Of all the countries around the world, Haiti is not known for its first world status. It is considered riddled with poverty, and often filled with disease. Poor health care and education are common in this country. Why, however, are these norms for Haiti? It is because the country began its independence disadvantaged and have seen struggle ever since. France demanded compensation for the loss of plantation land. The U.S. occupied the country, re-writing the Haitian constitution in a feeble attempt to claim land it did not own. Haitians themselves sometimes infiltrated the government, using the seat of power to cripple the country. Despite these setbacks, the population continues fighting in an attempt to rebuild.
Haiti has a long and rather sordid history, riddled with segregation and a hindrance of its development. One of the most detrimental blows dealt to Haiti came in 1825, at the hands of France. Having been granted independence two decades prior, Haitians hoped to be freed from slavery and the isolation of financial debt; instead, they were decimated by war and assassination in the years that followed. Severe turmoil resulted in a separation of Haiti and what is now the Dominican Republic by 1944 . In the year 1825, it was clear France was one country slow to recognize Haiti is then already aging independence as a country. They officially saw Haiti as its own country in this year, but demanded financial compensation for the land French plantation owners had lost during the transition, creating such a vast deficit for the country the debt was not paid in full until 1887 .
The future of Haiti relied heavily on France’s external debt, more so than the world realized at the time. France’s demand crippled the future development of the country, and continues to do so today. Having only gained independence two decades before the demands were made, the third world country was still in crucial periods of development. Having been ordered to pay 150 million gold francs to France, an amount they could not afford, was an amount that was estimated to be twice the country’s net worth in 1990 . In 1825, it was nearly 100 times the country’s net worth. The debt was eventually lowered to the amount of 90 million gold francs, still more than the country is worth, but Haiti was still forced to take out high interest loans from world banks to pay off their country’s debt. Education, transportation, clean food and water, medical care, and the country’s contributions to the world’s imports and exports all suffered because of these financial losses. Any effort to contribute agriculturally to the world market, primarily with sugar and coffee, ended in being consumed locally, for example . Because of this debt, Haiti was effectively halted in their development. Rather than put forth their financial resources to building schools, paving roads, or building hospitals, the country was forced to pay forward on high interest loans in order to be recognized as a country. As a result, they are independent, but still a third world country today.
Beginning in 1915, the United States occupied Haiti until 1934. The occupation began after a string of political assassinations in Haiti made the environment volatile and unstable, allowing several revolutionary armies to stage dangerous military coups under the promise of promotion and money. The U.S. stepped in in an attempt to control Germany’s hand in the Western world; they had stepped in numerous times in similar situations and the States did not want to allow it to happen again . This was, of course, during a tumultuous time between Germany and the United States. Haiti was caught in the middle. However, because they country had been receiving large loans from the United States toward their many debts and the building of their country, the majority of the population seemed, at the time, for the occupation. However, several public officials and writers publicized the occupation, as well as the new Haitian Constitution, bestowed on the country by Woodrow Wilson, was not what it seemed, and that the country was upset by the occupation . For instance, Wilson advertised the new constitution would benefit Haitians more so than the old, while writers and politicians advocated Wilson’s only agenda was to remove the clause in the original constitution stating foreigners could no own land in Haiti (one of the primary reasons the country sought independence in the first place) . Moreover, many Haitian officials have gone on record stating the Haitian government could do nothing during the U.S. occupation because the American word was the final word, voiding the Haitian government completely. The occupations stirred a rebellion of over 30,000 disgruntled Haitians, supporting the idea the country was experiencing civil unrest; what little was left of the country’s infrastructure was also destroyed. During the occupation, however, many miles of road were repaired, schools and hospitals were improved, bridges were built, and the country saw a revitalized economy for a short time . While these positive impacts were primarily because the American military needed usable facilities and functional transportation, they were left behind when the occupation ended. Today, the majority of the country favors the U.S.
Haiti experienced more strife from 1957-1986 during the Duvalier dictatorship. It began with Francois Duvalier. Having been elected in 1957, he remained the Haitian president until 1971, and his policies were based on building a rural militia. His presidency resulted in the murder of over 25,000 Haitians . Running and being elected on the Black Nationalist platform, Duvalier proclaimed he was “President for Life” by title in 1964, remaining president of Haiti until his death. While remaining dictator, he resisted several coups attempting to throw him from power. He was responsible for turning Haiti’s entire military into a presidential guard in order to prevent this. He was excommunicated from the Catholic church for exiling foreign-born Haitian bishops, and held a presidential election in 1961 wherein he was the only candidate; he won by over one million votes, showing the event had been rigged, and just a show to attest to his power . He blamed JFK’s assassination on a curse, and embezzled over 15 million dollars of foreign aid to his personal accounts .
After Francois Duvalier’s death in 1971, his 19-year-old son, Jean Claude Duvalier, took his place as president of Haiti until finally being overthrown . He took the position without an election, creating said dictatorship, and while in power was as malevolent as his father was. He allowed senior officers such power that thousands of Haitians were tortured to death, and many more fled Haiti; he also embezzled foreign aid as his father had done. The majority of Haitians could not afford to feed their families, but Duvalier lived lavishly by selling drugs and getting involved in the black market rather than helping the Haitian people . Due to the strong anticommunist beliefs of the Reagan administration directly before being overthrown, relations between Haiti and the U.S. improved. Directly after the country’s uprising, Duvalier fled to France, leaving the country to attempt to rebuild.
In sum, Haiti has had a difficult time gaining its footing on the world’s stage. In an attempt to gain independence as a country, and as a people, France crippled them with debt. World banks crushed them with interest loans. The U.S. occupied their country, and their own people created tumultuous political situations for the country. Still the population attempts to rebuild. Each time a difficult hand is dealt to Haiti, they put the broken pieces back together and keep trying. No matter the amount of debt, or invasive tactics on behalf of their own or other people, they will not rest until they are a country unto their own.
Works Cited
Comhaire, Jean L. "The Haitian Schism: 1804-1860 ." Anthropological Quarterly (2009): 59-68. Article.
O'Neill, William G. "Roots of Human Rights Violations in Haiti." Georgetown Immigration Law Journal (1993): 83-105. Article.
Reinhardt, Thomas. "200 Years of Forgetting: Hushing up the Haitian Revolution." Journal of Black Studies (2005): 246-261. Article.
Schmidt, Hans. The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934. London: Rutgers University Press, 2010. Book.
