Choice Reviews Online· 2012
Haiti: the aftershocks of history
- 395citations
- 2012year
Short summary
Historian Laurent Dubois argues that Haiti's persistent poverty and corruption stem not from internal failings, but from a legacy of international punishment for its successful slave revolt in 1804.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Haiti's current struggles are attributed to historical international punishment, not solely internal issues.
- Key punitive actions include French indemnities and U.S. military interventions and occupation.
- These external pressures created cycles of debt, division, and political chaos.
- Despite this, Haiti developed a resilient culture valuing autonomy and equality.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Even before the recent earthquake destroyed much of the country, Haiti was known as a benighted place of poverty and corruption. Maligned and misunderstood, the nation has long been blamed by many for its own wretchedness. But as acclaimed historian Laurent Dubois demonstrates, Haiti's troubles owe more to a legacy of international punishment for the original sin of staging the only successful slave revolt in the world. Dubois vividly depicts the isolation and impoverishment that followed the 1804 rebellion: the crushing indemnities imposed by the former French rulers, which initiated a cycle of debt; the multiple interventions by the U.S. armed forces, including a twenty-year occupation; and the internal divisions and political chaos that are the inevitable consequences of centuries of subversion. At the same time, he also explores Haiti's overlooked successes, as its revolution created a resilient culture insistent on autonomy and equality.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Choice Reviews Online, 2012 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Religious studies
Religious studiesArts and Humanities