#dutty boukman

[sankofaspirit]

Dutty Boukman was a key figure in the Haitian Revolution and is remembered as a religious and revolutionary leader. He was likely born around 1767, possibly in Senegambia (West Africa), though his exact place of birth is uncertain. According to some historical accounts, Boukman was originally enslaved in Jamaica, where he worked on plantations. His nickname "Boukman" is believed to come from his literacy or knowledge of religious texts—he may have been called "Book Man" for his ability to read, a rare skill among enslaved people.

While in Jamaica, Boukman may have been exposed to the island's cultural mix of African spirituality and Christian influences. However, after an attempted revolt or for being considered rebellious, he was reportedly sold by his British owners and transported to Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti), a French colony. There, he continued working as an enslaved person but became a leader within the Vodou religious community.

Boukman’s role in the Haitian Revolution is best remembered for the Vodou ceremony he led at Bois Caïman on August 14, 1791. This gathering of enslaved Africans is considered a turning point that inspired the large-scale uprising against the French colonial regime. Boukman's powerful spiritual leadership and revolutionary vision helped ignite the revolution, which ultimately led to the creation of Haiti as the first independent Black republic in 1804.

Not long after the revolt began, Boukman was captured and killed by French forces in November 1791. His death was meant to discourage the revolution, but instead, it solidified his status as a martyr and symbol of resistance against colonial oppression. Boukman’s legacy is celebrated in both Haitian and Jamaican history as a symbol of defiance and the fight for freedom. 🇭🇹

[ptseti]

Are you familiar with Dutty Boukman’s prayer? There was a reason he had to say this to free Haiti. European nations, especially the U.S. have punished Haiti for its victory ever since.

[redditreceipts]

Cécile Fatiman was a Haitian women from the late 1700s who spent her early life in slavery. At that time, slavery in Haiti was such a brutal institution that it's estimated that the entire Black population of the island had to be replaced every 20 years due to working the previous generation to death.

In August of 1791, she led a Vodou ceremony together with Dutty Boukman to incite enslaved people to rise up against their captors. This was the event that finally led to the Haitian revolution, the first successful slave-led revolution in recorded history.

The ritual was performed in front of 200 people and involved the sacrifice of a black pig. Afterwards, the attendees drank the pig's blood and swore to kill their white slavers.

image credit: 1, 2, 3,

[xshingie]

Pairing: Edouard/Annette Rating: T Prompt: Pining/Jealousy

Chapter-Specific Author commentary:

Uh... originally I just wanted to write a simple, fluffy oneshot of Annette in a karabela dress (this draft pre-dated Season 2 so I at the time, I wasn't even sure if Annette would even wear a dress, since S1 her dress seems to be more on the practical side). However, as I began writing, I began questioning the logistics of what was or wasn't available while Annette and Edouard were living in the mountains, or how maroons lived in general, really.

The original *~*~vision~*~* was to have Annette wear this dress and perform in the Vodou ritual and Edouard watching Annette dance and he falls madly smitten for her oop, but of course that got shot when I did more research and there's an attire you're supposed to follow. However, I got way too attached to the idea of cute Annette in a dress to scrap the entire thing, so here we are...

I did take some creative liberties on what materials were and weren't available, as well as postulating what their sleeping quarters might have been probably more nicer than what it actually was.

I've done a lot of reading of Haitian maroonage and demographics since then... and here are some elements that made it into the fic (there's so much more I have, just couldn't fit it all in!)

...

General Location and Geography

Annette mentions 'being taken to the mountains.' As established, Cap Francais is the city that Edouard was in (the Comedie Au Cap theatre), and the eventual location of the August 1791 slave revolts (as depicted in the show), If we examine the topography, a 1784 map shows Cap-Francais surrounded by mountainous terrain.

P.S. For the exact location of the Comedie Au Cap. If you zoom in, you can see right next to the government building, the Salle de Spectacle, or Performance Hall.

Sunday markets in the major towns like Cap Français were opportunities for blacks – free, enslaved, and runaways alike – to converge and interact, buying and selling food, and exchanging services. Note that Cap-Francais due to its dense urban population, were known for blacks to pass as free people of color (forging their own freedom documents), as well as serving as "safe houses" for runaway slaves to take refuge in.

In the map (left), it is readily apparent the relative concentrations of how many slaves escaped to Cap-Francais. For example, the neighborhood of Petit Guinée in Cap Français was a regular destination for runaways to find housing, lease themselves out for pay, and blend in with the growing population of free people of color.

The Bois Camain Ceremony, which is the Vodou ceremony we see represented in the show. Historical accounts of this ceremony note it was led by Cecile Fatiman (depicted from the show) and Dutty Boukman, both priestess (manbo) and priest (oungan). I decided to namedrop Dutty in just for fun, only because it didn't feel right to pluck a random name from the slave runaway advertisements.

Note the actual exact location is still up for debate. Many accounts point to somewhere near northern town of Morne-Rouge (present-day Vaudreuil, Haiti). Present-day, the contemporary Bois Caiman historical site in Vaudreuil, Haiti is ~10 km west of Cap-Haitien.

Population Demographics

At the peak of the revolution, Saint Domingue (later Haiti), which had 500,000 slaves, 32,000 whites, and 28,000 free blacks (which included both blacks and mulattos). Slaves made up 9/10ths of the population, with 500K+ african slaves being imported to Haiti alone in the last 50 years leading up to the revolution.

Enslaved Demographics

Men disproportionately made up the escaped reported runaway slaves and the maroonage.

Men were also more likely to occupy artisanal labor positions that allowed them a certain amount of latitude during the workday. Examples like coopers, carpenters, shoemakers, fishermen, and other artisans ran errands, apprenticed and were leased by their owner to other plantations, or hired themselves out to earn their own money.

Conversely, enslaved African women in Saint-Domingue were overrepresented as field workers and performed the most physically taxing jobs and under constant supervision. Because of the relative mobility enslaved men could have, this partially explains the overrepresentation of men for escaped slaves. Skills enslaved women acquired usually include seamstresses, laundress, and acting as market vendors selling goods.

In a study of 12,857 slave runaway postings, men made up 80%, or ~10K. Nègres - African mother + African or Creole man; Mulâtres - biracial (often coerced relations between white men); Griffe - 2/3 black. Quarteronne - 1/4th black.

There were many facets which may partially explain why women were so underrepresented as runaways, as women often had work within the constraints of society to pass as free, as well as the reproductive burden enforced on them.

Maroon Life and Struggles

The tl;dr -- trying it rough it out there in the wild was tough as shit and Maroons had to get creative in navigating the geographic topography and utilizing the terrain to their advantage. For example, one group of the maroons situated themselves in the mountains within the cusp of Saint-Domingue and Saint-Domingo (the portion of Haiti owned by Spain), such that they took advantage of murky ambiguities of "who's problem is this" territory. Retreating in the mountains also obviously disincentivized slave catchers to trek up there.

Due to the difficulty of accessing finished goods (clothing, glassware, etc) and weapons to arm themselves, maroons across the Caribbean had two ways of sustaining their supplies: engage in skirmishes/raids against plantations, or choose to engage in trade. Maroon settlements also tend to have varying success regarding based on how well-established/populated they were (some settlements were like, as little as one person in a swamp); some even forming agreements with governments to form peace treaties or even partake in catching runaway slaves to sustain themselves. The more established and successful settlements were able to cultivate crops even and keep domesticated livestock for food.

In the late 18th century, following the 1750s, the growing demand for land to support plantation agriculture, driven by the booming sugar and coffee industries, made it increasingly challenging to find and establish maroon settlements (see: the figure where in the last 50 years leading up to the revolution, over 500K african slaves brought to Haiti). This expansion encroached on existing settlements and threatened the safety of any remaining secure territories.

Daily Life and Personal Items

Archaeological dig sites efforts across 3 Haitian Maroonage sites yielded ~9000 artifacts in total, with the most common being pottery shards (making up 30-50% of the finds), porcelain, glassware, tobacco pipes fragments being the most common. It is likely that finished goods like imported pottery suggests that they were purchased by slaves from local markets, hinting that slaves did travel to markets to procure the needed finished goods not readily available.

Domestic animal bones that were also uncovered like pig, cow, sheep/goat, wild bird, and fishing weights/marine shells also hints at hunting. fishing for sustenance depending on the geography.

Other materials like hand-made-bricks, mortar, and nails.

Other less common items were uncovered, such as items for personal adornment or leisure/craft activities. Instances hinting to clothing fragments atypically in possession by the enslaved (i.e., a button belonging to a gentleman's sportscoat or frock) were also discovered.

Maroons were known to make hut-like structures from mud and leaves.

Other random things that came up in my fic

Zabeth is a name I sampled from a runaway slave advertisement who ran away alongside someone else Cecile. (Probably not the same Cecile Fatiman, though!)

The maréchaussée were the police responsible for catching runaway slaves, and was required by free men of color to serve a three year draft; or a passageway for mobility/options for free men of color who found themselves otherwise strapped for opportunities. I can only imagine, if Edouard was indeed subject to the draft, how that must have hurt his soft heart!

Ounsi temerè (fearless ounsi) is the highest degree that a Vodouist can reach without actually becoming a priest or priestess.

How Did Edouard Fit Into the Maroon Life?

While writing this, I had to do a little bit of speculation/guesswork on how Edouard might have fit into the maroonage life, based on what skills Edouard might have possess already, within the context of what skills men/women had and contributed to maroon life. I speculated based on some additional details on belonging we see in the flashback:

Detail #1. Everybody is wearing white during the Vodou Ceremony, Edouard is not.

The presence of white clothing suggests a Rada Rite; the ounsi wear all-white robes at Rada ceremonies and make up the choir. Note that many of the depictions or historical accounts of the presence the blood of a sacrificial pig during the Bois Caiman ceremony seem to suggest it is a Petwo rite. as Pigs are sacrificed in the Petwo rite but not in the Rada rite.

Now realistically, the artists/animators decided to depict them wearing simple garb and white clothing may just be the fact that realistically, they weren't able to procure more fancy clothing.

In addition, it's also possible that this was just an animator oversight and the animators chose to depict Edouard per his character art reference sheet. Still, this tells us that Edouard was not initiated in the Vodun religion, which may hint that he might been as intimately tight-knit.

Detail #2. Edouard is singing by himself. No one joins him.

In the aftermath of the revolt, Edouard is showing singing Il mio tesoro intanto and he's pretty much clearly alone singing and while everybody is really chill about, I just found this detail funny because if there ever would be some celebration in a group, they would be singing creole songs as a community and it's unlikely anybody would be able to join him here since only he would have this super niche classical opera knowledge.

However, the more likely explanation of this is that whoever was directing this scene (that one opera fan) wanted their vision actualized and that the piece selected adds to the thematic elements. Still, I decided to leverage this detail into my writing when thinking about how Edouard might feel about how he fits with the other escaped slaves.

Sources and Further Reading:

Eddins, C. N. (2021). Rituals, runaways, and the Haitian Revolution: Collective Action in the African Diaspora.

Mapping. (2022, November 2). In The Streets of Le Cap. https://streetsoflecap.com/mapping/

Lockley, T. (n.d.). Runaway Slave Colonies in the Atlantic World. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.5

Explore the sites. (n.d.). National Museums Liverpool. https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/archaeologyofslavery/explore-sites

Haiti: The Bois Caiman Meeting of 1791. (n.d.). http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti/history/revolution/caiman.htm

Duffy, J.-C. (2021). Early accounts of the Bois Caïman ceremony. Miami University - Empire and American Religion. https://sites.miamioh.edu/empire/files/2022/08/1791-Early-accounts-of-the-Bois-Caiman-ceremony.pdf

“Demographics of Saint Domingue,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed January 31, 2025, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/500.

Bromley, C. J. (n.d.). Resistance and the Haitian Revolution. Slave Resistance: A Carribbean Study. Retrieved January 31, 2025, from https://scholar.library.miami.edu/slaves/san_domingo_revolution/individual_essay/jason.html

Phelipeau, R. (1784). (Cap-Haïtien) Plan De La Ville Du Cap Francais. Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. Retrieved January 31, 2025, from https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/49958/cap-haitien-plan-de-la-ville-du-cap-francais-et-de-ses-env-phelippeaux#

Hebblethwaite, B. (2011). Vodou Songs in Haitian Creole and English. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/12835.

Maroons and their Communities in the Americas. (n.d.). Politika. https://www.politika.io/en/notice/maroons-and-their-communities-in-the-americas

[dailyhistoryposts]

On This Day In History

August 21st, 1791: Dutty Boukman and  Cécile Fatiman preside over a Vodou ceremony that becomes the beginning of the Haitian Revolution.

[kaylakatin]

"The god who created the sun which gives us light, who rouses the waves and rules the storm, though hidden in the clouds, he watches us. He sees all that the white man does. The god of the white man inspires him with crime, but our god calls upon us to do good works. Our god who is good to us orders us to revenge our wrongs. He will direct our arms and aid us. Throw away the symbol of the god of the whites who has so often caused us to weep, and listen to the voice of liberty, which speaks in the hearts of us all."

- Oungan (Vodou priest) Dutty Boukman, his Bois Caiman speech. These are the words that incited the Haitian Revolution on the night of 22 August 1791.

[mikaela-granger]

The Long Wait (Season 2) Chapter 20

The Waking Dead Part 2

Fandom: Grimm

Pairing: Sean Renard/OFC

The Long Wait Masterlist

A/N: People returning from the dead, a man in a top hat showing up all over the place, what is happening in Portland?

By the time Lorelei got home, she had received a phone call from Nick, asking to meet at the trailer for some help researching a wesen who may be involved in their case. Lorelei had gotten back into her car and headed that way, stopping to coffee for him and Hank as sort of the peace offering. “I come bearing coffee.” Lorelei announced as she entered the trailer.

“Thanks Lore.” Hank said, taking his from her.

“Should you even be drinking coffee?” Nick asked as Lorelei handed him his coffee.

“I can. In moderation. But mine is a hot chocolate.” She said, taking a seat at the table. She looked at Hank. “I suppose Nick filled you in?”

Hank nodded. “He did. Uh, congratulations, I guess. How far along?”

“Thanks. And thirteen weeks, according to the doctor.”

“And it’s really the captains?”

Lorelei sighed. “Yes, it is.” Nick scoffed and Lorelei looked at him. “Do you want to see the ultrasound pic of your niece or nephew?” Nick glanced at her, his expression changing a little. Lorelei pulled the picture from her purse and handed it to him.

As he looked at the picture, his expression changed more. “So, I’m gonna be an uncle.” He commented, a small smile on his face even though Lorelei could see he was trying to stop it.

Lorelei smiled. “Yes, you are going to be an uncle. Whether you like it or not. Now, what are we doing here?”

The two detectives started filling her in on the case, the man in the top hat, and people rising from the dead. It took a while, but they were finally able to find something, after a few hours. Pausing only to go out a grab something for a late lunch.

“I had followed the vodou priest to Bois Caiman, Alligator Woods, near Cap-Francais.” Nick read from the book he’d found the information in. “Hired by the crown, I was to determine if the priest was wesen. The priests name, Dutty Boukman, translated as the Book Man, and given to him because he had taught slaves to read. As Boukman presided over the vodou ceremony, one of the slave women started dancing, knife in her hand.” Nick looked a little confused. “I found her movements exotic and alluring, until she slit the throat of a black pig and gave the blood to those around her, who all swore to rise and to fight to kill – do you have any extra ketchup?” He said, pausing to direct the question towards Hank.

Hank handed one over. “Last one. We should just keep a bottle in here.”

“Then I’d need a refrigerator. And where am I going to put that?”

“You don’t have to put ketchup in the refrigerator!”

“No! You two are not starting that debate again.” Hank told them firmly, before he picked up the reading. “He was referred to as the Baron, with several names attached to him. He is the head of the Guede Family of Loa, one of the vodou deities who accept those who have died to the realm of the dead. Later I was to witness him wake a man who appeared to be lifeless and who was about to be buried. When I finally found the courage to confront him, I found that I was dealing with a Cracher-Mortel, whose spit can induce a death like trance.” Hank paused as he turned the page, the including a drawing of a Cracher-Mortel spitting on a man. “But I was forced to retreat unable to dispatch the Baron.”

“So, the Cracher-Mortel makes zombies.” Lorelei commented, glancing at the men.

“Seems like it.” Hank replied, as Nick’s phone rang.

It was Monroe, asking Nick to come to the spice shop. Lorelei realised she hadn’t told Nick about Juliette seeing the others woge. Maybe she would let the others explain it.

On the way to the spice shop, they stopped into the precinct to fill Sean in what was happening. He looked surprised when Lorelei walked into his office with Nick and Hank. “Is everything alright?” He asked, looking concerned. Lorelei looked at the other men, leaving it up to them.

“We think we’re dealing with a cracher-mortel.” Hank told him, once they explained the situation. “Who has the ability to induce a vodou-like trance.”

Sean sighed and looked at Nick. “More of your books?”

Nick nodded. “Yeah.”

Sean sat back in his chair, looking at Hank. “You’re getting pretty comfortable with all this.” He commented.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t call it comfortable.”

Nick intervened. “We’re trying to get an I.D. on him, but so far no go.”

“Now, why would he pick up two apparent strangers, drug them, and then put them in an unoccupied house?” Sean asked.

Nick looked mystified. “There’s something we’re not seeing.”

“If the same thing happens to her as Mulpus. Is she going to start losing it?”

“Probably.” Lorelei replied faintly, although her mind was thinking about why would the cracher-mortel put two people under his influence into a house together.

“I’ll ask her when we find her.”

“All right. Keep me posted.” Sean said, before looking at Lorelei. “I hope you don’t plan on getting too involved in this. Especially in your condition.”

Lorelei sighed. “Nope. Just helping with research. Cross my heart.”

Sean seemed happy with that answer. Lorelei and the two detectives left after that, heading towards the spice shop.

Not long after they arrived at the spice shop. Monroe, Rosalee, and Bud filled Nick in on what had gone down that afternoon. “What do you mean she knows?” Nick asked.

“It…It wasn’t my idea.” Bud said, quickly deflecting the blame.

“We did what you wanted me to do.” Monroe told him. “When you brought Juliette over to my house that night.

Nick sighed, unsure of what to say. “So, you all--?” Hank asked.

“Woged. Yes, we did.” Bud answered.

Rosalee stood up, moving around the counter. “I went first.”

“And then I guess it was me, but not on purpose.” Bud added.

“And then I did.” Monroe said, finishing it up.

Nick crossed his arms. “Well, how did she take it?” He asked expectantly.

“Uh, not so good. She, uh, walked out.” Bud told him.

Nick didn’t look happy. “She walked out. Did someone get her? Is she ok?”

“Nick.” Monroe said gently, approaching him. “She came back.”

Nick looked around at them. “You’re sure she’s all right?”

Rosalee answered that one. “She came back because she wanted to. I think she was about as ready as a person could be.”

“She took it better than Hank did, when I woged for him the first time.” Monroe added.

Hank piped in. “Let me just say I didn’t take it well the first, second, or third time.” He admitted.

“That is true. By the fourth time, you managed to stay in your seat.” Lorelei commented.

“The first time is always rough.” Bud added. “I…I remember the first time my dad got really angry me, and I was just this little eisbiber…and…” He cut himself off when he saw everyone looking at him. “Nobody’s interested.”

“Nick.” Monroe said. “Not everyone is able to make the transition from kehresite to kehrseite-schlich-kennen.”

“Most people can’t even say it.”

“I’m sure you’re going to talk about this at your dinner tonight.” Rosalee told Nick. “But she didn’t come here because she was scared. She came here because she wanted to know.”

“Funny thing is, she thought you were wesen.” Bud added with a slight laugh. “As if you could be.”

Nick nodded; arms still crossed. “Well, at least I won’t have to lie anymore.”

“You can’t change who you are Nick. “Lorelei said.

“And we don’t want you to.” Bud said earnestly.

“You’ve finally reached that point of no return man.” Monroe said. “She’s either going to accept you for who you are…”

“And for who we are.” Bud added.

“Or she won’t be able to.” Rosalee finished.

“At least you’ll know the truth, one way or the other.” Hank told him.

Nick nodded. “Yeah. I guess this is the moment I’ve been waiting for.”

“We all have.” Lorelei said, looking around at the others.

Lorelei eventually made it back home. She fed the animals, had a shower and curled up on the couch, book hand and the tv on in the background. Not long after she sat down, there was a knock on the door. Grumbling a little, Lorelei got up, moving Daisy to another spot and padded over to the door. She peered through the peephole and felt her heart pick up a beat as she saw Sean standing outside. She quickly opened the door and let him in. “You know, I think you’ve earned back the privilege of using your own key.” She told her with a smile.

He returned it. “Noted. Pizza?” He said, before holding up a pizza box.

“Perfect.” She said, closing the door behind him. “And it feels like a eat in front of the tv kind of night.”

Sean nodded and continued moving towards the living room. “Did you find anything else about the cracher-mortel?” he asked, setting the pizza on the coffee table.

“No.” Lorelei said, as she joined him with some plates and napkins. “But there was a distraction. Juliette had Monroe, Rosalee, and Bud woge for her. So, they were kind of filling Nick in on that.”

Sean looked surprised. “Really?”

Lorelei nodded, walking back to the kitchen to get some water for the both of them. “Yeah. I think she handled it pretty well. But now it’s a case of seeing how she takes it all in.”

“Hopefully for Nick, she’s accepting.” Sean remarked as Lorelei returned to his side.

“Hopefully.” Lorelei sighed as she sat beside him.

After finishing dinner, they curled up together on the couch, watching tv. At one point however, Sean pulled away. “There is something I have to tell you.”

Lorelei looked at him in confusion. “What is it?”

Sean sighed. “My brother is in Portland.”

Lorelei’s eyes widened. “He is? Why?”

Sean shrugged. “I don’t know. He isn’t exactly forthcoming with information, and my sources had no idea he was coming here. But I am worried that he may be here for you. And possibly Nick as well.”

Lorelei bit her lip as she considered what he had said. “So, I should be careful. Watch my back.”

Sean nodded. “Yes. And please try not to go anywhere alone.”

Lorelei nodded. “I’ll try not to.” She promised him.

Sean leant forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That’s all I ask.”

A/N: And we are almost at the end of Season 2. One more chapter left.

Next Part

Taglist: @zoexme, @nu1freakshow, @star-yawnznn, @bella250

Banner by @cafekitsune

[wizzard890]

Have you read 'A Declaration for the Rights of Magicians' by H.G. Parry and if so what are your thoughts on Necromancer Robespierre I am so very curious

Brief book thoughts: this book has like nine different types of magic (already exhausting, imo) and like many others of its breed, seems to have an allergic reaction to actually allowing that magic to have impacted the canon outcome of history in any way; one imagines that revolutionary France might not have struggled militarily against the rest of Europe if they'd had magic to draw on, or that the centuries-long possession of magic might have helped the Bourbons turn things around financially at several key points.

How in the world did like, France keep getting punched in the teeth with the English longbow during the Hundred Years War when they had access to weather magic? For that matter, how did the English Civil War ever get off the ground if their ruling class had magic? Was Oliver Cromwell a muggle or whatever? Why didn't the magical Bourbons just slide in on their heelies and help restore Bonny Charlie, who took shelter with them for years? What is going on here!!

But once you push that aside, I still find fantasy AUs like this pretty of juvenile. You take "magicians are oppressed" and lay that on top of the actual real world causes of the French Revolution, but the genre concept doesn't shed any light on what happened historically. It doesn't invite the reader to perceive events in a new way, or understand them with a deeper, if fantastical, nuance. It's often reductive when it comes to characters' motivations, and the narrative suffers for it.

Also, briefly, speaking of reductive: perhaps we should not say that the Haitian Revolution only took place after the slaves stopped being effected by magic "removes your willpower" potions. Indeed, perhaps we should not say that slavery takes place because of "removes your willpower" potions at all. Perhaps Haiti deserves better in the context of the larger French revolution and anti-colonial struggle. And perhaps, instead of having our narrators be Pitt the Younger, Robespierre, and a fictional enslaved woman, the author could have deigned to have Toussaint Louverture or Dutty Boukman in there. You know, so as not to reinforce the pernicious lie that Haiti did not have revolutionaries as named and brave and fucking noble as anyone in Paris.

However, you came here for my take on the book's take on Robespierre, and I bet by this point you can guess how that may go! The author certainly approaches him as a fully formed and sympathetic human being, the bare minimum of character writing, but not always what he gets, so points for that. But once we step outside of "once there was a man who had a beating heart just like the rest of humankind", we're in choppier waters.

In this book, Robespierre is a necromancer (a weirdly arbitrary choice), and a mesmerist, with the idea being that the latter accounts for the hold he had over the Convention and the people. Here we have man who is a poor public speaker, physically unremarkable, and something of a moral martinet. He doesn't have the charisma of some of his other colleagues, or their facility for making friends, or their intuitive political pragmatism. Give him magic, and he can mesmerize people into listening. Or leave him be, and explore how a man with all those qualities managed to stand at the head of a revolution, with people hanging on his every word. So, writer, who is a more interesting character? Who gives you more to sink your teeth into, even in a fantasy setting?

When the introduction of magic makes your characters worse, you've got a problem.

Also just going out on a limb here and saying that if Robespierre was a capable mesmerist, he probably wouldn't have gotten his shit wrecked on 9 Thermidor, one of history's most notable examples of losing control of a room.

[demdread]

Dutty Boukman was a Gambian 🇬🇲 söld into slávery. He toiled at a plantation in Jamaica 🇯🇲 He was later s0ld to the French in what was Saint Dominic now Haiti 🇭🇹 He was the architect of the Haitian revòlution and helped ushered the first independent Black state in the northern hemisphere.

Cc: Nyang Njie

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.21 (before 1900)

959 – Eraclus becomes the 25th bishop of Liège. 1140 – Song dynasty general Yue Fei defeats an army led by Jin dynasty general Wuzhu at the Battle of Yancheng during the Jin–Song Wars. 1169 – Battle of the Blacks: Uprising by the black African forces of the Fatimid army, along with a number of Egyptian emirs and commoners, against Saladin. 1192 – Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes Sei-i Taishōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: the 12th day of the seventh month in the third year of the Kenkyū (建久) era). 1331 – King Stefan Uroš III, after months of anarchy, surrenders to his son and rival Stefan Dušan, who succeeds as King of Serbia. 1415 – Henry the Navigator leads Portuguese forces to victory over the Marinids at the Conquest of Ceuta. 1680 – Pueblo Indians capture Santa Fe from the Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt. 1689 – The Battle of Dunkeld in Scotland. 1716 – Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: The arrival of naval reinforcements and the news of the Battle of Petrovaradin force the Ottomans to abandon the Siege of Corfu, thus preserving the Ionian Islands under Venetian rule. 1770 – James Cook formally claims eastern Australia for Great Britain, naming it New South Wales. 1772 – King Gustav III completes his coup d'état by adopting a new Constitution, ending half a century of parliamentary rule in Sweden and installing himself as an enlightened despot. 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondichéry. 1791 – A Vodou ceremony, led by Dutty Boukman, turns into a violent slave rebellion, beginning the Haitian Revolution. 1808 – Battle of Vimeiro: British and Portuguese forces led by General Arthur Wellesley defeat French force under Major-General Jean-Andoche Junot near the village of Vimeiro, Portugal, the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War. 1810 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France, is elected Crown Prince of Sweden by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates. 1821 – Jarvis Island is discovered by the crew of the ship, Eliza Frances. 1831 – Nat Turner leads black slaves and free blacks in a rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, which will claim the lives of 55 to 65 whites and about twice that number of blacks. 1852 – Tlingit Indians destroy Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory. 1858 – The first of the Lincoln–Douglas debates is held in Ottawa, Illinois. 1862 – The Stadtpark, the first public park in Vienna, opens to the public. 1863 – Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by pro-Confederate guerrillas known as Quantrill's Raiders. 1878 – The American Bar Association is founded in Saratoga Springs, New York. 1879 – The locals of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland report their having seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The apparition is later named “Our Lady of Knock” and the spot transformed into a Catholic pilgrimage site. 1883 – An F5 tornado strikes Rochester, Minnesota, leading to the creation of the Mayo Clinic. 1888 – The first successful adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.

[history-today]

On This Day In History

August 21st, 1791: Dutty Boukman and  Cécile Fatiman preside over a Vodou ceremony that becomes the beginning of the Haitian Revolution.

[scrollofthoth]

Today we celebrate the Greater Feast of Dutty Boukman, hougan, leader, revolutionary, and Saint of Emergent Magick. Dutty Boukman exemplifies the Emergent Magick philosophy of using magick to change the culture and change the world. A Muslim cleric in his homeland, Boukman was enslaved and taken to the French colony of Haiti. There he became a Vodou priest (hougan), and used that religion to unite the slaves that came from all over Africa. Boukman presided over the Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman, which was the spark that ignited the Haitian Revolution, creating the first and only black African nation run by former slaves in the Americas. Vive la revolution! Hail Dutty Boukman! Long live Haiti!

“The Good Lord who created the sun which gives us light from above, who rouses the sea and makes the thunder roar–listen well, all of you–this god, hidden in the clouds, watches us. He sees all that the white people do. The god of the white people demands from them crimes; our god asks for good deeds. But this god who is so good demands vengeance! He will direct our hands; he will aid us. Throw away the image of the god of the whites who thirsts for our tears, and listen to the voice of liberty which speaks in the hearts of all of us.”

— Dutty Boukman

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

By Stephen Millies

News of the French Revolution reached Haiti and created a political ferment as it became known to people in slavery. Dutty Boukman, an African originally enslaved in Jamaica, started a revolt in August 1791. Over 1,800 plantations were burned. Boukman was eventually killed, bravely fighting. But new leaders like Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines arose. The rising of Haiti’s enslaved people could not be stopped, and it found support among the French poor.

[ancestralvoices]

"If you want to win, cast aside your white god and embrace your Afrikan spirit" -Dutty Boukman👑 via Memnon Uzan #nofilter #nofilterneeded #dutty #boukman #jamaica #jamaican #jamaicaman #hougan #ougan #manbo #spiritofrevolution #revolution #revolutionary #revolutionnow #voodoo #vodu #vodun https://www.instagram.com/p/CC9fXeJDN8x/?igshid=1v1pnfxskaool

[dailyhistoryposts]

On This Day In History

August 14th, 1791: The Haitian Revolution starts, with a Vodou ceremony led by oungan Dutty Boukman for plantation slaves.

[rockofeye]

On Haiti's day of ancestral remembrance, one of my siblings shared this letter with us. It is a monumental letter; it has not been often that Africa has collectively spoken to and about Haiti. It's a sad and beautiful love letter, and speaks some really deep truths. They are right; Haiti is dying right now and it is past time that the international community take responsibility for what hundreds of years of international interference has wrought. I hope this is the impetus for action because the reality of Haiti right now is worse than can accurately be described.

Below is an English translation of the above linked article.

EMBARGO: January 1 , 2023

And especially my body as well as my soul,

be careful not to cross your arms

in the sterile attitude of the spectator,

because life is not a spectacle,

because a sea of ​​​​pains is not a proscenium,

because a a screaming man is not a dancing bear.

Aimé Césaire, Excerpt from Notebook of a Return to the Native Land (1939).

Captured in the valleys once trodden by Afarensis, or from Zanzibar, Madagascar, Gorée, El Mina, Bimbia, Benguela, Luanda, Cabinda, savannahs and forests, Ségou, Benin, Sokoto, the banks of the Congo or Oubangui, or along other great rivers, Ogooué, Casamance, Niger, Sanaga, having left the cosmogony that still binds them today to the mother of all continents, enslaved Africans arrived centuries ago in the Americas . In the worst forced migration of all time, the transatlantic slave trade took some of these men, women and children to Kiskeya, also known as Hispaniola, the island now shared by Haiti and the Republic Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Sea.

A land immersed in African traditions, Haiti, the "Pearl of the Antilles" or "Mountain Country" in the Taino language, is the nation where black slaves have shown the greatest resilience.

On August 14, 1791 in the forest of Bois Caïman, the voodoo priest Dutty Boukman organized a ceremony with the support of the priestess Cécile Fatiman, a "mambo" who performed sacrifices. On that memorable stormy night, the enslaved participants solemnly swore that servitude would be doomed, taking an oath to fight or die. They will later obey the orders of Toussaint Louverture in the revolt orchestrated by the remarkable leader. His epic – rare, if not unique – victory over one of the worst crimes ever committed against humanity continues to be recounted by many. Toussaint, a Caribbean island strategist and visionary, defeated the stubborn Napoleon, an island native from Corsica. This historic victory has been sung by great poets like Aimé Césaire.

On January 1, 2023, the first black republic celebrates the 219th anniversary of its glorious independence. However, the Pearl of the Antilles is dying.

Haiti was forced to pay a ransom to France as compensation to French slave owners for lost property, or else slavery would be reimposed and Haiti invaded. In May 2022, The New York Times published a well-researched series of articles titled “The Ransom: Haiti Lost Billions” [ The Ransom: Haiti Lost Billions], which recounts this perfidy. Port-au-Prince has so far paid up to $115 billion to France, a staggering sum for Haiti, a ransom that has left the poor country heavily indebted. Poor governance, corruption and invasions add to an already unbearable burden for the Haitian people. In addition, the American military occupation, from 1915 to 1934, had a large New York bank as its main financial backer. Ultimately, all of these factors could only result in a failed state fueled for many decades by the adrenaline of violence and the jolts of anarchy and chaos. The ravages of earthquakes, massive deforestation and the exile of its citizens have worsened the plight of Haiti.

Tormented and neglected, installed in instability, Haiti seems close to shipwreck. The security situation is dire. Famine affects nearly five million people. Shortly after the 2010 earthquake, a cholera epidemic imported by UN peacekeepers broke out in Haiti after no case had been detected there for more than a century. In the face of these accusations, the then United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, had the courage and integrity to issue a formal apology. Today, the resurgence of cholera is causing more deaths. On December 21, 2022, addressing the Security Council, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed said that “Haiti finds itself in a deepening crisis of a magnitude and unprecedented complexity."

One of the biggest challenges is that much of Port-au-Prince – a capital of nearly 3 million people – is in the hands of gangs. Their names are taken from urban tragedies – 400 Mawazos , Chen mechan , Fire-eaters… . The list of gang leaders includes Barbecue, Gaspiyai… . Their only motivation seems to be financial and criminal. The gangs have taken the country hostage: they kill; they rape; they are flying. Sexual violence is the breeding ground for a future in which society may lack cohesion.

The police are either overwhelmed or complicit. The Haitian army, that not-so-distant Macoute memory, was dismantled by the international community in the 1990s. Demobilized soldiers were never properly reintegrated into society. The judicial system is moribund. To date, the international community has been able to fund less than 20% of Haiti's current humanitarian needs, while elsewhere in the world billions of dollars are generously flowing in to alleviate other humanitarian crises.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere is caught in a recurring nightmare, as if the country relives the adventures told in " The Comedians ", a masterpiece published by Graham Greene in 1966. The novel, located under the reign of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his Tontons Macoutes, explores the political repression and terrorism that are rampant in Haiti, and particularly in Port-au-Prince.

However, Haiti should not be viewed solely as a tragic and brutal story. The country of Makandal, Toussaint and Dessalines is endowed with magnificent creativity and sustained by remarkable hope. Haiti has always been culturally brilliant and intellectually stimulating.

The iconic Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince once attracted bands such as the Rolling Stones. Afterwards, hellish processions of the Ra-Ra by the "root music" group RAM invaded the hotel. Haiti is also the country of the talented musician Wycleff Jean; the Tabou Combo group; or even the unforgettable Jean Gesner Henry, alias Coupé Cloué or “the African”, the king of kompa mamba, a catchy musical style widespread throughout the world. Writers, playwrights, filmmakers, poets, artists, educators, musicians and artisans abound. The stunning beauty of the countryside is praised in the books of Haitian neurologist, novelist and poet Jean Métellus (1937 – 2014), such as in Jacmel at Dusk. Christophe, tragic king, is immortalized in a masterpiece by Aimé Césaire, the literary giant of neighboring Martinique. For more than a century, Haiti has also given birth to magnificent authors and poets: Joseph Anténor Firmin, Louis Joseph Janvier, Justin Lhérisson, Jean-Price Mars, Félix Morisseau-Leroy, Charles Moravia, Frankétienne, Anthony Phelps, Dany Laferrière , Louis-Philippe Dalembert, Edwige Danticat, René Depestre… and many others.

The biggest tragedies, like the 2010 earthquake, certainly killed and maimed many people, destroying infrastructure. But these dramas have not shaken the soul of this astonishing and endearing country. Like the intrepid Haitian woman, Haiti remains surprisingly upright, and its culture vibrant.

The international community, sub-regional and regional organizations, academics, media, communicators, the private sector, the Haitian comprador bourgeoisie: all have a responsibility towards Haiti. It's not an easy conversation. Migration issues are a hot topic in most Western countries. In September 2021, images of American guards on horseback armed with whips pushing back Haitian migrants at the border with Mexico caused a stir around the world. But these whiplashes from the time of the slave trade cannot rewrite the heroic history that Haitians wrote with their blood, sweat, tears and courage. Haiti is the only slave-led military uprising that was able to overthrow a slave-holding colonial power.

The international community was called upon to step in and fight the gangs. Just as the corrugated iron walls of Haiti's slums will not stop stray bullets, our physical estrangement from Haiti will not prevent tragedy from piercing our souls and our comfort zones. In light of past failures, one can honestly wonder if foreign military intervention in Haiti would provide a lasting solution. Either way, inertia is not an option. Any intervention must revisit history and learn from it, prioritize security, actively promote and support justice while helping to build trust and good governance. The situation must be addressed as a whole, without delay.

What the international community will or will not do is of crucial importance. Nevertheless, we support Haitian citizens who want an end to anarchy and violence, who want justice. To measure the strength and value of a family, one must observe the solidarity with which it protects the most vulnerable of its members. The first black republic, perhaps the most fragile of the family of Nations, lacks food, drinking water, fuel, peace, justice.

We issue this urgent call: let us act now, with a new and genuine benevolence, whatever the risks, and without individual geopolitical intentions. Haitian populations are in danger. History will not be kind to those who remain inactive or who choose to look elsewhere.

It would be non-assistance to a people in danger.

It is difficult to envisage the resolution of this Gordian knot without outside intervention. The Haitian people will only be able to vote and freely choose their leaders if there is security.

A member of the family of nations is held hostage by the contours of historic injustices, recurring bad governance and the brutality of armed gangs: the whole family must step in to free this member from the hostage takers as well as the contingencies of previous failures. Haitians would fly with with their wings towards the heights of human development, we sincerely hope so.

Sitting idly by is not an option.

So let's gather our forces for success in Haiti, and as Césaire predicted, there will be room for everyone at the rendezvous of victory .

Otherwise, we will all be guilty of not having helped this heroic people in danger.

Let us respond to the poetic exhortation of Jean Métellus. From his exile a few decades ago, his poem was a beautiful cry, “  Au pipirite chantant ”. His lament has not aged a bit. This is the plea of

“Haitian peasant who with singing pipirite,

despises memory and makes plans

He revokes the past braided by plagues and smoke

And from daybreak he tells his glory on the fresh galleries

of young shoots”

We stand with the Haitians. Let's act now. For Haiti, for humanity.

(*) Signatories:

Adama Dieng , the initiator of this forum, is a former United Nations Under-Secretary-General. He served in the UN as a former Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide and Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He is also a former board member of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).

Macky Sall , President of Senegal, President of the African Union.

José Ramos-Horta , President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste; co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.

Moussa Faki Mahamat , Chairperson of the African Union Commission; Former Prime Minister of Chad.

Alpha Oumar Konaré , former President of Mali; former Chairperson of the African Union Commission; former President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan , former President of Nigeria; Mediator of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Catherine Samba-Panza, former Head of State, Central African Republic.

The Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean , former Governor General of Canada; former UNESCO special envoy to support reconstruction efforts in Haiti; former Chancellor of the University of Ottawa; former Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka , former Vice-President of South Africa; former Executive Director of UN Women; Former Co-Chair of the United Nations Descendant Senior Officials Group (UNSAG).

Epsy Alejandra Campbell Barr , former Vice President of Costa Rica; President of the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent.

Graça Machel , President of the Board of the Graça Machel Foundation ( Graça Machel Trust ).

Miguel Ángel Moratinos , former High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations; former Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE; former Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

Sir Dennis Byron , former President of the Caribbean Court of Justice; former President of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute ; former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR); Chairman of the United Nations Internal Justice Council.

Serge Letchimy, President of the Executive Council of Martinique and former member of the French National Assembly.

Mujahid Alam (Retired General), Principal of Lawrence College , Ghora Gali, Murree, Pakistan.

Sonia Maria Barbosa Dias , Education Specialist, São Paulo, Brazil.

Mbaranga Gasarabwe , former Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA); former United Nations Resident Coordinator in Mali; former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security.

Souleymane Bachir Diagne , Philosopher; Director of the Institute of African Studies and Professor of French and Philosophy at Columbia University.

Andrew Thompson , Professor of World Imperial History at Oxford University and Full Professor at Nuffield College , Oxford.

Othman Mohamed , former Chief Justice of Tanzania and Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the death of Dag Hammarskjöld.

Amadou Lamine Sall , Winner of the 2018 edition of the Tchicaya U Tam'si Prize for African Poetry; Winner in 1991 of the Prize for the influence of French language and literature, awarded by the French Academy.

Sheila Walker, Ph.D. , Author; Cultural anthropologist and documentary filmmaker; Executive Director of Afrodiaspora, Inc.

Jean-Victor Nkolo , former spokesperson for three Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly; Worked in ten UN peacekeeping operations, including in Haiti.

Euzhan Palcy , Director, screenwriter and film producer (Martinique, France).

Bacre Waly Ndiaye , Lawyer at the Bar of Senegal; Former member of the Truth and Justice Commission in Haiti.

Willem Alves Dias , Film Editor, Brazil.

René Lake, Journalist and Expert in international development.

Doudou Diène, Senegalese lawyer; former UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

Ben Kioko , Judge, former Vice-President of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Aver-Dieng Ndaté , Lawyer at the Geneva Bar, Vice-President of the African Peace Conference.

Akere Tabeng Muna , Lawyer and International Legal Consultant on Governance and Anti-Corruption; former President of the Pan-African Lawyers Union; former President of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (ECOSOCC); former Chair of the Panel of Eminent Persons of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder-Kone , aka CCH Pounder , Actress and philanthropist; Art collector; HIV/AIDS activist; co-founder of the Boribana museum in Dakar.