Question: What divisions were there among the blacks of Saint Domingue during the rebellions?

Answer:

During the revolt in 1791 one of the biggest divisions that we see among the rebels is over the question of what to do with the whites of the island. Some, such as Jeannot, who is mentioned in In the Camps of the Insurgents, wanted to kill all whites on the island, fearing that any who survived would try to reinstate slavery. Others, such as Jean-Francois, who is also mentioned in that source, were more lenient towards the whites, preferring to treat his prisoners humanely. During the revolt in 1793 we see similar divisions rise again. The rebels who were supported by the Spanish wanted total independence from France and all whites to be removed from the island, as can be seen in Insurgent Responses to Emancipation. Opposed to them were some free blacks and people of mixed race who supported continuing to live under the French republic as equals to the whites. There were also divisions between monarchists and republicans among both blacks and whites. This conflict mirrored the one going on in France at the time, where some fought to keep the monarchy in power, while others fought to establish a republic. The black rebels who were supported by the Spanish seem to favor monarchy over a republic, although they valued independence highest of all it seems. Those who supported the republic were a mixture of whites, blacks, and mixed race people who at least claimed to want a society where the races were equal. Finally, the white monarchists opposed the republican revolutionaries, but tried to win over the black rebels by playing on their monarchist sympathies. Evidence of all of this can be seen in the Decree of General Liberty, where the republicans try to win over blacks by promising them equality, while also saying that monarchist promises of freedom were false.

How did the abolitionist movement in late 18th century affect the slave revolt in Latin American plantations?

It was the late 18th century when the ideals of the abolition of slavery started to gain traction as a legitimate source of societal discourse and heated political debate. This phenomenon was mostly centered around the countries with large colonial territories where slave labors where commonly used. As abolitionist ideas started to be subjects of mainstream political debates in European mainlands, the question on whether to keep slavery as the rule of the land or abolish it also increasingly became subjects of widespread discourse both among educated white populace and some slaves or freed ex-slaves who were educated in various degrees. While slave revolt precedes such discourse on abolition of slavery, many plantation owners started to suspect such political and ideological climate where abolitionist ideas gained significant supports to be one of the main reason for growing unrest among slaves. One of the good example for this is Letter to the Marquis de Gallifet, a letter written by a plantation manager called Pierre Mossut. In this letter Mossut blames popularization of abolitionist writings to be one of the main causes of the slave revolts which had been plaguing the local plantations in 1790s’ Haiti. “The varied writings produced in your capital [Paris] in favor of the Negroes, the unbelievable discussions that led to the May 15 decree, writing that have long circulated in the colony and that the negroes knew about […] “. This shows that abolitionist political trends did have significant influence over growing awareness among slaves about the questions of their status and unfairness of their treatment.

What were the varying levels of treatment of captured whites in insurgent camps at the start of slave revolution in Haiti?

In the Camps of the Insurgents (1791) primary source document of Gros, a detailed account of his time spent as a prisoner held by rebel slaves. He explains, the whites that had been captured were chained and marched away from their burning houses and were executed two-by-two every twenty-four hours by the orders of Jeannot, a high-ranking insurgency leader. However, Jean-Francois, a general in chief with greater humility, was tired of the countless cruelties inflicted under the leadership of Jeannot, and had the man executed by firing squad. Jean-Francois visited the traumatized group of soldiers and set them free and vowed them safety. Despite Francois’ good will, the men were again thrown in chains until another man came to their aid and complained to central camp commander, which led to their release again. They were then escorted to an insurgent headquarters and kindly welcomed and fed by a lieutenant Jean-Louis who was proud of his civility. Louis would intimidate other chiefs toward peace, threatening them with all his might if they did not stop the terrible atrocities being inflicted upon whites. This passage shows the humility that existed in this time of violence and revolt. Many insurrection leaders sought a peaceful solution to the conflict that was bringing so much death and destruction to Haiti.