- Overworked on plantations
-Whippings, torture, & other punishments
-Lack of food, clothing & medical care and inadequate living quarters
-Women enslaved also subject to sexual exploitation
-High Death Rate
French Revolution (1789)
-Declaration of the Rights of man: ideas of liberté (liberty), égalité (equality) and fraternité (brotherhood)
- Inspired some slaves to feel they should be treated equally & have the same rights as whites
Leadership
- Toussaint L'Ouverture- brilliant general & leader
- Unite slaves & defeat the French. He later worked to improve conditions for Haitians, but he was eventually captured by the French and died in prison
Conflict Between France, Spain & Britain (1790)
- Gave enslaved Haitians an opportunity for freedom to join in the fight
- Some slaves sided with the French due to French promises to end slavery; others sided with Spain & Britain
Success of the Haitian Revolution (1804)
- Haitian forces defeated the French; Haiti declared its independence
- First independent Caribbean nation
- First & only successful general slave rebellion in history