Photo Credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carrefour,_Haiti.jpg
A Little Bit of History
The Spanish ceded the western half of the island Hispaniola to the French. This would eventually become Haiti. The French renamed the colony Saint-Dominque and turned the island into a juggernaut of coffee and sugar production. To do this they needed slaves to work the plantations. The local population of Saint-Dominque dwindled and the demand for slaves from Africa increased at an astounding rate. During this time Saint-Dominque was the largest producer of coffee and sugar in the world. Maintaining the plantations required the French colonialists to bring approximately 800,000 slaves to Haiti. The slave trade to Saint-Dominque accounted for a third of the global slave trade during this time. Eventually the slave population outnumbered the free population four to one (nationsonline + Office of the Historian).
The hierarchy of Haiti eventually consisted of four castes. On the bottom were the African-born slaves. Above that were the slaves born on the island. These slaves spoke a creole language known today as Haitian French Creole. Above those two were the mixed race, mulatto, slaves and freedmen and at the top were the whites. The two highest castes spoke French, the prestige language of the island any many other areas of the colonial world (Wikipedia).
1784-1800 marks the years open warfare between the French colonials on Saint-Domingue and the slaves led by the mulatto freedmen. 1801 would culminate the revolution as a victory for the slaves forcing colonials to leave the island. This marks the most successful slave revolution in history and the only one to end in the creation of a new state: the state of Haiti (Office of the Historian).
Despite the creation of Haiti there was still class separation. A big part of this hierarchy which has remained, even until today, stems from language of Haiti. French was the prestige language spoken by the ruling colonials and mulatto freedmen of Saint-Domingue while the lower class slaves spoke exclusively Haitian Creole. Even after the revolution, fought in the name of freedom, former slaves (speakers of Haitian Creole) still found themselves at the bottom of the hierarchy and barred from power by their language. Because they didn’t speak French there was no way they could communicate in official discourse. This linguistic discrimination continues even to this day despite attempts by the Haitian government to recognize Haitian Creole as an official language of Haiti.
The Spanish ceded the western half of the island Hispaniola to the French. This would eventually become Haiti. The French renamed the colony Saint-Dominque and turned the island into a juggernaut of coffee and sugar production. To do this they needed slaves to work the plantations. The local population of Saint-Dominque dwindled and the demand for slaves from Africa increased at an astounding rate. During this time Saint-Dominque was the largest producer of coffee and sugar in the world. Maintaining the plantations required the French colonialists to bring approximately 800,000 slaves to Haiti. The slave trade to Saint-Dominque accounted for a third of the global slave trade during this time. Eventually the slave population outnumbered the free population four to one (nationsonline + Office of the Historian).
The hierarchy of Haiti eventually consisted of four castes. On the bottom were the African-born slaves. Above that were the slaves born on the island. These slaves spoke a creole language known today as Haitian French Creole. Above those two were the mixed race, mulatto, slaves and freedmen and at the top were the whites. The two highest castes spoke French, the prestige language of the island any many other areas of the colonial world (Wikipedia).
1784-1800 marks the years open warfare between the French colonials on Saint-Domingue and the slaves led by the mulatto freedmen. 1801 would culminate the revolution as a victory for the slaves forcing colonials to leave the island. This marks the most successful slave revolution in history and the only one to end in the creation of a new state: the state of Haiti (Office of the Historian).
Despite the creation of Haiti there was still class separation. A big part of this hierarchy which has remained, even until today, stems from language of Haiti. French was the prestige language spoken by the ruling colonials and mulatto freedmen of Saint-Domingue while the lower class slaves spoke exclusively Haitian Creole. Even after the revolution, fought in the name of freedom, former slaves (speakers of Haitian Creole) still found themselves at the bottom of the hierarchy and barred from power by their language. Because they didn’t speak French there was no way they could communicate in official discourse. This linguistic discrimination continues even to this day despite attempts by the Haitian government to recognize Haitian Creole as an official language of Haiti.
Sources: "The United States and the Haitian Revolution, 1791–1804." : n. pag.United States Office of the Historian. Web.
"History of Haiti." . nationsonline, n.d. Web. . <http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Haiti-history.htm>.
"History of Haiti." . nationsonline, n.d. Web. . <http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Haiti-history.htm>.