Toussaint L'Ouverture and the fight for independence | History

Starter quiz

What word describes the 'stratification' of a society into levels where those at the top have power and authority, and those at the bottom have no power or authority?
- order
- stratus
- ranking
- hierarchy ✓
Starting with the earliest, arrange the following events into chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Enlightenment ideas spread throughout Europe and the Americas.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  France experienced revolution and their king was executed.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  France promised freedom and equality for everyone living under French rule.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  Grands blancs refused to pass rights on to the free people of Saint-Domingue.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  Free people of Saint-Domingue formed an alliance with the enslaved Africans.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  Revolt broke out in Saint-Domingue.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  Toussaint L’Ouverture became the leader of the revolt.
Roughly how many free people of colour were living in Saint-Domingue at the time of the Haitian Revolution in 1791?
- 3000
- 30 000 ✓
- 300 000
- 3 000 000
Match the group or person to their description.
- Toussaint L'Ouverture
  
  ⇔
  
  originally enslaved, then a free man who became leader of the revolt ✓
- grands blancs
  
  ⇔
  
  the group of white French elites who owned slaves and ruled the colony ✓
- free people of colour
  
  ⇔
  
  the two groups, aside from the grands blancs, who were free in Haiti ✓
- enslaved Africans
  
  ⇔
  
  the 500 000 people forced to work in the colony in dire conditions ✓
What did the French Revolution promise to all who lived under French rule?
- liberty (freedom) ✓
- equality (everyone having the same opportunities) ✓
- fraternity (togetherness or brotherhood) ✓
- eternity (lasting forever)
There were around half a million enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue at the time of the revolt in 1791. How is half a million written numerically?
- 50 000
- 500 000 ✓
- 5 000 000
- 5000

Exit quiz

Complete the following sentence with the correctly spelled region: Saint-Domingue was France's most profitable colony in the __________.
- Carribean
- Caribbean ✓
- Carribbean
Which method of warfare did L’Ouverture’s troops use?
- open warfare on flat terrain
- ‘hit and run’ guerilla warfare ✓
- naval warfare fighting at sea
In what year did revolt break out in Saint-Domingue?
- 1789
- 1790
- 1791 ✓
- 1792
Britain was worried about slave revolts spreading to which of its colonies?
- Jamaica ✓
- Hong Kong
- Barbados ✓
- India
Which of the below did Toussaint L’Ouverture attempt to do during his time as official French governor of Saint-Domingue?
- re-stabilise the economy ✓
- reinstate enslavement
- restart agricultural production ✓
- meet with foreign leaders ✓
- maintain economic and political ties with France ✓
Which word describes the group in a society who are at the top of the social hierarchy with power and authority?
- elites ✓
- working class
- middle class
- peasants

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

In 1791, a slave revolt erupted in the French colony of Saint-Domingue and Toussaint L'Ouverture became its leader.
L'Ouverture aimed to emancipate all people on the island, including in the island's Spanish-controlled territory.
L'Ouverture organised the rebels into a formidable army. Britain, worried Caribbean slave revolts would spread, invaded.
Britain tried to restore slavery there so France promised L'Ouverture's soldiers freedom if they helped defeat Britain.
Britain's defeat saw France allow L'Ouverture to rule as governor of Saint-Domingue.

Common misconception

Toussaint L'Ouverture was fighting against the French during the entirety of the Haitian Revolution.

He first fought Saint-Domingue's ruling French elites and slave-owners. He then fought Spanish troops after invading Spain's territory on the island. He then defeated a British invasion and became Haiti's official governor until France betrayed him.

Keywords

Economic - a term to describe activities that involve trying to make money
Guerilla - refers to a style of fighting that is not out in the open, but instead is conducted as secretly as possible
Governor - the title given to the ruler of a country, that usually still has to answer to someone above them, such as a king or emperor, or a government in another country
Elites - the people at the top of society with access to money and power
Autonomous - refers to the idea that a person, organisation or nation can act independently from anyone else’s control