After reading Mackenzie's account of Haiti in the 1820s, I decided to peruse Franklin's
The Present State of Hayti (1928) in the hopes of finding more information about how Haitian rule of the eastern portion of Hispaniola, today's Dominican Republic, looked (I got the text,
here). Unfortunately, Franklin, who is quite racist (he believes Africans and people of African descent left to their own devices revert to a state of savagery and doubts the intellectual and cultural accomplishments of Haitians) does not have too much to offer, but he does provide proof of popular classes celebrating and desiring Haitian unification under Boyer's regime (Franklin 238). Franklin is a little confusing, but on that page he asserts that there were many Haitians of color who established themselves as proprietors in the Spanish side, and they were very interested in Haitian unification (as were leading men in the city of Santo Domingo):
Like Mackenzie, Franklin notes the decline of trade and agriculture in large parts of Santo Domingo, particularly the end of commerce in cattle and other products which were replaced by subsistence agriculture (293). He even attributes the decline of the city of Santo Domingo to Haitian influence, stating, "that in every place where Haytian influence predominates, commercial enterprise, and every other good quality appertaining to man, is sure to sink to the lowest ebb" (298).
Franklin's account lamentably says little more about Haitian unification, but clearly there was some popular support for the idea initially on the Spanish-speaking side of things. I have heard that there is a Haitian scholar doing more research on this period (1822-1844) who has underused sources that will shed more light on the matter. I eagerly await her research while I continue to read sources from the era myself.
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