©️Embassy of Haiti in France
Paris, le 18 novembre 2025.- L’Ambassade d’Haïti en France a commémoré, le vendredi 14 novembre, les 222 ans de la Bataille de Vertières à travers une conférence axée sur le devoir de mémoire et la transmission de l’héritage révolutionnaire haïtien. Chercheurs, auteurs et membres de la diaspora se sont réunis autour du thème « Vertières : entre devoir de mémoire et responsabilité des générations actuelles « , afin de replacer la victoire du 18 novembre 1803 au cœur des enjeux historiques et contemporains liés à la reconnaissance de l’expérience haïtienne de liberté.
In his opening address, Ambassador Louino Volcy recalled the universal dimension of Vertières, a pivotal moment in the world history of human emancipation. He stressed the need to keep alive the memory of the indigenous army leaders and soldiers who, by their victory, ended the Napoleonic colonial project on the island. While the year 2025 marks the bicentenary of the ransom of independence, he stressed the importance of putting Haitian history at the centre of narratives to counter silences, marginalizations and persistent distortions in international narratives.
Jacques Nési, for his part, invited him to go beyond ad hoc commemorations to build a lasting, structured and institutionalized memory. He argued for a firmer integration of the founding dates into the curricula, the creation of accessible places of memory, and the circulation of a calmed historical narrative, free of the fractures inherited from the post-independence era. In his view, Haitians of the country and the diaspora bear a shared responsibility: to transform Vertières into an educational and citizen lever capable of enlightening the current issues of identity, sovereignty and social cohesion.
The intervention of Jean-Claude Bruffaerts brought renewed light to the shadow zones surrounding the act of surrender of 18 November 1803, the original of which remains unobtainable. Based on the existing versions, he showed how some historical narratives tried to reduce the extent of the French defeat. He stressed that the Haitian victory was based on a military strategy developed: control of the terrain around Cap-Haitien, decisive manoeuvres, tactical alliances and coordination power of the Indigenous Army.
By closing the meeting, the Embassy reaffirmed that to transmit Vertières is to preserve a legacy of dignity, resistance and civic responsibility, recalling that this battle is still a major landmark for the global struggle against slavery and all forms of oppression.
R.J.
