Reading Notes Week 7 Part A

Reading Notes 

Week 7

3/6/18

• After Toussaint's exile the an ruthless second in command obtained charge in the raging revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines successfully defeated the French in 1803.
• After his victory he claimed a new nation and named it Haiti.
•  Dessalines crowned himself emperor and then in 1804 wrote "Liberty or Death" or the "proclamation"
• Dessalines was a former slave who was given no schooling but didn't let that fact prevent his document he created that had been laced with both cleverness and intelligence
• pg. 36 "the ancient tree of slavery and prejudices, "
• Compared the slave trade to "cannibalistic consumption of fellow human beings" 
• His proclamation made it to about 50 different US newspapers 
• In 1806 Dessalines was assassinated and left a complex legacy behind (described well on pg.36 as well in a bout a sentence)
• "Yes we have rendered to these true cannibals war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage; Yes I have saved my country, I have avenged America.
• Dessalines was passionate and very blunt in speech but also looked at issues through a stern but wise view point. A humanistic view point. 
• Olaudah Equine was the first freed slave to write an autobiography and was pleased to have it challenge the views of pro-slave writers at that time who believed that Africans were not human beings.
• His writing was profound, Olaudah was barred from education but still wrote his own autobiography that showed "extraordinary intellectual powers" and this was bad business for the debate on slaves not being people. Because how can an African who is not a human being writing so intelligently. 
• His book had about 39 editions before 1857 and was translated into German and Dutch And Russia. 
• Not only was the topic of slavery making his book so popular but the places he traveled were exotic and he went all over the world. Which was intriguing to read and gained Olaudah white audiences who were fascinated by his travel and intelligence. pg. 73