Where, why and how?

The world we live in today, with its advances in technology and knowledge is empowering us as young people and the future leaders of mankind to open our eyes and remove the misconceptions and misunderstandings of the past and I believe it is our duty to do the best at this.
Two of the examples I would like to illustrate how sometimes in the history of the world so far things have been skewed or covered up and if we take the time to explore and have a good appreciation for the signifcance of these types of issues it can help us to make better decisions.

The first was recently, I visited a Christmas market at the Kalmar Castle here in Sweden and all over the market there were products being sold which touted the key ingredient which seems to be popular at christmas here called - Spanish Saffron. Of course, I was a bit interested by this because I do not know the history of saffron, the spice, very well but I do know a bit about history and that fact that South Asia was known as the origin of many of the spices we use today. So I did a bit of research and found that saffron did originate in South Asia. According to Wikipedia "The history of saffron cultivation and usage reaches back more than 3,000 years and spans many cultures, continents, and civilisations. Saffron, a spice derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), has remained among the world's most costly substances throughout history. With its bitter taste, hay-like fragrance, and slight metallic notes, saffron has been used as a seasoning, fragrance, dye, and medicine. Saffron is native to Southwest Asia but was first cultivated in Greece." I also asked a Spanish classmate of mine if it is known as Spanish saffron in Spain and she said no. How odd then that the Swedish would call it Spanish saffron. It gives us some indication of how history and names can be so easily skewed and minterpreted. So I was not satisfied with this explanation and did some more research and found some really interesting facts about the origin of this name. We all know that the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) were for many years under the rule and signifcant influence of Arabs(Moors as they are sometimes known) and they are attributed for bringing the spice and methods for its cultivation from another country which is was part of the Arab Empire at the time and is still a significant producer of saffron - Iran. It is also interesting to note according to Saffronspecialist.co.uk that "Today Spain is the biggest exporter of saffron in the world. Though they only produce about 4 tons each year, or 2% of the global production - down from 80 tons in the 1930's. Spain is the world's largest exporter, because, along with selling its own saffron, it imports saffron from Iran, Greece and Morocco, to supply its internal and the international market." So basically the spice, saffron is being called Spanish saffron when its neither its origin nor domininat source today is Spain - really interesting development and use of labels. Can this happen with other things and commodities as well like culture, ideas and technology?

The instance of history being subverted is with regards to the Haitian Revolution. What is this? Many have not heard about it and may not recognise the signficance it has for many and most of the African descendants of slaves in the western hemisphere - Many of the citizens of the Americas today.

The Haitian Revolution cannot be discussed in short terms but I will try my best to put a summary of the events here. The Western Hemisphere became officially connected to Europe, Africa and Asia in the 15th century with the voyages of Europeans like Christopher Columbus, re-discoveries of territories and colonization. The settlements and claiming of these terriorities by now developing Europe was significant for many reasons but mainly because the natural resources found and cultured here would fuel the development and be the base of many thinks considered European today. In order for the economies of this bout of colonisation to work a cheap or in this case free source of labour was needed and so the roots of many social problems today and the biggest atrocity and genocide the world has ever seen began - African slavery.

No Western European nation can say that they were opposed to this as most from the UK to the the Netherlands was involved in practices and trade involving and based on slavery and even those countries who may not have had colonies like Germany etc. benefitted and gained indirectly from one or more elements of subindustries based on these colonies and slavery. It may sound harsh but the wealth and development of the developed countries in our world today was based on an unethical, inhumane practice and ideas and has physcially, culturally, socially and psychologically scarred generations of humans, even today.

One of the biggest colonial powers at the time was France. France through a series of negotiations and maneuvers had managed to wrest about half of the island of Hispaniola (the other half is now called the Dominican Republic), the second largest island in the Caribbean and named the colony St. Domingue, the French complementor to the Spanish side which was called Santo Domingo. This colony was reknowned to be the 'Pearl of the Antilles' because of the immense wealth generated from the numerous sugar plantations on the island. It was also notoriously known for the vicious and cruel slavery practices for the over 500,000 slaves on the island.

Bacchus And Ariadne By Kimathi Donkor

So what caused the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)?

1. The terrible cruelties, high mortality rate and practice of slavery to a fierce group of slaves who outnumbered the Europeans, managed to retain their cultural and religious practices and organise

2.The divisions and problems between between the European colonists, the gens de couleur a group of free people who were mixed race (African and European mostly) and the African slaves

3. The recent events of the French Revolution in 1789 which promoted the ideas of Fraternitie, Liberte et Egalite which the slaves felt should apply to them also

4. Much more.... it was a complex time when all of Europe was trying to get their hands on as many resources as possible in the New World

So what happened? It was the most successful slave rebellion in the New World with it starting at a religious ceremony and spreading from plantation to plantation until most of the European colonists were either dead (as it was a very bloody war) or left the island. Napoleon sent troops several times to quell the rebellion but each time they failed due to many factors including malaria. This faliure of the French to regain Haiti has a significant connection with the United States because this led to Napoleon's decision to sell the United States New Orleans and the entire middle of the United States then known as Louisiana - allowing expansion westwards. I even found some interesting information about Polish and German soldiers being sent to Haiti to fight in the War and some settling there afterwards and being allowed to own land (even though no Europeans were allowed to) to in the Haitian Constitution at the time. Some other interesting facts - La Citadelle is considered one of the eight wonders of the world. Built by Henri Christophe, it is the largest fortress in the Carribean. It was built to defend the northern part of the island from European invasion. This mammoth structure has walls measuring 46 feet thick and is large enough to hold 10,000 people; it was constructed over the course of 15 years.( see picture below)

Following the rebellion and successful expulsion of the French. Haiti was chosen as the name for the country and is the original name used by the Native Indian tries that inhabited the island, meaning "land of many hills". It was the first Black Republic in the world and a shining beacon for slaves in the western hemisphere. Because of this it was viewed as a threat, preposterous and therefore should be punished for its insubordination. Haiti's punishment? Embargoes from the USA and many European slave holding nations like France and Spain, isolation from many of its neighbours like Venezuela, all of which had paralyzed the nation's healthy development up to this day.

Haiti celebreated its bicentennial of the revolution in 2004, a signifcant moment for the Caribbean region as a whole as it symbolises pride, power, respect and the ancestors who gave their lives and were strong enough to fight for their human rights. We should never forget names like Toussaint L'Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe and more.

So why is Haiti one of the world's poorest countries today? Could revenge and damaged ethnocentric pride have anything to with it? No wonder according to BBC late in 2005 an article reported, "The law, which was quietly passed earlier this year by the conservative-controlled parliament, requires history textbooks to show the "positive role" France played in its former colonies. The law has prompted protests in Martinique and Guadeloupe, former colonies now departments of France." I wonder what would motivate them to pass such a law....look above and below

Revenge Taken by the Black Army." Engraving by J. Barlow from the Marcus Rainsford's An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti, 1805.

For some more views look at the following:
C. L. R. James, The Black Jacobins (1938, 2d ed. 1963)

You can see a song in commemoration of the Revolution by the Welfare Poets here
An interesting short clip on Haiti for some sights and sounds of the island here