No More Europe Control

This past week in my Honors History class we learned about the revolutions of Latin America. We split into three groups and each group was assigned either Mexico, Gran Colombia or Brazil. After the groups were made we had to analyze a Casta Painting and create a pie chart with the percentage of each race such as Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizo, Indian People, and Slaves. After the analyzation and pie chart were done each group had to create a timeline for their assigned revolution. The timelines had to give the dates of major events in each revolution. After each group completed their timelines each group split so that there were two representatives for each country in each group. Once the groups were formed each twosome took turns summarizing their timelines to the others.

Our group was assigned the Brazil revolution. Everything started when Napoleon and his troops forced many people out of Portugal so the leader of Portugal, John VI and 10,000 others fled to Brazil. After a while John was forced to return back to Brazil to serve as a constitutional monarch. When he left his son Pedro took his place on the throne. Before pedro inherited the throne Brazil declared independence from Brazil. Portugal did not put up much of a fight and they recognized Brazil’s independence three years later. After everyone shared timelines we discussed similarities and differences of all the revolutions. One similarity between all the revolutions were that they were all seeking freedom from a European country. (Brazil from Portugal, Mexico from Spain, and Gran Colombia from Spain. Next, all the leaders of the countries did not last long. In Brazil John VI had to return to Portugal. In Mexico Iturbide was dethroned by republican leaders Guadalupe Victoria, and Santa Anna. In Gran Colombia Simon Bolivar was forced to go to Venezuela and then to Jamaica and Haiti.  One difference was that Brazil was not as violent as Mexico and Gran Colombia. In Brazil there was no real war and Portugal did not put up much of a fight. Secondly, Gran Colombia resulted in several different countries, and Brazil stayed as one. Mexico slit a little later than Gran Colombia. Race played a role in all revolutions. In Brazil Pedro only allowed Peninsulares into his government. In Mexico the entire revolution was for racial equality. Finally, in Colombia everyone who was not enslaved united in order to fight the Spanish.

Race was a major issue during these revolutions, however race still is a major problem today. As many of you may know there have been some serious problems involving race in Ferguson, Missouri. In Ferguson an African American unarmed teenager was shot and killed by a policeman. The policeman, who was white, has now been proven not guilty, and this verdict caused massive uproar in the town. Riots broke out all over Ferguson and people were seriously injured. Also, because of the riots there were many cases of looting. In these cases many businesses in Ferguson were damaged. This all started because a caucasian male shot and killed an unarmed African American teenager. This story has been all over the news and many people with white and black have expressed outrage over the verdict via social media. Ferguson, Missouri was the head trending topic on twitter all day yesterday. The story has been drawing many comparisons to the Treyvon Martin trial about a year ago, in which a teenage African American was shot and killed by a man, and the man was found not guilty. Both of these stories prove that race is still a massive problem in our world today.

Mexico Revolution
Gran Colombia

Toussaint Louverture: One of the Best

Adolf Hitler did some awful things to this world but he certainly knew how to captivate a group of people and motivate them to accomplish a common goal. Hitler excelled in the area of eloquence, but lacked heavily in moral leadership, political skill, toughness and honesty. Toussaint Louverture excelled in the area of Moral Leadership, toughness, eloquence and honesty. Unlike Hitler, Louverture managed to free a large group of people as opposed to murdering a large group of people. Toussaint started as a slave in Saint Domingue. He worked as a herder, a coachman and then an overseer of fellow slaves. Later, his owner freed him. Toussaint went on to rent his own plantation and he hired 12 slaves of his own. Toussaint Louverture should mostly be remembered as a liberator of the slaves, because many people were great leaders, but few leaders gained and helped sustain freedom for a massive group of people. Also, Toussaint was a great leader of his people and an exceptional military commander.

As a liberator of the slaves Toussaint displayed massive amounts of moral leadership, eloquence, and toughness. The French Revolution began in 1789 and this started to get many people on the island of Saint Domingue talking about freedom for the slaves. In 1791 the first of several slave revolts takes place. In this revolt a man named Toussaint Louverture joined the slaves and worked as a doctor for the soldiers. (Doc A) Toussaint also doubled as a commander of a small troop of men. (Doc A) After slavery is abolished by France in 1794 Toussaint joins their side. Then, he started fighting the British, who he defeated, and gained control of Saint Domingue in 1798. (Doc A) Later, in 1801 Toussaint gains control of the Spanish portion of the island. (Doc A) now that Toussaint is the outright leader of Saint Domingue he had some important decisions to make. He decided to meet with Napoleon to debate the reinstatement of slavery and he was captured and sent to France. Fortunately the men Toussaint commanded for several years were tough and well educated in how to fight the European and the slaves defeated the French in 1804. (Doc A) Toussaint warned the French that the slaves would fight back if they tried to reinstate slavery on his island. In a letter to the French Directory in 1797 Toussaint said, “… if this were to be done, I declare to you that this would be to attempt the impossible: We have known how to confront danger to our liberty, and we will know how to confront death to preserve it.” (Doc B)  In this quote Toussaint is making it clear that reinstating slavery is a bad move and that he trained his men well enough to defend against them. The French do not believe Toussaint and his men made them pay for it. Toussaint was a vital piece of the army of Saint Domingue and without him they may not have been able to defeat the powerful French. Toussaint was very well liked because of his distaste for slavery. In the Saint Domingue Constitution of 1801 article 28 states, “The constitution nominate citizen Toussaint-Louverture, Chief General of the army of Saint-Domingue and… he is entrusted the direction thereof the remainder of his glorious life.” (Doc C) This quote shows that the majority of Saint Domingue believed that Toussaint Louverture was a phenomenal leader because he was a liberator of the slaves. Also, this quote shows that the citizens of Saint Domingue also had a large amount of trust in Toussaint because they said that he would be the ruler for as long as he lives his “glorious life.” When it comes down to it without Toussaint Louverture there would have been slaves on the island of Saint Domingue for a much longer period of time.

In addition to being one of the greatest liberators of slaves to grace the earth Toussiant was also a fantastic leader of his people. He literally managed to work his way up from a slave to leader of his country. Toussaint helped create the Saint Domingue Constitution of 1801. In this constitution Toussiant lays down many ground rules to ensure that Saint Domingue will remain a great country. For example, article 16 states, “ Each cultivator and each worker is a member of the family and is entitled to a share of revenues.” (Doc C) In the constitution Toussaint tries to help unit all the people of Saint Domingue into a family. His idea of creating a family included that everyone who owns a plantation is the father to all of his workers. This implies that Toussiant wants everyone to treat everyone else as they would their brothers and sisters or their mothers and fathers. In Toussaint’s Proclamation of 1801 he lays down a set of rules that everyone in the country should follow in order to maintain the safety and well being of his country. He wants to make sure that no dangerous revolts or revolutions occur. In the second paragraph of his proclamation he states, “Any individual … tending to incite sedition shall be brought before a court martial and be punished in conformity with the law.” (Doc D) He wants to make sure that everyone knows that if they commit a crime against his country they will be punished, no exceptions. This is very important in keeping the order of his country, and it is part of the reason why he was such a great leader of his people. Toussaint made his rules clear to everyone to make sure that people live within them and so that everyone will live a better life.

              Finally, Toussaint was a phenomenal military commander. As a military leader Toussaint did not mess around. People who crossed him and caused up roar were punished harshly. For example, in 1801 a massacre of many white men and women of Saint Domingue took place. The man behind the revolt was Toussiant’s nephew Hyacinthe Moyse. Moyse organized a group of former slaves to attack and kill as many whites as possible. Toussaint gathered as many of the former slaves involved as he could and he ordered them to commit suicide in front of him. This may seem like a harsh punishment, but it helped Toussiantt, as a military leader, set example that he wasn’t going to put up with any of these revolts. When it came to his own nephew, Toussaint ordered him to death by firing squad also to set an example. (Doc E) When France came to Saint Domingue in order to reinstate slavery Toussiant remained calm and he said “All France is coming to St. Domingo, to try agin to put the felters upon our limbs; but not France, with all her troops of the Rhine, the Alps, The Nile, The Tiber, nor all of Europe to help her, can extinguish the soul of Africa.” (Doc F) This speech may not seem like much, but it certainly seems like something that will modivate all of Toussiant’s army to go and take back their freedom. Toussaint wants to make it clear to his men that no one, no matter where they are from can take away the pride that all the African people in Saint Domingue poses.

Toussiant did many great things. Whether it was thousands of slaves from the iron hand of France, ruling his country with a zero tolerance policy, or making his men realize that no one can take there pride on the battle field. The most important part of these accomplishments would be freeing the slaves. Of course his skills as a leader and a military commander helped accomplish this task, but there is something special about being able to help thousands of people who had no rights earn a new life. Also, this helps single Toussaint out among other leaders because many people were great leaders and military commanders but a small fraction of those people helped gain freedom for a massive congregation of human beings.

Doc A: Various Sources, “Timeline of Abolition in Saint Domingue”

Doc B: Toussaint Louverture “Letter to the French Directory, November 1797.”

Doc C: The Saint Domingue Constitution. Signed but Toussaint Louverture in July 1801.

Doc D: Toussaint Louverture "Proclamation, 25 November 1801."

Doc E: Madison Smartt Bell, “Toussaint Louverture: A Biography”

Doc F:  William Wells Brown, “A Description of Toussaint Louverture,” from The Black Man, His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements, 2nd edition, 1863. Engraving of Toussaint Louverture, 1802.  

Failure or Success

This past week in class we have been learning about the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. We learned about the Decembrist, 1830 French revolution, 1848 French Revolution, Frankfort Assembly, and 1848 Hungarian Revolution. While analyzing these revolution we had one main question in mind, and that was “Were the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 really failures as many historians have concluded?” To help answer this question we split into groups and each group was responsible for a revolution. Each group made a survey with ten or more questions about their revolutions using survey monkey. Finally, everyone took every groups survey.

Take My Survey

My group was in charge of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.  The revolution all started when a revolt broke out in Vienna. This revolt forced Metternich, who was the head of Austrian government, to flee his own country. This revolt had a domino effect and then led to a revolt in Budapest, where a Hungarian nationalist Louis Kossuth led revolts to try and end serfdom, protect rights, and to create an independent government. In Kossuth’s declaration to the diet he said, “Our task is to found a happier future on the brotherhood of all the races in Austria for a union enforced by bayonets and police spies let us substitute the enduring bond of a free constitution.” This quote shows that Kossuth wants wants basic rights for all people of Hungary. Later at the Declaration Relative to the Separation of Hungary from Austria representatives of Hungary gathered in the Diet to show why the Hapsburg - Lorraine family should not be in power. In the end Hungary gained some ground against Austria but Austria then paired up with Russia, using the principle of intervention, to defeat the revolt. This picture shows that Austria and Russia paired up to defeat the monster which was the revolution. In the end I feel that this revolt was only a partial failure because Hungary did gain some ground on Austria for a while and some changes were made, but once Russia came in many revolutionaries were killed or arrested.

Responses to a Survey Question

One revolution we learned about was the Decembrist Revolt of 1825 and this was the only revolution that was a complete failure. The Decembrist Revolt was a complete failure because the rebels lacked organization, support, and Czar Nicholas swiftly took care of the rebels. The Frankfurt Assembly was started by university students in German States wanted liberal reforms. Also peasants in German States were frustrated with the economy and the lack of food. Then, delegates met in Frankfurt. The delegates wanted to debate between a republic or a monarchy. They decided to offer Frederick William IV the crown, but he rejected it. In the end the rebellion was crushed by conservatives, and many were killed. I would deem this a partial failure. Finally, in The French Revolution of 1830 when Charles X took over power he aggressively took away the power of the press, took away the power to vote, and limited the legislature. This furiated many French liberals. The liberals took over Paris and the king fled to England. Then, a constitutional monarchy was in place with Louis Philippe. I would consider this a partial success because the king was forced out of France. Overall, I feel that the revolutions were mostly a partial failure. In most cases the rebels gained some ground but in the end they were defeated.