Freedom is an abstract concept that is inextricably linked with human society. However, this idea was interpreted differently at various times and by different people. While their views may not match the modern definition, they made sense to the people of that time. Studying them allows a complete historical picture revealing the emotions that drove people’s actions. Particularly curious in this context are the understandings of the freedom of people who lived during the times of revolutions and the struggle for their rights. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the concept of freedom of people in Saint Domingue and post-revolutionary Haiti from the perspective of observers of those events.
The Saint Domingue colony was one of the most critical settlements for France due to the scale of the resources extracted there. Due to the massive number of enslaved Black people controlled by whites in numbers almost ten times smaller, social pressure and inequality were extremely high. Ultimately, this is what led to the revolution and rebellion against the existing system in which the people of Haiti tried to achieve freedom. The basis of this freedom as an idea was reflected in the Decree of the National Convention of 1794, which was to abolish slavery and proclaim the equality of all people in the colonies (Geggus, 2014). This position was formed three years after the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution in 1791 and reflected the urgent need to restore social justice. The idea of freedom necessary for the people of that time consisted, first of all, in the absence of a slave-owning system.
However, it was also viewed by the community of Haiti from a philosophical perspective. This is expressed most fully in Jean-Baptise Belley’s 1794 speech defending the abolition of slavery by the National Convention through an appeal to free men’s legislators. Many people associated with the former white elite branded the Convention’s decision a disaster. Belley, defending the freedom of the people of Haiti, asks his colleagues a philosophical question: do they believe that nature is inherently unjust and has created some people as slaves for others? (Geggus, 2014). In this context, freedom was understood by the inhabitants of that time as something natural, which is contrary to the order established by France. From the perspective of the revolutionaries, nature is fair, and they, the inhabitants of Haiti, are no lower and no worse than the white people who sailed from Europe. Therefore, they are entitled to the same rights, including the right to freedom.
Finally, freedom as a concept was the basis of the Haitian Declaration of Independence, issued on January 1, 1804. Although it has absorbed all the above elements, it is formulated in this document differently. Louis Boisrond Tonnerre, who wrote the Declaration, expressed an extraordinarily emotional and heroic understanding of this concept. From his perspective, freedom consists of complete independence and the expulsion of all ties with France, which has tortured the people of Haiti for two centuries (Geggus, 2014). The Declaration is imbued with anti-French rhetoric, closely woven into the concept of freedom, which consists of an entirely independent life. From this point of view, freedom is the struggle against everything French and the establishment of a just example of the war against slavery and oppression.
Thus, the concept of freedom expressed by the people of Haiti during the revolution differs significantly from the current formulation. Moreover, different people at various stages of the revolutionary struggle showed diverse opinions on this matter. While the French Convention in 1794 consolidated the basic idea of freedom in the absence of slavery, Tonnerre in 1804 proclaimed freedom as a struggle against everything French and complete independence. This analysis allows concluding that by the time the state of Haiti was formed, freedom for its inhabitants consisted in almost total opposition to France. Such a perspective was formed precisely due to the historical context, and it can be understood only by analyzing documents and statements from that time.
Reference
Geggus, D. P. (2014). The Haitian revolution: A documentary history. Hackett Publishing Company.