1816 (Refutation of European Authorship): Sanders addressed a common insinuation from “foes to the improvement and elevation of the African race” who claimed…

1816 (Refutation of European Authorship): Sanders addressed a common insinuation from “foes to the improvement and elevation of the African race” who claimed that Haytian official documents were written by Europeans rather than black Haytians. These individuals allegedly suggested the documents were either produced by Europeans in England or by white employees in Haytian public offices. To provide an “entire refutation” of this gross misrepresentation, Sanders declared upon his honor that no white European was employed in writing at any public office in the kingdom. He affirmed that all public documents were authored by the King’s Secretaries, specifically those whose names they bear. He concluded this point by stating definitively that these secretaries are “all black men, or men of colour”.