Some more thoughts and links on Haitian and francophone African history
Some more thoughts and links on Haitian and francophone African history: I'm not an expert on this subject by any means, but the following are some ressources and some thoughts that may (I hope!) serve as a starting point to any neophyte who is interested in the subject.
À noter que la deuxième partie ci-dessous donne des liens en français pour les mêmes sujets. Bonne lecture!
On Haiti:
'History of Haiti': http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Haiti-history.htm
'The Aftershocks of History': http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/books/review/haiti-the-aftershocks-of-history-by-laurent-dubois-book-review.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
'Haiti's History': http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/12/haiti_belos_sonlinks.html
Just as an NB: I think that something that is important to know and understand about Haiti is that outside influences have had a HUGE role in KEEPING this country poor. One hugely important factor in its history is racism, in that a great many countries were afraid of the precedent of a country founded by black former slaves.
I think another important point with regards to Haiti is something I found out when I looked at the story of Toussaint Louverture: Napoleon, despite originating from a movement which had advocated 'liberté, égalité, fraternité', did not want to extend that liberty to black former slaves in Haiti. (Louverture was eventually betrayed and imprisoned in France, where he eventually died.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/books/review/Hochschild.t.html
With regards to francophone Africa:
-'The French African Connection - This series explores the dark and dramatic history of France's relationships with its former African colonies.': http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2013/08/201387113131914906.html
-'French West Africa' (just go further into the links to find individual country profiles): http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/219528/French-West-Africa
-'In Mali’s Shadow: A Short History of French Military Mishaps in Africa':http://world.time.com/2013/01/18/in-malis-shadow-a-short-history-of-french-military-mishaps-in-africa/
Another (partly) francophone country which has a history of colonialism in Africa is Belgium.
-'Belgium exhumes its colonial demons. Historians vow to unearth truth about allegations of genocide in Congo': http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/13/humanities.artsandhumanities
-'Yale University. Genocide Studies Program. Congo Free State, 1885-1908': http://www.yale.edu/gsp/colonial/belgian_congo/
-'Forget King Leopold’s Ghost. There Are Still Skeletons in His Closet': http://world.time.com/2013/09/18/skeletons-in-king-leopolds-closet-colonial-era-belgian-museum-grapples-with-bloody-past/
-'Oxford Bibliographies. Belgian Colonial Rule': http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199846733/obo-9780199846733-0107.xml
Also relevant to Belgium's colonial history is the Rwandan genocide and its continuation in the form of the multinational war in the region (referred to as 'Africa's World War' and largely ignored, unfortunately, by the western media).
Rwandan genocide:
-http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rwanda/etc/cron.html
-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm
-http://www.globalresearch.ca/western-involvement-in-the-rwandan-genocide/8189
War in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly known as Zaire):
-'Democratic Republic of Congo profile': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13283212
-'Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo': http://www.oxfam.org/en/emergencies/congo
-'Democratic Republic of Congo': http://www.hrw.org/drc
The following might perhaps also be of interest: it is the website of the 'Organisation international de la francophonie'. It is interesting because it shows how many countries have a shared history with France and the French language.
http://www.francophonie.org/-77-Etats-et-gouvernements-.html
PS: Here is a link to an ONTD_political post of mine from last year, about Toussaint LOuverture.
http://ontd-political.livejournal.com/10401019.html
----------------------------------
Here are more links for the same topics, but in French/des liens sur les mêmes sujets que ci-dessus mais en français:
The website of the 'Organisation internationale de la francophonie' is in French.
Human Rights Watch and Oxfam actually have French versions of the pages, which you can access if you click on the 'French' or 'Français' link. The 8-volume history of Africa linked to in the original post is at UNESCO and is therefore available in several languages including French (http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/culture/themes/dialogue/general-history-of-africa/volumes/complete-edition/volume-i-methodology-and-african-prehistory/#c181031)
On the Democratic Republic of Congo:
-(This site has news about the RDC) http://www.jeuneafrique.com/pays/congo_rdc/congo_rdc.asp
-(On the DRC at the 'Ministère des Affaires Étrangères' of the French government): http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/dossiers-pays/republique-democratique-du-congo/presentation-de-la-republique-1274/article/geographie-et-histoire-80709
-'Comprendre 16 ans de guerre en République démocratique du Congo':http://www.ledevoir.com/international/actualites-internationales/367399/comprendre-16-ans-de-guerre-en-republique-democratique-du-congo
-'RDC : l'accord avec le M23 ne résoudra pas le conflit, selon Oxfam': http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2013/11/11/rdc-l-accord-avec-le-m23-ne-resoudra-pas-le-conflit-previent-oxfam_3511568_3212.html
-(This has some interesting links on the conflict): http://www.agoravox.fr/actualites/international/article/rdc-des-millions-de-morts-un-138851
On the Rwandan genocide:
-'Rwanda/génocide: la Belgique coupable?': http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2010/12/10/97001-20101210FILWWW00353-rwandagenocide-la-belgique-coupable.php
-'Rwanda: survivre à un génocide': http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/dossiers/rwanda/rwanda_1.html
-'Les rapports du Rwanda, de la Belgique, de la France, d'ONG et d'institutions internationales et documents sur le génocide des Tutsi du Rwanda': http://cec.rwanda.free.fr/documents/rapports.html
On Belgium's colonial past in Africa:
-' CONGO RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU': http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/republique-democratique-du-congo/2-la-periode-coloniale-le-congo-belge/
-'Colonisation: "En RDC, l'enseignement de l'Histoire est bien plus développé"': http://www.rtbf.be/info/belgique/detail_chat-comment-enseigner-la-colonisation-belge-a-nos-enfants?id=7932928
-'Archives : l’État belge a-t-il peur de son histoire coloniale ?': http://politique.eu.org/spip.php?article1116
On France's colonial history in Africa and African countries who are former French colonies:
-'Conquête militaire et politique coloniale': http://gallica.bnf.fr/dossiers/html/dossiers/VoyagesEnAfrique/themes/Fr3.htm
-'Afrique - L'Afrique noire, de la colonisation aux indépendances': http://www.herodote.net/Afrique-synthese-471.php
-'Historique: colonisation': http://www.ina.fr/video/CAB92063947
-'Visite guidée en France coloniale': http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20130216-semaine-anti-coloniale-france-coloniale-visite-guidee/
On countries in francophone Africa:
-'WHO - Regional Office for Africa' (in French): http://www.afro.who.int/
-Here is French language encyclopedia, where you can look up individual countries for their history etc (you can use the list of countries in the 'Organisation internationale de la francophonie' to guide you): http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie
-'TV5 Monde - Afrique' (just as a BTW, TV5 Monde has a special news program just on Africa which I actually get in my neck of the woods and which is awesome): http://www.tv5mondeplusafrique.com/
On Haiti:
-'Chroniques haïtiennes - Haïti - Une histoire meurtrie': http://www.tv5.org/cms/chaine-francophone/Les-dossiers-de-la-redaction/info/Haiti/haiti-seisme/p-6586-Haiti-Une-histoire-meurtrie.htm
-'Histoire d'Haiti - 1492-1804 : De Christophe Colomb à l'indépendance': http://www.collectif-haiti.fr/histoire-dhaiti.php
-'1492 à 1804 - D'Hispaniola à Haïti': http://www.herodote.net/1492_a_1804-synthese-174.php
-'Histoire d'Haiti' (at Radio Télévision Suisse): http://www.rts.ch/decouverte/2876706-histoire-de-haiti.html
On Toussaint LOuverture:
-'Toussaint Louverture (1743 - 1803). L'héritier noir des Lumières' :http://www.herodote.net/Toussaint_Louverture_1743_1803_-synthese-403.php
-'FAQs. Qui était Toussaint-Louverture?': http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/culture/themes/dialogue/the-slave-route/resistances-and-abolitions/toussaint-louverture/
-'TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE FRANÇOIS DOMINIQUE TOUSSAINT dit (1743-1803)': http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/toussaint-louverture/
Just as an NB: Another reason I would not summarily discount the sources in English is that different types of sources tend to provide different points of view and I have found them to be particularly interesting in my searches for sources on Louverture, for instance. Former colonial powers often have difficulty criticizing their own pasts in many intances, for obvious reasons. (Although as I noted before, I'm certainly FAR from an expert and my searches are not exhaustive or systematic by any means.) :-)
À noter que la deuxième partie ci-dessous donne des liens en français pour les mêmes sujets. Bonne lecture!
On Haiti:
'History of Haiti': http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Haiti-history.htm
'The Aftershocks of History': http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/books/review/haiti-the-aftershocks-of-history-by-laurent-dubois-book-review.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
'Haiti's History': http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/12/haiti_belos_sonlinks.html
Just as an NB: I think that something that is important to know and understand about Haiti is that outside influences have had a HUGE role in KEEPING this country poor. One hugely important factor in its history is racism, in that a great many countries were afraid of the precedent of a country founded by black former slaves.
I think another important point with regards to Haiti is something I found out when I looked at the story of Toussaint Louverture: Napoleon, despite originating from a movement which had advocated 'liberté, égalité, fraternité', did not want to extend that liberty to black former slaves in Haiti. (Louverture was eventually betrayed and imprisoned in France, where he eventually died.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/books/review/Hochschild.t.html
With regards to francophone Africa:
-'The French African Connection - This series explores the dark and dramatic history of France's relationships with its former African colonies.': http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2013/08/201387113131914906.html
-'French West Africa' (just go further into the links to find individual country profiles): http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/219528/French-West-Africa
-'In Mali’s Shadow: A Short History of French Military Mishaps in Africa':http://world.time.com/2013/01/18/in-malis-shadow-a-short-history-of-french-military-mishaps-in-africa/
Another (partly) francophone country which has a history of colonialism in Africa is Belgium.
-'Belgium exhumes its colonial demons. Historians vow to unearth truth about allegations of genocide in Congo': http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jul/13/humanities.artsandhumanities
-'Yale University. Genocide Studies Program. Congo Free State, 1885-1908': http://www.yale.edu/gsp/colonial/belgian_congo/
-'Forget King Leopold’s Ghost. There Are Still Skeletons in His Closet': http://world.time.com/2013/09/18/skeletons-in-king-leopolds-closet-colonial-era-belgian-museum-grapples-with-bloody-past/
-'Oxford Bibliographies. Belgian Colonial Rule': http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199846733/obo-9780199846733-0107.xml
Also relevant to Belgium's colonial history is the Rwandan genocide and its continuation in the form of the multinational war in the region (referred to as 'Africa's World War' and largely ignored, unfortunately, by the western media).
Rwandan genocide:
-http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rwanda/etc/cron.html
-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm
-http://www.globalresearch.ca/western-involvement-in-the-rwandan-genocide/8189
War in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly known as Zaire):
-'Democratic Republic of Congo profile': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13283212
-'Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo': http://www.oxfam.org/en/emergencies/congo
-'Democratic Republic of Congo': http://www.hrw.org/drc
The following might perhaps also be of interest: it is the website of the 'Organisation international de la francophonie'. It is interesting because it shows how many countries have a shared history with France and the French language.
http://www.francophonie.org/-77-Etats-et-gouvernements-.html
PS: Here is a link to an ONTD_political post of mine from last year, about Toussaint LOuverture.
http://ontd-political.livejournal.com/10401019.html
----------------------------------
Here are more links for the same topics, but in French/des liens sur les mêmes sujets que ci-dessus mais en français:
The website of the 'Organisation internationale de la francophonie' is in French.
Human Rights Watch and Oxfam actually have French versions of the pages, which you can access if you click on the 'French' or 'Français' link. The 8-volume history of Africa linked to in the original post is at UNESCO and is therefore available in several languages including French (http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/culture/themes/dialogue/general-history-of-africa/volumes/complete-edition/volume-i-methodology-and-african-prehistory/#c181031)
On the Democratic Republic of Congo:
-(This site has news about the RDC) http://www.jeuneafrique.com/pays/congo_rdc/congo_rdc.asp
-(On the DRC at the 'Ministère des Affaires Étrangères' of the French government): http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/dossiers-pays/republique-democratique-du-congo/presentation-de-la-republique-1274/article/geographie-et-histoire-80709
-'Comprendre 16 ans de guerre en République démocratique du Congo':http://www.ledevoir.com/international/actualites-internationales/367399/comprendre-16-ans-de-guerre-en-republique-democratique-du-congo
-'RDC : l'accord avec le M23 ne résoudra pas le conflit, selon Oxfam': http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2013/11/11/rdc-l-accord-avec-le-m23-ne-resoudra-pas-le-conflit-previent-oxfam_3511568_3212.html
-(This has some interesting links on the conflict): http://www.agoravox.fr/actualites/international/article/rdc-des-millions-de-morts-un-138851
On the Rwandan genocide:
-'Rwanda/génocide: la Belgique coupable?': http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2010/12/10/97001-20101210FILWWW00353-rwandagenocide-la-belgique-coupable.php
-'Rwanda: survivre à un génocide': http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/dossiers/rwanda/rwanda_1.html
-'Les rapports du Rwanda, de la Belgique, de la France, d'ONG et d'institutions internationales et documents sur le génocide des Tutsi du Rwanda': http://cec.rwanda.free.fr/documents/rapports.html
On Belgium's colonial past in Africa:
-' CONGO RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU': http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/republique-democratique-du-congo/2-la-periode-coloniale-le-congo-belge/
-'Colonisation: "En RDC, l'enseignement de l'Histoire est bien plus développé"': http://www.rtbf.be/info/belgique/detail_chat-comment-enseigner-la-colonisation-belge-a-nos-enfants?id=7932928
-'Archives : l’État belge a-t-il peur de son histoire coloniale ?': http://politique.eu.org/spip.php?article1116
On France's colonial history in Africa and African countries who are former French colonies:
-'Conquête militaire et politique coloniale': http://gallica.bnf.fr/dossiers/html/dossiers/VoyagesEnAfrique/themes/Fr3.htm
-'Afrique - L'Afrique noire, de la colonisation aux indépendances': http://www.herodote.net/Afrique-synthese-471.php
-'Historique: colonisation': http://www.ina.fr/video/CAB92063947
-'Visite guidée en France coloniale': http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20130216-semaine-anti-coloniale-france-coloniale-visite-guidee/
On countries in francophone Africa:
-'WHO - Regional Office for Africa' (in French): http://www.afro.who.int/
-Here is French language encyclopedia, where you can look up individual countries for their history etc (you can use the list of countries in the 'Organisation internationale de la francophonie' to guide you): http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie
-'TV5 Monde - Afrique' (just as a BTW, TV5 Monde has a special news program just on Africa which I actually get in my neck of the woods and which is awesome): http://www.tv5mondeplusafrique.com/
On Haiti:
-'Chroniques haïtiennes - Haïti - Une histoire meurtrie': http://www.tv5.org/cms/chaine-francophone/Les-dossiers-de-la-redaction/info/Haiti/haiti-seisme/p-6586-Haiti-Une-histoire-meurtrie.htm
-'Histoire d'Haiti - 1492-1804 : De Christophe Colomb à l'indépendance': http://www.collectif-haiti.fr/histoire-dhaiti.php
-'1492 à 1804 - D'Hispaniola à Haïti': http://www.herodote.net/1492_a_1804-synthese-174.php
-'Histoire d'Haiti' (at Radio Télévision Suisse): http://www.rts.ch/decouverte/2876706-histoire-de-haiti.html
On Toussaint LOuverture:
-'Toussaint Louverture (1743 - 1803). L'héritier noir des Lumières' :http://www.herodote.net/Toussaint_Louverture_1743_1803_-synthese-403.php
-'FAQs. Qui était Toussaint-Louverture?': http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/culture/themes/dialogue/the-slave-route/resistances-and-abolitions/toussaint-louverture/
-'TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE FRANÇOIS DOMINIQUE TOUSSAINT dit (1743-1803)': http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/toussaint-louverture/
Just as an NB: Another reason I would not summarily discount the sources in English is that different types of sources tend to provide different points of view and I have found them to be particularly interesting in my searches for sources on Louverture, for instance. Former colonial powers often have difficulty criticizing their own pasts in many intances, for obvious reasons. (Although as I noted before, I'm certainly FAR from an expert and my searches are not exhaustive or systematic by any means.) :-)