L’État haïtien et ses intellectuels: socio-histoire d’un engagement politique (1801-1860)

L’État haïtien et ses intellectuels: socio-histoire d’un engagement politique (1801-1860) by Délide Joseph is an intriguing and difficult historical study. A detailed analysis of the first two generations of Haiti's intellectuals, Joseph contextualizes their development, social position and their imbrication in the highly unequal socio-political structure of postcolonial Haiti. Focused on the period from 1801 to 1860 because of 1801 marking Toussaint Louverture's autonomist constitution and support for early education initiatives and 1860 establishing the role of the Catholic Church in Haiti's education, Joseph's study raises a number of provocative questions about class, color, education, and liberalism in 19th century Haiti. The especially disturbing episode of Darfour's execution in 1822 serves as an especially illustrative demonstration of how the type of Haitian state and its intellectuals sought to consolidate an exclusionary republic which maintained some of the socioracial aspects of Saint-Domingue.

Where we found a possible weakness in Joseph's study is the treatment of Haiti's Romantic men (and almost all were males) of letters, particularly the second generation which included prominent writers, historians, and poets like the Naus, Thomas Madiou, and others. While the 19th century Haitian intellectual undoubtedly viewed French and Occidental civilization as superior and most saw themselves as representing a more advantageous image of Haiti that would regenerate and rehabilitate the black race, there was undoubtedly more nuance in how the second generation of intellectuals perceived themselves in relation to the unlettered masses. By nuance, we mean the greater inclusion of themes, terminology, and folklore reflecting the Creole and African origins of Haitian culture, particularly as seen in the contes of writers like Ignace Nau. Emile Nau who wrote more extensively about Haiti's Amerindian or indigenous past, was also part of this current in Haitian Romanticism. Nonetheless, the appearance of short stories, histories, and traditions which reflected Haiti's African heritage do suggest that, perhaps, some rapprochement between Haiti's rural masses and the world of its intellectuals was not entirely inconceivable.