The Founding Myths of the Haitian Nation

The table of contents of J. C. Dorsainvil’s Manuel d’ histoire d’Haïti,1 which for a long time has been the bible for Haitian schoolchildren, has a little surprise in store for those who consult it. After chapter eighteen, none of the chapters has a title, which leads us to understand that the same title applies for all the rest. Th us, the thirteen chapters that follow must have the same title as the eighteenth: “Defending Haiti” (“Pour défendre Haïti”). Th ese chapters cover the period from 1804 to today. Does this mean that since Haiti proclaimed its independence, it has always been on the defensive? Th is makes you wonder: Did the generals who in 1804 led a victorious war know how to defend Haiti? From the early days, these generals did, of course, construct fortifi cations, of which the Laferriere Citadel is the most impressive. But these forts have never been in service. One could even say that they have not been able to prevent the comings and goings of foreign troops, the chronology of which gives pause for thought: