How the Haitian Revolution built Philadelphia 

by Mildred Europa Taylor, Face2FaceAfrica.com

ong before the British abolished slave trade in 1833, the first slave trade came to an end due to political and other kinds of events, particularly the Haitian Revolution in 1791.

It all happened on the night of August 22 and 23, in the then Saint-Domingue, where men and women sold into slavery revolted against the system to obtain their freedom and eventual independence for the country now known as Haiti. Saint-Domingue was then a sugar island, and the French largely depended on it for economic growth. But on that fateful night, enslaved people rose against their French enslavers, and they began the biggest and bloodiest slave revolt in history.

Led by former slave Toussaint L’Ouverture, the slaves killed their enslavers, torched the sugar houses and fields, and by 1792, they controlled a third of the island. France sent reinforcements, but the area of the colony held by the rebels grew. At the end of the fight, thousands of Blacks and whites were killed.

Still, the Blacks managed to turn away other French and British forces that arrived in 1793 to conquer them. By 1798, the forces had withdrawn from the colony, and by 1801, l’Overture expanded the revolution beyond Haiti and conquered the neighbouring Spanish colony of Santo Domingo (now called the Dominican Republic). He eradicated slavery in Santo Domingo and made himself governor-general for life over the entire island of Hispaniola.

Napoleon Bonaparte, who was at the time the ruler of France, dispatched General Charles Leclerc, his brother-in-law, and over 40,000 French troops to capture L’Overture to enable him to restore both French rule and slavery.

L’Ouverture was taken to France, where he died in prison in 1803. But Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of L’Ouverture’s generals and also a former slave, led a series of revolutionaries at the Battle of Vertieres on November 18, 1803, where the French forces were defeated. On January 1, 1804, Dessalines declared the country independent and renamed it Haiti.

Haiti became the first Black republic in the Western Hemisphere and the first nation founded through a successful slave revolution.

This month, the University of Pennsylvania’s McNeil Center for Early American Studies is presenting “We the People: Revolutions for Everyone,” a unique series that uses the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence “as a starting point to examine how ideas about democracy, freedom, citizenship and belonging have evolved in Philadelphia and across the United States,” according to WHYY, a news platform which is part of the program.

The latest in the series centered on the French and Haitian revolutions, how the former impacted the latter, and how the latter helped build Philadelphia.

John Davies, a historian and one of the panelists, said the Haitian Revolution is closely connected to the French Revolution, which began in 1789. The turmoil in France led to an opening in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, and different groups started competing for greater rights and autonomy, Davies explained.

He said that while white plantation owners questioned whether to sever ties with the French, free people of color also began demanding increased political and civil rights from the French government. In the same vein, enslaved Africans in the colony realized that this was their time to fight for their freedom.

Amid the tensions in the colony, thousands fled to the U.S., which was also emerging from its own revolution. Several hundred enslaved or formerly enslaved Haitian refugees arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was the first state in the nation to pass an abolition law, the “Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery,” in 1780, according to WHYY.

Freedom was not granted immediately under this law, but was given to children born into slavery when they grew up to be 28 years old. Owing to this, many young Black Philadelphians (from Haiti and elsewhere) began gaining their freedom later in the 1800s.

Scores of them went on to become entrepreneurs, barbers, hairdressers, carpenters, and cabinet makers.

“A lot of these formerly enslaved Saint-Dominguens, they stick with what they know and they sort of fill these niches, but some of them are very successful,” Davies said. “They have a definite presence in the community and … this is how they make a living.”

As W.E.B. Du Bois wrote about in his study, “The Guild of the Caterers, 1840–1870,” published in “The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study”, some also became successful caterers.

Du Bois said it was true that most Black Americans were doing menial labor, but there was also a group of caterers who amassed fortunes and gained high social status. One such caterer was Peter Augustin, who developed a recipe for chicken croquettes that Philadelphia history lovers still make today, according to PAeats. DuBois wrote of him, “It was the Augustin establishment that made Philadelphia catering famous all over the country.”

Today, about 12,000 people who identify as Haitian live in Philadelphia, even though it is believed there are more residents of Haitian descent. One can find most of them in North Philadelphia areas, such as the Olney and Mt. Airy neighborhoods, as reported by WHYY.

They are also actively engaged in various jobs and businesses while building their careers, according to Alain Joinville, deputy director at the Office of Immigrant Affairs. He said there are so many Haitian doctors, nurses, artists, civic organizers, entrepreneurs, and performers.

Referring to the husband and wife duo who run Honeysuckle Restaurant in North Philly, Joinville said, “The wife is Haitian American and all of the food is infused with Haitian spices and Haitian soul, and it’s won many national awards.”

It is significant to note that over the years, some of these Haitians in Philly have arrived as refugees fleeing natural disasters or civil unrest. In 2010, some came to Philadelphia following the massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake that toppled buildings, destroyed bridges and infrastructure, and claimed about 230,000 lives.

Thanks to the Obama administration’s temporary protective status for refugees, many were able to live and work in the U.S. while their country was in crisis.

Even though many Haitians would like to return to their home country, they have been unable to do so as the island nation continues to endure a great degree of social and political instability amid some natural disasters.