<
https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/12/06/in-1825-haiti-gained-independence-from-france-for-21-billion-its-time-for-france-to-pay-it-back/?sh=2826dc29312b>
"The devastation wreaked on Haiti by Hurricane Matthew last fall was just the
latest in a seemingly endless string of misfortunes that have befallen that
country, which in March concluded a year-long interlude of caretaker governance
by installing banana exporter Jovenel Moïse as its 58th president. Moïse faces
a daunting task; Haiti’s chronic status as the Western hemisphere’s poorest
nation is due to a litany of afflictions that range from widespread illiteracy,
to endemic corruption, to woefully inadequate infrastructure. But while these
would be hard enough for any country to overcome, for more than a century of
its existence Haiti carried an additional but little-known millstone, the
effects of which are still being felt.
In 1825, barely two decades after winning its independence against all odds,
Haiti was forced to begin paying enormous “reparations” to the French
slaveholders it had overthrown. Those payments would have been a staggering
burden for any fledgling nation, but Haiti wasn’t just any fledgling nation; it
was a republic formed and led by blacks who’d risen up against the institution
of slavery. As such, Haiti’s independence was viewed as a threat by all
slave-owning countries – the United States included – and its very existence
rankled racist sensibilities globally. Thus Haiti – tiny, impoverished and all
alone in a hostile world – had little choice but to accede to France’s
reparation demands, which were delivered to Port-au-Prince by a fleet of
heavily armed warships in 1825.
By complying with an ultimatum that amounted to extortion, Haiti gained
immunity from French military invasion, relief from political and economic
isolation – and a crippling debt that took 122 years to pay off. My
father-in-law still recalls the patriotic song he was taught as a Haitian
schoolboy, its poignant lyrics urging all Haitians to reach into their own
pockets to help their government raise the amount that was still “owed” to
France. Thanks to voluntary contributions from Haiti’s citizens, most of whom
were desperately poor, that debt was finally settled in 1947. But decades of
making regular payments had rendered the Haitian government chronically
insolvent, helping to create a pervasive climate of instability from which the
country still hasn’t recovered."
Via Lisa Stranger.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
