After the revolution Haiti declared its independent, freed all the slaves, and set up the first Black Republic in the world. It was also one of the oldest republic in Western Hemisphere. General Dessalines wrote the Constitution in 1804.
White men were forbidden from possessing property or domain on Haitian soil. Should the French return to reimpose slavery, Article 5 of the constitution declared: "At the first shot of the warning gun, the towns shall be destroyed and the nation will rise in arms."
Later Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor Jacques I of the First Haitian Empire. After Dessalines two men, Henri Christophe and Alexandre Petion came into power. They divided Haiti into South and North part and proclaimed themselves the leader. In this period eastern part of the island became a new country. After rebellion in 1808 with the help of Spain, Santo Domingo was born on 9 July 1809. However the conflict between Christophe and Peion continued. It wasn’t until 1843 Boyer, the successor of Christophe reunited the country. Soon after that Boyer’s government was overthrew by Charles Riviere-Herard.
In 1849 the Second Haitian Empire born. However, this government didn't last long. In 1859, General Fabre Geffrard established the Republic. Although it seems that Haiti gained its freedom and republic again, but the chaos in the country continued. Between 1911 and 1915 there were 6 presidents but all of them were either killed or forced to exile. Then in 1915 United States occupied Haiti until 1934.
- Freedom of religion (Under Toussaint, Catholicism had been declared the official state religion);
- All citizens of Haiti, regardless of skin color, to be known as "Black" (this was an attempt to eliminate the multi-tiered racial hierarchy that had developed in Haiti, with full or near full-blooded Europeans at the top, various levels of light to brown skin in the middle, and dark skinned "Kongo" from Africa at the bottom).
White men were forbidden from possessing property or domain on Haitian soil. Should the French return to reimpose slavery, Article 5 of the constitution declared: "At the first shot of the warning gun, the towns shall be destroyed and the nation will rise in arms."
Later Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor Jacques I of the First Haitian Empire. After Dessalines two men, Henri Christophe and Alexandre Petion came into power. They divided Haiti into South and North part and proclaimed themselves the leader. In this period eastern part of the island became a new country. After rebellion in 1808 with the help of Spain, Santo Domingo was born on 9 July 1809. However the conflict between Christophe and Peion continued. It wasn’t until 1843 Boyer, the successor of Christophe reunited the country. Soon after that Boyer’s government was overthrew by Charles Riviere-Herard.
In 1849 the Second Haitian Empire born. However, this government didn't last long. In 1859, General Fabre Geffrard established the Republic. Although it seems that Haiti gained its freedom and republic again, but the chaos in the country continued. Between 1911 and 1915 there were 6 presidents but all of them were either killed or forced to exile. Then in 1915 United States occupied Haiti until 1934.
¨References:
Political and Economic History of Haiti http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/haiti.htm
Haitian Revolution from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Revolution
The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2014/
feb/04/womens-rights-country-by-country-interactive
Women In Colonial Latin America https://www.msu.edu/course/hst/380/WOMEN.htm
A History of Haitian Women's involvement http://www.otherworldsarepossible.org/
history-haitian-womens-involvement-international-womens-day-part-ii
History of Haiti http://library.brown.edu/haitihistory/11.html
Haiti Overview Paper http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/precolumbian/tainover.htm