CthulhuFhtagn
Banned
Would it be possible for abolitionists in the US to encourage black migration to Haiti, rather than Liberia?
Haiti as an ATL Liberia?
- Thread starter CthulhuFhtagn
- Start date
twovultures
Donor
And it wasn't in Liberia? I imagine that native English speakers (like the slaves were at that point) would have a much easier time learning how to speak French and French Creole than, say, the Kru languages.
I think making Haiti the center of migration has two main obstacles. Firstly, it keeps the freed slaves very close to the continental US, which would have ticked off slaveowners and made the racists who wanted blacks out very nervous. Secondly, the local metis elite of Haiti could have seen black migrants as a threat to their power over the country.
TFSmith121
Banned
There actually were a few efforts, including one as
There actually were a few efforts, including one as late as 1862-63, and at the "invitation" (more or less) of the Haitian government: Ile a Vache, or Cow Island. Thinking behind it ranged from idealism to racism to the perceived opportunity to make a buck.
It failed, for a variety of reasons (including, more or less, embezzlement of the start-up funding), as pretty much all of the post-emancipation colonization efforts did; once the formerly enslaved were free, there was little interest in leaving the US, however tenous life was for some - family connections and economic opportunities were all greater in the US than somewhere overseas.
A good source on this is Eric Foner's A Fiery Trial, which sums up the post-emancipation colonization efforts as part of elite America's road to understanding that Americans of African ancestry were just that.
Not a particularly gracious part of that path, but presumably a necessary - a very human - one for some of the decision-makers.
Best,
There actually were a few efforts, including one as late as 1862-63, and at the "invitation" (more or less) of the Haitian government: Ile a Vache, or Cow Island. Thinking behind it ranged from idealism to racism to the perceived opportunity to make a buck.
It failed, for a variety of reasons (including, more or less, embezzlement of the start-up funding), as pretty much all of the post-emancipation colonization efforts did; once the formerly enslaved were free, there was little interest in leaving the US, however tenous life was for some - family connections and economic opportunities were all greater in the US than somewhere overseas.
A good source on this is Eric Foner's A Fiery Trial, which sums up the post-emancipation colonization efforts as part of elite America's road to understanding that Americans of African ancestry were just that.
Not a particularly gracious part of that path, but presumably a necessary - a very human - one for some of the decision-makers.
Best,
Actually, more than religion integration hinges on the skin color of those who immigrate. Haitian society always had the noir - gens du couleur split, and so who immigrates will determine how they integrate.
OTL's Americo-Liberians had quite a few mixed-race individuals among them, and I could see all light-skinned immigrants moving on up into the gens; the darker people might get pulled down into the noir.
OTL's Americo-Liberians had quite a few mixed-race individuals among them, and I could see all light-skinned immigrants moving on up into the gens; the darker people might get pulled down into the noir.
A larger divider in Haitian society than skin color is culture; even if you're light skinned, if you don't speak French you can't be in the gens du couleur. And it works the other way too; my grandfather went to medical school with a very dark skinned man considered part of the gens du couleur because of his French upbringing and prominent social status. Most immigrants would probably join the noirs just because most of them would not speak French. The religious divide also works against the favor of the immigrants. Within Haitian society, the gens du couleur tend to be strict Catholics, while the noirs practice syncretic Catholic-Voudou. Because the immigrants aren't Catholic (and because the Haitian upper class is extremely anti-Protestant), Protestant migrants, even the light-skinned ones, are not joining the upper class.
Deleted member 67076
You'll probably need a Haiti that's not an economic basketcase and a failed state to make an attractive destination. Now there's a number of POD's for that but the easiest would be to not have Toussaint killed and to butterfly away the debt to France.
You're welcome~
The first POD might not work because Toussaint was more interested in increasing his own power rather than that of Haiti, meaning that he was perfectly willing to be an autonomous French governor of Haiti. Haiti might never gain independence in that scenario, although I suppose it has a small chance of still doing so. But the second POD might work if France finds something better to do than get involved in the Caribbean. Other than that, I'd argue that even as an economic basketcase, Haiti's still more attractive than Liberia, where the colonists had a huge death rate (~70%) and many of them actually returned to America as soon as they could.
If the US annexed The Dominican Republic would that make Haiti a destination which would also seem popular?
Deleted member 67076
Huh. I did not know that. I thought Toussaint wanted to get Haiti as an autonomous oversees region with slavery ended and not much else. Granted, that could easily mean having the region as a personal fiefdom, which is depressingly common, historically speaking.
Granted, that does raise the question of how a Haiti that remains part of France would be like and if it would attract immigration from other regions, but I don't think that's what OP has in mind.
There's no POD for that where in which Liberia wouldn't have been established and wouldn't have been known as a place to send free'd slaves. Then there's the whole question of would the US even want to keep Santo Domingo after revolts break out.