Peculiarities of The Haitian Revolution - Essay Example

Haitian Revolution Slavery of whatever category has inhuman acts. The French colony remains historically renowned for slavery. Until in 1791, the rate of slavery had gone up tremendously. With an army composed of African slaves, Haiti was the first colony of the modern world to assert its independence from the French in 1804 (Leyburn 21). The army had fought great wars against the armies of Britain, Spain and France, defeating them all in a span of thirteen years. Like the American independence war and the French revolution several decades earlier, Haiti revolution had its basis on the principal of self-rule and termination of cruelty from white masters. The American war of independence was against subjugation by colonialists, with proponents claiming that no country was superior to the other. The principal concern was lack of representation in governments while the Americans were paying taxes to their German and Britain colonists, a practice that amounted to subjugation of their rights. The French revolution on the other hand was an extension of the self-rule principle from nation state relations to the domestic spheres. Their basic tenet was that all citizens in a state were superior to the state itself and that no man was superior to the other. Whereas these two revolutions form the basis for freedom fights, they both centred on rights and freedoms of white men only and did not extent to non-whites or to women. Ironically, the Haiti revolution was against slavery and misrule by French and American among other white countries including Spain and Britain. With large farmlands and other economic activities in their colonies, white rulers mistreated local residents and black slaves whom they forced to work under very demeaning conditions (Sara 45). Once a free independent nation, the urge to avenge against the French colonialists drove the new government under the rule of Dessalines to order a total elimination of all white French settlers on the island under the pretext that they posed security risk to the young nation. This venture spared Americans and other foreigners, but led to extermination of thousands of white Frenchmen, women and children. The extend of Dessalines’s ire towards former French settlers surfaced in his “liberty or death” proclamation where he described white Frenchmen as insatiate blood suckers who had fattened themselves with the hard toils of Haitians. Dessalines destroyed a considerable size of the island’s population in unleashing revenge on the remaining white French settlers. Population estimates indicate that a third to half of the population had died or fled the island over the thirteen years of war while over a hundred thousand were permanently disabled (Sara 33). The revolution period also saw sugarcane plantations, mills, and irrigation works destroyed, burned out or abandoned. The large standing army also kept productive men out of the fields. Dessalines declaration that no Haitian soldier could work on the fields left the fields short of close to forty thousand productive workers. Further, after thirteen years of fighting, the habit of hard work had diminished among the Haitian population. Women who had previously worked as slaves on the field continued to fill that role after independence, contributing essentially the bulk of Haiti’s productivity, since they constituted over two thirds of the population (Leyburn 77). They however too abandoned this form of manual labour, taking up small scale trading instead. Without devoted and willing labourers on the fields, Haiti’s productivity took a serious dip down the drain. It is estimated that between 1789 and 1801 sugarcane production declined by 80%, while coffee production declined to 30% compared to production before the revolution begun. With this kind of decline in major economic production sectors, the viability of the nation and its economic future were in great peril. Realising the need to improve the island’s productivity, Dessalines resorted to the first migration scheme determined to attract blacks from the United States. This move would bolster Haiti’s population, increased labourers, attract skilled work force and provide additional military personnel in case of possible foreign invasions. He also offered to purchase African slaves ended for Jamaica from British slavers (Sara 40). American policy towards Haiti and the entire Caribbean nations changed dramatically after Thomas Jefferson became president. Jefferson’s actions to curtail relations with the island were majorly out of fear of its influence on American slaves and the devastating impact it would have on white slave masters. Even before the American embargo, Dessalines had proved a poor promoter of Haitian trade and economic growth. For instance, his rule had instituted draconian policies against foreign merchants, policing what ports, customs officers, and trade goods made contact with Haiti, a move that made trade difficult. With neither of the two leaders who took over after Dessalines’ assassination over property tussles was able to re-establish French and American relations, Haiti became economically dependent on Britain. Maintaining relations with the island provided Britain with huge economic benefits that included a near monopoly of its trade. For Haiti, however, this relation was detrimental as it student any economic advantage or bargaining power for the leaders. Even when Americans returned to trading with Haiti, Britain chokehold prevented American merchants from attaining a foothold until the Napoleonic wars, which shifted Britain’s attention elsewhere (Leyburn 56). Despite having access to Britain’s insatiable demand for coffee and sugar, Dessalines successors found challenges in supplying these cash crops. To maintain agricultural production, Haitian leaders relied on large-scale gang-based labour regimes that had made the Dominique Island so prosperous and wealthy. After independence, the mode of production was large-scale plantations system with labourers growing export crops of sugar and coffee. From David’s article, the colonial period export economy produced so much wealth that there was absolutely no need for diversification. Imported food provisions, clothing and finished goods met the demand of local inhabitants. Few indigenous manufactures established themselves, leaving the economy completely dependent on exportation of cash crops and importing other commodities. Re-imposing the plantation system became the new means to economic and military security in Haiti. This system of labour, however, antagonized workers because it was too reminiscent of slavery (Sara 37). Workers resented returning to the plantations under the gang-based system and tilling farms that they did not own, preferring instead to engage in small scale farming and trading amongst them. Reconciling the economic imperative of re-establishing the plantation system and its national purpose with the desires of the rebated workers posed enormous challenges. Although definite figures are unavailable for the republic during these years, its treasury ran a deficit from 1808 through 1812. Leaders tried to encourage labourers to be more productive by creating agricultural festivals that celebrated the most productive labourer on specific plantations. In an effort to obtain more money from the treasury for jump-starting sugar production, the leadership under Petion abolished all taxes on sugar exports and increased taxes on coffee production. These challenges rocked Haiti’s economy up to 1860’s when America lifted trade embargo and naval restrictions. Although Haiti revolution was a great success in liberating black people from years of misery as slaves in white owned farm, it also created economic problems that crippled the islands national economy for decades. The revolution set a precedent that neighbouring island nations pursed to attain self-rule from colonial imperialist. Escaping slaves from Jamaica and Venezuela found refuge in Haiti since the constitution provided protection for any black person who set foot on Haitian soil by considering them genuine citizens. Further, on the political stage, it set revolutions in Jamaica, South Africa and the United States where black communities set out to champion their rights and end oppression and discrimination by the whites. It is for this reason that the revolution earned the name “the glory of blacks and terror of tyrants” (Leyburn 261). On the economic front, however, the revolution led to serious problems in the countries national economy with Haitians misconstruing freedom to mean laxity to work and non-commitment to production. Since the country’s economy relied on agriculture on large-scale plantations that exploited slave labour, continued work on the farmlands became a taboo for the new country. This led to subdivision of farmlands and subsequent re-allocation to Haitians. Once independent landowners, they embarked on small-scale production and trading between each other forsaking large-scale export agriculture on plantations. In the end, the revolution resulted to a hurting economy, which arguably has never recovered to date. In conclusion, historians regard the Haitian Revolution as the greatest and perhaps the most successful rebellion against slavery. Although, it had difficulties of several other revolutions taking place at the same time, the goal of the revolution to have new ideas in regard to human rights and collective citizenship, contributing to the government policies was realized (Leyburn 253). Therefore, assertions by Leyburn that Haitian Revolution was a political success but an economic failure are entirely true in view of the analysis contained in this paper (53). From history, after the revolution, Haiti came out as the first black republic worldwide and succeeded United States in the Western hemisphere to win European power hence gain its independence. Work cited David, P. Geggus. The impact of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic world. California: University of South California Press, 2001. Print. Sara, C. Fanning. Haiti and the US: Africa American emigration and recognition debate. Oklahoma: ProQuest, 2008. Print. Leyburn, J. Graham. The Haitian people. Virginia: Greenwood Press, 1980. Print. Read More