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Year 8

The causes of the Haitian Revolution

I can explain why enslaved people in Saint-Domingue rose up in revolt in 1791.

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New
New
Year 8

The causes of the Haitian Revolution

I can explain why enslaved people in Saint-Domingue rose up in revolt in 1791.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The French colony of Saint-Domingue's economy was based on enslaved people working on plantations.
  2. Most of the people on Saint-Domingue were enslaved people, but the population was diverse.
  3. French revolutionary ideas of equality and liberty caused a growth in abolitionist feeling among the colony's people.
  4. In 1791, a slave revolt broke out on the island, assisted by so-called 'free blacks' and indigenous people.
  5. Toussaint L'Ouverture emerged as the leader of the Haitian Revolution.

Common misconception

All the peoples who revolted in Saint-Domingue were enslaved people.

The revolutionaries of Saint-Domingue were comprised of a combination of enslaved people, free people of African descent and free indigenous people.

Keywords

  • Prosperous - refers to being economically successful or wealthy

  • Grands blancs - this was the name given to the group of French elites who ruled over the colony of Saint-Domingue

  • Indigenous - the original inhabitants of a specific area

  • Hierarchy - refers to a system in which members of a society are ranked according to status or authority

Help students to appreciate the irony that the new French Republic (founded on ideals of liberty and equality) was repressing a revolution, in one of their own colonies, where the revolutionaries themselves were inspired by French revolutionary ideals.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What was the name of the 17th century thought movement that caused revolutions around the world?
the Middle Ages
the Scientific Revolution
Correct answer: the Enlightenment
the Renaissance
Q2.
Which country, inspired by Enlightenment ideas, overthrew their king in 1798, and executed him in 1793?
Correct Answer: France, france
Q3.
Put the following in chronological order, starting with the earliest.
1 - the Scientific Revolution
2 - the Enlightenment
3 - the American Revolution
4 - the French Revolution
5 - the Haitian Revolution
Q4.
Match the following people with their correct nationality.
Correct Answer:King Louis XVI,French king executed during the Enlightenment

French king executed during the Enlightenment

Correct Answer:John Locke,English Enlightenment philosopher who believed in the Social Contract

English Enlightenment philosopher who believed in the Social Contract

Correct Answer:David Hulme,Scottish Enlightenment philosopher

Scottish Enlightenment philosopher

Correct Answer:Galileo,Italian scientist who discovered the Earth revolves around the sun

Italian scientist who discovered the Earth revolves around the sun

Q5.
What is the name of the country created after a revolt of enslaved people, inspired by the Enlightenment, in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1791?
Correct Answer: Haiti, haiti
Q6.
What is the historical name for the 'Age' that the Enlightenment gave rise to?
The Age of Retribution
Correct answer: The Age of Revolution
The Age of Religion
The Age of Revelation

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Roughly how many enslaved African people were forced to work on plantations in Saint-Domingue by the end of the 18th century?
5000
50 000
Correct answer: 500 000
5 000 000
Q2.
Arrange the following events into chronological order, starting with the earliest.
1 - France experienced revolution and their king was executed.
2 - France promised freedom and equality for everyone living under French rule.
3 - The grands blancs refused to pass rights on to Saint-Domingue's free people.
4 - The free people of Saint-Domingue formed an alliance with enslaved Africans.
5 - Revolt broke out in Saint-Domingue.
6 - Toussaint L’Ouverture became the leader of the revolt.
Q3.
Complete the following sentence: The French Revolution in 1789 promised new rights and to all who lived under French rule, including its colonies such as Saint-Domingue.
Correct Answer: freedoms, Freedoms, freedom, Freedom, liberty
Q4.
Which of the below groups of people were the other 'free people' aside from the grands blancs in Saint-Domingue?
enslaved African people
Correct answer: indigenous Taino people
Correct answer: free people of African origin (so-called 'free blacks')
Q5.
Complete the following sentence: Saint-Domingue’s free people of colour found common cause with the African population who had faced years of oppression and forced labour.
Correct Answer: enslaved, Enslaved
Q6.
What word describes the 'stratification' of a society into levels where those at the top have power and authority, and those at the bottom have no power or authority?
Correct Answer: hierarchy, Hierarchy, hierarchical, Hierarchical, hieracy

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