The Fight for Freedom and Democracy in Haiti
In The Fight for Freedom and Democracy in Haiti, host Andrew Marr describes how enslaved people in the French colony of Saint-Domingue learned about the ideals of the French Revolution. The idea of freedom and democracy spread from plantation to plantation through voodoo ceremonies. One leader, Dutty Boukman, was instrumental in inspiring Haitians to revolt, which led to the creation of the first Black republic. This video is excerpted from BBC’s A History of the World, a story of human history that uses reenactments, modern footage, and storytelling to explain history’s greatest achievements.
Advisory: Contains scenes of moderate violence; contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.Lesson Express
Q: What does it mean that the African trade of enslaved people had taken slavery to an “industrial scale”?
A: Slavery happened on a large scale and was highly organized. Large numbers of people were enslaved and brought to the Americas and the Caribbean.
Q: How did the ideas and excitement for rebellion spread throughout Haiti?
A: One leader of the enslaved people, Dutty Boukman, went from plantation to plantation to share the ideas.
Q: What factors contributed to Haitians’ eventual success in achieving freedom an abolishing slavery?
A: The French saw slavery as contrary to their ideals, so they abolished slavery in their territories.
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