Answer to Question #234836 in History for lizalise

Question

Look at “Source A” (next page), a portrait of the Haitian Revolutionary leader, and former

slave, Toussaint Louverture painted by John Kay in 1805. Describe, with reference to at least two visual clues in the portrait, how the artist has represented the future ambitions of the black revolutionaries. What does the source tell us (or not tell us) about the historical context and

period?

Answer 1

The Haitian Revolution had far-reaching worldwide ramifications. It effectively halted Napoleon's aspirations to establish a French empire in the Western Hemisphere, and it may have influenced France's decision to sell its North American possessions to the United States (the Louisiana Purchase), allowing slavery to expand into that region.

In this slave culture, reformism as a political current for either free people of color or the masses of black slaves on the estates was not an option - the motto of the Haitian Revolution was 'Liberty or Death' for a reason.