Polish minority leaving abroad (“Polonia”) counts approximately 21 million people ‼️(Poland has 38,8 million inhabitants). This was caused mainly due to the tumultuous past of the Polish nation (uprisings?, wars⚔️, partitions? etc.).
Among many faraway lands where Poles found a new home was… Haiti?. At the end of 18th century when Poland was divided by its neighbors (Russia, Prussia and Austria) Poles saw a chance to fight for freedom back by uniting with Napoleon Bonaparte ?? . The French Revolution triggered Haiti’s inhabitants to rebel against the French slavery⛓
Among the soldiers ?sent by Napoleon to fight off the slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue were over 5.000 Polish troops.☝️However, realizing that rebellion was in fact the freedom ?fight, like in their motherland, many of the Polish soldiers supported? the Haitians or even stood against the French army.
After the successful revolution in 1804 Poles who were loyal to Haitians during the rebellion acquired the Haitian citizenship?. Haiti’s first head of state Dessalines called Poles “the White Negroes? of Europe”, which was a great honor, as it meant the Polish-Haitian brotherhood.
❗️Descendants of these Poles (called La Pologne) can still be met in Haiti. They even attended the meeting with the pope John Paul II who visited Haiti in 1983. Polish culture partly survived there too. ✅One can still hear sayings like “M-ap Fe Krakow” which means “I make like in Krakow”, what is a synonym of a high quality work, or “Chaje kou lapoloy” – to attack like a Pole.?