In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed on to the island of Hispaniola which is now Haiti; it was originally Saint Dominique. Today the island has been separated into Haiti and Dominican Republic. Haiti is a country with a number of notable attributes, some good some not aren’t so good. St Domique was known one of the wealthiest colonies in the America. They were known in particular for products such as sugar and coffee which were great for exporting because of the abundance of these products.
One of the less favorable periods was from 1791-1804 when the Haitian Revolution took place. It was a period of conflict with the French colony of St. Dominique which ended slavery and as a result Haitian Republican was founded. In 1971 the slaves of St. Dominique started a revolution and as a result they successfully won permanent independence under the new nation.
The rebellion that was let by Toussaint L’ Ouverture was also a help the Haitian to win independence and freedom in several unique ways. 1801 was an important year in Haiti’s history. In 1801 Toussaint L’ Ouverture conquered St. Dominique and abolished slavery. Napoleon Bonaparte had gained power of France and had been the one to send Toussaint to St. Dominique to conquer the island, hence the revolution. With the capture of the island Toussaint sent a report to Napoleon informing him of the abolishment of slavery in Haiti. Napoleon was strongly against slavery being abolished in Haiti and as a result he sent 1600 troops to capture Toussaint and have his troop’s reinstated slavery. In 1803 Napoleon’s and his troops were forced out of St. Domique by Toussaint his troops.
President Jean Jacques declared Haiti a free republic; as a result many fled to St. Domique and then escaped to the United States. However they were harsher restrictions put on Blacks than on Whites when it came to who would be allowed to enter the United States. The harsher restrictions were put in place because Thomas Jefferson became aware of the people fleeing from Haiti to the United States. Jefferson went as far send word to the governor of South Carolina making him aware of what was happening and that if the Blacks from Haiti were to make it to the southern states they may start riots with the southern Blacks and white settlers because he Thomas Jefferson refused to acknowledge Haiti’s independence.
Thomas Jefferson offered to purchase the Port of New Orleans in 1803 from France. Napoleon sold the United States entire Louisiana territory which doubled the size of the United States. This also led to the expansion across the continent. The revolutionary in Haiti changed with the United States and their independence was now being recognized.
