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Last Updated: Oct 24th, 2006 - 17:24:11 |
The arrival of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in South Africa two years ago was preceded by vibrant domestic debate inside South Africa. The underlying question was
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| In addition to his appointments as the Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities,Professor in Political Science,African Studies,Philosophy,Interpretation and Culture and the Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies (IGCS), Dr. Mazrui also holds three concurrent faculty appointments as Albert Luthuli Professor-at-Large in the Humanities and Development Studies at the University of Jos in Nigeria. |
whether or not the ousted Haitian leader was worthy of the resources that the South African Government would commit for his safety and upkeep.
In the acrimony, adequate attention was not paid to the fact that, historically, Aristide is a significant symbolic figure for South Africa and the world at large.
The Haitian Revolution was a history-making event, not only because of what it did for Haiti, but especially because of its impact on world history. Haiti today is only marginally better off than it was 200 years ago. So was the revolution worth it? Are there lessons to be learned for South Africa specifically and Africa generally?
In its broad ramifications, the Haitian Revolution was indeed worth it. William Pitt's decision in England to abolish the slave trade in 1807 was probably partly influenced by the events in Haiti and their significance for Britain's imperial rivalry with France. The use of the British navy to enforce the ban on slave trade on the high seas was partly motivated by a British desire to weaken France in its economic and colonial ambitions.
Led by Toussaint L' Overture, the Haitian Revolution also dealt a major blow to Napoleon's dream to build an Atlantic empire for France. As a result of the Haitian rebellion, Napoleon decided to concentrate on his ambitions in Europe. He sold large tracts of land in North America to finance his European adventures.
In the midst of the Haitian Revolution, France decided to sell Louisiana. The Louisiana Purchase by the US was finalised in 1803. The purchase contributed to the United States' notion of Manifest Destiny, expansion not only in itself but also facilitating further American expansion to Texas and then westwards.
Both the French Revolution of 1789 and the Haitian Revolution thereafter fuelled slave revolts widely. More than 20 slave revolts in the Greater Caribbean flared up between 1789 and 1832. Particularly notable were the large-scale rebellions in Barbados in 1816, Demerare in 1823 and Jamaica in 1831. Those three, plus Haiti, were the largest slave uprisings in the history of the Americas.
French temptations to re-colonise Haiti probably prompted President James Monroe's decision to issue the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which postulated that the entire New World and Latin America were a US sphere of influence barred from European powers. In reality, both the British and the Americans were more worried about any attempt by Spain to re-colonise its former Empire in the Americas, and any new Spanish attempt to inherit Haiti.
The Haitian Revolution also had an impact on the debate about slavery in the United States. Racist opinion there felt vindicated in their opposition to emancipation of 'troublesome' Blacks. On the other hand, American abolitionists regarded the Haitian revolution as a warning about the risks of continuing with slavery.
Sometimes a country produces something that changes global history but does not do much for that country itself. That area of the world that today encompasses Israel and the Palestinian territories gave the world Jesus and his message, but the area did not itself benefit much from that Christian legacy.
The land that gave the human race Jesus Christ is not itself Christian. The clear majority of the believers there are either Jews or Muslims. Hatred and bloodshed today tear asunder the land that gave the world the messenger of love. Greater Palestine has given the world a glorious Gospel, but has not itself embraced it.
Similarly, Haiti gave the world a message of hope and freedom, a demonstration of how to rise from abject servitude to glorious self-determination. The Black race world over was inspired and emboldened by the Haitian Revolution. But, like the land that gave the world Jesus, Haiti has not benefited from its bequest to the human race.
Now that independent Haiti has entered its third century, that age-old agenda of hope and freedom should be re-visited. In this third century, Haiti will at last partake of what it gave to the world: that message of liberty and that confidence of self-upliftment.
As South Africa enters its second decade of democracy, it needs to learn from the lessons of Haiti. As the first Black society to overthrow white oppression, Haiti rose triumphantly and then collapsed disastrously. As the last Black state to overthrow white oppression, South Africa has so far risen triumphantly. Will it avoid the Haitian precedent of collapsing disastrously?
Residual social and economic apartheid notwithstanding, and in spite of the horrors of HIV/Aids, the healing legacy of Nelson Mandela is likely to endure more than the revolutionary legacy of Toussaint L'Ouverture.
But a successful South Africa should also rise to the challenge of assisting Haiti to heal from the aftermath of its own historic Francophone apartheid. Providing a home away from home for Aristide in South Africa is one small step in that direction. Global Africa can do more for each other.
Read Professor Ali Mazrui Biography
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