Haitian Independence200

Books on Haiti and 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)

Myriam J. A. Chancy. Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women (1997)

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.

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The 200^th Anniversary of the Haitian Independence

By Manes Pierre

Celebrating Haiti’s independence is indeed a grandiose undertaking. It is a reminder that before Haiti could declare self-rule, it was governed by a colonizer or an empire, in this case, France. To that extent, like any other independent state, Haiti and the Haitian people should be honored for achieving that important milestone, called, “Independence.”

Many people died during the quest for independence leading to the January 1, 1804, the official day of Haiti’s birthday as a republic. The first black republic in the Western Hemisphere. However, as we are getting ready to have our grand party in the next six months, let us look and assess the issues that should be on the program for those traveling to Haiti for the ball and the other two million Haitians across the globe who will also join la grande fete away from home.

For the purpose of this occasion, I would like to propose an analysis of the causes leading to that achievement by looking at the social behaviors during the colonization period and explore a bit further the current social behaviors in Haiti today. I am going to use a format called “Social Cubism” that was introduced by Dr. Sean Byrne, Ph.D, Professor at Nova Southeastern University, in the department of conflict analysis and resolution.

He used the social cube to analyze the conflicts in Northern Ireland between the Catholics and the Protestants through: (1) Economic Factors; (2) Religious Factors; (3) Political Factors; (4) Psychocultural Factors; (5) Historical Factors; and (6) Demographic Factors. I will adjust the social cube to customize the current menu for the Haitian situation. Let us compare now the social behaviors in Haiti during the French colonization (1789-1803) and the current social behaviors today (1804-2003):

Haiti – Social Behaviors During the Colonization Period

Economic Factors: The political economy centers around agriculture via the cheap labor of the black slaves. The French and the Mulattoes owned almost every piece of land in Haiti. In other words, the property owners also owned the property-less workers. I refer to the slaves as property-less workers because no matter how hard they worked on the field, they did not earn any money or compensation. Through their sweat and hard labor, Haiti was called the pearl of the Antilles. Haiti was the richest colony of France providing 60 percent of the world's sugar and 40 percent of the world's coffee.

Religious Factors: The African religion, vodoun, played a major role in gathering support for the overthrow of the slavery system in Haiti. Liberte ou la mort was the guiding principle behind the eradication of slavery. On November 18,1803, through the collective effort of the property-less workers, the Napoleon Bonaparte army was defeated and Haiti was the victor. Many historians believe that the Bois-Caiman ceremony had a lot to do with the victory.

Political Factors: During the colonization period, group consensus played a vital role in community organizing. Groups were more interested to serve and protect the interests of the local people than their own individual interests. Achieving equity and taking control of their own destiny was a dream worth dying for.

Psycho-cultural Factors: Blacks and mulattoes united for their independence from the French. However, the mulattoes usually felt slightly superior to the black since the blacks used to work out in the fields while the mulattoes used to work closely with the French masters.

Historical Factors: During this period, African slaves were brought to work on sugarcane and coffee plantations. In 1791, the slave population revolted, led by such Haitian heroes as Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, and Henri Christophe, and gained control of the northern part of the French colony, waging a war of attrition against the French. Blacks and mulattoes united for independence from their French masters.

Demographic Factors: The birth rate of black slaves steadily increased and was higher than the French settlers.

Haiti – Current Social Behaviors (1804-2003)

Economic Factors: Blacks and mulattoes now own lands and businesses. But let’s look at some economic indicators that are currently affecting Haiti: today, about 75% of the population lives in abject poverty. Failure to reach agreements with international sponsors has denied Haiti badly needed budget and development assistance. Job creation is stagnant due to continued conflicts between the current administration and the opposition. The unemployment rate is 60% and is growing. The National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated at $8.9 billion and is distributed as follows: 42% of agriculture, 14% of the small industries, and 44% of the service sector. The per capita a year income or purchasing power is estimated at $1,300. For the past 10 years, the country has experienced increased budget deficits year in year out. The revenues are estimated at $323 million while the expenditures are estimated at $363 million. The national treasury is nearly bankrupt. Unless the international donors step in and provide technical assistance to the current administration, more mass migration toward Florida is inevitable.

Religious Factors: Used as a category label, replacing social class and language. But it increases religious conflicts. Roman Catholicism is the most popular religion in Haiti. However, there is a growing number of other religious faiths that are practiced in Haiti. Recently, through presidential decree, Vodoun has been officially recognized as an official religion with equal status with all other religions in the land. Long regarded as a secret religion, Vodoun is now openly practiced. This African religion has been mystified for years and time will tell how the Haitian people will integrate it in the religious circles.

Political Factors: Allegiance to political parties are very strong. Groups are more loyal to political parties than the national needs.

Psycho-cultural Factors: As I said earlier, I wanted to customize the social cube a little bit in order to better fit the social conditions in Haiti with regard to French and Haitian Creole. Bipolar conflicts emphasize an inclination toward mutual destruction. French speaking Haitians tend to look down on non-French speakers, thus polarizing the less educated ones or the monolingual Creole speakers.

Historical Factors: By January 1804, local forces defeated an army sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, established independence from France. The impending defeat of the French in Haiti is widely credited with contributing to Napoleon’s decision to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803. In 1822, Haiti occupied the Dominicans. But in 1844, the eastern two-thirds of the island became the Dominican Republic by declaring its independence from Haiti. After numerous periods of intense political and economic disorder, prompting the United States military intervention of 1915. Following a 19-year occupation, U.S. military forces were withdrawn in 1934, and Haiti regained sovereign rule. On February 7, 1986, when the 29-year dictatorship of the Duvalier family ended, Haiti was ruled by a series of provisional governments. On February 7, 2001, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was inaugurated as President. History is mixed between conflicts and compromise. Figures of cooperation are non-substantive.

Demographic Factors: Population of black Haitians continue to increase at a very rapid rate. Thus, it is causing mass migration among both the masses and the middle class to the United States, mainly to Florida.

Although Haiti deserves credit for being the first black republic in the world, there is much to be done in terms of building a blue print or a national consensus leading to more positive achievements for all. The vision of independence is grand. However, managing one’s independence requires much more than celebration. Haiti needs leaders and managers who understand the value of roving leaderships as well as collective efforts.

Too often, the masses are misled with one and only one perception: securing a personal goal is more important than building or investing in the future of Haiti and her children. The 200th birthday of Haiti should be a time of reflection and action planning not just a mere Apre Dans, Tambou Lou, “After the party, the drum is heavy.” Social Cubism looks at the cube and tackles every aspect of a given conflict in order to arrive at a resolution. Haiti has not yet developed a plan to repair the wounds of its constant conflicts as she is getting ready to celebrate her 200th birthday.