“Punishment, often surpassing the human imagination in its grotesque refinements of barbarism and torture… was often the order of the day”( Fick , Making of Haiti 34)

I found this quote most significant because it depicted the brutal treatment that the slaves had encountered and what the harsh reality was for them. The actions committed to them far then human characteristics, so extreme it surpassed barbarism. Especially the fact of the matter that it states ‘ was often the order of the day’ that the slaves had to succumb to this constant brutality on a daily is what strikes me most. Which is in part of why this brought the slaves to revolt, in a harsh matter and made this revolution one of the most well known that catapulted the start of revolution amongst the western world.

The majority of the slaves were treated like ‘beasts of burden’ as if the slaves should have been grateful that they were alive. The slaves were overworked, especially during the sugar harvest working a multitude of hours that would be almost impossible for the average individual. As Carolyn Fick demonstrates, the elite white, were able to control and manipulate the social and political system to their advantage. They instilled this brutality to maintain a sense of control but within this process lost a sense of human compassion, this made them barbaric. As this absolute power that they held corrupted their sense of emotion, and compassion. This in turn resulted in the Haitian revolution and effected the world internationally.