Haiti

[[File:Haiti - Location Map (2013) - HTI - UNOCHA.svg|thumb|right|195px|Map of Haiti.]]
{{cquote|A word about Hayti. We are not to judge her by the height which the Anglo-Saxon has reached. We are to judge by the depths from which she has come. We are to look at the relation she sustained to the outside world, and the outside world sustained to her. One hundred years ago every civilized nation was slave-holding. Yet these negroes, ignorant, downtrodden, had the manhood to arise and drive off their masters and assert their liberty. Her government is not so unsteady as we think.|||{{wpl|Frederick Douglass||<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20130710070240/https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/the-nations-problem/ The Nation's Problem]" - a lecture given to the 1890 Abolitionist Reunion in Boston</ref>}}}}
{{countrybox|Haiti
|flag = Flag_of_Haiti.svg
|pop =11,743,017
|GDP =24,046
|GDPPC =1,941
|life =64,9
|dev =0.552
|dem =2.81
|cor =17
|edu =0.456
|rel =75
}}
The '''Republic of Haiti''' is a small and impoverished nation located on Hispaniola island in the Caribbean. The island was originally populated by native Taino peoples, but Haiti is today populated mostly by the descendants of African [[slave]]s.<ref name="cia">[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html Haiti]. CIA World Factbook.</ref> As is almost always the case in situation like this, the black population suffers systematic discrimination. Haiti's European diaspora and light-skinned mulatto population is very small, only about 5% of the population, but these people control most of the country's economic power.<ref>Lobb, John (2018). "Caste and Class in Haiti". ''American Journal of Sociology''. 46 (1): 23–34. doi:10.1086/218523. JSTOR 2769747.</ref> 

Europeans first showed up on Hispaniola during the first voyage of [[Christopher Columbus]] in 1492. Columbus subsequently founded the first European fort in the Americas, La Navidad, on what is now the northeastern coast of Haiti. He also set about plundering the shit out of everything, beginning a process of brutal exploitation that led to the extermination of most of the native population and the massive importation of African slave labor to replace them. The entire island became part of [[Spain]]'s colonial empire under the name "Santo Domingo", but [[France]] also wanted a foothold on the island. These competing claims were only settled in 1697, when Spain agreed to hand over the western half of Hispaniola as part of a concessions deal that ended the Nine Years' War.<ref>{{wpa|Peace of Ryswick|}}</ref> 

France named its new colony "''Saint-Domingue''", and used even more black slave labor to establish massive sugarcane plantations that generated enormous profit. In the midst of the [[French Revolution]] (1789–99), slaves and free people of color launched the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), led by a former slave and the first black general of the French Army, [[Toussaint Louverture]]. Despite their treachery and brutality, the French were unable to keep control of Haiti. [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] gave up on the island after his forces lost a decisive battle to Haitian leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who later went on to declare Haiti's independence and make himself its first president in 1804. Haiti was the second colonial nation to break free from its master, and it's the first and only country to have been established by a successful slave revolt.<ref>Danticat, Edwidge (2005). Anacaona, Golden Flower. ''Journal of Haitian Studies''. 11. New York: Scholastic Inc. pp. 163–165. ISBN 978-0-439-49906-4. JSTOR 41715319.</ref>

Unfortunately, Haiti's post-independence became an absolute shitshow. Haiti was saddled with massive debt owed to France, and it was ostracized by the international community, especially its large neighbor the [[United States]]. Grueling poverty contributed to political instability, which Haiti attempted to solve by invading the Dominican Republic in the 1870s. During this period, private and public investors from the United States became more entangled in Haiti's affairs. Further political problems in Haiti convinced US president [[Woodrow Wilson]] to invade the country in 1915. The US occupation was brutal, and it continued until 1934. 

Following a series of short-lived presidencies, François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier took power in 1956, ushering in a long period of autocratic rule that was continued by his son Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier that lasted until 1986; the period was characterised by [[state terrorism | state-sanctioned violence against the opposition and civilians]], corruption and economic stagnation. Since 1986 Haiti has been attempting to establish a more democratic political system, but that process was disastrously interrupted in 2004 when president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a leftist promoter of [[liberation theology]], was allegedly overthrown by a US-orchestrated coup and kidnapped by US forces.<ref name="couparisii">[http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/03/01/aristide.claim/ Aristide says U.S. deposed him in 'coup d'etat']. ''CNN.''</ref> The US government denies that claim, but US denials have steadily lost credibility over the last few decades. For decades Haiti's elite has been going for the record for corruption levels, at the expense of the overwhelming majority of the population. If that wasn't enough, Haiti has also suffered a long string of natural disasters, including various [[hurricane]]s and a devastating earthquake in 2010 that killed between 100,000 and 300,000 people.<ref>{{wpa|2010 Haiti earthquake|}}</ref> 

Haiti has been in a state of political crisis since the end of 2022. There is high levels of rioting, gang violence, and hunger. There are zero remaining elected government officials, making Haiti a failed state. The US State Department maintains a Level 4 Travel Advisory against Haiti, warning of the extreme risk of crime, civil unrest, and kidnapping, and explaining that US officials are also prohibited to travel around Haiti in an unofficial capacity.<ref>[https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/haiti-travel-advisory.html Haiti Travel Advisory]. US State Department.</ref>

==Historical overview==
[[File:Copia de Cacicazgos de la Hispaniola.png|thumb|right|300px|The native Taino chiefdoms at the time of European arrival.]]
===Pre-Columbian history===
{{cquote|They traded with us and gave us everything they had, with good will…they took great delight in pleasing us…They are very gentle and without knowledge of what is evil; nor do they murder or steal…Your highness may believe that in all the world there can be no better people…They love their neighbours as themselves, and they have the sweetest talk in the world, and are gentle and always laughing.|||Christopher Columbus describing the natives of Hispaniola, 1492.<ref name="taino">[https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/pre-colonial-history/taino-indigenous-caribbeans/ Taíno: Indigenous Caribbeans]. ''Black History 365.''</ref>}}
The island that is now called Hispaniola has been inhabited by humans since at least 5000 BCE.<ref name="haitib">[https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti/Early-period Haiti]. ''Britannica.''</ref> The island was densely populated; by the Fifteenth Century, between 100,000 and several million Taino and Ciboney natives lived on the island, which the Taino called Quisqueya.<ref name="haitib"/> At the time of European arrival, the island was divided into five different Chiefdoms, which used natural features to delineate their territory in relation to each other.<ref>{{wpa|Chiefdoms of Hispaniola|}}</ref> The natives subsisted on meat and fish, and they used dugout canoes for transportation.<ref>[http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti/history/precolumbian/tainover.htm Arawak/Taino Native Americans]. ''Webster.''</ref> 

As Columbus noticed when he arrived on Hispaniola, the Taino natives were also not colossal assholes like the [[Europe]]ans were. Columbus described the Tainos as a physically tall, well-proportioned people, with a noble and kind personality.<ref name="taino"/> This is likely due to their relative isolation; the Tainos had few external threats, and their chiefdoms tended to get along with each other. 

===Spanish rule===
[[File:Landing of Columbus (2).jpg|thumb|right|350px|Glorified portrayal of Columbus' arrival in Hispaniola. (The guy behind him doesn't think Columbus looks nearly as impressive as he thinks.)]]
{{cquote|They tell us, these tyrants, that they adore a God of peace and equality, and yet they usurp our land and make us their slaves. They speak to us of an immortal soul and of their eternal rewards and punishments, and yet they rob our belongings, seduce our women, violate our daughters.|||Spanish missionary Bartolomé de las Casas, quoting a Taino chief.<ref>Abbot, E. (2010). Sugar: A Bittersweet History. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-59020-772-7.</ref>}}
On Columbus’ second voyage, he started to forcibly extract tribute from the Taino in Hispaniola. Taino adults were expected to deliver either a thimble of gold or twenty-five pounds of spun cotton; failure to meet these demand would be punished by horrific dismemberment.<ref name="taino"/> A Spanish soldier would cut off the hands of the Taino and leave them to bleed to death. The natives tried to resist the fucked-up treatment they received at the hands of the invaders. In one instance, allegedly 50,000 natives committed mass [[suicide]] to avoid further suffering at the hands of the Spanish.<ref>[https://www.vox.com/2014/10/13/6957875/christopher-columbus-murderer-tyrant-scoundrel 9 reasons Christopher Columbus was a murderer, tyrant, and scoundrel]. ''Vox.''</ref> Other groups of natives tried to revolt against the Spanish, with varying amounts of success.<ref name="taino"/> The extent of the brutality is not entirely clear, since the goriest and most titillating accounts of violence come from Spanish chroniclers who had an obvious ax to grind against the Italian Columbus, but it was clear that things went south fast.<ref>[https://read.dukeupress.edu/hahr/article/49/4/703/157405/The-Black-Legend-Revisited-Assumptions-and The Black Legend Revisited: Assumptions and Realities]</ref>

If that's not bad enough, the Europeans also brought that old classic disease [[smallpox]] along for the ride, causing massive population losses among the natives.<ref>Koplow, David A. (2004). ''Smallpox: The Fight to Eradicate a Global Scourge''. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24220-3.</ref> Between epidemics, suicide, and slaughter, conditions were so bad that the Taino natives were effectively exterminated within a mere 25 years of Columbus' first voyage.<ref name="cia"/> 

The Spanish then introduced the ''encomienda'' system, which sought to regulate land and labor issues for the arriving Spanish colonists. Under this system, the Spanish Crown could award a monopoly on the labor of particular groups of indigenous peoples to a grant holder, called an ''encomiendo'' or ''encomiendero'', who would then pass that title on to his descendants.<ref>{{wpa|Encomienda|}}</ref> It was basically slavery, but under a different legal framework. The natives weren't ''technically'' owned by their Spanish masters, but they still had to follow his orders and they still suffered abuses. The Spanish colonists then forced the natives to grow cash crops instead of food and perform heavy labor.<ref>Rodriguez, Junius P. (2007). ''Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion''. 1. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-313-33272-2.</ref> The ''encomienda'' system was actually deadlier than traditional slavery, because individual natives were disposable as the system allowed Spanish masters to replace dead natives for free.<ref>Yeager, Timothy J. (December 1995). "Encomienda or Slavery? The Spanish Crown's Choice of Labor Organization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America". ''The Journal of Economic History''. 55 (4): 842–859. doi:10.1017/S0022050700042182. JSTOR 2123819.</ref> 

[[File:Kingsborough.jpg|thumb|right|195px|''Encomiendero'' beats the shit out of a native laborer.]]

The ''encomienda'' system also raises an important controversy regarding the extinction of the Taino. Until recently, most historians decided that the Taino died out mostly due to disease, no harm no foul. However, more analysis of primary sources has revealed that the truth is not so simple. In reality, the smallpox epidemic didn't arrive until quite some time after the Spanish began colonization, and the natives could have quite possibly recovered (like the Europeans did after the Black Death) were it not for the constant slavery and harsh conditions.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190620020336/https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-native-american-slavery-20160505-snap-story.html The new book 'The Other Slavery' will make you rethink American history]. ''LA Times.''</ref>

In between murdering the natives, the Spanish also did some redecorating. Columbus named the island La Española, a name known to English-speakers as Hispaniola. He also built a series of forts and settlements, but the first permanent town established on the island was Santo Domingo.<ref>{{wpa|Santo Domingo|}}</ref> It was named in honor of Saint Dominic, who was the founder of the Dominican Order. To govern the island, the Crown established the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, an office subordinate to the massive Viceroyalty of New Spain. 

Having failed to find significant amounts of gold, the Spanish decided to focus on agriculture instead. Thus the introduction of sugarcane from the Canary Islands,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080518084734/http://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/sugar.htm Sugar Cane: Past and Present]. ''Ethnobotanical Leaflets''. Archived.''</ref> and the use of forced labor to cultivate it. After wiping out the natives, the Spanish started importing African slaves in order to maintain their labor force.

Once the sugar trade was established, Spain turned its attention elsewhere, allowing Hispaniola to be lost within the empire's byzantine bureaucracy.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/haiti/5.htm Haiti: Spanish Discovery and Colonization]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> Agriculture was disorganized under Spain, and the island's production never met its potential during this period. 

Due to the nature of trade winds, however, Hispaniola remained an important location, serving as the effective gateway to the Caribbean. As a result of this importance combined with Spain's neglect, Hispaniola became a hotbed of privateers, most notoriously Sir Francis Drake of [[England]].<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/haiti/6.htm Haiti: French Colonialism]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> Encroachments by other European powers gradually reduced Spanish dominance in the Caribbean.

===French rule===
[[File:D072- une sucrerie à saint-domingue - Liv3-Ch16.png|thumb|right|300px|Sugar refinery in Saint-Domingue.]]
{{main|French colonial empire}}
Most significant of the other European powers encroaching on Hispaniola was France. French colonists arrived in what is now Haiti in 1664 under the banner of the French West India Company.<ref name="tortuga">[http://countrystudies.us/haiti/7.htm French Settlement and Sovereignty]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> Settlers steadily encroached upon the northwest shoulder of the island, and they took advantage of the area's relative remoteness from the Spanish capital city of Santo Domingo. In 1670 they established their first major community, Cap François (later Cap Français, now Cap-Haïtien).<ref name="tortuga"/>

[[File:The Mode of exterminating the Black Army, as practised by the French.png|thumb|left|195px|Frenchman pushes a black Haitian into the sea, 1805.]]

Meanwhile, Europe blew up for the upteenth time in 1688, this time as a result of the expansionist policies of Louis XIV of France. France alone had to stand against an alliance of the [[Netherlands]], England, and the Hapsburg rulers of Spain and [[Austria]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-the-Grand-Alliance War of the Grand Alliance]. ''Britannica.''</ref> The alliances were lopsided, but France was not a force to be fucked with. In 1688, the French army and navy were both more powerful by far than any of their nearest rivals. France generally won the ensuing conflicts, but economic problems forced Louis to make peace in 1697.<ref>{{wpa|Nine Years' War|}}</ref> A lot of land traded hands in the subsequent negotiations, and Spain agreed to give Haiti to France.

France named their new colony Saint-Domingue, the French equivalent of Santo Domingo. Even moreso than the Spanish, the French imported massive numbers of slaves to work on plantations. By the eve of the French Revolution, Saint-Domingue produced about 60 percent of the world's coffee and about 40 percent of the sugar imported by France and Britain.<ref name="domingue">[http://countrystudies.us/haiti/8.htm Colonial Society]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> During this period, it was by far France's most important colonial possession.<ref name="haitibb">[https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti/Early-period#ref54483 Haiti]. ''Britannica.''</ref> Meanwhile, industrial agriculture devastated Haiti's ecosystem, with deforestation causing erosion and unwise planting decisions causing soil exhaustion.<ref name="haitibb"/>

The industrial demand for slave labor meant that slaves vastly outnumbered the white French colonists. In 1788, the French [[census]] counted 25,000 whites and 700,000 slaves.<ref>Coupeau, Steeve (2008). ''The History of Haiti''. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-313-34089-5.</ref> Of course, none of the slaves really lived long enough to take advantage of that numbers advantage. French landowners treated their slaves atrociously, and an unknowable number of slaves perished from malnutrition, exposure, and [[disease]].<ref name="haitibb"/> This was [[economics]]; it was cheaper to import new slaves than it was to improve living conditions for the slaves they already had.<ref>Abbott, E. (2011). Haiti: A Shattered Nation. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4683-0160-1. p. 26–27.</ref> 

Death rates for slaves in Haiti were higher than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere.<ref>Rodriguez, J.P. (2007). Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33272-2. p. 229.</ref> Life expectancy for slaves was just 21 years.<ref name="haitirev">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/14/haiti-history-earthquake-disaster Haiti: a long descent to hell]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> In total, French rule in Haiti killed about a million black slaves; many thousands chose suicide over suffering.<ref>Abbott, E. (2011). Haiti: A Shattered Nation. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4683-0160-1. p. 27</ref>  Torture of slaves was routine; they were whipped, burned, buried alive, restrained and allowed to be bitten by swarms of insects, mutilated, raped, and had limbs lopped off.<ref>Abbott, E. (2011). Haiti: A Shattered Nation. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4683-0160-1. p. 26–27</ref> Slaves caught eating sugarcane had to wear muzzles. The [[Catholic]] Church condoned these atrocities, arguing that slavery was the best way to convert the Africans to Christianity.<ref>Ferguson, J. (1988). ''Papa Doc, Baby Doc: Haiti and the Duvaliers''. John Wiley & Sons, Limited. ISBN 978-0-631-16579-8  p. 3.</ref> 

The slaves resisted, of course. Poisoning was the most common method, deployed against landowners, their families, and their livestock.<ref>Reinhardt, C.A. (2008). Claims to Memory: Beyond Slavery and Emancipation in the French Caribbean. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-84545-412-8. p. 61.</ref> Slaves also burnt down buildings and fields. Resistance among the slave population continued to grow, eventually culminating in revolution.

===Haitian Revolution===
[[File:Incendie de la Plaine du Cap. - Massacre des Blancs par les Noirs. FRANCE MILITAIRE. - Martinet del. - Masson Sculp - 33.jpg|thumb|right|350px|♫Oh, we're not gonna take it<br>No, we ain't gonna take it<br>Oh, we're not gonna take it anymore!♫]]
{{cquote|From their French masters, [the slaves] had known rape, torture, degradation, and, at the slightest provocation, death. They returned in kind. For two centuries the higher civilization had shown them that power was used for wreaking your will on those whom you controlled. Now that they held power they did as they had been taught.|||C. L. R. James, Trinidadian historian.<ref name="revquote">[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Haitian_Revolution Haitian Revolution]. ''Wikiquote.''</ref>}}
France, of course, blew up into revolution in 1789. While the French were preaching [[Enlightenment]] ideals, the black Haitians started wondering why none of those highbrow ideals applied to them. The slaves drew up a list of demands for the French, and these demands were initially quite limited. As Haitian historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot wrote, "In one of their earliest negotiations with representatives of the French government, the leaders of the rebellion did not ask for an abstractly couched 'freedom.' Rather, their most sweeping demands included three days a week to work on their own gardens and the elimination of the whip."<ref name="revquote"/> It actually seemed like the French revolutionary government was going to grant these demands, but the white planters actually living in Haiti decisively refused.<ref name="wikirev">{{wpa|Haitian Revolution|}}</ref>

[[File:Toussaint L'Ouverture.jpg|thumb|left|195px|Toussaint Louverture looking badass.]]

Having ruled out a peaceful compromise, the enslaved revolted across Haiti in 1791 under the leadership of former slave [[Toussaint Louverture]]. From the beginning, the slave revolution was marked with extreme violence from both sides. The French used ruthless measures to put down the revolt, and the slave armies responded by completely burning down multiple large Haitian cities.<ref name="haitirevi">[https://www.thoughtco.com/haitian-revolution-4690762 The Haitian Revolution: History of a Successful Slave Revolt]. ''ThoughtCo.''</ref> French planters organized militias and struck back; their initial operations in 1791 killed about 15,000 blacks.<ref name="wikirev"/> The former slaves sought revenge against their former masters by raping and killing thousands of white people, combatant and civilian alike.<ref name="wikirev"/>

The situation was complicated by the outset of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]. When the British tried invading Haiti, the slaves briefly allied with them and then the Spanish.<ref name="haitirevi"/> Eventually, the old French regime fell to internal pressures, and the new government abolished slavery in 1793. However, Toussaint Louverture was no fool, and he knew that the black Haitians would never be free unless they had the right to their own land.<ref name="haitirevi"/> Louverture thus paid lip service to the French while pursuing his own goals.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Haitian-Revolution Haitian Revolution]. ''Britannica.''</ref> He invaded Santo Domingo, the Spanish half of Hispaniola, and in 1801 he had himself declared "governor-general for life".

[[File:Haitian Revolution.jpg|thumb|right|325px|The Battle of Vertières, a decisive Haitian victory.]]

Louverture also started rebuilding Haiti's economy. He reopened commercial relations with the U.S. and Britain, restored destroyed sugar and coffee estates to operating condition, and halted the wide-scale massacres of white people.<ref name="haitirevi"/> Unfortunately for him, [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] came to power in France. Bonaparte wanted to maintain France's empire in the Americas, and to do that he felt that he needed to put down the slave rebellion in Haiti. To that end, he sent his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc with a massive army to attack Louverture in 1802. The slaves responded with scorched-earth tactics. Louverture wrote to his subordinates, "Do not forget... that we have no other resource than destruction and fire. Bear in mind that the soil bathed with our sweat must not furnish our enemies with the smallest sustenance. Tear up the roads with shot; throw corpses and horses into all the foundations, burn and annihilate everything in order that those who have come to reduce us to slavery may have before their eyes the image of the hell which they deserve".<ref>Perry, James (2005). ''Arrogant Armies: Great Military Disasters and the Generals Behind Them''. Edison: CastleBooks. p. 80</ref> Leclerc was shocked, having expected the slaves to return to their chains. Instead, both sides fought a desperate campaign. Soldiers from [[Poland]], who had been attached to the French army by Napoleon, actually defected to the Haitians' side due to maltreatment by the French and sympathy towards the Haitians as a fellow oppressed population; {{wpl|Polish Haitians|some of their descendants}} (plus a few Polish immigrants who've come since) still reside in Haiti.<ref name="poles">[https://www.newsweek.com/poland-nationalism-new-york-haiti-slave-rebellion-revolution-1382388 Polish patriots once fought alongside rebelling slaves. Where is that solidarity today? | opinion]. ''Newsweek.''</ref>

Louverture's forces eventually began to fail against the more powerful French forces, and he sued for a cease-fire. That he got, but Leclerc betrayed the terms of the treaty and tricked Louverture into getting arrested.<ref name="haitirevi"/> Louverture died in a French prison. Throughout the countryside, guerrilla warfare continued and the French staged mass executions via firing squads, hanging, and drowning Haitians in bags. General Donatien de Rochambeau, the son of the one who served in the [[American Revolution]], invented a new means of mass execution, which he called "fumigational-sulphurous baths": killing hundreds of Haitians in the holds of ships by burning sulfur to make sulfur dioxide to gas them.<ref name="wikirev"/>

That wasn't the end of things, though.  Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of l’Overture’s generals and himself a former slave, took charge of the revolution and led the former slaves to victory in a decisive battle against the French.<ref>[https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/haitian-revolution-1791-1804/ Haitian Revolution]. ''Black Past.''</ref> With Poles fighting against the French and the French dying of yellow fever,<ref name="haitirevi"/> France eventually had no choice but to abandon the campaign.

The revolution won. In 1804, Saint-Domingue adopted a new constitution and became Haiti. Dessalines, who was less forgiving than Louverture,<ref name="Dessalines">Louverture had had a tolerant master, while Dessalines had been a field slave.</ref> then decided to resume the {{wpl|1804 Haiti massacre|massacres against White Haitians}}, which not only extinguished any chance of internal stability, but also created the go-to excuse for US slaveowners opposing slavery abolishment.<ref>''Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South''; Stephanie McCurry; pages 12-13</ref> He nevertheless rewarded his Polish allies, guaranteeing citizenship to those Poles that wished to stay and calling them the "white negroes of Europe".<ref name="poles"/><ref>{{wpa|Polish Haitians|}}</ref> The town of Cazale is to this day a Polish-majority community in Haiti. Dessalines created the Haitian flag in 1803, whose colors represent the alliance of blacks and mulattoes against whites.<ref name="haitirevi"/>

===Forced isolation and debt===
[[File:Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, 1800.jpg|thumb|right|200px|US President Thomas Jefferson, a slaver who took a hostile stance towards Haiti.]]
{{cquote|The Haitians were forced to destroy the entire colonial socioeconomic structure that was the raison d'etre for their imperial importance; and in destroying the institution of slavery, they unwittingly agreed to terminate their connection to the entire international superstructure that perpetuated slavery and the plantation economy. That was an incalculable price for freedom and independence.|||Franklin Knight, US historian.<ref name="haitirevi"/>}}
After Haiti's victory and independence, most of the island's remaining French population fled to places like Cuba, Jamaica, or Louisiana along with any slaves who remained loyal or were kidnapped.<ref name="haitirevi"/> Haiti's mere existence caused consternation among the powers of Europe, as its revolution inspired talk of other revolts in the Caribbean. The rest of the world turned its back on Haiti. 

[[File:HT Sans Souci 1010 (1) (17009673977).jpg|thumb|left|285px|Sans-Souci Palace, constructed in 1813 to demonstrate Haitian ability. Its ruins now seem to indicate Haitian decline.]]

France refused to acknowledge Haiti's independence until 1825. When it finally did recognize Haiti, French King Charles X demanded that Haiti pay an "independence debt" to compensate former colonists for the slaves who had won their freedom.<ref name="debt">[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/aug/16/haiti-france France's debt of dishonour to Haiti]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> [[Gunboat diplomacy|French warships stationed off Haiti's coasts backed up that demand]]. Under the threat of a renewed invasion and reenslavement, Haiti agreed to accept the burden of paying 150 million gold francs to its former oppressor.<ref name="debt"/> That amount was more than ten times Haiti's annual revenue, so Haiti was also saddled with ridiculous interest rates which ensured that it could never escape that debt. By 1900, Haiti was spending 80% of its domestic product on debt payments.<ref name="haitirev"/> Even worse, the debt was completely illegal. When the original indemnity was imposed by the French king, the slave trade was technically illegal; such a transaction – exchanging cash for human lives valued as slave labor – represented a gross violation of both French and international laws.<ref name="debt"/> Despite that fact, Haiti was stuck paying much of its income to France until 1947, ensuring that it would remain in harsh poverty.

Just as shamefully, the United States turned away from Haiti despite the fledgling black nation's similar history. When the slave revolt first began, the United States actually aided the French against the slaves.<ref name="jefferson">[https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/haitian-rev The United States and the Haitian Revolution, 1791–1804]. US State Department Office of the Historian.</ref> There was hope, however, as incoming US president [[John Adams]] was resolutely anti-slavery, and he reversed course to aid Louverture's revolution.<ref name="jefferson"/> Adams was a one-term president, though, and his successor was [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Jefferson was himself a [[Virginia]] slaveholder, and his policy towards Haiti was extremely hostile. He refused to recognize the nation's independence, and he imposed a trade embargo against Haiti.<ref name="jefferson"/> The US didn't start trading with Haiti again until the 1820s, and it didn't officially recognize Haiti until 1862, after the Southern states had left the US during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{wpa|United States and the Haitian Revolution|}}</ref> All of this amounts to a monstrous ingratitude, as Napoleon's defeat in Haiti convinced him to sell off the entirety of the Louisiana Purchase to the United States.<ref>[https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/08/the-most-successful-slave-rebellion-in-history-created-an-independent-haiti-and-secured-the-louisiana-purchase-and-the-expansion-of-north-american-slavery.html The Bittersweet Victory at Saint-Domingue]. ''Slate.''</ref>

===Crises, humiliation, and wars===
[[File:Luders Affair, Germany, Haiti.jpg|thumb|right|325px|German ultimatum to Haiti, 1897.]]
Jean-Jacques Dessalines made himself into a dictator, styling himself emperor just like his old enemy Napoleon.<ref>{{wpa|First Empire of Haiti|}}</ref> After Dessalines' assassination Haiti became split into two, with the Kingdom of Haiti in the north directed by Henri Christophe, later declaring himself Henri I, and a republic in the south centered on Port-au-Prince, directed by Alexandre Pétion.<ref>Peguero, Valentina (November 1998). "Teaching the Haitian Revolution: Its Place in Western and Modern World History". ''The History Teacher''. 32 (1): 33–41. doi:10.2307/494418. JSTOR 494418.</ref> The Haitian Republic involved itself in other revolutions in Latin America, including sending military aid and volunteers to Simon Bolivar.<ref>Bushnell, David; Lester Langley, eds. (2008). ''Simón Bolívar: essays on the life and legacy of the liberator''. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-7425-5619-5.</ref> Eventually, the Republic managed to unify Haiti after the collapse of the Kingdom's government, but the experience of being disunited helped convince many Haitians that it was time to unite the entire island of Hispaniola.

In 1822, Haiti invaded the newly-independent Dominican Republic and conquered it successfully. The subsequent 22-year occupation would result not only in the economic and cultural deterioration of of the entire island but also in the fostering of extreme hatred towards Haiti by the Dominicans.<ref name="dominican">[https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/haitian-invasions-and-occupation-santo-domingo-1801-1844/ HAITIAN INVASIONS AND OCCUPATION OF SANTO DOMINGO (1801-1844)]. ''Black Past.''</ref> The Haitians redistributed land in Santo Domingo to their own people, and confiscated property from the Catholic Church. That latter bit especially pissed off the Dominicans, most of whom were pious Catholics.<ref name="dominican"/> On a positive note, however, the Haitians did liberate the black slaves in Santo Domingo. Dominicans resisted the occupying Haitian force, and they began the Dominican War of Independence in 1844.<ref>{{wpa|Dominican War of Independence|}}</ref> The conflict did not truly come to an end until 1856, after the Haitians had tried multiple times to reassert their rule. 

This loss destabilized Haiti's politics again, with the country seeing a second imperial regime rise and fall. Meanwhile, the US and Europe started to remember Haiti's existence. In 1889, the United States tried to use gunboat diplomacy to acquire a naval port in Haiti, sending thousands of Marines to intimidate Haiti's government.<ref>{{wpa|Môle Saint-Nicolas affair|}}</ref> The scheme fell through due to the non-cooperation of Frederick Douglass, who had been appointed commissioner to Haiti by previous president [[Ulysses S. Grant]]. In 1897, the [[German Empire]] decided to take a shot at Haiti. German national Emile Lüders beat up a Haitian police officer to defend a criminal, and the German government sent two warships to embarrassingly extract compensation payments, a letter of apology to the German government, and a 21-gun salute to the German flag.<ref>{{wpa|Lüders affair|}}</ref> To top the shit cake with a middle finger, the Germans also made the Haitian president raise a white flag over his palace as a symbol of surrender. That destabilized Haiti's politics once more, and various succeeding presidents fell to coups or assassinations.

===US invasion and occupation===
[[File:American poses with dead Haitian revolutionaries after being killed by US Marine machine gun fire - 10-11-1915.jpg|thumb|right|350px|US Marine posing with massacred Haitians, 1915.]]
{{cquote|Military camps have been built throughout the island. The property of natives has been taken for military use. Haitians carrying a gun were for a time shot on sight. Machine guns have been turned on crowds of unarmed natives, and United States Marines have, by accounts which several of them gave me in casual conversation, not troubled to investigate how many were killed or wounded.|||NAACP executive secretary Herbert J. Seligman, 1920.<ref name="usocci"/> }}
As European powers encroached in Haiti's internal affairs, the US started to get jealous. The US especially considered Germany as its chief rival for influence in Haiti, as German merchants traded extensively there and German immigrants started marrying into the Haitian population.<ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/88275.htm U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Haiti, 1915-34]. US State Department Archive.</ref> Fearing that chaos in Haiti would create an opportunity for Europeans to expand their economic interests there at America's expense, Woodrow Wilson used the 1915 assassination of Haiti's president as an excuse to order the United States Marines to invade the country.<ref name="wwhaiti">[https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/haiti-us-occupation-hundred-year-anniversary The Long Legacy of Occupation in Haiti]. Edwidge Danticat. ''The New Yorker''. July 28, 2015.</ref>

[[File:U.S. Marines and guide in search of bandits. Haiti, circa 1919., 1927 - 1981 - NARA - 532584.tif|thumb|right|250px|US Marines hunting for Haitian insurgents, 1919.]]

Things went sour for Haiti very quickly after that. US Marines took over the capital and censored Haiti's press, then imposed a new constitution on Haiti which granted foreigners (meaning US businessmen) the right to own land and capital in Haiti.<ref>Hans Schmidt (1971). ''The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934.'' Rutgers University Press. p. 99. ISBN 9780813522036.</ref> Haiti's legislature and citizenry bitterly opposed this measure, but it's not like the US gave a shit what ''black'' people thought; marines, at that time, were disproportionately whites from [[the South]], which went about as well as one might expect. Then the US seized Haiti's gold reserves (Christopher Columbus would have been jealous) and started collecting [[tax]]es from the Haitian population to pay Haiti's foreign debts to the US and France.<ref>Weinstein, Brian and Aaron Segal (1984). Haiti: Political Failures, Cultural Successes (February 15, 1984 ed.). Praeger Publishers. p. 175. ISBN 0-275-91291-4. p. 29</ref> The Haitians weren't happy about that either, so the US decided to install a puppet president to make things seem legitimate. Said puppet then dissolved the legislature to prevent them from objecting.

U.S. occupiers re-instituted a system known as civil conscription (impressed labor), in which Haitian civilians were captured and forced to work on public projects, such as building roads, and established the National Guards.<ref name="usocci">{{wpa|United States occupation of Haiti|}}</ref> They also instituted [[segregation]] policies, which were the norm in the US at the time.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/07/30/100-years-ago-the-u-s-invaded-and-occupied-this-country-can-you-name-it/?utm_term=.e2b8bfb8239b 100 years ago, the U.S. invaded and occupied this country. Can you name it?] Ishaan Tharoor. ''Washington Post.'' July 30, 2015.</ref>

Opposition to the U.S. occupation began immediately, and the Haitians received military aid from the Germans.<ref name="usocci"/> During the occupation, US Marines killed 15,000 Haitians in their attempts to brutally suppress resistance.<ref name="wwhaiti"></ref> The occupation frequently featured indiscriminate murders, robberies, and massacres perpetrated by American marines.<ref>[http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Independent_Media/Conquest_Haiti_SNM.html The Conquest of Haiti] Selections from ''The Nation'' magazine 1865-1990 edited by Katerina Vanden Heuvel. Thunder's Mouth Press, 1990, paper.</ref> After killing a prominent Haitian rebel, the US Marines circulated the image of his corpse as a warning, but they only succeeded in turning him into a martyr.<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/haiti-u-s-occupation-charlemagne-peralte?intcid=mod-latest An Iconic Image of Haitian Liberty]. ''The New Yorker''July 28, 2015.</ref>

Eventually, US president [[Herbert Hoover]] started to question the necessity and impact of the occupation, and the investigatory commission he appointed criticized the lack of rights and political power allowed to native Haitians.<ref>Musicant, I, ''The Banana Wars,'' 1990, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., ISBN 0025882104 p. 232–233</ref> Hoover lost the presidency to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], who began a full withdrawal in 1934. Sadly, the US still fully controlled Haiti's finances until 1947.<ref>Schmidt, Hans. The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1995. (232)</ref>

===Garde era===
During the US occupation, they created and trained the Garde d'Haïti to enforce America's will on the Haitians.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/haiti/15.htm Haiti: US Occupation]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> Although the Garde was manned mostly by blacks, its officers were exclusively white or mulatto.<ref name="garde">[http://countrystudies.us/haiti/16.htm Haiti: Politics and the Military]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> In the wake of the US departure, Haitian president Sténio Vincent started to become increasingly dictatorial, and he eventually used the Garde to seize control of Haiti's government. He rewrote Haiti's constitution again, this time granting himself the power to dissolve the legislature at will, to reorganize the judiciary, to appoint ten of twenty-one senators, and to rule by decree.<ref name="garde"/> He also started using the Garde as his personal attack dogs, censoring the press and killing his opposition. 

Despite having a powerful military, Haiti's leaders didn't seem to care enough to use it. Also in the wake of the US withdrawal, Dominican dictator [[Rafael Trujillo]] used anti-Haitian hatred as a propaganda tool. In a 1937 event know known as the {{wpl|Parsley massacre}}, he ordered his military onto the border with Haiti to indiscriminately murder any Haitians who lived to close to it.<ref>Farmer, Paul (2006). ''AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame.'' California University Press. pp. 180–181. ISBN 978-0-520-24839-7.</ref> Dominican soldiers killed an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Haitians, who were bludgeoned and bayonetted, then herded into the sea, where sharks finished them off.<ref>Malone, David (1998). ''Decision-making in the UN Security Council: The Case of Haiti, 1990–1997''. ISBN 978-0-19-829483-2.</ref><ref>{{wpa|Parsley massacre|}}</ref> Instead of responding to that outrage, Vincent decided that the Garde were planning a coup against him on Trujillo's behalf, so he purged the Garde's ranks of anyone he didn't like.<ref name="garde"/>

After about a decade of not giving a shit, the US showed up again in 1941 to tell President Vincent to cut it out. Vincent caved, and he resigned his office to be replaced by Elie Lescot. Lescot proved to be no different from his predecessor, using the Garde to threaten the legislature into granting him the same broad powers Vincent had.<ref name="garde"/> Lescot realized that he had to justify these extreme measures, so he declared war on the [[Axis]] alongside the US and used the war as an excuse for his actions. Haiti, however, played no role in the war except for supplying the United States with raw materials and serving as a base for a United States Coast Guard detachment.<ref name="garde"/> 

Lescot's downfall came when it became known that he was a personal friend of Rafael Trujillo; Lescot had been bribed by the Dominican repeatedly. The Garde reacted negatively to this news, and they overthrew Lescot in 1946.<ref name="garde"/> Haiti was effectively a dictatorship at this point, and several abortive attempts at democracy threw the country into turmoil between 1950 and 1956. In 1957, smoky backroom deals led to former labor minister François Duvalier becoming the favored candidate for Haiti's leadership. He won that election.

===The Duvaliers===
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 136 papa doc haiti שליט האיטי פאפא דוק-cropd.jpg|thumb|right|200px|François Duvalier, also known as [[God]].]]
====François====
Emboldened by his popularity, "Papa Doc", as his supporters called him, reorganized Haiti's legislature and declared himself president for life in 1964.<ref name="papa">[http://countrystudies.us/haiti/17.htm François Duvalier]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> Having witnessed the tumultuous Garde era, Duvalier decided that he didn't trust the military. Duvalier created a Presidential Guard to serve as his personal army, and he then purged most of the military's officers.<ref name="papa"/> He then started to outright replace the military with a peasant militia called the Volunteers for National Security (Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale) or VSN. They essentially became Duvalier's secret police force, rooting out dissenters and killing them. Corruption—in the form of government rake-offs of industries, bribery, extortion of domestic businesses, and stolen government funds—enriched the dictator's closest supporters.<ref name="papa"/> 

Duvalier also created a cult of personality for himself by practicing voodoo and identifying himself with legendary figure Baron Samedi.<ref>{{wpa|François Duvalier|}}</ref> He also claimed to be [[God]], because at this point why not? Despite his bizarre and brutal behavior, Duvalier was a tolerated US ally. Duvalier was many things, but he wasn't a gawddamn [[communist]], and the US wasn't about to tolerate a pro-leftist government in the Caribbean when they already had to deal with [[Cuba]].<ref name="papa"/> In total, the Papa Doc regime murdered about 30,000 Haitians.<ref name="papa"/>

====Jean-Claude====
In 1971 Duvalier died, and he was succeeded by his son Jean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Baby Doc", who was an idiot teenager when he first came to power. Thus, Baby Doc took a hands-off approach towards governance, by which we mean he ignored actual work in favor of stealing from the treasury.<ref name="baby">[http://countrystudies.us/haiti/18.htm Jean-Claude Duvalier]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> We call this style of rulership a kleptocracy. While Baby Duvalier was too busy pilfering funds, the Haitian public was ravaged by multiple plagues, including [[AIDS]] and African Swine Fever. Duvalier then held an extravagant wedding for himself, which cost $3 million, which was a remarkably tone-deaf thing to do in the middle of multiple crises and endemic poverty.<ref name="baby"/> Duvalier had married into the rich mulatto Bennett family, which created even more problems for himself. Popular discontent intensified in response to increased corruption among the Duvaliers and the Bennetts, as well as the repulsive nature of the Bennetts' dealings, which included selling Haitian cadavers to foreign medical schools and trafficking in narcotics.<ref name="baby"/> The last straw came when Baby Doc was dissed by Pope John Paul II, who called for a more equitable distribution of income, a more egalitarian social structure, and for the elites to actually give a shit about the lives of the people.<ref name="baby"/> 

Revolts began in 1986, and the alarmed [[Ronald Reagan]] pressured Duvalier into giving up power. Duvalier agreed, but then did a "takesie-backsie", pissing off just about everyone and triggering widespread rioting and military disobedience that forced him out of power.<ref name="baby"/> Duvalier went into exile in France, because France sucks ass in this article.

===Brief ray of hope, snuffed out by the US===
[[File:Clinton&Aristide.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Aristide with Bill Clinton.]]
Haiti was an absolute dumpster fire after Duvalier left, suffering a series of fraudulent elections, and two coups in 1988<ref>{{wpa|June 1988 Haitian coup d'état|}}</ref> and 1991.<ref>{{wpa|1991 Haitian coup d'état|}}</ref> Haiti just couldn't catch a fucking break. Finally, the 1990 elections brought in the first Haitian politician since its independence who gave a shit about anything other than himself. This guy's name was Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and he had been a leader of the pro-democracy movement that fought the Duvaliers and was a prominent proponent of [[liberation theology]].<ref name="waristide">{{wpa|Jean-Bertrand Aristide|}}</ref>

Aristide immediately set about trying to reform Haiti. He sought to bring the military under civilian control, initiated investigations of human rights violations, and began several anti-corruption programs.<ref name="waristide"/> Surprise, surprise, Haiti's military officers and business elites hated his guts. Just as unsurprisingly, the military then ousted Aristide in a 1991 coup, forcing him into exile and establishing an unelected junta in his place. At this point, however, the US did something good. In 1994, US President [[Bill Clinton]] ordered the US Marines into Haiti again, this time to threaten the military dictatorship into relinquishing power and returning authority to the democratically-elected Aristide.<ref>{{wpa|Operation Uphold Democracy|}}</ref> Unfortunately, this lone good action by the US came with a price. In order to get US help, Aristide had to promise to implement free market reforms to Haiti which sabotaged his economic recovery programs and prevented him from addressing widespread inequality.<ref>Bell, Beverly (2013). ''Fault Lines: Views across Haiti's Divide''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp. 30–38. ISBN 978-0-8014-7769-0.</ref>

[[File:U.S. Marines in Bel Air, Haiti, 2004.jpg|thumb|left|300px|US Marines in Port-au-Prince in 2004. How little things change.]]

From that point onward, Haiti effectively became a Clinton family vanity project. The Clintons poured money into the country in the hopes of building infrastructure and attracting investors; these efforts failed due to mismanagement and were quietly abandoned in the 2010s.<ref name="neoliberal">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/11/haiti-and-the-failed-promise-of-us-aid Haiti and the failed promise of US aid]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> As US economist Antony Loewenstein wrote, "The [[neoliberal]], exploitative economic model currently being imposed [on Haiti] has failed many times before."<ref name="neoliberal"/>

[[File:Secretary Clinton Visits Inter-American Woven Factory (3450762070).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Secretary [[Hillary Clinton]] at the Inter-American Woven factory in Port-au-Prince, 2009.]]

Aristide played ball for the US for a little while, but he eventually decided to return to his leftist roots in the hopes that he could salvage his country. Under his rule Haiti built schools, mandated education funding, enacted a literacy program that reached 320,000 people, doubled the minimum wage, built health clinics to combat AIDS, punished tax evasion by the elites, and disbanded the corrupt military.<ref name="couparisi">[https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/03/12/the-final-chapter-has-still-not-been-written-remembering-the-2004-coup-in-haiti/ The Final Chapter Has Still Not Been Written: Remembering The 2004 Coup in Haiti]. ''Counterpunch''.</ref> As we said above, Aristide was basically the first Haitian leader who actually gave a shit. Then, almost out of nowhere in 2004, a wave of murder and rapes targeted his government officials and instigated riots, and then Aristide was compelled to leave by US security forces.<ref name="wcouparisi">{{wpa|2004 Haitian coup d'état|}}</ref> The incoming president asked for an international intervention, and the US sent about 1,000 Marines to occupy Haiti's capital. 

The University of Miami's School of Law sent observers to conduct a human rights investigation and came up with the following conclusion:<ref name="wcouparisi"/>
{{cquote|U.S. officials blame the crisis on armed gangs in the poor neighborhoods, not the official abuses and atrocities, nor the unconstitutional ouster of the elected president. Their support for the interim government is not surprising, as top officials, including the Minister of Justice, worked for U.S. government projects that undermined their elected predecessors. Coupled with the U.S. government’s development assistance embargo from 2000–2004, the projects suggest a disturbing pattern.}}

Meanwhile, Aristide alleges that the US removed him, having effectively sent Marines to kidnap him and his wife.<ref name="couparisii"/> The US denies that claim, but who you believe depends on whether you trust the word of Aristide or [[Dick Cheney]].<ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/us-says-aristide-not-forced-out-1.1133832 US says Aristide not forced out]. ''The Irish Times.''</ref>

===Today===
Long story short, Haiti fell into disarray after Aristide's downfall. Haiti's currency plunged, the price of gasoline and kerosene (used for lamps and cooking in most Haitian homes) has soared, food insecurity has spiked, and the most recent former president, Jovenel Moïse, ruled by decree and engaged in blatant theft from public projects.<ref name="couparisi"/> In July of 2021, Moise was assassinated in his home by gunmen, inflicting yet more political chaos on the beleaguered state.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/haiti-president-jovenel-moise-killed-b56a0f8fec0832028bdc51e8d59c6af2 Official: Haiti President Jovenel Moïse assassinated at home]. ''Associated Press.''</ref> Worse, in a turn of events likely to worry anyone who's watched ''{{wpl|Babylon 5}}'', there is compelling evidence that acting president and prime minister Ariel Henry, appointed as the latter just before Moise's assassination but not sworn in prior, was involved in the assassination.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/08/americas/haiti-assassination-investigation-prime-minister-intl-cmd-latam/index.html Haitian Prime Minister involved in planning the President’s assassination, says judge who oversaw case]. ''[[CNN]].''</ref> In June 2024, A 
[[United States]] backed 
[[Kenya]]-led security intervention of 400 Kenyan police officers were sent to Haiti. 

Haiti has been repeatedly hammered by crises, such as {{wpl|Effects of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti|hurricanes}} and {{wpl|2010 Haiti earthquake|earthquakes}}. And that's what Haiti is known for now. Once a revolutionary black republic, Haiti has been transformed by corrupt leaders and an exploitative international community into a simple dumping ground for international aid packages. What a shame. What a goddamn shame.

==Human rights==
[[File:Haitian national palace earthquake.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Haiti's presidential palace in ruins after the 2010 earthquake.]]
===Violence and terrorism===
{{main|Terrorism}}
Apparently emboldened in the wave of violence that ousted Aristide, criminals and corrupt officials run rampant. Looting, kidnappings, arson, [[rape]], and murder are endemic.<ref name="couparisi"/> Many media sources blame this on [[code word|"gang violence"]]. The reality is much more frightening. The Haitian government and its US-trained police force actively enable and mobilize [[organized crime]] in order to [[terrorism | target suspected opposition]].<ref name="couparisi"/> In effect, [[state terrorism | the Haitian government wields death squads that operate with complete impunity]]. Want an example? No? Too bad! In 2018, the government sent the Nan Chabon gang into the La Saline neighborhood, which was known to be a focal organizing point for the democratic opposition.<ref>[https://www.haitiaction.net/News/RAW/12_4_18/12_4_18.html "Haiti government complicit in La Saline Massacre"]. ''HaitiAction.net''</ref> That was about 60 people beaten and raped to death.

[[File:Image-haiti2019.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Haitian police dismantle a protest barricade in 2019.]]

In February 2020, Haitian police refused to protect another opposition neighborhood. The government had offered to bribe the neighborhood's leaders to stop protests.<ref name="couparisi"/> Shortly after they refused, dozens of armed men opened fire in the area with rifles and burned homes and cars as part of a three-day rampage.<ref>[https://apnews.com/6b0fb93fda195e77760f109e57c9b976 UN report questions police, highlights violence in Haiti]. ''Associated Press.''</ref> We know for sure that at least three people died, but the actual number is almost certainly much higher.

As of 2024; gangs control more than 80% of the Haitian capital city Port-au-Prince and death tolls continuing to increase as Haiti’s corrupt government further deteriorates and endures political instability.<ref> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68531759 </ref><ref>https://time.com/7000221/haiti-port-au-prince-gang-war/</ref><ref> https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haitis-death-toll-rises-international-support-lags-un-report-says-2024-04-19/]</ref>

===Gender and sexual orientation===
Haiti has no specific laws against domestic violence, sexual harassment, or other forms of violence targeted at women and girls.<ref name="hrw">[https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/haiti Haiti: Events of 2019]. ''Human Rights Watch.''</ref> Rape was only explicitly criminalized in 2005, and it's still almost never prosecuted or even investigated.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/opinion/sunday/haitis-silenced-victims.html Haiti’s Silenced Victims]. ''New York Times.''</ref> [[Abortion]] is illegal in all circumstances, including in cases of sexual violence.<ref name="hrw"/> If a wife commits adultery, Haitian law excuses husbands for murdering them.<ref>{{wpa|Human rights in Haiti|}}</ref> Women do not have the same right in the reverse situation. 

[[LGBT]] individuals still suffer high levels of discrimination. Gay marriages are not recognized, and LGBT individuals face harassment by police and authorities.<ref>{{wpa|LGBT rights in Haiti|}}</ref> In 2017, the Haitian Senate passed two anti-LGBT bills, which are still working their way through the Haitian legislature. One bill calls for a ban on same-sex marriage, as well as any public support or advocacy for LGBT rights. Should the ban become law, "the parties, co-parties and accomplices" of a same-sex marriage could be punished by three years in prison and a fine of about US$8,000.<ref name="hrw"/> That's a shitload of money, even in the US. Incomes are much lower in Haiti.

==Environment==
[[File:Haiti deforestation.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A border you can see from space.]]
===Deforestation===
One of Haiti's most infamous problems is deforestation, but it's widely misunderstood by the global public. The prevailing narrative is that Haiti's trees are disappearing due to overpopulation, poverty, and Haiti's charcoal industry.<ref name="wrong">[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43qy9n/one-of-the-most-repeated-facts-about-deforestation-in-haiti-is-a-lie One of the most repeated facts about Haiti is a lie]. ''Vice.''</ref> After telling that story, people presumably then inwardly roll their eyes at the ignorance of those poor dumb blacks. The reality is far, far different. 

Deforestation began a long time ago, starting under the Spanish and massively accelerating under the French. The French were especially effective at clearing out forests as they were constantly building sugarcane plantations, slave cabins, and fancy houses for the rich whites.<ref name="wrong"/> Luckily for Haiti, black slaves kicked the French out on their baguette asses in 1804. ''Un''fortunately for Haiti, the French showed up again with a bunch of warships to threaten debt payments out of the fledgling nation. In order to make those payments, Haiti had to outsource many of its natural resources. Including and especially trees. Haiti sold off its mahogany forests, which foreign firms proceeded to raze, process, and ship overseas to be made into fancy furniture.<ref name="wrong"/> 

That's all nice if you're a Nineteenth Century gentleman shopping for a dresser, but it sucks ass for the people who actually have to live in Haiti. Trees, after all, are good at holding soil in place and drinking up rainwater. Without trees, you start to see flooding and landslides. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians die each year in flood or landslide events related to deforestation.<ref>[https://psmag.com/environment/haiti-is-set-to-lose-its-forests-in-twenty-years IF CURRENT DEFORESTATION RATES CONTINUE, HAITI MAY LOSE ITS FORESTS WITHIN TWO DECADES]. ''Pacific Standard.''</ref> Thus, colonial destruction of Haiti's forests is big part of why earthquakes and hurricanes are so deadly.

So why aren't reforestation efforts working? You see, the [[UN]] and USAID came up with the brilliant idea to encourage farmers and peasants to plant trees. The problem was that those trees then become the property of the Haitian government, which most Haitians hate and which couldn't possibly give less of a shit about the environment.<ref name="wrong"/> The good thing is that the international community caught on to this, although only relatively recently. The other good news is that Haiti is urbanizing, which is giving trees the chance to regrow.<ref name="wrong"/> The bad news is that Haiti is still the target of foreign predators and is still run by an awful government. You win some, you lose some. In Haiti, you mostly lose some. 

==Gallery==
<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:US Navy 080916-N-2653P-276 An aerial view of the Haitian capital city, Port-Au-Prince, as seen from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) headquarters in Port-Au-Prince.jpg|Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. 
File:Griot haïtien (42675563925).jpg|Griot served with fried plantains and pikliz.
File:Mòn dèyè mòn - panoramio.jpg|Haiti's rugged landscape.
File:EscombrosBelAir7.jpg|People of Port-au-Prince.
File:Street view in Cap Haitien, Haiti.jpg|Street view in Cap-Haïtien.
</gallery></center>

==See also==
*[[Toussaint Louverture]], the best-known leader of the Haitian Revolution
*[[Liberia]]
*[[Navassa Island]], currently disputed between the [[United States]] and Haiti

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saljZXoexhc A Brief History And Future of Screwing Over Haiti - SOME MORE NEWS]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
{{nationbox}}
[[Category:Haiti| ]]
[[Category:North American countries]]
[[Category: Slavery]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Articles needing updates]]

Categories: Haiti, North American countries,  Slavery, Racism, Articles needing updates