Atlantic revolutions · 1791-1804

Haiti: the revolution of the enslaved

In France's richest colony, enslaved people rise up, defeat the armies of three empires and found Haiti, the first nation born from a successful revolt of the enslaved. Students follow Toussaint Louverture and Dessalines.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1789 to AD 1815
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In France's richest colony, enslaved people rise up, defeat the armies of three empires and found Haiti, the first nation born from a successful revolt of the enslaved. Students follow Toussaint Louverture and Dessalines.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Saint-Domingue was so valuable to France and what life was like for the enslaved majority.
  • Describe the roles of Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
  • Explain how the Haitian Revolution affected France, the United States and Latin America.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1789

The richest colony

Open the map in 1789 and zoom in on the island of Hispaniola. The west was French Saint-Domingue, the east Spanish Santo Domingo. Turn on Trade Routes: which route linked these plantations to Africa and Europe?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1815

A new country

Drag the slider from 1800 to 1815 and watch the island of Hispaniola. Which new name appears in its western part?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1815

Echoes across the Americas

Zoom out over the Caribbean and South America in 1815. In 1816 Haiti helped Simón Bolívar, who was fighting Spain in Venezuela. Find the Vice-Royalty of New Granada, which includes Venezuela on this map.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. About half a million people were enslaved in Saint-Domingue, far more than everyone else. How could so few people force so many to work?
  2. Why did the abolition of slavery in Paris in 1794 change the war in Saint-Domingue?
  3. Toussaint Louverture had been enslaved himself. What made him such a strong leader?
  4. Why did Napoleon's failure in Saint-Domingue help persuade him to sell Louisiana to the United States?
  5. In 1825 France demanded a huge payment from Haiti in return for recognising it. How might that have shaped Haiti's future?
4

Game round

10 min

Play the 1803 Louisiana round of Rule History as Napoleon Bonaparte. Tell students what had just happened to his army in Saint-Domingue. Discuss: how did a revolution of enslaved people change the map of North America?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.