Category: History
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The Battle for Iran – CIA History
The CIA routinely prepares histories of important operations for use by future operatives. Let’s take a quick look at the CIA’s The Battle for Iran, author’s name excised, undated (c. mid-1970s) Though no date is given, judging from citations in the footnotes The Battle for Iran was written in or after 1974. It is marked “Administrative –…
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Jimmy Carter Admits to U.S. Willful Destruction of North Korea
Here’s an interesting admission by a former President of the United States Jimmy Carter on North Korea: “And the North Koreans have suffered because the United States have done everything we possible could to destroy the economy of North Korea, we have done everything we possibly could to boost the economy of South Korea, and…
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Dying Like Flies
Hello, and welcome to Revolutions. After arresting and deporting Toussaint Louverture from Saint Domingue in June 1802, the young French General Charles Leclerc was kind of surprised to discover the expulsion of General Toussaint did not immediately spark a mass uprising. The cultivators in the fields had long ago grown disenchanted with Governor for life…
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The Leclerc Expedition
Hello, and welcome to Revolutions. For all the attention First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte had taken to arrange the massive expedition he hoped would soon recapture Saint Domingue. When the Peace Preliminaries were signed with the British in October 1801, he had yet to settle on a commander in chief for the campaign, but by the…
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The History of Haiti
Hello, and welcome to Revolutions. So, last time, we closed the books on the Haitian revolution, which, if you ask me, runs from the bucket on ceremony in August 1791 through to Dessalines speech, justifying his extermination of the whites in April 1804. I think those two events put handy brackets on the revolution. Now,…
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Death to the French
Hello, and welcome to Revolutions. The Declaration of Independence, proclaimed by Jean-Jacques Dessalines on New Year’s Day 1804, which I hope everybody listened to, was much more a call to arms than a traditional declaration of political independence. And with the declaration composed in French, it is clear that Dessalines wanted the French to know…
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Independence
Hello, and welcome to Revolutions. When we started this series on the Haitian revolution, I said that we’d be covering events from the initial revolts of 1791 through to independence. And as you may have noticed, today’s episode is called “Independence”. But don’t freak out. This is not suddenly the final episode of the series.…
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The Constitution of 1801
Hello, and welcome to Revolutions. As the summer of 1800 drew to a close, Toussaint Louverture was at the pinnacle of his career. The dream he had been working towards since at least 1793 and very possibly since 1791, had finally come to pass. He had outmaneuvered all his native rivals, expelled any uppity French…
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The War of Knives
Hello, and welcome to Revolutions. So last week, Toussaint Louverture not only rid himself of Joseph de Hédouville, the Directory’s official emissary to Saint Domingue, he also opened up independent diplomatic relations with both the United States and Great Britain, who were both at war (or at least quasi war) with France. This was a…