Domingue. This reframing of alliances recalls Dessalines’ efforts at national unity when the
Haitian constitution referred to all Haitians as noir and invited anyone of African descent to
receive Haitian citizenship. “Chant National,” calls for first and foremost for equality within
Haiti, gradually alluding to the expansion of revolutionary ideals temporally as well as globally.
Haitian intellectuals throughout the nineteenth century viewed the success of the Haitian
experiment as vital to the hope of Africans everywhere as the entire world had its eyes fixed on
Haiti. The verses above also portray the events of the Haitian Revolution, now as in the past, as
going beyond national boundaries to capture its significance in this new world space. Through
dynamic interaction of these three presences (Africa, America, and Europe) in this event, the
Haitian Revolution moves from the margins of world history to re-center its impact on Caribbean
and world events.
The “barde noir” was not just a defender of Haitians and Cubans. It may in fact seemcontradictory that Oswald Durand, Haiti’s national poet, could also write poems like “Ode à la
France” and “Jeune air” in defense of France. Durand himself felt the need to explain his
thoughts on France as he published an article entitled “Une Explication Nécessaire,” in his
journal Les Bigailles in April 1902. For Durand, France in part represents “cette terre qui a fait
89 et qui a vu naître Hugo. Tout homme a deux patries, dit le proverbe, la sienne et la France ---
Donc, la sienne d’abord.” While making it clear that Haiti comes first, Durand still admired
France for its own revolutionary ideals and the greatness of poets like Victor Hugo. There was
no apparent conflict between the devotion to his own country (la sienne d’abord) and affection
for France whose literary tradition greatly impacted his own poetry. The same could apply to the
references Haitian writers frequently made to Greek and Roman poetry. Some of Durand’s