Christopher Columbus thought he landed in India. He actually landed on a Caribbean island that the Spanish would name Hispaniola. The French took over the western third, which the natives called Haiti. The French called it Saint-Domingue. It became a very successful slave-based colony. After the French Revolution began, the slaves rebelled. Toussaint Louverture, a free black, became the George Washington of the rebellion. He declared himself governor for life in 1801. Napoleon tried to reconquer Haiti but failed. Haiti permanently became independent in 1804, the first successful slave revolt in history.
French Colonization
Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. He landed on an island later known as Hispaniola (“Little Spain”), which is between current-day Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Spain colonized the island. In 1605, the Spanish inhabitants of the sparsely-settled western part of the island relocated to the eastern end, closer to the capital city of Santo Domingo.
French settlers took over the western third of the island. The natives called the area Haiti (“land of high mountains”). The French called their colony Saint-Domingue.
Saint Domingue became France’s most profitable colony. It was a primary supplier of Europe’s sugar and coffee. Enslaved Africans, about eight hundred thousand, were imported to do the labor. West Indies slavery was particularly cruel and lethal.
The cruel plantation system led to multiple slave revolts, poisonings, and runaways. Runaway slaves formed “maroon” colonies in the mountains.
A 1788 census showed the white population was less than six percent. Free blacks were about four percent of the population. The rest of the population was slaves.
French Revolution
The French Revolution began in 1789.
The Declaration of Rights of Man stated, “In the eyes of the law, all citizens are equal.” Nonetheless, as with the American Declaration of Independence, slavery continued.
Revolutionary ideas are hard to control. Enlightenment ideas gave hope to slaves and the small free Haitian black community. Some free blacks already had a taste when they took part in the American Revolution. The French helped the Americans fight for independence, which they defended with talk of equality and democracy. Free blacks took that rhetoric quite seriously.
The National Assembly promised to provide voting rights to free blacks in the colonies. Mulatto (mixed blood) revolts broke out in Haiti after the white leadership refused to provide them.
Organized slave revolts began in August 1791.
Toussaint Louverture
Toussaint was born enslaved. He might have been born on the Bréda plantation (he was sometimes known as “Toussaint Bréda”) in Saint-Domingue around May 1743.
His son later reported that Toussaint’s father was the son of the king of Benin. We don’t know if this is true. The details of Toussaint’s life would eventually have some mythical details.
We do know that Toussaint had some schooling, learning to read and write some French, though he usually spoke Haitian Creole. He won the trust of his owner and was eventually freed.
He married and became a successful property owner. Toussaint was at first wary about joining the rebellion. His hard work, simplicity, and leadership skills led him to become a general.
His new name was “Toussaint Louverture” because of his skills at obtaining “openings” in enemy lines. In 1793, warfare between France and Spain led to an opening to obtain Spanish allies from the eastern side of the island. France officially ended slavery in 1794.
Toussaint switched sides. He helped to defeat British and Spanish attempts to control Hispaniola. The French appointed him Governor-General of the island.
Toussaint planned to fully take control. He negotiated with the British, who were weary after years of fighting and deaths by disease, and they left the island. He made lucrative trade deals with Britain and the United States. He fought off French rivals.
Toussaint Louverture, the George Washington of Haiti, released a constitution in 1801 and declared himself governor for life. All the residents were granted citizenship and equality.
(One difference between Toussaint and George is that Washington retired after his second term as president. Latin American nations had more difficulty in upholding a steady democracy.)
Napoleon’s Big Plans
Napoleon Bonaparte became the leader of France. He had plans to create an American empire.
The Spanish transferred control of Louisiana, which they obtained after the Seven Years’ War (aka the French and Indian War), to France. Napoleon sent his brother-in-law, General Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc, to lead an expedition to recapture Saint-Domingue.
Napoleon also planned to bring back slavery to Haiti. Slavery was already practiced in Louisiana.
General Leclerc would die of yellow fever in November 1802. He had earlier captured Toussiant, who would die the next year in captivity in France.
The French invasion failed. They lost tens of thousands of troops. Napoleon’s dreams of an American empire gone, he sold Louisiana to the United States.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Toussaint’s successor, announced the independence of Haiti on January 1, 1804. It was the only permanently successful slave revolt in history.
United States and Haiti
The United States supported the Latin American revolutions. They welcomed the end of European rule. The revolutionaries reminded them of their own independence movement.
Haiti was the exception. Many Americans supported the French Revolution. Why not support people who truly put into action the “right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”?
A slave rebellion was a bit too on the nose for many people. Americans also held racist beliefs concerning the ability of non-whites to be on equal footing with the United States.
French emigres flocked to the United States with horror stories of murders and mayhem. Chief Justice Roger Taney, the author of Dred Scott v. Sanford, wrote in the 1850s that he still remembered. Haiti was evidence of the dangers of ending slavery.
The United States would not officially recognize Haiti until the Civil War.