Toussaint L'Ouverture, was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. He constantly changed sides, but in the end, he was the driving force behind Haiti's revolution. His intense negotiation skills and commitment were his key features during the Haitian Revolution. The question is: Was there no other choice than for Toussaint to lead the rebel slaves in battle? or Was the Haitian Revolution inevitable?

Haiti was a rich and prosperous country. It was once a precious jewel to the French economy with its endless profits. The only problem was how this profit was made. For years Haiti, or Saint-Domingue as it was previously known as, generated its economy off of slave labor. Slaves worked the sugar plantations and cultivated the coffee farms.

Haiti continued on like this, but with a sharp societal divide between the while elite, the free mixed race, and the slaves. For years the whites had enjoyed all the rights entitled to a citizen, but the mixed race, although free remained subordinate. The initial spark of fighting was between these two classes the white and the mixed race. The mixed race community longed for equality with their white counterparts and thus entreatied to France for such equality. In the wake of the French Revolution an as Enlightenment ideas of equality, liberty, and fraternity spread, these demands did not seem impossible. However, France did not know what was to ensue with all this talk of civil and political equality.

The slaves who were constantly mistreated also yearned for the same liberties as preached by the French radicals. Despite knowing what freedom would be like, the slaves were sure that they wanted it. This mentality began the Haitian Revolution and set into motion swift rebellion and opposition from the slaves. The slaves now attacked their masters and the tables had been turned. They knew that they wanted freedom and knew that the same violence that was used on them was to be used on their enemies.

The Haitian Revolution shook up the French government and launched a turbulent relationship between Haiti and the French government. There was a long battle over the institution of slavery and only pure chaos was the result. This leads me to say that the revolution was inevitable simply because of its cause. The hypocrisy in which France was involved in would not have warranted any other outcome. This was worsened by the French government's hesitation to grant them this equality, which we saw with the mixed race population's petition for equality and eventually with the slaves petition for freedom. This left the slaves with no other option than to fight. The French radical government encouraged ideals of liberty, fraternity, and equality. With these ideals being spread throughout the French political system and society, everyone wanted such, even the slaves of its colonies. The slaves were given no choice but to fight France. Until the slaves received what they thought belonged to all of France and its colonies, they would have never stopped. It just simply became a matter of when the slave revolt would happen. To summarize it all, the Haitian Revolution was in deed inevitable. The slaves had to rebel to get what they demanded of France: liberty and inequality. It was only a matter of time before the slaves expected what almost all of France was guaranteed and revolution was the only way to achieve it.