Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1966 Haiti, a Case Study of an Underdeveloped Area. Roland Wingfield Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Wingfield, Roland, "Haiti, a Case Study of an Underdeveloped Area." (1966). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 1139. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/1139 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 66-6459 WINGFIELD, Roland, 1929- HAITI, A CASE STUDY OF AN UNDER­ DEVELOPED AREA. Louisiana State University, Ph.D., 1966 Sociology, general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan HAITI, A CASE STUDY OF AN UNDERDEVELOPED AREA A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Sociology by Roland Wingfield B.A., Louisiana State University, 1960 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1961 January 1966 •KING HENRY CHRISTOPHS'S CITADEL (Courtesy Delta Air Lines) DEDICATION A mon f i l s G uito "Nous avons un pays etrange et merveilleux, Un pays si merveilleusement etrange, Q u'il ne se resigne pas encore a m ourir..." M. Franck Fouche "Notre Pays" Message (1946) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study was made possible by an Inter-American Cultural Con­ vention grant whereby two American students are hosts of each of the Latin American Republics and two of their nationals study in the United States on an exchange basis. Therefore, the w riter owes a debt of gratitude to his hosts, the Haitian people, and to the cultural division of the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince. A sociologist incurs so many obligations in the field, and in the course of writing, that it is impossible to list all those to whom he is indebted. It'would have been difficult to undertake this study without the help and cooperation of hundreds of informants. To single out a few, grateful appreciation goes to Messieurs R. Laroche, S. Pean, E. Piou and C. de Vastey. The author wishes to express his gratitude to the members of his dissertation committee at Louisiana State University, Professors A. Bertrand, J. Perry, S. Sariola and W. Haag, who helped bring this project to fruition. Special mention should be made of Dr. Walfrid J. Jokinen, Chairman of the Department of Sociology. And above a ll the w riter wishes to acknowledge his considerable intellectual debt to Professor Vernon J. Parehton who has been his mentor in the field of sociology for many years and whose encouragement and interest led him to undertake the present study. i i i TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................. i DEDICATION ................................................................ i i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................................................... i i i LIST OF TABLES...................... v i i LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................v i i i . ABSTRACT . .............................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER I . INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 1 A. Objectives of the study ..................................... ' ......................... 3 B. Plan o£ the study . ............................................................. 6 C. Survey of the literature ........................................................ 7 D. Methodology .............. 13 E. Significance of the study ............................................... 26 I I . THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND................................... 28 A. Struggle for independence . .................................................... 32 B. Early days of the Republic .............................................................. 35 C. The American occupation . - .................................................. 43 D. The social revolution of 1946 .................................................... 48 I I I . THE PEOPLE............................................... ....................................................... 58 A. Population characteristics ................................ '. ...................... 58 B. Racial composition........................................................................ .. 6 8 iv PAGE C, Migration ..................................................................... 84 — D. Standard of living .................... 110 IV. THE LAND............................. ' ...........................123 A. General description............................................................................ 123 B. Natural resources .................................................................. 126 C. Relation of the people to the land..................... 137 V. THE SOCIAL CLASS SYSTEM.................................... 144 A. Evolution of the Haitian class system .................................... 144 B. The present-day class system ...........................................................147 C. Class differentiation ......................... 172 D. S o c ia l m o b i l i t y ......................................................................................180 V I. THE FAMILY.............................. - ............................................................................ 183 A. Evolution of the Haitian family system ..................... 183 B. Marriage and sex patterns.................................. 186 C. The role and status of women. ............ 195 D. Children and socialization ..................... 198 E. Conclusion .......................... 212 VII. POLITICS........................... 215 A. Characteristics of the Haitian political system . 216 B. The Duvalier regime .............................................................................221 C. The consequences of despotism ...................................................... 250 X II. RELIGION.................................................................................... 267 A. V o d o u .......................................................... 268 B. Catholicism ................................... 280 v PAGE IX . CONCLUSION: A SOCIETY IN CRISIS. ............ 288 A. Sum m ary ..........................................................................................................289 B. Culture and personality .......................................... 310 C. The dilemma of underdevelopment .......................... 321 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................... 325 APPENDIX . ....................................................... 332 VITA .................................... 336 v i LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I. Comparison of Agricultural Exports in Haiti between the Colonial Period and Today ....................... ....................................133 II. Percentage of Farm Holdings in Haiti by Size ..................141 v i i LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Map of the Indian Nations on the Island of Hispaniola cerca 1492.................................................................................. 29 2. Important Dates in the History of H a iti ..................................... 56 3. Map of the Republic of H a iti. ............................................................ 57 4. Population Density in H aiti ...................................... 62 5. Comparison between the Colonial and Contemporary Class Structure of H aiti ..................................................... 148 6 . Comparison between the Two Polar Extremes of the Haitian Class Structure . • ..................................................... 150 7. Map of field trips...........................................................................................3 3 3 v i i i ABSTRACT This dissertation is a study of a society in crisis enmeshed in the vicious circle of socioeconomic stagnation. It seeks to point out the causes and effects of underdevelopment as they pertain to H aiti. Material presented comes from two general sources: field data collected by the author in H aiti and the analysis of documenta­ tion already available. Emphasis is placed on the major social institutions of Haitian s o c ie ty . The study begins by tracing the history of Haiti from the French colonial period to the emergence" of Haiti as the first Negro nation in the beginning of the 19th century. The republic in its first century experienced a series of crises which culminated in the American occupation of 1915-34. The ".Social Revolution" of 1946 brought the first signs of a new sense of direction, which was cor­ rupted with the inception of the Duvalier regime in 1957. A description of the Haitian setting, such as population characteristics, standard of living, geographical aspects, resources and the relation of the people to the land, helps us understand the precarious basis on which Haitian