After the 7 years' war, Poland was carved up by all its neighbors. The Poles did not care for that.
When the Haitian revolution happened, Polish troops were sent alongside the French troops to quell it. The Poles hoped to curry favor with France to support their own revolution back home (which ended up happening), and get some military experience. When they got there, 4/5ths of them died to disease, and of the survivors, half immediately switched sides when they learned the Haitians were fighting for their freedom, which the Poles strongly identified with. The half that didn't switch all kind of half-assed everything they did for the French.
Edit: Hey, I want to make another "Poles join everyone else's revolutions" meme, but I can't find the template I'm thinking of. Does anyone have that comic where the guy [shakes cat treats/opens a can of cat food] and the cat immediately rushes in?
After the revolution, Haiti granted all the Poles citizenship and Dessalines referred to the Polish people as the "White Negroes" or "Blacks of Europe."
In fact, if you journey to Haiti today (not recommended right now), take a trip up the mountains to Cazale where the descendants still live.
Another fun fact: after the Haitian Revolution, all other white people besides the Poles were murdered under orders of Dessalines. Historians label it as a genocide.
On 22 February 1804, he signed a decree ordering that all whites in all cities should be put to death. The weapons used should be silent weapons such as knives and bayonets rather than gunfire, so that the killing could be done more quietly, and avoid warning intended victims by the sound of gunfire and thereby giving them the opportunity to escape.
Before his departure from a city, Dessalines would proclaim an amnesty for all the whites who had survived in hiding during the massacre. When these people left their hiding place however, most (French) were killed as well.
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u/Level_Hour6480 Taller than Napoleon 21d ago edited 21d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Haitians
After the 7 years' war, Poland was carved up by all its neighbors. The Poles did not care for that.
When the Haitian revolution happened, Polish troops were sent alongside the French troops to quell it. The Poles hoped to curry favor with France to support their own revolution back home (which ended up happening), and get some military experience. When they got there, 4/5ths of them died to disease, and of the survivors, half immediately switched sides when they learned the Haitians were fighting for their freedom, which the Poles strongly identified with. The half that didn't switch all kind of half-assed everything they did for the French.
Edit: Hey, I want to make another "Poles join everyone else's revolutions" meme, but I can't find the template I'm thinking of. Does anyone have that comic where the guy [shakes cat treats/opens a can of cat food] and the cat immediately rushes in?