More than half of the colony’s population was Africa-born on revolution’s eve

Evidence

On the eve of the revolution, according to Moreau, two-thirds of Saint- Domingue’s slaves—and therefore more than half of the colony’s population—had been born in Africa. The relationship between these Africanborn slaves and the creoles was complex. Creoles had many advantages in facing the daily struggles of slavery. They had grown up speaking creole and had networks of kin in the colony. They generally held more of the specialized and privileged positions on plantations and had a better chance of emancipation. Meanwhile, slaves who had been raised in Africa had their own cultural, political, and military experiences, their own languages and religion. However, sharp distinctions between the groups are misleading: many creoles were only a generation away from Africa, and the African-born who had spent much of their life in the colony became creolized in many ways. Nevertheless, the particular life histories of members of these two groups would shape their participation in the revolution. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 155

Categorization

• XREF: The Africa-born majority undermines easy ‘creole-led revolution’ narratives; relates to debates about African vs creole agency in the Haitian Revolution.