Post by UniverseSeven on Feb 17, 2006 20:49:00 GMT -5
The recent and continuing occupation of Haiti by military forces from the United States and other United Nations countries has once again focused attention on this hapless nation. Unquestionably the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, if not in the world, Haiti's history is a long and tumultuous one.
The island of Hispaniola was originally discovered by Columbus in December l492 during his first voyage. The indigenous native Indian tribes were early extinguished by French and Spanish colonists as the island or parts thereof were at various times under the control of Spain, England and France. Finally by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 the western one-third of the island was ceded to France by Spain and the true development of Haiti as a French outpost began.
- From: Heroes of Haiti by By W.F. Burton Sellers, 11 January 1999
www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/168.html
Flag of Haiti
It was created by Dessalines, who tore the white stripe from the French tricolor, thus eliminating the symbol of the white man from the emblem. The Haitian coat of arms was superimposed on the blue and red fields to complete the flag. This flag was officially adopted on May 18, 1803.
Jacques Vincent Oge (1750-1791)
Haytian insurgent, born in Dondon in 1750; died in Port au Prince, 26 February, 1791. He was a mulatto, descended from a rich family, and received his education in Paris, entering afterward the service of one of the German electors. At the beginning of the French revolution he returned to his native country, and was elected in 1791 a deputy to the constituent assembly. He became a prominent member of the club "' Les amis des noirs " in Paris, and interested several statesmen in the cause of the colored population of the French possessions. But, in spite of their efforts, a motion for the enfranchisement of the negroes was referred to the colonial committee of the assembly, and Oge, sailing for the United States, procured in New Orleans a supply of arms and ammunition, and landed near Cape Frangais, 23 October, 1791, at the head of 250 men. His forces were soon joined by several hundred negroes, but, instead of marching immediately on the cape, he addressed a communication to Governor Peynier, demanding that a decree of the constituent assembly that had partially enfranchised the slaves should be immediately carried into effect, and offering to disarm on that condition. The negotiations lasted for several weeks, and at the end of this time Baron de Saint Vincent marched against the rebels, who were routed after desperate actions at Dondon and at Grande Riviere. Oge barely escaped with his life and sought refuge in the Spanish part of the island. He was arrested there on demand of Peynier's successor, Count de Blanchelande, and delivered to the French authorities on condition that his life be spared, but scarcely had Oge arrived in Port au Prince when Blanchelande broke his word and executed, his prisoner.
President
Toussaint l'Ouverture (1743-1803)
Born Pierre François Dominique Toussaint in 1743 as a slave on the Breda plantation near Cap Français, now Cap Haïtien. He was largely self-educated, serving as a coachman when the bloodbath engulfed Haiti. Over the years, he had observed the tangled conflict between blacks, whites and mulattos, he had been deeply concerned over the injustices suffered by his fellow slaves.
Not an immediate participant in the slave uprisings of 1791, he is said to have assisted the white owners of his plantation escape to Baltimore before he became personally involved in the conflict. By now he was firmly dedicated to the Republican cause, believing that the future for his black people lay with self-rule but within the French colonial system.
Fighting vigorously with the blacks, he soon began to emerge as a national leader and military and political strategist. His opposition earned him the sobriquet of L'Ouverture, the opener. Henceforth, he was called Toussaint Louverture.
In 1792, the French assembly repealed the decree of 1791 which had given the rights of French citizenship to all free persons of color in the French dominions. When Toussaint learned of this and also that Spain was at war with France, he took service with the Spanish of the eastern part of the island assisting them in overrunning a part of the French territory.
On Feb. 4, 1793 the National Convention in France abolished slavery in all its colonies. Believing that this signalized a victory for all that he espoused, Toussaint returned to the French cause, bringing with him an army of 4,000 black troops. The French Civil Commission named him a General of Brigade in recognition of his outstanding military leadership. As military leader, Toussaint forced the evacuation of both British and Spanish from Saint-Domingue, even signing the convention with the British General Maitland for their evacuation in 1796.
Named Lieutenant Governor of Saint-Domingue by the French on April 1, 1797, Toussaint's prestige with his own race was immense. Although still lacking control in the southern part of the country which was dominated by the mulattos, he administered his affairs so adroitly that he was able to undertake a campaign to free the whole island.
By 1801, he had consolidated his position to the point where the French officials were virtually without authority. Santo Domingo, capital of the old Spanish colony, had been captured; all slaves had been freed. A government of local autonomy had been established under a constitution that named him Governor General for life.
Emperor
Jean-Jacques Dessalines (head of state from 1803) (1758-1806)
One of Toussaint's lieutenants in the final years of his campaigns was Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Dessalines was born a slave at Grande Riviere du Nord in 1758. He had no formal education, but later did learn to sign his name. He gained a liberal practical education, however, after running away from his masters and joining bands of runaway slaves who harassed the slave traders and the plantation owners in the forests and mountains.
Acquiring skill in the leadership of men, he joined Toussaint's forces when the revolt against the French began. He followed Toussaint in his various allegiances and became one of his principal officers. When Leclerc wanted to negotiate for peace, Dessalines counseled against it, but finally yielded, against his better judgment. He accepted appointment as a general in the French army and served as Governor of the southern part of the island.
When Toussaint was made a prisoner, Dessalines resumed the fight against the French. Now he was convinced that Napoleon intended to re-establish slavery in Haiti, despite his promises to the contrary. He fought with savage courage and cruelty. What helped him more than his armed supporters was fever that decimated the French ranks and ultimately took the life of Leclerc.
A siege and battles at Crete-a-Pierrot brought Haiti's next heroes into prominence. Crete-a-Pierrot was a fortress atop a hill near the village of Petite Riviere which had been built by freed slaves in the early stages of the struggle and strengthened with redoubt by the British during their occupation of western Haiti.
In March 1802 the fortress itself had been further strengthened into a virtual citadel under the command of Dessalines, seconded by Magny, Martiniere, Monpoint and Larose, with a garrison of 1.200, mostly former slaves.
In his continuing efforts to subdue the rebels, General Leclerc ordered an attack on the redoubt and fortress by 12,000 seasoned troops, veterans of Napoleon's campaigns in Germany and Italy. Repelled in this attack with the loss of 300 French soldiers and 50 officers, and with the loss of further lives in three additional unsuccessful assaults, Leclerc ordered a siege and continuing cannonade of the fortress. While this continued, hundreds of his troops were killed or died of fever.
Some 20 days after the initial French attack, the defenders were in desperate. They had no food, little water and hundreds of dead and wounded. The French, believing the defenders reduced to helplessness, advanced to overrun the redoubt. In the midst of this inferno what did they see but a young female mulatto wearing a red bonnet, sabre at her side, her waist knotted with a scarf and rifle in her hand, circling fearlessly in range on the walls of the redoubt shouting encouragement to the besieged.
This was Jeanne Marie, the wife of Brigade Commander Lamartiniere. As Haitian books record, She fought like a brown Jeanne d'Arc!
Lamartiniere looked in vain for Dessalines to come forth from the fortress with relief forces but only an old man, pretending to be an idiot, had worked his way through the French forces, to advise Lamartiniere that the fort was to be evacuated that night. After dark, on March 24, 1802 , the besieged rebels opened by bayonet a corridor through more than 10,000 French troops. Most escaped to fight another day.
Even the French commanders classified this withdrawal as a remarkable feat of arms. For his role in the defense of Crete-a-Pierrot, Louis Daure Lamartiniere is recognized as another of Haiti's heroes. The other seconds-in-command have not received similar recognition.
In October 1802, Dessalines arranged a meeting with Alexander Sabes Pétion, a mulatto leader then fighting for the French, to discuss the possibility of a united front against Napoleon. Pétion's loyalty to his country was greater than to his cast.
After a two day conference at Arcahaie, he agreed to join his forces with those of Dessalines against the French.
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The French, under General Rochambeau (successor of LeClerc who had died of malaria earlier), were finally defeated at the famed Battle of Vertieres on November 18th, 1803. Notably, it is Dessalines' victory overRochambeau in Vertieres that forced Napoleon to abandon his bid for the control of Louisiana and eventually, the rest of the 'New World'.
In 1804, Dessalines declared the colony the independent country of Haiti and assumed the title of governor general for life. In 1806, He was murdered by political rivals.
President
Alexandre Sabes Petion
(1770-1818) , (President from 27.12.1806 - 29.03.1818)
When Dessalines died, Pétion who had often been in political disagreement with him but had refrained from any serious interference with development of the infant Republic, began to exercise his political strength to seek a more republican form of government. Followers of the other of Toussaint's principal aids, Christophe, began to assert themselves.
A temporary compromise was reached with the election of Henri Christophe as president under a constitution drawn up by Pétion. This uneasy truce lasted only a short time, because Christophe began to exercise greater powers than the limited ones authorized by the constitution that restricted personal power of public officials.
The old racial animosities between the mulattos, who supported Pétion and the blacks of Christophe, began to flare anew. Pétion's supporters met in Port-au-Prince, impeached Christophe as President and elected Pétion to the office on March 11, 1807. This resulted into two states - one in the north ruled by Christophe as Henry I - the other in the south governed by Pétion as president for life.
Alexander Sabes Pétion was by far the best educated of the revolutionary leaders. He was born in Port-au-Prince on April 2, 1770, of a white father and a mulatto mother. His elementary education was modest. At 18 he joined the militia. Later, he fought under the mulatto leader, Rigaud, against Toussaint and Dessalines in the civil war of 1800. After the mulattos were defeated, he went to France where he studied military tactics and munitions.
When Napoleon sent armies to Haiti to reduce the power of Toussaint, Pétion joined them, because he then thought Toussaint was attempting to establish an autocratic dictatorship. It was while in this service that he was approached by Dessalines, made common cause with him, and expelled the French from Haiti.
As President of the southern part of Haiti for two terms, until his death from yellow fever on March 29, 1818, Pétion proved an able administrator. He gave financial stability to his administration by dividing the large plantations confiscated from the French among the men who had fought in the army of independence, thus establishing a rural democracy. He established a free school for younger children, a form of high school for boys in Port-au-Prince, and one of the first girls' schools in Latin America. He also gave sanctuary to Simon Bolivar in 1815, assisting him with money, munitions and men when Bolivar returned to the South American continent for his wars of liberation from the Spanish.
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In the twelve years that he ruled, Alexandre Petion endured many hardships, but created the foundation for the country. Petion was born in Port-au-Prince in 1770 to a French father and a Black mother. He was known at that time as a mulatto. At the age of 18, he was sent to study and became a soldier in France at the Military Academie de Paris. Along with Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Petion organized the mulattos with the African slave in order to fight the French army for the independence of Haiti. After an ambush and the death of Dessalines, Petion was elected President of the Republic of Haiti on March 09, 1806.
During his reign as president, he was responsible for the design of the official flag of the Haiti. He designed the coat of arms within the white square. Less than a decade later after its independence, Haiti, began to help its neighbors in South America to gain liberty as well. Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, came to Haiti to seek help for his struggle to liberate his country Venezuela from Spain. Petion gave Bolivar: money, weapons, ammunitions and even Haitian volunteer soldiers to help him fight for freedom. The only thing Petion asked in return was abolition of slavery in all the territories that he may later help liberate. Simon Bolivar with the help of Haiti proclaimed Venezuela's independence in 1812 and truly liberated: Colombia in 1819, Venezuela in 1821, Ecuador and Peru in 1822. The first Black independent nation in the world was created by many different people. Among them, one of the greatest and most influential, was Alexandre Petion. He ruled during the infancy of the young nation and serve until his death, on March 29, 1818.
Official flag of Haiti
King
Henri I Christophe
(1767-1820) , (President from 17.10.1806)
Perhaps the most fascinating of Haiti's early heroes is Henri Christophe. Born a slave on the British island of St Christopher on Oct. 6, 1767, he took his surname from the country of his birth. He ran away to sea when he was 12 years old by stowing away on a French brig. He was sold by its captain to a French naval officer to be a general handyman. Ultimately, he reached Cap Français where he was sold to the owner of the Crown Hotel. He eventually purchased his freedom, joining Toussaint in the early days of the revolt.
Almost seven feet tall and possessed of great dignity, Christophe was a commanding figure and quickly achieved a conspicuous place as one of Toussaint's trusted lieutenants. Along with Dessalines he capitulated and joined the French in 1802 when so authorized by Toussaint. After Toussaint was taken prisoner and the struggle against the French resumed, Christophe again fought the French, primarily in the north.
After the French were expelled and the new republic proclaimed under Dessalines, Christophe became general-in-chief in the north. Here he undertook the construction of one of the most fabulous structures in the western hemisphere. On the top of a precipitous mountain, Bonnet-a-l'Eveque, about 20 miles southwest of Cap Haïtien, a company of stonemasons and 20,000 native peasant laborers under the direction of the Scottish engineer Ferrier, began the building of an impregnable fortress overlooking the harbor. The construction took years; it was completed only shortly before Christophe's death.
The gallery, in which many of the 350 cannons were located, had been brought to the fort by superhuman effort and at the cost of many lives.
During his reign in the north after he succeeded Dessalines in 1806, Christophe had other fabulous structures built. After having himself proclaimed king on June 12, 1811, he built the Palace of Sans-Souci at Milot.
This palace was built on a scale of grandeur that has seldom been equalled. The great halls of state were cooled by a mountain stream conducted under their floors. There were banquet halls, an audience chamber, an arsenal, a presbytery, barracks and even a chapel.
As king, Henri ruled with an iron hand. Obsessed with a fear that Napoleon's forces would return, he drove his people to finish his fortress and exacted the most trying labors, often enforced with great cruelty. Ultimately his subjects began to revolt. Christophe's health and mind simultaneously began to give way; he became partially paralyzed. As tradition has it, he loaded a pistol with a silver bullet and took his own life on Oct. 8, 1820. Thus perished the last of Haiti's four major heroes (Toussaint, Dessalines, Pétion and Christophe), three of whom became chiefs of state after the revolution that won Haiti its freedom from France. Their intriguing stories and those of other heroes together constitute an amazing panoply of tales of black and mulatto heroes who brought a new nation into being.
Independent Republic 09.05.1801
Empire 08.12.1804
Republic again 17.10.1806
Kingdom in the northern parts 26.03.1811
united Republic again in 26.11.1820
Empire again 26.08.1849
Republic again 20.01.1859
occupied by the USA 1915-1947
www.info-regenten.de/regent/regent-e/haiti.htm
Heroes of Haiti
By W.F. Burton Sellers, 11 January 1999
www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/168.html