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The Black Jacobins
Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution
- Read in 21 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 13 key ideas
Synopsis
The Black Jacobins traces the remarkable history of the revolution in the French colony of San Domingo (modern day Haiti). It describes the events that helped the revolution become the first successful slave rebellion in history.
In particular, The Black Jacobins views the events through the prism of the revolution’s greatest figure, Toussaint L’Ouverture. It shows how he, a former slave who was inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, successfully defeated the European empires and helped to destroy the brutal practice of slavery in San Domingo.
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“One of my favorite things about Blinkist is that it helps you learn about topics you might not delve into otherwise. In my case, without these blinks I probably never would have known about this fascinating bit of Haitian history.”
– Ben H, Head of Editorial at Blinkist
Key idea 1 of 13
The “free” population in San Domingo was made up of various competing social classes.
In San Domingo, the slaves did all the work, which made the colony prosperous. Above them were a whole host of social classes which profited from this labor.
At the top of the social structure were members of the French bureaucracy, which included the governor of the island and his administrators. They ran the colony on behalf of the French crown.
Then there was the “white” population of San Domingo, which numbered approximately 30,000 people.
The most prosperous colonists were the big whites. These included the Europeans who owned the plantations on which the slaves worked. They became very rich from the crops that were produced. Also included in this class were the merchants who traded both the slaves and the crops the slaves produced. They disliked the bureaucracy because it had the monopoly on power in the colony.
Under the big whites social class were the small whites. These were the poorer members of the European community and included the managers of the slave estates, tradesmen and professionals like draftsmen and carpenters, as well as unskilled laborers. Many of these people came to the colony because here the color of their skin made them important. In Europe they were seen as the lower classes, but in San Domingo they held power over the people of colour.
Then there was the mixed-race and “free” black population, which numbered about 40,000 people. Although many of these people were hard working and prosperous, they were denied rights or certain positions in society due to the colour of their skin. For example, a white man could trespass on the property of a mixed-race man and even seduce his wife, but if the mixed-race man complained, he ran the risk of being lynched. Resentment therefore built up in this class at their lack of rights and privileges.
Key ideas in this title
- The “free” population in San Domingo was made up of various competing social classes.
- Although the slaves in San Domingo had often fought against the system, they lacked the leadership needed to succeed.
- The French Revolutionary ideals of liberté, egalité and fraternité spread to San Domingo with explosive results.
- In Toussaint L’Ouverture the slaves found someone with the leadership qualities to challenge the system of slavery.
- In 1791, the slaves of San Domingo rebelled, and Toussaint L’Ouverture soon became one of their leaders.
- Toussaint L’Ouverture never sacrificed his aim of the abolition of slavery on San Domingo.
- Toussaint L’Ouverture soon became the leading figure in San Domingo.
- Toussaint L’Ouverture attempted to create a prosperous and highly cultured society in San Domingo.
- Toussaint L’Ouverture’s desire to create a multi-racial society in San Domingo alienated some of his black supporters.
- Under Napoleon, the French government invaded San Domingo with disastrous results for Toussaint L’Ouverture.
- The arrest of Toussaint and French attempts to restore slavery led the population of San Domingo to declare independence.
- The slave revolution was the result of the ideas of the French Revolution and the unique skills of Toussaint L’Ouverture.
- Final summary