Notes on Haiti by Charles Mackenzie

Notes on Haiti, made during a Residence in that Republic was written in 1830 by Scottish diplomat Charles Mackenzie. Mackenzie visited Haiti in 1826, and recorded his observations about the country’s military, government, infrastructure, labor force, and citizens. Though he spends most of his time in Port-au-Prince, he also travels to more rural areas and visits plantations. His point of view is that of an outsider, as he is a member of Great Britain’s government and upper class. 

During his stay, Mackenzie makes sure to emphasize Haiti’s struggles with crime. He regards that though the military police have a strong presence in the country, they are prone to incompetence (Mackenzie, pg. 12). Mackenzie recalls an event where while staying in a more rural area, the cabin he was using was broken into and his money and some of his servant’s clothes stolen (Mackenzie, pg. 12). He stated that the authorities were notified almost immediately, but his items were never returned (Mackenzie, pg. 12). Though he refrains from making any outright remarks about the perpetrator of the burglary, he notes earlier that the types of people arrested for criminal behavior were often “persons in fact who preferred dancing all night, and drinking tafia” (Mackenzie, pg. 11). This statement perpetuates the idea that the lower-class Haitians were lazy and shunned their work. Seeing that the burglar stole his servant’s clothing, which was likely far less ornate than Mackenzie’s own, the burglar was likely someone who was seriously struggling with their financial situation and desperately needed clothes. Seeing that Charles Mackenzie was wealthy enough to have his own servants, he likely never had to worry about what it would be like to need clothes so badly that one would have to steal them. Sadly, this was the reality for many in Haiti due to poverty. 

As much as this chapter of his account of Haiti was relatively sterile when it came to outright personal biases and racist language, Charles Mackenzie did perpetuate several common stereotypes about Latin America. Though Haiti gained independence from France in 1804, it was previously a colony with a strict racial hierarchy. This racial hierarchy had lasting effects post-revolution, resulting in severe economic inequality, which led to increased crime rates as people struggled with poverty. Instead of acknowledging this class struggle, Mackenzie just chalks up lower-class Haitians (who the majority of which were of African descent) as being lazy people prone to criminality. This, of course, is a highly pervasive stereotype against both black people specifically and Latin Americans as a whole. Because of this, Mackenzie’s perspective in Notes on Haiti is more of a reflection of his own status as a member of the British elite than it is an accurate depiction of the people of Haiti. 

Works Cited:

Mackenzie, Charles. Notes on Haiti, made during a Residence in that Republic. London: H. Colburn and R. Bentley. 1830. https://archive.org/details/notesonhaitimade01mack?view=theater