Social class in Haiti
Because of harsh living and working conditions, the mortality rate among the enslaved blacks was extremely high, so new slaves were continuously imported to replace the ones who died.
The earliest black and mulatto leaders attempted to restore a plantation system that relied on an essentially free labor force, through strict military control (see Independent Haiti, ch.
To maintain their superior economic and social position, the new Haitian upper class turned away from agricultural pursuits in favor of more urban-based activities, particularly government.
Thus, French language and manners, orthodox Roman Catholicism, and light skin were important criteria of high social position.
Although social mobility increased slightly, the traditional elite retained their economic preeminence, despite countervailing efforts by François Duvalier.
Still, economic hardship in rural areas caused many cultivators to migrate to the cities in search of a higher standard of living, thereby increasing the size of the urban lower class.
[3] The traditional elite held key positions in trade, industry, real estate, and the professions, and they were identified by membership in "good families," which claimed several generations of recognized legal status and name.
French surnames were common among the mulatto elite, but increased immigration from Europe and the Middle East in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries had introduced German, English, Danish, and Arabic names to the roster.
From their beginnings, as itinerant peddlers of fabrics and other dry goods, the Arabs moved into the export-import sector, engendering the hostility of Haitians and foreign rivals.
Educational reform in the 1920s, an upsurge in black consciousness, and the wave of economic prosperity after World War II also contributed to the strengthening of the class.
The criteria for membership in the middle class included a non-manual occupation, a moderate income, literacy, and a mastery of French.
Middle-class Haitians sought upward mobility for themselves and their children, and they perceived education and urban residence as two essential keys to achieving higher status.
Although they attempted to emulate the lifestyle of the upper class, middle-class Haitians resented the social preeminence and the color prejudice of the elite.
Division of land equally among male and female heirs resulted in farm plots that became too small to warrant the high costs of a surveyor.
[5] Peasants maintained a good, positive identity as Haitians and as workers of the land, but they exhibited a weak sense of class consciousness.
Until the middle of the twentieth century, collective labor teams, called kounbit, and larger labor-exchange groups were quite common.
In the 1980s, a countervailing movement of small peasant groups (groupman) emerged with support from the Roman Catholic Church, principally in the Plateau Central.
The necessity of devoting at least some share of their limited hectarage to the production of cash crops, however, hindered the peasants' ability to achieve independence in the cultivation of domestic staples.
Road projects improved the transportation system, and foreign religious missions and private development agencies penetrated the rural areas.
And in 1986, media coverage of the fall of the Duvalier regime put rural Haitians in touch with the political affairs of the nation.
The urban lower class, which made up about 15 percent of the total population in the early 1980s, was concentrated in Port-au-Prince and the major coastal towns.
Despite economic hardships, urban lower-class parents made a real effort to keep their children in school throughout the primary curriculum.
The poorest families consumed as few as seven liters of water per person, per day, for cooking, drinking, and cleaning, and they spent about one-fifth of their income to obtain it.
