Question 1:
There are three major ideals of the French Revolution that have an effect on the Haitian Revolution. These ideals helped in staging successful revolutions in the two regions. They areas stated below.
Racial Equality: James (1) observes that this was the greatest ideal in the revolution. Racial equality came about mainly because the French used assimilation form of colonization. Due to this, there were three different groups; the whites, blacks and the mulattoes. Due to the existence of some kind of rivalry between the groups, some of them especially the colored people felt neglected and mistreated. This led to the revolution.
Autonomy: the issue of independence is close to the heart of mankind. The French revolution was greatly driven by the harsh rule of the French leaders which made the people call out for their autonomy. The same ideal applied for the independence revolution in Haiti. The planters in the land wanted their autonomy and so did the blacks as well as the slaves in the land. They all wanted their independence.
Emancipation: this was a great driver for the revolutionary efforts. Emancipation was present in all the provinces of France where the people strongly fought against it. In Haiti, the same was witnessed. There were fights against this in all the provinces: the north which witnessed the Oge and slaves’ revolts, the West which was of British occupancy and the South which was a stronghold for the colored people.
These ideals were very crucial in the French revolution and they also came in strongly in the Haitian revolution. As such, it can be seen that the French Revolution greatly influenced the Haitian revolution.
Question 2:
According to sjsu.edu (1), the Haitian revolution was not simply an affair of the whites against the blacks. Rather, it was a twisted matrix that involved all the groups of people in the country and one that was more politically driven. As such, the fate and direction of the Haitian revolution leads to an understanding that the revolution was not only on the basis of race, but also on the political front.
It can be seen that in France, it was passed that all humans were equal and colored people who paid their taxes had the right to be treated like citizens. However, the Haitian administrators refused to comply with this regulation. Rather, they continued treating the mulattoes like lesser humans on the other hand, there were the blacks who were being treated as slaves and they also rebelled, advocating for their rights. They carried out a mass massacre on the whites.
The unfortunate fact is that the revolution was not a success and about five times blacks were killed as compared to the whites. The revolution was stopped. However, this sparked more calls for revolutions in other provinces, including the mulattoes who became more vigorous. In the long run, even the white administrators in Haiti started having wrangles among them as whether to follow the decree of their administrators and treat all as equal or whether to treat them as lesser humans. By and by, the revolutionary efforts gathered strength and finally Haiti won its independence.
Question 3:
Both the French and the Haitian Revolutions have great significance to the modern society. Due to the current developments, transport and communication have become much easier in the globe. As such, there are people from different walks of life interacting on every day basis. The interactions are governed by respect for the others and the knowledge that every person has different value systems. As such, everyone aims at living harmoniously with every other person.
The Haitian and French Revolutions can serve as an indication of what can happen should one group of people take a superior position or treat the others in a manner that suggests that there are superior and inferior people. Such a notion can lead to animosity and hatred between people and could possibly even lead to violent conflicts. As such, these revolutions act as a warning that everyone should be treated equally and with dignity.
This can be seen in the cases of the two countries. If the French rulers had respect for their people, then there would not have been a French revolution (James, 1). On the other hand, if the French administrators in Haiti had respect for the blacks and the colored people, then the Haiti revolution would probably have been more civilized (sjsd.edu, 1). As such, it is important to note that even in the modern times, the line between peaceful coexistence and conflict can be determined by the manner in which people relate with each other and how they relate with the others.
Works Cited
James, C.L.R. Making Sense of the Haitian Revolution. 2012. Web, March 6th 2012, http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/dgeggus/htnrevn.htm
Sjsu.edu. Political and Economic History of Haiti. 2012. Web, March 30th 2012, http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/haiti.htm
