The Present State of Hayti (Saint Domingo) with Remarks on its Agriculture, Commerce, Laws, Religion, Finances, and Population
Jameson Franklin
Jameson Franklin
The Present State of Hayti (Saint Domingo) with Remarks on its Agriculture, Commerce, Laws, Religion, Finances, and Population
PREFACE
The Author has prepared this work for the press somewhat hastily, and under many circumstances which heavily oppressed him; he hopes therefore that the want of arrangement, and the dearth of matter which may be observed in his narrative, will not subject it to a severe condemnation. In presenting it to the public, he is not actuated by any personal considerations, his object being to convey some information respecting the resources of a country, and the character of a people, which have been so variously represented. The short delineation here attempted will, in all probability, suffice to shew that the accounts which have been given at different times of Hayti and its inhabitants have been much too highly coloured by the zealous advocates of negro independence; and he is ready to confess that at one time he was somewhat dazzled by the description, and was almost made a convert to their opinions. It having been his lot however, at a subsequent period, to hold considerable intercourse with the country, he has been enabled to form what he considers a more correct estimate of its present condition. Experience has convinced him that the representations so generally received of the improvement which it has made are greatly exaggerated, and he is not without the hope that the following sheets will convey more correct information on the subject, and thus prove useful to the merchant, if not interesting to the general reader.
He readily admits that in the historical part he has touched upon matters which have been already handled by other and much abler writers; this could not be very well avoided, the annals of Hayti affording but few events, and those having been often detailed. He conceived that such a summary of the history of the country would be necessary to illustrate the cause of the revolution, to shew the decline which ensued in agriculture and commerce, the decay of knowledge, and the progress of vice and immorality among the inhabitants.
Actuated therefore by the desire of throwing some light on the state of Hayti, and giving a faithful representation of the condition of its population, he ventures to solicit the attention of the public to the facts which have fallen under his own personal observation.
INTRODUCTION
An account of the present state of Hayti I believe has not yet been submitted to the public; to offer one likely to meet with a favourable reception is, I am aware, an undertaking of considerable difficulty: it requires, no doubt, that the author should be well skilled in the various branches of knowledge, in order to render it in every respect satisfactory and interesting to the public. Ignorant as I acknowledge myself to be in the higher walks of philosophy, and educated solely for the more humble avocations of a mercantile life, I can lay no claim to such acquirements: I must therefore rest my hope of commanding any degree of attention, on the truth and correctness of the statements which I shall produce, founded as they are on actual observation. I am conscious that I am standing on delicate ground, and touching on a subject likely to excite angry feelings in those who have long been the eulogists of the republic, who have been its advocates when assailed, and who have held it forth to the world as a country in which wealth abounds, virtue flourishes, and freedom reigns triumphant, instead of the oppression, the vice, and the poverty which once prevailed there; but I will not shrink from the undertaking, though powerful obstacles may present themselves, and formidable opponents be arrayed against me. My object in the following sheets is, to endeavour to dissipate this delusion, and to shew that there is nothing to warrant the unqualified panegyrics poured forth by those individuals who have been the mos