HaitiLibre Quiz

Colonial period 2.1 HAITI

Difficulty Level: N2 Intermediate
This second quiz of intermediate difficulty on the colonial history of Santo Domingo is aimed at enthusiasts wishing to delve into the past of their ancestors and already possessing a good general knowledge. Explore the inner workings of the plantation system, complex social dynamics and the beginnings of freedom.
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What term designated slaves born directly in Africa, as opposed to those who were born in the colony?

75% of players answered correctly.

THE CORRECT ANSWER: The bossales

In the colonial society of Saint-Domingue, a major distinction was made within the servile population between Creole slaves, born on the island, and bossales. The term “bossale” designated captives recently deported from Africa by the slave trade.Upon arrival, these men and women had to undergo a brutal period known as “acclimatization” or training, during which they discovered the traumatic realities of the plantation system, learned the basics of Creole and were forcibly baptized.Subjected to the most arduous forced labor in the sugar cane fields, they suffered a terrible mortality rate during the first years. Despite this extreme oppression, the bossales preserved crucial African spiritual, musical and cultural traditions, which nourished Haitian identity and served as ideological glue during the insurrection of 1791.