Napoleon Bonaparte - Hatian Revolution

Taïno

An indigenous group of the Caribbean in Ayiti

Chattel Slavery

A system where individuals are treated as property and keeps enslaved people trapped.

Boukman Dutty

A leader of the Haitian Revolution who “started” the revolution and played a crucial role in inspiring the slaves' revolt against French colonial rule via voodo rituals.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian explorer and colonizer who initiated European colonization of the Americas. Funded by the Spanish King

Toussaint L’Ouverture

A detrimental leader of the Haitian Revolution and a former slave who rose to become a brilliant, educated military strategist He led the enslaved people of Haiti to victory against French colonial rule, establishing the first free black republic in the Americas.

Jean Jacques Dessalines

A key leader of the Haitian Revolution and L'Ouverture's principal lieutenant, who later became the first emperor of an independent Haiti.

Felicite Sonthonax

A French commissioner who arrived in Saint-Domingue (Haiti) in 1792 and proclaimed the emancipation of slaves in 1793 in an attempt to maintain French control and gain the support of the enslaved population against revolting white colonists and foreign invaders.

Napoleon Bonaparte

A French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution. He attempted to reinstate slavery in the French colonies, including Saint-Domingue, which reignited the fight for Haitian independence.

Affranchi

A general term referring to a freed slave in the French colonies, often used interchangeably with 'gens de couleur' to describe free people of color.

Gens de couleur

A French term meaning 'people of color,' primarily referring to free people of mixed European and African descent in the French colonies, who often faced legal and social discrimination despite their free status.

Petit Blanc

The 'small whites' in the colonial society of Saint-Domingue, comprising artisans, shopkeepers, overseers, and poorer Europeans. They often felt marginalized by the 'Grand Blancs' and resented the economic success of some 'gens de couleur'.

Grand Blanc

The 'great whites' or wealthy white colonists in Saint-Domingue, primarily plantation owners and high-ranking officials. They held significant economic and political power and sought to maintain the system of slavery and their dominance over all other social classes.

French Constitution of 1791

Adopted during the French Revolution, this constitution established France as a constitutional monarchy and granted civil rights to free men, but notably excluded women and did not initially abolish slavery in the colonies, leading to further tensions and revolutionary activity in places like Saint-Domingue.