The Haitian Revolution

                Globally, the formation of the new Republic of Haiti was not received well.  Upset slaves in Haiti along with the governor of St. Domngue, black leader, Toussaint Louverture, worked and “gained its independence through a bloody 12-year slave uprising--the only time in the history of the world in which bond servants successfully overthrew their masters and formed their own state”¹.  The United States did not receive the independence of Haiti well because it gave ideas of freedom to American slaves in the south.  Thomas Jefferson said, “Haiti's revolt would inspire similar actions in the U.S.” and he wrote, “‘If something is not done, and soon done, we shall be the murderers of our own children,’”¹.  Jefferson was very concerned that the slaves in the south would try to revolt if they kept contact with people in Haiti, so he pressed to cut off trade with St. Domingue.  He was turned down by congress though, because the trading was very profitable.  France too was not happy about independent Haiti because they lost a very profitable colony.  Due to Haiti’s “brutal system of slavery”, they were able to produce cash crops including coffee and sugar².  When Napoleon lost Haiti, he exclaimed, “‘Damn sugar, damn coffee, damn colonies!’”¹.  He lost an important claim in the western hemisphere.  By gaining its independence, Haiti hurt or threatened other countries causing the country to not be received well. 

                The lack of support for independent Haiti caused them to become a very poor country and their economy to have drastically declined.  When Haiti had approximately 450,000 slaves the country made a lot of money by growing crops on plantations.  Now that Haiti was independent and had abolished slavery, the country was not as profitable.  France, angry at losing Haiti, surrounded the island with warships to force them to pay an “independence debt” of 150 million francs².  No country, including the United States, assisted Haiti.  The whites in Haiti who had owned slaves, pushed France to impose this debt on Haiti, since they had lost slaves and money.  Haiti was forced to pay, “ten times the fledgling black nation's total annual revenues” which caused their economy to quickly spiral downhill².  Haiti, having been an unsupported country continued to face many problems.

¹ Danticat Edwidge, "Ignoring the Revolution Next Door," Time Magazine, July 5, 2004.

² Macdonald Isabel, “France’s debt of dishonor to Haiti,” The Guardian, Monday, August 16, 2010, 0.500 EDT.