Learn more About Haiti

First Contact to French Colonization

Columbus first invaded Ayiti, home to the Taíno people, in 1492. He built a settlement with the wood from the wrecked Santa Maria and left 39 people behind when his other two ships returned to Spain.

When Columbus went back to Ayiti, he ” discovered ” that Taínos had destroyed the settlement and killed his people. He went further east and established a new settlement. Eventually, another settlement was built in the west and Spain continued to colonize the island, enslaving its inhabitants.

The arrival of Europeans meant the arrival of European disease, which contributed (with the torture and murder by European people) to a steep drop in the Native population.

Descendants of the survivors of this first contact lived a bad remake when, in 1697, Spain ceded the western part of the island to France. The French built their settlements and named their new colony Saint- Domingue. They didn’t have the first coffee plantations built until the late 1730s, but Saint-Domingue fast became the richest colony of the French Empire. They called Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue (now Cap-Haïtien, Haiti) ” The Paris of the Antilles, ” as it brimmed with the trappings of wealthy western life.

This was, of course, not due to the ingenuity of the French, but because between 1785 and 1790, the colony was the beneficiary of 37% of the whole trans-Atlantic slave trade. The survivors of these kidnappings made up 90% of Haiti’s population.

Revolution and Extortion

In 1791, enslaved people rose up together and began a 12-year battle for their liberation. After just two years, colonizers declared all enslaved people free, to become French citizens. The following year, France abolished slavery in all of its colonies.

However, Napoleon seized power in 1799 and tried to reimpose France’s control of Saint-Domingue in 1801. Reinstating the slave trade, he thought it wouldn’t take long to ” vanquish the Haitians ” (per NYT, link below). But he underestimated the desire of the enslaved people to be free and lost up to 50,000 soldiers, sailors, and other colonists. He pulled out after two years.

With that, Haiti became the first free Black nation. White folks were not pleased and felt they needed to make an example of it. They refused to recognize its sovereignty and to trade with the nation. In 1825, the French sent a fleet to Haiti’s shores demanding 150 million francs for France’s recognition of the nation’s independence, or they’d overtake Haiti again.

Nowhere near able to pay such a sum, Haiti took out a loan—from France—in order to pay this extortion fee. The principal was later reduced to 90 million francs. However, factoring in interest over the 122 years it took to pay off and the loss of money invested into the Haitian economy, the New York Times estimates the true cost to Haiti is somewhere between 21 and 115 billion of today’s US dollars.

US Occupation of Haiti

The US didn’t recognize Haiti’s sovereignty until 1862 because it didn’t want the people it was enslaving to think it condoned such a development. President Andrew Johnson wanted to annex the entire island. This didn’t happen, but the US established a consistent naval presence around the island until and during its occupation of Haiti.

President Wilson, a segregationist, was more than happy to invade and occupy Haiti after its pro-US leader was lynched (for having ordered a massacre of political prisoners). USians took over pretty much every aspect of government, installed their preferred president, and rewrote the Haitian constitution. The US brutally suppressed any dissent and killed about 15,000 Haitians during the occupation from 1915-1934.

Once the Great Depression hit, occupation was no longer profitable so President Hoover began the process of withdrawing the USians in Haiti. The US’s physical presence lasted until 1941, but the economic and emotional toll continues.

The Current Crisis

Haitians began to protest in 2018 over increased fuel prices (due to shortages from Venezuela), which eventually turned into protests of the US-backed president, Jovenel Moïse. The unrest grew, aided by

  • Police brutality,
  • Government corruption,
  • Economic crisis,
  • Poor Covid-19 pandemic response,
  • Climate injustice, and
  • Growing gang violence.

It continued to the point where Moïse was assassinated in 2021. Ariel Henry became acting prime minister, and had senators, former military, businessmen, and even Moïse’s wife and prime minister arrested in connection with the assassination. US mercenaries were also arrested.

In 2022, a new president and prime minister were chosen as defined by the Montana Accord. Henry refused to step down. Gang violence escalated, and in 2024, protests began against Henry. Finally, in March, Henry resigned and Garry Conille was chosen to be the new prime minister by a transitional council.

Today, thanks to past and present exploitation and oppression, Haiti is among the poorest nations and is now being invaded again, with the US using Kenya as a proxy. The first wave of police has arrived from Kenya under the guise of ” rescuing ” Haiti from the gang violence.

Links to Learn More About Haiti