As most of you probably know, many Polish soldiers who had fought with Napoleon, in the mistaken belief they would gain their own freedom, against the slaves, rebelled and fought with them and stayed in Haiti. Hence pierogi and other dishes are cooked there and there are descendants with blue eyes.
Best Wanda
----- Original Message -----
From: The Black and Asian Studies Association <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sat Feb 02 15:55:34 2013
Subject: Diversity: Jabłonowski
Hi all,
I think the meeting last night was very productive, and it left me
thinking about diversity.
Bearing in mind the recently published information that Polish is now the
second most prolific mother tongue in the UK, I started to do some work on
Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski, a polish aristocrat with
an english mother and an African father. His mother's husband accepted him
as his son, and he became a general in the French Army. He volunteered to
go to Haiti, where he died of Yellow Fever.
One curious facet of his story is that he is featured in Adam
Mickiewicz's famous epic poem Pan Tadeusz, where he is described as
visiting the land of pepper and sugar (Haiti) and smiting the negroes (to
use the language of translator George Noyes). No mention is made of his
African paternity!
So, aside from responding to the latest machinations of the government, I
feel we should also be responsive to the changing ethnic make up of the
population.
Anyway for more details see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Franciszek_Jab%C5%82onowski
all the best
Fabian
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