Haiti is an independent nation in the Caribbean that occupies the western part of the island of Hispaniola, with the Dominican Republic to the east. The island was initially claimed by Spain, which later ceded the western third of the island to France.

The slave system in Saint-Domingue was regarded as one of the harshest in the Americas, with high levels of both mortality and violence. To supply the plantation system, French owners imported almost 800,000 Africans to the colony. :france-cool:

the Haitian Revolution stands out as the only instance in which enslaved people and free people of color fought and defeated the French, Spanish, and British to end slavery and the slave trade. This successful and complicated campaign for freedom and equality, begun in 1791, resulted in the creation of the second republic in the western hemisphere, an independent Republic of Haiti in 1804.

France agreed to recognize Haiti as a sovereign nation, but demanded that Haiti pay compensation and reparations in exchange. The Haitians, with their diplomatic and economic backs against the wall, agreed to pay the French.The French government sent a team of accountants into Haiti in order to place a value on all lands and physical assets, including the 500,000 citizens who were formerly enslaved, and declared the value at 150 million gold francs, which in contemporary terms would equate to well over $20 billion.

the United States Invaded and occupied Haiti from 1915-1934, changed Haiti’s constitution, and in many ways further contributed to its ongoing instability, many African-Americans denounced the occupation of a sovereign nation. :amerikkka:

the U.S. government still maintained fiscal control over the country until 1947, when Haiti finally paid off its loan to the United States. In order to do so, however, Haiti was forced to deplete its gold reserves, leaving the country bereft. Perhaps more importantly, the removal of the U.S. military did not result in the removal of U.S. influence in Haiti.

The Duvalier Years

As the Cold War set in after World War II, the most devastating impact of U.S. interference in Haiti was the government's ongoing support of the Duvalier regime, which ruled Haiti from 1957 to 1986. Fearful that Haiti would fall to communism, the U.S. government concluded that it would offer full support to the Duvalier government.

During that 30-year period, Haitians were forced to live under dictators "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier, a father and son team, who openly murdered their opponents and stole millions of dollars from the Haitian people. Some members of the Haitian leadership have since claimed that the Duvaliers stole close to $1 billion.

Baby Doc was forced to flee Haiti in 1986, in the face of growing opposition from the Haitian people. Shortly thereafter, in 1990, Haiti held free, peaceful, democratic elections which resulted in Jean-Bertrand Aristide's short-lived first presidency.

Since 1990, Haiti has continued to suffer extraordinary political conflict and violence. The last twenty years have only reinforced Haiti's popular negative reputation, as a country marred by corruption, poverty, incompetence, and ignorance.

Even today, Haiti is plagued by protests over financial mismanagement, riots in response to the October cholera epidemic and the November flooding from Hurricane Tomas, and outrage over alleged election fraud.

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