Haiti: From Shackles to a Wrecked Land

The country of Haiti was hit with an earthquake on a scale of seven on January 12, 2010.

However, being left in ruins is not only a by-product of a natural disaster, it lies within a history of imperialistic savagery and exploitation by the powerful – namely France and the US.

One can trace the beginnings to the independence of the country in 1802-1804, which came after a costly and brutal war.

The slave revolt led to the creation of a new state, a state which was only illusory in terms of actual sovereignty.

France did not leave without making sure the Haitians paid for their disobedience. “Nor could the infant US, a land of slave owners, cope with the idea of such a nation at its gates. There was only one solution: to forbid it to exist. The plan succeeded thanks to the cooperation of Haiti’s elite. They agreed in 1825 to pay France a gigantic sum to concede independence and indemnify themselves”.'

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