The massacre of Moca and Santiago
In the dramatic story "Memories of my departure from the island of Santo Domingo on April 28, 1805," the Dominican jurist Gaspar de Arredondo and Pichardo, it is revealed that forty (40) children were slaughtered in the church of Moca, and the bodies were found in the sanctuary, which is the space surrounding the altar of the church. This tragedy, unparalleled in the history of the island was part of the genocide that killed thousands of Dominicans, many of them beheaded and decapitated. This disaster also unprecedented in our history, was executed by the troops of General Henri Christophe of Haiti (Henry Christopher), who had his orders and led the hosts of Jean Jacques Dessalines who leave the Spanish side of the island during his abortive invasion of that bloody year of 1805.
Interested in this commentary highlight in particular the tragedy involving children brutally slaughtered Dominicans or kidnapped, imprisoned and driven on foot to Haiti. The massacre of 40 children in Moca is documented in the story of Gaspar de Arredondo and Pichardo1. In the work that is inserted into this same issue Alejandro Filled includes this paragraph in addition to terrifying and inexplicable is a very creepy episode:
On April 6, Christopher met all its troops in Santiago, beheaded in the cemetery male prisoners, among whom were the priest and 20 other priests Vasquez, set fire to the town and its five churches, and departed, taking as a herd 249 women, 430 girls and 318 boys, this number very high considering the relatively small population of these villages.
Note that in the description of the children slaughtered, only at the high altar of the church of Moca was 40, but this fact is only narrated by the author, were beheaded on the island are countless, as this action by order of Dessalines was carried out in many parts of the French territory of the island and thousands.
Interestingly, the relationship women, children who were brought from Santiago to Haiti "like sheep", because while women were 249, children numbered 748, is three times more children than women. Women, children of prisoners and dragged James to Haiti totaled 997 people, but this group was only leading from Santiago. There were credible reports of actions identified in Moca and Santiago but tells Filled by order of Henri Christophe "Monte Plata, San Pedro and Cotu? were reduced to ashes, and their inhabitants massacred or taken captive as animals, tied up and abused in amounts thousands into the territory of Haiti. "
That order of 900 vegans were dragged him to Santiago and were also torched San Francisco de Macoris, Moca, Puerto Plata and Montecristi. It is clear that when it says they were "dragged" 900 Santiago vegans as noted is that the number of people was taken as prisoners and all were on foot. So the 900 vegan driven, "dragged", must be added that were being "dragged" from Monte Plata, San Pedro, Cotu?, San Francisco and Moca, and those who were taken prisoner in Puerto Plata and Montecristi, and also "dragged" on foot to the distant territory of Haiti.
If each of these communities served as in Santiago, where men were slain and taken prisoners "dragged" women and children, it is reasonable to estimate that women and children "dragged" in the thousands. And as many prisoners beheaded would add a huge amount considering that in many cases, exceeded beheaded taken as prisoners walk into Haitian territory ...
This is an immeasurable tragedy before which, in connection with this work, two considerations should be referred, as indicated by the first authors cited, and the second would explain the emphasis, the particular interest in the slaughter and the conduct of children as prisoners, "dragged" with thirst and hunger walk to Haiti.
The first consideration is referred to the fact that Dessalines had to leave the place that had to Santo Domingo in 1805, a failure of great dimension to Haiti, equivalent to a major military defeat for the capital of the former Spanish colony, decisive importance in addition to its strategy, was occupied by the French army, which was the military objective a number of the Haitian army.
This adverse situation markedly antagonized Dessalines, who before leaving the site "did give the order to the commanders of the various conquered common to gather all the people and reduce them to prison, so that his first order for the mules trample them and other animals, to reach the Haitian side. "
In addition, under the latest instructions of several generals Dessalines left before leaving the site, "they pushed before them the rest of the people, animals and beasts ... reduced to ashes the towns, villages, farms and cities, brought devastation everywhere, iron and fire, and did not spare individuals but for S. M. to be taken as prisoners. "
This is important to note that part of the two quotes cited above was extracted from the War Diary Dessalines himself, so that, part confession, relay test, good law according to lawyers knowledgeable.
It should be noted that the invading army of Dessalines was formed more than twenty thousand soldiers, well equipped with the best weapons of war of the moment in Europe, Haitians who had captured the army of Napoleon Bonaparte defeated in Saint-Domingue, ie in Haiti. As seen, those more than twenty thousand men were ordered, in their retreat, driving toward Haiti as prisoners to all the inhabitants Dominicans, "or the rest of them," those who stayed alive, because the male prisoners were terribly slaughtered without mercy.
If only James were "dragged" 249 women, 430 girls and 318 boys, as revealed by Alejandro Llenas, and La Vega 900 vegans, then we must infer that added the rest of the communities through which the army passed and were thousands.
Unfortunately there is no documentary evidence of the genocide in the South region, which was where he retired with a large army of his own Dessalines. There are only references in the text written by Gaspar de Arredondo and Pichardo about the horror that told the fugitives along the roads and the mountains came quickly to the Cibao fleeing from the territory of the South.
A second consideration I express here. Some historians hold the belief that the invasion of Dessalines was in response to a decree intemperate, typical of the war, the French General Ferrand Lois, who was then governor of the colony of Santo Domingo.
In his article "Invasion of Dessalines" Alexander Filled appointment well this decree of Ferrand, who was in response to a proclamation of Dessalines calling the inhabitants of the Spanish part of the island to surrender. But his unusual decree of January 6, 1805 March Ferrand authorizes the inhabitants and the Spanish authorities capture territory of the Republic of Haiti children 14 years of age to sell, as they did blacks at all, as common slaves.
Obviously the engine of immediate invasion of Dessalines was not this decree, but its contents must have caused the indignation of the Haitian authorities because the text message that amounted to a proposal to restore slavery, which had evidently been overcome with the proclamation of Independence of Haitians, which had been suppressed by the French Revolution also previous years.
The slaughter of 40 children on the altar of the church of Mocha and driving toward Haiti as prisoners of the 748 children in Santiago must be a clear message. These, as we said, are data that are documented, but no cases had to be unique. In other Dominican communities in which they hit the butcher known as Henri Christophe had been produced mass beheadings of innocent children for their own direct orders. One could say without being exaggerated, that this slaughter of Dessalines and his followers, surpassed the 10,000 executions throughout the country, a frightful sum taking into account the mass population of the time, but later the own Jean-Jacques Dessalines was assassinated , as their destiny, in the same way they killed their prisoners were ordered in 1806, his body was first beheaded and then furiously cut to pieces by his murderers. Dessalines was betrayed by his top aides Petion and Christopher who later divided the country and that he used with the same method used with the enemies.
But these actions, both of Dessalines as Trujillo's own are viewed from the historical and contemporary political mistakes that should not ever be repeated.
Many close friends of the Dominican dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo indicated that he liked to listen to stories of Dominican historians to this fact and their views on the attitude of Dessalines, remaining always stupefied by such stories, some even claim that the decision of the killing of 1937, was intimately linked to a desired but wrong answer could partly avenge those facts, and give this form to the steep middle scale of hatred that still emphasized the early twentieth century the actions of Dessalines. Although very safe, these statements can hardly be tested because Trujillo was careful not to leave written documentation on such sensitive events.
