Haiti is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. It is the most populous and the third largest country of the Caribbean behind Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The Taino are the indigenous people of the country. A location in Haiti, though, was the first place in which Christopher Columbus settled. Later, Haiti was ceded to France and became a French colony. The French established sugarcane plantations which were worked by vast numbers of slaves brought from Africa. The modern population of Haiti is a mix of the Taino, French and Africans.
During the French Revolution, slaves and free people of colour launched the Haitian Revolution. They were victorious against Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces and they declared Haiti’s sovereignty in 1804. Haiti became the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, the first country to abolish slavery and the only state in history established by a successful slave revolt.
And in addition to all these super cool facts, Haiti was the first country to acknowledge and greet the Greek Revolution. (Yeah I mean this is a themed blog, eventually Greece would be “squeezed” in here)
It all started after a group of Greek expatriates in France, including the very influential Adamantios Korais, sent letters to as many governments of free states as they could, letting them know of the Greek struggle for Independence from the Ottoman Empire and calling for their aid.
Haiti, via its president Jean Pierre Boyer, was the first to respond. In his response, Boyer was full of warmth and wishes for the Greek Independence War and proved to be an avid reader of Greek History and friend of the Greek people. In his letter, Boyer apologised that the newly independent state of Haiti suffered from great poverty and revolts that made it hard to send either military or financial help to Greece at the time, despite their eagerness to come to aid. Even so, it is alleged that Boyer sent 25 tons of Haitian coffee to the Greeks to sell it and buy weapons with it and also that 100 Haitian volunteers were sent off to join the Greeks in the war but their ship was boarded by pirates in the Mediterranean Sea and they never reached their destination. (By the way, think of that journey in the sea… in the early 19th century… Greece and Haiti are as far apart as two countries can be…)
Jean Pierre Boyer, 2nd president of the Independent Republic of Haiti, and the one to govern the longest in the country’s history.
Below is Boyer’s letter in English:
To the citizens of Greece A. Korais, K. Polychoroniades, A. Bogorides and Ch. Klonaris.
“Before I received your letter from Paris, dated last August 20, the news about the revolution of your co-citizens against the despotism which lasted for about three centuries had already arrived here. With great enthusiasm we learned that Hellas was finally forced to take up arms in order to gain her freedom and the position that she once held among the nations of the world. Such a beautiful and just case, most importantly, the first successes which have accompanied it, cannot leave Haitians indifferent, for we, like the Hellenes, were for a long time subjected to a dishonorable slavery and finally, with our own chains, broke the head of tyranny.
Wishing to Heavens to protect the descendants of Leonidas, we thought to assist these brave warriors, if not with military forces and ammunition, at least with money, which will be useful for acquisition of guns, which you need. But events that have occurred and imposed financial restrictions onto our country absorbed the entire budget, including the part that could be disposed by our administration. Moreover, at present, 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. If the circumstances, as we wish, improve again, then we shall honorably assist you, the sons of Hellas, to the best of our abilities.
Citizens! Convey to your co-patriots the warm wishes that the people of Haiti send on the behalf of your liberation. The descendants of ancient Hellenes look forward, in the reawakening of their history, to trophies worthy of Salamis. May they prove to be like their ancestors and guided by the commands of Miltiades, and be able, in the fields of new Marathon, to achieve the triumph of the holy affair that they have undertaken on behalf of their rights, religion and motherland. May it be, at last, through their wise decisions, that they will be commemorated by history as the heirs of the endurance and virtues of their ancestors.
In the 15th of January 1822 and the 19th year of Independence”
Nowadays, Haiti still suffers from poverty and political corruption, issues that are not foreign to Greece either. In 2010, an earthquake was the most destructive natural disaster the country has experienced. It had a magnitude of 7.0 and caused about 300,000 deaths, more than a million people were left homeless and the country has been in crisis since. Greece, honouring that old friendship, was one of the first countries to send help. A happy incident beyond hope occured when Greek and French rescuers discovered a still alive 24 year old buried under a hotel’s ruins twelve days after the earthquake!
I don’t know, it certainly feels more wholesome when you are friends with a country very far far away. These are two countries in opposite ends of the world which can understand each other and feel for each other. May it always be so, but for more positive reasons in the future!
https://www.news247.gr/afieromata/aiti-i-proti-chora-poy-anagorise-tin-epanastasi-toy-1821.9110879.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti
janainaart
jacobvanloon
germansingergirl
origamiaround
dailybridgerton
