While Haiti established the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere and was the first black country to gain independence from European colonizers, its history is not well known in the Anglophone world. The Haiti Reader introduces readers to Haiti's dynamic history and culture from the viewpoint of Haitians from all walks of life. Its dozens of selections—most of which appear here in English for the first time—are representative of Haiti's scholarly, literary, religious, visual, musical, and political cultures, and range from poems, novels, and political tracts to essays, legislation, songs, and folk tales. Spanning the centuries between precontact indigenous Haiti and the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, the Reader covers widely known episodes in Haiti's history, such as the U.S. military occupation and the Duvalier dictatorship, as well as overlooked periods such as the decades immediately following Haiti's “second independence” in 1934. Whether examining issues of political upheaval, the environment, or modernization, The Haiti Reader provides an unparalleled look at Haiti's history, culture, and politics.
- Cover
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- I. Foundations
- An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians, Ramón Pané
- Sou lanmè, Anonymous
- Account of a Conspiracy Organized by the Negroes, 1758, Anonymous
- The Infamous Rosalie, Évelyne Trouillot
- The Declaration of Independence, Jean-Jacques Dessalines
- Haitian Hymn
- Writings, Jean-Jacques Dessalines
- A Woman’s Quest for Freedom in a Land of Re-enslavement, Marie Melie
- An Exchange of Letters, Alexandre Pétion and Simón Bolívar
- The Code Henry, King Henry Christophe
- Haitian Heraldry, Kingdom of Henry Christophe
- Henry Christophe and the English Abolitionists, King Henry Christophe
- The Colonial System Unveiled, Baron de Vastey
- Hymn to Liberty, Antoine Dupré
- The King’s Hunting Party, Juste Chanlatte
- Voyage to the North of Haiti, Hérard Dumesle
- On the Origins of the Counter-plantation System, Jean Casimir
- II: The Second Generation
- The Indemnity: French Royal Ordinance of 1825, King Charles X of France
- Hymn to Independence, Jean-Baptiste Romane
- Boyer’s Rural Code, Jean-Pierre Boyer
- Le lambi, Ignace Nau
- An Experimental Farm, Victor Schoelcher
- The 1842 Earthquake, Démesvar Delorme
- Acaau and the Piquet Rebellion of 1843, Gustave d’Alaux
- The Separation of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Thomas Madiou
- President Geffrard Protests the Spanish Annexation of the Dominican Republic, Fabre Geffrard
- Stella, the First Haitian Novel, Émeric Bergeaud
- Haiti and Its Visitors and “Le vieux piquet,” Louis Joseph Janvier
- Atlas critique d’Haïti, Georges Anglade
- III: The Birth of Modern-Day Haiti
- Nineteenth-Century Haiti by the Numbers, Louis Gentil Tippenhauer
- Family Portraits
- My Panama Hat Fell Off, Anonymous
- God, Work, and Liberty!, Oswald Durand
- The National Anthem, “La Dessalinienne,” Justin Lhérisson and Nicolas Geffrard
- Trial about the Consolidation of Debt, Various Authors
- The Execution of the Coicou Brothers, Nord Alexis and Anténor Firmin
- The Luders Affair, Solon Ménos
- Anti-Syrian Legislation, Haitian Legislature
- Choucoune, Oswald Durand
- Bouqui’s Bath, Suzanne Comhaire-Sylvain
- Zoune at Her Godmother’s, Justin Lhérisson
- The Haytian Question, Hannibal Price
- African Americans Defend Haiti, Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett
- On the Caribbean Confederation, Anténor Firmin
- IV: Occupied Haiti (1915–1934)
- 1915 Treaty between the United States and Haiti, Robert Beale Davis Jr. and Louis Borno
- The Patriotic Union of Haiti Protests the U.S. Occupation, Union Patriotique d’Haiti
- Memories of Corvée Labor and the Caco Revolt, Roger Gaillard
- The Crucifixion of Charlemagne Péralte, Philomé Obin
- “My Dear Charlemagne,” Widow Massena Péralte
- La vocation de l’élite, Jean Price-Mars
- Dix années de lutte pour la liberté, Georges Sylvain
- Les simulacres, Fernand Hibbert
- La Revue Indigène: The Project, Normil Sylvain
- La Revue Indigène: The Poetry, Various Authors
- La blanche négresse, Cléante Valcin
- Souvenir d’Haïti, Othello Bayard
- Veneer of Modernization, Suzy Castor
- V: Second Independence
- Vincent and Trujillo
- Proud Haiti, Edouard A. Tardieu
- Color Prejudice, Jacques Roumain
- Migration to Cuba, Maurice Casséus and Jacques Roumain
- Anti-superstition Laws, President Sténio Vincent
- An Oral History of a Massacre, Isil Nicolas Cour
- Massacre River, René Philoctète
- On the 1937 Massacre, Esther Dartigue
- Official Communiqué on “Incidents” in the Dominican Republic, Governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic
- Vyewo, Jean-Claude Martineau
- Nedjé, Roussan Camille
- Dyakout, Félix Morisseau-Leroy
- Estimé Plays Slot Machine in Casino, Gordon Parks
- On The Voice of Women, Madeleine Sylvain Bouchereau
- On Women’s Emancipation, Marie-Thérèse Colimon-Hall
- On the 1946 Revolution, Matthew J. Smith
- VI: The Duvalier Years
- O My Country, Anthony Phelps
- General Sun, My Brother, Jacques Stephen Alexis
- Flicker of an Eyelid, Jacques Stephen Alexis
- The Sad End of Jacques Stephen Alexis, Edouard Duval-Carrié
- The Trade Union Movement, Daniel Fignolé and Jacques Brutus
- Speech by the “Leader of the Revolution,” François Duvalier
- The Haitian Fighter, Le Combattant Haïtien
- Atibon-Legba, René Depestre
- The Festival of the Greasy Pole, René Depestre
- Dance on the Volcano, Marie Chauvet
- Interview of Jean-Claude Duvalier: Duvalier’s “Liberal” Agenda, Jon-Blaise Alima
- On the Saut-d’Eau Pilgrimage, Jean Dominique
- Dreams of Exile and Novelistic Intent, Jean-Claude Fignolé
- Dezafi, Frankétienne
- And the Good Lord Laughs, Edris Saint-Amand
- Letter to the Haitian Refugee Project, Various Imprisoned Haitian Refugee Women
- Immigration, Tanbou Libète
- Gender and Politics in Contemporary Haiti, Carolle Charles
- VII: Overthrow and Aftermath of Duvalier
- Jean-Claude Duvalier with a Monkey’s Tail, 1986, Pablo Butcher
- Four Poems, Georges Castera
- Liberation Theology, Conférence Épiscopale d’Haïti
- On the Movement against Duvalier, Jean Dominique
- Interview with a Young Market Woman, Magalie St. Louis and Nadine Andre
- Nou vle, Ansy Dérose
- The Constitution of 1987, Government of Haiti
- Rara Songs of Political Protest, Various Groups
- Haitians March against an FDA Ban on Haitian Blood Donations, Richard Elkins
- The Peasants’ Movement, Tèt Kole
- Aristide and the Popular Movement, Jean-Bertrand Aristide
- My Heart Does Not Leap, Boukman Eksperyans
- On Theology and Politics, Jean-Bertrand Aristide
- Street of Lost Footsteps, Lyonel Trouillot
- VIII: Haiti in the New Millennium
- The Agronomist, Kettly Mars
- Poverty Does Not Come from the Sky, AlterPresse
- Pòtoprens, BIC
- Political Music from Bel Air, Rara M No Limit, Bèlè Masif, and Blaze One
- Strange Story, Bélo
- Faults, Yanick Lahens
- Everything Is Moving around Me, Dany Laferrière
- We Are Wozo, Edwidge Danticat
- Haïti pap peri, Jerry Rosembert Moïse
- The Cholera Outbreak, Roberson Alphonse
- On the Politics of Haitian Creole, Various Authors
- Stayle, Brothers Posse
- To Reestablish Haiti?, Lemète Zéphyr and Pierre Buteau
- Suggestions for Further Reading and Viewing
- Acknowledgment of Copyrights and Sources
- Index
- Color plates
Text
Audio
Adobe DRM
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