1816 (The Abolition of the Slave Trade as a Global Milestone): The Haytian Papers conclude with “Reflections on the Abolition of the Slave Trade,” characteri…

1816 (The Abolition of the Slave Trade as a Global Milestone): The Haytian Papers conclude with “Reflections on the Abolition of the Slave Trade,” characterizing this event as the most significant adornment of the nineteenth-century calendar. The text argues that the names of the “generous characters” who effected the abolition of this “odious and blood-stained traffic” will be immortalized as the true benefactors of the human race. The revolution that shook the universe is framed as a divine instrument used by God to punish the “inconsiderateness” of potentates and nations. This historical perspective allows the Haytian government to align its own struggle for liberty with a broader, divinely-sanctioned movement toward global justice and the end of African exploitation.