Revolution Spreads, Conservatives Respond 1789-1850

Haitian Revolution 1789-1804 French colony of Saint Domingue was one of wealthiest in the Americas. Sugar, cotton, indigo and coffee plantations generated 1/3 of all French foreign trade Brutal slave regime. News of the French Revolution spread to the island.

Continued Slave owners began to lose control. The whites, led by planters, engaged in warfare with the gens de couleur. This allowed the slaves to rebel and they combined French Rev. ideas with African political culture. Francois Dominique Toussaint L’Ouverture led the military slaves.

In 1794 the National Convention in Paris abolished slavery and this helped Toussaint. Toussaint kept the British from invading. Napoleon sends troops to St. Domnigue and captures and imprisons Toussaint. Women joined in the revolt and yellow fever destroyed Napoleon’s army. Independence declared in 1804. Haiti

The Congress of Vienna and Conservative Retrenchment 1815-1820 The objective of the Congress of Vienna was to restore the French monarchy and France’s borders to the 1792 status. Under Prince Klemens von Metternich from Austria the nations of Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia created a peace settlement. They wanted to keep Europe free from revolutions and liberal ideas.

Other Revolutions In 1830 the Greeks win independence from the Ottoman Empire. Revolutions of 1848 were spreading across Europe. Middle class worked to overthrow the regimes of monarchies. They wanted democratic reforms and national self-determination. These will fail and the monarchies will win due to military strength.