The Haitian Revolution began by the inequality of black, mulattoes, and whites, which led to improved communication by observation and slowly evolved to a revolution by the seeds of french enlightenment.
By emgarcia140
-
John Locke
John Locke believed that people were born with their life, liberty, and property. The job of the government was to protect your three rights. He also believed that good education was the ticket to gain influence and powerful men for success (Mr. Byrd). -
Thomas Hobbs
He believed that people were evil, and selfish, making bad decisions'. They needed absolute monarchs telling them what to do (Mr. Byrd). -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
He thought that the government was actually a contract which meant that they are agreements signed by people. There would be a contract between the people and government, called social contract. His is much similar to John Locke, because they both believed that the three important principles should be protected. Expect that if the government isn't doing it's job the people could back out of the contract and start a new one (Mr.Byrd). -
Immanuel Kant
Kant, (philosopher) clarifies enlightenment by making one think for themselves and rely one's statement on deciding their beliefs and how to behave. Kant answered the question on what enlightenment was. He said that if freedom was achieved then enlightenment would be unavoidable (William Bristow). -
Only seen as semi-citizens
Mulattoes were people of mixed race, treated unfair. The whites saw them as half citizens, unable to be involved in the political world. This made the Mulattoes angry, creating pamphlets for the National Assembly, focusing on inequality of castes in Saint Dominique and having disputes between Les Blancs, whites, and gens de couleur. This would be connected to Rousseau because of social contract. Social contract is the agreement between the people and government (Nicholson). -
No Money, No Slaves, No happy life
The whites were angry because they didn't have enough money to buy slaves. At the time the poor whites claimed they lived their lives miserable, and deserved slaves. This goes back to John Locke because Locke believed that your property should have been protected and no one should be able to take away those rights. This would also connect to Thomas Hobbs because it was said people were evil or selfish and needed to be in control by a ruler (Nicholson). -
The inequality of Slaves
The Slaves wanted equality just like the whites. They wanted to be seen as people and not just some property. They began rebelling once they overheard their masters talking about philosophers, which made the slaves make their own philosophy. This connects to John Locke, because it is told that you have property as people as these times were property even though he stated that all men should be free. Meaning that no one should've been held captive (Nicholson). -
Equality for All
Former slave led the rebelling act. After the 'war' was won, Toussaint had realized that in order to keep a colony stable was to have peace with everyone. He admires Abbe Raynals work, and seems to have followed in his footsteps in some way. This connects to Kant because he believes in Abbe Raynal's work, and acts almost exactly like Raynal, following his footsteps into being a good leader. Just like Kant said, if you believe in someone's beliefs, you needed to act like it (Nicholson). -
Works Cited
Bristow, William. “Enlightenment.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 29 Aug. 2017, plato.stanford.edu/entries/enlightenment/. YouTube video: https://youtu.be/CP8k_f3PFq8 -
Works Cited
“Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed.” St. Clair, Stephanie (1886–1969) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed, www.blackpast.org/gah/haitian-revolution-1791-1804. Nicholson, Rebekah (2006) "The Enlightenment and Its Effects on the Haitian Revolutions of 1789-1804," McNair Scholars Journal: Vol. 10: Iss. 1, Article 11.
