Haiti massacre, 1804
1804 CE
The 1804 Haiti massacre is carried out against the remaining white population of native French people and French Creoles (or Franco-Haitians) in Haiti by Haitian soldiers under orders from Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who has decreed that all suspected of conspiring in the acts of the expelled army should be put to death.
Throughout the nineteenth century, these events are well known in the United States, where they are called "the horrors of St. Domingo" and they polarize Southern public opinion on the question of the abolition of slavery.
The massacre, which takes place throughout Haiti, occurs from early January 1804 until April 22, 1804, and results in the death of three thousand to five thousand men, women, and children.
Squads of soldiers move from house to house, torturing and killing entire families.
Even whites who have been friendly and sympathetic to the black population are imprisoned and later killed.
A second wave of massacres targets white women and children.
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The French colony of St. Domingue has won independence from France, in history's only successful slave revolt, to become the world's first black republic.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims Saint-Domingue to be the second independent state in the Americas, under the name of Haiti, on January 1, 1804, and is first made governor general for life before (on October 6, 1804) being crowned emperor as Jacques I.
He massacres the last French colonists left on the western third of Hispaniola in the 1804 Haiti Massacre and follows a "caporalisme agraire" or serfdom system that does not include slavery per se but is still aimed at maintaining sugar industry profits by force.
Dessalines is eager to assure the world that Haiti is not a threat to other nations and that it seeks to establish friendly relations also to nations where slavery was still allowed.
Many European powers and their Caribbean surrogates ostracize Haiti, fearing the spread of slave revolts, whereas reaction in the United States is mixed, as slave-owning states do all they could to suppress news of the rebellion, but merchants in the free states hope to trade with Haiti rather than with European powers.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims Saint-Domingue to be the second independent state in the Americas, under the name of Haiti, on January 1, 1804, and is first made governor general for life before (on October 6, 1804) being crowned emperor as Jacques I.
He massacres the last French colonists left on the western third of Hispaniola in the 1804 Haiti Massacre and follows a "caporalisme agraire" or serfdom system that does not include slavery per se but is still aimed at maintaining sugar industry profits by force.
Dessalines is eager to assure the world that Haiti is not a threat to other nations and that it seeks to establish friendly relations also to nations where slavery was still allowed.
Many European powers and their Caribbean surrogates ostracize Haiti, fearing the spread of slave revolts, whereas reaction in the United States is mixed, as slave-owning states do all they could to suppress news of the rebellion, but merchants in the free states hope to trade with Haiti rather than with European powers.
Dessalines tries hard to keep the sugar industry and plantations running and producing without slavery.
Born into slavery and having worked under white masters for thirty years, as well as having seen many atrocities by all peoples, Dessalines does not trust the white French people.
On February 22, 1804, Dessalines gives the order to all cities on Haiti that all white men should be put to death.
The weapons used should be silent weapons such as knives and bayonets rather than gunfire, so that the killing could be done more quietly, and avoid warning intended victims by the sound of gunfire and thereby giving them the opportunity to escape.
Born into slavery and having worked under white masters for thirty years, as well as having seen many atrocities by all peoples, Dessalines does not trust the white French people.
On February 22, 1804, Dessalines gives the order to all cities on Haiti that all white men should be put to death.
The weapons used should be silent weapons such as knives and bayonets rather than gunfire, so that the killing could be done more quietly, and avoid warning intended victims by the sound of gunfire and thereby giving them the opportunity to escape.
Dessalines travels among the cities of Haiti during February and March to assure himself that his orders are carried out.
Despite his orders, the massacres are often not carried out until he actually visits the cities himself.
The course of the massacre shows an almost identical pattern in every city he visits.
Before his arrival in a given city, there had been only a few killings, despite his orders.
When Dessalines arrives, he first speaks about the atrocities committed by former white authorities, such as Rochambeau and Leclerc, after which he demands that his orders about mass killings of the area's white population should be put in effect.
Reportedly, he orders the unwilling to also take part in the killings, especially men of mixed race, so that the blame should not be placed solely on the black population.
Mass killings then take place on the streets and on places outside the cities.
In parallel to the killings, plundering and rape also occurr.
Women and children are generally killed last.
White women are often raped or pushed into forced marriages under threat of death.
Dessalines has not specifically mentioned that the white women should be killed, and the soldiers are reportedly somewhat hesitant to do so.
In the end, however, they are also put to death, though normally at a later stage of the massacre than the adult males.
The argument for killing the women is that whites will not truly be eradicated if the white women are spared to give birth to new Frenchmen.
Before his departure from a given city, Dessalines proclaims an amnesty for all the whites who had survived in hiding during the massacre.
When these people leave their hiding place, however, they are killed as well.
Many whites are, however, hidden and smuggled out to sea by foreigners.
Despite his orders, the massacres are often not carried out until he actually visits the cities himself.
The course of the massacre shows an almost identical pattern in every city he visits.
Before his arrival in a given city, there had been only a few killings, despite his orders.
When Dessalines arrives, he first speaks about the atrocities committed by former white authorities, such as Rochambeau and Leclerc, after which he demands that his orders about mass killings of the area's white population should be put in effect.
Reportedly, he orders the unwilling to also take part in the killings, especially men of mixed race, so that the blame should not be placed solely on the black population.
Mass killings then take place on the streets and on places outside the cities.
In parallel to the killings, plundering and rape also occurr.
Women and children are generally killed last.
White women are often raped or pushed into forced marriages under threat of death.
Dessalines has not specifically mentioned that the white women should be killed, and the soldiers are reportedly somewhat hesitant to do so.
In the end, however, they are also put to death, though normally at a later stage of the massacre than the adult males.
The argument for killing the women is that whites will not truly be eradicated if the white women are spared to give birth to new Frenchmen.
Before his departure from a given city, Dessalines proclaims an amnesty for all the whites who had survived in hiding during the massacre.
When these people leave their hiding place, however, they are killed as well.
Many whites are, however, hidden and smuggled out to sea by foreigners.
Only a few killings have occurred in the city of Port-au-Prince, despite the orders, but on the arrival of Dessalines on March 28, the killings escalate.
According to a British captain, about eight hundred people are killed in the city, while about fifty survive.
According to a British captain, about eight hundred people are killed in the city, while about fifty survive.
Dessalines does not try to hide the massacre from the world.
In an official proclamation of April 8, 1804, he states, "We have given these true cannibals war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage. Yes, I have saved my country, I have avenged America."
He refers to the massacre as an act of national authority.
Dessalines regards the elimination of the white Haitians an act of political necessity, as they are regarded as a threat to the peace between the blacks and the mulattoes.
It is also regarded as a necessary act of vengeance.
In an official proclamation of April 8, 1804, he states, "We have given these true cannibals war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage. Yes, I have saved my country, I have avenged America."
He refers to the massacre as an act of national authority.
Dessalines regards the elimination of the white Haitians an act of political necessity, as they are regarded as a threat to the peace between the blacks and the mulattoes.
It is also regarded as a necessary act of vengeance.
Dessalines arrives at Cap-Haïtien on April 18, 1804.
Only a handful of killings had taken place there before his arrival, but the killings escalate to a massacre on the streets and outside the city after his arrival.
Only a handful of killings had taken place there before his arrival, but the killings escalate to a massacre on the streets and outside the city after his arrival.
Some three thousand to five thousand people have been killed in Haiti by the end of April 1804, and the white Haitians have been practically eradicated.
Only three categories of white people, except foreigners, have been selected as exceptions and spared: the Polish soldiers who had deserted from the French army; the small group of German colonists invited to the north-west region before the revolution; and a group of medical doctors and professionals.
Reportedly, also people with connections to officers in the Haitian army have been spared, as well as the women who had agreed to marry non-white men.
Only three categories of white people, except foreigners, have been selected as exceptions and spared: the Polish soldiers who had deserted from the French army; the small group of German colonists invited to the north-west region before the revolution; and a group of medical doctors and professionals.
Reportedly, also people with connections to officers in the Haitian army have been spared, as well as the women who had agreed to marry non-white men.