He was born a French slave, he became a Spanish General and he commanded an all Black American militia in Florida. He was the real Django Unchained. His name is George "Jorge" Biassou. Haitian know him as #wapkonjoj Thread 1/17 
Imagine a time where you felt slavery was so brutal w/ the French, that you felt necessary to align yourself w/ the Spaniards who also believed in slavery b/c you had a common enemy. That is exactly what happened in colony of St. Domingue at beginning of #HaitianRevolution 2/17
Biasson was son of slaves in world's most lucrative colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). The French slave owners were notoriously brutal. In 1791, thousands of abused slaves rose up and poured out their fury onto them. 3/17 laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/all…
Biassou joined them and quickly assumed the rebel leadership. Biassou commanded 40,000 ex-slaves as they burned plantations and took brutal revenge. He offered to end the slave revolt in exchange for the basic human rights promoted by the French Revolution. 4/17
Mainland France dismissed those peace offers as they were too busy declaring war on Spain. Spanish Gov. Garcia on eastern side, Santo Domingo recruited the rebel slaves. For their assault on French, the slaves were given weapons, supplies, salaries, and Spanish citizenship. 5/17
Biassou & his aid Toussaint L'Ouverture received gold medals and letters of thanks & confidence from the Spanish gov. At that point in 1793, "Georges" became "Jorge" Biassou, a free, French-speaking, Spanish general of his freed rebels, the Black Auxiliaries of Carlos IV. 6/17
When France officially abolished slavery, Toussaint switched camp to free more slaves. Biassou did not want to risk his newfound independence. He remained loyal to Spain, even though it eventually meant fighting against Toussaint and other rebels. 7/17
Gov. Garcia was grateful for this & called the Black Auxiliaries "valiant warriors." Grateful, that is, until Spain's didn't know what to do w/ his Haitian "wolves." They were armed, skilled, & far more ferocious than Spanish war standards. Biassou was especially feared. 8/17
So Gov. Garcia exiled them to St. Augustine, Florida. When Jorge Biassou arrived in St. Augustine in 1796, he was already a legend in his own time. He was the most fiery leader in the Haitian slave revolt against the French. 9/17
Biassou became a decorated Spanish general, yet did not speak Spanish and was virtually banned from Hispaniola. He was Florida's only Black caudillo, and he looked more like a king, parading into town with his wife and twenty-three Haitian followers. This is his house. 10/17
Gen. Biassou was now commanding a small Black militia out of Fort Matanzas, and he was the second-highest official in Florida. He died in 1801 with full military honors. He was a hero, a family man, a threat, and this ex-slave demanded respect. 11/17
The first slave was brought into New World by Christopher Columbus in Santo Domingo in 1502. The first slave revolt was in Santo Domingo in 1521. Biassou was born a French slave but died a Spanish General. Was he Haitian or Dominican? Where does Haiti & DR history begin? 12/17
Haiti is the 1st Black Republic in the world and #TheDominicanRepublic is the 2nd Black Republic in the world but the DR learned pretty quickly this is not a distinction that works out in their favor. You see, the white world would never forgive Haiti for being BLACK. 13/17
George "Jorge" Biassou wanted revenge & he was feared by everyone that Haitians created an expression that many use today to show a certain level of anger when someone do you wrong "Wap kòn Joj!". Still, the guy is an international hero against slavery. 14/17
The fact that only Haiti claims him as a hero says a lot. If the guy is Django for Haitians, to hear Dominicans talk about the #HaitianRevolution, you would think they are "Stephen", the character played by Samuel Jackson in the movie that wanted to save the slave master. 15/17
Haitian history didn't start in 1804 when Blacks freed themselves. Dominican & Haitian history started in 1492, but our eastern hermanos were conveniently manipulated to believe that it started in 1805 after supposed Haitian attack to take revenge on innocent slave owners 16/17
Why isn't George Biassou, Toussaint, & many other Blacks who fought for OUR freedom celebrated in the #DominicanRepublic ? The answer is simple. #Whitesupremacy & their Dominican version of #TheLostCause revisionist history won in DR. 17/17 #wapkonjoj bbc.com/travel/article…
#Haiti By the numbers…
1) Approx 12M Africans were enslaved during 300 yrs of slavery. 2M died getting to New World
2) About 14% were children under 14 & 30% were female adults.
3) Haiti accounted for 1/3 of all Atlantic slave trade
Cont…👇🏾
1) Approx 12M Africans were enslaved during 300 yrs of slavery. 2M died getting to New World
2) About 14% were children under 14 & 30% were female adults.
3) Haiti accounted for 1/3 of all Atlantic slave trade
Cont…👇🏾
4) About 14 percent of slaves sent to the New World were children under 14; 56 percent were male adults; and 30 percent were female adults.
5) Life expectancy of slaves in Haiti was 21 yrs. Many died a few years after arriving.
Cont…👇🏾
5) Life expectancy of slaves in Haiti was 21 yrs. Many died a few years after arriving.
Cont…👇🏾
6) 300,000 Blacks died in #HaitianRevolution vs 75,000 whites
7) Haiti abolished slavery
8) Haitians were first to say #BlackLivesMatter
7) Haiti abolished slavery
8) Haitians were first to say #BlackLivesMatter
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