The Haitian Revolution

The Haitian revolution left a lasting mark on the global community. During the first year of Haiti’s independence, Jean Jacques made an address to the people (7).In it, Jacques tells the people to be strong and not give in to European customs. This shows that their independence gave them even more unity and allowed them to be strong. This strength after fighting off the French showed to other countries in the what could happen if the slaves revolted.

The slaves took notice of the Haitian’s achievements, but so did the white slave owners. Because of this, two close nations to Haiti, Cuba and Puerto Rico, were among the last to gain their independence. However, in other countries, the Haitian revolution had a bigger impact. David Geggus, a historian, stated in his book The Modern Caribbean that slaves in Jamaica were singing songs about Haiti’s uprising within a month after the revolution (10). This shows that the Haitian revolution served as a turning point for many Latin American colonies. The rebellion in Haiti also influenced the decisions of the United States of America. Douglas Egerton, a professor of history at Le Moyne College talked about Jefferson’s feelings regarding the revolution (9). Egerton said that Jefferson was afraid that the revolution might inspire black Americans to revolt. To stop this from happening, Jefferson blocked trade and communication with Haiti. A document that would have been helpful is one written by Thomas Jefferson relating his feelings towards the Haitian rebellion. This is not a reliable source because it is not directly from Jefferson.

The Haitian revolution influenced the global network in many ways and vice versa. Because of global attitudes and social and political actions, Haiti was driven to revolution. The revolution then, in turn, changed the social, political, and economical views of the world.