A Look Back At History

After the battle of Vertières, Dessalines has declared Haiti's independence on January 1, 1804. After winning the Independence war, Dessalines met with the heroic leaders and called upon Boirond-Tonnerre to write the Declaration of Independence of the newly Republic, which was then changed from French Saint-Domingue to Haiti. A few lines of Haiti's Declaration of Independence by Boiron Tonnerre follow: “In order to write the Declaration of our Independence, we ought to have the skin of a White man (Frenchman) for parchment, his skull for inkstand, his blood for ink and a bayonet for pen”. Dessalines was then chosen by a council of generals (blacks and mulattos) to assume the office of Governor-General. Nine months later, he proclaimed himself Emperor Jacques 1er in September 1804 and ruled Haiti until his assassination on October 17, 1806.

Even after being devastated by wars, yet Haiti was the biggest and richest crop growing country in the world. This country was not always the poorest and the most ignored of the Western Hemisphere. Historian who studied Haiti would proudly argue that it was the fastest economy growing Caribbean Country of the 19th century and a nation full of pride. Today, Haiti is sadly begging to retain its sovereignty.