Haiti: The Aftershocks of HistoryEven before the 2010 earthquake, Haiti was known as a benighted place of poverty and corruption, and has often been blamed for its own wretchedness. But as historian Laurent Dubois makes clear, its difficulties are rooted in its founding revolution, the only successful slave revolt in the history of the world; the hostility that this rebellion generated among the colonial powers; and the intense struggle within Haiti itself to define its newfound freedom and realize its promise. Dubois vividly depicts the isolation and impoverishment that followed the 1804 uprising. He details how the indemnity imposed by the former French rulers initiated a devastating cycle of debt, while frequent interventions by the United States further undermined Haiti's independence. At the same time, Dubois shows, the internal debates about what Haiti should do with its hard-won liberty alienated the nation's leaders from the broader population, setting the stage for enduring political conflict. Yet the Haitian people have never given up on their struggle for true democracy.--From publisher description. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Independence | 15 |
The Citadel | 52 |
Stalemate | 89 |
The Sacrifice | 135 |
Looking North | 165 |
Occupation | 204 |
Second Independence | 265 |
An Immaterial Being | 311 |
Epilogue | 360 |
Acknowledgments | 415 |
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Common terms and phrases
activists African African Americans agricultural Alexandre Pétion American Anténor Firmin Aristide army attack Blancpain Borno Boyer Cacos Caribbean century Christophe Christophe's Clarkson colony color Constitutions corvée country's created culture d'Haïti Dantès Bellegarde Dartiguenave decades declared democracy Dessalines Diederich and Burt Diplomatic Domingue Dominican Republic Douglass Dumesle Duvalier Duvalier's election elites export Firmin forces foreign former France François Duvalier French Gaillard gendarmes Haïti Haitian government Haitian Revolution Heinl Henry Christophe Hurbon Ibid indemnity independence insurgents killed Kreyòl laborers lakou land largely later leaders Logan Louverture military Môle nation officers Papa Doc Paris peasants Péralte Pétion plantation planters political population Port Port-au-Prince president Price-Mars rebels regime region Renda Roger Gaillard rural residents Saint-Domingue Schmidt Schoelcher Senate slavery slaves social soldiers Soulouque Taking Haiti tian tion Toussaint Louverture town troops Trouillot U.S. occupation United University Press uprising Vodou Written in Blood wrote