Frenchcreoles.com
     
 
The Haitian Revolution in video...Click here
   
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
 
 
 

 

Related Links:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Haiti the first black republic in the World

 
Famous Creoles
 
Harold Doley
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Haiti

The Worlds First Black Republic


 

 

 

 


 

    For a few months the island was largely quiescent under Napoleonic rule. But when it became apparent that the French intended to re-establish slavery, Dessalines and Pétion switched sides again, in October 1802, and fought against the French. In November, Leclerc died of yellow fever, like much of his army, and his successor, the Vicomte de Rochambeau, fought an even more brutal campaign than his predecessor.

    His atrocities helped rally many former French loyalists to the rebel cause. The French were further weakened by a British naval blockade, and by the unwillingness of Napoleon to send the requested massive reinforcements. Napoleon had sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States in April 1803, and had begun to lose interest in his ventures in the Western Hemisphere. Dessalines led the rebellion until its completion when the French forces were finally defeated in 1803.

    The last battle of the Haitian Revolution, the Battle of Vertières, occurred on November 18, 1803, near Cap-Haitien and was fought between Haitian rebels led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the French colonial army under the Viscount of Rochambeau. On 1 January 1804, from the city of Gonaïves, Dessalines officially declared the former colony's independence, renaming it "Haiti" after the indigenous Arawak name. This major loss was a decisive blow to France and its colonial empire.

Port au princ ..the Capital

 

 

 

A Free Black republic

 

On January 1, 1804, Dessalines, the new leader under the dictatorial 1801 constitution, declared Haiti a free republic. Thus Haiti became the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States, and the only successful slave rebellion in world history. However, the country had been crippled by years of war, its agriculture devastated, its formal commerce nonexistent, and the people uneducated and mostly unskilled.

Haiti agreed to make reparations to French slaveholders in 1825 in the amount of 150 million francs, reduced in 1838 to 60 million francs, for its independence and to achieve freedom from French aggression. This indemnity bankrupted the Haitian treasury and mortgaged Haiti's future to the French banks providing the funds for the large first installment, permanently affecting Haiti's ability to be prosperous.

The end of the Haitian Revolution in 1804 marked the end of colonialism, but the social conflict that had been cultivated under slavery continued to affect the population. The revolution left in power an affranchi élite as well as the formidable Haitian army. France continued the slavery system in Martinique and Guadeloupe but with the freedom of Haiti,

Great Britain was able to abolish their slave trade in 1807 and in 1833 abolished slavery completely in the British West Indies. France formally recognized Haiti as an independent nation in 1834 as did the United States in 1862.

 

Impacts

 

 

Haitians Frenchcreole People .

Our Ancestors

 

The Haitian Revolution was influential in slave rebellions in America and British colonies. The loss of a major source of western revenue shook Napoleon's faith in the promise of the western world, encouraging him to unload other French assets in the region including the territory known as Louisiana. Many of the freed slaves of Saint-Domingue settled in New Orleans, profoundly influencing the history of that city.

Britain became the first major power to permanently abolish the slave trade in 1807. Although many slaves in the United States attempted to mimic Toussaint L'Ouverture's actions in the Haitian Revolution and failed in the end, the Haitian Revolution stood as a model for emancipation. L'Ouverture remains as a hero and still appears in art.

In 2004, Haiti celebrated the bicentennial of its independence from France.

 

 

 

HAITIAN REVOLUTION 
Source


 

Saint-Domingue society was composed of four groups


The whites
The free people of color
The black slaves
The maroons

 

 

The flag of Haiti was officially adopted on May 18, 1803. As a former French colony, the blue and red colors are modeled after the French Tricolore. The national coat of arms is only displayed on the state flag.

 

 

Source

Back

 

 
 
Questions, Comments, Dead Links? Email Webmaster
**All articles taken from selected reading materials are the sole property of the authors listed. In no way are these articles credited to this site. The material presented is only a brief presentation of writings from the publisher & producer of each article.
Copyright French Creoles of America®, All Rights Reserved