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Picture, Cité Soleil Earthquake 6, by Marcello Casal Jr., licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.
The Island of Hispaniola in the Western hemisphere is divided into two countries: the western one third of the island is Haiti, while the Eastern side is the Dominican Republic. The aboriginal people of Haiti, who were known as the Arawak, lived under Spanish rule. Their numbers dwindled, leading to their near extinction. After Spanish rule came French occupation and African slave labor. In 1804, after a decade of revolt, Haiti became the first independent Black nation. But after two centuries of independence, Haiti is in desperate need, with her people the most devastated by AIDS in the Western hemisphere.
The last time I read about Haiti before the current earthquake disaster, Haiti was in the headlines because the citizens were said to be eating "mud cakes," for lack of money to buy real food. According to the article, mud cakes were first "consumed by impoverished pregnant women seeking calcium." Later, it became a national staple, because of extreme poverty. Haiti doesn't lack food; the people are just too poor to afford whatever food is available on the market (1-3).
So why are the people too poor to afford food? Haiti's is a very long story, rooted in the country's colorful history. It started when Haiti's slaves (about a half a million) first rebelled against French colonial enslavement, beginning in 1791. After a decade of insurrection, mainly under Pierre-Dominique Toussaint, Haiti finally triumphed under Jean-Jacques, who named the new republic 'Haiti,' an Arawak name. Haiti's declaration of independence was an embarrassment, not just to the French, but to the Western world in general. This is because it inspired enslaved/ colonized Black peoples globally and had the potential to incite slaves to rebellion and destabilize production in other colonies in the Western hemisphere. Before this, Haitians had endured the worst form of slavery in the Western hemisphere. In fact Haiti had been highly productive because of the brutality of her slave masters.
To avoid influencing other slaves, therefore, Napoleon had tried to suppress the rebellion. Haiti had been France's richest colony, contributing up to 25% (some references cite 50%) of the country's economic wealth. Haiti was their leading producer of sugar, coffee, cocoa, tobacco and cotton among other exotic products. After the addition of ‘value’ (through processing), these products were sold all over Europe, making France very wealthy.
In 1801, Haiti became the first black colony to become a republic. Because of the international community’s boycott of the new republic, Haiti found herself free, but surrounded by hostile neighbors; simple transactions like accessing commercial outlets for her goods proved troublesome. In part, this helped empower the emerging elites as they had the necessary commercial links.
Haiti's elites were made up of two groups of people: mulattos, children of white slave masters (mainly German) and African slave women, and African slaves who had been set free because of "good deeds." This group was allowed to go to school, own property and engage in commerce, just like the French. The elite group quickly learnt to influence both the economy and the governance of the island. In the meantime, the French insisted that they "pay a large indemnity to France (150 million Francs)," for lands previously owned by former slave owners, but now taken by the revolution. Haiti therefore, like many African countries that would follow in her path, started off on a negative economic footing, i.e. with a large foreign debt to clear and an adverse commercial environment. But Haitians, I have read, are a proud industrious people, and they were determined to succeed after tasting their freedom.
Apart from the French debt, the decade long insurrection had wrecked the economy. In addition, leadership wrangles emerged soon after independence. Haiti's economy, was now dominated by the light-skinned mulattos, who were determined to preserve their privileges (many Germans had married Black women, in part to gain access to Haiti land, because the law limited ownership of Haiti lands and industries by foreigners). They also had a large influence on the politics of the island. Disputes with their neighbors were also quite common. There followed a succession of dictators who, together with the ruling elites did not have the interests of the people at heart. By the end of the 19th century, Haiti was declared bankrupt, prompting the USA to move in and declare "custom receivership from 1905-1941." This stabilized the situation somewhat, although there are those who believe that "by the time the US pulled out in 1934, Haiti's own governance institutions had atrophied."
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Writer Profile
Norma
I am an African community health worker interested in cultural practices. This is because I have come to believe that culture is a foundation for development. I am especially interested in food culture for the same reasons.
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Comments
great review Maria Sol Fernandez Rial | Feb 28th, 2010
It is very good to find such an enriching review. I was looking for one and I really enjoyed it. Thanks!
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