TheHaitian Revolution

by: Anderson Aries

Though t he Hait ian Revolut ion, m arked in hist ory beginning 1791 and ending in 1804, is docum ent ed as t he first successful slave-driven revolt result ing in a count ry's independence, t he hist ory of Hait i is an ext rem ely t ragic one. The m achinat ion t hat w as com m only referred t o as t rade in t he east ern w orld is w hat init ially w on dom inance in t he w est ern t errit ories It w ould be an age-old desire for independence t hat pushed back. The cost s, it t urns out , can never be redeem ed. Because along w it h t he t ragedies t hat claim ed Hait i, are t he unending t reacheries of hum an greed and conquest

It is only a goal t o som ehow reflect upon t he advancem ent s of t his count ry t hrough it s st rife, t o speak of it s heroics, and not becom e m ired by t he coups for pow er and ot herw ise at t em pt s t o m aint ain a st rat egic hold over Hait i and it s resources

Quisqueya If I've discovered not hing else t hat I could possibly share of im port ance, it is t he nam e t he t hen inhabit ant s of t he island, a m ix of Taino and Ciboney people, originally called t heir hom e. Would it st rike you as shocking t o learn t hat an It alian explorer sailing on behalf of Europe landed upon it s soil in 1492 and nam ed it Española, lat er t o be called Hispaniola? Tw o guesses w ho t hat It alian explorer 's nam e w as. But t hat only m arked t he beginning of w hat w ould becom e Spanish rule and t he reduct ion of over 500,000 Taino people t o less t han 500 in a lit t le m ore t han 50 years

Over t he course of t he next 120 years, from 1570 t o 1697, African slaves w ould be t ransport ed t o t he island in order t o m aint ain w hat w ould becom e a t hriving cocoa, coffee, cot t on, indigo, and sugar m arket Once Quisqueya w as nearly deplet ed of it s gold by Spaniards, Spain t hrough it s t reat y t urned over it s claim s t o France The m ix or com binat ion of European set t lers, Taino and Ciboney inhabit ant s, and im port ed African slaves w ould event ually m ake up for m ore t han 550,000 people residing on t he sit e of fut ure Hait i

Saint Dom inique, t he nam e best ow ed t o Quisqueya island by t he French, w ould begin it s t urn t o independence short ly aft er w ord t hat a new law , recognizing t he right s of m an, w as refut ed and denied The French Revolut ion spilled int o t he Hait ian Revolut ion Bet w een 1791 and 1804 a vast am ount of overt urns t ook place t hat w ould event ually lead t o t he island gaining it s independence. In 1825 how ever, France dem anded reparat ions be paid by t he new ly liberat ed people of Hait i t o it 's enslavers and t heir dependant s, a debt t hat w as paid for t hrough high int erest loans brokered by t he French, t he U.S., and Germ any unt il 1947

This am ount exceeds t hat of t he Louisiana Purchase, w hich involved at least t hirt een U S st at es, a point not able due t o t he fact t hat Napoleon Bonapart e only decided t o sell his int erest in t he st at es t o furt her prot ect his asset s abroad due t o t he insurrect ion t aking place in Quisqueya, Hispaniola, Saint Dom inique, now Hait i

Paying reparat ions t o it s enslavers arguably crippled t he nat ions w ealt h and it s abilit y t o grow If it w asn't a bid for it s nat ural resources, ironically, it w ould be a series of nat ural disast ers claim ing t he st at ure and w ell being of Hait i unt il present day.

The fight for independence and accept ance has proven t o be w ort h m ore t han any m at erial fascinat ion t he w orld produces, and yet it is t he acquiring of asset s t hat seem s t o cont inually drive w hat is considered w ealt h on our planet , aside from being capable of com plet ing essent ial act ivit ies of daily living (ADLs)

When I begin t o research inform at ion like t his, I ask m yself w hat w ould I have done t o change any of it ? There is a good chance I w ouldn't even be here if not for t he t ragic t urn of event s t hat m ade possible t he nat ion of Hait i We do not w ant hist ory t o repeat it self, anot her w iping of t he land of hundreds of t housands of people and it s inhabit ant s. Sadly, it s exam ple m akes m e w onder t he fat e of t he w orld if t he first t o w in independence from foreign rule is only m eant t o fail because of it s audacit y.