One should read the history of Haiti. They were the first slaves to revolt and become free, so France wanted them to pay for “lost business”. So they had to pay off a huge debt. And the U.S. didn’t want Haiti to succeed because it would have encouraged slaves in the U.S. to revolt. So Haiti got roadblock after roadblock.
Aristide called for reparations from France. Then a bunch of paramilitary units came across the border from the Dominican Republic and staged a coup, at the climax of which the US offered him a plane trip into exile in Africa.
Fearful of the potential impact the slave rebellion could have in the slave states, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson refused to recognize the new republic. The Southern politicians who were a powerful voting bloc in the American Congress prevented U.S. recognition for decades until they withdrew in 1861 to form the Confederacy.
Later:
Fearing possible foreign intervention, or the emergence of a new government led by the anti-American Haitian politician Rosalvo Bobo, President Woodrow Wilson sent U.S. Marines into Haiti in July 1915. The USS Washington, under Rear Admiral Caperton, arrived in Port-au-Prince in an attempt to restore order and protect U.S. interests. Within days, the Marines had taken control of the capital city and its banks and customs house. The Marines declared martial law and severely censored the press. Within weeks, a new pro-U.S. Haitian president, Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave, was installed and a new constitution written that was favorable to the interests of the United States. The constitution (written by future US President Franklin D. Roosevelt) included a clause that allowed, for the first time, foreign ownership of land in Haiti, which was bitterly opposed by the Haitian legislature and citizenry.
It’s a little reminiscent of Cuba in a way. They’re still under Cold War/Red Scare sanctions for whatever reason, and that’s not done well for their ability to grow and develop.
Funny how the Dominican Republic is on the same island and it’s a tropical paradise.
One should read the history of Haiti. They were the first slaves to revolt and become free, so France wanted them to pay for “lost business”. So they had to pay off a huge debt. And the U.S. didn’t want Haiti to succeed because it would have encouraged slaves in the U.S. to revolt. So Haiti got roadblock after roadblock.
And France still hasn’t owned up to it.
Greedy fuckers.
Aristide called for reparations from France. Then a bunch of paramilitary units came across the border from the Dominican Republic and staged a coup, at the climax of which the US offered him a plane trip into exile in Africa.
What’s your source on this?
From Wikipedia:
Later:
From the book Napoléon, l’esclavage et les colonies (Napoleon, slavery and the colonies) https://a.co/d/0gaXPow
It’s a little reminiscent of Cuba in a way. They’re still under Cold War/Red Scare sanctions for whatever reason, and that’s not done well for their ability to grow and develop.