Benito Sylvain is born at Port-de-Paix and takes Haiti’s case to Africa

Marie-Joseph Benoit Dartagnan Sylvain was born at Port-de-Paix on this day. In 1890 he founded in Paris a weekly called La Fraternite, organe des interets d’Haiti et de la race noire, and ran it until 1897; Victor Schoelcher wrote for it. He got the Societe d’ethnographie to create an oriental and African committee that attacked French colonial abuses head on. After Ethiopia beat Italy at Adwa he went there three times between 1897 and 1906 and sat with Menelik II, presenting himself as aide-de-camp to the Emperor. In 1900 he was one of the organisers of the first Pan-African Conference in London. He died at Bizoton on 3 January 1915, months before the Marines landed.