Benito Sylvain

Benito Sylvain (born Marie-Joseph Benoît d'Artagnan Sylvain; 21 March 1868 – 3 January 1915) was a Haitian journalist, diplomat and lawyer and one of the organizers of the 1900 Pan-African Conference. Born in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, Sylvain pathed the connection between Afro-descendants and Africans and became a representative for these groups that were colonized by France. He is arguably considered to be a pioneer of Pan-Africanism.

Biography

In 1887, Sylvain finished his studies in Paris at the Collège Stanislas, then attended Law School where he obtained his license and then his doctorate.

Supported by his country that appoints the officer of Marine and secretary to the embassy in London, Sylvain founded in Paris in 1890 a weekly committed against French colonialism, La Fraternité (which appeared until 1897). It will publish from 1891 to 1893 some articles of Schoelcher.

In 1897, Sylvain staying in Ethiopia became the aide-de-camp to Emperor Menelik II, who defeated the Italians at the Battle of Adwa (1896).

In 1901, Sylvain, who attend all lectures against slavery, published in Paris his principal work called, On the fate of the natives in the colonies of exploitation, an indictment against colonialism.

As there were very active Afro-descended students in France, including his compatriot Haitians, Sylvain endeavored to make the connection between Afro-descendants and Africans, in a spirit of resistance to European colonialism, which he reasoned was a new form of slavery.[1]

References

1. Martin, Tony (1985). "Benito Sylvain of Haiti on the Pan-African Conference of 1900". The Pan-African connection: from slavery to Garvey and beyond (1st Majority Press ed.). Dover, Massachusetts: The Majority Press. pp. 201–216. ISBN 0912469110. OCLC 10833862. Retrieved 31 January 2020 – via Google Books.