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In the midst of the French Revolution, uprisings began to brew in Haiti, which was a French colony at the time. These conflicts came from all sorts of social classes in Haiti, who felt they lived an unfair lifestyle. A former slave, named Toussaint Louverture lead many of these. -
Starting with slaves, who were at the bottom of the social hierarchy, who were upset for obvious reasons, such as not having freedom. Next were people of color who were not enslaved, who would be subject to racial discrimination regardless of status. Along with this, poor white people were resentful of the privileges that were held by the wealthy people of color, and unfair trade laws from the French government -
The rebellion is declared at a religious ceremony by a high priest on August the 14th. Throughout the next 10 days, many unexpected revolts took place, and by the end, the entire Northern Province was in the control of the slaves. Little territory remained for the whites in this area. -
Unfortunately for the revolters, the whites were prepared for such an event. This wouldn't be easy. In the following weeks, as more and more slaves joined the revolts, their numbers grew to 100,000 strong. Within the following two months, violence escalated, and around 4,000 whites were killed. Among this, 180 sugar plantations were destroyed, and so were hundreds of indigo and coffee plantations -
By 1792, the slaves had controlled roughly one third of Haiti. Recognizing the gravity of this situation, France sent 6,000 soldiers to the island, in favor of their economic status -
After France declares war on Britain, Plantation and Slave owners make an agreement with Britain that would allow British control of the island. -
Following the British invasion of Saint Domingue, A well respected general of the rebel army, named Toussiant Louveture, agreed to fight with the French army against the British, under the condition that the slaves were freed. -
Eventually, Toussiant manages to return the island to France. However, he did not wish to grant as much power over the island to France as they had before, and instead saw himself as a new leader for some time. He began to treat the island as a country under his rule. -
After a few years being the unofficial ruler of Haiti, Toussaint attempts to change that, and become the governor for life, with his new constitution. This, however, upset Napoleon Bonaparte, the ruler of France, sent soldiers and warships, attempting to return French rule. Toussaint was promised his freedom under the condition that he would give his Haitian army over to France. Unbeknownst to him, this was a lie. Toussaint was shipped to France, and imprisoned. He died in prison
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