13460: Schuller: two questions about the Revolution (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Mark Schuller <marky@umail.ucsb.edu>

In the spirit of bringing knowledge of Haiti and the world's most important
historical event to the world stage, i have a couple of questions.

First, i was struck, seeing Simon's second installment of _For the Love of
Freedom: Dessalines_ (DEFINITELY a must see to people to communicate the drama
and heroism of the Revolution) and by re-reading _Black Jacobins_ the self-
conscious roles that the nwa and milat played.  According to both black
writers, the milat (Petion, Rigaud, Boyer) engaged in a cynical alliance that
allowed them to, eventually, run the country's military, political, and state
apparatus without interference from the French or other blan.  People who i
took to see the play were struck by the difference in racial ideologies and
consciousness between neg and milat, between Haiti and the U.S.

This led me to wonder about the historical racial memory of the revolution and
its heroes.  I remember reading somewhere that to the neg, Dessalines was the
true hero, and to the blan and milat, that honor goes to Toussaint.  I actually
interviewed many Haitians on this subject at a vodou ceremony and on the
streets of Potoprens.  Can anyone shed light on this?

Second, especially after reading Bell's _Walking on Fire_ i was curious if
there is any historiography that includes the roles that women played in the
revolution?  Simon, taking from James, limits women's participation to what my
freind called "only a sexual role."  Any conversation about this would be
helpful to me and, according to some Haitian women's organizations, Haiti's
self-image as it celebrates the bicentennial.  In the words of one
activist, "Haitian men think they have to be Dessalines to be men."  Arguably
Dessalines' greatest contribution to the Revolution was his fierceness and his
unflinching, unapologetic use of force to deliver on the promise of freedom
made at Bwa Kayman.

Anyway.  Fourteen months to go...  :)

-- 
Mark  :0

L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE
Who's the terrorist?