Introduction
There are many reasons which have made up the modern day Haiti. The racial caste systems are what have made the mulattos consider themselves superior to the blacks. The Haitian revolution which occurred in 1791 to 1804 help make the republic to be the first to ever be ruled by black people. The settlement done between the French and Haiti is what started to make the country be in debt with other countries. The occupation of US brought about the formation of good roads, housing and health care. During the earthquake the US were the ones who provided more help. The Duvalier’s reign that’s when the country became poorer to the state that it has never being able to recover (Farmer).
Racial caste system
The racial caste system is what brought about the revolution of 1795. The Caribbean riches came from the increase of the European intake of sugar. The white planters in Haiti used the black slaves for the manual labour. The slaves were many thus became a threat for the white landowners. This made them pass legislation in 1758, which ensured that there were restrictions of the other groups. These caste systems divided the nation into three categories. One group was of the enslaved blacks who were considered to be majority. The second group consisted of the white landowners or otherwise known as the blanc. The third group was made up of the freed Africans or the mulattoes who were mostly of a mixed race. The freed Africans were given education thus were able to be administrators in the plantation or they could join the army and they were able to acquire lands. The mulattoes were not allowed to marry whites, take good professions, carry weapons in public and wear the European clothing (Coupeau).
This system was very biased and it left no room for the enslaved Africans to get any rights. This unfairness caused a lot of conflicts between the whites and the enslaved blacks. Gangs such as the maroons were formed by the slaves who managed to escape. This gang attacked the sugarcane plantations and destroyed it. Francois Mackandal was the first maroon leader who was able to initiate and unite many slaves. Mackandal was captured and burnt by the French. The process of the caste system where the country was divided into three groups has cemented the racial identity. The mulattos since had some little power have found themselves to be superior to the blacks who were once slaves. This made them think that they are the ones who should be in control and they still think the same up to now. The government is still made up many mulattoes as the administrators (Munro).
The 1825 settlement between Haiti and France
In 1822, Emperor Jean Pierre Boyer took control of Haiti. In his reign it is believed that he brought about the ruination of the country. In 1825, Boyer thought that the integrity of Haiti was in question when the former colony France was not able to recognize the state to be independent. This prompted him to make a settlement with France, which entailed that Haiti will be paying for the losses of France especially during the revolution. Haiti paid millions to the French government and ended up emptying its treasury. This made the country be in debt with the France because they also had to float loans from France. This made the country to be very poor and it has never been able to recover even today. During the earthquake the country was undeveloped and did not have much money to cover the costs of the damages done. This made the country to seek for help from other countries in the world especially the developed countries. The mistake of Boyer when he was the ruler in 1822 to 1843 is still being felt in Haiti today (Dubois).
The relationship between the US and Haiti, and the cause of the American occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934
The United States occupied Haiti in 1915 to 1934 due to the heavy debt the country had. They had power over all the decisions the government made in Haiti. The United States Marine Corps commanders took over the administration offices especially in the provinces. Under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson there were policies made that ensured the administration offices at the local institutions was being run by the Haitians. Through this policies the United States were to oversee the election of a new president under their supervision. The elected president was Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave (Miller). He was able to sign a treaty with the Americans which made the country a protectorate of the US. This made them in charge of finance, public work, public health service and the constabulary. In 1917, the US dissolved the national assembly of Haiti and wrote new constitution similar to that of the United States.
One of the most important laws in Haiti was that foreign ownership of their land was prohibited. This was overturned and made it possible for foreign people to acquire lands in Haiti. The occupation of the Americans brought about constant revolt from Haitians especially in 1918. The marines were able to control this unrest but it cost 2,000 lives of the Haitians (Dubois). After independence the mulatto community were the ones in charge of Haiti thus thought they were superior to the blacks. The arrival of United States, the white community were very discriminating therefore, they put all the black community as one including the mulattoes. Due to this the mulattoes and the blacks united due to the racial injustices that were happening in Haiti. There are positive effects due to the arrival of the United States people such as the improvement of roads, housing, telephone system was introduced, access to clean water, schools, hospitals and introduction of the fiscal management which help in reducing debt.
In 1922, Dartiguenave was replaced by Louis Borno as president in Haiti. He reigned for 8 years until the election of mulatto Stenio Vincent in 1930. In 1929, in Les Cayes when the Haitians were protesting the economic condition, the American marines killed over ten Haitians (Miller). This got the attention of the then US president Herbert Hoover who was already concerned about the occupation of United States in Haiti. In 1932 the United States troops began to withdraw from Haiti under the governance of Hoover. This withdrawal was continued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934 under the policy of good neighbour.
The external finances of Haiti were controlled by the US up until 1947. The occupation of US brought about some good advantages that helped the state to have good houses and other essentials (Dubois). This was destroyed during the earthquake which caused many houses to collapse this includes the state house. Due to the relationship between US and Haiti they were able to get some relief which was very essential. A lot of funding was also from the United States that was used to rebuild the country back to normal.
The Duvalier dictatorships of 1957-1986
In 1957, François Duvalier was elected as president of Haiti. While he was in power he made constitution changes which allowed him to run for presidency twice. This was prohibited by the constitution in 1957. He changed the legislation from the previous bicameral to unicameral thus decreed the legislative and presidential elections. In 1964, he went as far as to declare himself the president for life. There was an attempt of coup by the military that caused him to sack and replace the armed forces chief of staff someone who was his ally. The presidential guard became the main corps for Haitian army and was used by Duvalier to maintain his power. After establishing his own military he went further by sacking all the old marines and replaced them with younger men who were loyal to him. He further reduced the power of the army by giving powers to the rural militia known as the tonton makeouts. This militia group was used to enforce Duvalier’s powers in the rural areas. Through the use of his own men for protection he was able to intimidate and threaten those who opposed him.
Corruption increased in the form of bribery. The people who supported him enriched themselves by stealing the government funds and had powers to intimidate the other people. Under the presidency of Kennedy in the United States they refused to provide aid to Haiti because the money sent to help people was being used by President Duvalier for personal use (Girard). Problems occurred to Duvalier in 1963 when the Dominican president Juan Borch gave protection to the Haitians who wanted to overthrow him. A man was sent to kidnap Duvalier’s children and was caught thereby causing Borch to issue a statement that he was going to war with Haiti. The dispute was settled by the OAS emissaries and therefore, the plan for war was stopped.
In 1971, Francois Duvalier passed away and left his son Jean Claude Duvalier as the president. He was only nineteen at the time and had no interest of being in politics. After taking over, the country continued to decline economically and politically. One of the good things that occurred during his reign was the abolition of some of the laws that his father had made that were feared by people. During official ceremonies he left his mother in charge while he socialized with women. The Haitian citizens liked Jean more than they ever liked his father. The foreign officials were also tolerant to Jean thus they were able to assist him economically. The means by which Jean enriched himself was through fraudulent ways. He used the tobacco administration otherwise known as regie du tabac where in that there wasn’t any evidence left. In 1980 he married a mulatto named as Michele Bennet at a lavish 3 million wedding ceremony. This brought about objections by the people who supported his father because it went against the antipathy policies against the elite mulatto. Simone the mother of jean was expelled from Haiti due to the request made by Jean’s wife.
The kleptocracy regime was brought about by jean which left the state in poverty, increase in the outbreak of the acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and outbreak of the African swine fever on pigs. This made US make sanctions against importing their animals. With the increase of cases of AIDS the number of tourist arriving in the country also reduced tremendously. This policy made the economy of the country to decline even further. His popularity was diminishing by the minute but what cemented his downfall was when Pope John Paul II condemned the kleptocracy regime in Haiti. In the Duvalier’s regime from 1957 to 1986 was filled with tyrannical leadership where the people had no say on any decisions made by the government. The country was filled by corrupt leaders who caused the ruination of the country economically. Haiti’s economy was very bad and it had not recovered fully at the time of the earthquake. The country was already poor therefore, after the earthquake any significant improvement it had made earlier economic wise died that day (Munro).
In conclusion, Haiti is country that has faced a lot of challenges in history that has determined how it is now. During the racial caste systems the mulattoes were considered to be superior to the blacks slaves thus that mentality has never left. They continue to be the ones ruling even today. The occupation of America left some good impression because the roads were increased, the water was made cleaner, houses were built in modern ways and the health systems were improved. This was still being seen in Haiti before the earthquake which destroyed almost everything. Due to the good relationship between the Haiti and US they were able to provide financial aid after the earthquake. The settlement between Haiti and France left the country broke and in debt with both the France and US. The money is still being paid by the Haitian government up to now thus since the earthquake the country became even more broke therefore the debt continues to add up. The Duvalier’s presidency was corrupt and tyrannical therefore, leaving the country in a state of turmoil especially economically. The state was already not doing well economically therefore with their selfish ruling the country became even poorer. After the earthquake the country got back to how it was during the reign of the Duvaliers.
Work cited
Coupeau, S. (2008). The History of Haiti. Westport: Greenwood Press. Print
Dubois, L. (2012). Haiti: The Aftershocks of History. Henry Holt and Company. Print
Farmer, P. (2003). The Uses of Haiti. Common Courage Press , p.98. Print
Girard, P. (2010). Haiti: The Tumultuous History . New York: Palgrave. Print
Miller, P. (2010). From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti, and Pan-Americanism, 1870–1964. Florida: University Press of Florida. Print
Munro, M. (2010). Haiti Rising: Haitian History, Culture and the Earthquake of 2010. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. Print
