Haiti’s Struggle For Freedom – How Does This Concern France?
Thousands of Haitian refugees have recently arrived at the US-Mexico border, desperate for a better life.
Most people left Haiti years ago after a 2010 earthquake devastated what was already one of the world’s poorest economies. They had initially settled in Chile, but the region’s politics made them feel unwelcome, discriminated against, and fearful of the future.
The Haitian refugees hoped that the United States, under President Biden’s leadership, would provide them with a lifeline. They were mistaken. The Biden administration has been sending thousands of refugees back to Haiti, even though the country is a disaster zone and many refugees fled years ago. Some of those forcibly sent to Haiti by the US government are children who have never lived there before.
Haiti is one of the world’s poorest countries, and rich countries’ imprints are all over the country’s stunted development. During the early nineteenth century, the United States worked to isolate a newly independent Haiti and violently occupied the island nation for 19 years in the early twentieth century.
Following the devastation caused by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, academics and journalists demanded that France repay Haiti. In 2020, French economist Thomas Piketty revived the idea, claiming that France owes Haiti at least $28 billion. The French government, under multiple presidents, has rejected the idea, and it is unlikely that France will repay Haiti anytime soon.
How Haiti Was Compelled To Pay Reparations For Independence
The New York Times made headlines last month with a front-page series about the billions of dollars (in today’s dollars) that France forced Haiti to pay after centuries of slavery.
Despite the terrors and tortures of French colonialism, Haitian revolutionaries won independence from France in 1804 and became the first modern nation to abolish slavery permanently. Nonetheless, the French returned to Haitian shores in 1825 to demand 150 million francs in exchange for recognition of Haitian independence (21 years later) and compensation for enslavers’ lost “property.”
Dozens of manuscripts and pamphlets from early-nineteenth-century France show that what the French desired was not money. Instead, they sought to “restore Saint-Domingue,” which meant to reinstate slavery. The French began planning the reconquest of Haiti soon after the Haitian Declaration of Independence on January 1, 1804, and threatened the new nation under all of its first leaders, from its founder,
Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines (who was assassinated in 1806) to both King Henry Christophe (who ruled in the north after Dessalines until he committed suicide in 1820) and Alexandre Pétion, who was presiding over a republic in the south and west until he died of natural causes in 1818.
When Pétion and Christophe’s successor, President Jean-Pierre Boyer, signed the indemnity in 1825, the French had been plotting to “exterminate” the Haitian people to restore slavery for two decades. That history of planned genocide is critical to understanding the threat of violent warfare, not just financial exploitation that 19th-century Haitians faced because they “dared to be free,” in the words of Dessalines.
In the aftermath of the massive slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue, which forced the French to abolish slavery in all of their colonies in 1794 reluctantly, Napoléon Bonaparte came to power in France in 1799. Though French President Emmanuel Macron recently stated that Napoleon’s “life was an epiphany of freedom,” Bonaparte was pro-slavery and harbored the same prejudices against Black people as the ancien régime monarchs.
Bonaparte sent his brother-in-law Charles-Victor-Emmanuel Leclerc on an expedition to Saint-Domingue in 1802 to restore slavery. The first consul also expressed explicitly racist beliefs during his reign.
“I am for the whites because I am white,” Bonaparte once said. I have no other explanation, and this is the correct one.” Thus, he chastised the French revolutionaries for daring to declare general emancipation. “How could anyone have given the freedom to Africans, to men without civilization?” he wondered.
It is unsurprising that during the Leclerc expedition, Bonaparte’s top generals displayed the same prejudices while employing the logic of genocidal extermination.
Even though Haiti declared its independence in 1804, France refused to recognize the new nation, and the French populace, like French officials, never stopped plotting the “restoration of Saint-Domingue.” In 1806, Saint-former Domingue’s finance minister sent a detailed plan to Napoléon, who had declared himself Emperor.
While neither deportation nor extermination of the entire population was ruled out, the official claimed the first step was to assassinate Haiti’s president. “We will never achieve our goal as long as Dessalines exists,” he wrote.
Twenty-Five Years Of Misfortune…
One of the most prominent officials in the Kingdom of Haiti, Jean-Louis, Baron de Vastey, responded by lamenting that “twenty-five years of misfortune and experience had failed to correct the irascibility of the ex-colonists.”
“They have not ceased to provoke Louis XVIII’s cabinet, to lead it, like Bonaparte’s, into sending a similar expedition against us,” Vastey wrote. “First, they sent us spies, then commissioners, all of whom were ex-colonists, to insult us and offer us the choice of slavery or death; in their writings and pamphlets, they conceived of plans of attack and extermination that violated all the laws of religion, justice, morality, and humanity.”
Only after realizing that Haitians would rather fight to the death than return to slavery and French rule—a Haitian newspaper read, “Since the French must come, let them come only once!” The more there are, the more we will kill!”—that the French decided to impoverish them instead.
While the total amount of the indemnity was reduced to 90 million francs in 1838, it is estimated that the Haitian government paid approximately 112 million francs, or roughly $560 million. Nonetheless, former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide calculated in 2003 that the French stole $21 billion from Haiti, adjusted for inflation.
The story of the indemnity is about more than just the many opportunities that this unjust debt has stifled. It also addresses the legacy of slavery and the incalculable generational trauma caused by France’s material and moral war against Haitian independence.
Without a doubt, the French owe Haitians full indemnity reimbursement, but I daresay they owe them far more in reparations for slavery and pain and suffering.
Plan Your Trip With Kanana Caribbean
Need an itinerary for your trip to Haiti? Kanana Caribbean has got you covered! Don’t know what to pack? We have detailed checklists personalized for you! We are here for you every step of the way – to ensure that you have a memorable and hassle-free experience!
The Kanana Caribbean magazine includes exclusive hotel deals, and lists of the hottest clubs, retreats, and events. Dive into Kanana Caribbean’s collection of 1.2 million free informational guides, articles, and blogs through which you can plan an adventure-filled trip to your favorite destination. Also checkout our news page for more updates
Sources
Find Related News
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Latest News
Popular Posts
The Bahamas Holidays & Events You Must Attend at Least Once in A Lifetime
The Bahamas holidays are the definition of paradise, with over 700 islands encircled by dazzling blue waters. As you discover pink beaches, hidden sandbars, and deserted islands and coves, unwind and refresh during the Bahamas holidays.
