Haiti proclamation of independence on view

Tucked inside a mishmash of 19th century letters belonging to the British Jamaican governor was an important and long-unseen document -- an official Haitian government proclamation of independence.

"It caught my attention right away," said Julia Gaffield, a Duke University student who found the document in 2010 while doing research for her doctoral dissertation at the National Archives in London.

"I read French and I had previously seen handwritten versions of the declaration, but nothing by the Haitian government," said Gaffield, 29, a history student. "I was excited. I knew that it was never publicly seen before, and that it had a greater meaning for a broader audience."

No original Haitian Declaration of Independence has ever been found in Haiti.

The Haitian proclamation found in London -- a simple, eight-page pamphlet meant to be shared by all -- is now being exhibited at the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library on Central Park West in Manhattan. The exhibition ends April 15.

Nassau County state legislator Carrié Solages (D-Elmont) said, "This exhibit shows Haitian influence in the western Hemisphere, and its belief in democracy."

A Haitian-American, Solages said Haitian influence continued to grow on Long Island.

The proclamation is a centerpiece of the museum's "Revolution! The Atlantic World Reborn," which tells the story of the Haitian, French and American revolutions, and the abolition of slavery by the British Empire.

"The document is truly the voice" of a newly independent Haiti, said Gaffield. This officially printed declaration was issued three weeks after Haiti won its independence from France. On Jan. 1, 1804, Haiti became the world's first black sovereign nation.

"People have not seen it; scholars have never seen it before -- it's in its original language," said Lynda Kaplan of the American History Workshop, which partnered with the New-York Historical Society to procure the exhibition.

Museum-goers can read the eight-page proclamation on a digital reproduction, translated from original French to English and Haitian Kreyol.

Kherlyn Veillard-Marcel of Merrick, a Haitian Round Table executive board member, said seeing the proclamation "was a monumental event. We should bring our children and make it a family event."

Rose Pierre-Louis, co-founder of the Haitian Round Table, said the proclamation was "a reference point of how a group of Haitian slaves fought one of the most powerful armies in the world and won."

"This document shows our Haitian pride and what our ancestors have been able to accomplish. It's pretty incredible," said Pierre-Louis, who thinks the declaration should be returned to Haiti. But Kaplan said that was unlikely.