Social - Quality of Life
How much of the nation's initial population remained at the beginning of their independence?
2/3 of the original population
How did the destruction of the Haitian landscape during the war sabotage the new nation's economic stability upon its independence?
They essentially had to start from scratch: their economy was based around agriculture but this was stripped away from them. Irrigation systems that sugar-growing in drier regions relied on had disintegrated, and deterioration of roads prevented carriage usage, so travelers had to go on horseback or by foot.
To what extent did Dessalines' popularity change after independence?
Dessalines became unpopular following independence due to his ideas of maintaining the ideology of plantation labor, which was exactly why the movement had begun in the first place
1. How did Dessalines address racial inequality with the 1805 Constitution? 2. To what extent was it effective?
1. He declared that all Haitians, regardless of race, would be treated as black, meaning that they would all receive equal high-standard treatment. 2. It was not particularly effective, as the same Constitution limited the rights and property ownership of whites.
What prevented Haiti from acquiring profitable workers?
The end of the import of slaves onto the island
To what extent were Haiti's efforts at gaining international recognition successful?
With the Franco Haitian agreement in 1824, Haiti received diplomatic recognition from France in exchange for monetary retributions (due to the damage done and resulting money lost for France from the revolution) following their independence
It cut off the country's connection/ties to various African cultures
What did Haiti base their economy around?
Exports. The Kingdom of Haiti tried to prevent the breakup of large plantations in order to promote exports out of the island
To what extent was Haiti impacted by the assassination of Dessalines?
It split Haiti into the Republic of Haiti and Kingdom of Haiti, which both represented different interests (the former representing mixed-race interests and the latter representing slave labor interests)
To what extent did the Kingdom of Haiti address educational concerns?
They used contacts with British abolitionists to improve education access for all and English was the official national language
How did the Republic of Haiti center their economy?
Broke up plantations and distributed land to soldiers, as well as protected plantations owned by mixed-race farmers
How did the Kingdom of Haiti deal with its geographic proximity to the French colony of Santo Domingo?
They built La Citadelle to protect against French invasion using forced labor
How did the Republic of Haiti deal with educational concerns?
Focused on providing education for elite families, with French becoming the official national language
How did the Scorched Earth Campaign negatively impact the Haitian economy?
The cities and infrastructure were badly damaged which harmed the domestic economy by interfering with productivity and exports
Who was the leader of the Kingdom of Haiti and what interests did he represent?
Henri Christophe became the king of the Kingdom of Haiti representing the former slave interests?