Introduction
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. In light of the Enlightenment movement, this emancipation should appear only logical and morally correct. However, the initial reaction of French people to the Haitian revolution and a lack of empathy from the White population serve as examples of controversy between the theoretical and practical application of the Enlightenment values.
“Unthinkable” Revolution
The roots of the Haitian revolution originate in Saint Domingue. It was a colony under a French protectorate; France had the most significant population in Europe but few colonies, contributing to the increase in the colony’s population (Tignor et al., 2017). An essential factor in this migration was the migrants’ race – many new colonists were Africans.
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.
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 (Tignor et al., 2017). In the meantime, the opposition’s demand was as simple as it could be – equity and justice.
Nevertheless, even after the revolution’s outbreak, it took a long time before people in France finally acknowledged this fact. According to Trouillot (2015), the only people concerned by the news were the ones involved in the plantation business – they had trade contracts to fulfill, which made the facts seem more trustworthy. Conversely, the left wing of the French assembly found the news to be unlikely to the extent of conducting passionate speeches with the outline of reasons for the revolution’s impossible (Trouillot, 2015). Furthermore, when the revolution could no longer be ignored, the French assembly was more concerned with the involvement of other European nations in the conflict, particularly English (Trouillot, 2015).
The Enlightenment movement received worldwide praise for the ideals of human rights and equality it is based on. In this context, the reaction of the “enlightened” European part of the Old World to the Haitian revolution of 1791 immediately raises concerns (Tignor et al., 2017). Despite the overwhelming pieces of evidence, the strength of prejudice toward the real danger that enslaved people posed is still hardly imaginable. It showcases how egocentric the “enlightened” people of the Old World were – a quality that goes directly against the proclaimed values.
Poor Empathic Capabilities
To end discriminatory practices, one should first understand the feelings of a discriminated person. Dubois (2016) makes an important distinction required for the interpretation of historical events in Haiti at the end of the 18th century – “the history of the Americas was written largely from the perspective of Europeans, the conquerors, and settlers” (p. 2). In this context, the interpretation of events from the Indigenous perspective is lacking and can be criticized for showcasing a different perspective (Dubois, 2016). The egocentric tendencies do not solely belong to scholars – they can be seen in various cultural manifestations.
An unpublished play, Le Philanthrope révolutionnaire ou l’hécatombe à Haïti serves as a perfect example of the actual vision of the Haiti situation from the White colonists’ perspective. In short, it depicts a situation in the revolution’s background, where Black freedom fighters are portrayed as villains, whereas White colonists resemble the essence of reason and condescension (Popkin, 2008). Despite the troubles caused by revolutionists, colonists granted freedom to the enslaved Black boy who contributed to their salvation (Popkin, 2008). The implication that such an attitude refers to the proclaimed equality values only indicates a lack of empathy from the contemporary White population.
This lack of empathy has led to certain blindness within historians’ scholarly circles. Focusing on depicting the revolution as truly liberal and universal disregards the developments following the revolution in Haiti. The end of the Haitian revolution in 1804 should not be considered the decisive factor in the country’s political organization (Tignor et al., 2017).
In particular, Haiti did not immediately become a republic – it gradually developed from a post-colonial state to a self-proclaimed empire and, finally, to a republic over the 19th century. Namely, the 19th century, in general, and the Civil Wars, in particular, resemble the fundamental political, regional, and intellectual factors that eventually produced the Haitian republican plurality (Tignor et al., 2017). The Haitian post-colonial development into a republic was far more complex than initially anticipated.
Conclusion
In practice, the values of the Enlightenment movement proved to be hardly applicable to reality. The egocentric tendencies within the French government became apparent in their initial reaction to the Haitian revolution outbreak. Moreover, a lack of empathy among ordinary people and scholars indicates specific double standards in practically applying equality and human rights values. However, this controversy only contributes to the actual value of the Haitian revolution in terms of worldwide slavery abolishment.
References
Dubois, L. (2016). Atlantic freedoms. Aeon Essays.
Popkin, J. D. (2008). Facing racial revolution: Eyewitness accounts of the Haitian insurrection. University of Chicago Press.
Tignor, R., Adelman, J., Brown, P., Elman, B., Kotkin, S., Prakash, G., & Tsin, M. (2017). Worlds together, worlds apart: Volume 2. WW Norton & Company.
Trouillot, M.-R. (trans.). (2015). Silencing the past: Power and the production of history. Beacon Press.