Abb Gr goire and Haitian Independence

Bibliographic Data

ID9251027
AuthorsJean-François Brière (corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume35
Issue2
Pages34-43
Publication date2004-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueResearch in African Literatures (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-5210 • E-ISSN: 1527-2044
PublisherIndiana University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2979/ral.2004.35.2.34
OpenAlexW2031544100
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited2

This article examines the attiude of Abbe Gregoire, the abolitionist bishop who supported the French Revolution, towards Haitian independence. Because Gregoire remained steadfast in his beliefs that republican universalism and the Christian faith were the key to social and moral progress, his attitude toward independence of Saint-Domingue changed. Until 1802, Gregoire remained hostile to such independence because he saw the colonial bond between revolutionary continental France and its colonies as a way to bring freedom and equality to oppressed black people in the West Indies. Following his unsuccessful attempt to extend the arm of the French constitutional church to Saint-Domingue, the re-establishment of slavery, and the failed French expedition aimed at retaking control of Saint-Domingue (1802), Gregoire switched his position to supporting Haitian independence, seeing the new republic as the last remaining territory to carry the revolutionary ideals of liberty and equality. While his personal situation worsened during the Restoration, Gregoire remained very supportive to Haiti. He was, however, saddened to see the Haitian republic run by an authoritarian regime and later by the country's apparent willingness to satisfy France's conditions for the recognition of Haitian independence

Independence (probability theory · Statistics · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · History · Mathematics

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