Revolutions Blog

Due 2-11 at 10pm

Write as one of the following:  Louverture, a grand blanc, a gen de coleur, a former slave, or Napoleon.   
Character Based on Your Last Name:
Louverture (A-E)
A grand blanc (F-J)
A gen de coleur (K-N)
A former slave (O-S)
Napoleon (T-Z)

Discuss the successes and failures of the Haitian Revolution and respond to at least ONE other characters position.

Comments

  1. The Haitian Revolution was one of the most successful moves towards earning citizenship because it allows people like us, the a gen de coleur, to earn the respect and recognition that we deserved. It all began with the first slave riot on August 22, 1791, when many slaves went to many different plantations to rise up and attack white landowners. These attacks gave the minority population the advantage over dominance in the region, which led to many white landowners fleeing to Paris for mutual protection. We were very pleased with this outcome because it allowed free men like ourselves to gain more power in the region, and to be respected more than the white men that have been nothing but cruel to enslaved black men. This uprising was inspired by the revolution that was occurring in the French empire, that inspired men like myself and others to prove that we are people, and we deserve respect. Men like ourselves shows how all men no matter their skin color are more than capable of being successful citizens, and everyone should be allowed to practice that right. These men should have the right to be small planters, merchants, and shoe keepers like we are allowed to be. The rise of this revolution in our own colony is a beneficial move towards earning freedom for more than just the 30,000 men that I come from, but others that are just below us that deserve the right as human beings to be free. We also hope that this revolution would allow us to have citizenship despite our freedom so we can be more involved in having a role in society in the eyes of the French government for our efforts. This will also give us the chance to be more in depth with our African roots that we have for a while denied to be respected enough in society to get by. I am also happy with the petition that Louverture proposed because it gives men like myself that have already had a role in society to continue to be free, but also have the opportunity of probably earning citizenship.

    In the end though, the whites did not agree with this petition, which was a non-successful end to our efforts. Despite all of the success that the Haitian Revolution brought, there were also many faults much like this petition. One fault that we do see from this revolution would be that the riots were more violent than they needed to be when successfully attempting to take away white dominance. But in the end the result was well deserved, and I would not change anything about it despite all of the lives lost in the fires and the fights. This is because men like myself have fathers that were white French Men and enslaved mothers, or had the luxury to be given freedom from their fathers. They aren’t all cruel to slaves, so they shouldn’t all be punished because of the majority. There was a large number of men that did not give into the cruelty of having power over others that should have not been punished in the way that they were during the riots. I believe that the worthy men should have been spared, but we can’t change what is already done.

    Comparing our efforts during the riots that we fought to the ideals of the French revolution allowed us to convince the government that we have proven ourselves to be successful advocates of revolution, compared to the many French men that fled instead of fighting for their land. This allowed myself and many other men to earn citizenship that was well deserved. This was the greatest success of the Haitian Revolution for my people, and many others alike.

    a gen de coleur/Alayna McGuire Period 4

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    1. As Toussaint Louverture, I agree that such violence in the revolution was a bit more excessive than necessary. I had also worked alongside white slave/plantation owners that don't deserve the massive bloodshed (especially in relation to my more privileged background), however I also agree with the results that had come from this revolution. It was worth it to abolish slavery and teach others to fight for their voice.

      Louverture / Rochelle Espino

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    2. As a former slave, I disagree with you beliefs on the violence of the Haitian Revolution. Us slaves have suffered torture, abuse, and mistreatment beyond comprehension. With this being said, although violence is never ultimately justified, it is valid in the effort to abolish slavery and grant independence to a widely oppressed population. When viewing this independence movement in its entirety, it is clear that this violence is worth its toll as it contributes to paving the way for granting human rights to a deserving group of people.
      Former Slave/Camille Simmons

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    3. My fellow gen de couleur, I agree with you that our earned citizenship was the greatest success of the Haitian Revolution. After all of the fighting, it was a relief to finally be able to say that we as Haitians won and were granted independence. The lives of our allies that were lost will always be remembered. Especially those who may have died after working hard in the fields even after we had won against the colonists because of L'Ouverture. Despite L'Ouverture’s poor choices in his later years of leadership, I believe we can all agree that he is deserving of the title “Black Washington.”

      Eric Mildenhall / Gen de couleur

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  2. As Toussaint Louverture, the Haitian Revolution had first seemed as unsettling and inconvenient. Before going into depth about this situation, one must understand that the Saint Domingue economy had depended on the sugar and coffee plantations in order to maintain a stable economy. Despite being a more privileged slave that had learnt to read and write, I had ended up supporting the liberation of slaves since I believe that all men should have a chance at equality and should have the right to be treated as a human being rather than an animal. So as a result, I had decided to take up a general-position to lead this revolution into more of a humanitarian-based society towards us ex-slaves.

    The successes I had encountered were: combatting three empires that opposed our revolution towards liberation and establishing the abolishment of slavery in Saint Domingue. To start off, the three empires that we had to combat were the French, British, and the Spanish; they had been sent in to take control of the Saint Domingue ex-slaves and simmer down the revolution/goals that we had been fighting for. This was a major success since we had managed to keep our voices and ideas in tact. In addition, since Napoleon had reinstated slavery we had been triggered to create a consititution. The constitution in which abolished slavery once and for all in Saint Domingue.

    Despite our countless successes in wars, failures were also sure to turn up. The failures that I’ll be referencing were: the rejection of the settlement offer by plantation owners and the failure to work on sugar and coffee plantations yet again. It was a huge mistake for these plantation owners to deny us and our willingness to work again to boost the economy! It had been hard enough for us ex-slaves to agree on this settlement offer as a whole, and the fact that these owners had decided to deny this offer due to their need of revenge is quite disappointing to say the least. Additionally, another failure was the ex-slaves rejection to work on plantation farms. I understand that conditions weren’t too great before and that slavery is a traumatizing matter, however we need to boost out economic wealth nonetheless.

    Louverture / Rochelle Espino

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    1. As a former slave, I find that the abolishment of slavery is definitive of our new republic, and thus acts as a beacon to other nations, although I also understand the failures you additionally mentioned. The refusal to work on plantation farms is justified by our newfound independence. It is only logical for us to reject the very act we were tortured and taken advantage over. So with this, I would not necessarily regard to this as a failure of the revolution, but a natural aspect of this new society. I have faith in us as a republic to find another mode of boosting our economy that will benefit our nation's wealth as well as maintain peace in our people.
      Former Slave/Camille Simmons

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    2. A Former Slave/ Zaryaab Shahid
      As a former slave, I agree with in the importance of abolishing slavery but disagree with your idea that it was a mistake. This is because, although the end of slavery caused some economic strain, the importance of giving all humans basic and equal rights outweighs this economic issue which is why I disagree with you calling the ending of mistreatement of slaves a “mistake”. I also don’t believe that the rejection of ex-slaves to work on plantation farms was a bad idea and this is because going back to work in the same conditions but this time willingly defeats the whole purpose of the revolution. It makes it so we are still being treated sa inferior of the white plantation owners and get minimum benifits. On the other hamd, I do agree with you in the major success we had as a body of people who fought against and defeated slavery.
      A Former Slave/ Zaryaab Shahid

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    4. I agree with your statement about the revolution being an inconvenience in the beginning because it took away some of the order that we started off with. As a free man, I am an owner of my own property, and I make my own living. I have my own structure of income as I have a well paid job to allow myself to be a functioning member of society. The riots became an inconvenience to me because it took away how everything was ordered. The wealth of the society, and the source of my income was affected because the disorganization of the colony made it harder for everything to move smoothly. It made it more difficult for us to have a connection with the government and the wealthy whites of our land because my wealthiest buyers had fled the colony after the riots to the Capital (whites go to Paris) for mutual protection. It also made it hard to have buyers from the French Empire in Europe because connections were cut off once the riots broke out because there was no longer order. The beginning was also an inconvenience because many of the white masters that were attacked were not all cruel, much like the fathers of free men of color, and the ones that granted freedom to the enslaved out of their own free will. Majority of them were harsh to their slaves, but there were some that did not give into the power, but were caught up in the crossfire. I feel as though there were many lives lost that could have been avoided. But in the end, the Revolution was a great success because of the rights that were granted, and the citizenship like men like myself were granted.

      A gen de coleur/Alayna McGuire Period 4

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    5. I agree with your initial statement saying that the Revolution was unsettling and inconvenient. I found it to be the same, although our opinions differ as you continue. While I continued to find it inconvenient, a feeling which quickly progressed to fear for my own life, you seem to have contented yourself with it. In fact, our opinions further differ as you bring up the supposed “successes” or the Revolution. Beating the French is not something you should be proud of, it should be something to be ashamed of. Doing so will surely result in your progressive isolation on behalf of all European countries. The constitution which was established will surely result in the collapse of your economy later down the line, of that I have no doubt. So congratulations, you now have hundreds of unmanned plantations with no way of keeping them up and supporting your economy. You have successfully displaced hundreds of your superiors, and now you must live with the consequences which will follow shortly. Because of your actions France sold Louisiana for fear of yet another rebellion and did so just after losing their wealthiest colony.

      Grand Blanc/Sophie Gray

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    6. Yes, as Toussaint Louverture, the revolution did cause a lot of bloodshed. The over killing of the Europeans was unnecessary, but based on the Europeans actions, we deserve more. Throughout many years, us slaves were thrown around, treated like animals who were whipped and disciplined for every little mistake we have made. Is that humane? Is that how people should do to others. Slavery wan’t the answer. With slavery, Europeans are able to use us like dolls, who toy with our strings. People have self-worth, self-value. Working day and night to obtain all of the sugar cane and coffee beans just to be treated like trash is downright criminal. Although I was a freed slave who was educated, the other slaves deserve that chance. So yes, the Hatian Revolution was successful in many ways in helping the slaves.

      Wintana Araya - Toussaint Louverture

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  3. In an overall perspective, the Haitian Revolution was one of the most influential and successful independence movements throughout history as an entirety. Because of this incredible revolutionary accomplishment, I can now regard myself as a former slave, and be viewed in the eyes of society as an actual human being. With this I am granted rights as an individual that are incomprehensible to slaves of other territories and nations. I have great pride in the strength and initiative of my fellow oppressed to uprise and make a fight for our true human rights. To become the first independent black republic is a great success and will act as a catalyst to those deemed racially inferior to take action for rightful independence. The Haitian Revolution is a symbol for the fight against slavery in the modern era world. The success of the revolution, I hope, will fundamentally influence empires,colonies, territories, republics, and all forms of civilization on the criticalness of a society in which all individuals are treated without bias of race and with the belief that human beings on one collective level are equivalent. The Haitian Revolution accomplished this by revolutionizing French colonial society and leaving a permanent mark on their ethical foundations.
    Despite the monumental successes of the Haitian Revolution, it is natural for any rebellion to possess flaws. Although its successes largely outweigh these mere failures, as a member of this new republic it must be addressed. The Haitian Revolution did result in economic setbacks. The war caused great damage to the overall economic capital and infrastructure of Haiti. This continued to impact further developments of our republic, as we struggle to facilitate trade connections and other interregional relations. With this, I consider these failures to be quite minute in an overall perspective. This revolution will continue to pave the way for other independence movements and spark hope in the oppressed populations of other nations.
    Former Slave/Camille Simmons

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    2. As Toussaint Louverture, I agree with your points made about the Revolution paving a way for more revolutions and developments in other societies, as well as the opportunity for Haiti to establish itself as a unified Republic. I, too, am a former slave, so I understand what it is like to live in the treachery of white-owned estates. By abolishing slavery within Saint Domingue's population, more opportunity was made since it was more unified. The decreased rule from terribly unfair landowners helped make the population happier overall. Also, by becoming an independent, unified state, Haiti also had more opportunity to be integrated into the world's society. Haiti had very immense sugar plantations, making it a potentially important part of the world's economy. This push for the rights of slaves also will likely influence revolts in other areas, like how the American and French Revolution sparked this revolt. On the other hand, I don’t believe that all the methods used to revolt were just, since much violence was used, negatively affecting the population and the economy. Despite this, I agree with your statement that this revolution will lead to many benefits, not only for Haiti, but for the world's society as a whole.
      Patrick Broderick / Toussaint Louverture

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  4. In an overall perspective, the Haitian Revolution was one of the most influential and successful independence movements throughout history as an entirety. Because of this incredible revolutionary accomplishment, I can now regard myself as a former slave, and be viewed in the eyes of society as an actual human being. With this I am granted rights as an individual that are incomprehensible to slaves of other territories and nations. I have great pride in the strength and initiative of my fellow oppressed to uprise and make a fight for our true human rights. To become the first independent black republic is a great success and will act as a catalyst to those deemed racially inferior to take action for rightful independence. The Haitian Revolution is a symbol for the fight against slavery in the modern era world. The success of the revolution, I hope, will fundamentally influence empires,colonies, territories, republics, and all forms of civilization on the criticalness of a society in which all individuals are treated without bias of race and with the belief that human beings on one collective level are equivalent. The Haitian Revolution accomplished this by revolutionizing French colonial society and leaving a permanent mark on their ethical foundations.
    Despite the monumental successes of the Haitian Revolution, it is natural for any rebellion to possess flaws. Although its successes largely outweigh these mere failures, as a member of this new republic it must be addressed. The Haitian Revolution did result in economic setbacks. The war caused great damage to the overall economic capital and infrastructure of Haiti. This continued to impact further developments of our republic, as we struggle to facilitate trade connections and other interregional relations. With this, I consider these failures to be quite minute in an overall perspective. This revolution will continue to pave the way for other independence movements and spark hope in the oppressed populations of other nations.
    Former Slave/Camille Simmons

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    1. As Toussaint Louverture, I agree with how impactful and influential the Haitian Revolution was. Previously, black people were at the bottom of the social hierarchy and treated far less than human. With the revolution, it showed other nations in the future that change and revolution is possible. In addition, it was the first independent black republic, which is incredibly impressive for the time. I also agree that the revolution did bring major setbacks in terms of economy. The plantations and slavery labor force that we depended so heavily on were no longer reliable. However, it is great that the Haitian Revolution shed light on the ongoing white racial supremacy and changed Saint Domingue immensely.

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  5. A Former Slave/ Zaryaab Shahid

    As a former slave I believe that the Haitian Revolution was full of many successes the main one being the abolishment of slavery in the region. This revolution was so important because it gave many mistreated but innocent people, such as me, their freedom back. Not only this, but it also granted slaves back their natural rights and provided them with liberation. This helped to develop the region both political and socially. It developed politcally due to less unrest by people in the lower classes, the slaves, in terms of the governments policies. It helped develop the region socially because it took a step towards abolished long standing ideas about indigenous peoples and African people to be treated unfairly as slaves and placed in the lowest classes. It also took a step towards weakening the idea and influence of white superiority. Another important success due to the Haitian Revolution was the influence it spread to other regions working to help slaves in different regions, for example, in surrounding islands, not just Saint- Domingue. It also lead to more confidence for the future for slave revolts to take place to gain more fairness in social systems.
    On the other hand, there were some failures of the Haitian Revolution. Such consequences included loss of life which was bound to happen due to all the fights. Another major consequence were economic negativities after the revolution took place. This is because the main labor force was lost in the region and there was less support from the Europeans as well meaning a lot of impoverishment came forth. The major problems with this included a deteriorating infrastructure and a loss of both glabal connections and advancements. Overall though, even with the consequences that occured, the success of such an important revolution outweighed all negatvie aspects in importance which why I believe that the Haitian Revolution was an extremely successful and important event due to the mark it left on the history of slave abolishment.

    A Former Slave/ Zaryaab Shahid

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    1. While I fully agree with your belief that the revolution lead to the better representation of minorities and African slaves, the fact that it caused a lot of economic struggle was a major set back. Gens de couleur with apt positions were no longer allowed to grow financially and better the overall success of Saint-Domingue; this made our development a struggle, even with large sugar and coffee farms. However, it is extremely meaningful that the revolution had large global impact and showed that both slaves and gens de couleur could prosper and grow as our own nation, yet you have to admit we shot ourselves in the foot with Toussaint Louverture's forced labor and sometimes autocratic rulership. He did marvelous things and allowed Saint-Domingue to become a powerful message to global slave states, but his harsh rule crippled our initial development and the already established connections made by gens de couleur

      Elijah Kennard/ Gen de couleur

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    2. I certainly agree with you upon the fact that slaves were liberated from their shackles in society from the revolution. Every man is born with the same natural rights, so it's imperative that we allow people to freely express such rights. I also agree with you on the fact that the economy of Saint Domingue is now ruined. We have burned our plantations and infrastructure, which prevents us from continuing the economic activity that once allowed us to prosper. The unwillingness of the slaves to return to the plantations also eliminated a major working force in this colony, thus putting more strain on the economy. We must find a way to rebuild the economy of Saint Domingue, otherwise society will collapse even with equality and liberty for all. This revolution has emphasized Enlightenment ideals, but it also brought unexpected effects that we must address.

      Louverture - Ashton Chang

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  7. While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong in the prosperous colony of Saint-Dominique, and what caused so many failures, but I have a few theories. The theory that tops the list is the Enlightenment. To me, the Haitian Revolution was a failure. I, as they say, am a “Grand Blanc” and owned many large plantations where I earned most of my money. My family and I live prosperously selling coffee to the wealthy of France, and we were content with our lives. My family, of course, being wealthy had many slaves, however, they were necessary to support the economy and maintain my plantations. Now that you understand my position, I’ll get back on track. My top theory is the Enlightenment because as the French Revolution broke out the sailors, traders, merchants, and more docked in our ports and explained to us and the slaves what was happening. As the Enlightenment had caused the revolution of the lower class in France, it did the same here. I believe this seed was planted in their heads, and from them grew the Revolution.

    My second theory is that giving certain slaves freedom caused the Revolution. By giving them freedom under certain conditions, even if it is a very small population, we tear a hole in the previously strong fabric of our society. From that tear, Toussaint L’Ouverture was born, he was our biggest failure. Despite the fact he himself never actually saw a free society, he was at the root of the problems. Because of him, and people like him, non-Europeans were given citizenship and so began the collapse of my beautiful island. I thought it was all over when my country seized him and threw him into jail, but by then his influence had grown too large. His generals fought back and defeated our troops. My beautiful plantations were seized and I was forced to flee.

    For the lower class, I suppose it was a success, but for the upper class and Europeans, it was a tragic failure on France’s behalf. Because of a series of smaller failures (freedom, citizenship, and Toussaint L’Ouverture) France lost one of the wealthiest colonies in history, and certainly the wealthiest colony of my time. For my own family, there was no success here. However, I heard rumors that for the colonies in America it has been very helpful. France decided to sell Louisiana, despite already taking such a heavy loss, and nearly doubled the size of America. I suppose that for them it was a success. But I fear my country may never recover from this, 100 years from now our reputation of being weak will follow us, of that I am sure.

    Grand Blanc/Sophie Gray

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  8. The Haitian Revolution was filled with sucsess, in terms of it's strong push towards equality and freedom of slaves and rights to more gens de coulur libres, yet the forceful leadership of Toussaint Louverture towards the end of his rule, which lead to a longer conflict and forced freed slaved to work after fighting so hard for their freedom, stands out as one of its failures. Starting off, many of my brothers and sisters have been given their freedom and rights to own their own houses and live with their families; this is fantastic because there is more racial equality, which is fully supported by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. That being said, the revolution, mostly it's end, has weakened many white businesses, which has taken away from many of our benefactors and privileges, give that we are able to live with them during brutal parts of the revolution. Not only were freed men and women forced to work again under Toussaint Louverture, but our economic structure suffered when all power was given to him as governor. He did a large amount of good for Saint-Domingue, however towards the end he hurt our economy and made things much harder to prosper for gens de couleur, even those who left for France before much of the violence.



    Elijah Kennard/ A gen de coleur

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    1. I strongly disagree, the Haitian Revolution was full of failure and flaw. Equality and freedom is a nice idea until you have it. Once everyone is equal we have no social structure and our society will fall to chaos. Freedom isn’t even truly possible, people will always be trapped or held down by something whether that be the government or a job. There is no way to ever be truly free even in a “free” society. The upper class doing well leads to the society as a whole doing better. This revolution destroyed the white upper class which led to many new struggles for the whole of Saint Domingue.
      A grand blanc/Megan Jensen

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    2. As Napoleon, I do agree with you in the sense that Economically, the Haitian had a negative effect. Even though France did receive a 20 million dollar compensation of sorts, It was a little problematic for us in the sense that we used Haiti for the sake of obtaining sugar, especially sugar for our colonies in the new world.

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    3. As Napoleon, I do agree with you in the sense that Economically, the Haitian had a negative effect. Even though France did receive a 20 million dollar compensation of sorts, It was a little problematic for us in the sense that we used Haiti for the sake of obtaining sugar, especially sugar for our colonies in the new world.

      -Donovan Ward/ Napoleon Bonaparte (I forgot to add my name again)

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  9. As Toussaint Louverture, the Hatian Revolution is an important and well demanded part of Saint-Domingue history that can never be forgotten. As a former slave, freedom is something that I have longed for. With slaves working on sugar-cane plantations with ants biting and feasting on their flesh must be an un-warming feeling. It was time for action to be called because it is inhuman to treat slaves as animals even though we are equally human like the French people. Therefore by leading this revolution, slavery was abolished.

    There are many positive outcomes because of the Hatian Revolution. One of them being that the slaves were strong and underestimated people. Slaves are what kept the economy running. Supplying Saint Domingue the sugar cane from the fields, coffee beans and so much more. Although I was a privileged slave with the ability to have a different perspective on some situations, the freedom of the black slaves was as must! There were many ways that we were defending ourselves. One way is guerrilla warfare. We would charge against the Europeans and the mulattoes who have been putting us in destress all of these years. We would also burn the sugar/coffee plantations. By committing these acts, we are putting on a brave face and showing the Europeans of Saint Domingue that we aren’t scared. We will rise on our feet to protect ourselves and our children for the better. Another positive outcome of the Hatian Revolution was that Saint Domingue was under the black people. This was the first country in America to have been fully run by slaves. It’s not common but it shows how strong and full of strength that we all hold. Being able run the country by ourselves is a real accomplishment.

    Although there were many positive outcomes of the revolution, there were also some negatives. One of them being that we had to pay a large amount of money to France. Due to all of the destruction of property and estates, France was owed about 20 million dollars. That money didn’t come from nowhere. But for freedom, it was worth wild. Also because of the destruction and how corrupt revolution was to the land, no other nation was willing to trade with us. Now that we are black people who are running a whole country, no one wants to be associated with us. If the French government was the one who was leading Saint Domingue, that would have been a different story. All of the sugar and the coffee beans produced would have sold within minutes.

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    1. I have to disagree with you for the only thing that the slave revolts caused was a lack of stability. Having the white people have control over black people gave France the economy boast that we needed to build the economy of over regions as well. The slaves were the backbone that help us up and with having that structure broken only caused chaos. When the slaves went and attacked their owners it only brought about violence. You only came in the way to destroy the social structure that has been built upon for centuries. Ending with France lost their land linked to their raw materials.

      Napoleon/Hailey Williams

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  10. As Toussaint Louverture, the Haitian Revolution had both successes and failures. For the benefits, it gave power to the slaves. From my personal experience as a former slave, slaves barely had a voice and were ordered around on plantations. There was little room for change and our voices were kept silent. Therefore, it's great that the slaves finally found a voice in this revolution. In addition, this revolution soon led to the abolishment of slavery. It was truly great for the slaves in Saint Domingue. I wanted slaves to be more free ever since I grew up on a plantation. In addition, it showed that black people could hold power and I was able to represent the principle in this revolution.
    However, there were also huge failures with the Haitian Revolution. Even though the slaves were able to rebel and finally gain some power, Saint Domingue was a country that was solely sustained and stabilized by the work of the slaves. Because of the slave uproar and huge destruction, a lot of sources for riches were demolished. For an example, the plantations held the sugar cane and beans that Saint Domingue heavily relied on to have a stable economy. However, it was all burned. The slaves’ response to their treatment was slightly over exaggerated and the plantations were a huge loss. They did not have to burn down all the plantations and leave the land in ruins.

    Irene Cho/ Louverture

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    1. First, I'd like to thank you for your actions and leading the revolution to overall success. As a fellow colored person, I agree that the revolution was great for Saint Domingue and its success was truly worth the failure of our economy. Though our economy declined, we can always reconstruct it with the labor force we have and continue exporting our high demand goods. The Haitian Revolution was a one big step for us and it had a positive overall effect on Saint Domingue.

      gen de couleur / Ryan Lee

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    2. I agree with your thoughts on the Haitian Revolution that slaves were practically imprisoned, were not allowed to speak their mind, and that their voices were kept silent. As a gen de coleur, black people should be able to have freedom and equality is needed in Saint Dominigue. It pains me to see slavery happening and that people of colour are treated harshly due to their skin tone. Yes, although there were economic deficits from the slave uprisings, overall the Haitian Revolution was an incredibly important moment for black people and for humanity.

      a gen de coleur/Kayla Lee

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  11. The Haitian Revolution had a great impact on the world and was quite successful in my opinion of being Louverture. The revolution was what was needed in Saint Domingue, and would eventually lead others in knowing that they could also overcome the unfair positions that they are forcibly placed within their world for whatever reason and be able to fight for themselves than blindly accepting and only wishing for a would have/should have a scenario in their heads.

    The Haitian Revolution had the great success of abolishing slavery on Saint Domingue, despite being on the better side and living a more privileged life than the majority of slaves, there simply had to be something done about the torturous slavery occurring in Saint Domingue. How slaves were often brought down with a whip and receiving mass amounts of lashes, and suffering while also working in the sugar plantations, receiving cuts and not being properly treated for such wounds. With slavery abolished, it was a great step for the world we all wish would come to life, where equality was expected and would be an everyday occurrence. However, a failure did occur while the Haitian Revolution occurred, and that was the mass amounts of violence that would ensure against people’s previous masters or the upper class in general. The violence that ensued due to the slave’s rightful anger caused a rift to be between these opposing sides. While I wanted to have more progressive negotiations, I was declined every time due to how they felt as the victim, although wrongfully so. In the end, negotiations never worked out and Saint Domingue had to go against other European nations. Another failure that occurred was the lack of being accepted and allowed into other societies, such as France and Napoleon who sought out to crush us and go back to the old way of life, which would make the purpose of the revolution seem pointless.

    Brandy Arriaga / Louverture

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    1. As a grand blanc, I disagree. Rebelling against the landowners and destroying fields would devastate Haiti's own economy. Since Haiti became free from French rule, it had no way of supporting its own economy. In other words, it was a complete failure to both sides. The French lost a major source of sugar and coffee, while Haitians could not find a way to support themselves without French aid. Thus, in the end, compromising would not suffice, either.

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    2. I do agree with you on Haitian revolution on making a big impact on the world because of slave's being freed which changed governments socially. however, I don't think it was as successful as you think it was and this was because I had no choice but to sell the Louisiana away because I was afraid that the slaves were going to revolt which would make a big impact so selling it was a good idea. Although the Haitian Revolution had a major impact on the world, in my opinion it was a huge fail because it resulted in taking away the French's power on one of the most richest colonies, Saint Domingue. Losing control/power on this colony created a huge profit loss for myself because it produced crucial goods like coffee, sugar, cotton, and indigo.

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  12. There were few if any successes of the Haitian Revolution. The whole revolution was based on Enlightenment ideas which are outrageous and written to divide society and change our current ways. There are problems with our society but what the enlightenment ideas are pushing is just going to bring our society to ruin. As it is now we have a strong and secure social structure which allows for our booming economy. There is simply no other way to keep our current economy and create a new social structure. Due to the Haitian revolution most of our plantations and crops are burned which is devastating for everyone. The people involved in this revolution should have really thought about the effects of their actions. They are being arrogant and inconsiderate.
    This revolution was mainly failures. The slaves burned our plantations which are our main source of income and revolutions are not cheap. By the end of the revolution we are going to be broke and in debt. It will take us years to recover from these treasonous acts. The revolution also failed to establish who would work once all of the slaves had their freedom because us upper class people will not and anyone who has never done hard work will not want to start. The slaves were so poorly educated they didn’t know what they were doing, the only relatively smart person in that group is Toussaint Louverture. He at least tried to make a plan but even he lost his mind at some point and became arrogant like the rest of them.
    A grand blanc/Megan Jensen

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    1. I find what you are saying completely and utterly wrong because this revolution was a good thing for the majority of people in this nation and that is former slaves like my self, and it is always the point to make the majority happy. And the thing is that this doesn't only benefit the majority it benefited everyone because this is equal rights for everyone. The only reason that you disagree with the resolution is because you would have to pay your worker now and that does not benefit you, but you are only thinking for yourself and you forget about the horrible lives the people working on your plantations have to go through.

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      I find what you are saying completely and utterly wrong because this revolution was a good thing for the majority of people in this nation and that is former slaves like my self, and it is always the point to make the majority happy. And the thing is that this doesn't only benefit the majority it benefited everyone because this is equal rights for everyone. The only reason that you disagree with the resolution is because you would have to pay your worker now and that does not benefit you, but you are only thinking for yourself and you forget about the horrible lives the people working on your plantations have to go through.
      former slave/Nathalia Rios

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    3. That is why I say you should turn your back on the revolutionary fools, and choose to either leave and return to french mainland or turn against the revolutionaries and return order to Haiti. For my sake too, it's embarrassing to me if the people hear that I lost Haiti to slaves.

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    4. As Toussaint Louverture, I completely disagree with your reasoning. None of us seemed to have lost our minds within this movement whatsoever. Rather, we had passion and anger mix to produce a fire within us that pushed us to resist more than we ever thought we could. You can never understand what we have gone through under the control of the French. We were treated like animals, and disregarded completely. We would rather die than to be working all day on the plantations and getting abused by those who owned us. We are now free, and no one can take this away from us. We are now equal to you, and given the rights that we deserve as human beings. There simply is no other way to argue this, and for this reason I disagree with you, and all others who seem to stand for such ignorant ideals, completely.

      Toussaint Louverture/Abigail Daniel

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    5. As Napoleon, I disagree with your views of Enlightenment. Though I do not entirely follow the ideals of Enlightenment, this movement has inspired the French Revolution, which brought me into power and influenced my Napoleonic code that is widely used in a number of countries. Despite this, I do agree with the rest of your argument. Haiti's Revolution has led to the loss of France's trade control over Saint Domingue. This loss of exports has negatively affected the economy of both Haiti and France because, after the revolution, Haiti's trade has been limited with their newfound power, and France has lost the great opportunities of Haiti's crops. Second, the Haiti Revolution did establish a questionable leadership with the slaves leading the country in a dictatorship rule. Slaves are used for economic benefits, such as working on plantations for trading exports. All in all, the Haitian Revolution, though globally influential with its successful anti-slavery revolt and independence from us, the French, there was also an effect in failure with its frail economy and political instability.

      -Napoleon/Elouise Nicole Vasquez

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  13. As Napoleon Bonaparte, The Haitian Revolution was a huge failure for France. France was merely budding after our great internal strife and internal revolution, and the last thing that we needed was slave revolts in Haiti on top of it all. I needed to put France's forces out towards our conquest, but instead I had to send units to Haiti where they failed. This in turn ended up making ME look bad, which only decreases morale in France even further. It's unacceptable. So, as a precaution, I'm going to be trying to sell Louisiana before any slaves decide to revolt there as well. That way it's someone else's problem and not mine. While I do stand by the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (mostly) I do find it frustrating that this decree gave rise to problematic people like Touissant L'Overture. In this age of industrial revolution, raw resource is the most important import to France, and in losing Haiti (which was a large raw sugar export) France itself has been weakened as a whole. Luckily, this was somewhat made up for in the sense of a 20 million dollar compensation, however this doesn't quite make up for the potential that Haiti held as a land of resource.

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    1. Please just ignore this post. For some reason I cannot delete it, and I made a couple errors in it.

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  14. As Napoleon Bonaparte, The Haitian Revolution was a huge failure for France. France was merely budding after our great internal strife and internal revolution, and the last thing that we needed was slave revolts in Haiti on top of it all. I needed to put France's forces out towards our conquest, but instead I had to send units to Haiti where they failed. This in turn ended up making ME look bad, which only decreases morale in France even further. It's unacceptable. So, as a precaution, I'm going to be trying to sell Louisiana before any slaves decide to revolt there as well. That way it's someone else's problem and not mine. While I do stand by the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (mostly) I do find it frustrating that this decree gave rise to problematic people like Touissant L'Overture. In this age of industrial revolution, raw resource is the most important import to France, and in losing Haiti (which was a large raw sugar export) France itself has been weakened as a whole. Luckily, this was somewhat made up for in the sense of a 20 million dollar compensation, however this doesn't quite make up for the potential that Haiti held as a land of resource.

    Donovan Ward/ Napoleon Bonaparte

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    1. Napoleon Bonaparte, you suck. You cannot seem to take a fair stance. On one hand, you say you support the declaration of rights of man and citizen. In the other, you decide to take over surrounding areas, become an absolute ruler, and show hatred towards the rebellion by tortured slaves.

      Perhaps you aren't such a fair ruler. Perhaps all you want is for your personal gain, and not for the gain of humanity and humans as a whole. If you want your exports, you shall find a fair way to obtain it. Do not support the enslavement of citizens while endorsing the principle of equality of all mankind.

      Former Slave \\ Sanjay Soni

      (@Donovan not trying to be mean lol <3)

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  15. I was a slave, because of this revolution. I worked day and night for something that didn’t even benefit me as a person but then again I wasn’t even considered a person. But this revolution gave me hope to just be someone and not someone’s. This revolution in my eyes was a complete and utter success and the failures shouldn’t even be looked out and rather they should be ruled out by the good. The thought of equality has raised up to become a real part of our society and I believe everyone on this island believes that this is a success. Because of this equality slaves, like me, were freed which we should be so proud because our island is the first to do this. We changed a normality because it was the right thing to do, because everyone deserves rights and Louverture understood this. Not only did we do something that not one else had done with freeing slaves but we also succeeded by the first revolution in the colonized countries of the Latin America and that is amazing because we aren’t like France and the United states who made revolutions for the white males of their country but rather we did it for everyone. Overall this revolution should be seen and a success and something good.

    This failure of this revolution were all the stops along the way, and this that happened that hurt people. An example of this would be when Louverture began to try to force former slaves like me back to work which honestly was just disgusting because the whole point of what we fought for was being lost. This scared me because a man like Lovertue who I believed would have helped us until the end was leaving the original cause of what we were fighting for and trying to stray from. Thankfully that did not happen and the revolution prospered and we are freed and remained free because we won;t let something like that happen again to anybody because nobody deserves that no matter who they are. Another failure would be when Louverture was captured which probably scared us all because our leader was taken despite the recent hate he’d gotten. But despite all of that we made and succeeded in the revolution without Louverture. Although there were failures I believe that as a nation we succeeded and did the impossible especially for such a small nation.

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    1. I forgot to add my name so the comment above is mine
      Former Slave/Nathalia Rios

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  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  17. The reason for the Haitan Revolution’s occurrence is due to the influence of many other revolutions. For example, the American Revolution was the first revolution to break away from the rule of its colonizers, the British, and form its own independent nation, which is what Saint Domingue executed. Another example is that our French Revolution directly inspired the people of Haiti, mostly the slaves, to realize that the main themes of liberty, equality, and fraternity, is possible for the lower and middle classes of society. As Napoleon Bonaparte, the leader of the French people, I have to admit the Haitan Revolution was successful for its time and condition. One of its successes is that the Haitan Revolution effectively gained its independence despite the fact that slaves controlled the revolts. This fact is admirable to Haiti because it also inspired the revolutions and formation of independent nations in Latin America, which ended colonial control in South America and focused on Africa. Another success of this revolution is that slaves gained their freedom from their owners with equal rights. This is a great achievement because it is the first and only anti-slavery rebellion to succeed, and actually attain equality of the people despite their low social class.

    Although the Haitan Revolution had a deal of triumphs, the rebellion of this nation is treacherous and conceived many failures for Haiti. First, despite Haiti’s victory in independence, their trade was forced to be restricted by the colonial powers. This trade embargo is a failure due to the strain it has on economically developing Haiti as a whole. After all, without trade, they cannot properly develop their technology and gain other beneficial products. Second, Haiti had to pay reparations for the loss of its slaves and to maintain peace between the new nation and the U.S. Once again, this action takes a huge toll in Haiti’s economy, efficiently putting them in debt to us, France, and struggling to improve their technological development. Overall, though the Haitian Revolution was a historic moment due to the first and only slave revolt to gain independence from their colonizers, the French Empire, their autocratic dictatorship and weak economy has negatively affected their development as a nation.

    -Napoleon/Elouise Nicole Vasquez

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  18. As a freed color of people, I supported Toussaint's efforts to abolish slavery. The Haitian Revolution allowed African slaves to gain power and overthrow the white plantation owners who mistreated the slaves and forced them to work on harsh conditions with extreme punishments such as hangings. The new Haitian Revolution successfully freed African slaves and allowed many other colonial slaves to overcome their harsh owners and begin new revolutions in Latin America. Though radical at first with few bumps throughout the revolution, the overall outcome was a new stream of hope for the colored and we'll finally be able to follow our ideals of freedom and liberation.
    There were also consequences that followed this new structure in Saint Domingue. Due to our economy being based around our sugar cane plantations operated by white owners, we lost our stream of income. Our stable source of income was devastated by the new uprising of slaves that worked in former sugar cane plantations. With this revolution, Saint Domingue's economy and land were in shambles. There were also radical movements throughout the revolution. It was unnecessary to brutally murder all the white plantation owners and justifying it with freedom, as it caused the white owners to refuse negotiating and walk the bloody path and resulted in many losing their lives.

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  19. The Haitian revolution was a turning point in the relationship between slaves and the whites. For the longest time, slaves in Saint Domingue were disregarded as important members of society. Constantly working in the scorching plantations, slaves provided most of France’s new wealth. However, many had to suffer for the success of France, and slaves didn’t have the same opportunities as the grand blancs. Under Enlightenment ideals, we fought for our independence from the French empire and began a new era of peace, prosperity, and equality for all. The revolution certainly brought successes to the Haitian colony. For one, we have proved to the empires of the world that small colonies such as us can hold unprecedented power. United as one, we managed to revolt against three of the world’s most powerful empires: the Spanish, British, and French empires. This was a major accomplishment, as we were able to defend our natural rights, proving that equality will prevail. The Haitian revolution also led to the abolishment of slavery. Slaves now have the same rights as well as the same opportunities as the grand blancs However, in the process of fighting for our freedom, we have significantly weakened our economy. We have burned a majority of our plantations, including some of mine, which supplied great wealth to the colony. Not only that, but we don’t have a vision on how we are going to rebuild our economy. The slaves won’t return to the fields, so we have no way of establishing a new, strong economy after the rebellion. I also believe that the revolution has only created more hatred between the colored and the whites. I wanted to have civilized negotiations with the slave owners, but they declined my offer, which only enraged the slaves. The slaves believe that the revolution is a personal matter, which gives them a bigger incentive to simply kill any white man they see. This is completely irrational, since many white men have done good, and this has also gone against our ideals of an equal society, since we are beginning to oppress a new group of people. All in all, this revolution is a great success to us and those oppressed around the world. However, we are faced with new challenges, which can only be solved through new manners rather than through barbaric and irrational thinking.

    Louverture - Ashton Chang

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    1. As a former slave, I agree with your philosophies and understanding of the our Haitian Revolution. Without fail, you have led our people to the independence that we desired. We can hold ourselves in the world without the need of a higher European power present to avail our products and lesser known deeds. These economic problems I know, however, will not leave us any time soon, so the prospects of freedom still stand with concurrent allowances of our extent of building in our own nation.

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  20. As a free person of color, I believe that some major successes of the Haitian Revolution were how we were able to not only fight for our freedom, but for our independence as a whole from France, and the increased rights of gens de couleur. Under the inspiring leadership of L'Ouverture, the slaves and other oppressed peoples with not as many rights as the white colonists were able to successfully rise up and defeat them, and even claim independence. This was not without many troubles throughout our fight, such as having to deal with multiple countries coming in to help the colonists reclaim their land. Because of this revolution, we were able to gain many rights that we did not have before, even before our full independence, such as civil and political rights. The Haitian revolution did not come without its failures though. One such example was L'Ouverture’s descent into making the slaves who worked so hard for their freedom go back to the fields and work in the conditions they were once forced to. All because Saint Domingue relied on slave labor and its exports to thrive.

    Eric Mildenhall / Gen de couleur

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    1. I disagree that the Haitian Revolution was a success because as a grand blanc, I don't think you guys deserve what you call "freedom" and "independence" after what you guys did to your own colony. As you said, "Saint Domingue relied on slave labor and its exports to thrive". You gen de coulers were willing to sacrifice the colony's economy and way of life for your selfishness to gain the equality you don't deserve. This is your fate. I was just naturally born better than you. I don't see what's wrong with others being better than you because that's how life works, it's unfair so just live with it.

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    2. ^
      Grand blanc / Wendy Fang

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  21. As a former slave, life was previously difficult, inhumane, and horrible. We would constantly get chopped by the sharp leaves of the sugar cane, we’d perform backbreaking, difficult work daily, and we’d have little prospect of rewards. The Haitian revolution was a major success for us. We no longer must succumb to the whiplashes and tortures, and we can be free without the looming dangers of our slaveowners. But the successes of the Haitian revolution are not just important for us. They’re an international success for human rights, for the enlightenment, and for the secluded and tortured slaves across the globe. Our revolution shows a significant push for human rights across the globe. Our successes will show slaves and people of lower class across the globe that change is possible. Our success relieves the enlightenment thinkers who remained troubled at their conflicting ideologies between slavery and equality. Our success demonstrates to the entire world that equality is necessary and has helped spark the ideas of change in other regions across the globe.
    Unfortunately, there is a price to this. First, in the process of our revolution, we ended up burning most of our productive land. This has caused a significant setback in the ability of our region to produce sugar and goods for export, tremendously hurting our global economic condition. We may have to return to the plantations out of a need for survival. In addition, with revolution came bloodshed. Many of our brothers have been lost in this war, but they have not died in vain. Our decisions have also loosened positive ties with the Europeans, whose support was crucial in our victory. The lack of economic prosperity has also decreased European interest.
    Sanjay Soni \\ Former Slave

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    1. I am also a former slave, and I agree with your claim stating that the slaves were treated inhumanely and horribly. Within Haiti before the revolution and around the new world, many slaves were treated simply like animals and were given very limited rights. Furthermore, I also agree that after the Haitian Revolution, Haiti had generally experienced a series of economic downfalls which had affected the nation greatly, and had put Haiti in a negative position. Haiti had been affected so greatly, that they had trouble playing a part in the global trade market, despite their large production of sugar and other crops vital to the global trade.
      Former Slave/Joel Rosenman

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  22. As Toussaint Louverture, the Haitian Revolution is something I am incredibly proud of. This is the first revolution to be successful in the sense that we were now free from French control. This sent a message that the black slaves would not be withstanding the horrific treatment that was given by the Europeans. We will not stand this oppression any longer. Of course, this revolution I lead is something I see as extremely beneficial and successful, supporting the ideology that all men, regardless of our color, should be and will be treated equally, and that our people should be free of such burdensome control. However, as a leader I can also see the failures and areas needed to be worked on because of this revolution.
    The positive outcomes truly outweigh the negatives. The most known positive outcome would be the freedom of slaves! The slaves were finally given a voice to speak out against such horrific experiences under European control. The slaves of Saint Domingue were free, as the revolution led to the abolishing of slavery. I experienced slavery firsthand growing up. I know the terrific times spent on these plantations all day only to be treated terribly and inhumanely by the Europeans. It was amazing to see my people fight against these powers that held possessive control for so long. We were underestimated. We were considered weak and unable to hold our own. We proved all who thought of us this way wrong. We showed how our rage of being oppressed for so long can be unleashed, and how we can obtain victory.
    Of course, failures were present. Saint Domingue relied on slaves to run it, and without them, a lot of our sources of income within the economy were destroyed. Plantations that Saint Domingue were relying on perished. Furthermore, a lot of money was owed to France because of the destruction of property and estates within France. However, our freedom is worth it. I believe we can work our way up once again, with the freedom of our people now gifted to us. Our hard work and refusal to stand down to France is recognized, and will create a ripple of effects worldwide. This revolution, despite some failures, gained so much more from its successes.

    Toussaint Louverture/Abigail Daniel

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  23. As Napoleon Bonaparte, in my opinion the Haitian Revolution was a failure and it didn't have many successes from the revolution. This revolution brought negative affects to France and took away what is rightfully their's. However, the Haitian Revolution did have successes like being known as the most successful rebellion in 1791 and 1803 and achieved in ending slavery and French control over the colony. something that I did was to bring back the force that they had on Haiti and to restore the French rule that was set before. I wanted to have control of the colony so I did everything in my power to help the french getting their power back. in Contrast some of the failures of the Haitian Revolution was that because of the impact I had to sell Louisiana because I was afraid slaves were going to try and revolt in that area as well. The Haitian Revolution ruined the sugar, cotton, coffee, etc that was produced and it outshone other colonies in the world. Overall there has been some failures and successes throughout the revolution. Like the freedom of slaves and for bringing independence to Saint-Domingue which is now Haiti.


    Napoleon/Jacki Tebrejian

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  24. The French do not see any successes in the Haitian Revolution. In fact, it was devastating towards the French economy and imperial power in general. However, I would say that the driving forces behind the Haitian Revolution were successful. The American Revolution where the colonists of North America rebelled against the British rule proved to be successful, and became an ultimate cause of the British's downfall. Enlgithenment ideas were helpful to some, but to the rich landowners, it was troublesome because many slaves and peasants rebelled against their lords.
    This revolution was a severe failure. One reason why it did not benefit anyone is because when the French had control over Saint-Domingue, it was one of the wealthiest and most profitbale countries in the world. It supplied France with sugar and coffee, which helped boost the economy by sending more exports. However, by rebelling against the French and freeing themselves from their rule, they became isolated from trade and had no way to support their economy. It would fall into poverty.

    grand blanc/ Shirley Jiang

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  25. The Haitian Revolution was a great success and development in the world’s society and lead to a furthering influx of more individualist ideas and more attention being paid to how people are treated. The French colony of Saint Domingue was a very slave-dependent colony. The entire economy was based on the production of sugar and harvesting of plants and other raw materials. This is what caused an influx of slavery within the colony, thus leading to the extremely harsh conditions slaves were subjected to. As Toussaint Louverture, one of the main leaders of this revolution, I strongly believed in the prospects of this Haitian rebellion of slaves against landowners. Being a former slave myself, I agreed with the idea of freeing slaves from the inhumane conditions they were subjected to, but I didn’t agree with the violent methods proposed by the rebellion. Despite this, I believe many successes and failures were rooted from the revolution.

    Many successes came to Saint Domingue as a result of the Haitian Revolution. Most successes directly affected the population, being great benefits to quality of life and social stability. Due to the eventual abolishment of slavery in Saint Domingue, the population was no longer unhappy, like they were before. Prior to this revolution, slaves were tortured and treated like objects, but due to this push for independence, their place in society increased, making the population happier overall. Also, more opportunity for the consolidation of Saint Domingue, which became Haiti, was caused due to these population changes. The removed ultimate authority by landowners allowed for people, more notably Hatians, to voice their ideas to help contribute to society and to help strengthen Haiti as a whole. Enlightenment ideals also played a big part of this. On the other hand, many failures came due to the Haitan Revolution. One, of course, was the overall violence and destruction of land done in order to actually undergo the revolution. Many Haitians killed their masters and burned down their estates. I didn’t agree with this at all, since I feel like the population could’ve been benefited, even without these drastic, violent methods used. Negotiation could’ve led to a better, more peaceful conclusion to the revolution. This use of violence in order to revolt really displeases me, since I don’t really agree with the usage of violence to stop problems. I may have to enforce stricter authority on the slaves revolting as a result of this. Other failures rooted from the revolution were depleted resources and money of Haiti. This fight for independence was almost like a war, since much land was damaged and the economy depleted, not only due to the increased usage of resources, but also the decrease of slaves harvesting things like sugar to help the economy, since they were busy revolting. Ultimately, I think that the Hatian Revolution caused many benefits and disadvantages to the population of Haiti. I could definitely make changes to help increase benefits of it, though.
    Patrick Broderick / Toussaint Louverture

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  26. As Napoleon, I felt the desire to make France a global power using the military. I believed that in order for a military to flourish they had to be well fed as for their power comes from health and the strength of their weapons. To gain to wealth to afford the military conquest I dreamed for, I sent troops to Haiti to end slaves revolts or help reestablish slavery, leading to the possible growth of France’s profits from exports. Plus the troops were there to gather the guns from the freed slaves.

    The failures of the Revolution, were the fact that the troops that I sent to resolve the freed slaves and put them in their place, only caused the negative view upon myself, for my troops have failed to do what they were there for. Trying to lift the negative view of me from the people, the Louisiana Purchase occurred. I sold the colonies we had in Haiti to the US. This caused France to lose where they got their essential raw materials. Plus in the end 90% of the slaves were liberated at the conclusion of the revolution. As a white man I followed the white peoples desires and since I wasn’t able to fulfill the establishment of slavery and improve the lives of the France I was shamed on. The success in the Haiti’s Revolution was not great, but the main thing that France gained was $15 million from the Louisiana Purchase.

    Napoleon/Hailey Williams

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  27. As a gen de coleur, I believe that the Haitian Revolution was widely successful as a slave rebellion and revolution more so than a failure. I consider it one of the most important revolutions in the world. The goal of the Haitian Revolution was to gain equality and liberty for slaves in Saint Dominique. It was inspired by the Enlightenment ideals of equality, liberty, and individuality of the French Revolution prior to this revolution. It was extremely successful due to the leadership of Toussaint L'Ouverture, a military warrior. Slavery was successfully abolished in Haiti. The Haitian Revolution’s success led to other slaves’ revolt in other parts of the world, namely Latin America. Overall, one could say that the Haitian Revolution led slavery being abolished globally. The success of the slaves also made Haiti the first country to be founded by former slaves.

    However, there were some minor failures along the way. For instance, L’Ouverture, who was supposed to be on our side, forced former slaves back on to the fields in order to settle with the white landowners. Haiti’s economy was also largely based on the work of the slaves on the plantations, so once slavery was abolished it caused economic turmoil in Saint Dominique. The Haitian Revolution was also violent, since the slaves would rise up against their landowners. This caused a huge social unrest in Saint Dominique during the Haitian Revolution.

    a gen de coleur/Kayla Lee

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  28. As a former slave, I dreamed about independence from my masters and I got it with the Haitian Revolution. However, with this revolution, successes and failures emerged from it. Some successes include me being able to work myself independently in the country of Haiti without respite of a higher and violent person breathing down my back with the indifference towards death to me or anyone else around me. This in itself is one prospect I feel is necessary to prompt gratitude to L'Ouverture and his deeds. Even so, this revolution had come at a cost with the relations broken across the world. Other countries and empire had taken a stab at our country and without fail, we had defended ourselves and our freedom from them.

    Former Slave/ Dylan Que

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    1. As a gens de couleur, I agree with your claim that the indipendence gained from the Haitian Revolution resulted in severed ties and violence between countries. With our sugar plantations being so important in trade, newfound individuality and freedom of the slaves could cause lower production and could fuel other countries to target Haiti in demand for more of the product. However, do not be so sure that Haiti can hold its ground every time it is attacked. The forces that challenged you could have been expecting an easy turnover and therefore were caught off guard by the extremely defensive people of Haiti. Next time though, some countries may come at us with brutal strength. One that a mere slave army can and will not be able to withstand.

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  29. As a whole, the Haitian Revolution was an overall huge success. Being one of the most influential and was undoubtedly one of the only successful slave independence movements throughout history, the Haitian Revolution is generally seen by many as a large success. Being a former slave, I see the Haitian Revolution as a calling for many other people who are simply held against their wills as slaves by their ruling governments. I encourage you to revolt against your empire and become free. Furthermore, as a former slave, I am very proud of the accomplishments made by the Haitian Revolution. The initiative us slaves led, had revolutionized the world and had revolutionized slaves opportunities and possibilities. After the Haitian Revolution, Haiti had become a symbol of freedom and revolution. Overall, the Haitian Revolution had accomplished the very notable task of revolutionizing the Haitian Society and escaping the daring grasp from the French monarchy.
    While the Haitian Revolution had experiences a large array of success, the Haitian Revolution had not succeeded with backtracks and sacrifices. With the Haitian Revolution, we saw a series of economic issues and setbacks due to the Haitian Revolution. The Haitian Revolution had caused a huge economic downfall in Haiti due to the fact that the French government had later made Haiti pay many reprements and had put the country in debt. Furthermore, the Haitian Revolution had caused struggles in trade and had caused a failure in trade connections which had affected trade communications. Overall, Haitian Revolution had set a landmark in the freedom movement internationally, but had set many setbacks within Haiti.
    Former Slave/Joel Rosenman

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  30. As a grand blanc, the Haitian Revolution was an absolute failure to the high class civilians and I, but it was considered a success to the lower classes. To introduce myself, I am a grand blanc. I have had power and wealth since I was born because of my white privilege. I honestly love being white because I'm just better than these colored people and slaves in the lower classes. I am the very reason why Saint Domingue was flourishing. I owned plantations that exported most of the world's coffee and made our economy prosperous. Of course, I owned a ton of slaves as well so they would work for me on my plantations. I did so much for my colony and the people in it, including all the those low class people that didn't even deserve my blessing. If it weren't for people like me, Saint Domingue would have never become the Haiti known today. I gave the people a thriving economy with many benefits and advances from the trade I contributed towards. Yet, those slaves dared to rebel against me! I have never been so hurt and humiliated.

    I had a family to raise. The wealth I obtained from my plantations were so that my family could live happily ever after. Then, the Haitian Revolution happened and I lost everything! My wealth, my power, and my family all gone. My family suffered during those times and eventually, it forced them to leave for France while I stayed back to see if I could make a comeback and take back what was mine. The Haitian Revolution was a total failure because of how many lives it ruined. My happy family was no more because of this. I don't understand why these slaves rebelled against us. I bought them with my own money and gave them a place to work. They should be grateful that I want them to work on my once precious plantations. How dare they split up my plantations among themselves after their so called win. This have caused our economy to collapse. I built it up and now all destroyed by these salves!

    Although I despise these pesky colored people, I guess I can say it was a success to them since they seem to be so happy about it. I don't see what's so happy about our economy failing, but they earned their "freedom". It was success to them because they finally gained what lead to the equal rights they have today. I honestly think it was somewhat impressive how they managed to go against my high class people and win against us. I wasn't expecting that at all. This was good for them as Saint Domingue soon abolished slavery so they didn't have to be "forced" into labor and treated "poorly", they said. I give them points for bringing a new revolution to social class that then changed the entire world later on.

    A grand blanc / Wendy Fang

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  31. As a gens de couleur, I was initially oppressed and forced to work. I was denied citizenship and was treated poorly should I have disobeyed any orders for work. In consideration of my unfair and harsh situation, I think that the Haitian Revolution was successful in granting me, a gens de couleur, citizenship and equality among the richer people of Haiti. As a result of the happenings in France in 1791 with colored people gaining citizenship, and with the backlash that generated from the Declaration of Independence of America, we were able to receive equal treatment and citizenship with the rapid spread and support of these shared ideas around us.

    However, a major negative impact can be seen from the abolishment of slavery. We gens de couleur depended on the income derived from the slaves' labor. Without a constant infrastructure to fuel our economic development with the rise in interest in sugar, our nation would fall and we with it. Especially, with the growing popularity of Haiti's main market, sugar plantations, we began to experience and increased need for slaves to keep the market running. In addition to the economic impact, the abolition of slavery allowed the oppressed and angry slaves to divulge in their newfound equality and sense of revenge and target more and more of the gens de couleur. This leads to the conclusion that a major failure of the Haitian revolution is the resolution to end slavery.

    A Gen De Couleur - Elvin Kosuta

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