Introduction

The cycle of Atlantic revolutions, as it is known today, which encompasses the revolutionary processes of the Thirteen Colonies and their subsequent independence (1776-1783), the French Revolution (1789-1799), the Saint-Domingue Revolution, also called the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), which resulted in the creation of a new nation: Haiti (1805), as well as the subsequent Spanish-American independence movements (1808-1824), was a period of remarkable fractures and continuities with the imperial systems and their institutions. As a result of this convulsive period, countless political documents were produced, among others: acts, declarations, proclamations and manifestos,1 with the written Constitutions being one of the most important.

The Constitutions were granted a power never seen before, since they were conceived to power of political actors, as well as to guarantee the rights and freedoms of the people. to guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens and, ultimately, to build States and nations, to provide them with a normative structure, and to give them a normative structure. By the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution, it was inhabited by 60,000 free people and 500,000 enslaved people. Twice this number, one million people, were kidnapped and brought to the island since 1697.

Haiti was the colony that produced more income than any other in the Americas. Its economy produced and exported half of the sugar and coffee consumed in the world. And by the late 1780s, it was the largest market for the slave trade. More than half of the enslaved people were African, working on plantations. Those who were born on the island, the Creole slaves, tended to work in domestic service, in the artisan trade and as foremen. From their ranks would come most of the leaders of the revolution.

Characteristics of the Haitian revolution

The Haitian revolution inaugurates a new ontology of history with the essential role of the popular masses in the process of social change. It is not Hegel's idealistic perspective of history where the figure of the great man appears in the historical process. The Haitian revolution shows that the real force of history and of the social struggle are the popular masses, who single-handedly confronted the imperial army of Napoleon Bonaparte.

This revolution is also made on the basis of human dignity. Independence was not only intended for citizens to govern themselves, but also to create a civilization fertilized by freedom. This revolution announces a new anthropology, a new vision of man based on dignity, fraternity and respect. In the Haitian case, the classic text where the discriminatory racist policy appears is the Black Code of 1685, promulgated by Louis XIV. It contains sixty articles concerning baptism, regulation, food, religion, social and legal status of the slave. It is a reification and animalization of the slave. This code dehumanized the slave civilly, legally and socially.

translation 1st image: the literal translation is "color equality"

translation 2nd image : "I am the same as you. Color is nothing, the heart is everything; are you not my brother?"

Haitian leaders and Latin American leaders

Their leaders decided to help their brothers in the region. This represents an enormous risk for the young Republic. This decision to participate in the national liberation processes in the region fundamentally highlighted the Haitian revolutionary spirit, that is to say, the rejection of imperialism and Western colonialism. It is a matter of continuing the liberation struggle throughout the continent. When speaking of the crisis of independence, he ignores the links between Miranda, Bolivar, Javier Mina and Haiti. Nor does Luis Villoro mention the links between Haiti and the leaders of the Mexican revolution when he studies the ideological process of the Mexican independence revolution.

History

The year 1804 began in Haiti with the declaration of its independence. The head of state, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a former slave, proclaimed the independence of "L'État d'Hayti". The name adopted by this new nation is Taino.

In 1789, the French Revolution broke out. Its most famous document, the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen", upheld the freedom and equality of men, and the right to resist oppression. However, the scope of the document was limited: the population of the French colonies was excluded. The Haitian Revolution exposed the limits of the previous revolutions, the American and French, which maintained slavery.

In 1805, a Constitution was sanctioned in Haiti, Article 14 of which declared:

"All distinctions of color will necessarily disappear (...); all Haitian citizens, henceforth, will be known by the generic denomination of Negroes."

While Article 12 stated:

"No white person, of whatever nationality, may set foot in this territory in the capacity of master or owner, nor in the future acquire any property here".

Francisco Miranda and Jean Jacques Dessalines

First of all, we must highlight the meetings between Miranda and the first Haitian head of state, Jean Jacques Dessalines.

Before going to Haiti, Francisco Miranda traveled throughout Europe and America to build his plan for the independence of Spanish America. He had a special affection for revolutionary France and was there during the revolutionary outbreak. Later, he was also in England and the United States. He was familiar with political and social organizations such as the English monarchy. As for the Haitian case, the revolutionary had some reticence because of his Creole ideology. He did not accept the uprising of the colored people in Haiti. Despite Miranda's conservative attitude, he turned to the Haitian revolutionary chiefs to realize his independence plan. Miranda had the strategic advice of Dessalines but received help in men, ammunition and weapons. In this sense, on March 1, 1806, the tricolor flag of the Great Colombia was created in Jacmel and then, it was the oath of the insurgents to fight for independence or die according to the official motto of the Haitian nation. This symbolic act demonstrates the full significance of Haitian participation in the Spanish-American liberation process. Tadeusz Lepovsky underlines that Alexandre Pétion continued Dessalines' action by agreeing to help Bolivar.

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