A brief introduction to Haitian history. !

/kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, Napoleon swept all feudal forces in Europe with his whip. His prestige is growing day by day, and everywhere he goes, people are rejoicing.

Just then, in the second half of 180 1, he got a shocking news. The riots in Haiti, a French colony, were fierce and had great momentum to drive away the French colonists.

What's going on here? Things have to start from the beginning.

Haiti is located in the western half of Santo Domingo Island (also known as Haiti Island) in the western Atlantic Ocean of Central America. It was first occupied by powerful Spanish colonists, and then France defeated Spain and occupied Haiti. Haitians are mostly descendants of African slaves, who have endured the cruel oppression and exploitation of colonialists for generations. As early as 1790, Haitian mulattoes and free blacks launched an armed uprising, trying to strive for complete equality with whites through violent means. However, due to insufficient preparations for the uprising, there was no revolutionary slogan reflecting the demands of slaves and no support from slaves. The uprising failed under the bloody suppression of French colonists.

But this did not stop the Haitian people from fighting for freedom and independence. A year later, in August, 179 1, mixed-race people and blacks launched armed riots again. They shouted the slogan "I would rather die than be a slave" and lashed out at colonial rulers and white slave owners. The rebels set fire to coffee gardens and sugar cane plantations, burned down colonial luxury villas and other buildings, and killed French colonial officials and white slave owners who brutally oppressed slaves. Insurgents have been supported by the vast number of slaves, and their ranks have grown rapidly and their momentum has become higher and higher. Two months after the uprising began, bonfires spread all over the country. More than 200 coffee plantations and sugar cane plantations were destroyed and more than 2,000 French colonists were killed. The French were frightened.

In this uprising, many uprising heroes emerged, such as Toussaint L'Ouverture, Christopher and Desalinus. Among them, Tucson is an outstanding Haitian black leader. He used to be a slave-born plantation coachman. Like ordinary slaves, he was bullied by French colonists and slave owners from an early age. For all this, Toussaint has already made up his mind and vowed to kill French colonists and slave owners and fight for the freedom of blacks. So later he studied French hard, often read the works of Rousseau, Montesquieu and other thinkers, and accepted new ideas.

After taking part in the uprising, Toussaint commanded the army with strict discipline, and the enemy fled wherever he went. The troops he led developed and soon became the main force of the rebel army, and he himself became the main leader of the slave uprising in Haiti.

1793, due to domestic chaos, France sent only 6,000 troops to suppress the uprising, which was completely destroyed by the insurgents. Spain and Britain seized the opportunity and successively sent troops to invade Haiti to suppress the rising flames of the uprising. However, Toussaint led the rebel army to fight bravely, and finally drove away the British and Spanish invaders and drove them into the sea. British and western troops fled in the chaos. At the same time, Toussaint put down the rebellion of the upper class of mulatto, and finally unified the whole island of Haiti and established a revolutionary regime.

1801June, Haiti held a constitutional conference to formulate a constitution. The Constitution clearly stipulates the abolition of slavery, and all Haitians, regardless of race and color, are equal and enjoy free citizenship. Private property is inviolable and freely traded. Haiti declared independence. At this meeting, Toussaint was elected president for life. It was in this situation that Napoleon got the news. He immediately summoned his brother-in-law Rickler and ordered him to explore Haiti.

180 1 1 February, leclerc led 54 warships and 30,000 soldiers on the expedition road to restore French colonial rule.

Toussaint led the rebels to resolutely defend a free Haiti. He said to the soldiers, "We are free, and the days when our slaves were bullied for generations are gone forever! Now, the French are back. They tried to deprive us of our freedom. We would rather die than promise them! Let's fight together! We will let the French starve to death, thirst and fatigue, and make Haiti a living hell for these robbers! Work hard, freedom belongs to us! "

When 30,000 French troops came to Haiti, the rebels lit a fire where they were going to land and burned everything there. Everywhere the French army went, it was ashes, and only dust and smoke seemed to glare at these uninvited guests from afar.

The French army can't find food and is starving. They can't even find anything to drink because the water has been poisoned by the rebels. The fighting capacity of the French army was greatly reduced, and Rickler was a big headache. In addition, the insurgents used favorable terrain to attack everywhere. The French army was killed from time to time, and the French army was flustered and beaten everywhere.

How can a combat unit fight without eating or drinking, exhausted and unfamiliar with the terrain? Not to mention improving combat effectiveness, there is not even the minimum combat capability. So, how to explain it to Napoleon? Rickler is thinking and trying to finish the task.

Soon, a bold and effective plan came out. Rickler was filled with joy. He immediately summoned his men and told them this opinion. The French soldiers were also very happy after hearing this, and their task could finally be completed.

Rickler wrote a sincere letter to Toussaint, in which he wrote: "Although France and Haiti are far apart, our generations have been friendly and will continue to be friendly in the future. At present, we have some differences. This is a misunderstanding. We should clear up misunderstandings. Therefore, I suggest that we sit together and negotiate. We can discuss anything and problems. I believe we will clear up the misunderstanding. Please come to us, my friend. We sincerely invite you. When you come, you will find that no one is more honest than me. As for your safety, we absolutely guarantee that no one will molest you. "

This letter is really candid. Toussaint believed Rickler and came to the French army station alone.

At this time, Rickler heard that Toussaint was coming, and he was very happy that the scam he designed was successful.

"General, Toussaint has arrived." A soldier reported to Rickler. "Arrest him!" Rickler gave the order simply and forcefully.

Toussaint was shackled. When he knew that he had been cheated, he flew into a rage and swore:

"You are treacherous and mean! You are robbers, a bunch of robbers! When you kill me, you just cut down a tree of freedom in Haiti. If you cut down this tree, thousands of trees will grow. You can't finish cutting. Wait and see, you robbers will get out of Haiti one by one! "

Rickler and his men laughed at Toussaint's scolding: "Ha ha ha ..."

1802 In May, Rickler arrested Tucson, then escorted him to France and handed him over to Napoleon. Napoleon ordered him to be sent to prison. 1in April, 803, this outstanding black leader died in a French prison.

Toussaint's death made Haitian people more aware of the ugliness, cruelty and meanness of colonialists, and also aroused Haitian people's hatred of colonial rulers. They are determined to continue the unfinished business of Toussaint and fight bravely for the independence, freedom and happiness of the Haitian people!

Soon, the revolutionary fire in Haiti was rekindled, and the revolutionaries, under the leadership of Christopher and de Salinas, continued to fight against the French colonists.

Under the heroic resistance of the Haitian people, the French army acted difficultly. Coupled with the spread of yellow fever in Haiti, the invading army suffered heavy losses, with more than 30 thousand casualties. 1802165438+10, Rickler also died of yellow fever, and the French invading army was in a desperate situation. 1June 803, the French army finally surrendered. The French expeditionary fleet returned to France with only 8,000 old, weak and disabled soldiers. On the way home, all the personnel were captured by the British navy, so the huge expeditionary force led by Rickler was finally wiped out.

180 1 year 1 month 1 day, Haiti officially declared its independence and restored the traditional Indian name-"Haiti", which means "mountainous land".

The Haitian Revolution was the first black revolution won by Latin American countries. It opened the prelude to the black revolution in Latin America and set an example for the Latin American people to overthrow colonial rule and establish a free country.