Libertarians and evangelicals explain the problem with Haiti, but they've forgotten something.

[Karmadillo]

http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/01/13/libertarians-and-evangelicals-explain-the-problem-with-haiti/

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Pat Robertson, good evangelical Christian that he is, explains that the Haitians’ problem is the pact they made with the devil. Tyler Cowen, good liberatarian economist that he is, wonders aloud if voodoo or polygamy is the source of their ills. It’s true that Cowen is a more reputable figure than Pat Robertson, but his reasoning is frankly not much more informed. What could possibly be the problem down there? he asks, as the heads of Haitian historians everywhere explode in simultaneous apoplexy. Maybe, he suggests, they cut their colonial ties too soon.

Why is Haiti so poor? Because it has been victimized and persecuted and robbed for two fucking centuries by France and the United States and the other Western powers, that’s why.

The Haitian Revolution was the third great republican rebellion of the late 18th century, or at least that’s how the Haitians saw it. Hi, France and the United States! There are three of us now! Isn’t it great? Heh. The French thought it was cool for about ten seconds; then they remembered that they needed to keep their sugar plantations going to prop up the economy. Whoops! Forget what we said about all that liberté, égalité, fraternité stuff; we were just talking about white men.

A similar thing happened with the Americans. The U.S. was friendly to the Haitian rebellion for a little while — John Adams was into it, and Alexander Hamilton helped draft the Haitian constitution — but all that changed when the Sage (and Slaveowner) of Monticello became president. Jefferson reneged on Adams’s deal with Toussaint L’Ouverture, cut off trade and contact, and offered Napoleon help in putting down the revolt. We can’t possibly have a black republic down in the Caribbean, he wrote. What will our slaves think? They might get ideas!

The French poured thousands of soldiers into Haiti in an attempt to re-establish control, but damn near all of them died from yellow fever. The Haitians cut down the rest. By 1804 the French were sick of it and Haiti declared its independence. It was the first black republic in the modern world.

And everybody ignored them. Haitian independence was an offense to the status quo: a free black republic of former slaves who had successfully thrown off their masters. Dear god. Black people? A black republic? Former slaves? No fucking way.

So Haiti was isolated: no diplomatic recognition, official embargoes on trade. “You don’t really exist,” said the French. And the Americans. And the British. And the Spanish. The economy foundered. Then the Bourbons started making noises about re-conquering the island. Finally, in 1825, the Haitians signed a deal with France: recognize us diplomatically, call off the gunboats, and in return we will reimburse you for the loss of us as your slaves. The price? One hundred and fifty million francs.

Haiti spent the next 122 years paying off that indemnity. The final installment was in 1947. Nineteen forty-fucking-seven. The entire history of modern Haiti is about paying off that goddamn debt.

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[pnorman]

1. K & R!

Thanks for that link
!

[AspenRose]

2. K&R

If nothing else, perhaps folks will learn some history

[Karmadillo]

3. I hope so, but the media tends to be pretty good at keeping us in

an eternal, blameless present where inconvenient facts can be ignored.

[Brewman_Jax]

4. K&R

:kick:

Haiti's plight is no accident. This is the history that normally isn't taught.