78 Responses to “Timeline: Haiti & the Dominican Republic”
Leave a Reply
Please note that the THIRTEEN editorial staff reserves the right to not post comments it deems to be inappropriate and/or malicious in nature, as well as edit comments for length, clarity and fairness. No solicitations or advertisements will be allowed. Users may link to other Web sites relevant to discussion, but most often links to commercial Web sites will not be permitted.
First let me say ,that I am from Chile and have traveled to the DR many times, I don’t see whats the big deal, the DR is a mixed country, there are whites, mulattos and blacks, and they rather be called Mixed, the documentary was one sided, Dr gates only showed blacks Dominicans or maybe Haitians born and raiced there, and trust me there are millions of Haitians in the DR now , He didn’t go to La Vega , Jarabacoa , Sosua, and other places there there are a lot of whites, He only showed the side he wanted to show. I know Dominicans well , since I have been going there since 1989, and trust me they are very proud of who they are , and not in any denial as Dr Gate wants to show he, they feel like a mixed country with people from Africa, Europe, Asia, and middle east and feel 100% Latinos. Now in the Documentary , Dr Gate show an American point of view of races and Can’t understand why Mullatos don’t feel “Africans” like he and the Haitians feels, Its simple really, because Dominicans are Latinos,that’s why Mr Gates, It doesn’t get it.
If Dr Gate and the Haitians want to feel African ,that is fine, But I think this Documentary just make the DR look bad because it is one sided. Dr Gates you are living on planet earth, Not planet United States, ..The US point of view on races is not the only one on this planet.
Even in the TIMELINE, this article or documentary leave out some very important facts about Dominican history, Like the date of our real original INDEPENDENCE which was in DECEMBER 1ST , 1821 from SPAIN by Jose Nunez de Caceres, and 3 months later , the newly independent Dominican state was invaded by the Haitians, just because they had an Army with over 20,000 troops and the Dominicans did not, since the independence was peaceful from Spain, The population of Dominicans at that time was about 80,000 compare to more than 600,000 Haitians with an Army and the desire to control the whole island by themselves and also to control the resources they needed to pay off the billion in debt to France. This Documentary is one side , showing the Dominicans and Haitians as the same , but the Dominicans are ignorant and stupid and Haitians proud of being Black, Which is so far from reality, Dr Gate just got the opinion of a few Dominicans that agreed with him, not the Majority and only went to black towns and areas and ignore the Mulatto Majority and white minority and ignore the Dominican mixed culture or people of , Asian, European and Arab heritage, everything was pointed to being Black and how ignorant and racist Dominicans are and how Good is to be a proud Haitians,
We don’t feel Black , because we are mixed, we don’t feel white either,We don’t want to be from Spain, We gained our Independence from Spain in 1821 and Yes we are proud of our Colonial history and Spanish culture and language and also proud of our African culture rich in Music, food, and history but WE ARE DOMINICANS, not a color, but a mixed nation and Dr Gates don’t want to accept that, we are a mixed Latin American country , that had the horrible experience of having its independence taken by force by Haitians which brought horrors, abuse,exile, rape, killings and anger, and that is the root of the Haitian-Dominican problems, not Trujillo like this Documentary want to show.
The only time in Dominican-Haitians relationships in 200 years that the word ” BROTHERS” have been use by Haitians is now, since 2010 because of the horror of their devastating earthquake , now that the country is destroyed, they are looking for Dominican help, Now they are calling us ” Brother” before that it was pure hate, racism and distrust. This documentary is painting the Dominicans as the blacks that refuse to accept that they are blacks, The DR is a mixed country, We are Mulattos which mean of white and black heritage, and that’s what this Propaganda of Dr Gates ignore, if the Haitians are proud of being so black, well that;s great, In the meantime we will be proud of being mixed and Latin Americans, Just because we share the same island with Haitians does not make us the same, both Countries are proud of their heritage and cultures, and I think that is the best way to leave things , instead of shoving the American point of view of race on everybody else.
And by the way Dr Gates , the Dominicans became an independent country in December 1st
,1821 before the Haitians invaded our country in 1822, Although the date celebrated as independence day is Feb 27th 1844, we were an independent state in 1821 from Spain . Spain formed our culture and nation, Not Haiti, The Haitians tried to kill us, and that is the reason for all the troubles,
The comments on this forum show the division between Dominicans and Haitians, One proud of being Black and the other proud to be mixed. I just don’t understand what is the big deal??? Both Countries are different with different cultures,histories and languages, Why not leave it like it is , instead of bringing up all this hate.
This documentary is just the point of view of an African American and does not take into consideration the point of view of other countries that have different ideas about colors and races mixing .For Dr Gate and the USA if you have 10% black blood ,then you are BLACK and that is all, and when he go to the DR and the people are 50/50 , well guess what??? he only see BLACKS in denial. But Dominican see themselves as MULATOS, proud of being mixed Latinos.
For DR Gate and all the Haitians hating on Dominicans: Is the word Mulatto so hard to understand????.. That is what the majority of Dominicans are, 70% to be correct, and we are proud of that, we are happy to have African and Spanish culture, of our language , food, music, history everything Dominican, We are not in denial like some Haitians here are saying, We just feel like a mixed country, its what we are!! If the Haitians want to celebrate being black, well good for them, and remember that Haitians are 95% black and 5% Mulattos because Blacks killed all Haitians of French heritage, we never did anything like that to Dominicans of European heritage, we are not so racist like the Haitians are, we welcome people from all over the world ,including millions of ilegal Haitians that now leaving in the DR, the country that help them the most but the country that they love to hate the most.
Just watched it online. I agree with some of the detracting statements above but on balance appreciate Dr. Gates’ highlighting the history of Hispaniola and the other Latin countries. Curious why he didn’t touch on the British Colonies – perhaps because that Black experience is better known? Then again, the subject is ‘Latin America’. And broadly speaking, realizing how culturally/historically ignorant Americans are of such issues, he did a great service. To this day, some African Americans think they were the only slaves.
I’m a Mulatto from the British W. Indies. Dr. Gates has approached this ‘Blackness’ from more of an American construct. The one-drop rule that I never realized until I moved here. My features are more ‘Latin’ looking so I’m not identified as Black visually by others. Back in college I was somewhat surprised that the P. Ricans & Dominicans I met (ones were obviously of mixed African heritage) seemed to think of ‘Hispanic’ as a race unto itself. The issues are more complex than Dr. Gates could put into a 1 hour made for TV documentary (Though as a Princeton Prof., you’d expect bit more rigid academic standards). I don’t want to deny either side of my heritage. But when it comes to acceptance, pretty sure Blacks/Africans would be more accepting of me than Whites even though I’m actually a bit more White.
BTW … include Bob Marley in the list of all these famous Mulattoes.
Seems that the film got a lot of things wrong about the Dominican Republic. This timeline for example reproduces what is a common misconception, that slavery in the DR was less burdensome, less “antagonistic” which simply is not true. The Spaniards killed off most of the Tainos and then proceeded to import slaves who also died off in great numbers. Their servitude was so harsh that they were compelled to rebel in 1522 — the first Slave Rebellion in the New World (another crucial date the timeline conveniently leaves out), and the slave wars continued for the rest of the century with extreme violence on both sides. Ask Enriquillo or any of the other numerous rebel leaders if they thought that slavery there was less antagonistic! Due to internal strife (the “devastaciones”) and external circumstances such as Piracy, the DR declined economically and slaves were no longer imported in significant numbers. But their place in society was never anything more than chattel. Really, this is such poor scholarship. Why is it North Americans so often fail to understand Latin American history? As for the issue of Dominicans accepting their African heritage, it is true, though it will be denied by many, that there is even today some resistance to the idea that Dominicans have an African root. Many prefer to think of themselves as white European (Spanish) or Taino –and these racial characteristics have certainly survived in much of the population. Though the 70s was a turbulent period of new ideas and progressive thinking about race and class, the island never had quite the same degree of black consciousness raising as was experienced in the States. No one went through the streets proclaiming, “Say it loud, I’m Black and I’m proud.” Nonetheless things began to change then, and they are changing even more today. Young Dominicans are not so hung up on their black heritage and many of them are proud of it. What looks like hesitation or self delusion (North Americans incessantly comment on the Dominican distinction between “pelo bueno” and “pelo malo”, for example), is often rather more complex. It may involve a repudiation of one’s African heritage or then again it may not. My wife wore an afro for a while and then she reverted to straightening her hair because that is the dominant mode. But she has no anxiety about her roots. She accepts them happily. On the other hand, blackness is still handled euphemistically in some instances — one never refers to a dark skinned person as “negro”; one uses the polite term, “moreno.” My point is that race relations and race definition are rather more complicated in Latin America and North Americans often fail to grasp the subtleties and the cultural dynamics. Gates spent too little time in DR to achieve adequate understanding, and since he doesnt speak the language and doesnt know Latin American history very well, he is at a disadvantage that can only cripple his analysis.
i’m a little amazed that so many latinos don’t seem to understand how race is defined in the states. if you have african ancestry, and you look like you have at least some (or might have some), that means ‘black’ in america. and that’s been the case for hundreds of years. i know people from latin american who migrate here, hate it, but it is what it is.
when a typical american sees a dominican he’s gonna say that person is black, even if dominicans don’t call themselves that. about 25% or 13 million latinos in america are afro-latinos but only about 1 million self-identify as black. so you can see the resistance here on this racial identity issue.
african americans who are mostly white identify as black because that’s how america determines race, and african americans accept that with a great amount of ‘black’ pride. but the conceprt of black pride really doesn’t exist in latin america. what you really want is to be honorary europeans.
WE ARE ALL DECENDANTS FROM AFRICA ; ALL RACES OF PEOPLE ARE FROM THE AFRICAN CONTINENT. THIS IS A PROVEN FACT THROUGH SCIENCE AND DNA, SO HISPANIC ,BLACK, WHITE , INDIAN, ASIAN, WHOM EVER AFRICA IS WHERE YOU STARTED OUT.
After reading some of the comments made by Dominicans, I have concluded that self-hatred runs deep in that country. Help is on the way. The island will one day be whole again and these aspiring Caucasians will finally get to see the light.
Toress-Salliant: El Retorno de la Yolas
“La meta por lograr en los años venideros ha de ser ayudar al pueblo dominicano a reconocerse en la genuina complejidad de su ser. Los cuidadanos futuros deberán ser capaces de verse y amarse en su herencia africana …”
E PLURIBUS UNUM !!!
This is really such a small thing when you consider the bigger problems that we as humanity and a planet face or are oblivious to.
Many of the individuals upset I notice are of Dominican heritage. I find it sad and disheartening that the self-hatred has taken over their country. It is understandable that people don’t want to say they are just black when they are mixed or they are White but say if that is the case say I am mulatto, I am black,I am mestizo, or I am white. But, many of the people in the documentary and even those that I have met totally deny their African ancestry. I don’t think Mr. Gates is preaching “I’m Black and I’m Proud”, but to be truthful to yourself. Dominican is a nationality, not a race. Be proud of who you are and the skin you are in.
The timeline presented is even more biased than Dr. Gates’ documentary. The numerous Haitian invasions to the Eastern side of Hispaniola during the 19th Century are not mentioned at all. Even though all of them resulted in more deaths than Trujillo’s inexcusable massacre. Even though on at least 5 occasions the Eastern side was invaded militarily after declaring its independence from Haiti, becoming the Dominican Republic in 1844.
We may not be as “purely black” as the Haitians became after killing or expelling all the whites and mulattoes.
But hey, look at us now: one country has managed to prosper. While the other is the most miserably failed state this side of the Atlantic.
What a waste…
Being born in the Dom. Rep. and having a light skinned father and a dark skinned mother, I’m still amazed at the Dominicans nit picking your work because they still don’t believe they are black. There are no true caucasian Dominicans on the island of Hispañola. I traveled four times to DR in 2011 and I had many conversations with different countrymen and I came to the conclusion that the country is still stuck in a third world mentality that abuses their women and the poor. There are some in DR that still want to celebrate the life of Trujillo while still languishing in poverty. Dominicans need a history lesson. Your documentary was a good as Junot Diaz’s The Brief And Wonderous Life Of Oscar Wao. Sometimes the truth hurts!
“Being black and American I say “black” first its my identity but my roots have native american, white, and african in my background. I have pride in being what I am. Spain is Europe it will never be African like the DR will never be Europeans.”
“You have dark skin wide noses full lips but you claim to be “indo” just another word to confuse the mind. You are an african scattered aboard like All of us brown people. Stop being full of shame and embrace who you are. ”
Mekko. Why is it ok for YOU to claim “black” if you are mixed, but a Dominican claiming to be “indio” is “just another word to confuse the mind”? That sounds so one-sided of you. Like You can, but no one else is allowed. Por Dios. As time goes on I develop this hatred towards all things from the US. They are self-centered and arrogant. They can ALWAYS do something, but when someone else is doing it………. no. Listening to some of those people does nothing for me. If you TRULY want to “Stop being full of shame and embrace who you are”, then be “native american, white, and african” which is what you just said you are.
Dominicans probably are not reading what you are saying as most still speak Spanish. Those that speak English are not all picking apart your hypocrisy. And most African Americans want to coerce Latinos to go beyond just accepting their African-ness (which most do) and JUST be “black” so they can claim higher numbers as they dwindle down to nothing. The largest group of African-descended people outside of Africa is the LATINO CROWD. Not only WEST African, but East and North as well……. more than the US. What’s happening is that the US wants to be the only ones who dictate history and culture to the rest of us. We’re more than you. Remember that. Eventually Mexicans will become so dominant that ignoring Latinos will be difficult. This whole Zimmerman thing, while it has several dynamics going on, is proof that many are just UNCOMFORTABLE with us around. We don’t mind you, but many of you seem to mind us. Whenever something goes on with us, we opt to not say anything against US African American. The other way around? Forget it. They will sit there and demand, demand, demand. Latinos need to start “demanding” stuff also. It’s getting ridiculous to be painted with YOUR racist brush. The one that the U.S. painted you with. Our nations all got rid of slavery with independence. Mind you, Latino INCLUDES Haiti & Brazil. The U.S. kept the whole thing moving along.
Getting your information from a bunch of “yes” people who will say whatever you want them to say is not helping you understand us. This is what Dr. Gates has done. He’s sought out those who will tell him what he needs to hear. If you have watched African-American Lives, you will notice that he is NOT SATISFIED WITH BEING OF EUROPEAN ORIGIN (He’s half and half). He HAD to go and GET a number that felt COMFORTABLE for him. He HAD to be more “BLACK” than anything else. Is that NOT ACCEPTING WHO YOU REALLY ARE? I think so. He’s part European. Deal with it. NOT “Black”. He’s MIXED.
Leave us the heck alone already with your uninformed thoughts and backwards ideas. Just wait until WE start reconstructing who we are. We won’t allow you to destroy our Latino-ness because you want to be racist and forever live by some SLAVERY-endorsed “one-drop” rule.
Latinos, levantensen ya. Los eeuu son unos loco pariguayos.
remenber without Africa none of this would be? our blood runs deep accept who you are you will always be my people god is good we all are mixed