“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.”
Plutarch, Greek historian
One of the unexpected benefits of writing the books in The Maqlû series is the research travel I do. I’ve been to some amazing places, with more to come. But the most memorable of all was my trip to Haiti.
I did not include Haiti in the first draft of The Pair Dadeni. Instead, I planned on using the ghost of Ludger Sylbaris, the only survivor of the 1902 volcanic eruption of Mt. Pelee on Martinique, as a treasure guide for Alex Scire. But when I started planning my book 2 trip, I ruled out Martinique because it was so hard to get to. So, I did some research and learned about Toussaint Louverture. As soon as I read about him, I knew I had to include him in my books. What I don’t understand is how could I never have heard of him. I mean, who else rose from slavery, defeated all three of the great colonial powers (British, French, Spanish), abolished slavery in his country (and an adjoining country), and became leader of his country? I believe the answer is – no one.
Once I added Toussaint to my story, I searched for UNESCO sites in Haiti. That’s when I learned about the Citadelle Laferrière (the largest fort in the Americas) and Sans-Souci Palace (a fabulous place that burned down). As soon as I saw the pictures of the Citadelle, I knew I had to see it. The only problem is that Haiti is not a common tourist destination (we saw less than a handful of off-island tourists while there). Thus, there are no easy ways to get there.
The first stop on our trip was Jamaica to research Kingston and Port Royal (The Richest and Wickedest City in the World), as well as walk up Blue Mountain (that was some hike). From Kingston, we flew to the Turks and Caicos Islands, where we landed at one of the most interesting airports I’ve ever visited (it was so low in elevation that it had sea walls all around it to prevent the ocean from covering it). From there, we took a small (and I mean small) propeller plane across the Atlantic Cap-Haïtien in Haiti. The ride was one of the more interesting ones I’ve experienced for all sorts of reasons, including the air conditioning method – flying high enough that the outside temperatures cooled down the inside of the plane.
Cap-Haïtien is the gateway city to the Citadelle and Sans-Souci. And that’s where the rest of the story, the most interesting parts, in my opinion, began. Cap-Haïtien is situated on a gorgeous bay on the north-central coast of Haiti. Mountains surround it, giving it a jewel in the Caribbean type feeling. However, it’s an impoverished city.
My travel-guide daughter and I stayed at a hotel on the northwest side of the bay, high up on the mountain, with a fantastic long-range view. We had our meals on a covered terrace where the breeze off the water made it feel wonderful. It had such an elegant old-fashioned ambiance that I felt like I was in a tropical Agatha Christie setting. But going through the heart of Cap-Haïtien to get to the Citadelle brought me back to Earth.
The crowds of people passing through on foot, motorbikes, and trucks were fascinating. I was also intrigued by what was for sale on the street – fine furniture, used iron, and rough-cut timber all were displayed out in the open. But it was the poverty that got to me. My daughter summed up the situation by wondering whether some recent storm had washed up all the garbage onto the beaches and into the streets. There was no storm, though. The problem is that there isn’t adequate garbage pickup, something we take for granted. One of the most memorable sights, though, was all the women and girls carrying five-gallon jugs of water up and down the street. I’m assuming they were going to central places to get the water, which, I believe, were the spots where a portable generator sat next to a bunch of tires protecting a pipe sticking out of the ground. The trip from the hotel to the Citadelle was so memorable that I wrote up our experience and put it in The Pair Dadeni.
Another memorable part of our trip to the Citadelle was a part I included in the book – where a half-dozen women swarmed my daughter, trying to get her to buy more merchandise, while I was hiding in the van and filming it.
I’ve mentioned in earlier posts how I travel to improve the details and accuracy of what I include in my books. Normally, my first version has to be dramatically changed to reflect reality. The one exception so far has to do with the Citadelle. What I wrote in my early drafts about how Alex moved through the Citadelle to get to Dutty Boukman’s office was spot-on in reality. I’m not sure I’ll ever envision reality again.
However, there was a sobering aspect to the trip – the poverty. It drove me to try to understand Haiti’s situation better. I couldn’t understand how it had gone from the crown jewel of the French Empire to an impoverished country so quickly, then stayed that way for the next two centuries. Its next-door neighbor, The Dominican Republic, had a similar background but is in a much different economic situation now.
As I mentioned in The Pair Dadeni, Napoleon chose to sell the land included in the Louisiana Purchase to the U.S. because Haiti was more valuable to him. But Haiti’s economic value to France was built on slavery. Sadly, the rich and powerful have kept stealing for the last two centuries, whether through Reparations or the country’s leadership enriching themselves. I just hope that the rich and powerful of the world will take Plutarch’s message from two thousand years ago to heart someday soon (see quote above).
The picture below captures the essence of Haiti to me – a gorgeous beach with trash strewn across it with a Chilean warship in the bay. If you’re wondering why a warship was anchored in Haiti, read the following article on Chile–Haiti relations.
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