Like a lot of predominately black countries, Haitians were slaves, then they revolted, gained their independence, and are here today working to meet the standards set by other well off countries. But actually, Haiti is not exactly like other black countries. Haiti was the first country to abolish slavery and gain their independence.
Hispaniola is a part of the Caribbean island group known as the Greater Antilles. The island is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic was occupied by Spain and Haiti was occupied by France since the early 1600s. It wasn’t until the late 1700s – early 1800s that Haiti broke free and became independent with the Dominican Republic following some time after.
The revolution all started when a slave named Toussaint-Louverture led a group of rebels to fight in a slave revolt that broke out in 1791. Toussaint constructed a guerrilla war against the colonial population. By 1795, the Haitian slaves made peace with Revolutionary France. Soon after, Toussaint became the General-Govenor of the colony eventually conquering the Dominican Republic and freeing the slaves. All was good and smooth until, Napoleon ordered an invasion on the island. Toussaint had no other choice but to ceasefire after months of fighting. They eventually arrested him and he died in prison due to torture. Napoleon took this as an opportunity to bring slavery back but Toussaint’s righthand Jacquees Dessalines organized another revolt. With the help of the British, the Haitian rebels beat the colonial forces in November of 1803. On January 1st, 1804, Haiti declared its independence and was now a free country.
Since then, Haitians have celebrated Independence Day on January 1st every year. During this sacred holiday, Haitians all around the world celebrate by spending time with family and friends while eating soup joumou. What is soup joumou you may be asking? Soup joumou is a pumpkin soup with mixed vegetables and chicken in it. You may also be asking why we eat that specific soup? Well,… according to what I learned growing up, when Haitian were slaves, slave owners would eat soup joumou all the time. But were the slaves allowed to eat it? Nope. They did not meet the standards to eat this precious soup. They weren’t good enough to eat the same thing the slave owners were eating. Well,when we gained out independence, we ate that dang soup. We ate soup joumou so they knew we were and still are just as good as them. We did meet their standards. And with time and repetition, it became a tradition. I am not mad at all though. Soup Joumou is really good.
Not many countries have such a unique story to how they got to where that are today. Haiti set the precedent for other countries inspiring them to fight for their own independence. I am very proud and honored to say that I am Haitian. Growing up in a Haitian environment was interesting to say the least so I am excited to share how I, as an individual, got to where I am today. Stay tune for more posts!
Like always: Like, Comment, and Subscribe! Orevwa!
-Kaitlin
(Soup Joumou)
(Parade Celebrating Haitian Independence Day)
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/haitian-independence-proclaimed
Hey Kaitlin,
I think the Joumou soup that is the meal for their Indepence day is something that is so unique and interesting about the Haitian culture that I had no idea existed. Do you eat this soup on January 1st with your family? Also, is there something that made this soup a delicacy to the point where the slaves were not fed it, or was it just to show a power differential? Also, I would love to see a picture of what Hati looks like on their Independence day.
Thanks for the awesome information!
Arwa Hararwala
I am so happy you chose this topic and I am so excited to learn more about your Haitian background and Haiti in general! I like how your first post included some history on Haiti so now I feel like in future posts I will understand the Haitian culture better.
I really enjoyed reading this post. It was interesting learning about the independence of Haiti and the Soup Joumou. And like you said, Haiti truly does have a unique story. I am excited to read more and glad you chose this topic!