The Present State of Hayti (Saint Domingo) with Remarks on its Agriculture, Commerce, Laws, Religion, Finances, and Population

Upon the whole nothing can be said in favour of the city of Port au Prince; and if it stood unrivalled in point of elegance and splendour in the time of the French, in the days and under the government of President Boyer it is only remarkable for ruins and every species of filth and uncleanliness. It contains about thirty-five thousand inhabitants of all classes.

The plains of the Cul de Sac, in the vicinity of the city, were celebrated in former times for their extreme productiveness, but they are now very little cultivated; and passing through them from one extremity to the other, from the sea on the west to the lakes on the east, from the mountains of La Coupe on the south, to those of Mirebalais on the north, I could only discover now and then a patch that had the least appearance of being tilled. On ascending the mountains, and looking into the valley below, the mind is at once struck with the inertness and indolence of the people, and with the devastation that must have been committed during the revolt of the slaves. Remains of houses and plantation works are to be seen in every direction, scattered implements for manufacturing sugar are spread around you, and walls, which were erected for dividing properties, as well as for the internal division of the lands in cultivation, are thrown down and mouldering, or overrun with the creepers and convolvulus, and various other shrubs, so as in places to become perfectly imperceptible. There is nothing to be seen in these once delightful plains like cultivation; all looks a barren waste, as though the inhabitants had been driven out, or cut off by some scourge, and the whole country had since been a place of refuge only for beasts of prey. The mountains remain untouched for the purposes of cultivation, except now and then a small patch for the production of vegetables, and on which is erected a miserable hut, in no respect superior, in point of accommodation and comfort, to the wig-wam of the North American Indians, but in which the sluggish Haytian will dwindle away his days in laziness, sloth, and in every species of lust and sensuality. He seeks for nothing but what supplies his immediate wants; and so long as he can produce enough for the calls of to-day, he is careless of what may follow on the morrow. Sleep and his women occupy the remainder of his time, with the exception of a brief interval, which he generally devotes to playing drafts or cards with a neighbour, generally as indolent and as unconcerned as himself. The plains are finely watered; for independently of La Grande Rivière there are innumerable smaller streams that water the different parts, and in the event of any extraordinary drought, irrigation could be easily resorted to for the purpose of supporting vegetation. But this is not often the case, as the seasons appear very regular, and the country in general is well supplied with rain from the great attraction of the surrounding mountainous districts, which are covered with almost impenetrable underwoods, and the showers descend into the valleys, and fertilize the soil in an extraordinary degree.

To the northward of the plains of the Cul de Sac, in the vicinity of L’Arcahaye, there is nothing to be seen that in the least indicates a country in that state of productiveness which is pleasing to the traveller; every thing exhibits a degree of negligence that is truly astonishing, particularly when the fertility of the soil is so well known.

The whole of the extensive and fertile plain of the Artibanite is in a similar condition; and although it receives all the beneficial influence derived from the overflowings of the river of the same name which washes an extent of fifty leagues, emptying itself into the bay of St. Marc, still the people do not evince any disposition to cultivate the land. Scarcely a sugar plantation is to be seen until you approach Gonaives or its vicinity, and those established in that quarter are not worthy of the designation; they are mere patches visible on an extended surface, and from the elevations around them have only the appearance of detached spots cultivated as gardens. There is nothing like an extensive scene of cultivation, nor can such be found throughout the whole of the republic. In this plain on the coast are situated St. Marc and Gonaives, which at one period were both places of considerable trade, and the inhabitants wealthy, living in great splendour and magnificence; but like other places inhabited by the blacks and people of colour, they are neglected, the houses gone to decay, and allowed to moulder into ruins. Nothing is left to remind the traveller of what they were. Contrasting what they are with what they are represented to have been, he at once infers, that the present inhabitants are a race devoid of all desire of improvement, and only raised a very small degree above the brute creation, from whom in their natures and habits they differ but little.

The north, taking the whole of the point westward from Port de Paix to Cape Nicolas Mole, abounds in fertile plains, and in rich and productive lands, well watered, and capable of great improvement, where agriculture might be carried on with great advantage, and where even an European, in a climate almost approaching to the temperature of his native country, might undergo manual labour without any more inconvenience from it than what is experienced by a labourer in Europe in the months of July and August. This is evident from the circumstance of a colony of Germans and Dutch in the neighbourhood of Cape Nicolas Mole having cultivated their lands unaided by the negroes, which, in proportion to their extent, are as productive now as they were at any period of the history of the country. They do not, it is true, produce sugar; but in the culture of coffee and cotton they are exceedingly successful, and are in a fine thriving condition. These Germans and their ancestors seem to have resided in this part unmolested during the whole of the troubles of the revolution and rebellion; and by the leading chiefs, subsequent to those events, they have been respected and protected.

In this district of the island there were several places of considerable notoriety in the time of the French, but they are now sunk into disrepute, and in fact mere villages. These are, the Platform, the town of Cape Nicolas Mole, Jean Rabel, and Port de Paix. The Platform was noted in the time of the revolutionary war with France for being a place from which a great many privateers were fitted out for the purpose of menacing our trade from Jamaica, being within sight of ships passing to the northward from that island. It is now, however, of no consideration, as it contains only a few houses inhabited by fishermen, who, it is said, occasionally turn pirates, whenever they find a vessel close enough in shore upon which they can pounce, without running the risk of being seen by the crew until they are alongside. The harbour of Cape Nicolas Mole was the principal place for the safe anchorage of shipping in the western world, but it has gone to neglect. The town consists now only of a few scattered houses of no consideration, and the whole of the fine fortifications which secured the harbour against an enemy are now nearly demolished and tumbling into ruins. The harbour is capable of holding an immense fleet, and ships of the largest size may safely ride at anchor, sheltered from the wind from every quarter. The mountains secure them against it from the east, north and south, and the wind from the south-west is greatly shut out by the high land running westerly.

The water in the harbour and close to the town is said to be from five to fifteen fathoms deep. In his negotiations with the Haytian government, the King of France was exceedingly anxious to have this port delivered up to him, for the purpose of a place of security for his fleets, or rather for a footing in the island, with a view of menacing the Haytians whenever he felt disposed to threaten them with his displeasure. But they had sense enough to resist this demand, and the king was wise enough not to contend for it, knowing that, in the event of Boyer not fulfilling his engagements, it would fall an easy prey to a very small force that might be sent against it. The British homeward-bound ships, during the war with France, were greatly annoyed by privateers from this port, as they passed within sight of the Mole, and so near at times, beating to windward, that it might easily be distinguished whether they were merchantmen or men-of-war. It was therefore between the Platform and this port that most of the captures took place, and lately this space has been the hiding-place for many piratical vessels, which run in under the land at daylight, strike their sails and top-masts, and consequently lie unperceived during the day, whence they again sail at night to commit further depredations. This became so glaring at last, that Boyer was obliged to send one of his vessels to intercept them; but I do not hear that he succeeded.

Jean Rabel is an inconsiderable port, with only a few houses saved during the revolution. The plains of the same name in its vicinity used to be exceedingly fertile, but there is now but little done in the culture of them, and in fact the whole of this part of the island exhibits a picture of indolence too shameful for any government to tolerate.

Port de Paix is opposite to the island of Tortuga at the mouth of the Three Rivers; it is of no magnitude, not being a port of entry for shipping as it was formerly; nor is it required, for there is little or no traffic, there being but little produce in its neighbourhood. It was celebrated in the time of the Buccaneers for being the place of their frequent resort, after their plundering and marauding voyages in the adjacent seas. It was here that the celebrated Morgan, who was afterwards knighted by Charles the Second, and became lieutenant-governor of Jamaica, first joined the “Brethren of the Coast”, the term usually given to the Buccaneers, of whom he finally became the daring and most famous leader. In the vicinity of Port de Paix there is a medicinal spring, the waters of which are strongly sulphuretted, and are much used and esteemed in cutaneous diseases.

The plains of the north, formerly celebrated for their sugar plantations, and extending from the Three Rivers to the old Spanish lines of demarcation, are in a similar state with every other part of the country, only partially cultivated in the elevated parts, with coffee and some cotton. It is impossible to view these celebrated plains without regret, and to reflect on the impolitic measures of the present ruler, which preclude the European all chance of adventuring with his capital, and trying what might be accomplished by investing it in the soil. The most beneficial offer was once made to him by an American company to colonize a district, by sending from that country five thousand blacks, to be emancipated in the event of their being shipped off from the United States. But he refused to accede to the proposal; and what is more, he told the parties making the application that the American negroes were too much enlightened to be allowed to colonize in Hayti, as they might intrigue with the Haytians to undermine the state. There is no finer soil in the island for the production of sugar than is to be found in these plains; it is composed of a strong black mould, of great depth and exceedingly rich and nutritive for the cane, and is highly valuable also for pasturage; but even on this no care or attention is bestowed, nor are there any pains taken in the breeding of cattle, for which the whole country presents the greatest facilities, from the luxuriance of its grass, and from the whole district being so well watered by rivers meandering through every part of it, and by those springs and smaller streams with which the whole island abounds. No country affords such retreats from the heat of the solar rays as this. Nature seems to have dispensed its blessings for man and beast with a liberal hand; but man here seems to be but little sensible of the beneficence of his Creator. All those elegant structures which once gave the face of these plains and the mountains around them such an air of grandeur, and excited the admiration of the traveller, are demolished, and scarcely a vestige of their original site can be discovered. Sometimes a dilapidated stonewall, and the remains of a windmill may point out to the passer-by that near them once stood an extensive range of buildings, and perhaps a mansion of some magnificence. The highly productive and very extensive estates once to be seen in the vicinity of La Petite Ance, St. Acul, Limonde, La Grande Rivière, Le Dondon, Marmalade, Limbé, and Plaisance, are now neglected wastes, with little to be seen but the spreading guava, the wild indigo, and a thousand other weeds and shrubs, raising themselves unmolested on the very spots which once displayed all the luxuriance of vegetation, aided and matured by the skill and industry of the husbandman.

Christophe certainly made strong efforts to revive the cultivation of his country, and he made some progress; but at the period when he was about to carry into effect a more rigid system for the culture of the soil, he was cut off, his plans were laid aside by Boyer, and now, as in every other part of the country, nothing is seen in that district but desolate wastes.

The city of Cape Haytien, which is the capital of the north, retains no vestige of its primitive splendour. It is, however, a much more pleasant and more elegant place than Port au Prince, and the inhabitants are always kind and courteous to strangers, as they all are in that part of the country which was under Christophe; a thing which the stranger must not expect at the seat of government, where the people are quite the reverse, and all spies. It is situate at the extremity of a bay, having the sea to the north, and mountains of considerable elevation on the south. It is strongly fortified, the old batteries of the French having been greatly improved by Christophe, who left nothing undone that could be accomplished in the way of strengthening his capital. Towards the sea the ramparts are very commanding, and an enemy’s vessel would find considerable difficulty on entering the harbour, as she could only do so within range of the whole forts, which are well mounted with guns of large calibre. The only requisite in the event of war would be men possessing sufficient skill and courage to man these works and to defend them. The city is well supplied with pure water, which descends from the mountains, over a gravelled surface, and receiving in its course no stream that can in the least injure its qualities.

A military force of about five thousand men is kept up in this district, under the command of General Magny. Part of this force garrisons the city, in which there are barracks for their residence; the other part is at different stations on the plains.

The trade to the cape is somewhat circumscribed, the country round it being not so thickly inhabited as the south, but what little there is seems to be carried on with much more regularity, and a great deal more certainty as to the result, than at Port au Prince. I have heard it generally remarked that the people of the north have a greater sense of honour and rectitude in their commercial dealings with foreigners, than the inhabitants of the south. Certain it is that Christophe in his time exacted from his people a strict adherence to their word in matters of commerce, and in the event of a disputed claim a foreigner had a chance of redress. Not so in Port au Prince, where, if a foreigner have a demand against a Haytian, it is ten to one against his getting any redress, and fifty to one against his getting paid.

Christophe, who always shewed a very great attention and respect for the British merchants and British subjects at the cape, or in any other part of his dominions, erected a very neat house on an elevation near the city, and furnished it somewhat elegantly, in which he had put up billiard tables, expressly as a place of resort for them, and of the whole he made them a present, with his pledge that no person of the country should be permitted to disturb them, nor should the premises be used by his people at any time or for any purposes.

At no great distance from the city of Cape Haytien were those two stupendous works of Christophe, his palace of Sans Souci and the Citadel Henry, or Fort Ferrier, the construction of which shews no little labour and design, and the expense of their erection must have exceeded any thing that can be imagined as the cost of modern works. I cannot describe them better than by quoting the account given of them by a native of Hayti, in his narrative of Christophe’s elevation to the throne. “The Citadel Henry,” he says, “that palladium of liberty, that majestic bulwark of independence, that monument of the greatness, and of the vast combinations of a Henry, is built on the lofty summit of one of the highest mountains in the island, whence you may discover to the left the island of Tortuga, and the reflection of its beautiful canal; in front, the gentle risings, with the city of Cape Henry, its roadstead, and the vast expanse of the ocean; on the right, La Grange, Monte Christi, the city of Fort Royal, Mancheneel Bay, and the surrounding hills. The eye is gratified with the prospect of the beautiful plain, and the magnificent carpet of verdure spread before it. At the back, the extended chain of mountains seems as it were the frame to this enchanting picture. The position fortified by nature, and to which art has added all its science, with casemates and bomb proofs, has secured it from being successfully besieged, while the mouths of cannon overtop the elevation of the high ground, and command the adjacent territory, affording protection to the whole north, and indeed to Hayti itself, this being the most formidable defence it possesses.”8

On the subject of this fort, I have before stated that it was built under the directions of an individual said to have been a Scotchman, of the name of Ferrier, from whom it takes the appellation of Fort Ferrier.

Of the magnificence of the palace of Sans Souci, I shall give the description of Saunders, as conveying an idea of what it was. “Sans Souci, a town rising into preference, and likely to become the capital of Hayti, has been established. Ravines have been filled up, mountains levelled, and public roads laid out. This superb royal palace, the glory of Hayti, is carried up to a great elevation. The beauty and durability of its construction, its sumptuous apartments, all with inlaid work, and lined with the most beautiful and rarest tapestry, which was amassed at a great expense, and with particular care in the selection; the furniture and elegant tapestry, selected with good taste; the gardens arranged with a just symmetry, through which meanders a pure stream, having a degree of freshness that particularly characterizes it, the jets d’eau, the fruit trees, and European productions, &c. &c., combine to embellish the retreat of a hero, and to attract the admiration of strangers; whilst a church, whose noble dome agreeably points out the richness of its architecture, and other public establishments, such as arsenals, dock-yards, and barracks, have sprung up around in spite of the ravages of war. To see the astonishing activity diffused in all these works, one would say that the greatest tranquillity had prevailed, and that it was the hand of peace which brought them to perfection! Immense treasures, the fruits of economy in the public administration of finances, fill the spacious coffers of the Citadel Henry.” “I know it”, he says again, “to be one of the intentions of our king to have the rotunda of his palace in the citadel paved and lined with quadruples. He is rich enough to do this.”

The palace of Sans Souci was certainly (from the accounts given of it by many individuals now in Hayti, and who have often been admitted to the levées of King Christophe) upon a most magnificent scale; and in elegance of structure, as well as the durability of its materials, but little, if at all inferior to some of the most admired edifices of Europe. Christophe was lavish of his money in the building of this palace as well as the citadel, and whilst they were being erected, he acted with great severity towards his people, whom he compelled to carry the materials to the spot, neither age nor sex, except the decrepit and the very young, being spared.

Christophe was once visited in this palace by an officer of the British navy, and a relative of a right honourable gentleman high in his Majesty’s councils, to whom he shewed great attention and courtesy, and expressed great satisfaction at being honoured with the calls of British subjects who occasionally touched at the cape. In a conversation with this distinguished officer on the subject of this stupendous palace, he said, “that his intentions were to ornament the walls with gold, and that the floors should be laid with silver, that the ambassadors of the world, should any be sent to him, might see how splendidly a western monarch could live.”

Fort Ferrier can be easily seen from the sea, and ships outward-bound for any of the western ports, sailing along the north side of the island, have a good view of it from its amazing elevation, the stone of which it is built being so very white as to make it a most excellent land-mark. The palace however cannot be discerned, and since the death of Christophe, it has been mostly destroyed, nothing but the walls being left. All the beautiful carved-work wainscoting has been taken from it, the mahogany floor torn up, and the whole burnt by the people; and nothing remains except the outworks, which are converted into apartments for the military who are stationed there.

Beyond the Massacre, in the old Spanish territory, and on the banks of the Yague, the country is exceedingly productive, but quite neglected. It is only a few years since that a very considerable trade was carried on between Jamaica and Monte Christi, and Puerto de Plata; the produce of those fine valleys on each bank of the river, as well as of the fertile plains of La Vega Real, always found a ready market in the different ports of that island. Tobacco, rice, Indian corn, beans and peas, peculiar to the West Indies, and in great request as food for the negroes, were exported in large quantities, as were also horned cattle, mahogany, dye-wood, and often poultry. In return, the people took rum, salted provisions, ironmongery, cotton goods of a coarse quality, blue Yorkshire baize, Osnaburgs, and a variety of other articles required for the labourers in wood-cutting and agriculture. The annexation of the Spanish part to the republic stopped this intercourse, and consequently the finest vent for the disposing of the produce of their industry became shut, and having no other intercourse, the demand has entirely ceased. There is no encouragement therefore left for husbandry, and all those lands which were before appropriated exclusively to the raising of the several articles which I have before enumerated, are now uncultivated, with the exception of mere patches where vegetables are raised for the immediate wants of the people.

The town of Monte Christi is a place of little resort, its trade having been ruined by the restrictive laws in force in the West Indies. It stands at the extremity of the promontory on the north branch of the Yague. Occasionally American vessels call in, and barter their provisions for mahogany and dye-woods, and sometimes take tobacco, the quality of which is much finer and milder than that of the United States. Contiguous to the river, and particularly on its southern bank, the country abounds with mahogany and dye-woods, and in the mountains, mines were said to exist, containing gold and silver and other valuable ore. But very recently a company formed in London for the purpose of exploring them, found that the undertaking would be attended with a considerable waste of capital, without the possibility of obtaining returns likely to compensate the outlay of the experiment. There is great reason to doubt the representations that were made by the Haytian government on the subject of these mines, when they appeared so anxious to have them worked; their sanguine assurances of ultimate success were only intended to delude, as they could not seriously expect that any beneficial result would attend these operations.

To the eastward, beyond the town of Santiago, are the plains of La Vega Real, celebrated for their extreme verdure and fertility. They are in a great measure inclosed by the surrounding hills, which form an appearance not unlike an amphitheatre. These plains are capable of producing, were they properly tilled, every description of tropical plants, and in the elevated parts there is every reason to believe that European grain might easily be raised. The temperature of this district makes it a most congenial spot for all sorts of agricultural labour, and the culture of the soil would be rewarded with an ample harvest. The whole of the plains are well watered by innumerable small streams, which, flowing from different parts of the mountains, empty themselves into the Yuna. This river, in its course to the bay of Sumana, is exceedingly convenient for the wood-cutters who float their mahogany and dye-woods down it into the bay, for the purpose of sale and shipping.