Rural Protest and Peasant Revolt, 1804–1869

Abstract

Perhaps the most notorious feature of Haiti under the Duvaliers has been the militia, popularly known as the tontons macoutes (after the figure in Haitian folklore who carries off wicked children in his bag). The organisation originated as a private paramilitary group during the election campaign of 1956–7, when its members were known as cagoulards (hooded men). After the victory of Duvalier in the election of September 1957, the tontons macoutes became a countrywide organisation of volunteers, under Clément Barbot, pledged to defend la révolution duvaliériste against its adversaries. The organisation was regularised in a decree of 7 November 1962 as Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (VSN). François Duvalier, who had studied the history of Haiti, was fully aware that many of his predecessors had fallen as a result of action by the army and that some counterforce was therefore necessary if he was to survive. He decided to revive an ancient tradition in the country by involving the masses in a paramilitary organisation. From the revolutionary period (1789–1803) to the US occupation (1915–34), large numbers of Haitians had been in possession of firearms, and it was only with the defeat of the cacos rebellion under Charlemagne Péralte in 1919 that the people were generally disarmed.KeywordsNational PartyGovernment ForceProtest MovementLocal ChiefBlack OfficerThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.