Haiti's pact with the devil - an article from 2005 debunking this.

[Jim__]

Apparently Pat Robertson is not the originator of this nonsense - I had never heard it. this is an article written in 2005 by a Haitian.

An excerpt:

Have you ever heard how some preachers or theologians try to explain the unspeakable misery that is crippling most of Haiti’s population of 8 million? Everywhere you go, from your television screen to the Internet, what you are most likely to find is a reference to a spiritual pact that the fathers of the nation supposedly made with the devil to help them win their freedom from France. As a result of that satanic alliance, as they put it, God has placed a curse on the country some time around its birth3, and that divine burden has made it virtually impossible for the vast majority of Haitians to live in peace and prosperity in their land. Surprising, right?

The satanic pact allegedly took place at Bois-Caïman near Cap-Haïtien on August 14, 1791 during a meeting organized by several slave leaders, under Boukman’s leadership, before launching what would become Haiti’s Independence War. This brutal period lasted 13 years until the last survivors of the French expeditionary forces, dispatched to Saint-Domingue with the sole purpose to re-establish slavery, were allowed by Dessalines to leave the island and return to Napoleon. Those who made it safely to France wrote and reported about the utmost bravery and supreme courage of Haiti’s indigenous army.

Obviously, the idea that Haiti was dedicated to Satan prior to its independence is a very serious and profound statement with potentially grave consequences for its people in terms of how they are perceived by others or how the whole nation is understood outside its borders. One would agree that such a strong affirmation should be based on solid historical and scriptural ground. But, although the satanic pact idea is by far the most popular explanation for Haiti’s birth as a free nation, especially among Christian missionaries and some Haitian Church leaders, it is nothing more than a fantasist opinion that ultimately dissipates upon close examination.

...

For quite some time now, several articles on the Internet have mentioned the existence of an iron pig statue in Port-au-Prince as a monument to commemorate Haiti’s so-called pact with the devil through Vodou. The statue would be in remembrance of a pig that was killed during the gathering by the African slaves. In an effort to know more about that rumor, I contacted several authors about the exact location of the pig statue that’s incidentally nowhere to be found in the country. Their answer was complete silence, a simple apology, or just the removal of the reference from their texts.

[BanzaiBonnie]

1. I think that pig is in Seattle

In Pike's Place Market.


What utter nonsense this is; a pact with satan. For crying out loud.

But, there are those who are superstitious enough to believe such fal-de-ral. I remember in a small town I lived in once, when the rumor went around about the detergent company logo that was purported to be a sign of satan.

[louis-t]

5. Proctor & Gamble.

Crescent moon and stars. People are such idiots.

[s-cubed]

10. We have a statue of three pigs in Falls Church, VA.

It's a statue of a farmer feeding 3 pigs. I have no idea why it's there,but I doubt it signifies a pact with the devil or anyone else!

[YOY]

2. We shouldn't even need to try to debunk Robertson.

Because it (and much of the other shit that comes from his mouth) is inherently BS.

[Fridays Child]

3. Thanks for this. I'm not letting Robertson off the hook, though. With his access to the...

...airwaves and considering his influence over so many intellectually incurious individuals, he has a responsibility to get his facts straight. The standard I hold him to is that he knows, or should know, the truth. But his brand is fear and, when examined through that lense, everything he says makes perfect, if dreadful, sense. ka-ching.

[On the Road]

4. It is Not Unthinkable

for the Haitian revolutionaries to have made a formal pact with the devil, and it would not be surprising if some religious leaders had a problem with that.

However, the claim seems to have been a complete fabrication, possibly a rumor spread by the loyalists who were allowed to return to France around the time of the revolution.

Like other pernicious historical myths, it covers up an uncomfortable truth, namely that the early US had a deliberate policy of suppressing and impoverishing Haiti. Having been created by the only successful slave revolt in history, a prosperous Haiti served as an inspiration for American slave revolts. Madison was sympathetic to the Haitians, but the political establishment as a whole simply couldn't tolerate an independent country like Haiti.

, the US imposed trade and arms embargoes and refused to recognize Haiti. In 1825, France recognized Haiti, but at the cost of crippling financial compensation. Over the longer term, the US controlled Haiti's government for the benefit of US business interests, like it did a lot of Latin American countries (and to some extent still does).

The political ostracism was only made worse by racial and language differences, which made Haiti unique in the Western Hemisphere. The final blow was the lack of natural resources or an educated middle class that could have led Haiti out of poverty.

It's a real hard luck story, and the US is not blameless at all.

[sufrommich]

6. " It is Not Unthinkable

for the Haitian revolutionaries to have made a formal pact with the devil".

Nor is it unthinkable that you could actually click your heels 3 times ,profess a yearning to go home, and magically transport through the air to your home!

[KittyWampus]

8. Do Haitians believe the Orishas interceded on their behalf during the fight for independence?

I don't know.

[Matariki]

18. Yes it IS.

"The Devil" does not exist in the African religions that the people who may have been at Bwa Kayiman were practicing (if it was even an actual event). Nonetheless - the story of Bwa Kayiman - a vodou ceremony at the start of the revolution - is taught as part of Haitian history.

People need to have more respect for other people's beliefs and religions.

[FarCenter]

7. Haiti seems like a magnet for missionairies

With an impoverished, uneducated, and ignorant population, it is an ideal mission field.

[ZombieHorde]

9. Supernatural claims do not need to be debunked.

All supernatural claims should be considered false until proven to be true.

[juno jones]

11. Considering the voodoun ceremony that might or might not have had anything to do with the freeing of

Haiti...

Voodoo is an extention of african religion. They don't worship the christian devil and it is the height of hubris and ignorance to claim they do.

Of course in Robertson's eye, ANYONE not giving HIM money for 'jeezus', including vegan buddhists and kosher jews are doomed to go to hell as imperfect and 'devil-worshipping'.

You have to believe in satan to worship him, let me let y'all in on a secret, most non-christians don't believe in your satan and we spurn your jealous, fucked-up god too.

[dugaresa]

12. Haiti was "cursed" by the rich and mostly white nations that didn't like slaves successfully

revolting and gaining their freedom.

The very place that Columbus first set foot on and killed off the native population.

The very place that the Old World figured out that the New World could be a cash cow for them both in products (sugar, rice, etc) as well as minerals.

The Spanish and later the French imported slaves and they treated them like shit.

Eventually those slaves revolted after years of oppression and they gained their freedom only to have the world screw them over. Why? Because slavery was still legal in the US and no one wanted to see a successful slave revolt or have a nation created from slaves succeed.

So Haiti was cursed with debt to keep the people "in their place".

That is my opinion and given this disaster, Haiti should be rebuilt for free by the nations that screwed it over for 200 years. That includes Spain, France and the US.

[PVnRT]

13. So, it's really about those damn slaves not knowing their place

Thanks, Pat, for laying bare your racism once again.

[SOS]

14. Create your own history stories

It's fun and easy, like a Mad Lib.
Just replace a few words and presto!

Here's an example:

"The satanic pact allegedly took place in Philadelphia in June 1775. during a meeting of the Continental Congress, under Washington'’s leadership, before launching what would become America's Independence War. This brutal period lasted eight years until Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in 1781. The last British troops left New York City in November, 1783. Those who made it safely to England wrote and reported about the utmost bravery and supreme courage of America's indigenous army."

Provides hours of entertainment.
Don't forget to load them with superstition and falsehoods!

[Mimosa]

15. LOL @ SOS!!!! Funny.

I shouldn't admit it but I'm catholic (sort of) and a mambo in the 'religion.'

[GeorgeGist]

16. You need an article?

:banghead:

[Mimosa]

17. No. ;)

But the more education the better.

[RoyGBiv]

19. RoyGBiv's 2010 Article Debunking This

There is no such thing as "the devil."

The End.