<P> French writer Guillaume Raynal attacked slavery in his history of European colonization . He warns, "the Africans only want a chief, sufficiently courageous, to lead them on to vengeance and slaughter ." Raynal's Enlightenment philosophy went deeper than a prediction and reflected many French Enlightenment philosophies, including those of Rousseau and Diderot . It was written thirteen years before the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ." The declaration, in contrast, highlighted freedom and liberty but did not abolish slavery . </P> <P> In addition to Raynal's influence, Toussaint Louverture, a free black, was a key "enlightened actor" in the Haitian Revolution . Enlightened thought divided the world into "enlightened leaders" and "ignorant masses"; Louverture attempted to bridge this divide between the popular masses and the enlightened few . Louverture was familiar with Enlightenment ideas within the context of European imperialism . He attempted to strike a balance between Western Enlightened thought as a necessary means of winning liberation, and not propagating the notion that it was morally superior to the experiences and knowledge of people of color on Saint Domingue . Louverture wrote a Constitution for a new society in Saint - Domingue that abolished slavery . The existence of slavery in Enlightened society was an incongruity that had been left unaddressed by European scholars . Louverture took on this inconsistency directly in his constitution . In addition, Louverture exhibited a connection to Enlightenment scholars through the style, language and accent of this text . </P> <P> Like Louverture, Jean - Baptiste Belley was an active participant in the colony's insurrection . The portrait of Belley by Anne - Louis Girodet de Roussy - Trioson depicts a man who encompasses the French view of its colonies . The portrait creates a stark dichotomy between the refinement of French Enlightenment thought and the reality of the situation in Saint Domingue, through the bust of Raynald and the figure of Belley, respectively . While distinguished, the portrait still portrays a man trapped by the confines of race . Girodet's portrayal of the former National Convention deputy is telling of the French opinion of colonial citizens by emphasizing the subject's sexuality and including an earring . Both of these racially charged symbols reveal the desire to undermine the colony's attempts at independent legitimacy, as citizens of the colonies were not able to access the elite class of French Revolutionaries because of their race . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> North American slave revolts </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Toussaint Louverture </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> 1526 San Miguel de Guadalupe (Spanish Florida, Victorious) </Li> <Li> c. 1570 Gaspar Yanga's Revolt (Veracruz, New Spain, Victorious) </Li> <Li> 1712 New York Slave Revolt (British Province of New York, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1730 First Maroon War (British Jamaica, Victorious) </Li> <Li> 1733 St. John Slave Revolt (Danish Saint John, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1739 Stono Rebellion (British Province of South Carolina, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1741 New York Conspiracy (Province of New York, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1760 Tacky's War (British Jamaica, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1787 Abaco Slave Revolt (British Bahamas, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1791 Mina Conspiracy (Louisiana (New Spain), Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1795 Pointe Coupée Conspiracy (Louisiana (New Spain), Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1791--1804 Haitian Revolution (French Saint - Domingue, Victorious) </Li> <Li> 1800 Gabriel's Rebellion (Virginia, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1803 Igbo Landing (St. Simons Island, Georgia, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1805 Chatham Manor (Virginia, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1811 German Coast Uprising (Territory of Orleans, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1815 George Boxley (Virginia, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1816 Bussa's Rebellion (British Barbados, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1822 Denmark Vesey (South Carolina, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1831 Nat Turner's rebellion (Virginia, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1831--1832 Baptist War (British Jamaica, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1839 Amistad, ship rebellion (Off the Cuban coast, Victorious) </Li> <Li> 1841 Creole case, ship rebellion (Off the Southern U.S. coast, Victorious) </Li> <Li> 1842 Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation (Indian Territory, Suppressed) </Li> <Li> 1859 John Brown's Raid (Virginia, Suppressed) </Li> </Ul> This box: <Ul> <Li> view </Li> <Li> talk </Li> <Li> edit </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

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