TL: The Haitian Renaissance

First TL: The Haitian Renaissance

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Table of Contents:

- Chapter 1: The Renaissance

--- Geo-Political Happenings (Part 1)

- Chapter 2: The Long Night


---- Plausibility Post 1 (Chapter 1,2 & Geo Part 1)

---- Geo-Political Happenings (Part 2)

---- Hispaniola Unification War Part 2

---- Hispaniola Unification War Part 3

----Hispaniola Unification War Part 4

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Prologue:

Hello valued readers !


What follows, is my first official Timeline, "The Haitian Renaissance"

Now, what I've done may be slightly different ‎than what you may have read in other timelines.



Instead of having a single narrative‎ that describes the overarching Geo-political ebs and flows of this alternate history...


I have instead chosen to write from the perspective of several different protagonists.

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1. An Escaped Slave

2. A Working class mother of two

3. An African Orphan

4. The Narrator



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Through all four, I hope to do my absolute best to give you,



the most robust and full narrative of not only Haiti and the potential ‎that it could have had,



but also the psychology of struggle, enslavement and liberty from the eyes of the disenfranchised. This will done while I too discuss Haiti in an overarching fashion, similar to the timelines you have read.

This could either be a major success or a major fail.

Wish me luck :cool:


Disclaimer: This timeline will also hit upon themes of violence and oppression, race and bigotry in a historically real sense. Nothing is/will be made up or fabricated to fit the narrative as that will be unfair to the historical victims of these crimes.
 
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TFSmith121

Banned
You have selected a challenging topic...

You have selected a challenging topic... I think of a few possibilities, but will look forward to where you take it...

Best,
 
The big question is, will Haiti control all of Hispaniola? they conquered Santo Domingo shortly after they (Haiti) became independent, and the only real reason they lost it is b/c they treated the Spanish speakers like shit. could this change?
 
The big question is, will Haiti control all of Hispaniola? they conquered Santo Domingo shortly after they (Haiti) became independent, and the only real reason they lost it is b/c they treated the Spanish speakers like shit. could this change?

I got something interesting cooked up :)

And it sucks because I would posted it by now but I left the final draft saved on my work computer :mad:
 
I know that Dominicans and Haitians are sort of the same ethnicity, but with Haitians having about an average of 5% and Dominicans 35% (these are guesses, but i did do some research) European ancestry, and the language barrier, they have a lot of cultural differences, what exactly can be done to integrate them? (i look forward to this, if its not asb) If the Haitians manage to keep Santo Domingo, i think they should re-name themselves and their country to either Hispaniola (the name of the entire island) or adopt the name Dominicans, as both the former french and Spanish colonies were named saint Dominic, (saint Dominique, santo Domingo, same thing) and it would do wonders for integration.

If they manage to keep the sugar industry alive (did this happen otl? I don't think it did), poverty should not be much of a problem later on (look at Cuba, their sugar industry is i think the last active one in the Caribbean, and they are sort of well off, like former Yugoslavia).

Could you find a way for Britain to gain Guadalupe and Martinique? They stick out like sore thumbs to me. (you don't have to, but they do feel really odd)
 
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If they manage to keep the sugar industry alive (did this happen otl? I don't think it did), poverty should not be much of a problem later on (look at Cuba, their sugar industry is i think the last active one in the Caribbean, and they are sort of well off, like former Yugoslavia).

Cane sugar at the time had absolutely terrible, brutal working conditions. When you're competing in the sugar market with producers who are using up slaves (i.e. literally working them to death), it's no wonder that once the slave drivers disappeared, so did the workers on the sugar plantations.

Some of the production/refining facilities are also somewhat capital intensive, iirc, and Haïti didn't have a lot of access to capital after the slave revolts.

COULD they have kept some small amounts of sugar production going until the cessation of the Slave Trade made free workers more competitive? Perhaps. Then perhaps they could have expanded again.
 

Deleted member 67076

Good luck with this. You've got your work cut out for you.

Wondering how you'll do this. Perhaps Henri I is different and uses his kingdom in order to improve the lives of his peasants and the infrastructure of his nation, to which leads an intellectual flowering and economic diversification as time goes on?

Does Gran Colombia survive, giving Haiti a patron in the world? (They were their only ally in the dark days of the 1820s)

No French indemnity (how you'd get the French to not be salty and move on is a miracle in and of itself)?

Toussaint and Dessalines survive leading to more internal stability? Although the former might actually lead to Haiti as an overseas department of France, (if I remember Toussaint's plans correctly and Napoleon decides to act differently).

The big question is, will Haiti control all of Hispaniola? they conquered Santo Domingo shortly after they (Haiti) became independent, and the only real reason they lost it is b/c they treated the Spanish speakers like shit. could this change?
That's hard. Really hard. You'd need a completely different Geopolitical situation in order to have Haiti not see the eastern half of the island as an extraction

I know that Dominicans and Haitians are sort of the same ethnicity, but with Haitians having about an average of 5% and Dominicans 35% (these are guesses, but i did do some research) European ancestry, and the language barrier, they have a lot of cultural differences, what exactly can be done to integrate them?
No. They are totally different ethnicities by far. Correction, modern day Dominicans have around 55% European ancestry, not 35%. We're more Brazil than Afro-Americans.

As for assimilation? Well that's asking if the Greeks can be assimilated by the Serbs in Yugoslavia. Possible but there are a number of factors that make this a difficult proposition without force. First of all is that the 2 sides undergo different economic niches (Plantation farming in the west, Ranching and Tobacco yeoman farming and a small class of merchants in the west). Then there's the fact the east already has by this point its own literary tradition and ethnogenesis had been formed since the late 1600s.

(i look forward to this, if its not asb) If the Haitians manage to keep Santo Domingo, i think they should re-name themselves and their country to either Hispaniola (the name of the entire island) or adopt the name Dominicans, as both the former french and Spanish colonies were named saint Dominic, (saint Dominique, santo Domingo, same thing) and it would do wonders for integration.
That's ASB. Neither was the name 'Dominican Republic" or "Santo Domingo" set in stone.

If they manage to keep the sugar industry alive (did this happen otl? I don't think it did), poverty should not be much of a problem later on (look at Cuba, their sugar industry is i think the last active one in the Caribbean, and they are sort of well off, like former Yugoslavia).
This, as proven historically in Haiti during the time of the Kingdom of Haiti with Henri I, was extremely unpopular due to its absolutely brutal conditions.

Dathi has explained in more detail.
 
@soverhin

I don't know a lot about Haiti:(:(, so i was definitely wrong on some points. but please don't be a pessimist. Haiti could have (and did once) taken control of the entire island several times in the past, but it was their own ineptitude and stupidity that prevented them (the fact that they did treat the Spanish speakers like shit hasn't really dissipated from the Dominicans today) the question is, could they have integrated it successfully? (the hard part).

I didn't really think the sugar industry could survive (ittl) without changes, it was EXTREMELY BRUTAL. But i see it as the only way that Haiti could have a "Renaissance". If there is another way could somebody tell me?

My Dominican ethnicity guess was based on Wikipedia, in hindsight that wasn't a good idea. But it was roughly on there.

Where exactly does the name "Haiti" come from? Remember my point about both sides being called saint Dominic (saint Dominique, santo Domingo). if the pod is before independence, than the name Haiti doesn't need to be adopted (it probably still will be though, i guess). Do you have any better ideas? (what other names were being considered for both sides?)

Hell, a lot of my last post was just ideas thrown out there. Sorry if too many of them were asb:D.

No. They are totally different ethnicities by far. Correction, modern day Dominicans have around 55% European ancestry, not 35%. We're more Brazil than Afro-Americans.

So you are a Dominican? If so, what economy did the east have around 1800 (the pod i think)?
 
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Deleted member 67076

@soverhin

I don't know a lot about Haiti:(:(, so i was definitely wrong on some points. but please don't be a pessimist. Haiti could have (and did once) taken control of the entire island several times in the past, but it was their own ineptitude and stupidity that prevented them (the fact that they did treat the Spanish speakers like shit hasn't really dissipated from the Dominicans today) the question is, could they have integrated it successfully (the hard part).
After the Independence War? A conquest by brute force would be exceedingly unlikely. Logistics, geography and determination favor the Dominicans (Case in point the Restoration War against the Spanish). The same terrain that makes Haiti tailor made for Guerrilla warfare also applies to their neighbors. And unlike say, Spain, Haiti cannot afford to march over an army in the thousands of men with their logistical constraints. Additionally, the political and economic situation would make keeping the inevitable rebellion in check a nightmare on the finances, which works against the whole Renaissance goal.

But before that? Sure they could keep the land if they didn't mismanage and abuse the inhabitants. But even then you've got the potential problem of someone funding insurgents, and that Haiti, much like Mexico didn't settle people in their claimed land; in Haiti's case it was because usually whenever an abusive government was in power (unfortunately nearly always) the people liked to move into the hinterland to avoid government control, forced labor and heavy taxes, etc. So you don't get policies to spread people around.

Now assuming they did that they did all these things, cultural and ethnic assimilation is even harder, to due many of the reasons we see in Europe and in Africa.

I didn't really think the sugar industry could survive (ittl) without changes, it was EXTREMELY BRUTAL. But i see it as the only way that Haiti could have a "Renaissance". If there is another way could somebody tell me?
A better Henri I that spends nearly all the money he gets on internal improvements that allow the economy to diversify? That's all I got.

My Dominican ethnicity guess was based on Wikipedia, in hindsight that wasn't a good idea.

Wikipedia lies on so much stuff, especially in Latin America.
 

Deleted member 67076

Where exactly does the name "Haiti" come from? Remember my point about both sides being called saint Dominic (saint Dominique, santo Domingo). if the pod is before independence, than the name Haiti doesn't need to be adopted (it probably still will be though, i guess). Do you have any better ideas? (what other names were being considered for both sides?)
Its a Taino word for the island. That word is pronounced Ayti however.

Sorry, I'm bad with names, so I can't give you any good suggestions. :eek:

So you are a Dominican? If so, what economy did the east have around 1800 (the pod i think)?
Yep.

Cattle and Goat ranching along sustenance farming in the South, with quite a lot of vegetable production in the Santo Domingo hinterland. In the El Cibao region its tobacco farming (by Yeoman farmers, not plantation owners), logging (mostly from Mahogany trees), artisanal work and small scale crafting, and the oft ignored mercantile actives where a small scale urban bourgeoisie that dominated the nation's international trade and conducted finance work.

I should note sugar production really only became big during the presidency of Ulisis Heureax and at this period it was tiny.
 
So if the east is economically diverse, adding whatever industry the west has (ittl) should make it quite easy for the country to do well. That is, if a, nobody abuses the system (unlikely but possible), and b, the 2 sides are integrated (unlikely but plausible). So after doing the integration thing, with a bit of luck a "Renaissance" should be easy enough. And boy the Caribbean sorely needs a Renaissance at this point.

Another question though, what about Puerto Rico and Cuba? They are on either side of Haiti (IF they control all of Hispaniola), so that might cause some problems with Spain. How could this play out?
 
A successful Haiti is not an easy task to achieve on the grounds that no one around them wanted them to succeed. You're also going to have to ensure that the forced payments to France don't happen, or Haiti's economy will be trash. That will require the United States to not support French attempts at forcing payment, which won't be easy considering that American general consensus, at least in the South, was that Haiti could not possibly be right, with Monroe, Governor of Virginia at the time, sending letters to President Jefferson asking for troops to ensure Haiti didn't happen on Virginia.

It's going to take a lot to change world views towards Haiti, and it's going to take changed views for Haiti to be successful.
 
Chapter 1 :: The Renaissance

Chapter 1 :: The Renaissance

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Louisiana, United States :: February 1st, 1804


Russ Platt -- Slave - Property of William Platt

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[FONT=&quot] “If I told you once, I told you a thousand times Russ…”, cried William as he cracked a bull whip on Russ’ back. [/FONT]
“Don’t … *Crack* … Disobey … * Crack* … Me! ... *Crack*. You are my property, and you will do as I say!”

Russ Platt, a 20 year old decedent of 2 generations of slavery, collapsed under the weight of the pain.

This was a pain he knew often, but a pain that was impossible to get use too.

"It could be worse," thought Russ.

Crumbling to the dirt ground, Russ remembered this father being beaten to death for trying to escape this life of enslavement.

His brother and sister being sold off at auction.

His mother dying from grief over the destruction of their family.

But as Russ’ bloodied face lay damaged on the hot Louisiana soil, suddenly, a sound, similar to a whisper, cried out in his head.

“Never again…”

Russ began to slowly turn over.
“Never again…” the voice again whispered.
Russ slowly got to his feet.
“Never again…” the voice loudly cried.
Russ willfully stood tall.

Never Again!" Russ suddenly shouted. "You will never break me!

Right fist clenched, Russ lunged at his master, violently striking him across the jaw.

Hearing the satisfying crack of his master’s bone, Russ, over come with righteous rage, then violently gripped William’s throat.

Wrestling him down to ground, Russ’ grip grew tighter and tighter, crushing the life out of the man who had done everything to destroy him.

And his master, after hearing the sound of his own larynx crunch, painfully drew his last breath.
After a few seconds of satisfaction,a deep fear began to set in.

Russ knew, at that moment, he had to run and run fast.
Staying around meant certain death.
So with nothing but the clothes on his back, Russ immediately ran off in the swampy woods of the bayou.

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London, Great Britain :: February 1st, 1804


Margaret Lynch -- Single mother of two

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Yes governess, right away,” said Margaret. “I promise to not make this mistake again.”
“Let’s hope not,” extolled Victoria. “Less we find a more efficient maid for the house, and we both know unemployment won’t be good for your children.”

Margaret, a descendent of slaves brought to England, yet born free in the in the city of London, knew she knew must do everything she could to keep this job.

After hastily walking into the kitchen to fetch another cup of tea, Margaret broke down.

She reminisced about her young life in London, and the sacrifices her mother made to work her way toward freedom from enslavement.

“Never let someone control who you are, Margaret,” she remembered her mother saying.
“Always remember, you don’t deserve any less because of the color of your skin.”
“I guess I made you proud mom,” Margaret sarcastically thought to herself.

“Margaret!”, Miss Victoria yelled. “Where is my tea!”

Startled, Margaret dropped a collection of fine china she had to picked up while preparing her employer's tea.
*Crash*
“What have you’ve done!” cried Miss Victoria as she ran into kitchen.
“Do you know that you have single handily ruined over £10,000 worth of fine dishware!?”
“I’m so sorry Miss Victoria,” cried Margaret. “Take it from my salary, just please don’t fire me!”

Slightly smirking, Miss Victoria took a deep breath and spoke.

“I’m sorry Margaret but this is the last straw. I can no longer accept your poor levels or service so you will be let go from this moment forward. And due to your indebtedness to me, I must unfortunately refer this to the debtor’s prison authorities. Now please leave.”

Margaret's anguish then immediately turned to fear.

She had heard the stories of debtor’s prison.

She knew, in many cases, it was a fate worse than death.


And her children, who would have immediately faced the same peril, maybe stripped from her.

"Leaving the country is our only option", she thought. "And it must be tonight."

Rushing out of Miss Victoria's flat, while grabbing her belongings on the way, Margaret sped away into the night.

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Luanda, Portuguese Angola :: Februrary 1st, 1804

Sabion -- An Angolan Orphan

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“Move boy!" yelled the red faced Portuguese merchant.
"You are blocking the side-street!”
Sabion remained motionless.

Growing impatient, the corporal raised his right leg and delivered a swift kick to the young African’s chest.

“I said move!”
Sabion fell over.
“That’ll teach ya!” laughed the old trader as he walked away.
Rising up slowly, Sabion coughed up several drops of blood.

A twelve year old in the settlement of Luanda was no place to be for young boy hoping to avoid the shackles of slavery but he was starving.
Emaciated, sickly, Sabion rightly believed he was under no threat of meeting the same fate.
Though, as his stomach growled, he remembered he had no options but to beg for scraps of food.

“A new shipment has arrived!”, Sabion suddenly heard the town crier yell. “Down by the Docks!”

After living as an orphan in Luanda for years after his village was burned to ground by rival tribesmen, Sabion, understanding a little Portuguese, knew exactly what that announcement meant.

“Food!”, Sabion thought to himself as he jumped up, still injured from his assault. “I hope there’s a lot.”

Making is way down to the dock he spotted a number of ships stationed at port. Not sure which one had the shipments of food, he choose the one with the most sailors around it as they looked to be busy unloading cargo.
After sneaking through several naval guards posts as well as the sailors he swiftly made it aboard the ship.
Quietly making his way down to the lower levels, he saw a few barrels of salted beef lying open for the taking.

“This must be my lucky day!” thought Sabion as he dived into the meat.
However, just as he began to stuff his pockets, several loud bells began to ring out.

“ALL ABOARD!”, he heard someone yell. “All ABOARD TO THE CARRIBEAN!
At that moment, Sabion heard what sounded like hundreds of men rushing and stomping across the floorboards above him.
And as he felt the ship itself starting to sway and turn toward a no another direction, a rush of fear overcame him.

He knew he must hide, and hide quickly.
Sabion looked around, and saw the only place he could hide.
Looking into the same barrel of salted beef that moments ago had been has saving grace, he jumped in, horrified at the fate that had befallen him.

“Living in Luanda as child was a hard life,” Sabion thought to himself.
“What new world am I headed too now?”

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Haiti :: February 1st, 1804

The Renaissance

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By January 1804 , Haiti was a virgin nation on the edge of crisis.

During the previous month, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the leader of a new Haitian Slave/Freedman militia, had defeated French attempts to reestablish slavery on the island.

The destiny of the island had firmly been place in Dessalines'.

Declaring himself president for life under the 1801 constitution, he sought to remake and re-shape the ethno-political atmosphere of Hispanola, setting his vengeful eye on thewhites, mullatos, and Spanish who still resided in his borders.

“For our declaration of independence, we should have the skin of a white for parchment,” Boisrond-Tonnere, the secretary to Dessalines, exclaimed
“His skull for an inkwell, his blood for ink, and bayonet for a pen!”

Haiti, a nation originally founded upon the principles of equality and freedom only a decade ago, was about to fall into the deluge of ethnic cleansing and permenant autocracy.

Meeting in secret a few days before the bloodletting, a small cabal of elite military offices met.

“Toussaint L’Ouveture wouldn’t have stood for this!” yelled one the most senior of them.

“This betrays everything we fought, bled and died for in 1791!” yelled another.

toussaint-louverture.jpg


Toussaint L’Ouverture, the true father of the Haitian nation, and leader of the original Slave Rebellion of 1791 had been betrayed by those closest to him only two years ago.

Dessalines along with Jean Baptiste Brunet, jealous subordinates who sought his position, deceived and captured L’Ouverture as means to appease the France, who in turn promised amnesty for their complicit participation in the original insurrection.

And while awaiting deportation and certain doom, L’Ouverture warned his betrayers,

In overthrowing me you have cut down in Saint Dominque only the trunk of the tree of liberty; it will spring up again from the roots, for they are numerous and they are deep.

It is now 1804, and this group, naming themselves after this legendary quote as the “New Tree of Liberty Committe (NTL)”, knew they must act fast if they are to prevent annihilation of L’Ouveture’s vision.

An election was held during the meeting which saw a senior infantry officer, Jean Maximilien, gain nominal leadership of group.

“What course of action should we take Maximilien?”, asked one of the junior officers after the voting concluded. “How do we avenge L’Ouverture?”

“If we must act,” announced Jean, “we must act swiftly and decisively to save our republic!”

It was decided.


In the dead of night on February 1st, 1804 a military coup was launched against Dessalines and his racist clique with
Dessalines himself being seize while sleeping in his bed.

While transporting him to a safe location inside Port-Au-Prince, some within the New Tree of Liberty Committee believed Dessalines should immediately be shot, while others sought to hand him over to the French.

Jean, understanding the power that public trial could have exposing Dessalines subterfuge, opted for open-air tribunal.

The next morning, a judicial platform, built in the public square of Port-Au-Prince was set up, with the various key New Tree of Liberty Committee members serving as judges.

At 10 am, the trial against Dessalines began.

However, a massive crowd, which had grown around the spectacle, was initially hostile to the proceedings.

“Free Dessalines!” they shouted. “Free Dessalines!”

Yet, as the trial commenced, they then began to turn.

Evidence exposing Dellalines betrayal of L'Ouverture, coupled with testamony by his associates regarding a plan to enact a race war against the whites and mullatos and plans to re-institute black slavery enraged the populace.

L’Ouverture!” they started to yell. “L’Ouverture!

Then, when asked to say something in his defense, Dessalines attempted to plead with with crowd with all of his words landing on deaf ears.

His sentence was then rendered.

For the high crime of treason against L’Ouverture, the father of our nation, and for treason against Article 3 of the Haitian constitution, you are hereby sentenced to death!” yelled a tribunal judge.

The crowd cheered.

But I am and the father of this nation!”, yelled Dessalines as he was dragged to the guillotine.
I am the one who freed you from the white slave master! I am the one who broke your chains!

But as he was brought closer and closer to the executioner’s platform, his cries slowly became drowned by the chants of the crowd.

L’Ouverture! … L’Ouverture! … L’Ouverture!” they chanted.

“L’Ouverture! … L’Ouverture! … L’Ouverture!


With his head held firmly in the guillotine's grasp, Dessalines began to sob loudly.

Suddenly, Jean Maximilien triumphantly marched towards the platform with the cheers of the crowd behind him.

Taking his place upon the center of the executioner's platform, a copy of the Haitian constitution in hand, he shouted aloud Article 3:

"There cannot exist slaves in Haiti, servitude is therein forever abolished. All men are born, live and die free and French!"


Signaling to the executioner, the blade fell upon Dessalines, ending his rule permanently.

Grabbing the head of the now deceased Dessalines, Jean held it up, yelling to the crowd:

Viva La Haiti! Viva La Revolution!


Guillotine-400x372.jpg


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Footnotes:
  • Jean Maximilien is a character I created to sort of embody internal dissent against the excess of Dessalines regime. Unfortunately, I couldnt find one in OTL that would fit where I’m taking the narrative of this timeline though I'm open to suggestions :D
  • Though Dessalines wasn’t as complicit in Toussaint’s betrayal as say Brunet was, given his status in history as a racist genocidal autocrat I thought he would make a great and satisfying sacrifice for the liberal revolution.
  • Each narrative, though very expositional this time around will indeed intertwine in the overall history of this ATL Haitian state. I also promise to cut down on amount of writing for each character if you guys would like me too.
  • Sabion is an Angolan name which means Wise Man, in case your were curious. Will have implications later on.
  • Once the Geo-Political stuff starts picking up, I will indeed give mention to the changes are going on outside of Haiti with the focus being on nations with a black slave population. (United States, European Nations, Colonies, Some South American Nations)
Note: I’m going to try my best to be reactive to you guys on which narrative you think is the most interesting. Then, in future chapters, I will shift focus (the best of my abilities) around to whatever the consensus is.
 
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Very interesting, there are very few Haiti ATLs on this website (most started after the earthquake and quickly abandoned).

I eagerly await more updates, consider me subscribed.
 
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