5 Summary of Session 1

The Haitian Revolution remains one of history’s very few successful slave revolts. Haitian independence challenged the interests of many Frenchmen, and the French State tried hard to overturn and, later, to contain Haiti (as did other European powers and the United States of America). This meant that Haiti long remained isolated from the international community.

By the mid-twentieth century, however, European empires were being defeated and dismantled. While Haiti might have been an isolated exception in the 1800s, it was a pioneer for the many post-colonial states that exist today.

In the next session, you’ll explore the ways that colonialism and racist ideas led to the fetishisation of Black bodies in what were called human ‘zoos’ in Europe.

You can now go to Session 2.