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Anténor Firmin - Coggle Diagram
Anténor Firmin
Biography
Haitian Revolution c.1791-1804 occured in the "age of democratic revolution", first black republic
Haiti is now heavily indebted, extremely poor, without a functioning government, embroiled in gang war
Anténor Firmin born in Cap-Haïtien in 1850, received a classical education
Joined the Liberal Party, an elitist party, writing in the Northern Messenger
Liberals lost to the National (populist) party, exiled to France to act as ambassador. Returns to act as minister of foreign relations, finance and commerce
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1902: Lost the presidential elections, his supporters launched the firminist insurgency
1911: armed insurrection in Haiti fails, final exile on Saint Thomas
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Writing at the end of the peak of imperialism, before the First World War. European political structures in place across the world
Philosophy
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Civilisation
19th century thinkers often show lots of arrogance in their conception of civilisation, and comparisons of civilisation
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Looking around the world can show history of Europe in different stages. Places can then follow the European model of development
Less civilised places do not have the right of independence since they do not have political unity themselves
Firmin shares the vocabulary of civilisation with those whom he is criticising - says backwards people need contact with advanced peoples in order to develop and progress. But criticises Europe for defining and representing civilisation
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Question of civilisation not a problem, but it has been corurpted by Europen domination and ideas of race. White people have become the standard bearer of civilisation
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Uses evidence from Egypt, Ethiopia and Haiti to show that Black people have made contributions to human civilistion
Because of their suffering, black people will contribute a sense of justice to overall human progress
Race
In 19th century, race was seen as a biocultural assemblage, "a hybrid compound of cultural and biological claims about evolutionary history, individual and collective character, comportment, mental capacity, and physiognomy"
Haiti began as having over 100 racial categories, to a constitution saying all Haitians are black. Then a continuing struggle between black and mulatto elites
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Polygenism: Paul Broca bred rabbits and hares, using this as evidence that black and white were separate event though they could breed
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Firmin was in between - humans are a single species, with multiple races developing independently & in parallel. By social not biological adaption to the environment
Firmin is usually seen as a critic of Gobineau, who ranked races according to superiority
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Politics
In Haiti, liberalism was deeply contested and the Liberal Party was split
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Defined the Liberal Party as having the capcity for rule - morality and technocracy - commitment to principles of liberty an constitutionalism compared to despotism
Aims of honesty, stability, liberty, equality and fraternity
Constitutional government, international solidarity, public education to create social as well as legal equality
Removing the colour prejudice - main impediment to social stability and progress in Haiti. Rooted in ignorance, legacy of slavery and colonisation
Colonialism
A reciprocal system of exploitation and legitimaation, inspired by race
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What does Firmin mean by the "doctrine of the inequality of the races" and how does he understand its function in European colonialism?
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