"Listen to the voice of freedom"

The Haitian Revolution and black agency in the transformation of modern constitucionalism – an introduction

Abstract

The present article aims to demonstrate, in an introductory manner, the importance of the Haitian Revolution for the formation of modern constitutionalism. Despite its relevance, what is observed is a process of concealment and silencing of this revolutionary process, which managed to demonstrate the internal contradictions in the formation of constitutionalism. To make this proposal viable, the study adopts secondary sources on the topic and primary sources, such as the analysis of the constitutional texts of the first two Haitian Constitutions (1801 and 1805). These sources were necessary to demonstrate the historical and social complexity of SaintDomingue/Haiti; to explain the influence of race as a catalyzing device of the social grammar of its time; to analyze how the language of modern constitutionalism was appropriated by the Haitian revolutionaries and, finally, to demonstrate how some discourses attempt to delegitimize the Haitian revolutionary experience, reinforcing socioracial hierarchies. In conclusion, it argues that the Haitian revolutionary experience is of great importance for the understanding of constitutionalism, as a concrete experience of equality and liberty.