Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/407

Rh natives of the West Indies &hellip; and whatever may be said against them, it should be remembered that these people nearly a century ago initiated the movement which, ending in Brazil in 1889, resulted in driving the institution of slavery from the Western hemisphere."

In conclusion I will content myself with recalling what I said on the matter in the North American Review of July, 1903. To revert to a condition almost of savagery, to relapse into barbarism a nation must be, at the time when the charge is made, in a state of civilization less advanced than formerly; it must be going backward instead of forward. So, to ascertain whether, since the removal of the white control, the Haitians have or have not reverted to a condition almost of savagery, one must necessarily compare their condition of to-day with their condition before the removal of that control. What was the condition of the Haitians over a hundred years ago? The great majority of them were slaves. They were treated like beasts. They were compelled to work like machines in the fields. They could not read. They could not write. They were not even good artisans, not being allowed to learn anything. Their degradation was complete.

Such was the condition of the Haitians under the French control. It is needless to say that their condition now is different.

The factories, the rich plantations had been all destroyed during the war of independence. The Haitians found themselves in possession of a devastated, land. They have rebuilt their cities and towns. They cultivate now their own properties, almost every inhabitant