Toussaint L Ouverture And The Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution is one of the most important events in our world history, but at the same time, one of the least discussed. The slave uprising on the small island of St. Domingue in the caribbean had surprisingly global effects, from the toppling one of the greatest military minds in history to setting the stage for the United States to become the power it is today. The documentary, Égalité for all: Toussaint L Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution, set out to describe in its entirety the pre-existing conditions, events of the uprising and after-effects of the revolution, and does an excellent job giving an objective and purly historical outlook on the event. With an event like the Haitian Revolution, it is easy to take the western
This documentary does a good job at providing all of the perspectives and giving an unbiased recapitulation of the events that took place, particularly with the characterization of the Toussaint L'Ouverture and the French role in the revolution. Though, it could do a better job and analyzing the after-effects of the revolution that we have gone over in readings since. Overall the documentary does an admirable job in shedding light on this important historical event. The documentary began with a typical listing of the conditions that led up to the revolution, namely the impact of the French Revolution. This part was effective in outlining the hypocrisy within the French Empire, as the French people fought for equality and freedom, the same did not carry over for the Haitian colony, as the slave trade and production value was too important for the capitalist dominance of the sugar trade on the island and its importance to the French Empire (though they did grant the slaves freedom at one point, the planters in Haiti refused to recognize it). The documentary also did a good job showing the brutal hegemony that existed on the island that gave the slaves credibility in their decision to fight back. The most effective portion of the documentary was their
For example, there was not a lot discussed about the larger impact of the revolution. It was briefly mentioned that the revolution led to the purchase of the Louisiana territory by the US from the French, but it did not go nearly in depth as our readings and the other documentary we watched on it. Additionally, there was no discussion about the atmosphere in the caribbean after the revolution, such as the illegal trade between the nation and the colonies of Curacao and St. Thomas after the revolution and the impact it had on the United States slave revolts. Understandably, there is only so much you can fit into a documentary without it droning on, but it would have been interesting to see how the directors framed these post-revolution events. Overall, the documentary was highly effective in providing an unbiased retelling of one of the most under discussed events in world history and finally illuminated one of hte most important events in black history, finally giving it a place in world history it so rightfully