Hatian Revolution Post

The hard times in Haiti did not end when it won its independence from France and Napoleon in 1804. Instead the hard times continue to today because the new Republic of Haiti was not well received by other important countries of the time, especially the United States and France. In 1825, after Haiti won its independence, instead of leaving Haiti alone, King Charles X of France “demanded that Haiti pay an ‘independence debt’ to compensate former colonists for the slaves who had won their freedom in the Haitian Revolution.” He demanded 90 million francs, equivalent to 17 billion dollars today, and sent warships to Haiti to force them to pay. This shows that France was not happy with Haiti winning its independence. It was their most profitable colony so they were not happy to loose it. They did receive Haiti’s independence, but neither did the United States. The United States was not supportive of Haiti because they did not like the idea of a Black nation and slave rebellions. The United States relied heavily on slave labor and did not want slaves to be inspired by the successful rebellion in Haiti, as was feared by many. Thomas Jefferson tried to get Congress to stop trade with Haiti, but it was too profitable so they refused and the US did not recognize Haiti’s independence until 1862. Neither the United States nor France were supportive of Haiti’s independence.

Instead of helping Haiti, both countries actions were crippling to the country. France’s indemnity payment was not paid fully until 1947, 120 years later. This payment crippled Haiti’s economy and doomed them to poverty. The payment was six times Haiti’s annual revenue at the time. Having this huge debt to pay, Haiti was unable to grow and improve for a huge part of its time as a country. The effects from this are still felt today because Haiti is still very poor. The United States being unsupportive of and essentially ignoring Haiti allowed France to force Haiti to pay the indemnity. If the United States and other powerful countries supported Haiti, it would have prevented France from demanding an indemnity. Also, since Haiti was ignored, its ability to trade was limited which also prevented the economy from growing. The actions of both France and the United States prevented Haiti’s economy from growing which hurt the country greatly.