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An A unit, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive (generally a diesel or electric locomotive) equipped with a driving cab, or crew compartment, and the control system to control other locomotives in a multiple unit, and therefore able to be the lead unit in a consist of several locomotives controlled from a single position. This terminology is generally used in North America, since only there was it commonplace to build B units—cabless locomotive units which normally could not lead a train.
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Typical driving cab features, and therefore A unit features, include windshields, rectangular side windows, crew seats, heating, and sometimes, radios, air conditioning and toilets. B units always lack all of these features, except that some EMD F-units have an extra porthole-style side window(s) for a hostler (an employee permitted to move a locomotive in a yard only — not on the road).
This terminology has fallen out of use for newer locomotives, since it only really applied to the cab unit style of locomotive. Thus, the term cab unit is used only when an A unit has a carbody design. Hood unit "road switcher" types were generally equipped with driving cabs and the term "A unit" was not generally applied to them, although the rare cabless road switchers were still called B units.
In some cases, A units were converted to B units. If the unit had been involved in a collision which damaged the cab, it was sometimes more cost-effective to rebuild the unit without the cab. In rarer cases, B units were converted to A units. The Chicago and North Western Railway converted several E8B units purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad. The cabs on the rebuilt units were referred to as "Crandall Cabs." The BNSF also experimented with a single GP60B to make it a "A unit" by using a Ex-UP SD40-2 cab on a GP60B frame and body, also required to move was the Dynamic blister from the front of the unit to the middle of the unit to make room for the cab.
François Hollande | |
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Hollande in Nantes (2012) | |
24th President of France | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 15 May 2012 |
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Prime Minister | Jean-Marc Ayrault |
Preceded by | Nicolas Sarkozy |
Co-Prince of Andorra | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office 15 May 2012 Serving with Joan Enric Vives Sicília |
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Prime Minister | Antoni Martí |
Representative | Christian Frémont |
Preceded by | Nicolas Sarkozy |
President of the General Council of Corrèze | |
In office 20 March 2008 – 15 May 2012 |
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Preceded by | Jean-Pierre Dupont |
Succeeded by | Gérard Bonnet (Acting) |
First Secretary of the Socialist Party | |
In office 27 November 1997 – 27 November 2008 |
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Preceded by | Lionel Jospin |
Succeeded by | Martine Aubry |
Mayor of Tulle | |
In office 17 March 2001 – 17 March 2008 |
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Preceded by | Raymond-Max Aubert |
Succeeded by | Bernard Combes |
Deputy of the National Assembly for Corrèze's 1st Constituency |
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In office 12 June 1997 – 15 May 2012 |
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Preceded by | Raymond-Max Aubert |
Succeeded by | TBD |
In office 12 June 1988 – 16 May 1993 |
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Preceded by | Proportional representation |
Succeeded by | Raymond-Max Aubert |
Personal details | |
Born | François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande 12 August 1954 Rouen, France |
Political party | Socialist Party |
Domestic partner | Ségolène Royal (1978–2007) Valérie Trierweiler (2005–present) |
Children | Thomas Clémence Julien Flora |
Alma mater | School of High Commercial Studies, Paris Institute of Political Studies, Paris National School of Administration, Strasbourg |
Signature |
Styles of François Hollande |
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Reference style | Son Excellence (Monsieur) |
Spoken style | Monsieur le Président |
Styles of François Hollande |
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Reference style | His Serene Highness |
Spoken style | Your Serene Highness |
François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa ɔlɑ̃d]; born 12 August 1954) is the 24th President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He previously served as the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008 and as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France for Corrèze's 1st Constituency from 1988 to 1993 and then again from 1997 to 2012. He also served as the Mayor of Tulle from 2001 to 2008 and the President of the General Council of Corrèze from 2008 to 2012.
He was elected President of France on 6 May 2012, defeating the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, and was inaugurated on 15 May.[1] He is the second Socialist President of the Fifth French Republic, after François Mitterrand who served from 1981 to 1995.
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Hollande was born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, to a middle-class family. His mother, Nicole Frédérique Marguerite Tribert (1927–2009), was a social worker, and his father, Georges Gustave Hollande, an ear, nose, and throat doctor who "had once run for the extreme right in local politics."[2][3][4][5][6] The surname "Hollande" is "believed to come from Calvinist ancestors who escaped Holland (the Netherlands) in the 16th century and took the name of their old country."[7] Hollande was raised Catholic but quietly rebelled against the strict religious brothers chosen by his father to educate him.[7] The family moved to Neuilly, a suburb of Paris, when Hollande was 13.[8]
He attended Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle boarding school, then HEC Paris, École nationale d'administration, and the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Paris Institute of Political Studies). He graduated from ENA in 1980.[9][10] He lived in the United States in the summer of 1974 while he was a university student.[11] Immediately after graduating, he was employed as a councillor in the Court of Audit.
After volunteering as a student to work for François Mitterrand's ultimately unsuccessful campaign in the 1974 presidential election, Hollande joined the Socialist Party five years later. He was quickly spotted by Jacques Attali, a senior adviser to Mitterrand, who arranged for Hollande to stand for election to the French National Assembly in 1981 in Corrèze against future President Jacques Chirac, who was then the Leader of the Rally for the Republic, a Neo-Gaullist party. Hollande lost to Chirac in the first round, although he would go on to become a Special Adviser to the newly-elected President Mitterrand, before serving as a staffer for Max Gallo, the government's spokesman. After becoming a Municipal Councillor for Ussel in 1983, he contested Corrèze for a second time in 1988, this time being elected to the National Assembly. Hollande lost his bid for re-election to the National Assembly in the so-called "blue wave" of the 1993 election, described as such due to the number of seats gained by the Right at the expense of the Socialist Party.
As the end of Mitterrand's term in office approached, the Socialist Party was torn by a struggle of internal factions, each seeking to influence the direction of the party. Hollande pleaded for reconciliation and for the party to unite behind Jacques Delors, the President of the European Commission, but Delors renounced his ambitions to run for the French Presidency in 1995, leading to Lionel Jospin's resuming his earlier position as the leader of the party. Jospin selected Hollande to become the official party spokesman, and Hollande went on to contest Corrèze once again in 1997, successfully returning to the National Assembly. That same year, Jospin became the Prime Minister of France, and Hollande won the election for his successor as First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, a position he would hold for eleven years. Because of the very strong position of the Socialist Party within the French Government during this period, Hollande's position led some to refer to him the "Vice Prime Minister". Hollande would go on to be elected the Mayor of Tulle in 2001, an office he would hold for the next seven years.
The immediate resignation of Jospin from politics following his shock defeat by far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round of the 2002 presidential election forced Hollande to become the public face of the party for the 2002 legislative election but, although he managed to limit defeats and was re-elected in his own constituency, the Socialists lost nationally. In order to prepare for the 2003 Party Congress in Dijon, he obtained the support of many notable personalities of the party and was re-elected First Secretary against opposition from left-wing factions. After the triumph of the Left in the 2004 regional elections, Hollande was cited as a potential presidential candidate, but the Socialists were divided on the European Constitution, and Hollande's support for the ill-fated "yes" position in the French referendum on the European Constitution caused friction within the party. Although Hollande was re-elected as First Secretary at the Le Mans Congress in 2005, his authority over the party began to decline from this point onwards. Eventually his domestic partner, Ségolène Royal, was chosen to represent the Socialist Party in the 2007 presidential election, where she would lose to Nicolas Sarkozy. Hollande was widely blamed for the poor performances of the Socialist Party in the 2007 elections, and he announced that he would not seek another term as First Secretary. Hollande publicly declared his support for Bertrand Delanoë, the Mayor of Paris, although it was Martine Aubry who would go on to win the race to succeed him in 2008.
Following his resignation as First Secretary, Hollande was immediately elected to replace Jean-Pierre Dupont as the President of the General Council of Corrèze in April 2008, a position he holds to this day. In 2008 he supported the creation of the first European Prize for Local History (Étienne Baluze Prize), founded by the "Société des Amis du musée du cloître" of Tulle, on the suggestion of the French historian Jean Boutier. François Hollande awarded the first prize on 29 February 2008 to the Italian historian Beatrice Palmero in the General Council of Corrèze.
Following his re-election as President of the General Council of Corrèze in March 2011, Hollande announced that he would be a candidate in the upcoming primary election to select the Socialist and Radical Left Party presidential nominee.[12] The primary marked the first time that both parties had held an open primary to select a joint nominee at the same time. He initially trailed the front-runner, former Finance Minister and IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Following Strauss-Kahn's arrest on suspicion of sexual assault in New York City in May 2011, Hollande began to lead the opinion polls. His position as front-runner was established just as Strauss-Kahn declared that he would no longer be seeking the nomination. After a series of televised debates throughout September, Hollande topped the ballot in the first round held on 9 October with 39% of the vote, not gaining the 50% required to avoid a second ballot, which he would contest against Martine Aubry, who had come second with 30% of the vote.
The second ballot took place on 16 October 2011. Hollande won with 56% of the vote to Aubry's 43% and thus became the official Socialist and Radical Left Party candidate for the 2012 presidential election.[13] After the primary results, he immediately gained the pledged support of the other contenders for the party's nomination, including Aubry, Arnaud Montebourg, Manuel Valls and 2007 candidate Ségolène Royal.[14]
Hollande's presidential campaign was managed by Pierre Moscovici and Stéphane Le Foll, a Member of Parliament and Member of the European Parliament respectively.[15] Hollande launched his campaign officially with a rally and major speech at Le Bourget on 22 January 2012 in front of 25,000 people.[16][17] The main themes of his speech were equality and the regulation of finance, both of which he promised to make a key part of his campaign.[17]
On 26 January he outlined a full list of policies in a manifesto containing 60 propositions, including the separation of retail activities from riskier investment-banking businesses; raising taxes for big corporations, banks and the wealthy; creating 60,000 teaching jobs; bringing the official retirement age back down to 60 from 62; creating subsidised jobs in areas of high unemployment for the young; promoting more industry in France by creating a public investment bank; granting marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples; and pulling French troops out of Afghanistan in 2012.[18][19] On 9 February, he detailed his policies specifically relating to education in a major speech in Orléans.[20]
On 15 February, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he would run for a second and final term, strongly criticising Hollande's proposals and claiming that he would bring about "economic disaster within two days of taking office" if he won.[21]
Hollande visited Berlin, Germany, in December 2011 for the Social Democrats Federal Party Congress, at which he met Sigmar Gabriel, Peer Steinbrück, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Martin Schulz;[22][23] he also travelled to Belgium before the United Kingdom in February 2012, where he met with Opposition Leader Ed Miliband; and finally Tunisia in May 2012.[24][25]
Opinion polls showed a tight race between the two men in the first round of voting, with most polls showing Hollande comfortably ahead of Sarkozy in a hypothetical second round run-off.[26]
The first round of the presidential election was held on 22 April. François Hollande came in first place with 28.63% of the vote, and faced Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round run-off.[27] In the second round of voting on 6 May 2012, François Hollande was elected President of the French Republic with 51.7% of the vote.[1]
François Hollande was elected President of France on 6 May 2012. He was inaugurated on 15 May, and shortly afterwards appointed Jean-Marc Ayrault to be his Prime Minister. He also appointed Benoît Puga to be his military chief of staff, Pierre-René Lemas as his General Secretary and Pierre Besnard as his Head of Cabinet.[28] On his first official visit to a foreign country in his capacity as President of France, the aeroplane transporting him was hit by lightning.[29] The plane returned safely to Paris where he took another flight to Germany.
For over 30 years, his partner was fellow Socialist politician Ségolène Royal, with whom he has four children – Thomas (1984), Clémence (1985), Julien (1987) and Flora (1992). In June 2007, just a month after Royal's defeat in the French presidential election of 2007, the couple announced that they were separating.[37]
A few months after his split from Ségolène Royal was announced, a French website published details of a relationship between Hollande and French journalist Valérie Trierweiler. This disclosure was controversial, as some considered it to be a breach of France's strict stance on the privacy of politicians' personal affairs. In November 2007, Valérie Trierweiler confirmed and openly discussed her relationship with Hollande in an interview with the French weekly Télé 7 Jours.
Hollande has had a large number of books and academic works published, including:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: François Hollande |
Party political offices | ||
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Preceded by Lionel Jospin |
First Secretary of the Socialist Party 1997–2008 |
Succeeded by Martine Aubry |
Preceded by Ségolène Royal |
Socialist Party nominee for President of France 2012 |
Most recent |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Raymond-Max Aubert |
Mayor of Tulle 2001–2008 |
Succeeded by Bernard Combes |
Preceded by Jean-Pierre Dupont |
President of the General Council of Corrèze 2008–2012 |
Succeeded by Gérard Bonnet Acting |
Preceded by Nicolas Sarkozy |
President of France 2012–present |
Incumbent |
Regnal titles | ||
Preceded by Nicolas Sarkozy |
Co-Prince of Andorra 2012–present Served alongside: Joan Enric Vives Sicília |
Incumbent |
Catholic Church titles | ||
Preceded by Nicolas Sarkozy |
Honorary Canon of the Basilica of St. John Lateran 2012–present |
Incumbent |
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Jean-Bertrand Aristide | |
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Aristide meeting U.S. President Bill Clinton in the White House in 1994. | |
49th and 53rd President of Haiti | |
In office 7 February 1991 – 29 September 1991 |
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Prime Minister | René Préval |
Preceded by | Ertha Pascal-Trouillot |
Succeeded by | Raoul Cédras |
In office 12 October 1994 – 7 February 1996 |
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Prime Minister | Smarck Michel Claudette Werleigh |
Preceded by | Émile Jonassaint |
Succeeded by | René Préval |
In office 7 February 2001 – 29 February 2004 |
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Prime Minister | Jean Marie Chérestal Yvon Neptune |
Preceded by | René Préval |
Succeeded by | Boniface Alexandre |
Personal details | |
Born | Port-Salut, Sud Department |
15 July 1953
Nationality | Haitian |
Political party | Lavalas |
Spouse(s) | Mildred Trouillot (m.1996) |
Children | two daughters |
Alma mater | College Notre Dame State University of Haiti |
Occupation | Priest |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president.[1][2] A proponent of liberation theology,[3][4] Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies. He became a focal point for the pro-democracy movement first under Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier and then under the military transition regime which followed. He won the Haitian general election, 1990-1991 with 67% of the vote and was briefly President of Haiti, until a September 1991 military coup. The coup regime collapsed in 1994 under US pressure and threat of force (Operation Uphold Democracy) after Aristide agreed to roll back several reforms. Aristide was then President again from 1994 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2004.
Aristide was unexpectedly ousted in a 29 February 2004 coup d'état, in which former soldiers participated. He accused the United States of orchestrating the coup d'état against him with support from Jamaican Prime Minister P. J. Patterson and among others.[5] Aristide was forced into exile, being flown directly to the Central African Republic[5] and South Africa. He finally returned to Haiti on 18 March 2011 after seven years in exile.[6]
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Aristide was born into poverty in Port-Salut, Sud Department. His father died when Aristide was only three months old,[7] and Aristide moved to Port-au-Prince with his mother, seeking a better life for him.[8] In 1958, Aristide started school with priests of the Salesian order.[9] He was educated at the College Notre Dame in Cap-Haïtien, graduating with honors in 1974. He then took a course of novitiate studies in La Vega, Dominican Republic before returning to Haiti to study philosophy at the Grand Seminaire Notre Dame and psychology at the State University of Haiti. After completing his post-graduate studies in 1979, Aristide traveled in Europe, studying in Italy, Greece,[1] and Israel. He returned to Haiti in 1982 for his ordination as a Salesian priest,[10] and was appointed curate of a small parish in Port-au-Prince.
Throughout the first three decades of Aristide's life, Haiti was ruled by the family dictatorships of François "Papa Doc" and Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. The misery endured by Haiti's poor made a deep impression on Aristide,[8] and he became an outspoken critic of Duvalierism.[11] Nor did he spare the hierarchy of the country's church, since a 1966 Vatican Concordat granted Duvalier the power to appoint Haiti's bishops.[12] An exponent of liberation theology, Aristide denounced Duvalier's regime in one of his earliest sermons. This did not go unnoticed by the regime's top echelons. Under pressure, the provincial delegate of the Salesian Order sent Aristide into three years of exile in Montreal.[10] By 1985, as popular opposition to Duvalier's regime grew, Aristide was back preaching in Haiti. His Easter Week sermon, "A Call to Holiness," delivered at the cathedral of Port-au-Prince and later broadcast throughout Haiti, proclaimed, "The path of those Haitians who reject the regime is the path of righteousness and love."[13]
Aristide became a leading figure in the ""ti legliz movement"" – Kreyòl for "little church."[14] In September 1985, he was appointed to St. Jean Bosco church, in a poor neighborhood in Port-au-Prince. Struck by the absence of young people in the church, Aristide began to organize youth, sponsoring weekly youth masses.[15] He founded an orphanage for urban street children in 1986 called Lafanmi Selavi [Family is Life].[16]:214 Its program sought to be a model of participatory democracy for the children it served.[17] As Aristide became a leading voice for the aspirations of Haiti's dispossessed, he inevitably became a target for attack.[18] He survived at least four assassination attempts.[9][19] The most widely publicized attempt, the St Jean Bosco massacre, occurred on 11 September 1988,[20] when over one hundred armed Tonton Macoute wearing red armbands forced their way into St. Jean Bosco as Aristide began Sunday mass.[21] As Army troops and police stood by, the men fired machine guns at the congregation and attacked fleeing parishioners with machetes. Aristide's church was burned to the ground. Thirteen people are reported to have been killed, and 77 wounded. Aristide survived and went into hiding.[16]
Subsequently, Salesian officials ordered Aristide to leave Haiti, but tens of thousands of Haitians protested, blocking his access to the airport.[22] In December 1988, Aristide was expelled from his Salesian order.[23] A statement prepared in Rome called the priest's political activities an "incitement to hatred and violence," out of line with his role as a clergyman.[24] Aristide appealed the decision, saying: "The crime of which I stand accused is the crime of preaching food for all men and women."[25] In a January 1988 interview, he said "The solution is revolution, first in the spirit of the gospel; Jesus could not accept people going hungry. It is a conflict between classes, rich and poor. My role is to preach and organize...."[7] In 1994, Aristide left priesthood, ending years of tension with the church over his criticism of its hierarchy and his espousal of liberation theology.[26] The following year, Aristide married Mildred Trouillot, with whom he had two daughters.[27]
Following the violence at the aborted national elections of 1987, the 1990 elections were approached with caution. Aristide announced his candidacy for the presidency and following a six-week campaign, during which he dubbed his followers the "Front National pour le Changement et la Démocratie" (National Front for Change and Democracy, or FNCD), the "little priest" was elected President in 1990 with 67% of the vote. He was Haiti's first democratically elected president. However, just eight months into his Presidency he was overthrown by a bloody military coup. He broke from FNCD and created the Struggling People's Organization (OPL,Organisation Politique "Lavalas") – "the flood" or "torrent" in Kréyòl.
A coup attempt against Aristide had taken place on January 6, even before his inauguration, when Roger Lafontant, a Tonton Macoute leader under Duvalier, seized the provisional President Ertha Pascal-Trouillot and declared himself President. After large numbers of Aristide supporters filled the streets in protest and Lafontant attempted to declare martial law, the Army crushed the incipient coup.[28]
During Aristide's short-lived first period in office, he attempted to carry out substantial reforms, which brought passionate opposition from Haiti's business and military elite.[29] He sought to bring the military under civilian control, retiring the Commander in Chief of the Army Hérard Abraham, initiated investigations of human rights violations, and brought to trial several Tontons Macoute who had not fled the country.[29] He also banned the emigration of many well known Haitians until their bank accounts had been examined.[29] His relationship with the National Assembly soon deteriorated, and he attempted repeatedly to bypass it on judicial, Cabinet and ambassadorial appointments.[29] His nomination of his close friend and political ally, René Préval, as Prime Minister, provoked severe criticism from political opponents overlooked, and the National Assembly threatened a no-confidence vote against Préval in August 1991. This led to a crowd of at least 2000 at the National Palace, which threatened violence; together with Aristide's failure to explicitly reject mob violence this permitted the junta which would topple him to accuse him of human rights violations.[29]
In September 1991 the army performed a coup against him (1991 Haitian coup d'état), led by Army General Raoul Cédras, who had been promoted by Aristide in June to Commander in Chief of the Army. Aristide was deposed on 29 September 1991, and after several days sent into exile, his life only saved by the intervention of US, French and Venezuelan diplomats.[30] In accordance with the requirements of Article 149 of the Haitian Constitution, Superior Court Justice Joseph Nérette was installed as Président Provisoire to serve until elections were held within 90 days of Aristide's resignation. However, real power was held by army commander Raoul Cédras.[31] The elections were scheduled, but were canceled under pressure from the United States Government. Aristide and other sources claim that both the coup and the election cancellation were the result of pressure from the American government.[32][33][34] High ranking members of the Haitian National Intelligence Service (SIN), which had been set up and financed in the 1980s by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as part of the war on drugs, were involved in the coup, and were reportedly still receiving funding and training from the CIA for intelligence-gathering activities at the time of the coup, but this funding reportedly ended after the coup.[35] The New York Times said that "No evidence suggests that the C.I.A backed the coup or intentionally undermined President Aristide."[35] However, press reports about possible CIA involvement in Haitian politics before the coup sparked Congressional hearings in the United States.[36]
A campaign of terror against Aristide supporters was started by Emmanuel Constant after Aristide was forced out. In 1993, Constant, who had been on the CIA's payroll as an informant since 1992, organized the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti (FRAPH), which targeted and killed Aristide supporters.[37][38][39]
Aristide spent his exile first in Venezuela and then in the United States, working to develop international support. A United Nations trade embargo during Aristide's exile, intended to force the coup leaders to step down, was a strong blow to Haiti's already weak economy.[40] President George H.W. Bush granted an exemption from the embargo to many US companies doing business in Haiti, and President Bill Clinton extended this exemption.[41][42]
In addition to this trade with the US, the coup regime was supported by massive profits from the drug trade thanks to the Haitian military's affiliation with the Cali Cartel and the drug-affiliated government in the neighboring Dominican Republic; Aristide publicly stated that his own pursuit of arresting drug dealers was one event that prompted the coup by drug-affiliated military officials Raul Cedras and Michel Francois (a claim echoed by his former Secretary of State Patrick Elie). Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan) expressed concern that the only US government agency to publicly recognize the Haitian junta's role in drug trafficking was the DEA, and that despite a wealth of evidence provided by the DEA proving the junta's drug connections, the Clinton administration downplayed this factor rather than use it as a hedge against the junta (as the US government had done against Manuel Noriega). Conyers expressed concern that this silence was due to the CIA's connections to these military officers dating back to the creation of the Haitian Intelligence service known as SIN, as Alan Nairn's research has shown: "We have turned a very deaf ear to what is obviously a moving force... it leads you to wonder if our silence is because we knew this was going on and [because of] our complicity in drug activity..."[43] Nairn in particular alleged that the CIA's connections to these drug traffickers in the junta not only dated to the creation of SIN, but were ongoing during and after the coup. Nairn's claims are confirmed in part by revelations of Emmanuel Constant regarding the ties of his FRAPH organization to the CIA before and during the coup government.
Under US and international pressure (including United Nations Security Council Resolution 940 on 31 July 1994), the military regime backed down and US troops were deployed in the country by President Bill Clinton. On 15 October 1994, Aristide returned to Haiti to complete his term in office.[44] Aristide disbanded the Haitian army, and established a civilian police force. The noted speaker, academic, and historian Noam Chomsky is highly critical of what he calls hidden American imperialist actions in Haiti: "When Clinton restored Aristide - Clinton of course supported the military junta, another little hidden story... he strongly supported it in fact. He even allowed the Texaco Oil Company to send oil to the junta in violation of presidential directives; Bush Sr. did so as well - well, he finally allowed the president to return, but on condition that he accept the programs of Marc Bazin, the US candidate that he had defeated in the 1990 election. And that meant a harsh neoliberal program, no import barriers.[45]
Aristide's first term ended in February 1996, and the constitution did not allow him to serve consecutive terms. There was some dispute over whether Aristide, prior to new elections, should serve the three years he had lost in exile, or whether his term in office should instead be counted strictly according to the date of his inauguration; it was decided that the latter should be the case. René Préval, a prominent ally of Aristide and Prime Minister in 1991 under Aristide, ran during the 1995 presidential election and took 88% of the vote. There was about 25% participation in these elections.[unreliable source?][46]
In late 1996, Aristide broke from the OPL over what he called its "distance from the people"[32] and created a new political party, the Fanmi Lavalas. The OPL, holding the majority in the Sénat and the Chambre des Députés, renamed itself the Organisation du Peuple en Lutte, maintaining the OPL acronym.
The Fanmi Lavalas won the 2000 legislative election in May, but a number of Senate seats which should have had second-round runoffs were allocated to Lavalas candidates which, while leading, had not achieved a first-round majority of all votes cast. Fanmi Lavalas controlled the Provisional Election Commission which made the decision.[47] Aristide then was elected later that year in the 2000 presidential election, an election boycotted by most opposition political parties, now organised into the Convergence Démocratique. Although the US government claimed that the election turnout was hardly over 10%, international observers saw turnout of around 50%, and at the time, CNN reported a turnout of 60% with over 92% voting for Aristide.[48] Only later did allegations surface mentioning the above figure of a 10% voter turnout.[49]
Aristide called for France, the former colonizer of the country, to pay $21 billion[50] in restitution to Haiti for the 90 million gold francs supplied to France by Haiti in restitution for French property that was misappropriated in the Haitian rebellion, over the period from 1825 to 1947. Later it was revealed that this claim of repayment from France might have been one of the main reasons behind the coup d'état of 2004.[51]
In February 2004, the assassination of gang leader Amiot Metayer sparked a violent rebellion that culminated in Aristide's removal from office. Amiot's brother, Buteur Metayer, blamed Aristide for the assassination, and used this as an argument given in order to form the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti.[52] Joined by other groups[53] the rebels quickly took control of the North, and eventually laid siege to, and then invaded, the capital. Under disputed circumstances, Aristide was flown out of the country by the U.S. on 28 February 2004.[54]
Earlier in February, Aristide's lawyer had claimed that the U.S. was arming anti-Aristide troops.[55] Aristide later stated that France and the US had a role in what he termed "a kidnapping" that took him from Haiti to South Africa via the Central African Republic.[56] However, authorities said his temporary asylum there had been negotiated by the United States, France and Gabon.[57] On 1 March 2004, US Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), along with Aristide family friend Randall Robinson, reported Aristide had told them that he had been forced to resign and had been abducted from the country by the United States and that he had been held hostage by an armed military guard.[58]
After Aristide was removed from Haiti, looters raided his villa.[59] Most barricades were lifted the day after Aristide left as the shooting had stopped; order was maintained by Haitian police, along with armed rebels and local vigilante groups.[60] Almost immediately after the Aristides were transported from Haiti, Prime Minister of Jamaica, P.J. Patterson, dispatched a Member of Parliament, Sharon Hay-Webster, to the Central African Republic. The leadership of that country agreed that Aristide and his family could go to Jamaica. The Aristides were in the island for several months until the Jamaican government gained acceptance by the Republic of South Africa for the family to relocate there.
Aristide has accused the U.S. of deposing him.[5][61] According to Rep. Maxine Waters D-California, Mildred Aristide called her at her home at 6:30 am to inform her "the coup d'etat has been completed", and Jean-Bertrand Aristide said the US Embassy in Haiti's chief of staff came to his house to say he would be killed "and a lot of Haitians would be killed" if he refused to resign immediately and said he "has to go now."[5] Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York expressed similar words, saying Aristide had told him he was "disappointed that the international community had let him down" and "that he resigned under pressure" – "As a matter of fact, he was very apprehensive for his life. They made it clear that he had to go now or he would be killed."[5] When asked for his response to these statements Colin Powell said that "it might have been better for members of Congress who have heard these stories to ask us about the stories before going public with them so we don't make a difficult situation that much more difficult" and he alleged that Aristide "did not democratically govern or govern well".[5] CARICOM, an organization of Caribbean countries that included Haiti, called for a United Nations investigation into Aristide's removal, but were reportedly pressured by the US and France to drop their request. Some observers suggest the rebellion and removal of Aristide were covertly orchestrated by these two countries.[62][63] Jamaican Prime Minister P. J. Patterson released a statement saying "we are bound to question whether his resignation was truly voluntary, as it comes after the capture of sections of Haiti by armed insurgents and the failure of the international community to provide the requisite support. The removal of President Aristide in these circumstances sets a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere, as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office by the power of rebel forces."[5] In a 2006 interview, Aristide said the US went back on their word regarding compromises he made with them over privatization of enterprises to ensure that part of the profits would go to the Haitian people and then "relied on a disinformation campaign" to discredit him.[64]
After being cast into exile, in mid-2004 Aristide, his family, and bodyguards were welcomed to South Africa by several cabinet ministers, 20 senior diplomats, and a guard of honour.[65][66] Receiving a salary from and provided staff by the South African government,[67] Aristide lived with his family in a government villa in Pretoria.[68] In South Africa, Aristide became an honorary research fellow at the University of South Africa, learned Zulu, and on 25 April 2007, received a doctorate in African Languages.[69]
On 21 December 2007, a speech by Aristide marking the new year and Haiti's Independence Day was broadcast, the fourth such speech since his exile; in the speech he criticized the 2006 presidential election in which Préval was elected, describing it as a "selection," in which "the knife of treason was planted" in the back of the Haitian people.[70]
Since the election, some high ranking members of Lavalas have been targets for violence.[71][72] Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, a leading human rights organizer in Haiti and a member of Lavalas, disappeared in August 2007.[73] His whereabouts remain unknown and a news article states,"Like many protesters, Wilson Mesilien, coordinator of the pro-Aristide 30 September Foundation wore a T-shirt demanding the return of foundation leader Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, a human rights activist and critic of both UN and US involvement in Haiti."[74]
After René Préval, a former ally of Aristide, was elected president of Haiti in 2006, he said it would be possible for Aristide to return to Haiti.[75][76]
On 16 December 2009, several thousand protesters marched through Port-au-Prince calling for Aristide's return to Haiti, and protesting the exclusion of Aristide's populist Fanmi Lavalas party from upcoming elections.[77]
On 12 January 2010, Aristide sent his condolences to victims of the earthquake in Haiti just a few hours after it occurred, and stated that he wishes to return to help rebuild the country.[78][79]
On 7 November 2010, in an exclusive interview with independent reporter Nicolas Rossier in Eurasia Review and the Huffington Post, Aristide declared that the 2010 elections were not inclusive of his party Fanmi Lavalas and therefore not fair and free. He also confirmed his wishes to go back to Haiti but that he was not allowed to travel out of South Africa.[80]
In February 2011, Aristide announced "I will return to Haiti" within days of the ruling Haitian government removing impediments to him receiving his Haitian passport.[81] Since he was ousted by the US government in 2004, Aristide has said that he would return to the field of education.[82] This would mark the 2nd return of former political leaders, as former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returned to Haiti in January 2011[83] An anonymous government official told the Agence France-Presse news agency that the Haitian government had issued a passport for Aristide on 7 February, but his lawyer stated that they had not received the document, nor been informed of its issue by the government.[84]
On March 15, 2011, Aristide's Lavalas party stated in an interview that his return is due to both health reasons for needing warmer climate as well as to aid earthquake victims.[85]
On March 17, 2011, Aristide departed for Haiti from his exile in South Africa. U.S. President Barack Obama had asked South African President Jacob Zuma to delay Aristide's departure to prevent him from returning to Haiti before a presidential run-off election scheduled for Sunday. Aristide's party was barred from participating in the elections, and the U.S. fears his return could be "destabilizing".[86] On Friday, March 18, 2011, he arrived at Port-au-Prince airport, and was greeted by thousands of supporters.[87] He told the crowd waiting at the airport, "The exclusion of Fanmi Lavalas is the exclusion of the Haitian people. In 1804, the Haitian revolution marked the end of slavery. Today, may the Haitian people end exiles and coup d’états, while peacefully moving from social exclusion to inclusion."[6]
Under Aristide's leadership, his party implemented many major reforms. These included greatly increasing access to health care and education for the general population; increasing adult literacy and protections for those accused of crimes; improving training for judges, prohibiting human trafficking, disbanding the Haitian military (which primarily had been used against the Haitian people), establishing improved human rights and political freedom; doubling the minimum wage, instituting land reform and assistance to small farmers, providing boat construction training to fishermen, establishing a food distribution network to provide low cost food to the poor at below market prices, building low-cost housing, and attempting to reduce the level of government corruption.[88]
During successive Lavalas administrations, Jean Bertrand Aristide and Rene Preval built 195 new primary schools and 104 secondary schools. Prior to Aristide's election in 1990, there were just 34 secondary schools nationwide. Lavalas also provided thousands of scholarships so that children could afford to attend church/private schools. Between 2001 and 2004, the percentage of children enrolled in primary school education rose to 72%, and an estimated 300,000 adults took part in Lavalas sponsored adult literacy campaigns. This helped the adult literacy rate raise from 35% to 55%.[89]
In addition to numerous educational advances, Aristide and Lavalas embarked on an ambitious plan to develop the public primary health care system with Cuban assistance. Since the devastation unleashed by Hurriance George in 1998, Cuba entered a humanitarian agreement with Haiti whereby Haitian doctors would be trained in Cuba, and Cuban doctors would work in rural areas. At the time of the January 12th earthquake, 573 doctors had been trained in Cuba.[90]
Prior to the election of Aristide, health care services had been primarily concentrated in the capital of Port-au-Prince. The Aristide government renovated and built new health care clinics, hospitals and dispensaries throughout the country, spending more on health care than any previous government.[91] Despite operating under an aid embargo, the Lavalas administration succeeded in reducing the infant mortality rate as well as reducing the percentage of underweight newborns.[92] A successful AIDS prevention and treatment program was also established, leading the Catholic Institute for International Relations to state, the "incredible feat of slowing the rate of new infections in Haiti has been achieved despite the lack of international aid to the Haitian government, and despite the notable lack of resources faced by those working in the health field."[93]
The release of many documents through Wikileaks has provided a great deal of insight into how the international community (United States, Canada, France and Brazil) has regarded Aristide, his lasting influence, the coup, and his exile.
November 2004 Dominican President Leonel Fernandez gave a speech in front of other regional leaders in which he said Aristide commanded "great popular support" within Haiti and called for his inclusion in the country’s democratic future.[94]
January 2005 USA pressuring South Africa to hold Aristide, or face the loss of potential UN Security Council seat
"Bienvenu later offered to express our shared concerns in Pretoria, perhaps under the pretext that as a country desiring to secure a seat on the UN Security Council, South Africa could not afford to be involved in any way with the destabilization of another country....2 (S) Bienvenu speculated on exactly how Aristide might return, seeing a possible opportunity to hinder him in the logistics of reaching Haiti. If Aristide traveled commercially, Bienvenu reasoned, he would likely need to transit certain countries in order to reach Haiti. Bienvenu suggested a demarche to CARICOM countries by the U.S. and EU to warn them against facilitating any travel or other plans Aristide might have.... Both Bienvenu and Barbier confided that South African mercenaries could be heading towards Haiti, with Bienvenu revealing the GOF had documented evidence that 10 South African citizens had come to Paris and requested Dominican visas between February and the present."[95]
A June 2005 cable states: "the GOB (Government of Brazil) officials made clear continued Brazilian resolve to keep Aristide from returning to the country or exerting political influence"[96] "the GOB had been encouraged by recent South African Government commitments to Brazil that the GSA (Government of South Africa) would not allow Aristide to use his exile there to undertake political efforts"[96]
Fall of 2008: On Preval's fear Aristide would return to Haiti via Venezuela
President Rene Preval made reference to these rumors, telling the Ambassador that he did not want Aristide "anywhere in the hemisphere." Subsequent to that, he remarked that he is concerned that Aristide will accept the Chavez offer but deflected any discussion of whether Preval himself was prepared to raise the matter with Chavez.[97]
Human Rights Watch accused the Haitian police force under President Aristide and his political supporters of attacks on opposition rallies. They also said that the emergence of armed rebel groups seeking to overthrow Aristide reflected "the failure of the country's democratic institutions and procedures".[98]
Videos surfaced showing a portion of a speech by Aristide on 27 August 1991 where he says "Don't hesitate to give him what he deserves. What a beautiful tool! What a beautiful instrument! What a beautiful piece of equipment! It's beautiful, yes it's beautiful, it's cute, it's pretty, it has a good smell, wherever you go you want to inhale it."[99] Critics allege that he was endorsing the practice of "necklacing" opposition activists – placing a gasoline-soaked tire around a person's neck and setting the tire ablaze[100] – However, just earlier in the speech, and edited from the videos, he is quoted as saying "Your tool in hand, your instrument in hand, your constitution in hand! Don't hesitate to give him what he deserves. Your equipment in hand, your trowel in hand, your pencil in hand, your Constitution in hand, don't hesitate to give him what he deserves."[99] There is some suspicion that Aristide's speech was edited to make it sound as if he were advocating "necklacing" when he was actually urging his supporters not to use violence but to use the constitution and voting instead.[101]
Although there were accusations of human rights abuses, the OAS/UN International Civilian Mission in Haiti, known by the French acronym MICIVIH, found that the human rights situation in Haiti improved dramatically following Aristide's return to power in 1994.[102] Amnesty International reported that, after Aristide's departure in 2004, Haiti was "descending into a severe humanitarian and human rights crisis."[103]
Some officials have been indicted by a US court.[104] Companies that allegedly made deals with Aristide included IDT, Fusion Telecommunications, and Skytel; critics claim the two first companies had political links. AT&T reportedly declined to wire money to "Mont Salem".[105][106][107][108]
Aristide has published a number of books including an autobiography in 1993 and Nevrose vetero-testamentaire (1994) with excerpts of his masters and doctoral theses.
In 2000 Aristide published the book Eyes of the Heart: Seeking a Path for the Poor in the Age of Globalization that accused the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund of working on behalf of the world's wealthiest nations rather than in the interest of genuine international development. Aristide called for "a culture of global solidarity" to eliminate poverty as an alternative to the globalization represented by neocolonialism and neoliberalism.[109]
In 2005 the documentary Aristide and the Endless Revolution appeared. In the film Nicolas Rossier investigates the events leading up to the 2004 coup against Aristide.[110]
Government offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Ertha Pascal-Trouillot |
President of Haiti 1991 |
Succeeded by Raoul Cédras |
Preceded by Marc Bazin |
President of Haiti 1993–1994 |
Succeeded by Émile Jonassaint |
Preceded by Émile Jonassaint |
President of Haiti 1994–1996 |
Succeeded by René Préval |
Preceded by René Préval |
President of Haiti 2001–2004 |
Succeeded by Boniface Alexandre |
|
François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture | |
---|---|
Toussaint Louverture |
|
Born | c. 1743 Saint-Domingue |
Died | 7 April 1803 Fort-de-Joux |
Other names | Toussaint L'Ouverture, Toussaint l'Ouverture. Toussaint Breda |
Political movement | Haitian Revolution |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Signature | |
Military career | |
Allegiance | France Haiti |
Service/branch | Haitian Army |
Years of service | 1791–1803 |
Rank | General |
Battles/wars | Haitian Revolution |
François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture pronunciation (help·info), also Toussaint Bréda, Toussaint-Louverture (c. 1743 – April 7, 1803) was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free, self-governing people.[1] The success of the Haitian Revolution shook the institution of slavery throughout the New World.[2]
Toussaint Louverture began his military career as a leader of the 1791 slave rebellion in the French colony of Saint Domingue. Initially allied with the Spaniards of neighboring Santo Domingo, Toussaint switched allegiance to the French when they abolished slavery. He gradually established control over the whole island, expelled British invaders and used political and military tactics to gain dominance over his rivals. Throughout his years in power, he worked to improve the economy and security of Saint Domingue. He restored the plantation system using free labour, negotiated trade treaties with Britain and the United States and maintained a large and well-disciplined army.[3]
In 1801 he promulgated an autonomist constitution for the colony, with himself as governor for life. In 1802 he was forced to resign by forces sent by Napoleon Bonaparte to restore French authority in the colony. He was deported to France, where he died in 1803. The Haitian Revolution continued under his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared independence in 1804.[3]
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The earliest records of Toussaint's life come from a small number of his recorded remarks and the reminiscences of his son Isaac Louverture.[4] Most histories give Toussaint's father as Gaou Guinou, a younger son of the king of Arrada in modern-day Benin, who had been captured in war and sold into slavery. His mother, Pauline, was Gaou Guinou's second wife. The couple had several children, of whom Toussaint was the eldest son.[5] Some historians believe that his father was Pierre Baptiste, who is conventionally held to have been his godfather.[6]
Toussaint is thought to have been born on the plantation of Bréda at Haut de Cap in Saint-Domingue, owned by the Comte de Noé and later managed by Bayon de Libertat.[7] His date of birth is uncertain, but his name suggests he was born on All Saints Day, and he was about 50 at the start of the revolution in 1791.[8] In childhood, he earned the nickname Fatras Baton, suggesting he was small and weak, though he was to become known for his stamina and riding prowess.[9] An alternative explanation of Toussaint's origins is that he arrived at Bréda with Bayon de Libertat when the new overseer took up his duties in 1772.[10]
Toussaint is believed to have been well educated by his godfather, Pierre Baptiste. Historians have speculated as to Toussaint's intellectual background. His extant letters demonstrate a command of French in addition to Creole patois; he was familiar with Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher who had also lived as a slave; and his public speeches as well as his life's work, according to his biographers, evidence a familiarity with Machiavelli.[11] Some cite Abbé Raynal, who wrote against slavery, as a possible influence:[12]
He may also have attained some education from Jesuit missionaries. His medical knowledge is attributed to familiarity with African herbal-medical techniques as well those techniques commonly found in Jesuit-administered hospitals.[13] A few legal documents signed on Toussaint's behalf between 1778 and 1781 raise the possibility that he could not write at that time.[14] Throughout his military and political career, he made use of secretaries for most of his correspondence, but a few surviving documents in his own hand confirm that he could write, though his spelling in the French language was "strictly phonetic".[15]
In 1782, Toussaint married Suzanne Simone Baptiste Louverture, who is thought to have been his cousin or his godfather's daughter.[16] Towards the end of his life, he told General Cafarelli that he had fathered 16 children, of whom 11 had predeceased him.[citation needed] Not all his children can be identified for certain, but his three legitimate sons are well known.[citation needed] The eldest, Placide, was probably adopted by Toussaint and is generally thought to be Suzanne's first child with a mulatto, Seraphim Le Clerc.[citation needed] The two sons born of his marriage with Suzanne were Isaac and Saint-Jean.[17]
I was born a slave, but nature gave me the soul of a free man.[18]
Until recently, historians believed that Toussaint had been a slave until the start of the revolution.[19] The discovery of a marriage certificate dated 1777 shows that he was actually freed in 1776 at the age of 33, and this retrospectively clarified a letter of 1797 in which he said he had been free for twenty years.[20] It seems he still maintained an important role on the Breda plantation until the outbreak of the revolution, presumably as a salaried employee.[21] He had initially been responsible for the livestock,[22] but by 1791, his responsibilities most likely included acting as coachman to the overseer, de Libertat, and as a driver, charged with organising the work force.[23]
As a free man, Toussaint began to accumulate wealth and property of his own. Surviving legal documents show him briefly renting a small coffee plantation worked by a dozen slaves.[24] He would later say that by the start of the revolution, he had acquired a reasonable fortune, and was the owner of a number of properties at Ennery.[25]
Throughout his life, Toussaint was known as a devout Catholic.[26] Although Vodou was generally practiced on Saint-Domingue in combination with Catholicism, little is known for certain of Toussaint's connection with it, except that, as effective ruler of Saint-Domingue, his official policy was to discourage it.[27]
It has been suggested that he was a member of high degree of the Masonic Lodge of Saint-Domingue, mostly based on a Masonic symbol he used in his signature. The membership of several free blacks and white men close to him has been confirmed.[28]
Beginning in 1789, the French Revolution led to instability on Saint-Domingue, though initially the black population did not become involved in the conflict.[29] In August 1791, a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caiman marked the start of a major slave rebellion in the north. Toussaint apparently did not take part in the earliest stages of the rebellion, but after a few weeks he sent his family to safety in Spanish Santo Domingo and helped the overseers of the Breda plantation to leave the island. He joined the forces of Georges Biassou as doctor to the troops, commanding a small detachment.[30] Surviving documents show him participating in the leadership of the rebellion, discussing strategy, and negotiating with the Spanish supporters of the rebellion for supplies.[21]
In December 1791, he was involved in negotiations between rebel leaders and the French Governor, Blanchelande, for the release of their white prisoners and a return to work in exchange for a ban on the use of the whip, an extra non-working day per week, and freedom for a handful of leaders.[31] When the offer was rejected, he was instrumental in preventing the massacre of Biassou's white prisoners.[32] The prisoners were released after further negotiations with the French commissioners and taken to Le Cap by Toussaint. He hoped to use the occasion to present the rebellion's demands to the colonial assembly, but they refused to meet with him.[33]
Throughout 1792, Toussaint, as a leader in an increasingly formal alliance between the black rebellion and the Spanish, ran the fortified post of La Tannerie and maintained the Cordon de l'Ouest, a line of posts between rebel and colonial territory.[34] He gained a reputation for running an orderly camp, trained his men in guerrilla tactics and "the European style of war",[35] and began to attract soldiers who would play an important role throughout the revolution.[36] After hard fighting, he lost La Tannerie in January 1793 to the French general Étienne Maynaud Bizefranc de Lavaux, but it was in these battles that the French first recognized him as a significant military leader.[37]
Some time in 1792-3 Toussaint adopted the surname Louverture, from the French word for "opening". The most common explanation is that it refers to his ability to create openings in battle, and it is sometimes attributed to French commissioner Polverel's exclamation: "That man makes an opening everywhere". However, some writers think it was more prosaically due to a gap between his front teeth.[38]
Despite adhering to royalist political views, Toussaint had also begun to use the language of freedom and equality associated with the French revolution.[39] From being willing to bargain for better conditions of slavery late in 1791, he had become committed to its complete abolition.[40] On 29 August 1793 he made his famous declaration of Camp Turel to the blacks of St Domingue:
Brothers and friends, I am Toussaint Louverture; perhaps my name has made itself known to you. I have undertaken vengeance. I want Liberty and Equality to reign in St Domingue. I am working to make that happen. Unite yourselves to us, brothers, and fight with us for the same cause.
Your very humble and obedient servant, Toussaint Louverture,
General of the armies of the king, for the public good.[41]
On the same day, the beleaguered French commissioner, Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, proclaimed emancipation for all slaves in French Saint-Domingue,[42] hoping to bring the black troops over to his side.[43] Initially, this failed, perhaps because Toussaint and the other leaders knew that Sonthonax was exceeding his authority.[44] However, on 4 February 1794, the French revolutionary government proclaimed the abolition of slavery.[45] For months, Toussaint had been in diplomatic contact with the French general Étienne Maynaud Bizefranc de Lavaux. During this time, competition between himself and other rebel leaders was growing and the Spanish had started to look with disfavor on his near-autonomous control of a large and strategically important region.[46] In May 1794, when the decision of the French government became known in Saint-Domingue, he switched allegiance from the Spanish to the French and rallied his troops to Lavaux.[47]
Toussaint joined the French in early May 1794, raising the republican flag over the port of Gonaïves and provoking a mass exodus of refugees. In the first weeks he eradicated all Spanish supporters from the Cordon de l'Ouest, which he had held on their behalf.[48] He now faced attack from multiple sides. His former colleagues in the black rebellion were now fighting against him for the Spanish. As a French commander, he was under attack from the British troops who had landed on Saint-Domingue in September.[49] On the other hand, he was able to pool his 4000 men with Lavaux's troops in joint actions.[50] By now his officers included men who were to remain important throughout the revolution: his brother Paul, his nephew Moïse, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henry Christophe.[51]
Before long Toussaint had put an end to the Spanish threat to French Saint- Domingue. In any case, the Treaty of Basel of July 1795 marked a formal end to hostilities between the two countries. Even then, the black leaders, Jean-François and Biassou, continued to fight against Toussaint until November, when they left for Spain and Florida, respectively. At that point, most of their men joined Toussaint's forces.[52] Toussaint also made inroads against the British troops, but was unable to oust them from Saint-Marc, so he contained them and rendered them ineffective by returning to guerilla tactics.[53]
Throughout 1795 and 1796, Toussaint was also concerned with re-establishing agriculture and keeping the peace in areas under his control. In speeches and policy he revealed his belief that the long-term freedom of the people of Saint-Domingue depended on the economic viability of the colony.[54] He was held in general respect and resorted to a mixture of diplomacy and force to return the field hands to the plantations as emancipated and paid workers.[55] Nevertheless, there were regular small rebellions by workers protesting poor conditions, their lack of real freedom or fearing a return to slavery.[56]
Another of Toussaint's concerns was to manage potential rivals for power within the French part of the colony. The most serious of these involved the mulatto commander, Villate, based in Cap-Français. Toussaint and Villate had been in competition over the right to command some sections of troops and territory since 1794. By 1796 Villate was able to drum up popular support by accusing the French authorities of plotting a return to slavery. On March 20, he imprisoned Toussaint's friend and ally, the French Governor Lavaux and appointed himself Governor in his place. Toussaint's troops quickly fell on Cap-Français to deliver Lavaux and rout Villate. Toussaint famously opened the warehouses to the public, proving that they were empty of the chains supposedly imported to prepare for a return to slavery. The insurrection ended in a triumphal ceremony in which Toussaint and Lavaux asserted their partnership in power. Lavaux proclaimed Toussaint Lieutenant Governor, announcing at the same time that he would do nothing without his approval, to which Toussaint replied "After God, Lavaux".[57]
A few weeks after the triumph over the Villate insurrection France's representatives of the third commission arrived on Saint-Domingue. Among them was Sonthonax, the commissioner who had previously declared abolition on the same day as Toussaint's proclamation of Camp Turel.[58] At first the relationship between the two was positive. Sonthonax promoted Toussaint to general and arranged for his sons, Placide and Isaac, to attend the school that had been established in France for the children of colonials.[59]
In September 1796, elections were held to choose colonial representatives for the French national assembly. Toussaint's letters show that he encouraged Lavaux to stand, and historians have speculated as to whether he was seeking to place a firm supporter in France or to remove a rival in power.[60] Sonthonax was also elected, either at Toussaint's instigation or on his own initiative, but while Lavaux left Saint Domingue in October, Sonthonax remained.[61]
Sonthonax, a fervent revolutionary and fierce supporter of racial equality, soon rivalled Toussaint in popularity and although their goals were similar, there were several points of conflict.[62] The worst of these was over the return of the white planters who had fled Saint-Domingue at the start of the revolution. To Sonthonax, they were potential counter-revolutionaries, to be assimilated, officially or not, with the ‘émigrés’ who had fled the French revolution and were forbidden to return under pain of death. To Toussaint, they were bearers of useful skills and knowledge and he wanted them back.[63] In summer 1797, Toussaint authorised the return of Bayon de Libertat, the ex-overseer of Breda with whom he had a lifelong relationship. Sonthonax wrote to Toussaint threatening him with prosecution and ordering him to get Bayon off the territory. Toussaint then went over his head and wrote to the French Directoire directly for permission for Bayon to stay.[64] Only a few weeks later, he abruptly turned against Sonthonax and on 24 August 1797, he forcibly deported him from the island.[65]
There were in fact several reasons why Toussaint might want to get rid of Sonthonax, but the one he gave out officially was that Sonthonax had tried to involve him in a plot to make Saint-Domingue independent, starting with a massacre of the whites of the island.[66] The accusation played on Sonthonax's political radicalism and known hatred of the aristocratic white planters, but historians have varied as to how credible they consider it.[67] On reaching France, Sonthonax countered by accusing Toussaint of royalist, counter-revolutionary and pro-independence tendencies.[68] Toussaint knew that he had asserted his authority to such an extent that the French government might well suspect him of seeking independence.[69] At the same time, the French Directoire government was considerably less revolutionary than it had been, and suspicions began to brew that it might reconsider the abolition of slavery.[70] In November 1797, Toussaint wrote again to the Directoire, assuring them of his loyalty but reminding them firmly that abolition must be maintained.[71]
For several months, Toussaint found himself in sole command of French Saint-Domingue, except for a semi-autonomous state in the south, where the mulatto general, Andre Rigaud, had rejected the authority of the third commission.[72] Both generals continued attacking the British, whose position on Saint-Domingue was looking increasingly weak.[73] Toussaint was negotiating their withdrawal when France's latest commissioner, Gabriel Hédouville, arrived in March 1798, with orders to undermine his authority.[74]
On 30 April 1798, Toussaint signed a treaty with the British general, Thomas Maitland, exchanging the withdrawal of British troops from western Saint-Domingue for an amnesty for the French counter-revolutionaries in those areas. In May, Port-au-Prince was returned to French rule in an atmosphere of order and celebration.[75]
In July, Toussaint and Rigaud met commissioner Hédouville together. Hoping to create a rivalry that would diminish Toussaint's power, Hédouville displayed a strong preference for Rigaud, and an aversion for Toussaint[76] However, General Maitland was also playing on French rivalries and evaded the authority of Hédouville to deal with Toussaint directly.[77] In August, Toussaint and Maitland signed treaties for the evacuation of the remaining British troops. On 31 August, they signed a secret treaty which lifted the British blockade on Saint-Domingue in exchange for a promise that Toussaint would not export the black revolution to Jamaica.[78]
As Toussaint's relationship with Hédouville reached the breaking point, an uprising began among the troops of Toussaint's adopted nephew, Hyacinthe Moïse. Attempts by Hédouville to manage the situation made matters worse and Toussaint declined to help him. As the rebellion grew to a full-scale insurrection, Hedouville prepared to leave the island, while Toussaint and Dessalines threatened to arrest him as a troublemaker.[79] Hédouville sailed for France in October 1798, nominally transferring his authority to Rigaud. Toussaint decided instead to work with Phillipe Roume, a member of the third commission who had been posted to the Spanish parts of the colony.[80] Though he continued to protest his loyalty to the French government, he had expelled a second government representative from the territory and was about to negotiate another autonomous agreement with one of France's enemies.[81]
The United States had suspended trade with France in 1798 because of increasing conflict over piracy. The two countries were almost at war, but trade between Saint-Domingue and the United States was desirable to both Toussaint and the United States. With Hédouville gone, Toussaint sent Joseph Bunel to negotiate with the government of John Adams. The terms of the treaty were similar to those already established with the British, but Toussaint continually resisted suggestions from either power that he should declare independence.[82] As long as France maintained the abolition of slavery, it seems that he was content that the colony remain French, at least in name.[83]
In 1799, the tensions between Toussaint and André Rigaud came to a head. Toussaint accused Rigaud of trying to assassinate him to gain power over Saint Dominque for himself. Rigaud claimed Toussaint was conspiring with the British to restore slavery.[84] The conflict was complicated by racial overtones which escalated tension between blacks and mulattoes.[85] Toussaint had other political reasons for bringing down Rigaud. Only by controlling every port could he hope to prevent a landing of French troops if necessary.[86]
Toussaint persuaded Roume to declare Rigaud a traitor in July 1799 and attacked the southern state.[87] The civil war lasted over a year, with the defeated Rigaud fleeing to Guadeloupe, then France, in August 1800.[88] Toussaint delegated most of the campaign to his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who became infamous, during and after the war, for massacring mulatto captives and civilians.[89] The number of deaths is contested: James claims a few hundred deaths in contravention of the amnesty. The contemporary French general, Pamphile de Lacroix, suggested 10,000.[90]
In November 1799, during the civil war, Napoleon Bonaparte gained power in France and passed a new constitution declaring that the colonies would be subject to special laws.[91] Although the colonies suspected this meant the re-introduction of slavery, Napoleon began by confirming Toussaint's position and promising to maintain the abolition.[92] But he also forbade Toussaint to invade Spanish Santo Domingo, an action that would put Toussaint in a powerful defensive position.[93] Toussaint was determined to proceed anyway and coerced Roume into supplying the necessary permission.[94] In January 1801, Toussaint and Hyacinthe Moïse invaded the Spanish territory, taking possession from the Governor, Don Garcia, with few difficulties. The area had been wilder and less densely populated than the French section. Toussaint brought it under French law which abolished slavery, and embarked on a program of modernization. He was now master of the whole island.[95]
Napoleon had made it clear to the inhabitants of Saint-Domingue that France would draw up a new constitution for its colonies, in which they would be subjected to special laws.[96] Despite his initial protestations to the contrary, it seemed likely all along that he might restore slavery. In March 1801, Toussaint formed a constitutional assembly to draft a constitution for Saint-Domingue that would preempt these ‘special laws’.[97]
Toussaint promulgated the Constitution of 1801 on 7 July, officially establishing his authority over the entire island of Hispaniola and confirming most of his existing policies. It made him governor general for life with near absolute powers and the possibility of choosing his successor. Article 3 of the constitution states: "There cannot exist slaves [in Saint-Domingue], servitude is therein forever abolished. All men are born, live and die free and French."[98] The constitution guaranteed equal opportunity and equal treatment under the law for all races, but also confirmed Toussaint‘s policies of forced labour and the importation of workers through the slave trade.[99] Toussaint was willing to compromise the dominant Vodou faith for Catholicism. Article 6 clearly states that "the Catholic, Apostolic, Roman faith shall be the only publicly professed faith."[100]
Toussaint charged Colonel Vincent with the task of presenting the new constitution to Napoleon, even though Vincent himself was horrified to discover that the general had gone so far. Several aspects of the constitution were damaging to France: the absence of provision for French government officials, the lack of advantages to France in trade with its own colony, and Toussaint's breach of protocol in publishing the constitution before submitting it to the French government. Despite his disapproval, Vincent attempted to submit the constitution to Napoleon in a positive light, but was briefly exiled to Elba for his pains.[101]
Toussaint professed himself a Frenchman and strove to convince Bonaparte of his loyalty. He wrote to Napoleon but received no reply.[102] Napoleon eventually decided to send an expedition of 20,000 men to Saint-Domingue to restore French authority, and possibly to restore slavery as well.[103]
Napoleon's troops, under the command of his brother-in-law, General Charles Emmanuel Leclerc were to seize control of the island by diplomatic means, proclaiming peaceful intentions, and keeping secret his orders to deport all black officers.[104] Meanwhile, Toussaint was preparing for defence and insuring discipline. This may have contributed to a rebellion against forced labour led by his nephew and top general, Moïse, in October 1801. It was violently repressed with the result that when the French ships arrived not all of Saint-Domingue was automatically on Toussaint's side.[105] In late January 1802, while Leclerc sought permission to land at Cap-Français and Christophe held him off, the Vicomte deRochambeau suddenly attacked Fort-Liberté, effectively quashing the diplomatic option.[106]
Toussaint's plan in case of war was to burn the coastal cities and as much of the plains as possible, retreat with his troops into the inaccessible mountains and wait for fever to decimate the European troops.[107] The biggest impediment to this plan proved to be difficulty in internal communications. Christophe burned Cap-Français and retreated, but Paul Louverture was tricked by a false letter into allowing the French to occupy Santo Domingo, other officiers believed Napoleon's diplomatic proclamation, while some attempted resistance instead of burning and retreating.[108] French reports to Napoleon show that in the months of fighting that followed, the French felt their position was weak, but that Toussaint and his generals were not fully conscious of their strength.[109]
With both sides shocked by the violence of the initial fighting, Leclerc tried belatedly to revert to the diplomatic solution. Toussaint's sons and their tutor had accompanied the expedition with this end in mind and were now sent to present Napoleon's proclamation to Toussaint.[110] When these talks broke down, months of inconclusive fighting followed. On 6 May 1802, Toussaint rode into Cap-Français to treat with Leclerc. He negotiated an amnesty for all his remaining generals, then retired with full honors to his plantations at Ennery.[111]
Leclerc originally asked Dessalines to arrest Louverture, but he declined. The task then fell to Jean Baptiste Brunet. However accounts differ as to how he accomplished this. One account has it that Brunet pretended that he planned to settle in Saint-Domingue and was asking Toussaint's advice about plantation management. Louverture's memoirs however suggest that Brunet's troops had been provocative, leading Louverture to seek a discussion with him. Either way, Louverture had a letter in which Brunet described himself as a "sincere friend" to take with him to France. Embarrassed about his trickery, Brunet absented himself during the arrest.[112] He deported them to France on a warship, claiming that he suspected the former leader of plotting an uprising. It was during this crossing that Toussaint Louverture famously warned his captors that the rebels would not repeat his mistake:
In overthrowing me you have cut down in Saint Domingue only the trunk of the tree of liberty; it will spring up again from the roots, for they are many and they are deep.[113]
They reached France on 2 July 1802 and, on 25 August, Toussaint Louverture was sent to the jail in Fort-de-Joux in the Doubs. While in prison, he died on the seventh of April, 1803.{100} In his absence, Jean-Jacques Dessalines led the Haitian rebellion until its completion, finally defeating the French forces in 1803.
On August 29, 1954, the Haitian ambassador to France, Léon Thébaud, inaugurated a stone cross memorial for Toussaint Louverture at the foot of the fort. Years afterward, the French government ceremoniously presented a shovelful of soil from the grounds of Fort-de-Joux to the Haitian government as a symbolic transfer of Toussaint Louverture's remains. An inscription in his memory, installed in 1998, can be found on the wall of the Panthéon in Paris, inscribed with the following description:
Combattant de la liberté, artisan de l'abolition de l'esclavage, héros haïtien mort déporté au Fort-de-Joux en 1803.
(Combatant for liberty, artisan of the abolition of slavery, Haitian hero died in deportation at Fort-de-Joux in 1803.)
The inscription is opposite a wall inscription, also installed in 1998, honoring Louis Delgrès, a mulatto military leader who died leading the resistance against Napoleonic reoccupation and re-institution of slavery in Guadeloupe; the location of Delgrès' body is also a mystery. Both inscriptions are located near the coffins of Jean Jaurès, Félix Éboué, Marc Schoelcher and Victor Schoelcher.
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