Haitian History: Part 4 of 5

When we last left off, Haiti was becoming an unstable nation with no sustainable economy and constant political upheaval. That destabilization would worsen in the 20^th century and even today. It is a depressing history for a people who cannot seem to get a break.

            At the turn of the century between the 1800s and 1900s, there were two main political parties in Haiti. There was Liberal Party, which was mostly mulatto, and the National Party, which was mostly black. Throughout this time period many leaders took control of Haiti that were soon deposed and replaced. Their successors might have lasted a few months, sometimes even a few years, and then they were deposed as well. For the sake of time, I am not going to bore my audience and go into every single leader that ruled Haiti in the 20^thcentury. That would take a long time and would probably be extremely tedious and depressing to read about. Instead, I will focus on the more important and consequential figures in Haiti during this time.

            The first leader that I am going to focus on is General Guillame Sam who took power in 1915 after leading a revolt on President Davilmar Theodore. He led a reign of terror on the people of Haiti and at one point he executed 167 political prisoners. Following the executions, the people of Port-au-Prince were horrified and formed a mob to oust the general. He fled to the French embassy where the mob caught him and tore him to pieces while parading his body through the streets. From then on, law and order broke down in Port-au-Prince, which led to US intervention.

            The US occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934; and for once, stability had returned to Haiti. During that time, much of Haiti�s infrastructure was built and the government was completely under the control of the US. The unspoken and most influential motivation for US intervention was the fear that German businessmen were gaining control of the Haitian government. The possibility of German control of Haiti frightened the US because of economic interests in the Caribbean and access to the Panama Canal that the US craved. Following the exit of the US in 1934, Haiti quickly returned to its unstable state prior to 1915.

            Our next leader of focus is Francios Duvalier. Duvalier took power in 1957 in a free and open election. He won fair and square. However, once in office, he declared himself �President for Life� and employed executioners known as the �ton ton makouts� to kill anybody who resisted his authority. It is estimated that over thirty thousand Haitians were murdered by these executioners during his reign that lasted until 1971. His rule was defined by corruption. The $5 million annually given to Haiti by the US as aid went missing during his rule. He also took responsibility for the assassination of JFK by claiming that he had placed a curse on the US president years earlier.

            Duvalier�s rule ended in 1971 following his death. His son, Jean-Claude Duvalier, succeeded him. �Baby Doc,� as he was called, was only 19 when he assumed power despite a rule in the Haitian constitution that the president must be at least 40 years-old to lead the country. His rule lasted until 1986 when he became so unpopular that he escaped on a US Air Force jet to France where he lived in exile. His escape placed Haiti back into a state of constant political upheaval.

            Economically, Haiti�s main economic industry during the 20^th century was tourism. However, as a result of constant political instability and the AIDS epidemic that highlighted the late 1900s, the industry became crippled. Haiti is also home to a series of manufacturing factories with wages as low as those in China. These low wages attracted the attention of foreign businesses looking for cheap ways to manufacture their goods.

            At the end of the 20^th century, Haiti was a far cry from the economic powerhouse that it was during its colonization by Spain and France. What once was the crown jewel of the New World had become an eyesore to the Western Hemisphere. 

  Sources:

�History of Haiti.� Nationsonline.org. One World Nations Online. 2006.

Laudun, Max. To Set the Record Straight. Victoria, BC, Canada: Trafford Publishing, 2008.

�Political and Economic History of Haiti.� Sjsu.edu. San Jos� State University Department of      Economics