Notes on Papa Doc Duvalier

Bob Corbett's notes

Heinl portrait, see p. 586. Huge treatment of Duvalier through 620s

• Born: April 14, 1907
• Father: Duval Duvalier teacher, journalist, justice of the peace.
• Mother: Uritia Abraham bakery employee
• Attended Lycee Petion
• Worked on a newspaper Action Nationale and used the non de plume ABDERRAHMAN
• 1938 Papa Doc helped found Les Griots (poets, story tellers) focus on negritude with Lorimer Denis.
• Hospice Saint Francois de Sales (did his internship)
• Dec. 27, 1939 married Simone Ovide Faine a nurse. They had four children:
  
  • Marie Denise
  • Simone
  • Nicole
  • Jean-Claude
• 1943--1946 Asst. to U.S. Army medical mission. Also did two term in public health at Michigan U.
• Sept. 22, 1957 election of Duvalier over Dejoie and Jumelle
• Duvalier led a fairly popular regime outside all traditional power groups.
• June, 1960. Cri de Jacmel. Written by Clovis Desinor. Roger Dorsainville wrote most of Duvalier's speeches.
• P. 212 Nicholls--1979 Thesis:
  Mistaken view:
  
  1. Duvalier cynical power/wealth hungry
  2. Duvalier under the influence of Voodoo.
  Rather:
  Plan to follow Estime's plan of transfer of power to Black middle class and not make the same mistake of Estime--lack of forcefulness.
• See final quote in Nicholls notes.
• Note: Nicholls, p. 191. Too many invasions too early which suggested a larger issue than Duvalier's terror.

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• 1964, May 22. President for life. (Heinl, p. 643.)
• Heinl, p. 648-649 has excellent passage on the brain drain in Duvalier times.