Reference no: EM133417000
Questions:
1. How did the news of the French revolution make it to slaves in Saint Domingue?
2. What maintained the brutal slave system intact?
3. As a person of color in Saint Domingue, what was unique about Toussaint's childhood?
4. Why does the historian state that Toussaint would have been a fantastic CEO today?
5. Why were the free people of color the first ones to ask for equality after the French revolution? How did the government in Paris respond to their petition?
6. What was the connection between vodou and rebellion during the Haitian Revolution?
7. How did the slave rebellion in Saint Domingue begin?
8. Why was the revolution very brutal and violent from the beginning?
9. Why was Toussaint put in a difficult position by the outbreak of the slave rebellion? In other words, what did he give up to go to the mountains with the rebelling slaves?
10. Why did rebels struggle to forge a coherent fighting force?
11. Why was Toussaint willing to negotiate with the white planters and agree to have 200 slaves go back to the plantations? How did the whites react to his offer?
12. What does Toussaint proclaim to the islands' slaves? To whom else was he addressing his proclamation?
13. What was the deal that Louverture struck with Spain?
14. What deal do the planters then strike with another foreign power?
15. Why does Toussaint decide to rejoin the French?
16. What actions showed that Toussaint had a side that was not democratic?
17. Why were Napoleon and Toussaint similar?
18. Why did Napoleon's victories put Toussaint at risk? How did Toussaint react?
19. What were Toussaint's plans to reactivate the colony's economy and why were the former slaves against them?
20. What elements in Toussaint's constitutional decree made it a first in history? What troubling elements did it have?
21. Why did Toussaint have trouble defeating the troops that Napoleon sent to Saint Domingue?
22. After his surrender, how was Toussaint treated differently than a white French officer would have been?
23. What happened when people in Saint Domingue heard that slavery was reinstated?
24. What did you learn from this film that was not in the readings?
25. What did you find most interesting about the film?