The history of slavery is filled with tragedy, sadness, and grievance. Independently on the place of its occurrence, slavery always brought the same consequences. While the enslaved nation craved liberty and justice, their slavers put a great effort into maintaining the usual order. The history of the Haitian revolution is not an exception to this tendency because it is closely connected with the enslaved people’s emancipation. Despite the distinct differences in the emancipation’s development, compared to the example of slavery history in other colonies, the core values of oppressed people remain identical. Their cravings and desires are the easiest to grasp, and this leitmotif can be easily transferred and applied to the development of slavery as a whole.
The roots of the Haitian revolution originate in Saint Domingue. It was a colony under a French protectorate; since France had the greatest population in Europe but few colonies, which contributed to the increase in the colony’s population (Geggus, 2014). An essential factor in this migration is the migrants’ race – a substantial amount of new colonists were free Africans (Geggus, 2014). Another critical factor contributing to the revolution’s development is the sexual disparity in Saint Domingue. White women were vastly underrepresented there; thus, many children born inside the colony were of mixed race. Consequently, they were freed of slavery and endowed with property (Geggus, 2014). Eventually, the numbers of oppressed and their oppressors became equal, which was not the case with their rights. The policy of white people ranged from conservative, which implied keeping the discrimination, to compromising, which lowered the racial discrimination toward free Africans but still did not equalize their rights (Geggus, 2014). In the meantime, the opposition’s demand was as simple as it could be – equity and justice.
I believe that it is much easier to understand the ideas of equity because we view history through the lenses of a modern time. Despite the fact that the world is far from perfect even nowadays, the ideals of social justice sown in the previous centuries already bear fruits. Thankfully, we do not have a chance to witness ubiquitous slavery as it was at the beginning of the 19th century. Moreover, since childhood, we have been taught about its horrors and continuously presented with the advantages of a better vision.
In a broader scope, the way people are nowadays educated on the example of slavery can be considered an act of sharing wisdom. As people grow and develop, they obtain various experiences, including learning by mistakes. The same is the case with humanity if you compare its development to the one of an individual. In other words, by studying our history, we have a chance to learn from the mistakes of humanity as a whole, draw analogies and make our conclusions. I believe that might be one of the fundamental reasons people keep track of history – to warn future generations and guide them to a better future.
The Haitian Revolution is intertwined with the ideas of enslaved people’s desires for freedom, social justice, and equity. The emancipation was particularly accelerated with the population numbers parity and eventually prevailed, despite the conservative efforts and bargaining. It requires much less effort to understand the reasoning behind the pursuit of social justice because we can see its results with our own eyes. Accepting slavery as humanity’s mistake, we can learn from it and use this knowledge to build a better world.
References
Geggus, D. P. (Ed.). (2014). The Haitian revolution: A documentary history. Hackett Publishing Company.