#haitian independence day

January 1, 2018 marked the 214th observation of Haitian Independence Day, which celebrates the culmination of a 12 year struggle by self-liberated former slaves against French colonial rule in the country then known as Saint-Domingue. The Haitian Revolution was the only slave uprising that led to the creation of a state, and challenged long-held perceptions about race and slavery across the Americas.

Within our collection is Lettre des Commissaires des citoyens de couleur en France à leurs frères et commettans dans les îsles françoises, a pamphlet written by the Citoyens de Couleur en France (Citizens of Color in France) on June 10, 1791, just before the storm of revolution broke. The pamphlet, addressed to both the white and black citizens of Saint-Domingue, celebrates the French National Assembly’s decree of May 15, 1791, which extended political rights to persons of color born of free parents, and outlines the proper response to the decree. The pamphlet encourages working hard, trusting the law to take care of injustice, and treating slaves more fairly. Despite the hopes of the writers, tensions in Saint-Domingue worsened, with increased conflicts between white colonists and free black citizens, and eventually erupting in the massive slave revolt of August 21, 1791.