Recitation #2: An Impossible Revolution Parts 1&2 Prof. Roland The Caribbean in Post-Colonial Perspective ANTH 1115

Sketch of the Haitian Revolution  French Revolution/Rights of Man and Citizen  “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” – but for whom?  Grands blancs  Petit blancs  Gens de couleur  Slaves??

Sketch of the Haitian Revolution (cont’d) Petit blancs break ranks The Amis des Noirs back the Gens de Colour Power shifts ex-slave majority Rise of Toussaint Louverture

Sketch of the Haitian Revolution (cont’d) Napoleon revisits slavery Jean Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe I Haitian independence in 1804

Early Haiti French refuse to recognize independence until 1825 Ex-slaves refuse to return to plantation lifestyle Legacy of stubborn pride Legacy of poverty Legacy of color/class meanings Mulatto rulers and black military Big men (colored) & peasant- based militias (black) Duvaliers and culture of fear

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History and Haiti Moments of Silence in production of history Fact Creation (Making of sources) Fact Assembly ( Making of archives) Fact Retrieval (Making of narratives) Retrospective Significance (History in final instance)

“War within the War” Henri Christophe and the 3 Faces of Sans Souci The Palace at Potsdam (Germany) The Palace at Milot (Haiti) The Man (Christophe’s enemy)

Sounds of Silence Erasures Formulas of silence that erase facts (i.e., general silence on slave resistance or Haitian rev) Banalization Formulas of silence that empty events of content and trivialize them (i.e., dismissive explanations at the time about why slaves rebelled)

The Construction of History Historicity 1 What Happened Facts of the Matter Underbelly of History Historicity 2

Why Haiti is Important Slaving societies cannot pretend slaves are content Hemispheric fear of another “Haiti” Rumors of slave revolts brutally crushed Better balance of slaves to free Beginning of the end of slavery Slaves Celebrating “Haiti” Impossible now within reach

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