Dear Editor,
After reading Prof. Nigel Westmaas ‘comparative perspective’ of Sept 8 between the Berbice rebellion of 1763-64 and that of the Haitian revolution of 1791-1801, it became clear ‘history repeats itself’, and I felt another comparative perspective is required between the then Haitian revolution and that of current events in the Middle East, specifically the on-going brutal responses on the Palestinians in the Gaza and West Bank by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant following the attack by Hamas fighters who attacked a music festival in Israel on October 7, killing hundreds.
In November 1799, Napolean Bonaparte carried out a coup in France, naming himself first consul. With the help of his brother-in-law, Victor Emmanuel Leclerc he eliminated parliament, silence public debate, and centralized power in his own hands. In late 1801, Napolean placed Leclerc in charge of a military expedition to Haiti (Saint-Domingue). Publicly, he proclaimed his commitment to liberty in the colonies and announced that the troops had an innocuous mission: to help buttress the defenses of the territory and keep order there. But he gave his brother-in-law detailed secret instructions, where he was either to co-opt or destroy the black generals / leadership and prepare the way for the reestablishment of the old colonial order.
Facing increasingly steadfast and united resistance, Leclerc recommended a “war of extermination” against the population of the colony. After the defection of Dessalines (who in April 1802 had surrendered to the French after making a deal to save his rank and privilege), he wrote to Napolean in October 1802 stating “We must destroy all the blacks of the mountains – men and women, and spare only children under age twelve.” Of the people that he considered salvageable in the plains, only half of them need to be killed. Today, it is estimated over 40,000+ Palestinians were killed.
Sincerely,
Monte Griffith
