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DBQ: The Haitian Revolution

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The Haitian Revolution is recorded as the only known completely successful slave revolt in world history. Taking place from 1791 to 1804, the rebellion ended slavery in Saint Domingue, and rebirthed the area into the Republic of Haiti. The Revolution carried effects on a grand scale. Globally, other countries began to become fearful due to the rebellions, and this rage was voiced by citizens around the world. The French government’s political role in the lives of Haitians during the rebellion was expressed in numerous governing documents. The social impact of the revolution can be seen through the perspectives of slaves during the time period.
When Napoleon conquered France, he tried to reinstate slavery in Haiti. In May of 1802, a French commander kidnapped the head of the …show more content…

Before beginning, a legal code was put in place regarding regulation of slavery in Haiti and surrounding areas. This code, knows as “Black Code”, regulated everything from religion, to food (Doc 1). The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was the France claim of Independence. They believed that “all men were born and remain free and equal in rights”. Haitians believed that this also applied to them, but even though authors Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson believed people in their own countries had God-given rights, Haitian slaves did not because they were African (Doc 2). A helpful extra document would be of a Haitian reaction to France’s independence not being applied to Haiti. Because, they fought for the same thing, they should not be un-included in absolute freedom. Jean-Marie d’Aguay was president of the colonial Assembly in Saint Domingue in 1790, and was quoted saying “We have not brought half a million slaves from the coast of Africa to make them into French citizens.” This quote explicitly shows the amount of racial prejudice that Haitians slaves had to withstand prior to the revolution. (Doc

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