Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
inhabitants. As their numbers grew, these bands, sometimes
consisting of thousands of people, began to carry out hit-andrun
attacks throughout the colony. This guerrilla warfare, however,
lacked centralized organization and leadership. The most
famous maroon leader was Francois Macandal, whose six-year
rebellion (1751-57) left an estimated 6,000 dead. Reportedly a
boko, or voodoo sorcerer, Macandal drew from African traditions
and religions to motivate his followers. Only one instance
is known of an organized plan to free slaves during the 100
years prior to 1791. The instigator was Macandal. His attempt
failed before it got started, but as the number of slaves, free
blacks, and escaped slaves increased, so, too, did the potential
for insurrection.
In 1790 the National Assembly in Paris required that the
white Colonial Assembly grant suffrage to landed and tax paying
free blacks; the planters' refusal to comply led to the first
rebellion in Saint-Domingue. A white militia, reinforced by a
corps of black volunteers, contributed to the racial tensions by
brutally putting down the revolt, which was led by Vincent Oge.
Fight for Independence, 1791-1803
The slave rebellion that finally toppled the French colony
began with a voodoo ceremony. It was organized by Boukman,
a maroon voodoo priest (houngan) , on August 14, 1791, at the
Turpin plantation near Bois Cayman. Among those who participated
in that ceremony and later became leaders of the revolution
and new nation were Toussaint Louverture (also seen as
L'Ouverture), Georges Biassou, and Jean-Francois.
The slave rebellion began little more than a week after the
voodoo ceremony. The slaves slaughtered whites and torched
property, fields, and factories in northern settlements, including
Acul, Limbe, and Flaville. When news of the uprising
reached Cap-Francais (formerly Cap-Francois) , whites retaliated
at random against non-whites. In response, they were
attacked by thousands of blacks. The rebellion ended with an
estimated 10,000 slaves and 1,000 whites dead, and 1,200 coffee
estates and 200 sugar plantations ruined.
The attack on Cap-Francais failed, but elsewhere the planters
were unable to regain control. Mulatto forces under Andre
Rigaud, Alexandre Petion, and others, reinforced by black
slaves, continued to clash with white militia in the west and
south. The rebellion set in motion events that culminated in
the Haitian Revolution.
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