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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
House Resolution 1
A resolution recognizing October 17, 2022, as "Jean -2
Jacques Dessalines Day" in Florida. 3
4
WHEREAS, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, regarded as one of the 5
founding fathers of Haiti, is celebrated as a leader who fought 6
for and attained freedom for Haiti's people, and 7
WHEREAS, Jean-Jacques Dessalines was raised and trained by 8
Adbaraya "Mama Toya," also known as Victoria Montou, one of the 9
fabled "Amazons of Dahomey" (modern-day Benin), who watched over 10
him and taught Dessalines the ways of an African warrior, and 11
was married to Marie -Claire Heureuse Félicité, and 12
WHEREAS, as a military leader during the Haitian 13
Revolution, after freeing the colony from French rule, G eneral 14
Dessalines proclaimed Haiti as an independent country on January 15
1, 1804, making Haiti the first independent nation in Latin 16
America and the Caribbean, the second democracy in the Western 17
Hemisphere, and the first Black republic in the world, and we nt 18
on to serve as the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 19
1805 Constitution of Haiti, and 20
WHEREAS, the Generals of the Haitian Revolution Army 21
proclaimed Dessalines as the Emperor of Haiti in 1804, crowning 22
him as Emperor Jacques I, and 23
WHEREAS, under Dessalines, Haiti became the first country 24
in the Americas to permanently abolish slavery, and 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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WHEREAS, according to Haitian historical tradition, 26
Dessalines created the first iteration of the Haitian flag by 27
taking a French flag and tearing out t he white stripe of 28
material and having a Haitian seamstress, Catherine Flon, sew 29
together the blue and red pieces of material to symbolize 30
freedom and an end to European influence, and 31
WHEREAS, the Haitian Revolution aided in the expansion of 32
the United States through the Louisiana Purchase, France agreed 33
to sell the land to the United States , and on November 10, 1803, 34
United States President Thomas Jefferson approved and signed an 35
act to pay France $11 million for the "Louisiana Purchase," 36
which doubled the size of the United States for the incredibly 37
low price of 3 cents an acre, adding 828,000 square miles, 38
stretching northwest from New Orleans to present -day Montana, 39
and 40
WHEREAS, Dessalines served as emperor until his 41
assassination during a military re volt on October 17, 1806, the 42
anniversary of which is celebrated in Haiti as Dessalines Day, 43
and 44
WHEREAS, the national anthem of Haiti, "La Dessalinienne," 45
was named in honor of Dessalines as was the city of Dessalines, 46
and 47
WHEREAS, there is a strong con nection between Haiti and 48
Florida with hundreds of thousands of Haitian -Americans residing 49
in South Florida, NOW, THEREFORE, 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
51
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of 52
Florida: 53
54
That October 17, 2022, is recognized as "Jean -Jacques 55
Dessalines Day" in Florida. 56