Maronage - Haiti Observer Blog

In 1750s, free mulattoes and blacks starts to amass power and wealth. Many secure plantations, particularly coffee plantations in the South and the West. In 1759, there is Makandal Conspiracy. Francois Macandal, a maroon leader, conspires a plot that is to spread to all corners of the colony of poisoning the whites in the North. It all begins in the North, with the vast network of Makandal collaborators, particularly trusted domestic workers, starting to poison the households of their masters, including those slaves who cannot be trusted. There is a frantic search by the whites on the nature and cause of the illnesses and death. A female slave is interrogated, and she betrays the rebel leader. A massive manhunt is launched by the planters.

Read more →  

Former President René Préval once captioned the energy crisis in Haiti, stating that, in Port-au-Prince, they had an average two hours of electricity daily. In the rural areas, this electricity shortage is even worse. It is due to the lack of fuel to run generators, a lack which Ugo Chavez and the Venezuelan Government had offered to resolve for years.

When newly independent Haiti gave refuge and arms to the South American Liberator Simón Bolívar in 1815, they were unwittingly investing in the country's future, as it was this act which spurred Chavez into the courtship of Haiti and the 'pragmatic' Préval.

Read more →