The Revolutions that Inspire Us Our cause is great, though our country is small (indeed, few have even heard of us). For this reason, we, the Brothers of Liberty, take as our inspiration the revolutions in America, France, and Saint Domingue. In America The citizens of the British colonies in America rebelled against a series of laws and taxes imposed upon them by the British Parliament in the 1760's. The colonists, accustomed to a large measure of self-government, preferred to fight a war rather than obey the new laws. They won that war and, in 1783, formed the United States of America. The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, with an attack on the Bastille. In France The revolution in France has been under way for four years, since 1789, and the outcome there is far from certain. The French rebelled against unfair tax laws and have questioned their king's right to rule regardless of the wishes of the people. Peasant uprisings, the formation of a democratically minded National Assembly, and the execution of the former king and queen are only a few of the developments that we are watching, for what they can teach us. In Saint Domingue The tyranny suffered by the people of the French colony of Saint Domingue is perhaps the most shameful, for they were truly enslaved. But a black army under the leadership of Toussaint L'Ouverture, himself a slave for almost 50 years, battled the French and forced the abolition of slavery in the colony. Could independence be far off?