This day in History: August 14

Aug 14, 2022 News

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Compiled by Zena Henry

Vodou ceremony marks the start of the Haitian Revolution

Kaieteur News – Boukman (also Boukmann, Dutty Boukman or Zamba Boukman) was a leader of the Haitian rebellion in its initial stages.

He was reported to have led a vodou ceremony together with the mambo Cecile Fatiman at Bois Caïman in 1791 which signalled the start of the rebellion. Boukman had come to Saint-Domingue (Haiti) by way of Jamaica, then to become a maroon in the forest of Morne Rouge. Giant, powerful, “grotesque-looking man… with a ‘terrible countenance’, a face like an exaggerated African carving,” fierce and fearsome, Boukman was an inspiring leader. Boukman was not the first to lead a slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue, as he was preceded by others such as Padrejean in 1676 and François Mackandal in 1757; but he delivered the spark that helped to ignite the Haitian Revolution.

“He had been a commandeur (slave driver) and later a coachman on the Clément plantation, among the first to go up in flames once the revolt began. While his experience as commandeur provided him with certain organisational and leadership qualities, the post as coachman no doubt enabled him to follow the ongoing political developments in the colony, as well as to facilitate communication links and establish contacts among the slaves of different plantations. Reputedly, Boukman was also a Vodou priest and, as such, exercised an undisputed influence and command over his followers, who knew him as “Zamba” Boukman. His authority was only enhanced by the overpowering impression projected by his gigantic size.”

“Boukman Dutty (said to have been called “Book Man” in Jamaica because he could read) was sold by his British master to a Frenchman (and his name became “Boukman” in Haiti). The French publicly displayed Boukman’s head after his execution. (Source: thelouvertureproject.org)

 Second Seminole War ends, with Seminoles Indians forced from Florida

The Second Seminole War (1835–42) arose when the United States undertook to force the Seminole Indians to move from a reservation in central Florida to the Creek reservation west of the Mississippi River. It was the longest of the wars of Indian removal.

Following the end of the First Seminole War (1817–18) and the transfer of Florida from Spain to the United States, several Seminole leaders headed by Neamathla, met with territorial governor William Duval and diplomat James Gadsden in September 1823 to sign the Treaty of Moultrie Creek, which obligated the Seminoles to move to a reservation of four million acres in central Florida, with the U.S. government to provide monies and supplies to help in the relocation. The treaty also stipulated that white settlers could build roads and seek runaway slaves within the reservation. In addition, a few Seminole villages were allowed to remain along the Apalachicola River. However, neither side fully observed the treaty. The government was slow in delivering cash, and incursions by both settlers and Seminoles took place with increasing frequency as time went on. General Wiley Thompson was assigned to oversee the removal of the Seminoles in 1834. After learning that they did not intend to leave Florida, he informed the Seminoles that President Jackson had authorised him to remove them by force if necessary. Major Francis Dade was leading more than 100 soldiers from Fort Brooke (near Tampa) to Fort King (near present-day Ocala), some 180 Seminoles and their allies ambushed the troops, killing all but three. The Dade Massacre marked the start of the Second Seminole War. (Source: Britannica)

 

 France becomes the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration

With the passage of the Paris Police Ordinance, France became the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration. “Each motor vehicle shall bear on a metal plate and in legible writing the name and address of its owner, also the distinctive number used in the application for authorisation,” read this ordinance.  “This plate shall be placed at the left-hand side of the vehicle — it shall never be hidden.”

The efforts to implement vehicle registration in France predated the horseless carriage and can be traced as far back as the 18th century. In 1749, for example, a police officer in Paris recommended to King Louis XV that a system of vehicle registration be established in France’s capital city. The officer’s main motivation for this proposal was to keep better track of criminals in Paris and help rein in their illegal activities. Today a vehicle registration is a common system used in many countries (Source: transportation history)

India and Pakistan gain independence from Britain

The Indian Independence Bill, which carves the independent nations of India and Pakistan out of the former Mogul Empire, came into force at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947.

The long-awaited agreement ended 200 years of British rule and was hailed by Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi as the “noblest act of the British nation.” However, religious strife between Hindus and Muslims, which had delayed Britain’s granting of Indian independence after World War II, soon marred Gandhi’s exhilaration. In the northern province of Punjab, which was sharply divided between Hindu-dominated India and Muslim-dominated Pakistan, hundreds of people were killed in the first few days after independence. The Indian independence movement first gained momentum at the beginning of the 20th century, and after World War I Gandhi organised the first of his many effective passive-resistance campaigns in protest of Britain’s oppressive rule in India. Gandhi and other nationalist leaders rejected as empty the British promises of Indian self-government after the war and organised the nonviolent “Quit India” campaign to hasten the British departure. British colonial authorities responded by jailing Gandhi and hundreds of others. The Indian Independence Bill took effect, inaugurating a period of religious turmoil in India and Pakistan that would result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, including Gandhi, who was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic in January 1948 during a prayer meeting to end Muslim-Hindu violence. (Source: History)

 Egypt declares a state of emergency as hundreds killed

Egypt declared a month-long state of emergency after at least 56 people died in clashes when security forces moved in to dismantle two protest camps in Cairo where ousted president Mohammed Morsi’s supporters had been demanding his return.

The Egyptian presidency had declared the one-month-long state of emergency and had ordered the armed forces to help enforce security following the clashes that erupted with security forces moved to dismantle protest camps. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had said through a spokesman that he condemned the violence used by Egyptian security forces “in the strongest terms” and urged all Egyptians to work toward “genuinely inclusive reconciliation”. The unrest was nonetheless held for three months until a court lifted the state of emergency. By time that was done, the country’s health authorities said that 595 civilians and 43 police officers were killed and at least 3,994 were injured. (Source: CNN)

US Embassy reopens in Cuba half a century later

On August 14, 2015, the US reopened its embassy in Cuba more than 54 years after it was closed, in a symbolic step signalling the warming of ties between both countries. John Kerry, the first US Secretary of State to visit Cuba in 70 years, presided over the ceremony in Havana.

Magnitude 7.2 earthquake kills thousands in Haiti

On 14 August, 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Tiburon Peninsula in the Caribbean nation of Haiti. It had a 10-kilometre-deep (6.2 mi) hypocenter near Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, approximately 150 kilometres (93 miles) west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Tsunami warnings were briefly issued for the Haitian coast.

At least 2,248 people were confirmed killed as of 1 September 2021 and more than 12,200 injured. An estimated 650,000 people were in need of assistance. At least 137,500 buildings were damaged or destroyed. It was the deadliest earthquake and deadliest natural disaster of 2021. It is also the worst disaster to strike Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. UNICEF estimated that more than half a million children were affected and the Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate (DGPC) warned of a large humanitarian crisis; the effects of which Haitian citizens still face today.

 

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