Haiti at the Beginning (13 cents)

I really did not know much about the creation of Haiti. i knew it was the first independent country in the Caribbean, and the first black run country in the hemisphere. I knew that it owed its existence to a man named Toussaint L'Ouverture; I had been to his palace in Cap Hatien. But I was very weak on the details.

I still am not strong, but have a much better feel for them after reading Gordon Brown's new book, "Toussaint's Clause". Brown interweaves three stories: the separation of Haiti from France in the early 1800s; developments in France itself during the Napoleanic years; and this country's relationship and reaction to the prospect of an independent Haiti, both politically and economically.

The facts themselves are too complex to relate. The Haitians took the French revolutionary slogan of equality, liberty and fraternity seriously, even when the French did not. They demanded an end to slavery and a change to the plantation system that led so many to a quick and early death. Because of the lack of assumed French support for their position, the African population turned anti-white in general, and also against the favored mulatto class. But they had no basis for the creation of a democratic society, and fell into dictatorship immediately. And, the plantation economy might have been socially reprehensible, but it was the economy, and with its collapse, Haiti quickly turned from the most prosperous island in the Caribbean to one of the poorest.

The French were conflicted, as well. They did not want to lose their prize colony, but could not hold onto it; they had neither the resources, nor (once the Napoleanic Wars began) the economic capacity that was needed. It was the same drain on their resources that led to the bargain sale of the Louisiana territory to the United States. But the French wanted to maintain some trade with Haiti, they wanted to preserve the wealth of its French population, they did not want to see America, and especially Britain, gain as a result of their limitations.

America had a number of conflicting interests. The northern states, mouthing support for another new self-governing republic, were in fact mainly interested in the preservation of trade, which was very important to the New England economy. The south, on the other hand, saw only bad precedent in the existence of a free black population so close to our shores. At least these were the major issues; in fact, things were much more complex, getting involved in issues of domestic politics to be sure, and even more with our relationship with our sometime friends and sometime adversaries, Britain and France, who were for the most part at war with each other.

Nothing turned out as expected, or as it could or should have, and Haiti suffers for it to this day. Brown's book sheds significant light on this interesting aspect of US history, even if its complexity is too great for perfect understanding.