Haitian History: Part 3 of 5

When we last left off, Haiti had just gained its independence and was under the control of Dessalines, one of Toussaint L�Overture�s generals. Haiti was free and had become the most successful slave revolution since Spartacus in Rome.

            Dessalines consolidated his power in 1805 and proclaimed himself to be the �Emperor of Haiti.� His rule was disappointing and ended with his assassination. His failures began when he tried to bridge the gap between the mulatto elite and the newly freed slaves by encouraging interracial marriages. When Alexandre Petion, a mulatto military leader, refused to marry Dessalines daughter, his efforts became the subject of ridicule by both mulattoes and blacks. He also tried to reinstate slavery to return Haiti to the economic prowess it possessed before the revolution. That also failed. He even tried to conquer the Spanish controlled region of the island but he failed there too. He was assassinated in 1806, just a year after becoming Emperor. While the assassins were never discovered, many scholars believe that his assassination was ordered by a member of the mulatto elite.

            Following his death, there were two viable contenders to replace Dessalines: Henri Christophe and Alexandre Petion (Remember him?). The mulatto elite created their own government with an assembly that selected Christophe to be the President and Petion to head the legislature (They called it a republic but it wasn�t really a republic unless you were a part of the mulatto elite). Christophe was black and the mulatto elite who selected him intended for him to be a puppet leader that followed their orders. Christophe defied the people who put him into power by raising an army and attacking Port-au-Prince. However, Petion had command over the city and controlled the artillery which prevented a victory for Christophe.

            Christophe took his army north and marched into Cap Haiten where he named himself �King Henry I of Haiti.� He also brought in Dahoumey warriors from Central Africa to serve as his elite guard. While his kingdom was ruled harshly and severely, the economy prospered and the standard of living increased while he was in charge in the north. The same could not be said in the south. Petion implemented ideals from the French Revolution into his policies (basically socialism) and redistributed land equally among the people by selling small pieces of land at little cost. This prevented the establishment of a strong economy because cash crops were only being farmed in small quantities on small subsistence farms.

            Comparatively, the people living in the North were bitter and resentful towards Henry, but lived prosperously. In the south, Petion was well respected and the people lived contently despite their poverty.

            This split in Haiti came to an end in 1820 following the deaths of both Petion and Henry. Petion died in 1818 and Henry committed suicide in 1820 following a stroke. Henry knew that his people would not treat him nicely after years of oppression. General Jean-Pierre Boyer, a prominent leader in the republic, took the opportunity to capture Cap Haiten and reunite Haiti. The momentum from his victory in the north led him to conquer the Spanish controlled territories of the island, thus bringing all of Hispaniola together under Haitian rule.

            The economy suffered under Boyer. He continued and expanded Petion�s policies of subsistence farming which killed the cash crop industry and he also made a payment of 60 million francs to France in return for recognition of Haiti as a sovereign nation. These policies would hurt Haiti for generations. He was finally overthrown in 1843 by a group of radical mulattoes. Dominican nationalists took the political instability in Haiti as an opportunity to revolt. They successfully forced the Haitian army out of Santo Domingo and declared independence. This was the birth of the Dominican Republic.

            The rest of the nineteenth century consisted of a series of presidents who established or disregarded constitutions as they pleased and rearranged Haiti economically and politically. The political instability and constant redistribution of farm land continued to stagnate the Haitian economy. The relationship between mulattoes and blacks remained hostile throughout the nineteenth century as mulattoes controlled the republic and elected fellow mulattoes and puppet black presidents into power. Assassinations and coups were commonplace. One president was killed when the presidential palace was blown up, one was hacked to pieces by the people in the streets of Port-au-Prince, and one was poisoned. The republic was even suspended between 1849 and 1859 under the rule of �Emperor� Faustin I. Needless to say, the government of Haiti was a corrupt and unstable system.

            So where did Haiti go wrong? I think it started when Boyer ended the partition of Haiti in 1820 by retaking Cap Haiten from Henry. From then on, the economy and the government was weak, controlled by the aristocracy and prone to instability. This instability set Haiti behind from the rest of the world because while Haiti was still trying to stabilize and create a lasting government, America was industrializing and becoming a world power. The two nations who were very similar at birth were traveling in opposite directions.

            I think that in 1820 history turned on a dime in that Henry could have easily taken control of the south instead of Boyer retaking the north. If that had happened, the economy of Haiti might have returned to its pre-revolutionary glory and may have industrialized later on.

            The corruption and poverty of Haiti stems from this time period. Perhaps this era is the most vital aspect to understanding how Haiti came to be what it is today.

            That�s all for this week.

Sources:

�History of Haiti.� Nationsonline.org. One World Nations Online. 2006.

�Political and Economic History of Haiti.� Sjsu.edu. San Jos� State University Department of Economics.