Though expressing sympathy and moral support for the Greek cause against the Ottomans, Boyer's letter explained that financial restraints prevented significant Haitian troops or cash to be sent. Interestingly, Boyer also attributes the recent integration of Haiti and the Spanish-speaking former Spanish colony to the east as another drain on the Haitian budget because "the revolution which triumphs on the eastern portion of our island is creating a new obstacle in carrying out our aim; in fact, this portion, which was incorporated into the Republic I preside over, is in extreme poverty and thus justifies immense expenditures of our budget." Nevertheless, to many Greek historians, at least according to the translators of this letter, believed this letter to be the first official recognition of Greek independence and citizenship in the 1820s, which is part of the reason the knowledge of this letter survives, particularly in the resonance of Boyer's references to democracy, Greek triumphs against the Persians, and revolutionary idealism. Of course, Boyer's rule in Haiti itself was far from actual democracy or a republican form of government, but the ideals of democratic governance and classical history (no doubt a subject familiar to Boyer) clearly carried some significance, even when the reality on the ground was far from anything democratic (check this out for some info on Boyer's long presidency, 1818-1843).
A quick Google search on this topic also suggests some import to the exchange between Haiti and the Greek revolutionaries combating the Turks. Some even say that Haiti sent several tons of coffee, the main export at the time, to be sold to buy supplies and ammunition for the Greeks. According to this piece, Britain would follow Haiti by one year in recognizing the Greek nationalists in 1823, but Haiti was the first to recognize the Greek right to self-determination. This blog links to a Greek translation of Boyer's letter for all of you who can read it! So, even if Haitian aid did not exceed the alleged 25 tons of coffee to be sold on behalf of the Greek revolutionary cause, we have direct evidence of the Haitian state's involvement in liberation of other former colonies and oppressed peoples, just as Petion did earlier for Bolivar and the liberators of Venezuela and Colombia. This, in a sense, is a case of an international export of the Haitian Revolution, within the broader "Age of Revolutions" in Europe and the Americas.
I came across this information in an article either by or about Leslie Manigat. It's nice that Haiti did all these things for others, but what did they get in return? Who was Haiti's first ambassador to Greece? Did Haitians benefit from Greek seafaring knowledge? I couldn't help laughing when I read that Boyer couldn't help more because he was busy rebuilding the North. According to the Charles Mackenzie's 1826 book:NOTES ON HAITI,
ReplyDeleteMADE DURING A RESIDENCE
IN THAT REPUBLIC, Christophe's treasury was full. Here is what he wrote on page 72. "It is certain that, notwithstanding a very expensive
establishment, Henry amassed more
money than any other chief in Haiti ever did.
It seems to be unquestioned that he had
hoarded not less than thirty millions in gold
and silver coin in the citadel prior to its being
struck with lightning. I was assured that
Dupuy always asserted that there had been
sixty millions. Either is an inconceivably large
sum to have been accumulated from his resources.
Only a small proportion found its
way into the republican treasury. Yet, I have
been informed on the best authority, that in
consequence of a representation advisedly made
to the French government, that twenty millions
were there lodged, the exaction of thirty millions
was proposed. I doubt very much whether
a fourth part of that amount ever reached the
exchequer of the president." What happened to all that gold and silver? If the figures mentioned (20-60 million)were in dollars, that would mean that Haiti would have had the equivalent of $414 billion-$1.24 trillion in 2011. If Haiti had such financial resources in 2011 the per capita income would have been $41,400-124,000 making Haiti among the richest nations on earth.
http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/relativevalue.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita
If you are planning on writing further about Pétion and Boyer you should write about their relationship with the comely Marie-Madeleine Lachenais. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~htiwgw/familles/fiches/000413.htm. I wonder how much of Christophe's treasury was spent on keeping her in style.
ReplyDeleteGreat point, Haiti did not really get anything out of their support for Bolivar or recognizing Greek self-determination. The Greek thing was one of those mostly symbolic acts, although if the Haitian government really gave them the finacial support with 25 tons of coffee, that's quite a lot of economic assistance! I guess from Bolivar Haiti got little in return, since slavery continued until as late the 1850s in Colombia and other parts of South America, but I cannot remember the date of formal abolition in Venezuela or Ecuador. I suppose Bolivar's promises regarding abolition were probably unfulfilled. Perhaps due to the large proportion of the revolutionary armies were people of color (and especially African) in Venezuela and Colombia, and the fact that slavery was not the main basis of the colonial economies (it varied depending on the region of "New Granada," I'm sure), anti-slavery legislation was not seen as necessary or easily overlooked by white elites who took control after independence from Spain. But Venezuela under Hugo Chavez has been an ally to Haiti by erasing debts and other actions.
DeleteInteresting point, what did happen to the vast treasury of Christophe? I've heard of Lachenais, but know little about her. Wasn't she a courtesan for the most powerful male political leaders, including Petion and Boyer?
To add insult to injury, I am quite sure Bolivar excluded Haiti from the Pan-American Conference in 1826(?) and 'Gran Colombia' and the other South American states did not recognize Haiti for decades. I know trade occurred, but Haitian flags were not recognized. I've read elsewhere that Bolivar's political ideology was shaped by that of Haiti, with a strong, militarized state apparatus that, though taking the label of a 'republic' was far from it.
ReplyDeleteThis link gives a good account of Bolivar's attitude toward Haiti and the help that nation gave him. Like all whites, he felt that he was entitled to the help from blacks as his birthright.
ReplyDeletehttp://usslave.blogspot.com/2013/04/haiti-and-white-curse-by-eduardo-galeano.html
I thank you for the J.F. Brière article on JSTOR, I hate that organization. Are you planning to write something on Abbé Gregoire and Manviel? The latter was the one who stabbed Toussaint in the back when he convinced Toussaint's brother Paul to hand the Spanish side of the island to Leclerc without a fight. Out of curiosity, can you tell me what you are getting your degree in, if you don't mind divulging such information? The case of Gregoire is very interesting because it shows that even well meaning whites can cause as much damage as those who consciously try to thwart black progress. The idea that thirty thousand armed blacks could have been shipped to Greece was hilarious. Blacks exist only to sacrifice themselves for the good of all, never for themselves.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you hate JSTOR? Because they don't share the articles and publications they digitized freely with the public, instead requiring one to pay for a private account or be affiliated with libraries, universities and other institutions for free access? If you hate it for that reason, I am definitely in agreement, all the digitized articles should be freely accessible and perhaps public domain.
DeleteI should write about Gregoire, I was thinking about doing such a thing not too long ago. I will have a lot more research to do before I could even think about it though. My degrees are in African-American Studies and History, though my main interests are probably a mix of African-American Studies, Latin American/Caribbean Studies, African Studies and History (with a focus on the African diaspora) and with an interest in the music of African America, Afro-Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.
And yes, the very idea of thousands of Haitian troops going off to fight for Greek nationalists is ludicrous, but Gregoire had a very condescending attitude toward blacks. However, it seems like he was respected among Haitian elites of Boyer's time. There's apparently a recently published book in English analyzing Gregoire, if I can locate it for free I may read it.
JSTOR makes you wait 2 weeks to read 3 free articles on their site. Gregoire and Manviel, the latter's treachery and the conflict between the Vatican and the French republican clergy, in the context of the Haitian Revolution, seems to me worthy of a book that might be written by you. Why do you say that Boyer's crowd seemed like they respected Gregoire when it's obvious from the Brière article they worshiped the ground he walked on? I guess he was the white daddy they wished they had. I give Gregoire credit for admonishing Boyer's unseemly capitulation to the French monarchy. As I pointed out to you before France was so unstable that war would have been an extremely dangerous policy for them. Boyer should have been tried for treason for not preparing the nation to stand up to French threats. How come his negotiators didn't know what the French were planning to do?
ReplyDeletePerhaps, I don't know if I care enough about Gregoire and the French republican clergy to really do significant research though. I said "seemed" because I haven't read the Brière article in a year or two and I didn't want to suggest something that may not be in the evidence I allude to.
DeleteSo true, Boyer should've stood up against the French, but perhaps he was foolish enough to really believe that a French blockade and attack on Port-au-Prince would succeed? Or, more likely, perhaps he didn't want to risk losing power himself in the case of a French attack, one where other Haitians could've seized power and then led Haiti to independence? It's an interesting question. Or, as I believe Dubois suggests, because Petion was the first to suggest the idea of an indemnity to France, and Petion was his predecessor, Boyer wanted to go along with an idea suggested by Petion?
Where could I find more information on Lachenais? It seems harder than it should be to find info on women in this period of Haitian history...though I guess it's no surprise
"Where could I find more information on Lachenais?" Great question, I can't help you with it because the whole point of my making you aware of her was in hope that, with your academic training and setting, you'd have the resources to track down the available information on such figures as Lachenais. "So true, Boyer should've stood up against the French, but perhaps he was foolish enough to really believe that a French blockade and attack on Port-au-Prince would succeed?" That is the least likely of all possibilities. Why? Because since the whole indemnification idea came from Petion the agreement to pay was already set and the fleet's purpose was to scare the people of Haiti. Had the talks truly broken down, a real leader would have gone to the people and apprised them of the likelihood of war and finalized the preparation for it that were carried out under Dessalines and Christophe. I believe Boyer had about a year between the end of the talks and Baron de Mackau's fleet showing up on Haiti's shores. "Perhaps, I don't know if I care enough about Gregoire and the French republican clergy to really do significant research though." Interesting, you cared about Catholicism in the Kongo, but given the possibility of elucidating an aspect of the Haitian Revolution that's very likely better documented than the former your reaction is indifference, too bad. Mauviel was sent by Gregoire and got into a fight with Toussaint and his Vatican centric clergy. Mauviel stabs Toussaint in the back, I think this event says a lot about who Toussaint was. I misspelled Mauviel as Manviel in the previous posts.
DeleteUnfortunately, I think a lot of the research is too male-focused and I have not found access to some studies that do approach the question of women in Saint Domingue or Revolutionary Haiti. Who knows, maybe I will find something one of these days, and that would be great.
DeleteI guess I am more interested in the Kongo than Gregoire and that aspect of the Haitian Revolution, though the latter is very likely far better documented.
I see that you prefer to do research on Lachenais, a colorful and obscure character than dwell into what could possibly reveal a source that could shed light on Toussaint's intellectual development. I would hazard the guess that your choice stems from the fact that you live in an academic milieu akin to the one described in Ishmael Reed's "Japanese by Spring". An article on a woman would make you a hero of the feminist tribe, while delving into the religious aspect of a man who did more than anybody to smash the slave system would only elicit yawns at best or outright condemnation. Why would anybody be interested in the ideas of a bunch of old dead white and black men? You seem to have misunderstood what I was suggesting. I wasn't suggesting you spend your time on Gregoire alone but on the relationship of Toussaint to Gregoire, Mauviel and Brielle, you remember him, he was the ghost in Carpentier's KKK inspired novel, that for some reason, everybody hailed as a masterpiece. Lachenais was a lovely lady whose charms were enjoyed by both Petion and Boyer, unless she was a diarist like some of the salon hostesses of France at that time I doubt you will find much from or about her. My main interest in her stems from the fact that I'm not too clear on whether she was having an affair with Boyer while living with Petion and raising their daughter. As the Salomon, Ida Faubert story indicates, the Haitian ruling class was rather sexually adventurous.
DeleteHaha, now you know I LOVE Ishmael Reed and have written several reviews of his novels (although I admit I am no literary critic) and I loved his critique in Counterpunch directed at Henry Louis Gates and his ilk of Black professors and academics. I haven't read "Japanese by Spring" but I want to, I got "The Terrible Twos" in my list of books to finish reading but I find it kind of weak or less interesting than his Neo-Hoodooist and Vodouisant-heavy novels. Sounds like "Japanese by Spring" is an interesting novel if it's critical of white women's mainstream feminism, much as "Reckless Eyeballing" brilliantly satirized.
DeleteI am interested in her purely for a look at Haitian women in the early decades of independence, a subject often ignored. I am by no means a devotee of the type of academic you and Reed rightfully criticize, but I would love to do some more research or uncover secondary sources on the lives and impact of Haitian women throughout history, including Christophe's wife, Soulouque's wife, and other prominent and subaltern Haitian women. I am about to read Mimi Sheller's book on erotic agency and gender in the Caribbean, which includes a chapter analyzing gender rhetoric and reality in 19th century Haiti. I will likely write a review or summary of Sheller's piece.
It seems probable that she was having an affair with Boyer, didn't she accompany him to Kingston when the latter was exiled?
"Carlsbad is the common rendezvous for sovereigns; they need to cure themselves of their crowns for their sake and ours.
DeleteThey publish a daily list of visitors to the Sprudel: in the ancient records you can read the names of the greatest poets and literary men of the North, Gurowski, Traller, Dunker, Weisse, Herder, Goethe; I would have liked to find that of Schiller, the object of my preference. On the current page, among the host of obscure arrivals, can be seen the name of the Comtesse de Marne; it is only printed in small capitals.
In 1830, at the very moment of the royal family’s exit from Saint-Cloud, Christophe’s widow and daughters were taking the waters at Carlsbad. Their Haitian Majesties have settled in Tuscany near Their Napoleonic Majesties. King Christophe’s youngest daughter, very well-educated and pretty, died at Pisa: free now, her ebony beauty rests beneath the porticos of the Campo Santo, far from the fields of sugar-cane and the mangroves in whose shade she was born a slave." This is from book XXXVIII of François de Chateaubriand's Mémoires d’outre-tombe. None of Christophe's children were born slaves.This is the kind of shallow stuff you can expect to find about Haitian women of that era.
Many thanks for the post and the sources included in it and the comments.
ReplyDeleteI downloaded MacKenzie's two volumes, though not read them. But I'm still unconvinced that at the time Haiti has ever produced such wealth in gold or money.
Um... Gregoire's proposal was to ask for 30 thousand guns, not 30 thousand soldiers carrying the guns!! But the number is still very, very large. My impression is that Greek fighters were a few tens of thousands in all.
The story of Boyer's letter is mentioned in many Greek sites.
All say that the letter recognised Greek indepedence. But at the time there was nothing to recognise. Only one site correctly says that the letter _amounted to a recognition_.
Only one engish site says that Boyer's letter was a polite refusal.
Almost all sites say that Boyer answered very warmly.
He nevertheless find a way to send 25 tonnes of coffee and 100 volunteers. One site speaks of 45 tonnes of coffee.
All say that the 100 volunteers died in the journey. One site makes the guess that they may have been attacked by pirates.
Is there anything more about those 100 volunteers?
A monument by our Greek people seems very appropriate.
Wikipedia says that even untill 1949 Haiti was paying France in exchange for recognising independence. This is outrageous.
Understandably, I am under the influence of C.L.R. James "The Black Jacobins".
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from Kypros
(Chypre, Zypern)
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