Original Haiti Declaration of Independence Discovered

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Anyway, back to the news

The New York Times writes: There is no prouder moment in Haiti's history than Jan. 1, 1804, when a band of statesmen-warriors declared independence from France, casting off colonialism and slavery to become the world's first black republic. They proclaimed their freedom boldly -- "we must live independent or die," they wrote -- but for decades, Haiti lacked its own official copy of those words. Its Declaration of Independence existed only in handwritten duplicate or in newspapers. Until now.

Who Made The Discovery?

belpoz.com/picture-7700Her name is Julia Gaffield, a 26 year old graduate student at Duke University, 26-year-old Canadian native who became interested in Haiti in 2004 as an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto.

Julia was doing research for her dissertation on the early days of Haitian independence when she stumbled upon Haiti's founding document and a letter written by Jean Jaques Dessalines himself.

The British National Archive writes: The Declaration was attached to a letter sent on 20 January 1804 by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, first ruler and Governor-General of the Republic of Haiti, to Sir George Nugent, Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica.

This document is only the second declaration of its kind in the world, the first being the US Declaration of Independence, printed on 4 July 1776.

Although a number of reprints of this declaration exist, researchers have long looked for the original printed copy issued by the government, making this discovery even more significant.

Commenting on the find, Oliver Morley, Acting Chief Executive at The National Archives, said: 'It's incredible that the long search for this important document should finally end at The National Archives.

This declaration, sent to the British Government by Haiti's first independent leader, is of great historical importance to both Haiti and the British people, and provides unique insight into the first successful slave rebellion of modern times.'

Here are some interesting pages if you want to read up on this:

• Haiti's Declaration of Independence discovered at The National Archives - British National Archives
• Rediscovering Haiti's Declaration of Independence - Duke University

list==
Duke Graduate Student Discovers Haiti's Original Declaration of Independence in British Archives
Videos: Julia's Moment of Discovery - a three part video, very interesting to watch...
The Document's Origins
The Haitian Declaration of Independence - English translation of the Haitian Declaration of Independence
Haiti's Revolution and the United States - The historical events that led to Haiti's independence
Duke and the Study of Haiti
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Question:

What you think this discovery will mean for the Republic of Haiti?

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