The Republic of Haiti is located on western portion of the island Hispaniola in the Caribbean. Haiti declared its independence from France in the aftermath of the first successful slave revolution in the Americas in 1804, and their identification as conquerors of a racially repressed society is a theme echoed throughout Haiti's history.
Nationality prior to 1803
Haiti has a unique history of racial ideology. During its colonial period, class structure shifted from one based on wealth, to divisions distinguished by race. Once accepted as elite, families of African descent were rejected because of racist stereotypes. This regression shaped the evolution of the Haitian Revolution as peoples of African descent rose up against the white colonial planters. Haitians are primarily of African descent but a significant number of Haitians are also descended from the indigenous Taino (Arawak native Indians) who inhabited the island prior to Christopher Columbus's arrival. The Taino were nearly wiped out due to diseases that the Europeans brought with them and because of cruel practices, including slavery. The Tainos fled to the mountains just before the Africans arrived on the island. Mixing between the remaining Tainos and some of the Africans occurred and it is believed that many Haitians in present-day have some ancestral links to the indigenous Tainos.
Nationality in Saint-Domingue before 1763
As part of the French Empire, nationality in Saint-Domingue, now the Republic of Haiti, was based on a mixture of economics and race, combining white planter elite, black slaves, and free black planters. Haiti was unusual, as it was the only slave society in the Americas with a significant population of free black planters. Unlike most colonial slave societies, status was based on economics rather than race, creating a unified master class of both races. "Whereas the freedmen in all other slave societies entered at the lowest ranks of free society, in the French West Indies they were often permitted to enter the class of plantation owners from the beginning." Officially, imperial policy and the inequality of slavery's distribution of freedom and wealth excluded all blacks from the civil, public sphere of society. However, those with little or no official power were able to use public law to fight for their security in liberty and justice. For example, many slaves were able to use the French Code Noir marriage provision and claim independence. There was no fine line between the races as interracial relationships were not uncommon; colonists often had sexual relations with their slaves, generally recognizing the paternity of their children and freeing them from slavery. Men and women who escaped slavery were able to assert themselves in civil society; the opportunity to advance economically was not reserved for white Europeans.
Code Noir
Also known as "The Black Code", this set of laws was written in 1685 concerning the governance of the French American Islands. It determined and regulated the status of different social classes. King Louis XIV composed these laws to assert French presence in his Caribbean territories, and to assert Christianity and control over the free black population. Its purpose was to regulate hours of work and food distribution, limitations of punishments, and formally limit slave-owners' otherwise arbitrary power. The Code expelled all Jews, forced all slaves to be baptized, and made provisions concerning the citizenship status of freed blacks. According to Article 59, emancipated blacks were to be granted the same privileges as native-born French subjects.
Yet freed blacks generally suffered worse conditions than those enslaved. All blacks were considered public property, so although they were not tied to a single master, all blacks suffered under racial laws. for three years all had to serve in the "maréchaussee" militia to catch fugitive slaves had to serve in the general militia obliged to a corvée to maintain the roadways could not be employed publicly or in a liberal profession (for example, schoolteachers) those of mixed races could not use the name of their white parent