God, satan and the birth of haiti

if you've heard the comments by pat robertson about haiti making a pact with the devil and that is why the country is now so poor, you might want to read this 3-part article series by a haitian christian pastor and scholar:

God, Satan and the birth of Haiti by Jean R. Gelin, Ph.D: part one, part two, part three

it looks as if haiti's poverty has much more to do with colonialism than an unsubstantiated rumor of a satanic pact:

Haiti was forced to pay a large compensation to France before its independence could finally be accepted. Many historians believe that this huge financial burden, in the order of several millions and lasting one century, plays a critical role in the country’s slow but steady descent into poverty.

and those who led the 1804 revolution were hardly claiming satan as their champion:

as many of Haiti’s first leaders were Catholic Christians¹¹, they believed with all their heart and mind that it was the will of God for them to either live as free men and women or at least die fighting for their freedom. I invite you to read for yourself how these heroic men described their conditions and motives – in their own words:

God who fights for the innocent is our guide, He will not forsake us. To win or to die! There lies our motto that we will defend up to the last drop of our blood. We lack neither powder nor canons. So, Death or Liberty! May God grant it to us without the shedding of blood. Then all our wishes will be fulfilled.¹²

This is an excerpt from a letter sent to the French Governor Blanchelande who wanted to know why the slaves had revolted, as if being a slave was not in and of itself a sufficient reason. But what is interesting about the exchange is that it took place not before but after the Bois-Caiman meeting. Now, why would they claim God was on their side and guiding them, if – as the rumor goes - they had already made an alliance with the devil? It seems to me that if anybody had to know about the existence or non-existence of a satanic agreement it must have been the very people who made the deal, if such a thing ever took place. Among those who fought, bled, and died for Haiti’s independence, there may have well been some who believed and practiced Vodou and others who probably had no religious faith at all and believed only in their weapons. But as for the actual leaders of the revolution, the letter says a lot about the object of their faith and the source of their strength and determination. The above excerpt clearly shows that the fathers of the Haitian revolution believed God was on their side, guiding them as the protector and defender of the innocent.

update:

after looking into this a little more it seems that in haiti, vodou (voodoo) and roman catholicism are often practiced together with catholic prayers even being recited at the beginning of voduo services (i.e. syncretism). while even the existence of the service where the supposed pact with satan is in question, so is the assertion that God was the deity being worshipped since many catholics in haiti also practice voduo. regardless, to attribute haiti's poverty to an event that may not have even occurred and to completely ignore the role of colonialism and unethical debt practices is quite misleading and irresponsible. surely, haiti's economic problems are a lot more complex than simply attributing them to a pact with the devil.

ht: tallskinnykiwi