World History / Unit 8: Revolutions and Nationalism
8.4 The Haitian and Latin American Revolutions
Notes
Revolutionary ideas spread to the Americas, where colonies won independence.
- Saint-Domingue (Haiti) was France's richest colony, with about 500,000 enslaved Africans on sugar plantations.
- In 1791, enslaved people rose up. Toussaint Louverture, a formerly enslaved man, led the revolution and defeated French, Spanish and British forces.
- Haiti declared independence on January 1, 1804, under Jean-Jacques Dessalines. It was the first independent nation in Latin America and the first country founded by formerly enslaved people.
- In Spanish America, creoles resented the power of peninsulares. Napoleon's invasion of Spain (1808) weakened Spanish control.
- Simón Bolívar ("the Liberator") freed northern South America, including Venezuela and Colombia. José de San Martín freed Argentina and Chile and helped free Peru.
- In Mexico, the priest Miguel Hidalgo called for revolt in 1810 (the Grito de Dolores). Mexico won independence in 1821.
- Brazil became independent from Portugal in 1822 with relatively little fighting under Dom Pedro.
Practice
The Haitian Revolution is unique because it:
Enslaved people overthrew colonial rule and slavery.
Who led most of the Latin American independence movements in South America?
Educated creoles resented Spanish-born officials and were inspired by Enlightenment ideas.
How did Napoleon's actions in Europe affect Latin America?
With Spain's king overthrown, colonists had a chance to push for independence.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 8 test.