When Haiti was a French colony, it provided greatest assets to the metropolis,   the largest of all in comparison to all French colonies combined. Cap-Haïtien was known as the "Paris of the New World”, however, colonialism and the stubborn resistance against the recognition of that State as a sovereign nation have made of Haiti what it is today. In his letter to Gonzalo de Quesada, on September 8, 1892 our National Hero José Martí wrote: "I never saw in my long seeing, such a sad and devastated place, which is this corner of Haiti.

The fact is that José Martí was a first-person viewer of Haiti since he first visited the place in September 1892 and later in 1895. During the preparation of the Necessary War (War of Independence) that Caribbean nation was a country he had to visit en route to the Dominican Republic, where he met fighters for the independence of Cuba, like Máximo Gómez.

For Cuba’s greatest Revolutionary thinker, one of his deepest concerns was to achieve unity, based on overcoming differences between Haitians and Dominicans. Consequently, he urged them to arm themselves with faith and warned them on the need of being united.
In its dairy “From Cap-Haïtien to Montecristi" Martí proudly writes about Alexander Petion, the Haitian patriot who wanted to free Cuba from slavery, he labels Quanaminthe "a bustling border town of popular joy, beautiful and lilting women”, meanwhile he called the Creole, the language spoken by the natives, "as a melodic language in his ears."

During his stay in Haiti he finds the kindness of the humble men who help him during his journeys. He always finds the helping hand of the Haitians when seeking the Cuban patriots, members of two clubs of veterans (Guarionex and Hatuey) that were based in that little country so close to the eastern extreme of Cuba.

In his political platform Marti describes the integration as a must to curb the imperial thirst, so as to understand the world in balance, he promotes the idea of unifying the Caribbean islands, in what he would define "The Antillean Confederation", first of all the independence, he assured, then the "unity among the Caribbean islands, and undoubtedly, Haiti was included in the ideals of unity.

Those who are fond to read about history get astonished when reading Jose Marti’s work and find a visionary progressive ideal when he states: "Only the emancipation of the West Indies can ensure the necessary balance, otherwise we would be mere slaves of our destiny. With the Union of the West Indies and independent Latin America, we would form a balancing force in our continent "

On 8 May 1895, in an emblematic letter addressed to his friend Manuel Mercado, José Martí wrote: Haiti by its proximity and importance of its geographical position, its membership in the club of oppressed nations such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic which are threatened by the rising US empire, is a part of our America.

Gonaives, Cap-Haïtien, Fort Liberté, were regions of Haiti where Marti left a crucial legacy in his struggle for the unity of the pro-independence forces. The project that he named Federación Antillana (West Indies Federation) had three major cornerstones after achieving independence: The struggle for the racial equality, the struggle against social disparities and the establishment of democratic governments which strongly object expansionism and annexation.

In an article published by Patria newspaper in 1892 Marti writes: "It does not seem that the safety of the Antilles, closely watched by the thriving greed, really depends on an ostentatious  alliance, which provokes objection and justifies the aggression as the subtle and evident union in everything (…) of the islands that have to be held up together, or disappear together in the memory of the free people”

For José Marti the independence of Cuba is a political and social must that would strengthen the existence of Latin America facing the hegemonic danger which is the imperialism..." (…) of preventing the United States from spreading through the Antilles as Cuba gains its independence, and from empowering with that additional strength our lands of America.”...

The current struggle to keep balance all over the world does not differ much from that one fostered by Marti’s ideology. The United States spends every year billions of dollars developing nuclear weapons, and produces biodiesel out of foodstuff without even care the damage they can cause among the poorest nations. Yesterday’s marines of former coaling stations are today’s powerful military forces like the 82nd Airborne Division that landed in the devastated Haiti, offering “a humanitarian aid”, as the imperialists press claims.

On the other hand, supportive hands strive to return the social and economic power to the long-suffering Haitian people, who have been victims of an earthquake claiming the lives of 170 000 human beings. Cuba and the member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) are providing medical care, medicines, economic aid, etc.

Martí , who was considered a farsighted man of all times, predicted so:  "The free West Indies will save the independence of our America and the already dubious and hurt honor of the Anglo-Saxon America, …to speed up and fix the balance of the world”.

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