Haiti Alternative
A JOURNAL OF HAITIAN POLITICS
Emergence of Haiti as a Nation State
One of the most important factors that shaped the emergence of the Haitian nation and identity was an institutional crisis that involved whites, mulattos, and blacks--the three main actors living at Saint Domingue before 1791. Those three castes were divided against each other. The whites failed to bring peace after the slaves uprose because there was no unity among them.They failed to respond to the radical changes that the French colony was undergoing.
For example, rather than making room for mulattos who wanted to partcipate in politics, the white caste opposed the implementation of the May Decree, a policy that gave mulattos citizenship and politics rights. The whites, who had many things in common with mulattos from Paris educated to owners of large scale of plantation and slaves, among other things, did no reach a compromise with the mulattos who many times had allied themeselves with whites due to common interests.
Of course, the Haitian Revolution 1791-1804 was a major world historical event without precedent, chiefly because it was the first time black slaves sucessfully challenged the fundamental premises of white supremacy and alleged superiority. But because independence was the single most important event that 1804 produced, European and some other historians tend to reduce the Haitian Revolutio to a mere war of independence. Even then, it is customary not to list the Haitian Revolution as a major historical event even though Haiti is the first black independent nation-state in the world.
Many cannot understand how and why black Haitians uprose in 1791. Harder to understand is the fact that a handful of ill-equiped black slaves defeated the Napoleon army, the most sophisticated, powerful, and best trained army then. There is no single explanation for such a critical question. Yet, it is widely accepted that the Haitian Revolutionary Army under the leadership of Commander in Chief Toussaint Louverture and Jean Jacques Dessalines had beaten the English, the Spaniards before it defeated the French in 1802-1804. The Haitian leadership was so strong that it provided technical, psychological and moral support needed to win the war and consolidate the revolution. The Haitian generals recognized that unity was a crucial factor to be successful in that venture. Consequently, they united themselves and sucessfully drove the French out of Saint Domingue.
This is the type of unity that Haitians need today to fight imperialism pattern of dominance and initiate necessary reforms to rebuild the country, and help the people to be self-reliant, elf-sufficient and independent.