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Haiti's History: Turmoil and Poverty
FrontLines - July 2009
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Part of an extensive network of canals being refurbished in the Plaine du Cul Sac area. During heavy rains, the water level typically rises beyond the height of this child.
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The history of Haiti and the United States is inextricably
bound. When Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola—shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic—in 1492, he claimed it for Spain.
In 1625, French buccaneers landed on the island in what is today the Republic of Haiti. In 1697, Spain ceded the western part of Hispaniola to France under the Treaty of Ryswick, which resulted from dynastic wars in Europe.
Haiti declared independence from colonial French rule in 1804 after slaves rose up and defeated an army sent by Napoleon Bonaparte. As a result, Napoleon abandoned his dream of an American empire and sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States, sparking the great westward expansion that would make the United States a world power.
“We should not forget that the freedom you and I enjoy today is largely due to the brave stand taken by the black sons of Haiti ninety years ago … striking for their freedom, they struck for the freedom of every black man in the world,” said American civil rights pioneer Frederick Douglass at the World’s Fair in 1893. Douglass served as U.S. minister and consul general to Haiti from 1889-1891.
But Haiti remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere:
- 6.2 million live below the poverty line.
- 1 out of 8 children die before they reach the age of 5.
- Illiteracy is estimated at 44 percent.
- The national unemployment rate is 70 percent.
- Nearly 7.2 million Haitians lack access to reliable energy.
- Life expectancy is 56 for women and 52 for men.
All this leaves a false impression of hopelessness. It discounts
the character of the Haitian people: resilient, buoyant, good humored, expressive, and talented. The sacrifices that the poor make to pay for their children’s schooling and uniforms are a testament to a people that seek a better future. .
★ —J.W.
FrontLines writer John Waggoner wrote this series of articles following a trip to Haiti in May.
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