Gurabo, these stories are horrific and sobering, but important to read.
Sad thing is that few people know about them, many people in other forums have called it an invention by Trujillo. We're already seeing people here questioning its credibility and calling it propaganda, but that's normal, some people have set a picture of the history of the island, and anything that doesn't fit in that image of theirs must be a lie.
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of all the women who where in the church, there where only two girls left alive who were under the dead bodies of their mother, aunt and of the people that accompanied them, they faked their death since they were covered by the blood shed by bodies above them."
When I first read this story the part above gave me goosebumps, so similar to the story that my great-grandma told me, which she claimed that was pass down to her from her grandma, and one of these girls was her grandma's aunt. I think I should pay her a visit, and record some of these stories at 99 she might not be with us for much long, and these oral stories might be lost forever. In fact most Dominicans know about these events thanks to orial history, and not too books or anything like that, ask any old men in Gurabo and he'll have at least one story to tell about these events.
Now assuming that there were traders back and froth, can it not be assumed that the planters of Santiago had heard what had happened on the other side? back in 1791? After they could not pay the ransom demanded..would they not have expected attack? Well, no, i guess not. Bit compared to what the former slaves meted out to the women on the french side, the Donas and children were given a swift release here..
First do you have to post something about the Haitian revolution in every page? I know you love Haiti, but isn't this thread about the Haitian invasions of DR, is it really necessary?
How sweet the Donas and children had a more "humane" death then the French slave owners, the Donas and children who had nothing to do with slavery in Haiti.
Gurabo44,
Can you please provide your resources. I would like to read this book as this story seems interesting. Also one has to remember that the Catholics supported slavery and played an intricate part of political events. Again this was indeed war.
Gurabo44,
Can you please provide your resources. I would like to read this book as this story seems interesting. Also one has to remember that the Catholics supported slavery and played an intricate part of political events. Again this was indeed war.
I'd like to have also the references (name of the book, author, and year) for the extracts given by Gurabo44.
It looks like a propaganda ("...los negros...") text to me, I must read it first before having a final opinion.
I think chip already did that for me, but for the 5th time here it is:
Archivo OrbeQuince: Historia de mi salida de la isla de Santo Domingo el 28 de Abril de 1805 | Por Gaspar de Arredondo y Pichardo
These are the first person account of someone who personally was there when it all happened, a person who personally met Dessalines, toussaint, Henri Christophe, Campo Tavarez (the Mulatto mentioned by K-Mel earlier) and not to mentioned that he went to Cap-Haitien on two occasions, describing many things there in detailed. A true Santiaguero who loved his country and people more than anything, who stayed in Santiago when all his family knowing what was about to fall upon the city left.
If you ask me much more reliable than some of the wiki articles some here love to post.
Orders issued by French commander Ferrand
could not the case be made that the notables of Santiago were not "innocents" but rather collaborators?
Yes MA a people who for the most part were unarmed, who were in fear of a Haitian invasion, who had given nearly all their valuables to Dessalines in order to appease him, a people who stayed in Santiago for the very reason of the harshness of a trip to the Capital. In the mist of this all, they were going to march from Santiago all the way to the Haitian territory, and kidnap Haitian boys, and march back all teh way to the capital, so to wake up the wrath of the Haitians (note in 1805 there were no French troops in the Cibao, they were all hiding behind the walls of Santo Domingo), knowing that they didn't even have the protection of the French they were gonna try such suicidal en-devour. Please don't be ridiculous, and stop trying to look for a justifications for these massacres, fact is Henri and his troops were **** the hell off at not being able to capture the Capital, and what a better option than let go of all of their frustrations on a bunch of villages.
I can transnational the whole text by Gapar, and never, in not one single part of this first person account is there a mention of children being kidnap to be sold to the French in the Capital who had in fact abandon all of the Cibao to their own fate. You conveniently forget that Haitians also decimated various other towns such as Moca, and La Vega, is not only Santiago, and Santiagueros who now you claim were slave traders. In fact many of these Towns remained desolated, and abandoned after the Massacres well into 1808, don't worry in a bit I'll post proof of that.
What fault had people in La Vega, in Moca, In Santiago, In Cotui, of the treatment the former slaves had received under the french? did they deserve such horrible deaths? Is getting ridiculous, you trying to make poor villagers some how collaborators, or slaves traders, you love to talk about ancestors do you, t was many of my ancestors who were sacrifies in these events, poor peasants who for the most part came from the Canaries, and had nothing to do with the slave trade.
