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Harms The Discovery of Haiti Had Caused
Teledjol.com - Saturday September 10, 2011
The Discovery of Haiti caused more harm that it caused good to Haitians
If the explorations and voyages of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic Ocean led to a general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere; they did not do so for Haiti because all Christopher Columbus and his people did was stealing, raping, and destroying a race that opened their arms to embrace them. They forced them to work the lands; a system to which they were not accustomed. To manifest their discontentment toward the slavery system, the Indians insurrected by all means that were available to them. However, not habituated to fighting and working, they were killed by the fusils and smashed by the horses of the Spaniards. When Christopher Columbus arrived in Haiti from Cuba in 1492, there were 250.000 Indians on the island, 38 years later, in 1530, less than 50.000 were left. In their greed to grow their national imperialism, maintain a competitive edge on the global economy, and to replace the destroyed Indian workforce; they turned to Africa to start the “triangular traffic” commonly referred as “Commerce du Bois d’Ebène” or “Commerce of the Ebony Tree” through which they lied to many African kings, promising them gold and foreign clothing in exchange for strong Africans, who they (Spaniards) said would be treated in all fairness. They (African kings) were not told their brothers and sisters would be deprived from their free will and they would be abused from the time they would board ‘Le Negrier” until they would arrive to Santo Domingo where they would be attached to lands and habitations. From being free to slaves, in then Santo Domingo, these African men were treated like animals and African women served as maids, servants, and more importantly, they were raped, sexually abused, or forced to sleep with their master or with anybody with whom their master wanted them to sleep. In accordance with the provisions of the article 44 of the Code Noir of 1865; they were considered as “things” that can be traded, bid on, sold, killed at will, or given as gifts. Blood were shed, women lost their virginity, hopes were lost, dreams were shattered, and culture was swiped away in the name of an exploration that only served the queen of Spain, Europe, and Christopher Columbus himself. Every year, on the 5th Day of the month of December; Haiti celebrates the “Discovery of Haiti,” which many agree is an aberration to those who inhabited the land of Haiti before us. Haitians pay tribute and respect to Spaniards who set foot in Haiti to eliminate an entire race and to oblige them to reject their root and their culture in order to adopt a religion, to which they were unfamiliar. We venerate those who bought our fathers and mothers for a pittance from Africa, transported them to Santo Domingo under many human rights violations, and bullied them to be farmers and whores. We honor those who stole our women, treating them like garbage and even killing them if they dared telling their husband the master got them pregnant. Christopher Columbus did not discover Haiti; he set foot to kill, rape, steal, dominate, and start slavery around the world. He should have no place in Haitian history for he is at the root of Haiti current economical status. He is the reason that land was colonized, occupied, and under the oppression of grand powers like Spain, England, France, the United States of America. Celebrating the “Discovery of Haiti” and teaching our students to remember verbatim the names of those who harassed and tormented our ancestors for over 500 years; it is like telling them that Anacaona, Guacanagaric, Bohechio, Caonabo, and Guarionex died for nothing and that the noble sacrifices of Boukman, Mackandal, Toussaint, Capois, Dessalines, etc were in vain. There would have been no Haitian revolution should the Indians have decided to go down with any fight. They did fight to regain the freedom they had lost. Without their sacrifices, there would have been no Bois-Caïman on 14 August 1791, there would have been no slave revolution, there would have no Battle of Vertieres on 18 November 1803, there would have been no Haitian Day of Independence on January 1, 1804, and today, there would have been no Haiti. Were not the so called “Discovery of Haiti’ by the uncompassionate Christopher Columbus, today Haiti would not have been in such precarious and disastrous situations. Bobb Q Rousseau
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