Revolutions: Haiti and Latin America

Flashcards covering the key vocabulary, figures, and social classes involved in the Haitian and Latin American Revolutions as described in the provided transcript.

Saint-Domingue

The rich French colony located on the western side of Hispaniola which produced $40\%$ of the world’s sugar and about half of its coffee.

Haiti

The independent republic established on January $1$, $1804$, meaning “land of mountains,” which resulted from the only successful slave revolt in history.

Grands blancs

Rich white landowners in Saint-Domingue who monopolized administrative posts and hoped to return to France.

Petits blancs

The poor whites of Saint-Domingue society, including artisans, shopkeepers, and day laborers.

Gens de couleur libres

Meaning “free people of color,” this group of $30,000$ in Saint-Domingue included many mulattos and blacks who worked as artisans, servants, or overseers.

Maroons

Slaves who ran away into the mountains and formed large populations that attacked plantations for food and supplies.

Boukman

A charismatic Vodou priest who organized the initial slave revolt in August $1791$, attracting almost $100,000$ slaves within a few weeks.

Toussaint Louverture

Born Franҫois-Dominique Toussaint, a former slave and skilled organizer who led the slave forces and drafted a constitution in $1801$ granting equality to all residents.

Yellow fever

The disease that ravaged the French army during Napoleon's attempt to restore authority in Saint-Domingue in $1802$.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

The lieutenant of Louverture and a black general who became the first head of state for independent Haiti.

Peninsulares

The class of $30,000$ Iberian-born officials who governed the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in $1800$.

Criollos

Also known as creoles, these were Euro-Americans born in the colonies who sought political independence while retaining their privileged social positions.

Juntas

Organizations of military leaders set up in Latin America to rule in the name of the deposed King Ferdinand of Spain after Napoleon appointed his brother Joseph to the throne.

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

A Mexican parish priest who led a peasant rebellion in $1810$ by rallying indigenous people and mestizos against Spanish elites.

Augustín de Inurbide

The creole general who declared Mexico's independence from Spain in $1821$ and briefly declared himself emperor.

Simón Bolívar

A Venezuelan republican known as the “great liberator” who was inspired by Enlightenment ideas and led the liberation of northern South America.

José de San Martín

A creole leader who concentrated his military efforts on liberating the southern regions of South America, including Argentina.

Gran Colombia

A republic formed in $1820$ by the confederation of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador, which eventually disintegrated due to political differences.

Dom Pedro I

The son of the Portuguese king who stayed in Brazil as regent and declared the country's independence in $1822$, becoming its constitutional emperor.

Caudillos

Local charismatic military strongmen who were granted authority in newly independent Latin American states and often allied with the creole elite.

Monroe Doctrine

A warning issued by the United States against further European intervention in the Americas, backed by the British navy’s control of the seas.