1816 (Observations on Haytian Society): Visitors to Hayti during this period reportedly observed a state of “decency of manners,” “apparent cheerfulness,” an…
1816 (Observations on Haytian Society): Visitors to Hayti during this period reportedly observed a state of “decency of manners,” “apparent cheerfulness,” and “happiness and industry” prevailing across all grades of the community. Sanders framed this progress as the realization of a state of society that historian Bryan Edwards once considered a “pleasing” but perhaps “fallacious” imagination. This development was described as the “wonderful dispensations of Divine Providence” in which “enslaved Africans” rose to avenge the wrongs of the “injured Aborigines”. The text emphasizes that the Haytians had been eye-witnesses to the benefits of civilized life among whites, including social order and submission to the laws. Sanders suggested that no one could visit the country without being struck by the “astonishing accuracy” with which God brought this state of society to pass.