After gaining their independence in 1805, the republic of 500 000 people have been on an uphill, treadmill climb. Haiti at that time was the most prosperous black nation and the first black nation to have gained independence.

With that freedom Haiti constructed a new constitution that would allow any person of African decent who entered the shores of Haiti to be instantly free from slavery and was considered a Haitian citizen.

Like America and all other independent nations, independence was sought and achieved and won. Likewise freedom and democracy became well respected as evident in the amazing constitution created by the United States. Although France had embraced the idea of freedom, Napoleon Bonaparte could not fathom the idea of a free republic. 

To the people of Haiti a 10 year fight to independence should have been enough to allow them to occupy the seat of freedom, prosperity and independence, but that was to be proven wrong. The French did not recognize Haiti as a sovereign nation and so did America and England.  The western world sided with France, thus leaving Haiti completely ostracized. Cuba had Russia, China and Vietnam but Haiti was left in the dark.  Access to trade and financial aid was denied by the western world. They all regarded Haiti as an illegal state.

In 1825 at the nation’s 21^st anniversary, the Haitian government declared the republic to totally bankrupt and that it could not continue this path. The French were quickly invited to the negotiating table. The Haitian government negotiated for acceptance by France but the French had a big price in return for their recognition. France sent down a group of accountants to value all assets and property in Haiti. An agreement was arrived at. The prize of recognition was assessed at 150 million gold francs, and equivalent of 21 billion dollars today. According to France this was a reparation fee.

The Haitians paid at least 70% of that payment up until 1922 when they were seriously hemorrhaging and could not pay any more. They had to borrow from France at double the interest rate to continue their obligation to pay their debt. It was the most ruthless and brutal crime against humanity.

When America invaded Haiti on July 1^st 1915, one of the reasons that they gave was to recover reparation payment for France.

In 2001,at the UN conference strong recommendations were made for France to repay Haiti that 150 million. May be you thought that the current situation in Haiti was all bad governance but there are many other factors in the equation. Wishing Haiti a good recovery.

Greg