Haiti French Problem

Haiti was not an independent country until 1804. During the time of not being independent, Haiti was ruled by the French which involved hard labor and slavery. The country was known as one of the richest countries due to producing half the world’s coffee and sugar throughout that time. But once they gained independence, they became the poorest. Nowadays, Haiti is in need of help and that may be the cause of problems that occurred in the past. Haiti had a revolution of their own which was known as the first successful slave army revolution that lasted from 1791 until 1804 which was first lead by Toussaint Louverture, a slave who had more privileges than others by being taught by his masters how to read and write. He was also said to have brought

For these problems, it is primarily the french’s fault that Haiti is how it is today and Haiti will not be able to survive as a country until there is justice for what they have been through. With that being said, the French must own up to the horrific experience they put the Haitians through in the past and repay them for everything that they have suffered but also had to pay for. The history of Haiti has caused them to be where they are today in the world with being the 166th richest country making only $1,846.12 (www.gfmag.com) with a population of 9.7 million. With being out of France’s grip and gaining their own independence, everything abruptly went downhill for them. The haitians had burned down all their sugar and coffee farms out of being traumatized for the slavery they had to endure while being imperialized by france but in return, they had destroyed their only source of income. And now with having to pay the French 150 million francs for expenses of the slaves becoming free, which nowadays is an equivalent of $21 billion, they are in a deep pit of

According to ruralpovertyportal.org, “The country has to import 60 per cent of the food it needs, including as much as 80 per cent of the rice it consumes.” to some, that may not seem like a lot compared to the United States who pay $115 billion to import food into the country. Fish being at $18 billion, fruit is $13 billion, while vegetables is $11 billion (census.gov). To Haiti, they don’t have the support to spend that kind of money especially if the growth of their population is growing rapidly. Another viewpoint on this situation would be that the United States would be primarily responsible for the problems occurring in haiti. An example of the United States causing problems in Haiti would be, according to Why The US Owes Haiti Billions - The Briefest History by Bill Quigley, “ The US helped bleed the country economically since it freed itself, repeatedly invaded the country militarily, supported dictators who abused the people, used the country as a dumping ground for our own economic advantage, ruined their roads and agriculture, and toppled popularly elected officials. The US has even used Haiti like the old plantation owner and slipped over there repeatedly for sexual recreation. “ this quote is about how the U.S. has abused Haiti in many ways