Hema: Hi, Mireille.
Mireille: Hi, Hema. How are you today?
Hema: I'm good. We are back with another episode of the Moreish Podcast. We ended last week with a little hint about the country we're gonna be talking about today. We said the indigenous name means land of mountains. Mireille, why don't you tell us what we're gonna be talking about today?
Mireille: We're talking about Haiti. And the reason I am so excited about this episode is because I am half Haitian, and that is my father's birthplace. I can't tell you how excited I was to be doing the history part for this Haitian episode. I know a lot of Haitian history, but I was still really enthusiastic to dive deep because, you know, being born in America, I don't have the same perspective as Haitian people who are born and raised in Haiti
Hema: I'm curious to know, was there anything that you thought about Haiti that actually turned out to not actually be accurate?
Mireille: No.
There wasn't anything I thought that was inaccurate. I just learned a lot more about certain historical figures that gave me a better perspective.
Hema: I'm so excited to hear all about the history and all of the research that you've done, so let's get started.
Mireille: So we should all acknowledge that Haitian history is linked to American history. After all, even the city of Chicago was founded by a Haitian, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. If you just type in Haiti into YouTube, what comes up are videos titled The Failed State, or you see pictures of the island of Hispaniola and where Dominican Republic, it says rich. Where Haiti is, it says poor and videos about the gang violence of Port au Prince or someone whose spent 24 hours in the most dangerous place in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti is way more than Port au Prince and filled with a rich history, and many people and countries and organizations have contributed to the conditions of Haiti, markedly, France and the United States, but Haiti is on the rise. Before we can look forward, we should also acknowledge the past.
There are so many important events and heroes to mention from the Haitian Revolution to the Duvaliers. I may mention some people and events just in passing, but we have a bunch of resources for this episode in the show notes so you can dive deeper.
Hema: I think there will be also some crossover in the Dominican Republic episode. If you are looking for even more resources just on the entire island of Hispaniola, you'll find some links in that episode as well.
Mireille: According to Frederick Douglass, “We should not forget that the freedom you and I enjoy today is largely due to the brave stand taken by the black sons of Haiti 90 years ago, striking for their freedom. They struck for the freedom of every black man in the world.”, circa 18 93. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola, as Hema mentioned, with the Dominican Republic. Now we've already discussed Saint Martin, which is also shared by 2 countries. On Hispaniola, however, the separation is less fluid.
Haiti has the western third of the island, and the Dominican Republic has the eastern two thirds of the island, with a 360 kilometer firm border. There are also some smaller islands that are part of Haiti including Le Grand Caye and probably the most popular, Tortuga that many of you have heard about. Just like in most of the Caribbean islands, the first group that migrated from South America to Hispaniola were the Siboney people until the Taino came and took over. Somewhere around 4000 BCE, the Tainos, a subgroup of the Arawaks, migrated to Hispaniola from the Yucatan Peninsula, later joined by other indigenous groups from the Amazon areas of South America. It was the Tainos who gave Haiti the names Ayiti, Kiskeya, and Boyo, which means land of mountains.
When Christopher Columbus found it in 1492 on his first voyage to the Americas when he was looking for a shorter voyage to India, he called it La Isla Hispaniola, the Spanish island. Over time, the name morphed into Hispaniola. The Spanish tried to enslave the native population to pan for gold. The whole island of Hispaniola is very rich in gold.
When the Spanish arrived, there had been at least 100,000 living on the island. And some reports say even into the millions. By 1514, it was down to a mere 30,000. And by the end of the 1500’s, the population had been practically decimated.
The Tainos constantly resisted and many were killed by the European diseases. The few remaining hid out in the mountains with maroon populations. In 1502, the first Africans were brought to Haiti by the Spanish merchant, Juan de Cordoba. However, the first official slave voyage arrived in Hispaniola in 1525.
Most of the enslaved who were brought to Haiti were from Northwest and Central Africa, particularly the Congo. In total, about 40 percent came from the Congo. This is why there's a lot of commonality with Congolese culture in our food, in our music, in our dance styles. Others came from Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Toga, Angola, and Western Nigeria. The enslaved would work alongside indentured servants from Europe.
During the Haitian revolution, when so many slaves were being lost, 40,000 Africans were being brought annually. In total, somewhere between 800,000 to a million Africans were brought to Haiti, second only to Brazil. The first revolt in Haiti took place as far back as 1522, 269 years before the Haitian revolution and before the official first slave ship had arrived. A few enslaved natives were freed and several of the Spanish were killed, but it was quickly suppressed. In the early 1600’s, the first French settlement arrived as well as British settlers.
The 3 countries - France, Spain, and England would continually battle for control of Haiti. In 1697, the Treaty of Ryswick gave the western third of the island to France, which was renamed Saint Domingue and the rest of the island, Spain kept and retained the name Santo Domingo.
With the introduction of sugar in the late 1600’s, the need for labor multiplied exponentially and mass slave importation began. In 1687, there were 4,411 whites and 3,358 slaves. By 1700, there were 9,082 slaves now representing 90% of the population. Most of the slaves worked on the sugar plantations. With backbreaking work, torturous treatment, and malnutrition, most didn't last for more than 10 years.
At the time of the Haitian revolution, Saint Domingue was France's richest colony producing 60% of the world's coffee and 50% of the world's sugar. We know wherever white people are involved, race classifications have to be put into effect. Grand Blancs were upper class white people. Petite Blancs were lower class whites, many of whom had come as indentured servants. Gens de Couler or Mulattos were mixed people of color. Affranchis were emancipated slaves. Bossales were enslaved people born in Africa. Creoles were enslaved people born in Saint Domingue and the Maroons were either runaway slaves or Indigenous. Before the Haitian Revolution, there had been many smaller revolts and a Maroon community of runaway slaves and Taino in the mountains had started in Haiti pretty much from the beginning.
Francois Makandal, a maroon led a rebellion in 1758, but was caught and burned alive. Even free people of color were getting their rights stripped away, even making it illegal to own certain home furnishings. After weeks and weeks of planning on August 22nd 1791, the slaves in the north asked the spirits to help them in their fight for freedom in a vodou ceremony and the Haitian revolution began the next day.
When the revolution began, there were about 1500 to 2000, and these numbers swelled after the first attacks. Things were kind of a mess at this point. Rebels were fighting for freedom. The British, French, and Spanish were still all fighting for control of the island. Free people of color were also fighting for their rights.
In September 1792, France became a republic, and the monarchy ended. In 1793, Spain declared war on France. There were a lot of things that were happening. I'm just gonna go over a few highlights here and people of note.
Abdaraya Toya, affectionately called by Haitians as Aunt Toya, was a warrior from the Dahomey Kingdom in Africa. Now if you saw the movie, The Woman King, this was the tribe of female warriors that were depicted in the film. She adopted Toussaint Louverture, who would become one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution.
He learned warfare strategy from her. Henri Christophe was the first and only King of Haiti. However, he killed Sans Souci, another notable from the revolution, and was also complicit in Dessalines' death.
Now Christophe had also fought in the American Revolution. In 1779, over 500 free men of color from Saint Domingue came to Savannah, Georgia to fight with Americans for their freedom during the American Revolution. Henri Christophe was one of them.
In 1799, there was a civil war in the middle of the Haitian Revolution. So this is what I mean by saying there was a lot going on. In 1801, Hispaniola was unified. Toussaint created a new constitution abolishing slavery forever and making himself governor for life. In 1802, Napoleon, who was now the head of France, came with some Polish soldiers who were fighting for their country's own independence. When they realized what the fight was for, they joined the Haitians and fought alongside them. They were given full citizenship and the status of black in the Haitian constitution.
This is why in certain areas of Haiti, you will see a lot of people who have blue eyes. On November 18th 1803, the Haitian army defeated the French in the final battle at Vertieres. On January 1st 1804, Dessalines declared Haiti an independent nation. On this day, Dessalines would tell everyone to make soup. Now all Haitians, wherever they live in the diaspora, make our freedom soup every New Year's Day.
By the time of victory, Louverture had been captured and it was Dessalines who led the Haitian people to victory. Of the three main leaders of the Haitian revolution, Dessalines, Louverture, and Christophe, he was the only one who was still enslaved when the revolution had begun. Jean Jacques Dessalines is the founder of Haiti and the first head of state of the first free black republic in the world. Dessalines was assassinated on October 17th 1806.
This is a day of remembrance and a national holiday in Haiti. In fact, the Haitian national anthem is called the Dessalines song. Haiti redefined freedom and helped end the transatlantic slave trade. It was just three years later when it was abolished in Britain. Haiti also helped inspire revolts throughout the Americas.
It is with their help that Simon Bolivar was able to win independence for several countries. In fact, the flags of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador were all inspired by the Haitian flag.
When people say, what does Haitian history have to do with America? Well, the Louisiana Purchase occurred because of the Haitian Revolution. France was forced to sell it to fund the war efforts in Haiti. However, this came with a steep cost. France refused to recognize Haiti's sovereignty until 1825 when Haiti agreed to pay 150 million francs coerced by 500 cannons that accompanied the message. Today, that would be about 30 billion dollars. It was later reduced to 21 billion dollars but did not get paid off until 1947.
This is 1 of the reasons that has led to Haiti consistently having economic problems. The United States would not recognize Haiti until 1862. In 1844, the eastern two thirds of the island declared independence and became Dominican Republic. Now we're going to jump ahead to World War 1.
In 1915, the United States invaded Haiti. Dominican Republic at the time had already been under US occupation. Now under US occupation, infrastructure was built up, but a destruction of the African based self reliant socioeconomic fabric of the country was eroded. Some rebels known as the Cacos prompted the US controlled government to create a national guard that would evolve into the Haitian military.
In 1934, the US occupation ended leaving a mulatto minority in charge to protect the US interests. Many Haitians were sent to Dominican Republic to work in the sugarcane industry. When sugar prices dropped, Trujillo massacred 20,000-25,000 Haitian migrants. Not to mention the Parsley Massacre already referenced in the episode in the Dominican Republic. In 1939, Dumarsais Estate became the first elected black president.
Due to Trujillo involvement from across the border, he was forced to resign in 1950. In 1950, Francois Duvalier, also known as Papa Doc, was elected. This began a period of human rights violations where Papa Doc would often get rid of his political adversaries. The secret police known as the Tonton Macoutes or the boogeymen would kill anyone who opposed Duvalier.
By 1964, Duvalier had elected himself president for life and Haiti was essentially a police state. In 1971, Duvalier was succeeded by his son, Jean Claude Duvalier, known as Baby Doc. He was just as bad. By the mid 1980’s, the Tonton Macoutes were 15,000 strong, but they could not quell the protests due to human rights violations, high unemployment, poor living conditions, and a corrupt government with only a few elite having all of the power. In 1986, a coup forced baby Doc into exile.
In 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide became the first democratically elected president. His progressive reforms received resistance from the elite, and a coup occurred just 7 months later, which brought in harsh military rule causing a mass immigration of Haitians to the United States. In 1994, he returned to power backed by an invasion of US Marines.
In 2004, a coup occurred yet again. As you can see, the coups occur all often when progressive leaders are in charge because there is a great class struggle in Haiti by many of the mulattos who are in power with the mostly black population that exists in Haiti. I really glossed over a lot of history, but there was just so much that has occurred.
Let's learn a little bit about the culture of Haiti. Haiti has 2 official languages, French and Haitian Kreyol. Haitian Kreyol was developed on the sugar plantations as a fusion of both French and African languages. While not all Haitians speak French, most Haitians speak Kreyol as a first language.
For most patients, religion is a very important part of family and social life. There is a popular expression by Haitians that says the three themes of Haitian life are leaky, legliz, lekol - home, church, and school. To understand religion in Haiti, you must understand Vodou. Both the Voodoo of Louisiana and the Vodou of Haiti has its roots in West African native religions. However, it should not be looked at separately. Most Haitians who practice Vodou do it alongside their Christian faith.
Haiti's 12 million plus people are 95% black with a small Polish community, a small Syrian Lebanese community, and the rest are mixed and/or of Taino heritage.
Now, Hema’s going to go into Le Manje Ayisien.
Hema: The island of Hispaniola has quite a history. If you haven't listened to our Dominican Republic episode, I encourage you to go back and check that out because so much of the history of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are intertwined.
Haitian cuisine is a blend based on the people who have inhabited the country - the indigenous, the various African countries, the French, and a touch of Spanish.
You'll find things like Akasan, a breakfast corn based porridge or drink whose name and recipe are influenced by the Arawak population. There is Tom Tom a breadfruit based recipe that has its roots in Africa and was brought to the country by the enslaved people.
Another dish that Mireille has already talked about that I do wanna mention is Soup Jou Mou, a dish that historically was favored by the French slave owners and it has pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, and meat, like maybe beef or pork. Way back in history, the French aristocrat or bourgeoisie could afford to make this dish, but the enslaved people could not. It was after the revolution that the newly freed people began making this soup, which made it become a symbol of freedom.
While not a large country, the different departments or regions of Haiti have their own culinary specialties - seafood dishes in the coastal cities and cashew based recipes in the north where most of the cashews are grown. The national dish of Haiti is Griot. Before I dive into the national dish, there are a few other things that I wanna mention that that go into this dish. Epí or as I've heard some people refer to it, epis, is a flavor base that is used all throughout Haiti in many dishes. If you're familiar with sofrito or green seasoning in other Caribbean islands, it serves a similar purpose. You will find things like garlic, parsley, scallions, thyme, onion, bouillon cubes, celery, and acid like a vinegar or lime juice, or maybe in some instances, I have seen people refer to a sour orange, sweet peppers, possibly Scotch Bonnet, maybe cloves. If you're going to make any Haitian dish, you will very likely need to start with epis.
Onto our national dish. Griot is diced pork, washed with a citrus like lime or the sour oranges, marinated in the epis, and fried. It is very often served with rice and beans, most notably red kidney beans, which is called what, Mireille?
Mireille: Pwa Rouge.
Hema: Sometimes, pinto beans or black beans might be used, but that is another dish. Essentially, it is a dish of rice and the red kidney beans cooked together, starting, of course, with epis to make a side dish. You might also serve this with a spicy pickled cabbage.
Mireille: That is called pikliz.
Hema: There's something really significant about the name of the dish. In West Africa, griots, and I could be mispronouncing that, so please feel free to correct me in the comments, are storytellers and people who have a high social status. They are the people who recount stories, play music, and sing for their community. It's thought that the dish was named for these people of high standing because the cost of the pork shoulder used is expensive and reserved for those Haitians of higher class or tourists. That is not the case necessarily today, but historically it was considered a dish for those who had money. Mireille talked about Haitian history being American history and the two tied together. Growing up in Canada, I didn't learn about any of this, so all of it is new. What we can't dismiss is that the red kidney beans and rice, the typical side dish to griot that I just talked about, also holds a place in American cuisine, often in the South. If you remember earlier in this episode, Mireille talked about the French playing a large part in the history of both Haiti and the entire island of Hispaniola.
Before the Louisiana Purchase, France had a settlement in the southern United States that created a connection between these countries. When white and formerly enslaved Haitians fled the country in the early 1900s, many went to the area of Louisiana because it was a strong French settlement. They brought with them their culture, including foods like the red beans and rice and other Creole dishes.
As with so many Caribbean countries, their tradition of carnival, or in Haiti Karnaval, is important to the culture. Karnaval began in the larger cities like Port au Prince, Cap-Haitien, and Jacmel but the enslaved people were not allowed to participate. It was yet another way that the slave owners deprived the enslaved people of happiness and freedom. But that didn't stop them. The enslaved people held their own mini carnivals in their yards, near their homes, in their communities, making costumes out of rags and whatever they could find, painting their skin with grease and ashes as they imitated and mocked their slave owners.
Today, Haitian Carnival is a national holiday. It is a huge cultural event with celebrations, food, music, and you can see that there is so much history involved. The costumes often tell a story from political grievances, to historical figures, and folklore. If you're in Haiti for Carnival or Karnaval, you will come across a food called beignet.
Mireille: It's also sometimes called benyen in Haiti. You know, I guess that's the kreyol where beignet is the French.
Hema: The benyen or beignets that you're going to find around carnival time in Haiti are not what you're probably used to. They are made with bananas, they look like mini crepes, and have a crunchy texture sprinkled with sugar. Apparently, around carnival time is the only time you're gonna get this, so I recommend giving it a try if you come across this dish.
Mireille: Thanks for joining us this week as we explored Haiti on the Moreish Podcast. We've shared resources and recipes in the show notes as well as a link to support the podcast.
Hema: Come back next week to find out which Caribbean nation we are talking about next. We, as always, have a little hint. This island is known for Blue Mountain Coffee. Head over to Instagram or TikTok and tell us where you think we are going next.
Mireille: Bye.
Hema: Bye.