historical allusions unknown to many current scholars. This means that a lot of attention will be
devoted to political and historical contextualization.
The notion of combat referred to above continued on a literal level to be part of Haiti’spolitical reality, domestically and especially internationally. As already stated, the threat to
Haitian sovereignty by imperialist powers was particularly acute during the late 1880s and early
1890s, when Coicou authored the poems in this collection. Much of the historical information
presented at the beginning of the last chapter and as an introduction to Oswald Durand’s poetry
is also applicable to the period of Massillon Coicou’s writing. This general historical overview
covered the political and societal changes from Boyer’s downfall in 1843 through the end of the
century, providing a background for the work of both poets. Within this framework, however, it
is worth emphasizing more specific information which centered on the growing imperialist
interest in Haiti especially on the part of Germany and the United States. Much of Coicou’s
poetry reflects actual events near the close of the century.
As Brenda Plummer explains, French and British interest in the Caribbean was waning,due to preoccupations with Asia and Africa.^269 Several countries in the developing world,
including Haiti, were significant trading partners for Germany around the turn of the century.
Describing Germany as a “minor but ambitious Caribbean power” by 1900 with many German
commercial houses, Plummer also explains that Germany was seeking a Caribbean base for
access to the proposed isthmian canal. Germans had arrived in the Americas during the 1880’s
and 1890’s, and German loyalties in Haiti were reliable for continued German growth
development. German merchants competed with other Western powers, especially Britain, in the
realm of Caribbean trade. For its part, the United States, which had refused to recognize Haiti
(^269) Plummer 12.