Independence of Haiti

In 1789, France's National Constituent Assembly made the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. In 1791, the enslaved Africans of Saint-Domingue began the Haitian Revolution, aimed at the overthrow of the colonial reign.

History

Background

For more than one thousand years, Arawak and Taino people inhabited what was later known as Hispaniola. The name Haiti (or Hayti) comes from the indigenous Taíno language and was the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean "land of high mountains." Christopher Columbus arrived on the island on December 5, 1492 and claimed it for the Spanish Empire, after which it became known as Hispaniola. Later, under French colonial rule, the Caribbean island was known as Saint-Domingue (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃.dɔ.mɛ̃ɡ]) and was a French colony from 1659 to 1804.

Early on, enslaved people on the island began resisting captivity and fighting to restore their freedom. Examples of this resistance include the uprising of Padrejean in 1676 and the uprising of François Mackandal in 1757.

The French Revolution began in 1789. On June 21st, 1791, King Louis XVI and his family attempted to flee Paris, but the plan failed due to a series of misadventures, delays, misinterpretations, and poor judgments. Louis was officially arrested on August 13th, 1792, and sent to the Temple, an ancient fortress in Paris used as a prison. On September 21st, the National Assembly declared France to be a republic, and abolished the monarchy. Louis was stripped of all his titles and honors, and from then on was known as Citoyen Louis Capet.

1791 slave rebellion

News of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen reached Hispaniola's inhabitants and inspired them to reclaim their rights. On the night of August 14th, 1791, representatives of people enslaved on local plantations gathered in the woods near Le Cap to participate in a secret ceremony. During the ceremony, Dutty Boukman and priestess Cécile Fatiman prophesied that Georges Biassou, Jeannot, and Jean-François Papillon would lead the revolution. Months later, they killed the plantation owners who had enslaved them.

Haitian Revolution

Among the many leaders of the Haitian revolution were Macaya, François Capois, Romaine-la-Prophétesse, Jean-Baptiste Belley, Magloire Ambroise, Nicolas Geffrard (general), and Étienne Élie Gerin. The battles of the revolution include:

• Battle of Croix-des-Bouquets (22 March 1792),
• Siege of Port-au-Prince (12–14 April 1793),
• Battle of Cap-Français (1793) (20–22 June 1793),
• Battle of the Acul (19 February 1794),
• Battle of Saint-Raphaël (20–21 March 1794),
• Battle of Gonaïves (29 April–5 May 1794),
• War of Knives (1799 to 1800): A civil war from June 1799 to July 1800 between the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, and André Rigaud,
• Battle of Ravine-à-Couleuvres (23 February 1802),
• Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot (4–24 March 1802),
• Blockade of Saint-Domingue (18 June – 6 December 1803),
• Action of 28 June 1803,
• Battle of Vertières (18 November 1803)

Haitian Declaration of Independence

The Haitian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on January 1st, 1804, in the port city of Gonaïves by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, marking the end of the 13-year-long Haitian Revolution. With this declaration, Haiti became the first independent Black nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines became the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. He was Governor-General of Haiti from January 1st, 1804, to September 2nd, 1804, and Emperor of Haiti from September 2nd, 1804, to October 17th, 1806.

See also

• United States and the Haitian Revolution
• Armée Indigène
• Armistice of March 30, 1798
• End of slavery in Haiti

References