CD Review no. 47 | All CD Reviews

This Chronique does not have anything to do with Haitian music or Haitian musicians, nevertheless it is all Haitian. I am referring to the eagerly awaited Volume 4 of Jean Julien's "Istwa Peyi Dayiti" (History of Haiti). It covers the years 1807-1860 and for those of you who understand Haitian Kreyòl, this is a real treat, just like Volumes 1-3.

The CD is divided into 14 chapters. We hear about Pétion, Rigaud, Goman, Pétion's role in assisting Bolivar and Miranda engaged in the liberation war of Latin America, Soulouque and his "Zinglins", Boyer's administration, the different forays into the Dominican Republic, Boyer's occupation of that country, and so on. It is never easy to talk history and it is even more difficult to be able to include so many historical facts in such a concise manner. This shows the sense of organization of Mr. Julien.

Historical anecdotes abound, such as Christophe, having suffered a stroke and partially paralyzed, had his servant prepared at 3 a.m. a warm bath in a big barrel with rum, vinegar and other perfumes, thinking that he would be strong enough to get on his horse; or Boyer's treatment of Emperor Christophe's family. We learn how his wife and daughters went first to England and then to Italy. All this makes fascinating history. Obviously, Mr. Julien did his homework. The delivery is crisp and you can hear how Mr. Julien feels at ease reciting. He becomes also more and more animated as he reads, totally immersed in his work and trying to communicate the excitement to his audience. For, it is indeed exciting to listen to this rich and so complicated history of Haiti.

It is fascinating to hear again of the period of the "presidents de doublure" or "puppet presidents". As Mr. Julien said, it was a cynical game being played by our elite at the expense of the country and its people.

From a totally personal standpoint, I wish however that Mr. Julien had dedicated somewhat more time to the Soulouque régime, because he can be considered the closest model preceding Duvalier. There are so many parallels between the two!: Soulouque had his Zinglins, Duvaliers had his Tonton Macoutes. Both were considered "safe" by the political elite until they proved to be most devastating to that class. Both decimated the mulatto elite. Soulouque had many mulattoes assassinated in the Southern city of Jérémie. Duvalier had many mulattoes assassinated in Jérémie en 1963 (The Vespers of Jérémie). Soulouque believed in Voodoo and used it for political purposes. So did Duvalier. Soulouque made himself Emperor following what he said was a revelation. Duvalier proclaimed himself President for life, and so on. The only area of difference between the two was in foreign affairs. It is rather paradoxical to note that Soulouque the tyrant knew how to surround himself with quite competent diplomats whose task was understandably difficult. His ambassadors were very astute negotiators who held their own. Duvalier, much more intelligent than Soulouque, did not particularly care about diplomacy, as many of his diplomatic representatives were incompetent, totally corrupt or incapable of taking any initiative. On the other hand, I understand it is not possible to include every single fact in the CD, so I appreciate the limitations that Mr. Julien must have felt trying to cram so much on a CD. That is why he is to be commended for his work, because, believe me, there is a lot to learn .

So once more, hats off to Mr. Julien for Volume 4 of his series! I am looking forward to Volume 5. I sure hope that the first 4 volumes have reached Haiti and Haitian communities all over the world. If not, there is a case for the word of mouth (Teledyòl) to be activated, for this is a valuable enterprise. So go get your copy, the price is very much accessible!

Serge Bellegarde