Haiti: The Duvaliers and Their Legacy

by Elizabeth Abbott

Journalist, editor, historian, sister-in-law to the leader of the coup d'État that ousted the Duvalier regime: Abbott is uniquely positioned to write a well-informed account of Haiti's tragic past & present. This she's done with commendable objectivity. Haiti's colonial experience set most of the terms of its subsequent history. French landowners built a wealthy mercantilist colony upon an abattoir of black slavery: this brutal, savage exploitation killed almost a million in the course of a century. No wonder that Haiti's war of independence devastated the land in a racial bloodbath & left it facing insurmountable problems: a narrowly based & ruined agricultural economy; the absence of viable political institutions; long-term racial tensions. Blacks, united by poverty & voodooism, came into increasing conflict with mulattoes, who controlled the economy & administrative networks. Political instability led to revolving-door regimes based on army support & terror squads. In time, Papa Doc Duvalier emerged as the leader who could manipulate national distress & black aspirations into support for a stable regime. The price of that stability proved horrendous. Duvalier became a dictator, then demented tyrant, his role marked by abuses & atrocities. The poor grew poorer, while the elite ransacked the economy & allowed its agricultural base to collapse. Papa Doc's son inherited the nightmare, but proved incapable of maintaining his father's highly personalized reign of terror. History with a human face, effective, moving, written with surprising & admirable restraint.--Kirkus (edited)
Acknowledgments
Preface
Prologue
Written in Blood
The American Occupation
Papa Doc Comes to Power
Papa Doc, President
The Height of the Terror
Papa Doc's Final Years
The Revolution Continues
Jeanclaudism, 1977-79
Jean-Claude and Michele, Honeymoon
Marriage
The Dynasty Falters
The Final Days of Duvalier
The Legacy: Duvalierism Without Duvalier
Epilogue
Sources
Index

Genres: History, Nonfiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

http://globalnews.ca/video/1991145/do...

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Abbott, now an historian, worked as a Reuters reporter in Haiti during much of the Duvalier period (1957-86) and was, in fact, the wife of the brother-in-law of General Henri Namphy, subsequent president of the country. This familial connection does not, however, appear to affect her treatment of Namphy except perhaps to humanize the criminal.

François Duvalier is also treated humanely. As a young doctor and published ethnologist, he was a decent fellow, a follower of his predecessor, the unusually competent Dumarsais Estimé, and was likely really popular when "elected". Soon, however, facing opposition and a restive, impoverished population, he transformed into a superstitious monster, having himself annointed "President for Life" and naming his own successor, his son Jean-Claude Duvalier.

While the elder Duvalier was personally materially moderate and well-educated in some respects, the son was an uneducated playboy when he assumed power at the age of eighteen. While the father was politically savvy, albeit bloodthirsty and sadistic, the son was naive. Unfortunately, the corrupt officials and businesspersons who had benefitted from his father's rule, continued under his and, with less supervision by their ostensible leader, exercised their power to extend their ability to rob the treasury and exploit the people.

Jean-Claude's involvement in politics much increased upon his marriage to Michèle Bennett Pasquet, a very willful divorcée whose family members were quick to take advantage of their newfound position in society. Abandoning his father's philosophy of negritude, Jean-Claude was substantially dominated by his spendthrift wife and her mulatto relations, increasing demands on the public purse and further immiserating the country.

Ultimately, of course, it came to an end...sort of. The next government, that, effectively, of the army, was little better and the hopes of the masses had been raised. The book ends in 1990 with a quotation from a young activist Catholic priest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, later (1991) to become Haiti's first really elected president until overthrown twice, the second time (2004) at least with the connivance of the United States of America, long a meddler in Haitian affairs.

Given the recent earthquakes and today's report of over 200,000 dead in Haiti, this readable and darkly entertaining history is probably due for a new, hopefully expanded, edition.

[Régine Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book can be a bit sensational at times, but overall the narrative is compelling and it is a useful sketch of 1957-86 Haiti.

[Eduardo Fort · Rating 4 out of 5]

En este ensayo con tintes autobiográficos, Elizabeth Abbott cuenta la historia de los Duvalier. François (1907-1971) y Jean-Claude (1951-2014) gobernaron Haití con mano de hierro entre 1964 y 1986, sumiendo al país en la pobreza y el atraso. Una obra lúcida y curiosa, ya que la autora fue cuñada del general Henri Namphy (1932-2018), quien derrocó finalmente a Jean-Claude Duvalier en 1986.

[Cary Lackey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, insider's account of the Duvaliers' 28-year reign of terror wrought on Haiti. I only wish I would've realized that the author updated her work in 2011's Haiti: A Shattered Nation (by adding subsequent chapters about Haiti through the terrible 2010 earthquake) before I purchased THIS book.

I'm surprised the Jean-Claude "Bebe Doc" Duvalier story hasn't been made into a cable TV mini-series: it's got everything - sex, drugs, murder, greed. It's really hard to believe that the excesses detailed in Abbott's book actually happened! Sadly, the horrors of both regimes (of father and son) were morbidly real.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ongoing terror of politics in Haiti was brought forth for me in this book. While I have never discounted the horrors I have heard, I failed to understand the endemic proportions of what I understand as madness, pathological violence. Though heavy, the book reads well, and it is easy to cross reference within the book to re-read and remember the different players as they come back throughout the history it covers.

[Robert]

I didnt complete. But, however, it kept my interest and the little (3/4) contended my knowledge of that era of life for Aiti.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad I read this book. i needed many breaks from all the violence I read about within these pages. After reading the sources section i realize how important it was for the people who actually lived during these brutal times to share their story in their own words. I am most proud of my family because it takes courage and bravery to leave your home in search of a better life into a land that offers more opportunities. I wouldn't be here without my ancestors and I am so grateful.