The Failure of American Black Emigration to Haiti, 1824-1862

Abstract

Emigration has always appeared to be a means of improving one's condition. For centuries Europeans seeking freedom, riches, and a new start in life migrated to a promised land in the Americas. Blacks, however, did not come by choice and with such desires. For them, the journey was into bondage, forever separated from the land and people they loved. But once established and assimilated into the Western culture, many blacks began to feel the dreams of freedom and wealth. Slaves freed through the benevolence of their masters or their own industry wanted to be able to live the good life promised in America. But confronted by unyielding prejudice, many felt that perhaps happiness lay in returning to Africa, or going to Latin America or Canada to form a new black nation. The vision of an independent black republic was one of the arguments for emigration to Haiti. Haiti was the former French colony on the island of Hispaniola. During the French Revolution, blacks revolted against the weakened French government and established their own independent nation. Lying in the tropical West Indies, Haiti appeared the ideal spot for uprooted blacks to settle. With the need for more farmers and the desire to create a black republic, the Haitian government repeatedly invited blacks from the United States to migrate and to help create a mecca for all blacks throughout the Americas.