Revolutions Post

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. I Toussaint Louverture, am a man of the people, both of European, mixed, and African descent. I have fought for the Africans, revolting against the horrendous system of slavery, the Spaniards, fighting off the former French monarchs, and the French national radicals, who have freed all men including my brothers of African descent who were held captive on the plantations. And in my time, the revolution on which would bring me to fight on both sides and would see me appointed as the lieutenant governor of Saint-Domingue, gave me a uniqe perspective about the revolt.

    I was once a former slave myself. I was freed in 1776 and since that time have marginally learned French. I am also a devout Roman Catholic. Because of this I have a unique connection to the plantation owners of the colony, who were vital to its economy. In this way, the plantations were necessary and the attempted overthrow of the plantation system by the rebelling slaves was a failure of their revolution. Furthermore, the rebelling slaves had attempted to completely expel both mulatto and European influences on their population. This too was a failure. The European influences on our society were necessary for continued growth and economic prosperity. They are the islands main trading partners and purchase the majority of our agricultural cotton and tobacco exports. To eliminate the European influences as the revolutionaries has attempted is futile and impractical to maintaining a successful independence. Lastly, the revolution failed in their initial attempts to negotiate with French moderate leaders. Any revolution can only succeed when its values are put to the test. Without full commitment to the revolution and an unwillingness to yield then they were destined to fail without me.

    However, the revolution did succeed at one major point. They made the attempt to liberate their brothers from the oppression of their masters. The Enslavement of Africans and the unequal treatment of any man by another is intolerable in any society, European or otherwise. As such, despite the methods of the revolutionaries being flawed and inherently destined for failure, they have fought in the name of freedom for their fellow man which has is a path of moral righteousness

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    1. This was written by Kaiden forgot to put down name

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    2. How can such a predominately black person and former slave still claim the necessity of European influence on our fine nation. You argue that we need black people to continue working on farms and plantations to provide for growth and economic prosperity, yet you fail to see the white man participating in anything other than their weekly walk around to inspect the goings. How can you not see fault in the terrible assumptions of your ways? Further you spread the notion that initial attempt for liberation was all that was necessary to costitute success. This idea is fundamentally flawed as only true success can bread more success, thus the outcome of the revolution was in entirety the slaves doing.

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    3. As a gen de couleur, I do agree with a part of what you said about the success of the revolution, this being that by liberating african slaves and creating a society from the control of people in the minority, people of color could enjoy much more freedoms than before, like the guarantee of rights. Although black slaves probably felt the most liberated, so were we gens de couleur as simply because of our race, we were often placed below white men and treated worse. However, while I can see your point concerning the morality of the enslavement of Africans, I believe that slaves would still be useful to society in Saint Domingue. Our economy primarily comes from exporting important crops like tobacco, cotton, and sugar. Without the help of slaves to constantly maintain the growth of these goods to trade, Saint Domingue’s economy will fall.

      I also agree with what you said concerning the plantation system. Without the slaves helping to operate the plantation system, the economy of Saint Domingue was bound to fall, making this one failure of the Haitian Revolution. Saint Domingue basically only profited from its valuable raw goods like sugar, and without the participation of slaves to produce it, we cannot conduct trade and continue to help the economy. This ties in with what you said next about how Europeans were our main trading partners. By eliminating European influence from Saint Domingue, again, we cannot conduct trade and continue to help the economy. These could set up Saint Domingue (now Haiti) for an unsuccessful independence.

      Gen de Couleur/Yujin Kim

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  4. As Toussaint L'Overture, I believe that there are multiple successes and failures in the revolution that I helped to lead.

    In the beginning, our goals were aligned, as my fellow slaves sought independence, as did I. This was a major success of the Haitian revolution, as we [slaves] were finally no longer bound by our masters, which is an important success of this revolution. Another success would be that we [slaves] were able to avert our horrible conditions and improve our lives [quality of life].

    The failures, however, were many. Our revolution, although did succeed in freeing my brothers, we failed in some aspects. For example, attempting to destroy the plantation system is a terrible idea (or, was) as now we would have no exports to enrich our new sovereign state of Haiti and to sustain ourselves. This goes onto another failure of this revolution, that my brothers in arms were so headstrong to eliminate European influence. They fail to see that (along with the growth of sugarcane) we need exports and Western trade to sustain this new sovereign state, which I think to be a mistake.

    As Toussaint L’Overture of Haiti, I think that we can establish liberty and address these failures.

    Liam Coldwell/Toussaint L'Overture

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    1. As a former slave I agree with you. At first our successes were the eradication of slavery in the colony. Which was a massive improvement for the lives of me and my brothers. However the failures of the revolution were great because we slaves are not going to work in plantations any longer as we cannot tolerate it anymore.

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    2. As a gen de couleur I agree with your statements. It was a great success that we gained our freedom, equality and citizenship like those of the white french men, but we also suffered a huge loss in our economy. What I believe came with equality to white men was the ability to own slaves and plantations to produce sugar to make money for my family. Although with the freedom of slaves that right is no longer there and now no one wants to do that harsh labor required for producing sugar as the majority of us rebels are now freed slaves.

      Gen de Couleur/Ava Kiss

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  5. As a gen de couleur, I hoped from the Haitian Revolution equal civil rights/less discrimination from white men, for people like myself who were usually mixed in race. We did not have the same rights as a white man would, such as the right to vote despite ourselves being wealthier and more powerful than other people of color. We also don’t get to freely pursue our own independent economic opportunities compared to white men. Simply because of race, we were cast aside as a second class. In 1791, France gave free men of color full citizenship, and although discrimination was still prevalent, we would be able to freely pursue economic opportunities. The result of Haitian revolution further contributes to equality in terms of race as it guaranteed the rights of colored men, which many gen de couleurs were. The Declaration of Independence created by Dessalines further establishes that the colored people (mainly slaves) of Saint Domingue (renamed Haiti) will never be oppressed by the French (and in a wider case, the white men) again.

    Although the success of the Haitian Revolution brought me more civil rights, it took away a primary source of income for myself so I could support my family - the use of slaves on plantations. Saint Domingue was known to the world as imperial france’s jewel of the crown - it brought in the most amount of money for France compared to any other colony. This is because of its many riches such as sugar, and Saint Domingue eventually becomes one of the world’s leading suppliers of sugar. Because of this, sugar and other raw goods would sell for a lot, making it worthwhile to produce. However, without slaves, it was hard to mass produce and grow these raw materials without the many extra hands. Another failure of the Haitian Revolution was how after the slaves were able to drive out Spanish forces and keep fighting, many slaves were still not on amicable conditions with gen de couleurs. For instance, Toussaint Louverture’s lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, would massacre mulattoes and anyone who had white blood because of their European descent. This later leads to many people with white blood leaving Saint Domingue for elsewhere in fear of their lives.

    Gen de couleur/Yujin Kim

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    1. I Toussaint L’Overture agree with your position. The Haitian revolution, Our revolution, was for the liberation of all Blacks from true imperialism. Some may complain or say that they are not on the top. This revolution never promised total freedom, it promised freedom from foreign oppression and for one man to never own another or take advantage over him purely because of his skin color. It did not give all men total ability to take over those above them in society. Those that kept our nation afloat have the right to maintain their status so long as it means they continue to do so. I reestablished the sugar plantations and had to inspire workers to work not because I hated them for their skin or wanted to enslave them, but rather the sugar that we farm is what makes us strong and the Gen de Couleur are the people we must work with if we are to see a united and strong Haiti against foreign oppression.

      Toussaint L’Overture/Kaiden Berchin

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  6. The Haitian revolution was the pride of my people. We slaves were treated with abhorrent conditions and the true atrocities that shine through the innate nature of men. I consider a multitude of failures within this resolution were absolutely essential to the success that we later had. The first of these failures would be the first official declaration for the freedom of slaves by France. Toussaint L'Overture immediately turned on us hard working slaves who had been given freedom and insisted that it was absolutely essential that blacks and other people of color continued to work on sugar plantations. Another immediate failure that we had experienced was the untimely brutality and loss of life caused by the French. They fought hard to prevent our freedom and thus maintained a high level of dead within Haitian. Despite these significant failures it provided a basis within our country of dissatisfaction with the local discrimination of blacks under French rule. This lead to our ultimate success in uprising against Napoleons attempts to reinstitute slavery into our beautiful country of Haiti. I would absolutely advocate that this fantastic benefit of the revolution would have in no way been possible without the loss of lives of many a good men, and the failure of previous attempts towards true freedom. Overall, despite a multitude of failures in state of freedom and lives lost, we managed to grow and learn from those failures to ultimately find success in becoming free for all.

    Jackson- Former Slave

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    1. I agree with the claim of the freedom when coming to the liberation of the slaves. However, this could have never been done without the educated mixed or freed black race. Those initial faliures you speak about had happened based on the uneducated and inhumane actions that have occurred. The massacuring of the whites/ Europeans and the burning of the flames were irrelevant to help the situation going on. This would have never helped, but would have damaged the whole island overall if us mixed and Toussain L'Overture hadn't stepped up. It is great to now see that us educated people, who once did have a simple but great life, have helped free their cousins from slavery and build an independence. There is much to agree in terms in liberation and discrimination from the whites, but the ways of you slaves is something that is agreed to be a failure and problem. It is the best and the greatest that our leaders are educated and that the Haitian colony is growing towards its freedom and influence.

      A Gen de Couleur/ Abhilasha Kothapeta

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    2. You say that you were treated with abhorrent conditions and witnessed the innate nature of men, but then claim that the violent nature of the revolution was justified. Is not this exactly what you criticize us plantation owners for? The death of thousands and the destruction of the economy of Saint Domingue far outweighs the comparatively insignificant suffering that slaves have felt. You yourself cite many grievances against the people of Saint Domingue, but fail to correctly asses the burden that they lay upon the colony of Saint Domingue. Primarily, you talk about how the french were the cause for the extreme loss of life brought about by the revolution. Rather, the aggression was started by the brutal murders of various plantation owners, which prompted the people of Saint Domingue to fight back. This was the cause of the massacres, not the aggression of the Grand Blancs such as myself.

      Evan Fife / Grand Blanc

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    3. I disagree with you on your viewpoint of the need to work on the sugar plantations. I needed you all to continue working on the sugar plantations because we needed to establish Haiti and make it better. Our economy started out very bad because even though we had won the war, the warfare destroyed many things and we weren’t able to get investments in any form. This is one part of making our nation better and should not be a failure of the revolution. However, I agree that it was a failure so many of our people died from the wars fought with the French.

      Louverture/Sherry Chen

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  7. I am a Gen de Couleur, meaning free people of color. Our race can be labeled as in between the race hierarchy or system since we consist of African and European mixes. Some of us would be black slaves that have bought our own freedom. We do have the freedom to own land and have the privilege to stand about the slave. We would hold jobs such as planters, merchants, and shopkeepers.

    We had favored the way of the Frenchman and tried to acquire their culture as our own. In the return of our freedom we liked to live like the french, who were very posh. Our jobs and lifestyles were quite simple in this order instead of working in the fields. The Hatitian Revolution could never really give us back that kind of power over the native slaves. The revolution had put us in point that we, mixed, mostly white, black, and slaves, were just put together in one big category of freedom. For us freedom meant something special that we had possessed, and our lives were great and peaceful as the simplicity was calming to us. This revolution did also possess some kind of inhumane actions of burning down the plantations since some us Gen de Couleurs did possess that land. That action had also come back to hurt our economy of export to the main areas, since that was the purpose of the island. When it came to race, some of us would feel privileged having the European blood mixed with ours. Since we did have this mix of race, we would deny any kind of connection towards Africa and tried to participate with the French.

    However, the french did not think the same about us. The respect that we had to give to the Europeans such as, standing when they arrived around us and having to call them miss or sir was not applied back towards us. The black native slaves did have a nice view of gaining power of Saint-Domingue since we did have the majority of the population living there. Even though I had the freedom, I still had to face the discrimination at the hands of the free whites living there. The social hierarchy was strong and firm with many levels and being in the middle really meant nothing much. Another problem would be how much we tried to behave like Frenchmen but had our French citizenship denied. I guess if they wanted to deny our citizenship and rule us, we might as well create our own citizenship and rule ourselves, and I think the Hatitan Revolution really proved that. Overall, if I thought about our races as a whole, our brothers and sisters slaves had no longer had to face being a slave. The liberation and independence as a whole was a big success in giving everyone an equal and simple life. However, if we all did work towards by being led by mixed and privileged races such as the us, Gen de Couleur, we could make Hatian a place for liberty, rule, and advancements of the island.

    A Gen de Couleur/ Abhilasha Kothapeta

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  8. I am a grand blanc, and this revolution troubles me. For decades my family has owned a plantation, and our lives upon this plantation brought us great wealth. Prior to this revolution our plantation had a large number of slaves, and to us, it was more profitable to get new slaves than to care for the ones we had. Although the revolution was contrary to my beliefs, it was able to accomplish some things that were representative of the ideals of the french revolution. Namely, the removal of slavery on the plantations will help to increase equality for all men. Although I dislike the idea that my plantations will have to rely on something other than slavery for my workers, I believe that this advancement will make our colony much more alligned with the ideals of the revolution. The revolution further succeeded in lowering the social status of us Grand Blancs, as we weren’t able to control our slaves and we realized the dangers in allowing this to happen. However my people do not like this change in the social hierarchy

    However, this revolution was littered with failures. Primarily, with the success of the revolution, a major export of Saint Domingue was severely reduced. The success of the revolution entailed the end of slavery within the colony, and the violent nature of the early days caused the destruction of many well established plantations. This destruction and deficit in laborers reduced the incentives for people like us Grand Blancs, and will undoubtedly hurt the economy. However, should our colony revert back to our previous ways, we will be succumbing to the very thing we sought to destroy, and therefore violating the very ideals of the revolution we created. The revolution further failed in the aspect of increasing equality. During the revolution, the horrendous actions of the revolutionaries brought upon us Grand Blancs caused many of us to flee back to France. These actions greatly harmed Saint Domingue, and we believe that they are representative of the barbaric nature of the revolution.

    Evan Fife / Grand Blanc

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    2. I also agree that the revolution made Saint Domingue very poor and was bad for grand blanc planters and even gen de couleur planters too. We all lost money because slavery was abolished. However, I do not agree wit hthe fact that equality was not increased. White people have always terrorized gen de couleurs and slaves rather than treating them with compassion. It was because of this hatred that we decided to side with the slaves so we can rightfully become French citizens and earn our equality. If a Grand Blanc compares themself to a Gen de Couleur, the white person has more rights than us, which isn't fair.

      Gen de Couleur/Yubin Kim

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    4. As Toussaint L'Overture, I somewhat agree with you. The revolution did take a violent turn, but who's fault was it? You [whites] declined a perfectly satisfying deal to allow us slaves to return to the toil of the field, but what did you do? Declined! You cannot say that this is a failure if you caused the failure yourself. Due to your greed, you will now lose your precious sugar.

      As for successes, I agree. The success of removing slavery was a major success for our civil rights in the revolution. We gained these intoxication of liberty and happiness [enlightenment] from the valiance of the French, now, we [slaves] did the same and gained our deserved freedom. I wholly agree with you that this was a major success of the revolution.

      Liam Coldwell/Toussaint L'Overture

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  9. I am a gen de couleur which is a free person of color. We were either free slaves or children of French men and enslaved women. We tried to be as French as possible, but we were refused our French citizenship. This causes more inequalities as we were not allowed to vote and were regarded as less than white people even though we were both free people. The success of the Haitain Revolution was that it allowed for us minorities to be more represented and given more freedoms/equality. Toussaint rallied the slaves together to fight against the French. Although we had freedoms, we were still vastly limited compared to our white counterparts. This meant that after the revolution, we got our French citizenship which meant that we get the same rights of white people.
    A failure of the Haitian Revolution was that it didn’t help our identity and incomes. We would use slaves sometimes too as we were absorbed in French culture and wanted to be as French as possible. This meant that we emulated the French people on the island, so we had our own slaves as we could be small planters, merchants, and shopkeepers. After the Haitian Revolution, slavery was abolished so we could be targeted if we used slaves in the past, even though we were former slaves/part african. If we were planters, then it would be terrible as slaves were an integral part of plantations. This could make us confused on whether to still be ‘French’ or abandon that culture and adopt African/voodoo beliefs. Also, income wise, if a gen de couleur didn’t have slaves anymore, then their livelihood and one source of income was ruined. This would make them poor. This was also shown through how Saint Domingue went into economic decline after they gained their independence as they got help from other nations and also needed a lot of money for provisions and guns to fight against the many other nations that were trying to get Haiti.

    Yubin Kim/gen de couleur

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    1. As a fellow gen de couleur, I wholeheartedly agree with you. However, there is one thing I’d like to clarify. You claim that we tried to be as French as possible but this is inaccurate. We were also of French descent and were simply trying to embrace our European culture. Yet the full French people imposed distinctive clothing on us and deprived us of our right to vote. Furthermore, we were also of African descent. Some of the former slaves didn’t consider the position that we were in. We couldn’t simply ignore the European blood running through our veins and abandon our French culture, but we also couldn’t ignore our fellow people of color, and for many, we were stuck in between. In short, I agree with your points as a fellow gen de couleur.

      Natalie Le/A Gen De Couleur

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    2. Also as a gen de couleur, I must agree with your points as we were rejected and seen as inferior no matter how hard we tried to blend in with the French. To add on to your success, we were finally recognized as Haiti as a whole. Recognition to me means an advance in equality. I feel a bit accomplished and higher after our nation was recognized and independent. I agree partly with the failures that you stated, though I believe that our identities were somewhat improved. I feel like we were slightly more acknowledged and considered a little bit more than just “colored” men, though we were still unequally viewed. But to a large extent, our new independence was a decent leap towards equality.

      A gen de couleur / Nina Li

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  10. The Haitian revolution had many successes and only a few failures. The successes of the revolution far outweigh the failures nonetheless. As a slave, prior to the revolution, we had to work all day every day, under very awful conditions. The plants we had to harvest cut our skin like blades and the roots housed ants that bit us and caused us to itch for days. I have seen my own brothers and sisters be amputated for simply running away. One major success of the Haitian revolution is the expulsion of slavery from Saint Domingue. This is because slavery is inhumane and extremely dehumanizing. Another major success was the effect of this revolution around the world. Slaves overthrew their masters and took an entire colony from one of the most powerful maritime empires in the world at the time. This caused humiliation for the French and a domino effect causing many other revolutions. Our leader Toussaint L’Ouverture successfully led a revolution of slaves against their masters and created a new nation, Toussaint was a former slave.

    However, there were also a few failures of the revolution. One such failure was the expulsion of slavery itself because it left the plantations empty and in need of work. This new nation of slaves needs an economy to sustain itself and that requires some sort of physical labor however now that my brothers and I have been freed from those chains many of us will never work on another plantation again. Another failure was the bloodshed. Many of us slaves held so much resent for our masters that we killed them on the spot. This is a failure because we slaves became the very thing we hated so much.

    A former slave/ Lucas Santana

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    1. As Toussaint Louverture, I wholeheartedly agree with you. We had great success in expelling slavery from Haiti under my leadership, but this was a double-edged sword. While slavery was no longer used, plantations were abandoned and we went practically bankrupt. The plantation system was what our economy was built upon and without functioning plantations, our economy was ruined. While I agree with you on the matter of the bloodshed and the seeming hypocrisy of it, I believe it was necessary in order for us to gain our freedom from both France and our masters.

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    2. Toussaint Louverture/ Damian Beller

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    3. As a gen de coleur, I agree with your view that a failure caused by the Haitian Revolution was the abandonment of plantations and labor. I am an owner of a plantation, in which I was able to witness how the economy began to decline and fail after slavery was abolished. After the abolishment of slavery, no one wanted to work on the plantations anymore, in which production necessary to maintain the economy decreased significantly. I believe that in order to regain our economy, we must have to install a type of labor system in order to ensure that labor necessary for demands of crops, like sugar, is sustained.

      A gen de coleur/Krystal Manuel

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    4. Being a gen de coleur, I agree with you and your analysis on the successes and failures of the revolution. I also believe that the abolition of slavery negatively affects the economy. Without slaves working on the plantations, the plantations cannot provide the money needed to support the economy. With this in mind, we need to establish some source of labor so we can continue to use the plantations to support our economy. On the other hand, I can see how the abolition of slavery can be a success, as it offers equality and freedom for all people of color instead of being discriminated by the whites. With this in mind, I can see how the abolition of slavery can be considered both a success and a failure for France and the French colony of Saint-Domingue.

      A gen de coleur/Megan Kopec

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  11. I am Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian revolution. I experienced the views of the slave owners and was educated among them. Because of this unique insight into how our enemies thought as well as my education, I was chosen as the leader of the revolution. Under my leadership, there were many successes but also many failures of the revolution.

    Of the successes of this revolution, the largest and most obvious one is that of our victory. We not only ended slavery in Haiti, but also the long-standing French control over my homeland. Our revolution further set France back and we won our independence, not just from France, but also from our former masters. With slavery abolished in Haiti, we can now work for ourselves. This revolution is the first successful slave revolution, and it sent a message of hope throughout all colonies and empires built on the backs of slaves.

    However, with any victory, there are the losses. Although we sought to end slavery, we could not end the plantation system due to it being the frame of our economy. Without it, we went into an economic crisis and fell into poverty. We could not get rid of the plantation system completely, or else we would completely slip into debt.

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    1. Toussaint Louverture/ Damian Beller (Forgot to put my name on the post)

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    2. I agree with you that the most apparent success we had from this revolution was winning independence and ending slavery. We created a new nation, Haiti, apart from Europe. I believe that your viewpoint of the failures are directed at the wrong places. The sugar plantations were a part of establishing a new nation, so it was very necessary to continue.

      Louverture/Sherry Chen

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  12. The Haitian Revolution was a very successful movement against slavery and anti-colonialism in the French colony of Saint-Domingue. Being a gen de coleur, which is a free person of color, I feel that the Haitian Revolution has really been a key factor in allowing people like me to finally be free of all kinds of discrimination from the whites of the colony. Although we could own plantations and hold a significant amount of power over slaves, we didn’t have equal rights with white men. No matter how hard we tried to be French and become involved with French values, our French citizenship was never accepted. People like me no longer wanted to be seen as a second class citizen, and we wanted the inequality to stop. Thus, the Haitian Revolution was successful in the sense that it gave us the equality and freedom we deserved. The revolution ultimately gave me more civil rights and allowed me, a person of color, to have full equality among everyone, including whites. The Haitian Revolution helped assure that people of color, such as me and slaves, would never have to face discrimination from white people like we once did before.

    Although the Haitian Revolution proved to be very successful and beneficial towards the fight for equality, it did have some failures as well. For example, the Haitian Revolution caused lots of violent acts of defiance that ultimately destroyed our plantations that we owned. This slows down the economy and destroys the entire purpose of what those plantations were used for. The plantations contributed to the amount of money it gained for France’s economy, which came from the growth of sugar, cotton, indigo, and coffee. Along with this, the revolution also took away our source of income, which was from slavery. Although we supported the abolition of slavery to help gain equality and freedom for everyone, this puts us at a disadvantage. Without slaves to help with the harvest of these crops, Saint Domingue had a harder time being the primary source for France’s economy. The abolition of slavery also decreased the power we held over slaves prior to the revolution. It also affected our income in the sense that we could no longer use slaves to help support ourselves and our families. But nevertheless, the Haitian Revolution gave gen de coleurs the equality and French citizenship that we have been yearning for.

    A gen de coleur/Megan Kopec

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    1. As a grand blanc I agree with the failures that you presented. Many violence occurred from the revolution and many slave owners were killed. Many slave owners including me and you lost many of our workers on our plantains losing them and losing much profit. This largely brought down our economy. I also agree with the successes of the revolution. Although I'm not in agreement of them they were able to pull of gaining more rights and equality the minority and more freedom to slaves.

      Grand Blanc/Edwin Jiang

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  13. As a gen de coleur, also known as a free person of color, I believe that the Haitian Revolution had numerous successes and failures to the development of our country. Many of us gen de coleurs are mixed people with French and African descent, and benefit greatly from slavery since we are able to own land for plantations and slaves. Although we are able to own land and gain wealth, we had very limited freedom and rights before the occurrence of the Haitian Revolution. Before the revolution, an expanding issue for us gen de coleurs was the inequality that we received compared to the free colonial whites. Although we were free like the colonial whites, we did not receive the same rights or treatment they did. For instance, although we were free, we still had to address the colonial whites as “sir” or “ma’am,” which is unfair. One of the greatest successes brought by the Haitian Revolution was the increase of equality and rights for us gens de coleurs. In 1791, we sent a petition to the French government asking for fundamental changes, in which the government produced reforms that created equality and gave us French citizenship. Gaining French citizenship allowed for us gens de coleurs to feel more united with our country and increase our nationalism. After the Haitian Revolution, the gens de coleurs received a freedom that made us equal to the colonial whites.

    Although the Haitian Revolution brought great success to our status and freedom in Haiti, several failures were created due to the revolution. For example, many of us gens de coleurs owned land, in which we controlled plantations and slaves. Having plantations and slaves allowed us to profit and produce income for our families. However, the Haitian Revolution fought to abolish slavery. By abolishing slavery, we no longer had workers to grow crops on our plantations. Our plantations lost production rapidly, in which we were no longer able to make money from crops. This decline in agricultural production negatively affected the Haitian economy, in which we began to lose money and become poor. As the economy continued to decline as no one no longer worked in the plantations, people of Haiti began to become desperate, in which they either fled to other territories or asked other countries for help. Overall, the Haitian Revolution led to the increase of equality and freedom for gens de coleurs, but also negatively affected us as we lost income due to the abolishment of slavery.

    A gen de coleur/Krystal Manuel

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    1. As a former slave, I agree with your perspective of the Haitian Revolution. I also believe that it was a huge stepping stone for all Africans. It gave us the rights we deserved and the actual freedom we were destined for. I also believe that this revolution left a huge hole in our economy. The changes in our social structure severely impacted our economy in a negative way leaving our country impoverished and financially unstable. Despite living a harsher life than you, I have the same beliefs as you.

      Former Slave/Katherine Son

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  14. As a former slave, it is my pride to say that there were many successes of the Haitian Revolution. The Haitian Revolution was truly life changing for people like myself, and it marked a new beginning in history. However, there were still a few failures that I must shine some light on.

    The Haitian Revolution was full of many great successes. I must emphasize the accomplishment of abolishing slavery in the region. This was a huge success because it enabled minorities and slaves to finally live the lives they were meant to live. It gave back freedom to many who were deserving of independent lives. Rights were given back to the people, and many were finally liberated after living their whole lives as slaves. In addition, there were new developments within society, and a new level of political stability was reached. The poor treatment of Africans and discrimination was finally abolished and put to an end. These new policies dramatically decreased tension within lower classes and the amount of violence and rebellions present. The influences of discrimination and ideas of white supremacy were also dramatically decreased which helped maintain peace and political stability. Africans were finally considered equals and individuals with rights. An important success was the domino effect the Haitian Revolution caused. The events that occurred during the Haitian Revolution inspired many slaves and Africans in other regions to rise up and fight for their rights and independence which started a chain of uprisings and movements towards freedom.

    Despite these successes, there were also some failures of the Haitian Revolution. During the revolution, many Africans were killed fighting for their rights and independence. Many lives were sacrificed for the ultimate goal of freedom. Another failure was the economic impact. Without slaves as a major labor force, Haiti was seriously impoverished and financially unstable. The shift in the social system left a huge hole in our economy. Overall, however, I believe the Haitian Revolution was a huge success for former slaves like myself because of the opportunities and changes it brought.

    Former Slave/Katherine Son

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    1. As a gen de couleur, I do agree with you on the point that abolishing slavery was a good for the people of Saint Domingue because everyone deserves equal rights. However, I don’t agree with your point that the revolution was good for the economy and helped to stabilize it. I believe, in fact, that the revolution caused more instability in our economy because we no longer had a relient form of labor in our economy, and it became harder for food to be farmed without people working on plantations.

      Gen de Couleur/Emma Novak

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    2. I, Napoleon Bonaparte, do agree with the failures of the Haitian Revolution that you brought up. Your violent revolution was willing to sacrifice so many lives for the ludicrous concept of freedom, stealing countless people from the world of the living. As a matter of fact, you were even willing to destroy Haiti's plantations, the very backbone of the economy. This leads into how since you and many others are no longer slaves, Haiti is no longer supported by a stable labor force that can maintain Haiti's formerly prosperous exports. Although the revolution did bring you freedom, it left you in a worse place than before in regards to the economy as the people of Haiti now struggle to survive economically with the lack of plantations and a workforce. However, the fact that you believe the Haitian Revolution liberated slaves because they were "deserving" of independent lives is something I must disagree with. As a slave, your main purpose is to provide labor for Haiti's exports and, therefore, support the colony economically. Your work benefits everyone, not just yourself, and so you must put in the effort to serve society as a whole. Slaves live to serve and provide, and so are in no way deserving of independence if becoming independent means they can escape the duties that they owe to the people to perform.

      Napoleon/Freya Wang

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  15. I am a Grand Blanc of Santo Dominique and I was not happy with the Haitain Revolution. I am a grand blanc and I own many large plantations bringing great wealth. My plantations were filled with these slaves that provide the farming and care for my land. I was not happy when many of them started to revolt against me. Without the slaves I have no workers on my plantation which will cause me to lose all my great wealth. I mainly saw failures caused by the revolution. With the revolutions big issues arose from the conflict, mainly the violence it caused. With the slaves rebelling against many of their masters it caused many deaths of fellow slave owners. I personally believe the revolution was based on the selfishness of the slaves. We paid for these slaves so we should be able to do whatever we wanted to them. They revolted causing useless and large amounts of violence in our lands. Of course us slave owners couldn’t sit back and watch as these slaves took all of us out and fought back. From the initial revolt caused by the slaves there were many unnecessary violence and death as a result from it. There were more failures economically too. Without the use of these slaves the labor workers on the plantations were lost. Without any labor workers profit can no longer be made which largely affects my wealth and the overall wealth of everyone.

    Although I see much failure from the Haitain Revolution I can see that they were able to successfully perform their revolution. With their revolution they were able to gain more rights and freedom. People of color started to gain the same rights as whites. Slavery was also able to be removed from our region and many minorites gained freedom from and were able to live their lives independently. In my eyes this is seen as a failure affecting many aspects of our economy and my loss of workers in my fields, but for what they were trying to achieve I give them props for being able to pull off their revolution. Although I saw the revolution as mainly a failure as many unnecessary violence and large economic loss occurs from the revolution, they were able to succeed their goal of gaining freedom and better rights with their revolution.

    Grand Blanc/Edwin Jiang

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    1. I don't believe you deserve to be "not happy with the Haitian Revolution". I, Toussaint L'Ouverture, tried to compromise with you to end this revolution if you would just free the slaves and give better working conditions. However, you declined this with your short-sightedness, allowing the revolution to continue on. You let more of you fellow slave owners die because you let your anger control you decisions and immediately said, "No" towards our settlement offers. You think that you are the victims in this situation when many of slaves suffer for many centuries and many died for this cause like the slave owners. Despite this, I actually have to agree with you on that a failure of the revolution was the impact it had on the economy. This was quite devastating with former slaves unwilling to work and having all of our plantations burnt down.

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    2. L'Ouverture / Timothy Ang

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  16. I am Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian independence, and there were many successes and failures in my lead for the revolution. Saint Domingue was part of France, and we were a huge part of their economy. However, they needed large amounts of workers, so we the slaves were taken there and sold. I was a former slave and we started rebelling on August 21, 1791. We successfully won our independence from France and ended slavery. I also decided to expand the revolution to the neighboring Spanish colony and took down Santo Domingo. It was the most successful slave revolution. Our lives improved and we created Haiti, an independent country.

    On the other hand, there were failures in my lead as well. About one fifth of our population was killed during the wars fought. The warfare damaged our economy by destroying the capital and infrastructure. Our new nation, Haiti, also didn’t have any trade relations with other nations. We lacked the investment and the economy was greatly impacted negatively. Although we gained our independence and created the nation of Haiti, the economic problem left us in poverty.

    Louverture/Sherry Chen

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  17. As a gen de couleur, what I wanted out of the revolution was the equal rights to the white men. When I read the Declaration of the Rights of Man I questioned why it was applied to a grand blanc, but not a gen de couleur like me. Aren’t I a man? These laws should apply to me as well. The success of the Haitian Revolution made these desires possible as it gave rights to colored men and us gen de couleur fell into that category. When slaves were declared free and no longer allowed to be oppressed by plantation owners and other French men another number of us gained the freedom and equality we wanted.

    Although we gained freedom and other rights many of us suffered from the loss of slaves. A number of us gen de couleur were free and owned sugar plantations with slaves which was a main source of our income. Those who were slaves had just received the freedom they used to only dream of and would not want to return back to the fields to work. Without slaves who would work in the fields and factories to get the sugar prepared for exports and how would we earn money for our family and country?

    Gen de couleur/Ava Kiss

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  18. As a gens de couleur, I see the Haitian Revolution as both good and bad. I believe that there were benefits of the Revolution and some other failures as well. Gens de Couleurs are free people of color in Saint Domingue, mostly of mixed race. Many free people of color own plantations and slaves, or worked as store owners to earn a living and be able to support their families. Unfortunately, the slave revolts in Saint Domingue resulted in the elimination of slavery, which was a main source of how gens de couleurs would make money on plantations, including me. This was a downside to the revolution, people struggled to fend for themselves and the economy struggled to remain balanced.

    I believe that after the Haitian Revolution, we finally had a place to call our own without receiving horrible discrimination from whites because we were a different race. I support the revolution as we call for equal treatment of colored people. As long as slave labor was used in Saint Domingue, there would not be equality for all men. Although we follow French culture and identify ourselves as Frenchmen, the white Frenchmen would never allow us to be seen as French. We are joyful to finally be able to eliminate French control over the Haitian colony, as they never truly accepted us as being citizens of France.

    Gen de Couleur/Emma Novak

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    1. As Napoleon I would like to disagree and agree with you because the Haitian Revolution was a huge failure to me because it took away the French's control of Saint Domingue which was the world's richest and most productive colony. This is because of its production of coffee, sugar, cotton, and indigo. I agree with you on the fact that slaves were a source of income and profit for the French. Having control over this colony gave a great advantage and benefit towards the French. But unfortunately they lost control of the colony. My whole goal was to establish power/control and slaves and to eventually fix /stabilize the economy.

      Napoleon/Anie Tebrejian

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    2. As a former slave, I do agree with both the successes and failures you brought up. The lack of slaves on plantations did put a large dent in the Haitian economy, which was a major downside of the Haitian Revolution. But, I also agree with you that the freeing of slaves was a good thing, and that being able to support one's family was a large step into the right direction of everyone getting rights. Overall, I agree with most of your points on both the benefits and the failures the Haitian Revolution brought to the slaves and people of Haiti.

      Former Slave / Gabriella Sadosky

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  20. In my eyes, as Toussaint L’Overture, the Haitian Revolution was something I didn’t want to be part of. However, as it expanded into where I was living, it was threatening my way of life, so of course I had to take action. Plus, the Catholic religion condemns slavery and these Enlightenment ideals have reached out to me, so I joined the rebellion. As the rebellion went on, I soon climbed the ranks and became the head figure of the rebellion because I was educated, and I knew how to read and write. As I look at the aftermath as these rebellions go on, I knew how important these plantations were to the economy, so I tried to compromise with the Europeans, but that failed. These Europeans wouldn’t want to follow these social changes, but these slaves deserve the right to be free and equal. So, I organized and led the rebellion, holding off the French, Spain, and Britain, to the point where I ruled over Saint Domingue and created a constitution that ended the tensions between races. I would consider this a success as many of these former slaves had better conditions and were treated better.

    However, a consequence/failure following the Haitian Revolution was the devastating impact I suspected this would have on the economy. Former slaves didn’t want to work, plantations were burnt, and there was a continual violence between former slaves and Europeans. And to add on, there was the rise of Napoleon. Since Haiti was not officially independent and considered a French colony, this caused even more war and conflict between the French and the slaves. While at times it seemed grim that we would lose, we managed to get a series of successful victories that finally forced the French to surrender and leave the island. So, overall, the Haitian Revolution had many failures and successes, and the success of the revolution moved closer towards equality and liberty for slaves. The Haitian Revolution also started similar revolutions in other regions of the world.

    L’Ouverture / Timothy Ang

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  21. As Napoleon Bonaparte, the Emperor of the French, the Haitian Revolution was a complete and utter failure in my eyes. This absurd and unnecessary revolution tore away what rightfully belonged to France and, ultimately, to me. Saint-Domingue, the Pearl of Antilles, was France's pride and joy as our wealthiest overseas colony. The amount of sugar, indigo, coffee, and cotton produced there outshone every other colony in the world, and was crucial to establishing France's power and dominance among other nations. The Haitian Revolution ruined all of this, even going so far as to upset the very balance of society. Slaves must remain slaves to support Saint-Domingue's exports and maintain the economic success of the colony, yet we have someone as irritating as Toussaint L'Overture who dares to challenge this success. The sheer violence demonstrated by L'Overture's supporters even brought ruin to the prosperous plantations of Saint-Domingue, causing imminent threat to what used to be a thriving economy. With the loss of these once well-established plantations, the economy is in grave danger for the future. This violence that led to the destruction of plantations also led to the mass destruction of human lives, all taken unfairly as a result of a foolish cause. When I sent soldiers to Saint-Domingue in an attempt to take it back from L'Overture's forces, even their lives were taken as the people resisted rightful French control.

    However, I cannot deny that there have been a few good things that have come as a result of the Haitian Revolution. The revolution was the final nail in the coffin that crushed my dreams of establishing a truly French empire in the Americas, and so it was what caused me to surrender Louisiana to the U.S. through the Louisiana Purchase. With Saint-Domingue taken over by former slaves, there was no need for me to maintain my hold over Louisiana. The U.S. benefitted greatly from the Louisiana Purchase as their territory doubled in size from the addition of Louisiana and I pocketed $15 million for use in my conquests back in Europe. In addition, I do have to agree that despite being as absurd as it was, the Haitian Revolution was definitely successful in achieving freedom for its slaves and setting them free from their former masters. It even inspired future revolutions as people everywhere rose in hopes of liberating themselves from their seemingly hopeless lives. I must applaud Toussaint L'Overture for his success in bringing independence to Saint-Domingue, now Haiti. L'Overture may have liberated Haiti, but it is still no match regardless for the supreme power of France.

    Napoleon/Freya Wang

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  22. As Napoleon, I completely am against the Haitian Revolution. Although I don't share the same political values as the people for the Haitian Revolution, they still were successful slave revolt in Saint-Domingue. The slaves (to my disagreement) ended slavery and French control over the colony. These successes were only beneficial to the slaves and not the French because they took the power of the French from Saint-Domingue. it was a failure for me because I sent 43,000 troops to capture L’Overture and restore both French rule and slavery. Even though L'Ouverture was executed in France my rule did not last long because then one of his generals continued the revolutions. Also another failure for the French during the Haitian Revolution was the Battle of Vertieres on November 18, 1803 where the French forces were unfortunately defeated. Even though the Haitian Revolution was successful for Haiti to be independent from France, it was a failure because during this revolution 100,000 of the 500,000 blacks were killed and 24,000 of the 40,000 whites were killed. So even though the slaves finally had freedom there were a lot of casualties/people killed. Another failure of the Haitian revolution for me (Napoleon) was that I had to sell my land (Louisiana). It was called the Louisiana purchase, and the reason he had to sell it to the United States was because they became indefensible and were at war with Britain. The reason why it was a failure for the French because I sold it for so little for how big of land it was. Although the Haitian revolution benefited the former slaves who were set free and independent, it was a failure towards myself and the French. Even though this purchase was a failure to me, it was a huge profit towards the United States.

    Napoleon/Anie Tebrejian

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  23. As a gen de couleur or a colored man, I hoped for a lot of things to come out of the Haitian Revolution. Unlike the plantation owners, merchants, and slaves who desired more freedom, I, like all the other gens de couleurs, desired equality. We were constantly discriminated against by the free whites and couldn’t even obtain French citizenship. But due to our longing of being equal, we have tried to cut off much of the evidence to our connections to Africa and have chosen to dress like the French. Even then, the inequality still stood out.

    With the results of the Haitian Revolution, I am mostly content, but there are some factors I am not very satisfied with. It was a success as Haiti finally became independent. To be recognized is like being equal. We finally got our independent rights and were finally recognized. I personally feel accomplished and equal to whites in a way. To be a part of the first and only independent nation in Latin America, I feel more equal. In addition, we became the most similar to the French after so long, as we now are also able to lead our own nation just as they have. However, no matter what, many of the whites will still see us as inferior. Also I’m not too happy about the fact that for our peace, we must give a large number of slaves. This alone sets us at a disadvantage of equality as we have to pay just to stay peaceful. Though most of the outcomes of this rebellion were pretty satisfactory, I have to say I am a little disappointed that we got some of our equality and freedom by rebelling instead of cooperating.

    A gen de couleur / Nina Li

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  24. For us slaves, the Haitian Revolution brought mostly successes, but there were still some failures. This revolution placed a turning point on for our lives and gave us new chances and opportunities for the future. The biggest success of the Haitian Revolution was slavery being abolished. We finally got to live a free and independent life, and we finally got rights. This ended up creating a more stable government as there were no longer as many revolts and people against it because us slaves, and many others, got what we deserved. Africans were also beginning to be treated with more respect, which also factored into the decrease of revolts and even violence. They were now treated like actual people, who got rights like us slaves. We also created an influence for other slaves and minorities in other regions to fight for their rights and deserved independence. But, there were still some things that were failures during the Haitian Revolution. Firstly, without us slaves and Africans being on plantations and as a labor force, the economy of Haiti declined immensely. Also, some Africans that were just fighting for their rights ended up dying and not being able to see the multitude of successes the Haitian Revolution brought.

    Former Slave / Gabriella Sadosky

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  25. I am a gen de couleur, a free person of color that is of mixed French and African descent. I find that one of the failures of the Haitian Revolution is not maintaining slavery. As a freedman, I was able to own land and acquired a plantation. I owned slaves and they greatly contributed to my wealth by attending to my crops and fields. Plantations could be found all over Saint Domingue and served as a great source of income for many of my fellow gens de couleurs. Raw materials grown and harvested from plantations such as mine could be traded for a lot of money and the slaves I owned would produce these materials more efficiently, helping me to earn money. The Haitian Revolution freed them and I was now deprived of my slaves. Although I had collaborated with slaves in order to gain equal rights for people of color and independence for Haiti, I believe that we should still be able to own slaves, as they played a crucial part in Haiti’s economy.

    However, the Haitian Revolution wasn’t without success. One such example is that discrimination against gens de couleurs was lessened. This is mainly due to the fact that we were able to gain independence from the French. Although I was a mixed person of both French and African descent, I was discriminated against by the French, who believed themselves to be above me. We were not granted the same rights as the French, such as the right to vote. We were also forced to wear distinctive clothing in order to separate ourselves from the grands blancs. We were also unable to hold public office. However, after the Haitian revolution, French presence was limited and we were able to gain more civil rights. The Declaration of Independence written by Dessalines expressed that the French couldn’t oppress people of color any longer.

    Natalie Le/A Gen De Couleur

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  26. I, as Napoleon Bonaparte, don't approve of the Haitian Revolution and of what it has brought to France. One of the many failures of the Haitian Revolution is the loss of a huge source of economic growth for France. Before the revolution, slaves worked as much as needed for maximum productivity. Haiti before the revolution was France's shining pearl -- it produced 40 percent of Europe's sugar and 60 percent of its coffee, which is an incredible amount of profit for the country. The revolution gave slaves freedom, but it put individual struggles above pain of France as a Nation and this is unacceptable. The one "success," giving slaves freedom, of the revolution will only bring France deeper into poverty. The economic staggering caused by the revolution will also fail France by lowering our military budget; we need all the money we can get, so we can defeat Spain and Russia. An actual success of the revolution was that it showed me that we can't really control the whole world and. After surrendering Haiti, it is not likely that France will profit from American colonies. Thus, I am in support of the Louisiana Purchase, as it will give France at least some money as compensation for this failure.

    Napoleon/Viktoriia Udovichenko


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  29. As a gen de couleur, I was absolutely supportive of the Haitain Revolution, for we have always hoped for equality and decrease in discrimination from the whites. This is also because we do not appreciate being refused our French citizenship and rights to vote, as we have European descent as well. Although we did have more rights than most mixed races, we were still among the minorities and resented by the whites, despite some of us being wealthier than them. However, this was not entirely a problem anymore after the Haitain Revolution, for the revolution was successful in granting many of the minorities equal rights, in addition to less oppression among the mixed or colored people. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for France granting us citizenship in 1791 and the Declaration of Independence.

    Since then, we had been caught up in French ways and began to use slaves as well. In fact, slaves played an important role in Saint Domingue, as it was known to be one of the top sugar producing colonies in the world. As gen de couleurs, we acted to be like the French on the island and poorly mistreated the slaves. This later negatively affected us as the Haitain Revolution also resulted in the abolishment of slavery. Not only did this decline our economic wealth, this also put us in a lot of danger, especially being of European descent. The reason for this is because Africans, who were predominantly slaves, began to rise in power under Toussaint L'Ouverture. In fact, Dessalines, who was Toussaint’s lieutenant, massacred those who held slaves like the mulattoes and others who had white blood. This, in all, negatively impacted Haiti as a whole as the colony began to lose economic wealth due to the decline in sugar production.

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