Brief History Of Haiti

“ In 1789 the French colony of Saint Domingue supplied two-thirds of the overseas trade of France and was the greatest individual market for the European slave-trade . It was an integral part of the economic life of the age, the greatest colony in the world , the pride of France, and the envy of every other imperialist nation. The whole structure rested on the labour of half-a-million slaves. ” C.L.R. James, 1938

Brief history of Haïti
A quick journey into the history, economy, and social struggles of Haïti
E. M. Maximilien http://maximilien.org IBM Research - Almaden with contributions from Pierre-Richard Maximilien v1.0.0 Black History Month “Tribute to Haiti” IBM Silicon Valley Labs - 18 February 2010 “ L’Union fait la Force”

Agenda
Pre-Columbian era (before 1492)
Christopher Columbus (1492 - 1503)
Hispaniola (1503 - 1697)
Saint-Domingue (1697 - 1751)
Toussaint and the revolution (1751 - 1804)
A new nation is born: Dessalines, Christophe, Pétion, and the early years
Struggles and first american occupation (1914 - 1957)
Papa and baby doc (1957 - 1986), ephemeral governments (1987 - 1990)
Modern day Haïti: democracy and restoration (1990 - present day)

Pre-Columbian (before 1492)
Various “indian” tribes divided the entire island into six caciques
Mostly the Taíno tribes and Caribe , named the island Kiskeya
Taíno are peaceful people, lived from land hunting and fishing
Queen Anacaona , wife of Caonabo , princess of Xaragua
Island is rich in gold and other natural resources

Christopher Columbus
Columbus arrives in present day Môle Saint Nicolas on December 5th, 1492
The Santa Maria sinks in the shores of Cap Haitian
Columbus leaves 39 men behind which forms first settlement La Navidad
indians kill the settlers because they tried to steal gold and wives
first resistance from indians, mostly Caonabo then Guaganagaric
Spaniards enslave the indian population and force them to mine gold
European diseases such as smallpox quickly start decimating the population
Introduction of catholicism by the Spaniard

Hispaniola (1503 - 1697) and Saint-Domingue
Spaniard start importing slaves (200,000) from Africa in 1503
French pirates ( Boucaniers & Flibustiers ) in north west; the island of Tortuga
Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 cedes 1/3 of island to France: Saint-Domingue
French accelerates the slave trade; reaches 500,000+ on west side
Labour of the slaves results a blossoming high-profit agricultural economy
indigo, cotton, coffee, cocoa, and sugar
more than 30,000 Frenchman immigrates ( petit et grand blancs )
By 1790, Saint-Domingue is France’s most profitable asset and colony
French Admiral Compte d’Estaing and thousands to Savannah, Georgia

Toussaint and the revolution (1751-1804)
Slaves are mistreated , considered to be “ un bien meuble ” for the whites
French revolution in 1789 calls for “ Les droits de l’homme et du citoyen ”
French Enlightenment thinkers , e.g., Rousseau, all men declared free
Class and racial struggles as mixed race (mulattos) try to get their freedom
Unsuccessful slave rebellions Biassou and Boukman
Former self-educated slave Toussaint rises
military leader for Spaniard, French and for the slaves
drives Spanish and British invasions out
becomes the highest ranked general in the French army

Toussaint and the revolution (1751-1804) ( cont. )
French’s Assemblée Nationale sends three Commissions Civile to colony
Toussaint plays all of the various commissioners, including Sonthonax
Toussaint , after a short civil war with Rigaud , is self-proclaimed governor
abolishes slavery in the whole island in Santo Domingo
establishes the first colony constitution in 1801, unites the island
In France the Jacobins loose power as the Revolution eats its own
Napoleon’s rise to dictatorial power
attempts to restore slavery and sends Leclerc
big expeditions 12,000 men with hundreds of ships

A new nation is born: Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1804-1806)
Toussaint and his generals resist and negotiates his surrender
Toussaint is then trapped and deported to Fort de Joux in France
Dessalines leads blacks and mulattos in the fight for independence
Bloody battles decimates French troupes as well as yellow-fever outbreak
Independence declared on January 1st, 1804 : first black independent country
Dessalines declares himself governor for life, president, then Emperor
France, United States, Britain do not recognize country of free slaves
Dessalines massacres many whites and is also assassinated soon after

A new nation is born: King Henry Christophe
Progressist, created his own body of law (“Code Henry”), great administrator
Autocrat and establishes first Haitian Kingdom in 1811
Amongst his accomplishments
makes Cap Haitian the capital and ruled from there
builds The Citadel La Ferrière to fight any future invasions
builds lavished castle Sans Soucis and Fort Picolet and other forts
Nemesis of Pétion who he fights - first civil war - dies in 1820

A new nation is born: President Alexandre Pétion
First Haitian president established in south-western region of country
Believes mostly in democracy as opposed to Christophe
Second constitution of Haiti in 1806 with bicameral power
Establishes first school: Lycée Pétion
Helps Simón Bolívar in Jacmel
shelter, food, and ammunitions
sends infantry to fight Spaniard and liberates modern-day Columbia
only payment for help is to free the slaves in every country he conquered
Pétionville in north side of Port-au-Prince named after him

Struggles to fit as a black country in a slave-owning world
France ask for retribution for independence and would not trade
Jean-Pierre Boyer takes over entire island for 22 years
Various presidents and struggling peace and difficult economy
Faustin Soulouque re-establishes a kingdom from 1847 - 1858
Economy never reaches pre-independence levels
Free black country surrounded by slave-owned giants
No official trade nor diplomacy with U.S. nor Britain nor Spain

American occupation and papa and baby doc
After a multitude of coups and popular uprisings
First American occupation ordered by Woodrow Wilson in 1914
Following is a period of relative peace, progress, and prosperity
Dictatorships
Papa doc - creates a militia, declares himself president for life
Baby doc - youngest president at 18; corruption is rampant
New revolution against Duvalier and the Tonton Macoutes results in his departure to France on February 7th, 1986

Modern-day Haïti
Various ephemeral governments
First democratically elected president in 1990: Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Coup d’état in 1991 by general Cédras and U.S. mini-occupation
Aristide restored as president in 1994; finishes his term
René Préval elected president in 1996
Aristide’s second election is short lived; force to exile; Préval is re-elected
Period of high-insecurity and kidnapping then some level of stability
January 12, 2010...

January 12, 2010 quake - some statistics
215,000 deaths
> 300,000 injuries; 1M+ homeless; > 250,000 new orphans
> 600 organizations in place for initial relief effort and now about 300
International aid
US President Barack Obama pledges $100 million
> 20 countries: Canada, France, Britain, and other (~ $1/2 B )
US population generosity results in greater than > $100 million

References
Aimé Cesaire “ Toussaint Louverture ”, Paris, 1981
J.C. Dorsainvil “ Histoire D’Haiti ”, edition Henri Deschamps, 1934
C. L. R. James “ The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution ”, Vintage Books, second edition, 1989
Noam Chomsky “ U.S. and Haiti ”, MIT
Madisson Smartt Bell “ Toussain Louverture: A biography ”, Pantheon, 2007
Victor Schoelcher, “ La vie de Toussaint L’Ouverture ”
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Haiti
Haiti Quake People Finder app: http://apps.facebook.com/haiti_survivors

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Brief History Of Haiti

by Michael Maximilien on Feb 19, 2010

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