Beggining of the Struggle for Independence (1.26.24)

• Saint Domingue was given to France in 1697, and was the richest agricultural colony in the world in the 18th century
• One fifth of Frances national wealth was in Haiti
• Haiti was the largest producer of sugar, coffee and cocoa, only possible with the use of slaves.
• By 1789, Saint Domingue had 20,000 wealthy white and mulatto planters, who owned 500,000 black slaves, and there were over 40,000 free black men who held various positions in the economy. The French white minority was prejudiced and arrogant against rich men of color
• Vincent Oge was a wealthy free Haitian mulatto who was in Paris when the revolution started. He returned to Cap Francais, the northern capital of Saint Domingue, and tried to get the white planters to accept them as their equal. They refused, and Oge started a revolt in 1790 with two other free, rich mulattos. They were captured and killed, however
• During a voodoo ceremony, the appointed priestess called for an uprising of the slaves and appointed Dutty Boukman as the leader. On the 21st of August of 1791, thousands of slaves went on a rampage, burning the plantation homes and killing all whites they could find
• The Haitian whites lost, and those who survived fled to Cuba and Puerto Rico, where they continued their agricultural labors. This was the only socially motivated revolution of the Americas
• The French government sent an army of 6,000 men to try and control the situation in Haiti. Boukman was killed, but he was replaced by Francois Dominique Toussaint Breda, later L' Ouverture. He was born on the Spanish side of the island, and was a free, educated man in 1791. He was imbued with the ideals of the Enlightenment and joined the slave rebellion. The masses saw him as a hero
• Because of the Haitian Revolution, the National Assembly decreed in 1794 the abolition of slavery in all the French colonies. This action was very important for Haiti and Toussaint. He was named Captain General of the island in 1796, as they thought he could bring peace to the land if given authority
• Although all of Hispaniola was given to France in 1795, Spanish officials continued in their positions until 1798. Toussaint was aware that France had designs on Haiti and made treaties with England and the United States
• The military commander sent by France in 1798 wanted to capture and destroy Toussaint, but his efforts failed. In 1801, General L'Ouverture entered Santo Domingo and established his control over the whole island. He called for a Constitutional Convention, in which the first Haitian constitution was written. It declared slavery to be abolished forever and made Toussaint governor for life
• The general was a good politician. He had been able to stop quarrels amongst the population, and restrain the killings of whites and free, rich mulattos. He was considered a brilliant military planner. He was assisted by a group of young and intelligent Haitian generals: Jean Jacques Dessaline, Alexandre Petion and Henri Christophe
• Napoleon already had plans for Louisiana, an immense territory had been returned to France by Spain in 1800. Napoleon thought of it as the center of his American empire
• In order to provide for Louisiana using Haiti's resources, Napoleon had to get rid of Toussaint. His first envoy had failed in 1801. L' Ouverture prepared Haiti's defenses and sent his generals to burn the port cities if a French fleet landed. Napoleons actions against the Haitians forced them to move slowly towards independence. In 1802, Napoleon re-established slavery in France and its colonies, and sent twenty thousand men under the command of his brother in law, Charles LeClerc, to capture Toussaint and place Haiti under French control again
• Toussaint could not stop the French from landing and war began. This time, Haitian independence was the goal. The masses would not accept either slavery or French control. Toussaint was captured, and sent to a French prison where he died in 1803. In Hispaniola, a yellow fever epidemic killed half of the French troops, including Charles LeClerc. Toussaints generals fought bravely and defeated the French army. By 1803, Napoleons plans for an American empire were scrapped, and he sold Louisiana to the United States
• General Jean Jacques Dessaline proclaimed the first Black Republic of Haiti in 1804. It was the second republic in the Americas, and the first black republic in the world.
• The Order of the Jesuits was born in 1540 to evangelize by means of missionary work and to defend the Catholic Church, especially through a vow of loyalty to the pope. It was one of the three major monastic orders that came to the New World. They created missions among the Indians in northern New Spain and in the Chaco forest among the Guarani, and in southern Chile among the Mapuches
• The missions of the Chaco were a great example of modernization through education and industry. They formed schools for children, schools for trade, industries that provided metal utensils, organs for churches, and pianos. The communities formed with Guarani had certain political freedoms and rights, and participation in decision making processes. In the 18th century, the missions were spread over a large territory (now Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina) and were the most advanced societies in the New World.
• The Jesuits also participated in Latin American higher education as professors in schools and universities. Their educational system prepared many of the most intellectual individuals of Latin America. They were defenders of Christianity and its basic dogmas, equality for Indians, and were rebellious towards corrupt government officials.
• Between 1767 and 1814, the Jesuits were expelled from Spain, Portugal and all their territories
• Paulistas needed slaves for their industries, and sent bandeirantes to capture Indians from the Brazilian forests. They went to the Jesuit missions where there were thousands of Indians. The monks protested, but were not heard. They armed the Indians and fought the bandeirantes. The King of Portugal, who did not care much for the Indians and was interested in the value of the Jesuit properties, so he ordered their eviction from Portuguese and Brazilian territory and took all their properties
• King Charles III was an enlightened monarch. The Jesuit Order was loyal to the Pope and the principles of the Church's actions that were in conflict with the Enlightenment principle of seperation of Church and State
• The Jesuit Order was probably the richest one in terms of buildings and land holdings in the Indies. Both reasons were important motivations for the king's actions, but he needed a justification to get rid of the Jesuits. Conservative groups thought the Jesuits were too liberal, and when riots broke out in Madrid and other Spanish countries due to the lack of bread, the government blamed the Jesuits for promoting rebellion
• The Council of Indies decreed new taxes on certain articles, and had created a monopoly in tobacco and rum. The latter enraged many merchants and farmers in the Americas. In Quito, the Jesuits encouraged protests against the taxes and monopolies. The riots were serious enough to force the viceroys of Bogota and Lima to send in troops to calm the population. The Jesuits were blamed once again for this
• Charles III ordered the Jesuits to leave his territories. They were arrested, taken to various ports of the Americas, and shipped to Europe. (This had a major impact in Latin America) For many of them, the royal action violated Catholic human laws
• Three American Jesuits are recognized as the precursors of Latin American independence. Juan Pablo Vizcardo(1749-1798), a Peruvian, who wrote "Letter to Spanish Americans", and pleaded with the English government to help free Latin America from Spanish rule. Ignacio Molina(1740-1829), a Chilean, was a great scientist and wrote historia civil del reyno de Chile
• Francisco Javier Clavigero (1731-1783), a Mexican, was the third precursor. His most important writing is Historia de Mexico. All these writings encouraged them to see themselves as different from the Spaniards
• The imposition of taxes in the late 18th century led to other riots more dangerous than those in Quito. In 1781, the viceroy of New Granada imposed taxes to build up a defensive fleet, and renewed the monopoly on liquor and tobacco. The actions led to the Rebellion of the Comuneros
• A woman merchant, Manuela Beltran, was so upset that she took down the notice and ripped it up. She then called for a march on Bogota. Many accompanied her, wanting the viceroy to remove taxes. When the crowd reached the capital, they numbered more than 60,000
• The viceroy and members of the audiencia fled to Cartagena, fearing for their lives. Orders were sent to all commanders and towns to send troops to protect the capital from the enraged crowd. The archbishop stayed, and tried to get the leaders to sign a document stopping the movement, and vouched that he would see to it that their demands were met
• Jose Antonio Galan believed this was a scheme of the archbishop, and he was right. When the viceroy returned to Bogota, the leaders were arrested and killed. The rebellion was over
• And Indian Inca corregidor of Upper Peru, Jose Gabriel Concordaqui, was upset by the new taxation and orders received from the viceroys of Lima and Buenos Aires. He studied with the Jesuits, and was upset at the Indians abuse. He decided to put a stop to this in 1781
• Concordaqui took the name of the last Inca emperor Tupac Amaru II. Hundreds of Incas responded to his call of arms, and he ordered the execution of the Spanish corregidores of the region. Over sixty thousand Incas came to fight and evict Spaniards from Peru
• The viceroys of Lima and Buenos Aires sent troops to fight the rebels. At first, Tupacs men were victorious; however, fresh Spanish and Creole troops eventually arrived to fight them. The Spaniards also called on priests and bishops to condemn the Indians for their uprising. Many Incas, now Christians, heeded their word and left the rebellion. After almost two years of fighting, Tupac Amaru had to flee. He was captured and killed
• The town of Vila Rica was the main center or depot for the gold and diamonds of Brazil before they were sent to Rio De Janeiro and then Portugal. Joaquim Jose da Silva Xavier was a dentist who had served in the army, and later saw the poverty and indifference of the wealthy towards the underdog
• When news arrived about the creation of the United States, Joaquim got a copy of the constitution and had it translated. He called on several friends to join in on a rebellion against Portugal that would declare the independence of Brazil. Tiradentes is what people would call him. He was captured by the Portuguese authorities and killed. However, he became a symbol for all those in Brazil who were becoming less loyal to Portugal. Independence did not occur until 1823