The Haitian
Revolution (1791€“1804) was important because it led to the creation of the second independent
nation in the Americasafter the United States. Saint-Domingue (Haiti) had been a valuable French
colony.
By the late eighteenth century, Haiti was a powder keg. The island
had been ruthlessly exploited since the Spanish arrived in the late fifteenth century. The main
causes of unrest were slavery and racial divisions. In 1790, about 550,000 people lived on the
island, and ninety percent were slaves. The others were whites or mixed-race Haitians
(affranchis). Both the slaves and the affranchis were discontented.
The
French Revolution had several impacts on this explosive situation. First, France fell into chaos
for a decade after 1789, and it could no longer administer its colony. Second, France's wars
with other European powersespecially Great Britainhindered its ability to maintain sea links
with its colony. Third, educated Haitians, especially the affrinches, were...
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