Haitian Revolution

3 Pages 863 Words

The French Revolution came about in 1789 in reaction to an absolute monarchy in which the people did not have a voice. The Revolution touched and transformed social values and political systems in France, in Europe, and eventually throughout the world. France's revolutionary regime conquered much of Western Europe with its arms and with its ideology. The ideologies of the revolutionaries were of individual liberty; they rejected monopolies on commerce, government claims on land, and the remnants of serfdom. They believed in a constitutional government with elections and legislative supremacy. They demanded equal rights for all, denied the claims of privileged groups, localities, or religions to special treatment and required the equality of all citizens before the law. Their ultimate goal was expressed by the concept of fraternity; that all citizens regardless of social class, region, or religion shared a common fate in society, and that the well being of the nation sometimes superseded the interests of individuals. The revolutionary slogan was Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for all. This ideology of the French Revolution inspired the revolt in the French colony of St. Domingue, which in turn impacted the Western Hemisphere in many ways.
St. Domingue was the richest colony of France; they were the largest exporter of sugar to the eastern world. To meet with the increasing demand for sugar, France imported African slaves to fill the labor deficit. Near the time of the French Revolution, slaves outnumbered white plantation owner’s 15:1. There were approximately 500,000 slaves and only 40,000 white slave owners. White plantation owners exploited the slaves and literally worked them to death because it was cheaper than taking care of elder slaves. The average life span of a slave in St. Domingue was 15 years. At the time of the revolution in France, slaves in St. Domingue were already very resentful of their owners. However, the sl...