During the late eighteenth century, the French colony of Saint-Domingue was going through a dramatic transformation. It was in full revolution, with the slaves rebelling against their cruel and unjust masters. A slave army lead by Toussaint Louverture swept the colony and secured victory over the white minority that had for so long kept them oppressed. Ultimately, Toussaint was outsmarted by Napoleon but not before he paved the way for Haiti gaining its independence. Through out this unit one question has plagued me, whether Toussaint was in fact a strong leader or merely a weak instrument of that the Haitian people used to achieve independence. Despite how I voted today in class, I feel that Toussaint was both. The challenge that he had was immense, to take an untrained army, put it against one of the most professional armies in the world and succeed. For the most part, Toussaint succeeded. He is credited with putting Haiti in a position to gain its independence form France. He used many clever tactics to secure his victory. Originally allied with the Spanish against France he abruptly switched sides and expelled the Spanish from Haiti, thereby forming a sort of truce between the French and Haitians. Once all was set and done France was in control of Haiti once more and Toussaint was its leader. It was here that Toussaint started making some flawed decisions. He appointed himself emperor for life and lost the respect and trust of his people. Then when Napoleon’s troops invaded, his people were not willing to back him and fight under him once more. It was due to this that Toussaint was ultimately had to surrender to Napoleon. So, although he may have started off strong, when he was truly put to the test, ultimately he failed.

Was the French Revolution a Success?

The French Revolution of 1789 was one of the most important events in French History. It caused a change in government that resulted in the abolition of a monarchy and the creation of a dictatorship. But there is one question that has plagued me since we started this unit. Was the revolution a success? Personally I don't think it was. Although it is credited with abolishing the monarchy that had ruled over the French people for centuries the government that it created was not any better. Although the government under Robespierre originally started of with good intentions, such as making sure the poor could afford food, I feel that its intentions soon turned more malicious. More and more people were arrested for voicing their opinion and executions became commonplace. The people became so infuriated with the government that they revolted again in a sense, and had Robespierre executed. I feel that all the Revolution of 1789 did was replace one villain with a stronger, even more nefarious one that molded France into a country that placed no value on quality of life.

Was America Justified in Starting a Revolution?

It is unquestionable that the American Revolution was necessary for us as a country. It gave us our independence and set us on the path to becoming the worlds greatest superpower. Without it, our country would be nowhere. But, the question that I'm asking today is whether or not the American colonies had it off so bad that they needed to break away from England and start a war that took the lives of so many people on both side. Personally, I think we were not. England had treated us very well since our founding. After the French & Indian War in 1763, England came looking to us for monetary aid. When we did not agree to give it, England began to pass taxes that, in the grand scheme of things, were very minor and didn't really effect us all that much. America however saw this as an attack and boycotted these acts until they were repealed. This continued untill 1775 when General Thomas Gage received word of an arms cache in Concord and was forced to take military action. The point that I'm making is that England had treated the colonies very well and in turn was forced into taking military action by the colonists. Do you guys agree with this or disagree? Leave a comment below telling me what you think.

The bad part of the enlightenment

It is undoubtable that the Enlightenment of western civilization during the 1700's was a great time for humanity. We gained ground as a species in many ways including philosophy. The main theme of the time was becoming free to discuss and think and to break away from what the church had been forced down peoples throats. I find it odd that in a time where people were being "enlightened," they were also developing the idea of racism , one of the most vacuous concept ever to exist. When ever I thought of the enlightenment I always thought of a time of growth. Now however, I will constantly be reminded of the fact that racism was developed during this seemingly darker part of our history.