While Haiti established the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere and was the first black country to gain independence from European colonizers, its history is not well known in the Anglophone world. The Haiti Reader introduces readers to Haiti's dynamic history and culture from the viewpoint of Haitians from all walks of life. Its dozens of selections-most of which appear here in English for the first time-are representative of Haiti's scholarly, literary, religious, visual, musical, and political cultures, and range from poems, novels, and political tracts to essays, legislation, songs, and folk tales. Spanning the centuries between precontact indigenous Haiti and the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, the Reader covers widely known episodes in Haiti's history, such as the U.S. military occupation and the Duvalier dictatorship, as well as overlooked periods such as the decades immediately following Haiti's "second independence" in 1934. Whether examining issues of political upheaval, the environment, or modernization, The Haiti Reader provides an unparalleled look at Haiti's history, culture, and politics.
Cover
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
I. Foundations
An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians, Ramón Pané
Sou lanmè, Anonymous
Account of a Conspiracy Organized by the Negroes, 1758, Anonymous
The Infamous Rosalie, Évelyne Trouillot
The Declaration of Independence, Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Haitian Hymn
Writings, Jean-Jacques Dessalines
A Woman’s Quest for Freedom in a Land of Re-enslavement, Marie Melie
An Exchange of Letters, Alexandre Pétion and Simón Bolívar
The Code Henry, King Henry Christophe
Haitian Heraldry, Kingdom of Henry Christophe
Henry Christophe and the English Abolitionists, King Henry Christophe
The Colonial System Unveiled, Baron de Vastey
Hymn to Liberty, Antoine Dupré
The King’s Hunting Party, Juste Chanlatte
Voyage to the North of Haiti, Hérard Dumesle
On the Origins of the Counter-plantation System, Jean Casimir
II: The Second Generation
The Indemnity: French Royal Ordinance of 1825, King Charles X of France
Hymn to Independence, Jean-Baptiste Romane
Boyer’s Rural Code, Jean-Pierre Boyer
Le lambi, Ignace Nau
An Experimental Farm, Victor Schoelcher
The 1842 Earthquake, Démesvar Delorme
Acaau and the Piquet Rebellion of 1843, Gustave d’Alaux
The Separation of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Thomas Madiou
President Geffrard Protests the Spanish Annexation of the Dominican Republic, Fabre Geffrard
Stella, the First Haitian Novel, Émeric Bergeaud
Haiti and Its Visitors and “Le vieux piquet,” Louis Joseph Janvier
Atlas critique d’Haïti, Georges Anglade
III: The Birth of Modern-Day Haiti
Nineteenth-Century Haiti by the Numbers, Louis Gentil Tippenhauer
Family Portraits
My Panama Hat Fell Off, Anonymous
God, Work, and Liberty!, Oswald Durand
The National Anthem, “La Dessalinienne,” Justin Lhérisson and Nicolas Geffrard
Trial about the Consolidation of Debt, Various Authors
The Execution of the Coicou Brothers, Nord Alexis and Anténor Firmin
The Luders Affair, Solon Ménos
Anti-Syrian Legislation, Haitian Legislature
Choucoune, Oswald Durand
Bouqui’s Bath, Suzanne Comhaire-Sylvain
Zoune at Her Godmother’s, Justin Lhérisson
The Haytian Question, Hannibal Price
African Americans Defend Haiti, Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett
On the Caribbean Confederation, Anténor Firmin
IV: Occupied Haiti (1915–1934)
1915 Treaty between the United States and Haiti, Robert Beale Davis Jr. and Louis Borno
The Patriotic Union of Haiti Protests the U.S. Occupation, Union Patriotique d’Haiti
Memories of Corvée Labor and the Caco Revolt, Roger Gaillard
The Crucifixion of Charlemagne Péralte, Philomé Obin
“My Dear Charlemagne,” Widow Massena Péralte
La vocation de l’élite, Jean Price-Mars
Dix années de lutte pour la liberté, Georges Sylvain
Les simulacres, Fernand Hibbert
La Revue Indigène: The Project, Normil Sylvain
La Revue Indigène: The Poetry, Various Authors
La blanche négresse, Cléante Valcin
Souvenir d’Haïti, Othello Bayard
Veneer of Modernization, Suzy Castor
V: Second Independence
Vincent and Trujillo
Proud Haiti, Edouard A. Tardieu
Color Prejudice, Jacques Roumain
Migration to Cuba, Maurice Casséus and Jacques Roumain
Anti-superstition Laws, President Sténio Vincent
An Oral History of a Massacre, Isil Nicolas Cour
Massacre River, René Philoctète
On the 1937 Massacre, Esther Dartigue
Official Communiqué on “Incidents” in the Dominican Republic, Governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic
Vyewo, Jean-Claude Martineau
Nedjé, Roussan Camille
Dyakout, Félix Morisseau-Leroy
Estimé Plays Slot Machine in Casino, Gordon Parks
On The Voice of Women, Madeleine Sylvain Bouchereau
On Women’s Emancipation, Marie-Thérèse Colimon-Hall
On the 1946 Revolution, Matthew J. Smith
VI: The Duvalier Years
O My Country, Anthony Phelps
General Sun, My Brother, Jacques Stephen Alexis
Flicker of an Eyelid, Jacques Stephen Alexis
The Sad End of Jacques Stephen Alexis, Edouard Duval-Carrié
The Trade Union Movement, Daniel Fignolé and Jacques Brutus
Speech by the “Leader of the Revolution,” François Duvalier
The Haitian Fighter, Le Combattant Haïtien
Atibon-Legba, René Depestre
The Festival of the Greasy Pole, René Depestre
Dance on the Volcano, Marie Chauvet
Interview of Jean-Claude Duvalier: Duvalier’s “Liberal” Agenda, Jon-Blaise Alima
On the Saut-d’Eau Pilgrimage, Jean Dominique
Dreams of Exile and Novelistic Intent, Jean-Claude Fignolé
Dezafi, Frankétienne
And the Good Lord Laughs, Edris Saint-Amand
Letter to the Haitian Refugee Project, Various Imprisoned Haitian Refugee Women
Immigration, Tanbou Libète
Gender and Politics in Contemporary Haiti, Carolle Charles
VII: Overthrow and Aftermath of Duvalier
Jean-Claude Duvalier with a Monkey’s Tail, 1986, Pablo Butcher
Four Poems, Georges Castera
Liberation Theology, Conférence Épiscopale d’Haïti
On the Movement against Duvalier, Jean Dominique
Interview with a Young Market Woman, Magalie St. Louis and Nadine Andre
Nou vle, Ansy Dérose
The Constitution of 1987, Government of Haiti
Rara Songs of Political Protest, Various Groups
Haitians March against an FDA Ban on Haitian Blood Donations, Richard Elkins
The Peasants’ Movement, Tèt Kole
Aristide and the Popular Movement, Jean-Bertrand Aristide
My Heart Does Not Leap, Boukman Eksperyans
On Theology and Politics, Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Street of Lost Footsteps, Lyonel Trouillot
VIII: Haiti in the New Millennium
The Agronomist, Kettly Mars
Poverty Does Not Come from the Sky, AlterPresse
Pòtoprens, BIC
Political Music from Bel Air, Rara M No Limit, Bèlè Masif, and Blaze One
Strange Story, Bélo
Faults, Yanick Lahens
Everything Is Moving around Me, Dany Laferrière
We Are Wozo, Edwidge Danticat
Haïti pap peri, Jerry Rosembert Moïse
The Cholera Outbreak, Roberson Alphonse
On the Politics of Haitian Creole, Various Authors
Stayle, Brothers Posse
To Reestablish Haiti?, Lemète Zéphyr and Pierre Buteau
Suggestions for Further Reading and Viewing
Acknowledgment of Copyrights and Sources
Index (A-Z_
Color plates
