Whenever you are asked to think of a country with political problems and that is falling apart, you think of Haiti. Haiti is a country with poor health, economy, and life. Haiti is a country that cries out for help. For a country at one time that held the richest colonial city during the 1800s, you often ask yourself why a country so prosperous at that time turned into a poor nation. Haiti's history is a long and extensive one, and I hope by reading this, people will gain an understanding of why that country is where it is today.
On December 6, 1492, Christopher Columbus sighted the island of Haiti while searching for a new route to Asia. He landed on the East Side of the island, which is now the Dominican Republic, and named the island Hispaniola. At the time, the Arawak (or Tiano) Indians lived there. The islands called the island Ayiti. While there, he established a castle called La Navidad, which in Spanish means "The Christmas." Columbus called the island Hispaniola. In 1493, Columbus left 40 men on the island with instructions to explore the island for gold and not to get in trouble with the natives. Columbus took three Indians with him to confirm his discovery. After going back to Spain, he returned to Hispaniola with 17 ships and 1,500 men. When he arrived on the island, he found that the castle was empty. Later Columbus found out that the settlers treated the Arawak Indians badly, and the Indians retaliated by killing all of the Spaniards.
Christopher Columbus then founded Isabella, which is now on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Right now the new settlers were trying to fight off disease and Indian attacks. Columbus's idea was to have everyone start doing manual labor, but this did not go over well with the settlers at all. It was now that the Arawak Indians attacked the Spaniards, but were crushed and they fled to the mountains. In the June of 1496, Columbus went back to Spain to defend himself. He waited two years before making a return trip to Hispaniola.
When Columbus went back to the island, he arrived in Santo Domingo, a city that was founded by Bartolome, Columbus's brother. Santo Domingo is located on the northern part of the island. At this time, Columbus started the repartimientos system. The repartimientos system was a system where the Spaniards exploited the Indians. Every settler was given a plot of land, and that settler, once he had his land, would kick off any Indians from the land in order to search for gold. Gold was the one of the reasons that Columbus went out on the seas.
The chiefs of the tribes then gave their subjects over to the Spaniards. In 1500, Bobadillo traveled to the island to find that the settlers were revolting against Columbus. Christopher and Bartolome were arrested and taken back to Spain. Columbus sailed again and crashed in Jamaica. He died in 1506 still thinking that he found another route to Asia.
In 1503, the Spanish started the econmienda system. This system, under all of Hispaniola, was under the Spanish crown. The settlers had to teach the Indians the ways of Christianity and make sure that the Indians were physically well. This system did not involve possession of the land, but the settlers were able to make the Indians their slaves. This system lasted until the end of the 18th century.
In the middle of the 16th century, the population of Hispaniola was around 500 verses the population at 1492, which was more than a million. This low population called for a labor force, so the island had slaves shipped in from Africa. These slaves were mainly used in order to grow sugar cane. In 1520, there were mostly blacks on the island.
In 1509, Diego, Columbus's son, was appointed governor. In 1511, another system started on the island. This new system was called the audencia. It consists of a tribunal of three judges that had jurisdiction over the whole island. In 1535, Hispaniola became part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This Viceroyalty included Central America and much of North America. In 1545, the population was no more than 1,100 people. The Spaniards neglected Hispaniola. The French and the English pirates came in to the picture. Their intent was to attack Spanish shipping. The French established a base on Tortue Island called Ile de la Tortue (Island of the Tortoise). In 1641, the French founded Port Margot. After that, they drove out the English pirates. There, the French occupied themselves with cattle, hunting, hogs and farming. Spain tried to destroy the island but could not. France still prospered on the island.
In 1664, Louis XIV declared the island under French rule. They appointed Bertrand d'Ogeron as governor. Then, the French brought over women to marry the men. In western Hispaniola was a town called Saint-Dominique by the French, was later changed to Cap Francais. It is called Cap Haitien today. This city was laid out in 1670. In 1697, Spain gave Saint-Dominique over to France under the treaty of Rysick. The population at the end of the 17th century was 6,000 white males and mulattos and there were 50,000 black slaves.
By 1775, there were 250,000 people on the island, only 30,000 of which were white males. In 1685, King Louis XIV declared that only certain mulattos achieved freedom. It was only those mulattos who were gens de coleur (colored people).
In the 18th century, Saint-Domingue was France's richest colonial city in the world with agriculture such as sugar, coffee, cotton, and indigo. A lot of free men were jealous of the petits blancs. Petits blancs were people who were not grands blancs. Grands blancs were people who held high office. The last quarter of the 18th century, white people owned plantations, Jeremie, a fertile part in the south of Hispaniola was owned by the French. The rich people sent their children to go to school in France to receive a better education in order to become grands blancs. At this point, laws started to come in to the picture. Segregation laws were the first to be in force. Such laws prohibited all free mulattos to do white jobs, they could not be higher than whites, and they had to dress differently than whites in theatres etc.
Vincent Oge led demonstration against the colonial governor Hispaniola called Les Amis des Noirs (The Friends of the Blacks). Riots broke out from all kinds of groups. Many of the slaves left their work to join these radical groups. People in these groups burned and pillaged throughout the colony. These events took place in August 1791, which resulted in the death of every white man. The ones, who escaped, fled the colony.
Toussaint L'Ouverture, an ex-slave who had much knowledge in military tactics, he received this knowledge because his master gave him much leisure time. He crossed the border from Saint-Domingue to Santo Domingo. There he joined the Spanish forces to battle the French. He went high into the Spanish forces. At this same time was when France announced the freedom of the slaves on that island. After Toussaint heard this, he went back over to France's side to fight against the British and Spanish forces. These two forces attacked Saint-Domingue but with the help of the slaves, they drove out Britain and Spain. In 1795, Spain gave the island over to France. Toussaint appointed himself chief of the French colony. He assumed dictator power. In 1801, a constitution was created that said that all salves are free, it provided further importation of African slaves, and the Roman Catholic Church which started in Santo Domingo by Spain and Saint-Domingue by France be the official church that whites and blacks could be equal before the law. Toussaint declared that Hispaniola was a free nation.
On January 1, 1804, the island was declared independent. It was now named Haiti. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a former slave and cone of Toussaint's generals led the final revolt that gave Haiti its independence. All slaves were granted small land holdings of their ex-master's land. This authorization ultimately had grave ecological consequences. Dessalines was appointed general for life and governor for life. He wanted to be as good as Napoleon, so he had himself crowned as Jacques I, in October of that year. Since there were not any white men left, the ex-slaves did not do any work. Dessalines then went back to force labor in order to restore prosperity. He was later assassinated in 1806.
Out of anarchy, two states emerged in western Haiti. A north state and a south state. Henri Christophe, who ruled in the north and Alexandre Petion, who ruled in he south, they started as a republican state to replace Dessalines's government. Petion's regime was weak. He suffered from harassment by Christophe from the north. Petion did not last very long and in 1818, he died. Christophe started laws that brought prosperity and tranquility to his kingdom. Christophe's aspirations were expressed in his castle called Sans-Souci (Without Worry), which is in Cap Haitien today. His dreams are also expressed in the Citadelle Lafferriere with its great architectural and engineering achievements. Christophe started to rule more like a father and less like a king. Because of this, his control became less, and in 1820, he killed himself.
Petion's successor, who was Pierre Boyer re-unified Haiti after Christophe's death. In 1809, Spain gained control of the eastern part of the island. Their control was confirmed in 1814 with the Treaty of Paris. Spanish America also proclaimed independence in 1821, which included Santo Domingo. Spain then tried to establish a treaty of friendship with Haiti. Haiti did not agree, so they invaded Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo then fell to Haiti in 1822. It still stayed a part of Haiti until 1844 when Santo Domingo received their independence. Boyer started to rule very strictly and was threatened by France, he feared of losing his job. Boyer then was forced to pay French planters for losses from the revolution. In order to pay this, he had to float loans in France. This move started a foreign debt that plagued Haiti for a century. Disaffection increased and Boyer was exiled in 1843. Haiti then sank to a level of economic corruption and bankruptcy, also including political anarchy and personal tyranny.
In 1849, Faustin Sooloque proclaimed himself emperor as Faustin I. He exhausted the treasury; he waged futile campaigns against Santo Domingo, and ruled very strictly. Faustin was exiled in 1859. Haiti went back to republicanism, and government was achieved, this was due to leaders such as Fabre Geffard who ruled from 1859 to 1867, and Lysuis Salomon who ruled from 1879 to 1888. Haiti suffered many crises until 1915.
Financial chaos grew from two major points, political corruption and economic problems. Haiti continued to downfall on its international obligations. The National Security Bank of New York wanted greater assurance, they pressed the Haitien government to ask the United States to help. Haiti then asked the United States for help, since the United States was helping Haiti, there were increased demands from France and Germany to take control of Haitien finances again. The political situation could not have been worse. The dictatorial president, Guillame Sam, was dragged out from his sanctuary on July 28, 1915, and was torn to pieces by a mob. On the same day, the U.S. marines came in and began a military operation. Haiti was then forced to give the U.S. control of customs receipts and control to carry out reforms. The U.S. used a high-handed policy, which was basically a new Haitian constitution. Its author of this constitution was Franklin I. President Roosevelt was the secretary of the navy at the time. The leaders often abused their power that led to appointing a civil high commissioner. The civil high commissioner had the work of the U.S. officials, both military and civilian. The United States help cut out financial chaos and the budget was balanced. Payments on debts were paid quickly, taxes were readjusted, and graft was diminished. A public works program was started which included sanitation, public health, education, and agricultural development. The mulatto elite was still treated like peasants. Charlemagne Peralte led a peasant army that was called the Cacos, which tried to attack Sudre Dartiguenaue, the president, but that attempt failed. Later that year, U.S. marines killed Peralte. The country of Haiti was opposing America's aid. President Herbert Hoover started to withdraw U.S. marines, Haitians were given more control, and the last of the marines left in 1934. Intervention was cut off in 1935, with redemption of a balance loan the U.S. made in 1922. Financial control ended in 1947.
Stenio Vincent was president from 1930 to 1941 tried to improve conditions and modernized agriculture, but he did little for civil freedom. In the fall of 1937, Haiti almost entered war with the Dominican Republic. In 1938, an inter-American commission guarded Haiti with $750,000 compensation. Elie Lescot continued Vincent's rule and was forced out in 1946 by a military coup. That summer a new congress elected Dumarsais Estime, Haiti's first black president. Estime tried to start a program of social reform and Haiti's first labor security laws. He also provided the wildest degree of liberties ever seen. There was freedom from the press, political parties were able to function openly such as the Christian Social Party, the Worker's and Peasant's Movement, and the Popular Socialist Party. His efforts endangered strong political opposition. He wanted to change the constitution so that he would be re-elected, but Estime was ousted in 1950.
General Paul Magloire took over. He was in office for six years, he continued some of the things that Estime did and he made the same mistakes that Estime did. Magloire tried to stay in office longer than the constitution allowed. The result was a workers' and shopkeepers' strike. General Paul Magloire's regime ended in December 1956.
The next to take office was Daniel Fignole. He began to recognize the public administration, including tax collection. Even though Fignole was popular with black masses of Port-au-Prince and other towns, the army ousted him because he was in collision with Francois Duvalier only after three weeks in office.
In the middle of the 1980s, the Haitien government estimated the daily consumption was 1,901 calories per person, which included 41.1 g of protein. These figures represented 86% of everyone. In rural areas, the average person consumed 1,300 calories per day, which includes 30 g of protein. A national survey in 1978 showed that 77% of children were malnourished. Anemia is a common problem among children and women. Infant and child health is poor. The infant mortality rate is 124 per 1000 live births in 1983. The birth rate of Haiti is 32.84 births/1,000 population, verses the U.S. which is 14.50 births/1,000 population. The mortality rate of Haiti is 14.17 deaths/1,000 population (was 17 deaths/1,000 population in 1983), compared to the U.S. which is 8.92 deaths/1,000 population. All registered deaths of children happened before they were 1 year old. One half of all deaths occurred among children less than 5 years old. The population growth rate of Haiti in 1998 was 1.51% (est.) compared to the U.S. which was 0.92% (est.). Most of the deaths were from infectious diseases, especially from diarrhea illnesses. Malnutrition and acute reparatory illnesses also are a problem for children. For the adults, malaria is the most common problem, 85% of the population lives in malarial areas. Tuberculosis and parasitic infections continue to be health hazards, and typhoid fever. Poor sanitary conditions contributed to a poor health indicator. In 1984, less than 20% of the population had toilets. Only one fourth of the rural population had access to portable water. The life expectancy of Haiti was 48 years old in 1983. In 1998, the life expectancy of the total population of Haiti is 51.4 years old. For males: 49.33 years old, for females: 53.58 years.
All of the Haitien leaders promoted education. The 1805 constitution called for free and mandatory education. Henri Christophe and Alexandre Petion built schools from 1806 to 1818. By 1820, nineteen primary schools were established and three secondary lycees (high-schools). The Education Act of 1848 created rural and primary schools with limited curriculum and established colleges of medicine and law. A comprehensive system was never developed. Only the rich could send their children to France. The signing of the Concordat with the Vatican in 1860 resulted in the arrival of clerical teachers and more emphasizing the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. Roman Catholic schools became more nonsecular. The Haitien government and the Vatican funded these schools. Teachers concentrated on the urban elite in excellent secondary schools. Teachers also emphasized the greatness of France when they expounded on Haiti's backwardness and lack of self rule. During the 19th century, only a few priests went to rural Haiti to educate peasants. In urban areas and rural areas, the teachers followed a classical curriculum, which emphasized on literature and rote learning. They followed this system until the 1980s, and when the U.S. came in and efforts were made to start vocational schools; when the elite resisted these forces and they began following the system again in 1934. Education changed during the 1970s and 1980s. Primary enrollments increased, especially in urban areas. Jean-Claude Duvalier started administrative and curriculum reforms. As of 1982, about 65% of the population over 10 years old had no education and only 8% were educated beyond the primary level.
Haiti's economy largely depends on farming which is 60% of the labor force. Only 30% of the labor force are for cultivation. One half of the land is actually agricultural. Since all the sugar plantations were destroyed in the fight for independence, the Haitien agriculture is only on small peasant farms; the farms have been separated because of inheritance. Simple tools such as hoes and machetes only use cultivation, and very few farmers can not afford fertilizers and insecticides. Low productivity is not keeping up with the annual population growth. Only 15% of food are imported. The entire pig population was wiped out because of African swine fever in 1983. The principle crops are coffee, sugar, sisal, and essential oils. Sugar production has fallen because of two factors, the growing local consumption and the production of rum. The industrial section is around Port-au-Prince; there are only a few sized factories that produce vegetable oil, flour, refined sugar, canned goods, and matches. The most rapid industrial growth Haiti had was in the 1960s with the growth of the light industry, which makes 25% of Haiti's revenues. Over 200 countries are attracted to Haiti and its light industry because of low labor costs. Most light industries focus on labor-intensive assembly of components, which are shipped to the U.S. to make sporting goods, clothing, toys, and electrical goods. Haiti employs 7% of the labor force. Another money maker is bauxite mines but people ran out of resources. The aluminum company was closed down in 1983. Haiti has been having problems with the tourist industry since 1980. The roads consist of 4,160 km (2585 mi.) of which 1,011km (628 mi.) are paved, and 3,149 km (1957 mi.) are not paved, which means that only 20% of all roads are paved. Most roads are impossible when it rains. The local produce by markets is either shipped by humans or by burro.
When you look at Haiti's history and see what kind of conditions that they live in today, it is hard to say which event caused Haiti's turn for the worst. In reality, there was not just one event that turned Haiti upside down, there were many. Most of which were poor decisions that were made in order to gain more wealth or power. Many dictators who wanted to do the best for themselves ended up hurting not only themselves, but also the nation of Haiti. Who knows what the reason is for Haiti's conditions, but Romans 8:28 says that for everything there is a reason. We will not know that reason until we reach heaven.
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