Haiti is in the middle of another crisis. Gangs have taken over the capital city, another leader has resigned, and the future is uncertain.
Today I’d like to take a look at the history of Haiti to see how the country has become one of the least stable and poorest in the world!
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Vocabulary
- Gang (Noun): A group of people who associate closely, for social reasons, criminal activities, or other common interests.
- Gang violence has been a significant problem for many years.
- Intervention (Noun): The action or process of intervening in a situation, typically to alter or prevent an outcome.
- The United Nations called for international intervention to stop the conflict in the region.
- Enslave (Verb): To make someone a slave.
- The conquering nation enslaved the indigenous population and forced them to work on plantations.
- Reparation (Noun): The making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.
- The government offered financial reparations to the victims of the war.
- Instability (Noun): The state of being unstable; often characterized by unpredictable changes.
- Political instability in the region has led to economic and social unrest.
- Overthrow (Verb): To remove from power, especially a government or ruler.
- The rebels attempted to overthrow the dictator.
- Devastation (Noun): Severe and widespread destruction or damage.
- The hurricane caused widespread devastation, leaving many people homeless.
Introduction
In late February, the Caribbean country of Haiti was hit by a wave of violence. Gangs and armed gunman attacked the airport, police stations, and prisons.
It is now a few months later, the country’s prime minister has resigned and been replaced by a new transitional council.
Yet, the violence shows no signs of ending. There are still daily battles between criminals, gang members, and government forces. The Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, has been cut off or isolated from the world since the violence began – the airports and ports are closed, roads controlled by armed gangs, and killings and kidnappings are a serious risk.
More than 50,000 people have had to flee their homes due to the violence, with thousands dead or injured, and millions in abject poverty.
The capital city of the country is now under the control of gangs – not politicians, dictators, the army, or the police – but armed gangs.
Unfortunately, this is not the first crisis in Haitian history. Since it became an independent country, the country has struggled with debt, dictatorships, foreign interventions, and violence.
Today, I’d like to take a deep look into Haiti’s history to see how the country has become one of the least stable in the world!
History of Haiti
Haiti is an independent country in the Caribbean. It covers part of the island of Hispaniola, bordering the Dominican Republic. Its capital city is Port-au-Prince, it currently has a population of around 11 million people, and the main languages of Haiti are French and Haitian Creole.
If you have been a long-term listener to the podcast, you may remember that I have actually covered some of the history of Haiti in a previous episode.
Back in October, in the Halloween special episode I talked about the history of zombies which involved discussing Haiti’s independence and the development of voodoo. I recommend listening to that episode if you haven’t already!
Pre-Colonial Era
Before the European colonial powers arrived in the Americas, the island of Hispaniola was inhabited by groups of indigenous people.
The main group were the Taino. The Taino lived in small villages, cultivated crops, hunted, fished, and gathered wild foods.
In 1492, the European explorer Christopher Columbus landed on the island, and gave it the name Hispaniola meaning Little Spain. The encounter between the Taíno and Europeans had devastating consequences for the indigenous people.
The Spanish colonisers brought European diseases like smallpox, measles, and influenza. The Taino had no natural immunity to any of these diseases, and the diseases decimated their population.
Their population fell as thousands died due to diseases, violence, and forced labour by the Europeans.
French Colony
In the year 1697, France took over the western part of the island, which became Haiti. And Haiti was one of France’s richest and most successful colonies.
In Haiti, the French grew massive quantities of coffee and sugar which was sent back to Europe and made the French authorities a lot of money.
Developing the large plantations in their colony meant the French needed a lot of cheap labour. This led to the importation of enslaved Africans. The slaves endured harsh conditions and terrible treatment but were the backbone of economy.
The European colonial settlers and plantation owners held all the economic and political power in the colony. Enslaved Africans formed the majority of the population and had to deal with the harshest treatment, exploitation, and oppression.
The brutal conditions of slavery and the injustice faced by slaves led to a number of different slave revolts, uprisings, and resistance movements.
The most significant of these movements was the Haitian Revolution.
Haitian Revolution and Independence
The Haitian Revolution was one of the most important events in the history of the Caribbean and the Americas. It led to Haiti becoming the first independent majority black republic, after one of the most successful slave revolts ever.
The revolution was motivated by a combination of factors, including the brutal treatment of slaves. At the same time, it was also influenced by the ideas of enlightenment coming out France in the late 18th century and the French Revolution.
Based off the combination of discontent among slaves and new ideas, a series of slave revolts began in the year 1791. Toussaint Louverture emerged as a leader at this time. He was charismatic and a strategic leader, who organised and united different groups and organised the revolution.
After years of struggle and warfare, Haiti declared its independence from France on January 1, 1804, becoming the first independent black republic and the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States.
The Haitian Revolution was an incredibly significant event. It inspired enslaved people around the world. It challenged the idea of slavery. And it shocked European colonies.
Post-Independence
Haiti becoming an independent republic at the beginning of the 19th century offered an opportunity for them to decide their own future. They abolished slavery and set up their government.
Unfortunately, they were not free from problems or foreign influence for very long.
First, the United States (the only other independent country in the region) refused to recognise the independence of Haiti. Haiti had been founded through slave revolt, the US was a slave owning country and relied on a slave economy. They feared the influence of Haiti on their own population.
And no European country would recognise or deal with Haiti, for the same reasons as the United States.
Throughout the 19th century, Haiti tried to conquer Santo Domingo, a former Spanish colony today known as the Dominican Republic. Between 1821 and 1844, Haitian forces invaded and ruled over their neighbours, and again later in the century they tried to conquer the Dominican Republic.
And Haiti had to deal with the issues of a former slave economy and society becoming independent. Haiti’s plantations were once incredibly valuable, but without the French empire it became hard to trade and sell produce.
Distributing land was a challenge, and the society was divided between different groups of former slaves, as well as mixed race Haitians.
Debt to France
However, perhaps the biggest challenge to Haiti was France. In 1825, the French returned to Haiti.
They didn’t colonise the nation this time. Instead, they sent their military with a demand. The French wanted Haiti to pay them reparations, a payment to make amends for doing something wrong.
That’s right – France forced Haiti to pay France money. Apparently, the amount would be worth about $20 billion today. France wanted Haiti to pay as they lost “property” in the revolution – that property being land, plantations, and most disturbingly thousands of slaves.
Haiti didn’t have the money to pay France… so they needed to borrow it. If you remember, no countries really recognised Haiti so who would lend them money?
Well… one country offered to recognise Haiti and lend them money. France.
That’s right. Haiti was forced to borrow money from France to pay France reparations. They had to then pay back that money, with interest.
Many Haitian activists and historians point to this debt to France as being one of the most destructive and damaging parts of the country’s history. Haiti was paying the debt off for over 120 years.
The debt got in the way of Haiti building a new society. In combination with the economic challenges of being an independent country with no allies and the changes in the society, the debt was a major challenge in the 19th century.
Foreign Intervention and Dictatorship
The 20th century was not much better for Haiti. There was a lot of political instability through the country.
In 1915, the Haitian President was overthrown after ordering the mass execution of political prisoners. The United States, worried about stability in the region, decided to invade.
The US gave Haiti a new president, who importantly supported the US interests, and a new constitution which also was aligned with what the US wanted in the region.
In 1934 the US army left Haiti, but they kept full financial control of the economy until the 1940s!
In reality, since first invading Haiti, the US has not left the country alone. In 1956, the US supported François Duvalier, known as “Papa Doc”, after he seized control of the country. Papa Doc led one of the most brutal dictatorships, murdering all of his enemies and opposition, and declared himself the President for life.
The US, however, cared only about communism. Papa Doc was an anti-communist, so his brutality was overlooked, and the US gave him support.
Haiti was one of the poorest countries in the entire world, led by a brutal dictatorship. In 1971 Papa Doc died and his son, Jean-Claude or “Baby Doc”, took over. Baby Doc was forced out of the country in 1986 and stole up to $800 million on his way out.
In 1991, Haiti held successful elections… but the winner (Jean-Bertrand Aristide) was overthrown 12 months later.
The US military returned in 1994 to restore democracy, and then again in 2004 after another rebellion.
Haiti Today
As you can see, Haiti’s history has been a series of challenges, uprising, and dictatorships that have stopped the country developing a successful economy.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the entire world.
How did we get to a situation where the country is being controlled by criminal gangs?
In January 2010, Haiti was hit by a massive earthquake. It struck the capital, Port-au-Prince and caused widespread devastation. Estimates suggest up to 300,000 people died with millions more injured or left homeless.
Haiti struggled to recover from the earthquake. They didn’t have the resources, infrastructure, or knowledge, and relied on outside aid and assistance. A massive cholera outbreak (a deadly water disease) swept through the country.
Six years later, Haiti was hit by a hurricane which further devastated the country and killed hundreds of people.
The natural disasters left Haiti in a state of chaos. They have never had a truly functioning government or economy, and in the aftermath of the disasters, gangs began to develop.
These gangs were born out of the despair and destruction. They also had, and still have, relationships and connections to various political leaders and economic elites in the country.
In 2021, the Haitian president Jovenel Moise was assassinated. A group of mercenaries (private solders) hired from Colombia were flown into the country and killed the president in his house. This left a power vacuum, a political hole, in Haiti.
Until the recent crisis, the country had been led by Ariel Henry – an unelected and unpopular leader.
He kept on delaying promised elections. Earlier this year, when he announced the election would be delayed for another year, the violence erupted. Armed groups in Port-au-Prince decided to take over the capital.
These armed gangs have been formed over the years and claim to do community work and help neighbourhoods rebuild. In reality, they are violent organisations that have been used by politicians and claim some of the aid money intended to rebuild Haiti.
In the middle of the current crisis is a group called G-9, led by a former police office known as “Barbecue”, who have claimed to attack public institutions and describe their attacks as “armed revolution.”
Thousands of Haitians are caught in the middle of the crisis. People have died, thousands forced out their home, and with no access to ports or airports, there is a risk that famine and poverty could increase.
Future of Haiti
Prime Minister Henry has now resigned and been replaced by a new transitional government. The government was sworn in secretly under the threat of violence by gangs.
However, this is part of the issue.
Haiti has never been free of outside intervention. The United States, in particular, have sent their military into the country numerous times to make sure the leader they support is in power. Every time the US interfered in Haitian politics, they would support unpopular leaders and damage trust in politics and democracy.
Now Haiti is in a terrible position. They have massive social and economic problems, have a damaged political culture, and are still struggling with the legacy of natural disasters.
The future is uncertain. Eventually, Haitian people need to be allowed to choose for themselves the direction of their country. Yet, it is going to take many years for a functioning government and economy to be built in the Caribbean country!
Final Thought
This episode has tried to provide context to the crisis in Haiti.
The country is currently in the middle of a gang led uprising, with a new government being sworn in and violence across the nation.
I’ve tried to explain how Haiti has never been free from crisis. It started as a colonial slave society. It was put under massive debt by the French as a young independent country. It has continually been invaded and controlled by the USA, who supported unpopular and brutal leaders over the years. And it has suffered from terrible natural disasters.
Recent events are again another manifestation of instability and violence. The future of Haiti is uncertain, but eventually Haitian people will need to be allowed to make their own choices.
What do you think? Has your country ever experienced instability, uprisings, or violence?
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