1. Haiti and Cuba: Why and why not. Haiti was ‘discovered’ by Columbus in 1492. Unfortunately for the people who already lived there- the Taino Arawaks- Columbus established settlements and a permanent Spanish presence on the island that came to be called Hispaniola. Before long most of the natives were dead- from disease or abuse. They no longer exist as a living culture.

2. The Spanish realized the value of sugar and began to establish sugarcane plantations across the island. Because the natives had been killed in such large numbers, new labour had to be brought in. Slaves from Africa were imported in large numbers to work the plantations under horrific conditions. As a result the sugar industry exploded, as did the slave trade. Even through the 1700’s slaves were being brought from Africa because the mortality rate was so high for slaves in Haiti that they couldn’t sustain the necessary population. Over time France established bases on the largely unused western coast of Hispaniola.

3. These French outposts proved to be a source of ongoing trouble for the Spanish- and the situation was not resolved until a treaty was signed by each country in 1697 (Treaty of Ryswick). The treaty divided the island into two sections with France taking the western portion as the colony of Saint Domingue. The colony became a major source of revenue for France- perhaps the richest colony in the world at the time. The wealth was based on slavery- hundreds of thousands of African slaves who were treated with great cruelty by the French. It produced sugar and coffee in extraordinary amounts as well as indigo and cotton. The colony had a social hierarchy based on race with Europeans at the top, followed by free mulattos and then slaves. The slave population outnumbered their colonial masters by a huge differential.

4. Overtime the mixed race population began to push for more rights. This created conflict with the ruling class, and provided hope for the slaves. The French Revolution provided the spark for open rebellion. Initially it inspired wealthy mulattos to press the revolutionary government to extend full rights to free people of color and initially they found support in the National assembly. French land owners in Saint Domingue however resisted the idea and the leaders of the movement were executed. The true Hatian Revolution began in 1791 when slaves in the north revolted against their owners and destroyed plantations across the north. The Revolutionary government could not survive without the revenue from Haiti so they sought a deal that would give rights to free ‘men of colour’.

5. This went too far for those French plantations in Saint Domingue who still had control of about two thirds of the colony. So they sought to make a deal with Britain and Spain. They would hand over political control of the colony to Britain in return for support against the rebel slaves and a return to the status quo ante bellum. Now there was a problem- how could the French government hold on to Saint Domingue with few soldiers in the colony, the north in the hands of rebel slaves, and the rest of the colony being turned over to the British by disenchanted landowners? Anyone? Answer: They recruited the slaves! The French government struck a deal where they freed all the slaves and granted full rights to all ‘people of color’ in the colony.

6. In return many of the rebels switched to fight for the French government instead of against it. The greatest Haitian leader was Toussaint L’Ouverture. He led an army made up of former slaves (he had been a slave himself), and defeated both British and Spanish forces. Eventually he not only gained control of Saint Domingue but also the Spanish section of Hispaniola. In 1801 Toussaint declared himself governor for life- which did not sit well with Napoleon who sent an army to tell him he was not going to be governor for life. Toussaint was not easy to defeat though and he put up stiff resistance to Napoleon’s army and eventually the French had to offer a deal that granted the colony much of the reforms Toussaint had implemented, with the catch that he retire from public life. He agreed.

7. Unfortunately for Toussaint the French did not keep their end of the deal. They invited him to a meeting, under the promise of safe conduct, and then arrested him-took him back to France-and left him to die of neglect in a prison. Napoleon promptly brought slavery back in, which set off another uprising. This time the people of Saint Domingue won the day and on January 1, 1804 the new republic of Haiti was declared.