Vodou Cosmology and the Haitian Revolution in the Enlightenment Ideals of Kant and Hegel

Abstract

WHEN THE WORLD REFLECTS UPON THE PIVOTAL moments that sparked its democratic fire, Haiti and the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) are not discussed in the same breath as the English Civil War (1642–51) reconstructing the English Constitution, the American Revolution (1765–83) breaking British American colonies from Great Britain, and the French Revolution (1789–99) ending the French monarchy. Thus, you will not hear Haitian history discussed in relation to the Enlightenment Era (1715–89) or the so-called Age of Revolution (1775–1848). Neither will Haitian revolutionary politics be used as a lens to explain contemporary geopolitical movements, revolutions and changes such as the Occupy Movement (2011–12) or the Arab Spring (2010–12).1 Why is that? History – like most other things with which humanity engages – is seen as a property to advance the agendas of those who claim it as their own. That is why works such as Vivaldi Jean-Marie’s Vodou Cosmology and the Haitian Revolution in the Enlightenment Ideals of Kant and Hegel are most important.