America's Conflict Prevention and Stabilization Strategy (5) | Haiti and the curse of the revolution

The State of Haiti is a blatant example of the Western colonial injustice suffered by the colonized peoples of the world over the past five centuries, the injustice of occupation, oppression, enslavement, plundering of goods, conspiracy, selfishness and discrimination. Combating crime and terrorism, establishing security, peace, justice, freedom and development.

Haiti, which was called the Pearl of the Antilles during the French occupation, and from which France exported 60% of all coffee and 40% of the total sugar needed by Europe, became the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after being burdened by debt, economic fraud, political and security turmoil, political corruption, gangs, organized crime, and natural disasters.

However, these conditions are not enough to explain why the administration has included Haiti as the first country in the list of countries where it will work to stop the conflict and promote stability in its strategy for the next ten years. So why did the United States make this move?

Haiti revolted against colonialism at the end of 1803, becoming the first slave nation in the world, the first independent state in Latin America and the Caribbean, the first country to abolish slavery, and the only country in history to witness a successful slave revolution that led to non-white rule.

The curse of freedom

Haiti is the third largest country in the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea after Cuba and the Dominican Republic, with which the island of Hispaniola is formed, where the Dominican Republic is located in the eastern part of the island, while Haiti is located in the western part, with an area of about 27,12 square kilometers, and is currently inhabited by about <> million people.

The Spanish colonized Haiti between 1492 and 1625 and then the French (1625-1804), and the Americans occupied it from 1915-1934, but what most people do not know about Haiti is that it is the owner of the first successful slave revolution against colonialism that resulted in the defeat of French colonialism led by Napoleon and the proclamation of the state of Haiti in early 1804, to be the first slave state in the world, the first independent state in Latin America and the Caribbean, the first country to abolish slavery, and the only country in history that witnessed a slave revolt Successful led to the rule of non-white people.

Two years after the French Revolution, the Haitian slave revolt against French colonialism was launched until it defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's army in November 1803, and Napoleon was forced to sell French Louisiana to the United States, which is about half the size of the United States today.

Spain and Britain supported the slave revolt in Haiti to weaken Napoleon, and the second president of the United States, John Adams, supported it diplomatically, financially and militarily throughout his presidency (1789-1798) because of his opposition to slavery, but this support soon ceased with the advent of Thomas Jefferson, who assumed the presidency from 1801-1809 for fear of the impact of the revolution on the slaves of the United States.

After the success of the revolution, the defeat of the French forces, and the proclamation of the Republic of Haiti, the nascent republic began to face the challenges of the international community at the time, especially from the United States, which had only been independent from the British Empire for 28 years.

Historians state that without this revolution, the size of the United States would not have been the same, yet the United States refused to recognize this revolution for 60 years in an attempt to impose its hegemony on Haiti, but rather strived to thwart it politically, economically and security.

France also refused to recognize Haiti, conditionally compensating it for the losses incurred by the revolution, and the United States agreed, as Haiti continued to pay such compensation until 1947, straining the Haitian economy and plunging it into debt.

Dr. Leslie Alexander, a professor of history at the University of Arizona in the United States and author of "Fear of the Black Republic," says that "the problems Haiti faced after independence were not for internal reasons, but because of the continued role of foreign intervention, primarily by the United States."

The historian Laurent Dubois of Duke University of America mentioned in his book "Haiti... "By 1898, half of the Haitian government's budget went entirely to pay off French debts, and by 1914 this percentage reached 80%, and the United States took advantage of this circumstance that Haiti is going through to provide it with a loan that unifies its debts and helps it pay the rest of the French debts, so Haiti replaced one creditor with another, and opened the way for the United States and American banks to control and financially control its economy until 1947, when it was able to pay its debts to France in exchange for depleting its reserves from The gold that U.S. forces transferred from the National Bank of Haiti to the Bank of New York at the behest of Roger L. Farnham who managed the assets of the National City Bank of Haiti and persuaded U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who ruled from 1913 to 1912, to intervene militarily in Haiti in order to stabilize the country and force its government to repay its debts, and that if he did not, France or Germany might invade it.

Dr. Leslie Alexander, a professor of history at the University of Arizona and author of "Fear of the Black Republic," says that "the problems Haiti faced after independence were not for internal reasons, but because of the continued role of foreign intervention, primarily by the United States."

Foreign influence—especially from France, Germany, and the United States—has had a great impact on Haiti, with each country investing heavily in state politics and trade, deteriorating the economy and destabilizing the security situation.

The country witnessed 7 presidents between 1911 and 1915, all of whom were assassinated or removed from power, including Philbron Guillaume Sam, who was killed in 1915 in riots that prompted the United States to intervene militarily to occupy Haiti until 1934, thus achieving full political, economic and military control for America using extreme violence to suppress Haitians opposed to foreign occupation, as sources talk about more than two thousand deaths of opponents in only one confrontation with the American occupation forces.

The New York Times states in its issue issued on 2021/12/9 that the US military occupation is still one of the darkest chapters of US policy in the Caribbean, as the United States installed a puppet regime that rewrote the Constitution of Haiti and gave the United States control over the country's finances, and forced labor was used in construction and other work to pay off debts it owes to American banks, as well as the killing of thousands of Haitians by the US Navy.

When the occupation ended in 1934 – under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policy of good neighborliness – riots broke out in the capital, Port-O'Briense, destroyed bridges, cut telephone lines, and the new president declared martial law and suspended the constitution.

This was not the last chapter of the American intervention in Haiti, as the policy of the United States and its interventions continued as we have experienced and are experiencing in many of our countries, and these policies did not exceed the ceiling of their higher interests, regardless of the interests of Haiti and what its people suffer because of these policies, after World War II and the entry of communist influence to the Caribbean islands through Cuba, American influence returned again, to support President François Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude Duvallier, who continued their rule from From 1957 to 1986 with an iron fist, violent repression, and intimidation of citizens and political opponents, the reason for the United States' support for them was their anti-communism, but the rise of popular opposition eventually forced the United States to pressure Duvalier Jr. to leave the country in 1986, and so on to this day.

The slave revolution in Haiti succeeded in decolonizing and establishing a free republic and inspired many revolutions around the world, in Europe and Latin America, especially in Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, where the slave trade was very popular and profitable.

Haiti pledged to be a safe haven for all slaves in need of protection, and to be their ally around the world, but the curse of this success has continued to haunt it until today after failing to confront the interventions and conspiracies of a world that calls itself "free", returning to the slavery of dependence on the interests of neocolonialism and the policies of domination and acquisition that it pursues with many misguided countries that search for stability, security and subsistence in vain.

Haiti has failed to achieve this despite billions of dollars spent on it by the United States and international institutions under the slogan of achieving cessation of conflict, stabilization, and humanitarian and development support.

To be continued" Haiti. The Clash of Great Interests"