Haitian Revolution Quotes

“As discussed above, because of the insanely high rate of mortality, many of them were African-born. Africa was a very diverse place, however, and this diversity meant that many of these slaves could not even communicate with each other. Therefore, over the years and the generations, Creole languages and cultures emerged. These languages and practices blended those of many diverse peoples of Africa. They provided a base on which these people could unite, and much of it survives today in modern Caribbean culture. It allowed African slaves to create some semblance of home and community in the worst circumstances imaginable (at least for those who survived).”
― Hourly History, Haitian Revolution: A History from Beginning to End

“As discussed above, because of the insanely high rate of mortality, many of them were African-born. Africa was a very diverse place, however, and this diversity meant that many of these slaves could not even communicate with each other. Therefore, over the years and the generations, Creole languages and cultures emerged.”
― Hourly History, Haitian Revolution: A History from Beginning to End

“Thus, by 1758, the situation in Saint Domingue was tense and volatile. That year, new laws were passed by the colonial government that aimed to consolidate power at the top for whites and control the populations below, both free and slave. This new system was more heavily based on race than on class, unlike what had reigned previously.”
― Hourly History, Haitian Revolution: A History from Beginning to End

“It is not a liberty of circumstance, conceded to us alone, that we wish; it is the adoption absolute of the principle that no man, born red, black or white, can be the property of his fellow man.”—Toussaint Louverture”
― Hourly History, Haitian Revolution: A History from Beginning to End

“Despite these rules, however, atrocities were committed against slaves by their masters and their masters’ agents regularly. Rape and torture were common occurrences. Even when the worst kinds of human brutality were not unleashed, just the nature of work and discipline put thousands upon thousands of souls into an early grave. It was no wonder that so many chose to risk running away.”
― Hourly History, Haitian Revolution: A History from Beginning to End

“No matter what its name or provenance, it is believed that the arrival of Europeans on Hispaniola unleashed fukú on the world, and we’ve all been in the shit ever since.”—Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”
― Hourly History, Haitian Revolution: A History from Beginning to End