Antihaitianismo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Antihaitianismo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈanti.ajtjanˈismo]; French: Antihaitienisme), also called anti-Haitianism in some English sources, is prejudice or social discrimination against Haitians in the Dominican Republic.

Antihaitianismo includes prejudice against, hatred of, or discrimination against Haitians due to their physical appearance, culture, lifestyle, and language; not strictly their race.[1][2]

Antihaitianismo in the Dominican Republic[]

Origins: 16th century through 19th century[]

Human Rights Watch has stated in their reports that the differences between Haitians and Dominicans can be based on colonial times from linguistic, cultural, and racial differences. For instance, the Dominican Republic was governed by the Spanish, and thus acquired part of their culture from the Spanish, mixed with African and Native American. Haiti, on the other hand, was governed by the French, and its culture is a mixture of French, African and Native American. The majority of Haiti's population is descended almost entirely from African slaves, while Dominicans possess a multiracial mix of Spanish, African and Indigenous ancestry. It is evident that historical background is related between the two countries, however, there are major cultural divisions.

Antihaitianismo can be traced back to a was a massacre that took place in Santo Domingo on April 6, 1805. The event was narrated by survivor Gaspar Arredondo y Pichardo in his book Memoria de mi salida de la isla de Santo Domingo el 28 de abril de 1805 (Memory of my departure from the island of Santo Domingo on April 28, 1805), which was written shortly after the massacre.[3] This massacre is part of a series of Haitian invasions[4] to Santo Domingo and is part of Siege of Santo Domingo (1805). Haitian historian Jean Price-Mars wrote that the troops killed white, black and mixed inhabitants of Santo Domingo. This event has been presented in Haiti as a fight against slavery.[5] Haitian troops entered the cities and killed everyone they encountered, whether they were white, mixed or black.[5] Some of the stories:


The Haitian (troops) entered the city like a fury of hell, cutting their throats sword in hand, trampling everything they found, and making blood run everywhere. Imagine what would be the consternation, terror and fright that that neighborhood, so neglected, fell silent for a moment, in view of similar events, when almost everyone was gathered in the main church, with their pastor imploring divine help, while it represented on the altar the sacrifice of our Redemption, and in readiness to receive communion, as one of the days of the year in which, by custom, even those in the country came to fulfill the annual precept. The throng of women fleeing without knowing where. The screams of children and the elderly who came out of their houses in terror. The ecclesiastical confused in the midst of those who asked him for comfort. – de Arredondo y Pichardo.[3] A well-known mestizo tailor named Fernando Pimentel is mentioned in (44):

A man (44), who had not yet swallowed the sacramental species, was passed with a bayonet and was left lying at the door of the same sanctuary. From there, whoever was able to escape later fell into the hands of the army (Christophe's army) who roamed the city and did not spare any life they encountered. All obeyed, believing that some pardon or grace was going to be proclaimed in their favor, but the pardon was to slaughter them all after the meeting like cornered sheep. The Haitian (troops) after consummating the frightful, sacrilegious and barbarous sacrifice, left the town: that of all the women who were in the church, only two girls were left alive who were under the corpse of the mother, the aunt or the person who accompanied them, they pretended dead because they were covered with the blood that had spilled the corpse they had on top that in the presbytery. There were at least 40 children with their throats slit and on top of the altar a lady from Santiago, Mrs. Manuela Polanco, a woman from Don Francisco Campos, a member of the Departmental Council, who was sacrificed on the day of the invasion and hung on the arches of the Town Hall, with two or three mortal wounds from which he was dying. – de Arredondo y Pichardo.[3] policy of racial segregation instituted by the Spaniards in the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo (present-day Dominican Republic).[3] Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the island was split into absolutist chiefdoms, three where modern-day Santo Domingo now exists, and two where modern-day Haiti now exists (albeit also including some territory which is currently part of Santo Domingo). Carib people from islands further south were often at war with the Taíno people. Columbus reached the island in 1492 (slaves imported from Africa arrived from 1503 onwards—many natives were also soon enslaved), and within a few decades the Spanish controlled most of the island. During the 17th century, however, the French also began maneuvering for control, and in 1697 acquired the western portion (now part of Haiti—whereas the Spanish portion encompassed the modern Dominican Republic). During the 1790s and early 19th century, the French and Spanish battled back and forth across the island; by 1809 the Haitian Revolution had resulted in the overthrow of both French and Spanish control. The Spanish briefly retook the eastern portion that same year, but in 1821 lost control again in another rebellion. Shortly afterwards, Haitian forces again briefly controlled the entire island, from 1822 to 1844. In 1844 the secret revolutionary movement called "La Trinitaria" took place and the Dominican Republic declared its independence defeating the Haitian forces. After several tumultuous decades, the Spanish briefly acquired nominal control of the Dominican Republic in the 1860s, setting off another war. By the late 19th century, over three hundred years of European control was ended; the modern history of west Hispaniola (Haiti) and east Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) had begun.

Under Trujillo: 1930s and 1940s[]

Antihaitianismo was strongly institutionalized during the regime of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. Border disputes under Trujillo culminated in the order of a military intervention and to massacre Haitians accused of practicing vodou or witchery, practices that were against the popular Roman Catholic beliefs in the Dominican Republic at the time. Claims range "from several hundred to 26,000"[4][self-published source] or even "recorded as having a death toll reaching 30,000"[5] in October 1937, an event subsequently named the Parsley Massacre. During later diplomacy, Trujillo agreed to pay hundreds of thousands in reparations,[4] but somewhat less was actually delivered. Due to corrupt Haitian bureaucrats, exceedingly little[6] reached the families. Dominican intellectuals Manuel Arturo Peña Batlle, Joaquín Balaguer, Manuel de Jesús Troncoso de la Concha, among others, led the campaign.[7][8]

The 1937 massacre legitimized subsequent state acts of violence against the Haitian-origin population in the Dominican Republic. Each successive government since has forcibly removed thousands of Haitians and Haitian-Dominicans in routine round-ups and expulsions by the military.[9]

Present day: 1990s[]

Trujillo's policies served to perpetuate antihaitianismo within the Dominican Republic.[4] In the 1996 Dominican presidential election, Joaquín Balaguer (historical leader of the populist Right and former right-hand of dictator Trujillo) united in a "National Patriotic Front" with PLD candidate Leonel Fernández in order to prevent Peña Gómez from becoming President.[10][11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Liberato, Ana S. Q. (2013). Joaquín Balaguer, Memory, and Diaspora: The Lasting Political Legacies of and Diaspora. p. 63. ISBN 9780739176467. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  2. ^ Nelson, William Javier (1988). "Dominican Creole Emigration: 1791-1861, Issue 32". pp. 1–8. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  3. ^ Sagás, Ernesto. "A Case of Mistaken Identity: Antihaitianismo in Dominican Culture". Webster University. Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  4. ^ a b c Sagás, Ernesto (1994-10-14). "An apparent contradiction? Popular perceptions of Haiti and the foreign policy of the Dominican Republic". Sixth Annual Conference of the Haitian Studies Association. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  5. ^ Cambeira, Alan (1997). Quisqueya la bella (October 1996 ed.). M.E. Sharpe. p. 182. ISBN 1-56324-936-7. 286 pages total.
  6. ^ Bell, Madison Smartt (July 17, 2008). "A Hidden Haitian World". New York Review of Books. Vol. 55, no. 12. p. 41.
  7. ^ "Haiti: Antihaitianismo in Dominican Culture". Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  8. ^ "La agresión contra Lescot". 2007-07-30. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. ^ Howard, David (2007). "Development, Racism, and Discrimination in the Dominican Republic". Development in Practice. 17 (6): 725–738. doi:10.1080/09614520701628097. JSTOR 25548279. S2CID 143200740.
  10. ^ Rohter, Larry (1996-07-01). "Dominican Republic Holds Runoff, Capping Fierce Race". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  11. ^ James Ferguson, Two Caudillos

External links[]

Retrieved from ""