Madiou, 1/58: Ayiti Before the Ships: Columbus, Caonabo and the Taíno

Welcome to the Nèg Mawon Podcast's complete run through Histoire d'Haïti by Thomas Madiou, Haiti's first national historian, in 58 episodes. We are reading every volume available in English, in the translation by Patrick Jean-Baptiste, published by Rasanblaj Media Group. Episode 1 opens with Madiou's own Introduction: why a Haitian teacher in 1847 set out to write "the history of the African race transplanted to Haiti, which became free by its own energy," and how he built his history from the testimony of veterans of the Revolution. Then Livre 1 takes us from 1492 to 1630: the five Taíno kingdoms, Caonabo, Anacaona and the massacre at Xaragua, Henri (Enriquillo) in the Bahoruco, and the slow collapse of the Spanish colony.

Kreyòl edition: Ep. #128.

Read the full translation at rasanblaj.ht/madiou.