Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 3, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2018 | Page 17

Global Security and Intelligence Studies
derstanding of the etiology of circumstances leading to Duvalier’s assumption of
power must begin with a brief account of Haitian history.
Under French colonial rule, Haiti was a successful “plantocracy” that was
built on the backs of African slaves. Slavery in Haiti was particularly horrific: an
estimated one million African slave lives were lost to torture, hard labor, and dire
living conditions (Abbott 1988). During French colonial rule, it was considered
more economical to replace slaves every 4–7 years rather than keep them alive and
nourished as a strong workforce. Torture was a common form of punishment; in
addition to regular floggings, slaves were also “burned with boiling cane, chained,
branded with hot irons, buried alive, manacled and smeared with molasses so ants
would devour them, mutilated and crippled by amputation of arms, legs, and buttocks,
raped, starved, and humiliated” (Abbott 1988, 11).
Under the leadership of a Jamaican slave named Boukman, a 13-year revolution
ensued, when slaves rose up: “scorching the earth, burning every habitation,
and destroying every vestige of the plantations, the rebels slaughtered beast and
man, raped women before killing them and their children, tortured prisoners of
war with the obscene refinements they had learned as victims” (Abbott 1988, 14).
Under this banner of blood, Haiti would earn its freedom from France in 1804.
The bloodletting continued under the savage rule of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who
for many would become a national hero. In 1806, Dessalines was assassinated,
leaving Haiti divided between blacks in the north and the mulatto-ruled south
(BBC News 2012). By the time Duvalier was born in Port-au-Prince in 1907, Haiti
unified under the leadership of Pierre Boyer, who later became the first of many
presidents forced into exile (Abbott 1988). Between Boyer’s rule and the American
occupation, only one president out of 22 would serve his full presidential term.
“Three died natural deaths ... three died by violence, and fourteen more, like Boyer,
were driven from Haiti by revolts” (Abbott 1988, 25). It is within this tumultuous
backdrop that Duvalier’s coming of age and political development must be
considered.
Duvalier was born into a lower-middle class family; he was the son of a primary
school teacher and a bakery worker (Diederich and Burt 1969). His father,
Duval Duvalier, wore many hats as a teacher, as a journalist, and eventually was
appointed to Justice of the Peace (Perper and Cina 2010). Duval’s experience as a
journalist is of interest, as François, too, would come to captivate a Haitian audience
with his nationalistic prose. In his journal Le Courrier du Soir, Duval would
rail against the selfish political elite and praise the love of the nation (Nicholls
1996). His mother, Uritia Abraham, was mentally ill and was chronically hospitalized;
as a result, Duvalier was raised by his Aunt, Madame Florestal and his father
(Abbott 1988). It was reported that he was “deeply resentful and ashamed” of
his mother; he was not permitted to mention her name during his youth (Abbott
1988, 51).
16