This European Invention Was Used To Try To Break Haiti’s Resistance

The wheel was named for Saint Catherine after the Romans couldn’t kill her with it. Centuries later and in a distant part of the world, the Catherine wheel was used to torture enslaved Haitains who dared to rise up against French domination.

A person was tied spread-eagled to the wheel and one bone at a time was broken with an iron bar. Breaking someone on the wheel was a cruel attempt to crush Haitians’ bodies and spirits.

This wheel was just the tip of the iceberg. From gathering to watch Haitains slowly burn to death in town squares, to putting Toussaint Louverture into freezing cells, the French took joy in our pain.

But Haiti won the greatest battle. They took their independence from France in 1804. However, two decades later, France forced Haitians to pay millions of dollars in reparations for their freedom until 1947, while U.S. banks spent decades extracting wealth from the land.

France and the U.S. have never forgiven the people of Haiti for daring to resist enslavement and oppression. How can we stand in solidarity with our Haitian siblings?