Haitians are racially black and culturally french right?

Question

My history teacher said I am part French because my parents came from a french colony(haiti) and also it was claimed for france a long time ago. but the people came from africa as slaves from west africa. so we are Black and French right?

Answer 1

Well,culturally French although probably not in the biological sense. You could very well have German blood,since German traders were extremely active in Haiti and intermarried with blacks to an enormous extent. The Germans were so popular we had to occupy Haiti in 1915 to keep it neutral in WWI. Herman Goering's dad was the German consul there at the same time Frederick Douglass was our ambassador and the two men must have known each other well. Your racial heritage is very likely predominately Black,with quite a bit of German. The French gave only their culture,having a policy of discouraging intermarriage with blacks. The German heritage is an element of Haitian history that Black historians have not to my knowledge explored. Bluntly put,your teacher is wrong.

Answer 2

You may or may not be 'part French' in the same way that African-Americans are part British ... that is to say, it may not be the case at all. Haiti, like most of the countries in the New World became a melting pot of peoples and societies, races and cultures. There were a great many people from Haiti who came from Africa, in the 1500 - 1700s. It was the first country to have an effective slave revolt and the removal of slave owners. There is a great deal for the people of Haiti to be proud of.

But French and African is only the beginning of the story. There were also Carib Indians, Spanish, English, Dutch and other countries and peoples who were involved in Haiti in smaller ways.

If you look at Haiti today there is precious little French about it. It is a mix, a creole mixture and most likely, but not absolutely, you are an outgrowth of that mixing. It's good to feel a part of a lot of different cultures, then you can choose the best of each, and succeed in the future.

Answer 3

As a French colony in the 1700s, Haiti produced riches of cocoa, cotton, sugar cane, and coffee... with the labor of slaves imported from Africa. After years of suffering, the slaves rose up in rebellion and in 1804 declared independence from France and established the first Black republic in the western hemisphere.
Ummm, sort of right. There were a few of the native Arawok indians that survived the massacre, becomming part of the groups of slaves, so there is a tiny bit of Amer-Indian in Hatitians, and there is French in there too. As to culturally? Its one diverse culture, but overall, the culture of Haiti is more closely African, with French customs and language base.

For most of the nation's history the official language has been French. However, the language spoken by the vast majority of the people is kreyol, whose pronunciation and vocabulary are derived largely from French but whose syntax is similar to that of other creoles.
http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Haiti.html
The site aboe is the most informative site i've ever found....you might want to take a look!

Answer 4

Haiti is more Catholic than French in culture. Their language is Creole (Kreyohl) but when I worked for a medical mission our French speaking interpreters could rarely be understood or understand because Creole and French have drifted so far. Haiti has a lot of African influence especially in sentence structure and verb tense.

A saying about Haiti is that it's religion is 20% Protestant, 80% Catholic, and 100% Voodoo. That's more truth than joke: Haiti is a unique culture unto itself. (Outside of the Caribbean it's probably most similar to the Candomble cultures of Brazil, though they add a more Native American influence than Haitians do because the native population in Haiti was almost completely destroyed by the time the plantations were huge.)

Answer 5

well being black is a matter of skin color....you're either black or you're not....being african is another matter ;)

as far as french...yes...i believe haitians speak creole...a dialect of french....

Answer 6

racially black and culturally creole