There’s something poetic about how so many ancient empires and kingdoms that thrived on the ‘natural order’ the vampires speak of, ultimately crumbled to dust. There’s something poetic about how shackles are often metal. And meanwhile we have Annette, who takes the dehumanizing, machine nature of metal (taken to a literal extent with the forgemaster machine), and reclaims it as something to turn against her oppressors, reforge it into something more meaningful, and ultimately reduce chains to just dust in the wind.
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Meanwhile, in another universe.
This is a WIP that is the result of a newfound obsession with designing Belmonts and associates as vampires. Annette was one of the first and her design is the most complete at this point. Richter’s still cooking though, but I’m really pleased with Annette’s design enough that I decided to share her in the meantime while work through a few more revisions with Richter.
I don’t really have a story for this fanart outside of Annette and Richter being turned by Drolta and Olrox respectively.
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The Haitian Revolution
Yeah, okay. I guess to properly do the history thing, I also have to talk about the Haitian Revolution, don't I? Given that it is so important for the backstory of both Annette and Edouard.
Why didn't I do that so far? Because the Haitian Revolution is super hard to talk about because of the sources. A bit issue is that for a good part of it we only have French sources, that are not always the most... neutral. Because a lot of the rebelling slaves had never learned to write. As such, we actually do not know a lot about the side of the rebels until some Free Blacks started to take their side and lead the rebellion.
But I know a bit.
So, let me explain what I know.
Haiti (St. Domingue specifically, the French side of the island) was build exclusively on slave work. There were plantation there for indigo, sugar and coffee for the most part. And those plantation were very important for the French economy. And of course it was slaves working those plantations.
On the island there was a three class system (though if we are honest, it was a four class system).
Whites, who were free people and citizens of France. (Though in truth there was a difference between the plantation owning whites and those whites, who were not of the owning class.)
Free Black people. What differed in Haiti from the US for example is that it happened quite often that children of rape (white owners on Black slaves) would be freed and even adopted as children. While not considered citizens, they could own things, including their own plantations. (Yes, there were quite a few of these that owned slaves.)
Slaves, who outnumbered all other people on the island somewhere between seven to one and ten to one.
Now, most slaves did not survive the first three years after getting to the island. Many died in fact in their first year, because the working conditions were so harsh, they often did not receive food, were severely punished (through it receiving infections and such), and of course there was just the general issue of sicknesses.
There were people rebelling a long while and from what we know (again, there is so little in terms of sources) there were some escaped slaves living in the mountains and at times using guirella tactics. But there was not quite the move for a widespread rebellion starting...
That was until the French Revolution started. Once more the gentle reminder: The French Revolution took a long while to brew and originally was not a violent revolution, it only became violent in response to the violent oppression of it. Now, the people on St. Domingue were instructed not to talk about the Revolution, because some folks rightly assumed that it might give people ideas. Especially as among the Revolutionaries there was a big discussion about the abolition of slavery.
But in the end... Well, it did not work out and the freed slaves banded together for a proper uprising in 1791.
It is this uprising that we see in Nocturne. I have seen some people being very shocked in the human on human violence we see there, because folks are really whimpy when it comes to that. So, a little explanation: Originally (in the 1791) uprising the slave uprising was once again not very violent. Almost everyone who got killed was connected to immense abuses of slaves. The rebels tried to spare everyone who treated their slaves kindly. As such within that first uprising only 400 whites got killed, compared to 4000 Black people, as the French were much better armed.
Still, the rebels managed to capture part of the island.
It should be noted: This is probably around the time when Annette and Edouard left. They captured some plantation, and freed quite a few more slaves.
There would follow quite a bit of back and forth then. Especially between Haiti and the French Republic. And I would not be surprised if we were to see that in the coming season(s).
Mostly, because the Revolitionaries went back and forth between whether Free Black people could be citizens who got to vote or not. Making the Free Blacks, who originally were against the revolution, more and more take the side of the rebels.
And yes, it would get more and more violent. Because France and then later Britain, too (who did not agree with France on many things - but on saving slavery) threw thousands upon thousand of soldiers in fighting down the revolution with extreme violence, leading the Haitian Revolutionaries to answer this violence with their own violence.
But for the love of God, do not go there and be like: "Ugh, violence. Violence bad." Like, fuck that. I said that about Isaac before as well: Slaves freeing themselves have the right to use whatever violence necessary for that.
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