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Primary sourceBook1818

The Haytian Papers

Prince Saunders · 1818

An 1818 collection of proclamations and official documents from Dessalines' era, giving the Haitian government's own words.

Contains official documents and proclamations from Dessalines' era, in the Haitian government's own words.

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About this source

What it is

Published in 1818 by Prince Saunders, this book collects proclamations and official documents from the early years of independent Haiti, including material from the time of Jean-Jacques Dessalines. It was printed in Boston.

Why it matters

Unlike hostile European pamphlets, this collection presents the Haitian government's own official language — proclamations, laws, and gazettes — giving readers access to how Haiti's leaders described their new state. It helps balance the many biased foreign accounts of the revolution and its leaders.

Look closer

  • Why might Prince Saunders have wanted to publish these documents for an American audience?
  • How does official government language differ from the way outsiders described Dessalines?
  • What questions can you answer about Dessalines' government using only these documents?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jean-Jacques Dessalines on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of a printed broadside headed 'Armée Indigène' with 'Liberté ou la Mort' above. It has three columns of French text, a signature block of names including Dessalines, and a footer reading 'Au Port-au-Prince, de l'imprimerie du gouvernement'.Document

Primary source

Haitian Declaration of Independence

Louis Boisrond-Tonnerre · 1 January 1804

Title page of the 1805 Constitution of Hayti, printed in French with the heading 'CONSTITUTION D'HAYTI' over a list of names and preamble text, with red library stamps in the upper area. Page is aged and tan-colored.Document

Primary source

Constitution of Hayti

Jean-Jacques Dessalines · 1805

Black-and-white engraving titled DESALINES. A man in a tricorn hat with feathers raises a curved sword in one hand and holds a severed head with curly hair in the other. A woman's body lies on rocks at right, with tents and figures in the background.Painting

Secondary source

Desalines

Manuel López López · 1806

Large painting of two uniformed men standing either side of a stone tablet inscribed with text, hands on it, under a radiant figure of an old bearded God with outstretched arms in clouds above, with the Hebrew letters of the divine name. Chains lie on the ground at their feet; a battle scene and crowd fill the background.Painting

Secondary source

The Oath of the Ancestors

Guillaume Guillon-Lethière · 1822

Front cover of a worn, dark red leather-bound book, shown against a pale background. The cover is scuffed and faded, with a small lighter mark near the center and a raised spine edge on the left side. No title or text is visible.Book

Secondary source

La vie de J.J. Dessalines, chef des noirs révoltés de Saint-Domingue

Louis Dubroca · 1804

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