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Books on the Caribbean
Hubert Cole. Christophe: King of Haiti. New
York: The Viking Press, 1967.
C.L.R. James.
The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution
(1938)
Edourad Gissant.
Caribbean Doscourse (2004)
/ Barbara Harlow.
Resistance Literature (1987)
Josaphat B. Kubayanda.
The Poet's Africa: Africanness in the Poetry of Nicolas Guillen and Aime
Cesaire
(1990)
Paul Laraque and Jack Hirschman.
Open
Gate An Anthology of Haitian Creole Poetry
(2001)
David P. Geggus, ed.
The Impact of the
Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World.
University of South Carolina Press, 2001.
Jean-Bertand Aristide.
Eyes of the Heart: Seeking a
Path for the Poor in the Age of Globalization
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The Haitian Declaration of
Independence 1804
Translation by
Laurent Dubois and John Garrigus
The Commander in Chief to the
People of Haiti
Citizens:
It is not enough to
have expelled the barbarians who have bloodied our land
for two centuries; it is not enough to have restrained
those ever-evolving factions that one after another
mocked the specter of liberty that France dangled before
you. We must, with one last act of national authority,
forever assure the empire of liberty in the country of
our birth; we must take any hope of re-enslaving us away
from the inhuman government that for so long kept us in
the most humiliating torpor. In the end we must live
independent or die.
Independence or
death . . . let these sacred words unite us and be the
signal of battle and of our reunion.
Citizens, my
countrymen, on this solemn day I have brought together
those courageous soldiers who, as liberty lay dying,
spilled their blood to save it; these generals who have
guided your efforts against tyranny have not yet done
enough for your happiness; the French name still haunts
our land.
Everything revives
the memories of the cruelties of this barbarous people:
our laws, our habits, our towns, everything still
carries the stamp of the French. Indeed! There are still
French in our island, and you believe yourself free and
independent of that Republic which, it is true, has
fought all the nations, but which has never defeated
those who wanted to be free.
What! Victims of
our [own] credulity and indulgence for 14 years;
defeated not by French armies, but by the pathetic
eloquence of their agents' proclamations; when will we
tire of breathing the air that they breathe? What do we
have in common with this nation of executioners? The
difference between its cruelty and our patient
moderation, its color and ours the great seas that
separate us, our avenging climate, all tell us plainly
that they are not our brothers, that they never will be,
and that if they find refuge among us, they will plot
again to trouble and divide us.
Native citizens,
men, women, girls, and children, let your gaze extend on
all parts of this island: look there for your spouses,
your husbands, your brothers, your sisters. Indeed! Look
there for your children, your suckling infants, what
have they become?... I shudder to say it ... the prey of
these vultures.
Instead of these
dear victims, your alarmed gaze will see only their
assassins, these tigers still dripping with their blood,
whose terrible presence indicts your lack of feeling and
your guilty slowness in avenging them. What are you
waiting for before appeasing their spirits? Remember
that you had wanted your remains to rest next to those
of your fathers, after you defeated tyranny; will you
descend into their tombs without having avenged them?
No! Their bones would reject yours.
And you, precious
men, intrepid generals, who, without concern for your
own pain, have revived liberty by shedding all your
blood, know that you have done nothing if you do not
give the nations a terrible, but just example of the
vengeance that must be wrought by a people proud to have
recovered its liberty and jealous to maintain it let us
frighten all those who would dare try to take it from us
again; let us begin with the French. Let them tremble
when they approach our coast, if not from the memory of
those cruelties they perpetrated here, then from the
terrible resolution that we will have made to put to
death anyone born French whose profane foot soils the
land of liberty.
We have dared to be
free, let us be thus by ourselves and for ourselves. Let
us imitate the grown child: his own weight breaks the
boundary that has become an obstacle to him. What people
fought for us? What people wanted to gather the fruits
of our labor? And what dishonorable absurdity to conquer
in order to be enslaved. Enslaved?... Let us leave this
description for the French; they have conquered but are
no longer free.
Let us walk down
another path; let us imitate those people who, extending
their concern into the future, and dreading to leave an
example of cowardice for posterity, preferred to be
exterminated rather than lose their place as one of the
world's free peoples.
Let us ensure,
however, that a missionary spirit does not destroy our
work; let us allow our neighbors to breathe in peace;
may they live quietly under the laws that they have made
for themselves, and let us not, as revolutionary
firebrands, declare ourselves the lawgivers of the
Caribbean, nor let our glory consist in troubling the
peace of the neighboring islands. Unlike that which we
inhabit, theirs has not been drenched in the innocent
blood of its inhabitants; they have no vengeance to
claim from the authority that protects them.
Fortunate to have
never known the ideals that have destroyed us, they can
only have good wishes for our prosperity.
Peace to our
neighbors; but let this be our cry: "Anathama to the
French name! Eternal hatred of France!"
Natives of Haiti!
My happy fate was to be one day the sentinel who would
watch over the idol to which you sacrifice; I have
watched, sometimes fighting alone, and if I have been so
fortunate as to return to your hands the sacred trust
you confided to me, know that it is now your task to
preserve it. In fighting for your liberty, I was working
for my own happiness. Before consolidating it with laws
that will guarantee your free individuality, your
leaders, who I have assembled here, and I, owe you the
final proof of our devotion.
Generals and you,
leaders, collected here close to me for the good of our
land, the day has come, the day which must make our
glory, our independence, eternal.
If there could
exist among us a lukewarm heart, let him distance
himself and tremble to take the oath which must unite
us. Let us vow to ourselves, to posterity, to the entire
universe, to forever renounce France, and to die rather
than live under its domination; to fight until our last
breath for the independence of our country.
And you, a people
so long without good fortune, witness to the oath we
take, remember that I counted on your constancy and
courage when I threw myself into the career of liberty
to fight the despotism and tyranny you had struggled
against for 14 years. Remember that I sacrificed
everything to rally to your defense; family, children,
fortune, and now I am rich only with your liberty; my
name has become a horror to all those who want slavery.
Despots and tyrants curse the day that I was born. If
ever you refused or grumbled while receiving those laws
that the spirit guarding your fate dictates to me for
your own good, you would deserve the fate of an
ungrateful people. But I reject that awful idea; you
will sustain the liberty that you cherish and support
the leader who commands you. Therefore vow before me to
live free and independent, and to prefer death to
anything that will try to place you back in chains.
Swear, finally, to pursue forever the traitors and
enemies of your independence.
* *
* * *
Done at the
headquarters of Gonaives, the first day of January 1804,
the first year of independence.
The Deed of
independence
Native Army
Today, January 1st
1804, the general in chief of the native army,
accompanied by the generals of the army, assembled in
order to take measures that will insure the good of the
country;
After having told
the assembled generals his true intentions, to assure
forever a stable government for the natives of Haiti,
the object of his greatest concern, which he has
accomplished in a speech which declares to foreign
powers the decision to make the country independent, and
to enjoy a liberty consecrated by the blood of the
people of this island; and after having gathered their
responses has asked that each of the assembled generals
take a vow to forever renounce France, to die rather
than live under its domination, and to fight for
independence until their last breath.
The generals,
deeply moved by these sacred principles, after voting
their unanimous attachment to the declared project of
independence, have all sworn to posterity, to the
universe, to forever renounce France, and to die rather
than to live under its domination.
* *
* * *
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
The twelve-year struggle was over. What had
begun as a protest against cruelty, and continued as a fight for
liberty, had ended with independence. The land still shuddered
with the terror that had gripped it and the horrors it had seen.
The white world that sighed with relief when Toussaint was
kidnapped now found itself confronted by an entirely new nation
of Blacks, victors of the greatest slave revolt in history.
Dessalines summoned his generals to les
Gonaïves to renew the oaths they had taken a year before at
L'Arcahaye and to confirm him as governor-general of the state
to which they restored the ancient Carib name of Haiti—the
land of the mountains. On January 1, 1804, they swore "to
each other, to posterity and to the entire universe, to renounce
France for ever and to die rather than live under her
domination" -- and proudly dated their declaration
"the 1st day of the independence of Haiti."
The generals returned to their command—Christophe in the North, Pétion in the West and Geffrard in the
South, while Dessalines occupied himself with drawing up
regulations for uniforms and badges of rank, and ordered a
capital city to be built at Fort Marchand on his favourite
plantation and to be named Dessalines.
There were French soldiers in the former
Spanish part of the island and isolated bands of unsubmitted
brigands in the South— notably one led by Jean-Baptiste
Perrier, who called himself Goman. To deal with them Dessalines
still had need of arms and ammunition and for these he turned to
the British once more.
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* * *
The Conspirators against Dessalines
[Christophe] knew that Dessalines disapproved
of his inclusion of both white and mulatto advisors in the group
of administrators that he had formed at Le Cap and with whom he
discussed events in the world outside and the future of his own
troubled country, using their learning and experience to
supplement his own lack of education.
In August he sent a schooner laden with flour
to the principal ports of the West and the South, ostensibly to
barter its cargo for sugar and coffee. But besides flour the
schooner carried one of his confidential agents, Bruno Blanchet,
who had conversations at Jérémie with General Férou, at Les
Cayes with General Geffrard, and, on the return journey, at
Port-au-Prince with General Pétion. The talks were secret, their
purpose obscure -- a tentative sounding of the generals' attitude
towards the emperor.
All of them were suspicious, none went further
than agreeing that he was not entirely satisfied with the existing
government. If Christophe intended recruiting allies in a plot
against Dessalines, the attempt was a failure. . . .
* * * * *
The Rise and
Decline of Emperor Dessalines
Another version
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The Impact of the
Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World
Reviewed by Mimi Sheller
The
slave revolution that two hundred years ago
created the state of Haiti alarmed and
excited public opinion on both sides of the
Atlantic. Its repercussions ranged from the
world commodity markets to the imagination
of poets, from the council chambers of the
great powers to slave quarters in Virginia
and Brazil and most points in between.
Sharing attention with such tumultuous
events as the French Revolution and the
Napoleonic War, Haiti's fifteen-year
struggle for racial equality, slave
emancipation, and colonial independence
challenged notions about racial hierarchy
that were gaining legitimacy in an Atlantic
world dominated by Europeans and the slave
trade. The Impact of the Haitian Revolution
in the Atlantic World explores the
multifarious influence—from economic to
ideological to psychological—that a revolt
on a small Caribbean island had on the
continents surrounding it. |
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Fifteen
international scholars, including eminent historians
David Brion Davis, Seymour Drescher, and Robin
Blackburn, explicate such diverse ramifications as the
spawning of slave resistance and the stimulation of
slavery's expansion, the opening of economic frontiers,
and the formation of black and white diasporas. Seeking
to disentangle the effects of the Haitian Revolutionfrom
those of the French Revolution, they demonstrate that
its impact was ambiguous, complex, and contradictory.—Publisher,
University of
South Carolina Press
David P. Geggus
is a professor of history at the University of Florida
in Gainesville and a former Guggenheim and National
Humanities Center fellow. He has published extensively
on the history of slavery and the Caribbean, with a
particular focus on the Haitian Revolution. He is the
author of
Slavery, War and Revolution: The British Occupation of
Saint Domingue, 1793–1798 and an editor of
A Turbulent Time: The French Revolution and the Greater
Caribbean. Geggus lives in Gainesville.
* * * * *
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Slave Revolution in the Caribbean, 1789-1804
A Brief History with Documents
By
Laurent Dubois and John D. Garrigus
This is
the most succinct, convenient and accurate
history of the Haitian Revolution currently
available. It fills a significant gap in the
historiography between monographs and
general histories on one side and novels and
creative literature on the other. The
authors have produced an intelligent and
highly useful collection of documents, many
virtually inaccessible, and conveniently
translated them for the English-speaking
audience. Their ability to contextualize the
events of the revolution briefly is simply
exemplary.' - Franklin Knight, Johns Hopkins
University, USA 'This is the most amazing
document collection I have ever read. It is
emotionally gripping, intellectually
stimulating, morally provocative,
action-packed and full of points of
comparison to histories of slavery and
freedom everywhere. It has a terrific
narrative flow and inherent pathos. . .
.This is a wonderful achievement for which
all sorts of teachers will be most grateful.—Evan
Haefeli, Tufts University |
This volume details
the first slave rebellion to have a successful outcome,
leading to the establishment of Haiti as a free black
republic and paving the way for the emancipation of
slaves in the rest of the French Empire and the world.
Incited by the French Revolution, the enslaved
inhabitants of the French Caribbean began a series of
revolts, and in 1791 plantation workers in Haiti, then
known as Saint-Domingue, overwhelmed their planter
owners and began to take control of the island. They
achieved emancipation in 1794, and after successfully
opposing Napoleonic forces eight years later, emerged as
part of an independent nation in 1804. A broad selection
of documents, all newly translated by the authors, is
contextualized by a thorough introduction considering
the very latest scholarship. Laurent Dubois and John D.
Garrigus clarify for students the complex political,
economic, and racial issues surrounding the revolution
and its reverberations worldwide. Useful pedagogical
tools include maps, illustrations, a chronology, and a
selected bibliography.—Publisher,
Bedford/St. Martin's
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|
The Haitian Revolution, 1791 to 1804:
Or, Side Lights On the French Revolution
By Theophilus Gould Steward
This is a reproduction of a book
published before 1923. This book may
have occasional imperfections such as
missing or blurred pages, poor pictures,
errant marks, etc. that were either part
of the original artifact, or were
introduced by the scanning process. We
believe this work is culturally
important, and despite the
imperfections, have elected to bring it
back into print as part of our
continuing commitment to the
preservation of printed works worldwide.
We appreciate your understanding of the
imperfections
in the preservation process, and hope
you enjoy this valuable book.—Amazon.com |
 |
The Haitian Revolution, 1791 to 1804. By T. G.
Steward. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 1915.
292 pages. $1.25.
Reviewed by J.R. Fauset.
The Journal of Negro History.
Vol. I., No. 1, January. 1916.
In the days
when the internal dissensions of Haiti are again
thrusting her into the limelight such a book as this
of Mr. Steward assumes a peculiar importance. It
combines the unusual advantage of being both very
readable and at the same time historically
dependable. At the outset the author gives a brief
sketch of the early settlement of Haiti, followed by
a short account of her development along commercial
and racial lines up to the Revolution of 1791. The
story of this upheaval, of course, forms the basis
of the book and is indissolubly connected with the
story of Toussaint L'Overture. To most Americans
this hero is known only as the subject of Wendell
Phillips's stirring eulogy. As delineated by Mr.
Steward, he becomes a more human creature, who
performs exploits, that are nothing short of
marvelous. Other men who have seemed to many of us
merely names—Rigaud,
Le Clerc, Desalines, and the like--are also fully
discussed.
Although most
of the book is naturally concerned with the
revolutionary period, the author brings his account
up to date by giving a very brief resumé of the
history of Haiti from 1804 to the present time. This
history is marked by the frequent occurrence of
assassinations and revolutions, but the reader will
not allow himself to be affected by disgust or
prejudice at these facts particularly when he is
reminded, as Mr. Steward says, "that the political
history of Haiti does not differ greatly from that
of the majority of South American Republics, nor
does it differ widely even from that of France."
The book lacks
a topical index, somewhat to its own disadvantage,
but it contains a map of Haiti, a rather confusing
appendix, a list of the Presidents of Haiti from
1804 to 1906 and a list of the names and works of
the more noted Haitian authors. The author does not
give a complete bibliography. He simply mentions in
the beginning the names of a few authorities
consulted.— J. R. Fauset.
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
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Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
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January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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update 6 May 2010 |
