Haiti's Long March Toward Freedom

by J. Damu

January 1, 2004 marks exactly 200 years since the culmination of one of history’s most titanic, earth-shaking events. Hundreds of thousands of casualties were sustained, national economies were either wrecked or displaced, the history of the western hemisphere was forever altered and the wars of national liberation of Africa, Asia and Latin America that characterized much of the 20th century were pre-figured. What single event caused so much altering of history and empowerment of Blacks and other colonized peoples?-The Haitian Revolution.

When current Haitian president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, rises to speak to what will surely be tens of thousands of Haitians to welcome the new year and commemorate one of history’s greatest achievements, he will speak to the worthy successors of those enslaved Blacks and downtrodden masses who rose up so long ago, and he will speak to those in Haiti who continue today to fight for dignity, peace, improved living conditions for all, reparations and even life itself.

Not surprisingly most academicians sweep the Haitian Revolution under the world’s carpet of history. They do this simply by dismissing the revolution, when they refer to it at all, as an event that created the second oldest republic in the western hemisphere. It accomplished this of course, but it did much, much more.

Soberly considered the Haitian Revolution, more than the American and French Revolutions, which were conducted, after all, by slave holders, was the first instance in the history of the planet, where formerly enslaved men and women, workers from throughout society, unified to overthrow their oppressors and to establish their own republic.

Though European and American slave owners never thought such a thing could happen,
the truth of the matter is Haiti, prior to the revolution, was considered the sugar bowl of the world, producing fully one third of the world’s sugar, and it was by far the wealthiest of all the European colonies in the Western hemisphere. Despite the affluence it created however, Haiti was perhaps the most harshly administered of all the slave societies, with the possible exception of Barbados. This was an important pre-condition for the revolution.

The Haitian Revolution which began in August of 1791 with a slave revolt led by Boukman, a voudun spiritual leader, and culminated 13 years later under the successive leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture and Jean Jacques Dessalines was successful due to a prodigious set of circumstances.

Factors often cited to explain the success of the enslaved Haitians in their overthrow of the French slavocracy include the ideological impact of the American and French revolutions on the Haitians, as well as the inter-imperialist rivalries between the U.S., England, Spain and France. These economic and territorial rivalries prevented any of them sending France more than token support to fight the Black armies.

Only the U.S. seemed to profit nicely from the Haitian revolution. Desperate to raise money to fight the Haitians and simultaneously conduct military expeditions in Europe, France offered to the U.S. the Louisiana Territory, a purchase that would increase the size of the U.S. by nearly one third. At the fire sale price of $15 million, the U.S. quickly accepted the offer, after deducting $3.5 million in U.S. citizen’s claims against France.

While these conditions cannot be discounted as contributing to the success of the revolution, the military experience of the Blacks themselves cannot be overestimated. For instance numerous Haitians had participated in the American Revolution and gained valuable fighting experience there. Henri Christophe, who later served as president of Haiti was typical. As a youth he left his native Graneda and traveled to South Carolina, where he and others from the Caribbean participated in the battle of Savannah. By 1790 he was in Haiti and participated in the revolution from its beginning.

Even more important to the Haitian revolutionary cause, however, were the Congolese and Angolan soldiers. Captured in African warfare, defending their homelands, these highly trained soldiers had been enslaved and sent to Haiti. These soldiers, many of whom still considered themselves subjects of particular African kings and queens, organized and fought spectacularly for a free Haiti.

Furthermore, once the Haitian republic was born, its leaders did all they could to continue to promote the twin goals of abolition of slavery and national liberation throughout the hemisphere..

Well aware of Simon Bolivar’s long running attempts to free the Spanish colonies from colonial rule, Haiti’s leaders supported him when they could. On two different occasions, after Bolivar had been driven from the South American mainland, Haitian president Alexandre Petion re-supplied and re-armed Bolivar’s forces. When Bolivar, who is referred to by some, as the George Washington of South America, asked what he could do to re-pay Haiti, President Petion responded, “You can repay us by freeing all the slaves in the Spanish colonies.”

Petion then gave Bolivar something more important than arms and ammunition. He gave Bolivar a printing press on which was printed the declaration freeing the all the enslaved Africans and Indians held by Spain. Bolivar’s declaration did not prove to be lasting until 1846, however.

Today President Aristide has become a modern version of Boukman andToussaint, a spiritual fighter thrust into political leadership on the crest of a flood-tide of the people. Despite international intervention, wide ranging machinations by foreign intelligence services, collaboration on the part of the five oligarchic Haitian families with remnants of the corrupt Haitian military and massive economic penetration and fundamentalist economic policies imposed by world lending institutions, all in an attempt to return Haiti to the old order dictatorship headed by the Duvalier family; Aristide, his Lavalas organization and the masses of Haitian people have successfully resisted and thwarted political reaction and have implemented policies of social democracy.

Despite many successes however, Aristide and his supporters face dangerous times in Haiti. Violence is being threatened by Duvalierist supporters against many who would celebrate the revolution. Pretexts will be created, many say, to force the removal of Aristide before his elected term is up. Much danger yet exists in Haiti.

African-Americans, Blacks in the Diaspora, Africans, around the world should all express support for Haiti during this most difficult period. All should especially embrace Haiti, particularly on the occasion of its bicentennial celebration, as it looks backward in order to go forward.

J. Damu is the Acting Western Regional Representative for N’COBRA
(National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America.) He can be reached at jdamu@sbcglobal.net.