a prison. On September 21st, the National Assembly declared France to be a republic, and abolished the monarchy. Louis was stripped of all his titles and honors, and from then on was known as Citoyen Louis Capet.

1791 slave rebellion

News of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen reached Hispaniola's inhabitants and inspired them to reclaim their rights. On the night of August 14th, 1791, representatives of people enslaved on local plantations gathered in the woods near Le Cap to participate in a secret ceremony. During the ceremony, Dutty Boukman and priestess Cécile Fatiman prophesied that Georges Biassou, Jeannot, and Jean-François Papillon would lead the revolution. Months later, they killed the plantation owners who had enslaved them. [11]

Haitian Revolution

Among the many leaders of the Haitian revolution were Macaya, François Capois, Romaine-la-Prophétesse, Jean-Baptiste Belley, Magloire Ambroise, Nicolas Geffrard (general), and Étienne Élie Gerin. The battles of the revolution include:

Haitian Declaration of Independence

The Haitian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on January 1st, 1804, in the port city of Gonaïves by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, marking the end of the 13-year-long Haitian Revolution. With this declaration, Haiti became the first independent Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. [12] [13]

Jean-Jacques Dessalines became the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. He was Governor-General of Haiti from January 1st, 1804, to September 2nd, 1804, and Emperor of Haiti from September 2nd, 1804, to October 17th, 1806.

See also

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François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda, was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture first fought and allied with Spanish forces against Saint-Domingue Royalists, then joined with Republican France, becoming Governor-General-for-life of Saint-Domingue, and lastly fought against Bonaparte's republican troops. As a revolutionary leader, Louverture displayed military and political acumen that helped transform the fledgling slave rebellion into a revolutionary movement. Along with Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Louverture is now known as one of the "Fathers of Haiti".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Jacques Dessalines</span> Haitian revolutionary and first ruler (1758–1806)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Domingue</span> French colony on the isle of Hispaniola (1659–1804); present-day Haiti

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Alexandre Sabès Pétion was the first president of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818. One of Haiti's founding fathers, Pétion belonged to the revolutionary quartet that also includes Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and his later rival Henri Christophe. Regarded as an excellent artilleryman in his early adulthood, Pétion would distinguish himself as an esteemed military commander with experience leading both French and Haitian troops. The 1802 coalition formed by him and Dessalines against French forces led by Charles Leclerc would prove to be a watershed moment in the decade-long conflict, eventually culminating in the decisive Haitian victory at the Battle of Vertières in 1803.

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George Biassou was an early leader of the 1791 slave rising in Saint-Domingue that began the Haitian Revolution. With Jean-François and Jeannot, he was prophesied by the vodou priest Dutty Boukman to lead the revolution.

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The War of Knives, also known as the War of the South, was a civil war from June 1799 to July 1800 between the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, a black ex-slave who controlled the north of Saint-Domingue, and his adversary André Rigaud, a mixed-race free person of color who controlled the south. Louverture and Rigaud fought over de facto control of the French colony of Saint-Domingue during the war. Their conflict followed the withdrawal of British forces from the colony earlier during the Haitian Revolution. The war resulted in Toussaint taking control of the entirety of Saint-Domingue, and Rigaud fleeing into exile.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Domingue expedition</span> French military expedition

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haitian Declaration of Independence</span> Document declaring Haiti as an independent nation

The Haitian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on 1 January 1804 in the port city of Gonaïves by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, marking the end of 13-year long Haitian Revolution. The declaration marked Haiti becoming the first independent nation of Latin America and only the second in the Americas after the United States.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armée Indigène</span> 1791–1806 Haitian abolitionist rebels

The Indigenous Army, also known as the Army of Saint-Domingue was the name bestowed to the coalition of anti-slavery men and women who fought in the Haitian Revolution in Saint-Domingue. Encompassing both black slaves, maroons, and affranchis, the rebels were not officially titled the Armée indigène until January 1803, under the leadership of then-general Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Predated by insurrectionists such as François Mackandal, Vincent Ogé and Dutty Boukman, Toussaint Louverture, succeeded by Dessalines, led, organized, and consolidated the rebellion. The now full-fledged fighting force utilized its manpower advantage and strategic capacity to overwhelm French troops, ensuring the Haitian Revolution was the most successful of its kind.

The French revolutionary government granted citizenship and freedom to free people of color in May 1791, but white planters in Saint-Domingue refused to comply with this decision. This was the catalyst for the 1791 slave rebellion, a key event for the Haitian Revolution with which the new citizens demanded their granted rights.

Independence Day in Haiti is celebrated annually as a public holiday on every 1st of January along with New Years Day, commemorating the nation's liberation from the French Empire. It also marks the birth of the world's first independent black republic, one achieved through an unprecedented successful slave revolt with the Haitian Revolution.

References

  1. Copied from the article Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
  2. Copied from the article Jean-Baptiste Belley
  3. Edmond, Louisket (2010). The Tears of Haiti. Xlibris. p. 42. ISBN   978-1-4535-1770-3. LCCN   2010908468 . Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  4. Senauth, Frank (2011). The Making and Destruction of Haiti. Bloomington, Indiana, USA: AuthorHouse. p. 1. ISBN   978-1-4567-5384-9. LCCN   2011907203.
  5. Haydn, Joseph; Benjamin Vincent (1860). A Dictionary of Dates Relating to All Ages and Nations: For Universal Reference Comprehending Remarkable Occurrences, Ancient and Modern, The Foundation, Laws, and Governments of Countries-Their Progress In Civilization, Industry, Arts and Science-Their Achievements In Arms-And Their Civil, Military, And Religious Institutions, And Particularly of the British Empire. p. 321. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  6. Copied from the article Haiti
  7. Copied from the article Saint-Domingue
  8. John K. Thornton. I Am the Subject of the King of Congo: African Political Ideology and the Haitian Revolution Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine . Millersville University of Pennsylvania
  9. Copied from the article 1791 slave rebellion
  10. J. M. Thompson, The French Revolution (1943) identifies a series of major and minor mistakes and mishaps, pp. 224–227
  11. Copied from the article Georges Biassou
  12. Geggus, David (2011). Canny, Nicholas; Morgan, Philip (eds.). "The Haitian Revolution in Atlantic Perspective". The Oxford Handbook of the Atlantic World. 1. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199210879.013.0031.
  13. Copied from the article Haitian Declaration of Independence