The Haitian Revolution by Siena Del Sontro

Curator's Statement:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:06:05 UTC

This gallery highlights one of the most successful revolutions in world history: The Haitian Revolution. This collection includes a wide range of pieces composed of different mediums that offer various outlooks. Some of which include a style of music created by the Haitian slaves, a painting of their last battle before freedom, and most importantly: the leader of it all- Toussaint L’ouverture. Throughout the Haitian slave’s time of hardship, they created a style of music called “Rara” that shows their perseverance to stay positive through a time so rough. Although the slaves attained freedom, in the end, it does not mean that everything was perfect. In a matter of fact, modern-day Haiti went from being one of the richest countries to one of the poorest in the world. So these pieces give the viewer a sense of time in relation to how Haiti grew and fell. In an average high school American history class, it is common to spend a lot of time on the American and French Revolution. However, the Haitian Revolution is often left behind and not thought of as highly when compared to the others. The American revolution occurred first and in part inspired the Haitian and French Revolutions even though all three of the revolutions took place with in the same twenty-year span. The Haitian Revolution was the first and only slave uprising that led to the establishment of a free-state and only ruled by non-whites and former slaves. I feel like this feat needs to be recognized more in today’s society as one of the marquee revolutions in history.

For this gallery, I decided to choose some of the most relevant moments from pre-revolutionary to post-revolutionary times. I laid everything out in the form of a social media platform such as Instagram. The most current events appear at the top of your feed meanwhile the older posts appear at the bottom. I did this because I wanted everything to flow and work together. I want you guys to take away connections rather than just choppy events and significant statements. By doing this the viewer can get a feel for how one event led to another and get a range of viewpoints. Throughout the gallery, you will notice how I include all three pieces of work I chose to analyze: A picture of Toussaint, Rara music, and The Battle of Vertiéres. I hope you can take away everything that this revolution has to teach us about stepping up to those in power and standing by what we believe in. Additionally, it is my goal for those reading this can take away the events that caused negative things to happen such is the way that Haiti started out as rich but became extremely poor. Thanks for stopping by!

chadb at 9:06 AM on July 8, 2019 says: sup guys im doing community service in haiti. it's pretty bad

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:12:56 UTC

@therestoftheworld

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:16:22 UTC

we changed world history and you can't deny it...

we weren't always just a third world country!

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:17:14 UTC

#ugh

Ulrick Jean-Pierre at 9:56 PM on November 18, 1995: Look what I made guys!

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:20:05 UTC

It replicates The Battle of Vertiéres.

GUYS IT'S WORKING!!! We back and better than ever

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:22:04 UTC

americasweetheart at 10:05 on November 18, 1995 said: @ulrickjp nobody asked for you to show us your painting. like what is even the point?!

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:24:05 UTC

@americasweetheart

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:26:11 UTC

This portrait showcases the Haitian slaves’ last battle before freedom: The Battle of Vertiéres. I thought it was cool because it depicts more than just a scene. It shows the élan and raw courage of the Haitians that participated in their final major push against the French. I did a lot of research about this topic yk... that kinda hurt.

@corradomartini at 1 PM on November 19, 1995 said:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:29:35 UTC

I think this painting is a way of showing people that Haiti is much more than the third world country that they see on the television. Maybe if Haiti was not under constant exploitation then maybe it would not be as poor now. In a matter of fact, Haiti was actually one of the richest places at the time. No one starts out as poor. No one starts out with no freedom. Haiti’s history has shaped our world and we should be helping out humanity and supporting one another instead of bringing each other down. So props buddy. Pretty cool of you.

server update: to discourage discussion of the haitian r********* we will be shutting down all social media for the next 191 years.

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:33:44 UTC

sarahm says: WHO ELSE HEARD SOCIAL MEDIA MIGHT BE GONE WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK?!?!

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:35:31 UTC

turtlelover: NO WAY
sunsetqueen: hahahah it has to be a joke
nickop: stop playin' with us
zachary: yeah dude i heard it's true!!
ferret: NAH NO WAY.

error xhay27130dj3

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:38:04 UTC

you cannot access the site you are trying to reach. please try again later.

yoooo

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:40:13 UTC

The Haitians had so much success. Glooks.

yourboyjohn at 1 AM on July 1, 1804 said:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:40:53 UTC

WE DID IT. ALE AYITIII!

672,378,226 search results for 'Haitian Revolution'

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:43:51 UTC

zhamara says:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:52:08 UTC

first independent nation in the caribbean. second democracy in the western hemisphere. first black republic in the world. never been more proud of my homeland <3

tom226 says:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:55:07 UTC

I don't know if you guys realize this or not but these revolutionary wars have destroyed nearly all of our colonial infrastructure and production capabilities.

The revolutionary wars had destroyed nearly all of the country’s colonial infrastructure and production capabilities.

Chrisc007 at 12 AM on July 1, 1804 says: Just signed the Declaration of Independence.

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 18:57:12 UTC

BATTLE OF VERTIÉRES. November 18, 1803.

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:12:27 UTC

We did it. We defeated Napoleon's forces!!!

jeanjacquesdessalines says at 2 PM on November 17, 1803

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:22:24 UTC

HAHAHAHAH WE ARE COMING FOR YOU. done with this. dhmu.

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:27:52 UTC

okay i don't normally post this stuff but look. the large prosperity of our colony has to decrease at some point. we can't continue to have a slave-dependent economy... i don't thing this is gonna work out

iggy at 9:06 says:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:30:57 UTC

THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO CHANGE. TOUSSAINT JUST GOT ARRESTED UNDER FALSE PRETENSES. SO MESSED UP!!!

toussaintlouverture at 8:00 PM says:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:36:36 UTC

guys... i really wanna help you. i am officially declaring myself leader of the island of Hispaniola 4 life. i will make progressive change. let's show the french what's up

with toussaint we are acc getting somewhere!! YES.

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:39:38 UTC

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:40:37 UTC

I don't know about you guys but as much as I want to make a change we need a mastermind. otherwise we gonna be alllll over the place.

denisavolozan at 5:06 PM in C. 1025 says:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:42:47 UTC

ok im not saying this guy is like cool or anything but im not saying he isn't i mean... look at him. so fierce. he has GUTS. not to be rude or anything but @myamazingfrench leaders better watch out... but my wonderful leaders haha let's not forget im rich and white. but im just scared for the fellow members of my beautiful country. just a kind reminder with a leader and some bravery we could get overthrown at any time.

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:51:30 UTC

jdawg: Wow Denis... I love how you used contrast, contour lines, and composition to capture the energy of a such a powerful leader. It really provides an evocative and sensational interpretation of this moment in time.

chadb says:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 19:54:42 UTC

greetings, just got back from my trip to haiti. my mom is making me post what i took away so here it is:

Takeback to Mr. Lewis' class haha
I was talking to some of the vendors and what I took away from our convo was that The Haitian revolution let the rest of the world know that the large prosperity of the colony had to decrease at some point. The slaves were put under dreadful conditions for years and out came the mounted up pressure and determination which led to their freedom. Without societal inequality and the economic/political factors, there would not be a need for a revolution. The majority of the needs of the people would then be satisfied. That can still be applied today so just like take this into consideration. To this day there is so much tension between the Dominican and Haiti so just be mindful.

I also went to a Rara festival. Kinda scared me but it was cool. The modern-day Rara festivals in Haiti give people to spread their message of resistance and indulge in their Voodoo beliefs concerning Jesus Christ. This song is one of the ways that Haitian culture has been able to be preserved over time. The song gets to carry its meaning and potentially develop an alteration of it. It is a way of not forgetting the people of Haiti’s history and all the challenges/developments they have acquired along the way. It kind of shows what a revolution sounds like. so yeah.

thank you mother and father for this enriching opportunity. see you guys at the golf course later!

LET'S STEP IT UP GUYS!

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:20:40 UTC

OKAY IF THE FRENCH CAN OBTAIN FREEDOM SO CAN WE. I'M TIRED OF THIS.

Oui Oui Baguette!

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:22:50 UTC

Hey guys, it's August 22, 1795. We finally got our freedom and some of our equality. The National Convention just approved a new constitution. Our first bi-cameral legislature. Very good day in history.

jakeh: ur kidding... how
popej: dang you guys deserve it. super lucky.
summer779: i'm jealous :(

We made a form of music today on the fields. We call it Rara!

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:27:00 UTC

It helps us pass time on the fields. Work gets harder every day. My friends are very sick with some disease that was brought in. We are all kind of scared but when we sing it makes us feel alike.

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:27:51 UTC

zhamarazamula at 1 AM on June 8, 1710 says:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:33:28 UTC

i heard a loud noise across the hall... now i can't sleep but i am really tired. i have to wake up at 5 tomorrow. my body aches and i have cuts all over my body from all the thorns and laborious work. we all just... work in silence. earlier i was planting but the soil was so hard that it broke my tools.

got the people of this island to work. here we are in 1493.

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:38:02 UTC

sup, happy mid-august. i grabbed some taino's and im having them plant lavender right now. i am going to import africans every day and make them work in the new sugar fields. imma become RICH rich.

christopherc at 5:06 PM on December 5, 1492 says: WOOOO I GOT MYSELF AN ISLANDDD

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:40:05 UTC

WHAT A BEAUT! Full of natural resources. SO MUCH GOLD BY THE WAY. soil is nice and fertile. i'm gonna grow so many crops and use it to become rich now. preservation what, i don't care buddy. ALLLL MINE :))))

UPDATE:

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:47:16 UTC

I've arrived on a large Caribbean island. I am going to name it 'Hispaniola'.

christopherc: WOAHHH

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:51:56 UTC

I see something!!!

Goodbye

sienadels1 — 2020-05-20 20:52:29 UTC

I am posting as I am departing once again. I am going to continue my travels. I would like to go to the Caribbean but I'll keep you guys updated. farewell.