#colonialism

Today in Labor History August 22, 1791: Encouraged by the French and American revolutions, Toussaint Louverture led over 100,000 Haitian slaves in a revolt against the French. They were ultimately successful, making Haiti the first black republic in the world. The US refused recognition of Haiti until 1865, as a result of pressure from Southern slaveholders. The French demanded $21 billion In today’s dollars) in reparations for the losses to the former slaveholders, in exchange for peace and recognition of Haiti as an independent nation. The debt was financed through French banks and the U.S. bank, Citibank. The Haitians finally paid it off in 1947. However, the huge interest payments for their independence debt, and the debt incurred through the corruption of the Duvalier dynasty, have made Haiti one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere. Prior to independence, Haiti was the richest and most productive of all of Europe’s colonies.

The best book I’ve read on the Haitian Revolution is “The Black Jacobins,” by Trinidadian socialist C.L.R. James. Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier explores the revolution in his novel, “The Kingdom of This World” (1949). You can read more about Toussaint Louverture and the slave uprising in Madison Smartt Bell’s trilogy called “All Souls' Rising” (1995) and Isabel Allende’s 2010 novel, “Island Beneath the Sea.”

#workingclass #LaborHistory #haiti #Revolution #jacobins #toussaintlouverture #slavery #colonialism #books #CLRJames #novel #fiction #author #writer #isabelallende #BlackMastadon @bookstadon

Today in Labor History March 19, 1742: Tupac Amaru was born. Tupac Amaru II had led a large Andean uprising against the Spanish. As a result, he became a mythical figure in the Peruvian struggle for independence and in the indigenous rights movement. The Tupamaros revolutionary movement in Uruguay (1960s-1970s) took their name from him. As did the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary guerrilla group, in Peru, and the Venezuelan Marxist political party Tupamaro. American rapper, Tupac Amaru Shakur, was also named after him. Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, wrote a poem called “Tupac Amaru (1781).” And Clive Cussler’s book, “Inca Gold,” has a villain who claims to be descended from the revolutionary leader.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #indigenous #inca #tupac #conquest #colonialism #uprising #Revolutionary #PabloNeruda #poetry #novel #tupacamaru #peru #fiction #books #author #writer #poetry @bookstadon

Canada and the RCMP did/do awful things to Inuit. One of these things was the widespread slaughter of dogs. Inuit relied upon these dogs for food, transportation, and protection.

An elder I know remembers the slaughter. Her father was out on the tundra with his dog team when RCMP came to her community and killed every dog.

He stayed out on the tundra alone with his dogs for months. He had to keep the dogs hidden from the cops or those dogs would've been killed too. He and his dog team kept that community fed all that time. Without his hunting, they would have starved. https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1732300419996/1732300456676 #Inuit #Canada #RCMP #DogSlaughter #SledDog #TruthAndReconciliation #genocide #colonialism