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Upon
taking consideration of Haiti's political and economical stability,
France of Charles X recognized Haiti's independence on April
17th, 1825, almost 25 years before she abolished slavery in
all her colonies. However there was a condition, Haiti were
to pay to France an economically destructive indemnity of
60 millions French francs on behalf of the French colonists,
who had lost their plantations, when Haiti gained its freedom
on the battlefield. The British also upon evaluation of Haiti's
stability recognized her independence in 1833, shortly after
the British Emancipation act of 1833. However the United States
with the growth of cotton Capitalism and continuing slavery
practice, would not permit the recognition of the free Negro/mulatto
sister republic until President Geffrard of Haiti on May 22nd,
1861 made an appeal to the Republican President Abraham Lincoln
for the long awaited recognition of Haiti or face the possibility
of Spain presence again in the Dominican Republic and the
opportunity for Spain to have dominion on the region and threaten
the stability of Haiti, with which the US had great commercial
exchange so far.
During
debate on the US senate floor about recognition of Haiti,
Democratic senator, Garret Davis of Kentucky declared that:
"Washington society was not ready to receive a black minister".
On the same line, Democratic senator, Saulisbury of Delaware
objected to the eventual presence of Haitian minister in the
Senate gallery reserved for diplomats. It was Charles Summer,
a Republican Senator of the state of Massachusetts, who made
the case for Haiti, when he pointed out in a speech on April,
23, 1862: "The traditional policy of the United States required
recognition of a nation that had been independent in fact
for almost sixty years and that had been recognized by other
powers. He further stressed the importance of the commerce
of the United States with Haiti, standing above that with
Prussia, Sweden, Turkey, Japan and Russia, countries with
which the United States had ministers."
Charles
Summer argument in the US Senate was convincing. On June 5th,
1862, President Lincoln signed the bill for the appointment
of commissioners to Haiti and Liberia, his decision was perhaps
a side effect of the South's Secession from the Union. Benjamin
Whidden of the US state of New Hampshire was appointed weeks
later as the first diplomatic representative of the US in
Haiti. On April 27th 1863, President Geffrard of Haiti made
this only comment at the opening of the Legislature: "The
government of the United States has recently recognized the
sovereignty of the State of Haiti. This recognition will without
doubt, give a new impulse to the commercial transactions between
the two countries. The other consequences of this great act
belong to the future."
President
Geffrard may have been right in his apprehension, since history
will prove him right, in 1915 during the failed Haitian Presidency
of Vilbrun Guillaume Sam and the U.S. President Wilson administration,
when political in fighting by poorly financially managed weak
nationalist and unstable successions of short lived feudal
Haitian governments, gave the US the opportunity and the excuse:
not only to occupy Haiti militarily with the land invasion
on July 28th, 1915 led by Admiral Capertown aboard ship, Washington,
which was stationed in Cap-Haitien since July 1st, under the
pretense of protecting the lives and properties of North Americans
and foreigners. It is rather an ironic historic fact that:
when the US marines landed on the beach of Bizoton near the
Haitian Capital of Port-au-Prince, they were guided by four
Haitian marines. Capertown during the invasion had also dispathched
from the US base of Guantanamo Cuba the US destroyer Jason
with the 24th company of marines, and also from Philadelphia
arrived reinforcement for the invasion of Haiti the following
US battle ships: the Connecticut, the Eagle and the Nashville
with five companies of the second regiment of Marines, under
the command of US Colonel E. Coles.
This
was also a financial occupation as President Wilson would
admit later. The Haitian economic system was taken over, beginning
with: the custody of the gold reserve, the Haitian customs,
the control of Haiti's national Bank etc... From that point
almost all fiscal and financial matters had to be approved
by the state department of the occupying forces. There was
also a quasi take over of all Haitian ministries by US generals
originally of the mostly still segregated US deep south. A
general even headed the Haitian ministry of Education. During
the occupation, Haiti lost its pride and autodetermination
as a sovereign nation, and seems to have lost also the control
of its destiny as the sister republic nation, which had as
much right to be guided by the aspiration of its own people,
as its strong neighbor on the North would want for its own
people.
The
US agricultural company and merchants on Wall street stand
to benefit the most from the US occupation. The small Haitians
family farm were sold to large US company such as, Mc Donald,
HASCO, Standard etc... Who would then create large plantations
of bananas, sugar cane, rubber trees, sisal etc. A large section
of the Haitian forest would be lost during clearing for plantation,
thus marking the beginning of Haiti's environmental problem
in the arena of visible deforestation of trees. Part of the
peasants population began to suffer from malnutrition "No
land, No food". Most of them no longer had their small farm
to cultivate and harvest to feed themselves, or sell or make
exchange to survive, as the founder of the Haitian nation,
Dessalines had planned and envisioned during his short live
agrarian reform. In search of a better economic life, poor
Haitians started their mass exodus and began to migrate legally
and illegally to other neighboring islands of the Caribbean,
such as Cuba and the Dominican Republic, etc.
The
Haitians people who had enjoyed the freedom to take care of
their own country for over one hundred and ten years, resisted
the US occupation and conducted guerilla type warfare led
by Charlemagne Peralt of the indigenous nationalist section
of the Haitian society called "Les Cacos/Haitian liberation
Army". The Haitians peasants were also unhappy, because of
the ill treatment they received from the US troop, while they
worked in a public work program called "La corvee", which
reminded most of them of the bygone days of slavery before
Haiti's independence. It was only after diplomatic negotiating
effort made by the Haitian President Stenio Vincent, who came
to the US on Mars 22nd, 1934 to continue to negotiate the
disoccupation of Haiti by the US. This was followed by a reciprocal
trip to Cap-Haitien on July 5th, 1934 by the US democratic
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Then came out a joint
press statement to the effect that: the Haitian national guard
will be completely haitianized by August 1st, 1934 and that
15 days later, there shall be no more US marines on Haitian
soil. It was by the way, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who as
sub-Secretary of the navy under the Wilson administration,
had drafted the Constitution that the US would imposed on
Haiti during its 19 years of occupation. Roosevelt was probably
convinced that the continuing occupation would hurt Haiti
further, rather than help it, but the harm was already done.
However his change of heart and policy woud clear the way
for Haiti's liberation of direct US occupation with US marines
on its soil.
On
August 21st, 1934 in a touching ceremony, the Haitian flag
flew again for the first time on Caserne Dessalines since
the US led invasion of 1915. President Stenio Vincent made
this circumstantial remark about the Haitian flag: "Que dersormais,
il soit l'embleme d'une petite Nation ayant la volonte' de
vivre dans la Liberte' par l'Ordre et dans le Travail sous
l'egide salutaire de la paix publique." (Let it be known from
now on, that this represents the symbol of a small nation
with the willingness to live in liberty, with order and work
under the aegis salutary of public peace.) Haitian President
Stenio Vincent would be in Haiti the architect of Haiti's
new own constitution of 1935, created to replace the US constitution
of Occupation.
Haiti's
national palace flying the Haitian national flag, "symbol
of a small nation with the willingness to live in liberty,
with order and work under the aegis salutary of public peace."
Haiti
and Haitians have had to strive and struggle against all attempts
and conspiracy to punish and suffocate this young nation,
who in the face of all odds dared to be the first black independent
nation in the world and the second republic in all of America.
At a time when all the states around it still had slaves including:
the Americans, French, English, Dutch and Spanish, who saw
in Haiti successful revolution, a threat to their self interest
and their status quo as slave owners. So all was done to boycott,
manipulate, isolate and not recognize Haiti's independence
until it was deemed that Haiti was impoverished, and made
weak enough militarily, so that it could not pose a threat
to the status quo, in particular the status quo of slave owners
nations. Haiti, since its independence has suffered from naval
blockade, indemnity, ultimatum, embargo and even occupations,
by those of its friends, who thought: they knew what was best
for Haiti or better yet, as history will prove, what was best
for their self economic interest.
Haiti's
countryside still has reminiscence of its war of bravery for
independence. The ruins of its forts and the life style of
its impoverished people remind us that it has paid dearly
to maintain its status of independent nation from 1804 to
this day. As Dessalines would have said if he were alive today:
"Vivre libre ou mourir!" "Live free or die!". Meanwhile his
legacy survives.
Haiti
that was once surnamed the pearl of the Antilles because of
its wealth in gold and other precious metals and stones, and
its natural beauty, has lived to see its resources and its
heritage exploited and mismanaged by its sons, daughters and
foes alike.
Would
Haiti rise up from his ashes? That is the question that we
keep on asking as we approach the year 2004 (Haiti's bicentennial,
200 years of independence).
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