Africa Diaspora - Research Paper Example

? History and Political Science Africa Diaspora Discuss in detail the events of the Haitian Revolution and its impact on the abolition of slavery in the Americas.  The Haitian revolution was considered the most successful of all anti-slavery revolutions and occurred between the years of 1791 to 1804 in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, the colony which was an important producer of sugar and other crops saw frequent conflict between the slaves of African origin and the European masters (Lovejoy, 290). Although the slaves significantly outnumbered their masters, they found it difficult to find their own voice outside their communities. The slaves suffered particularly harsh treatments if there were any attempts to gain emancipation or to run away (Bulliet, Crossley, Headrick, Hirsch& Johnson, 584). In the 1750’s, Mackandal – a voodoo priest with a charismatic personality was able to gather slaves into organized movements and networks throughout the plantations (Blackburn). He was also able to organize the maroon bands or runaway slaves. Even after his death in 1978, the movement continued to fight for the cause of the slaves. Concerned by this and by the disparity in the populations of the different groups, the European officials passed a number of laws that were not only discriminatory and oppressive of slaves but also of freed persons of color (Blackburn). These individuals were denied opportunities, were limited in the number of administrative positions that they would be offered and were ostracized socially. Such laws motivated the freed slaves and others to join the protests. The French revolution led to the declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789, which declared all men to be equal (Blackburn). This was believed to be a vindication of their rights by the free colored population of Saint-Domingue. One such person was Vincent Oge who had recently returned from France. He believed that he and others like him had the right to vote in Saint-Domingue; and he perused this cause till he was captured in 1971 and brutally killed (Blackburn). This incident caused an uprising that was led by another voodoo priest Dutty Boukman. This uprising that started on 21st August 1791 led to the violent and disruptive revolt of slaves all over the province. In an attempt to curb the revolt, equal rights were granted to freedmen in 1792, but the war between France and England bought the rebels the support of the Spanish and the English (Bulliet et al., 584). The French realized that they could not fight on so many fronts, and so in 1794, the Assembly of the First Republic declared all slaves in the French colonies as free men. L'Ouverture was a former slave who rose to the rank of commander in the army and worded tirelessly for the emancipation of slaves (Dubois, 171). These freed slaves were then encouraged to join the French army, thus serving as an incentive for the French to ensure emancipation of all slaves. These troops succeeded in defeating the Spanish and British invaders and gained command of the island where L'Ouverture declared himself a ruler and declared Saint-Domingue a sovereign black state in 1801 (Dubois, 177). This angered Napoleon Bonaparte who had L'Ouverture captured. L'Ouverture later died in prison in France. Napoleon sent Leclerc and Viscount of Rochambeau to take control of Saint-Domingue, where they tried to reestablish slavery without success (Dubois, 180). This fueled the revolt that continued to weaken France till it was defeated in 1803. Jean-Jacques Dessalines who was then leading the rebel forces in Saint-Domingue declared the state free on 1st January 1804 and renamed it as ‘Haiti” (Dubois, 303). The success of this revolution caused questions about slavery to be raised across the United States where slavery was still practiced. A number of freed men and slaves were inspired by the efforts of the rebels in Haiti and these voices caused political enquiry into the issues of slaves (Popkin, 298). American soil also saw refugees - both white and those of color - from Haiti who brought their thoughts and culture with them (Popkin, 298). The ensuing tension with respect to ideology, race and politics caused polarizations in American thought that would later provide fodder to the anti-slavery movements in America. 2. Discuss the main reason for the abolition of the slave trade in 1807.  The 1807 act passed in Great Britain that abolished slave trade was encouraged by a group of Evangelical English Protestants who were strongly associated with the Quakers (Cox, 90). The Quakers are a group that was and continues to be strongly invested in the concept of equality among humans as part of their religious and social ideology.  Thomas Clarkson had reviewed the conditions of slaves and the conditions under which slave trade was conducted (Dubois, 258). Appalled by the explicit mistreatment of humans who were sold as slaves, he fought against the slave trade for over 20 years along with William Wilberforce and James Stephen among others (Cox, 90). Along with nine others who are also against slavery and slave trade, they formed the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787 (Cox, 90). This committee which operated from within and outside the British parliament encouraged abolitionist views within the parliament as well as in the society at large. As the movement slowly gathered support, slavery and slave trade were being viewed as immoral and inhumane (Popkin). The political climate in England at the time also added to this attitude. The ongoing war with France encouraged the British to support the rebels in Haiti in a bid to weaken the French. This move allowed England to take an anti-slavery stand that would later help in the establishment of anti-slavery and anti slave trade laws (Bulliet et al., 584). The British sympathy for the Haitian slaves was encouraged by the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade (Popkin), and soon a majority of the British parliament stood in support of the committee. After defeating the French, the British government was required to establish their stand visa-vie slavery and slave trade. To this end, the parliament led by Lord Grenville, passed the Slave Trade Act or to use its complete title "An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade" on 22 February 1807 (Cox, 91). This formed the basis for the abolishment of slave trade in many other nations that were under the influence of the British Empire. It is interesting to note that under this law, slave trade was abolished in the British Empire, but slavery itself was not immediately abolished. This occurred nearly 25 years later in 1833 (Bulliet et al., 584). 3. What were the main reasons for the abolition of slavery in Cuba 1886? Cuba had a history of slavery that dated back to the 1500’s, but slaves were only brought into Cuba in large numbers after the mid 1700’s when Cuba started trading with countries other than Spain (Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society). Given the success of other colonies in producing sugar, Cuba also requested rights to produce and trade sugar, and thus started developing vast plantations. Slaves were brought in to work on these plantations, giving rise to the number of slaves in Cuba. In 1762, England seized Havana and destroyed the isolated nature of Cuba’s trade with Spain (Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society). As Cuba began trading with other countries like England, slaves were brought in using the slave trade routes of these countries. In 1789 Spain opened trade of slaves to Havana (Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society). This was a time when anti-slavery movements were taking root in England and France, and thus, Spain has a small window within which to establish slavery before pressure from other nations started affecting first the slave trade and then the presence of slavery (Bulliet et al., 585). After passes the slave trade act in 1807, England started pressuring other nations to pass similar laws (Cox, 90). In 1817, Spain was required to pass laws against slave trade, but there was no requirement for the country to stop slavery. These events triggered the rise of internal rebellion against slavery, but these revolts did not significantly affect the Spanish government (Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society). The growth of the sugar markets meant that Cuban plantations would require more workers, and thus, slaves were brought in by American ships into Cuba. While the British navy patrolled waterways to discourage slave trade (Cox), American waterways were open to them. The mid 1800’s saw the rise of anti-slavery sentiment in the United States of America for a variety of reasons (Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society). The revolution in America came alongside the civil war, where slaves were granted emancipation in return for military and strategic help (Bulliet et al., 583). In 1862, the American government agreed to stop slave trade and it also abolished slavery in 1863 as a strategic move to win the civil war (Bulliet et al., 584). States like Puerto Rico also abolished slavery in 1878 (Bulliet et al., 585). The post war conditions in America gave rise to a number of abolitionist thinkers who further influenced the world trade and helped the ongoing revolutions in Cuba (Bulliet et al., 585). International pressure began telling on slavery in Cuba, and there was no slave trade in Cuba after 1866. Growing anti-slavery notions in the world as well as within the county itself finally led the Cuban government to declare slavery illegal in 1886 (Bulliet et al., 585). All the slaves present in Cuba at this time were emancipated and provided with citizenship; although it took many more years to establish any semblance of social equality. Works cited Blackburn, Robin. "Haiti, Slavery, and the Age of the Democratic Revolution", William and Mary Quarterly 63.4, 2006; 633–674. Bulliet Richard, Crossley Pamela, Headrick Daniel, Hirsch Steven & Johnson Lyman. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History (5th ed.). New York: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Cox, Jeffrey. The British missionary enterprise since 1700. London: Routledge. 2008. Print. Laurent Dubois. Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 2004. Print. Lovejoy, Paul E. Transformations in slavery: A history of slavery in Africa (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. 2000. Print. Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society. The last slave ships: Cuban society in 1860. Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, 2002. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Popkin, Jeremy D. You Are All Free: The Haitian Revolution and the Abolition of Slavery. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2010. Print. Read More