The Cultural History of Haiti & Its Effects on Haitian Identity

Figure 1: Haiti Map

Today’s blog post will explore the rich cultural history of Haiti and Haitians, and how their history has had an effect on Haitian identity both domestically and abroad.  Through this blog post you will learn about the location of the country of Haiti and how that geographical placement affected its identity.  This will be followed by the historical events that had the most profound affect on the development of the sociopolitical situations faced by modern Haitians.

Haiti is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea (Figure 1).  The island is 600 miles south east of Florida, and Haiti is bordered by the Dominican Republic.  The island was originally inhabited by the Taino Indians who were subsequently wiped out by European diseases brought by Christopher Columbus and his crew and tortuous enslavement by subsequent French colonists who imprisoned that Taino and forced them to work on the sugar plantations.  With the Taino populations decimated the European (French and otherwise) colonists turned to a new source of forced human labor: enslaved Africans.  An estimated 30,000 Africans were imported to Haiti annual, and they ultimately made up half of the human population (totally 500,000 individuals). 

This population dynamic provided the fertile social environment that eventually led to a series of social revolutions in the country.  These revolutions were created out of segmentation of the populations, with enslaved blacks being relegated to the lowest social status and those of European descent being elevated to the highest status.  There were individuals who were in between: the Affranchi.  This group was made up of freed slaves and the children of white and black couplings.  As Haiti was a French colony the French government declared the Affranchi have similar right to those of European descent, which concerned the French colonists.  They ignored the French government’s ruling and denied the Affranchi their rights.  

Figure 2: Haitian Art (Artist Unknown)

This act and the subsequent abolishment of slavery by the French government led to the first revolution, which was led largely by freed slaves and the Affranchi alike.  The conclusion of this revolution led to the instatement of Jean-Jacques Dessalines to the leadership of the newly independent Haiti, who eventually renamed himself Emperor Jacques I, Haiti’s first dictator.  Napoleon, who took over and now led France, began his own conflict with Haiti because he feared the power gained by the freed Blacks and Affranchi.  This led to a series of conflict in Haiti that led to the assignation of Dessalines and the subsequent split of the country both geographically and socially.  This fissure of the country fostered greater strife among Haitians based on racial lines.

The country was eventually reunited in 1818, but this did not solve the social unrest among Haitian racial groups.  Haiti’s new leader, Jean Pierre Boyer, stressed the racial differences among the people, favoring those of mixed ancestry and lighter skin color, as well as reintroduced force labor among the citizenry.  In 1843 Boyer was ousted, but the civil and political unrest grew worse.  A series of 22 dictators took control of Haiti over the next 72 years, further plummeting the country into social, political, and economic turmoil.  Eventually, the United States involved itself in the country’s sociopolitical matters by taking control of the government from 1915 until 1934.  This was a time of relative peace, but the United States did little to assist Haiti economically or in establishing order after their withdrawal.  This eventually led to Jean-Claude Duvalier being elected as the country’s leader, and while he promised great changes, he brought more of the same but at higher costs.  Political, social, and economic unrest worsened under his rule as he reduced the Haitian military and employed a private military force to control Haitian citizens.  He rewrote the constitution to declare himself President for life and allowed for his son to take over upon his death.  When this happened, his son continued the reign of terror as well as bankrupted the country further before fleeing in 1986. 

Unfortunately, Haiti has been unable to recover economically from these sociopolitical hardships.  Haiti boasts one of the most impoverished and poorly educated populations in the developed world.  Their currency is greatly devalued and necessities, such as food, shelter, and basic medical care, are largely inaccessible to the majority of Haitians.  This has led several thousands of Haitians to claim political asylum overseas, including here in the United States.  Sadly, due to the impoverished nature of Haitian asylum seekers (which leads to a lack of education and few marketable skills that make them favorable immigrants) many are denied asylum status, particularly in the United States.

Despite these hardships and several others that have befallen Haitians more recently the Haitian people remain one of the most culturally rich and friendly around the world.  They are fiercely proud of their African heritage, their resilience, and their culture.  Their art (Figure 2) is vibrant and positive, showcasing their ways of life, which they take great pride in.  They are a people who have and will continue to persevere despite what challenges they face, and hopefully over time they will not only persevere but rise up and establish a greater financial, political, and social independence that they have not quite achieved yet.

 

References Cited

Peters-Golden, H.  (2011).  Culture Sketches: Case Studies in Anthropology. 6th Edition.  Mc-Graw Hill Education.