Haiti: Revolution and Post-Colonial Narrative
On Tuesday, March 28, 2023, the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest virtually hosted Dr. Marlene Daut, Professor of French and African Diaspora Studies at Yale University, Dr. Brandon Byrd, Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, and Dr. Nathalie Pierre, Professor of History at Howard University. The three panelists explored the history of the Haitian Revolution and Haiti’s contemporary relationship with France and the United States. This panel was moderated by Dr. Maghan Keita, Villanova University History and Africana Studies Professor and Founding Director of Africana Studies and Global Interdisciplinary Studies. Watch the recording here.
Dr. Marlene Daut, Dr. Brandon Byrd, and Dr. Nathalie Pierre were the three distinguished panelists invited by the Albert Lepage Center to examine Haitian autonomy in a historical and contemporary framework. Although gaining independence from France in 1804, Haiti, formerly known as Saint- Domingue, was not officially recognized by the United States as an independent country until 1862. Therefore, Haiti’s path to democracy, recognition, and legitimacy is an evolving and contested issue that is complicated by a lack of commitment from former colonizers to uphold the economy and democracy through financial support and restorative justice.
Beginning the discussion by contextualizing Haiti’s role in the global economy, Dr. Pierre affirmed the importance of Haitian trade in the 1700s and 1800s and its subsequent exploitation. At the height of the Industrial Revolution, factory workers throughout Europe needed a way to work strenuous hours without falling tired; thus, cane sugar emerged as a desired stimulant. As. Dr. Pierre states, sugar, a crop harvested by enslaved labor in Haiti, became a substitute for the European food staple, cabbage, and enabled European laborers to work in factories 12–15 hours from their homes without rest. Therefore, this cash crop fed the global market and became a source of Haitian exploitation as a French colony in the 1700s, while, in contrast, generating wealth for European countries. The undervaluing of Haitian sugar and coffee, of which 60% of the global production came from Haiti, directly influenced France’s political and economic endeavors to subdue Haitian independence. Dr. Pierre adds that the war of independence that commenced in 1791 was that of a dual revolution that demanded an establishment of political freedoms, as well as control of means of production. To this day, this mercantile shift towards free trade and control of production is essential in maintaining Haitian democracy, as asserted by Dr. Pierre.
Equally essential to Haitian democracy is an understanding of the political relationship between the United States and Haiti following independence, disseminated by Dr. Byrd. Following the diplomacy of Ebenzer Don Carlos Bassett, the American ambassador to Haiti from 1869 to 1877, and secretary to Frederick Douglass who served as the American ambassador to Haiti beginning in 1889, Dr. Byrd explains how the American comprehension and lack thereof of Haitian culture and interests influenced American conceptualization of Haitian autonomy. Although being a free black man from Connecticut and first black US diplomat, Bassett did not fully sympathize with the Haitian cause until he immersed himself in the Creole language and traditions of the Haitian people. Therefore, succeeding his stint as ambassador, Bassett gained appreciation for the bilateral relations between the United States and Haiti that centered around race, playing into the French and American insurgency against the Haitian government. As Dr. Byrd claimed, Bassett encouraged Douglass to advise the US government to support full Haitian independence, a claim that was never truly recognized due to Haiti being a fully black nation, which France and the United States did not receive well.
Expanding on this Dr. Daut focused on the complex relationship between France and its former colony of Haiti. Despite gaining independence from France in 1804, Haitians to this day remain fearful that France will reinvoke its claim to the island, due to France’s unwavering presence on the island well into its independence. A statement of a discursive war, as well as a physical one. The physical war was exemplified by French military ships surrounding the island in the early 1800s, only held off from entering the island by British military ships who offered support to Haiti due to Great Britain fighting its own war with France. Thus, Dr. Daut explained that Haitians recognized the limitations of this conditional support. Furthermore, the physical war led to shortages because of resulting trade restrictions, and a lack of access to information. Most information concerning the war came from letters to foreigners inside of Haiti that were then “illegally” unsealed by the Haitian people. The discursive war in turn materialized firstly in how Haiti was nominally recognized, as the French preferred to call the island any variation of the name Saint-Domingue. Meanwhile, French novels and paintings focused on how to reconquer Haiti and assassinate its leaders. Dr. Daut attributed this to control over the island becoming an obsession in all aspects of French society.
Haiti’s struggle to attain freedom and prosper has direct implications in the narrative that has been associated with the country. As the three panelists established, Haiti’s identity as a black nation has deterred the United States and France from offering any symbolic or financial restorative justice. Despite crimes against humanity, such as slavery and labor exploitation being committed during colonial times, France is unlikely to pay restitution to the Haitian people because the financial amount is large, although accessible to the French government. This sets a precedent for other former colonizing nations, demonstrating that monetary and symbolic justice is not deemed necessary within the global judicial system; it is in fact dangerous Once more, Haitians are not viewed as worthy of justice because of their position as inferior colonial subjects who started the revolution as a slave rebellion as the majority of the country is Black and were enslaved workers. This view of Haitian identity and how it connects to historical exploitation forced the country to plummet into poverty, constructing a negative perspective of Haiti on a geopolitical scale that is still largely tied to race and class identity. Therefore, it is imperative to reframe the narrative surrounding Haiti and use the country as a model for fair means of production and wages. Dr. Pierre suggested that as a society we should look towards the people of Haiti who refused to be further exploited, and thus, should apply this ideology to minimum wage in the United States and the subsequent exploitation of immigrants. If a greater understanding of Haiti’s role in the global economy and cultural space is shared, then there may be a growing consensus to seek justice for the atrocities committed against the Haitian people. Justice and accountability from France and the United States is needed now more than ever.
