history of Haiti

Plantations and enslaved people

The Treaty of Rijswijk (1697) formally ceded the western third of Hispaniola from Spain to France, which renamed it Saint-Domingue. The colony’s population and economic output grew rapidly during the 18th century, and Saint-Domingue became France’s most prosperous New World possession, exporting sugar and smaller amounts of coffee, cacao, indigo, and cotton. By the 1780s nearly two-thirds of France’s foreign investments were being sunk into Saint-Domingue, and the number of stopovers by oceangoing vessels sometimes exceeded 700 per year.

The development of plantation agriculture profoundly affected the island’s ecology. Enslaved Africans toiled ceaselessly to clear forests for sugar fields, and massive erosion ensued, particularly on the steep marginal slopes that had been allocated to enslaved people for their subsistence crops. Soil productivity declined markedly in many areas, and formerly bountiful streams dried up. However, European investors and landowners remained unconcerned about or unaware of the long-term consequences of their actions, believing instead that an overpopulation of enslaved people was the key to wringing more profits from the region.

In 1789 Saint-Domingue had an estimated population of 556,000, including roughly 500,000 enslaved Africans—a hundredfold increase over the previous century—32,000 European colonists, and 24,000 affranchis (free Blacks or people of mixed African and European descent). Haitian society was deeply fragmented by skin colour, class, and gender. The “white” population comprised grands blancs (elite merchants and landowners, often of royal lineage), petits blancs (overseers, craftspeople, and the like), and blancs menants (labourers and peasants). The affranchis, who were mostly biracial people, were sometimes owners of enslaved people themselves. They aspired to the economic and social levels of the Europeans, and they feared and spurned the enslaved majority. However, the colonists generally discriminated against them, and the aspirations of the affranchis became a major factor in the colony’s struggle for independence. The enslaved population, most of which was bosal (African-born), was an admixture of West African ethnic groups. The vast majority consisted of field-workers; more specialized groups included household servants, boilermen (at the sugar mills), and even slave drivers. Enslaved people in the colony, like those throughout the Caribbean, endured lengthy, backbreaking workdays and often died from injuries, infections, and tropical diseases. Malnutrition and starvation also were common, because plantation owners failed to plan adequately for food shortages, drought, and natural disasters, and enslaved people were allowed scarce time to tend their own crops. Some enslaved people managed to escape into the mountainous interior, where they became known as Maroons and fought guerrilla battles against colonial militia. Large numbers of enslaved people, Maroons, and affranchis found solace in Vodou (Voodoo), a syncretic religion incorporating West African belief systems. Others became fervent adherents of Roman Catholicism, and many began to practice both religions.

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The Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution was actually a series of conflicts during the period 1791–1804 that involved shifting alliances of enslaved Haitians, affranchis, biracial people, and colonists, as well as British and French army troops. Several factors precipitated the event, including the affranchis’ frustrations with a racist society, the French Revolution, nationalistic rhetoric expressed during Vodou ceremonies, the continuing brutality of slave owners, and wars between European powers. Vincent Ogé, a biracial man who had lobbied the Parisian assembly for colonial reforms, led an uprising in late 1790 but was captured, tortured, and executed. In May 1791 the French revolutionary government granted citizenship to the wealthier affranchis, but Haiti’s European population refused to comply with the law. Within two months isolated fighting broke out between Europeans and affranchis, and in August thousands of enslaved people rose in rebellion. The Europeans attempted to appease the biracial people in order to quell the revolt, and the French assembly granted citizenship to all affranchis in April 1792. Saint-Domingue was torn by rival factions, some of which were supported by Spanish colonists in Santo Domingo (on the eastern side of the island, which later became the Dominican Republic) or by British troops from Jamaica. In 1793 Léger Félicité Sonthonax, who was sent from France to maintain order, offered freedom to enslaved people who joined his army; he soon abolished slavery altogether, and the following year the French government confirmed his decision. Spain ceded the rest of the island to France in the Treaty of Basel (1795), but war in Europe precluded the actual transfer of possession.

In the late 1790s Toussaint Louverture, a military leader and former enslaved man, gained control of several areas and earned the initial support of French agents. He gave nominal allegiance to France while pursuing his own political and military designs, which included negotiating with the British, and in May 1801 he had himself named “governor-general for life.” Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon I), wishing to maintain control of the island, attempted to restore the old regime (and European rule) by sending his brother-in-law, Gen. Charles Leclerc, with an experienced force from Saint-Domingue that included several exiled biracial officers. Toussaint struggled for several months against Leclerc’s forces before agreeing to an armistice in May 1802; however, the French broke the agreement and imprisoned him in France. He died on April 7, 1803.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henry Christophe led a Black army against the French in 1802, following evidence that Napoleon intended to restore slavery in Saint-Domingue as he had done in other French possessions. They defeated the French commander and a large part of his army, and in November 1803 the viscount de Rochambeau surrendered the remnant of the expedition. The French withdrew from Haiti but maintained a presence in the eastern part of the island until 1809.

Trials of a young nation

On January 1, 1804, the entire island was declared independent under the Arawak-derived name of Haiti. The young country had a shaky start: the war had devastated many plantations and towns, and Haiti was plagued with civil unrest, economic uncertainties, and a lack of skilled planners, craftspeople, and administrators. Many European powers and their Caribbean surrogates ostracized Haiti, fearing the spread of slave revolts. Reaction in the United States was mixed: slave-owning states did all they could to suppress news of the rebellion, but merchants in the free states hoped to trade with Haiti rather than with European powers. More important, nearly the entire population of Haiti was utterly destitute—a legacy of slavery that has continued to have a profound impact on Haitian history.

In October 1804 Dessalines assumed the title of Emperor Jacques I, but in October 1806 he was killed while trying to suppress a biracial revolt, and Henry Christophe took control of the country from his capital in the north. Civil war then broke out between Christophe and Alexandre Sabès Pétion, who was based at Port-au-Prince in the south. As the civil war raged, the Spanish, with British help, restored their rule in Santo Domingo in 1809. Christophe, who declared himself King Henry I in 1811, managed to improve the country’s economy but at the cost of forcing formerly enslaved people to return to work on the plantations. He built a spectacular palace (Sans Souci) as well as an imposing fortress (La Citadelle Laferrière) in the hills to the south of the city of Cap-Haïtien, where, with mutinous soldiers almost at his door, he committed suicide in 1820.

Jean-Pierre Boyer, who had succeeded to the presidency of the biracial-led south on Pétion’s death in 1818, became president of the entire country after Christophe’s death. In 1822 he invaded and conquered Santo Domingo, which had declared itself independent from Spain the previous year and was then engaged in fighting the Spaniards. Boyer did abolish slavery there, but the Haitians monopolized government power and confiscated church property, foodstuffs, and other supplies. It was not until 1844 that the Haitians were expelled by a popular uprising. The occupation created a tradition of distrust between the two countries, and subsequent generations of Dominicans regarded the period as marked by cruelty and barbarism.

France recognized Haitian independence in 1825, in return for a large indemnity (nearly 100 million francs) that was to be paid at an annual rate until 1887. Britain recognized the state in 1833, followed by the United States in 1862 after the secession of Southern slave states.

Boyer was overthrown in 1843. Between then and 1915 a succession of 20 rulers followed, 16 of whom were overthrown by revolution or were assassinated. Faustin-Élie Soulouque (Faustin I), a formerly enslaved Black man, became president in 1847 and designated himself “emperor for life” in 1849. He turned on his biracial sponsors and became particularly repressive; however, his regime was in some ways a return to power for Blacks. He tried unsuccessfully to annex the Dominican Republic, and in 1859 one of his generals, Fabre Geffrard, overthrew him. Geffrard encouraged educated biracial people to join his government and established Haitian respectability abroad.

Throughout the 19th century a huge gulf developed between the small urban elite, who were mostly light-skinned and French-speaking, and the vast majority of Black, Creole-speaking peasants. Social services and communications were almost nonexistent in the countryside, while Port-au-Prince was the centre of culture, business, and political intrigue.

In the 1890s the United States attempted to gain additional military and commercial privileges in Haiti. In 1905 it took control of Haiti’s customs operations, and, prior to World War I, American business interests gained a secure financial foothold and valuable concessions in the country.

U.S. occupation

From 1915 to 1934 Haiti was occupied by U.S. Marines. The United States claimed that its action was justified under the Monroe Doctrine (the right of the United States to prevent European intervention in the Western Hemisphere) as well as on humanitarian grounds. However, many Haitians believed that the Marines had really been sent to protect U.S. investments and to establish a base to protect the approaches to the Panama Canal. Haiti signed a treaty with the United States—originally for 10 years but later extended—establishing U.S. financial and political domination. In 1918, in an election supervised by the Marines, a new constitution was introduced that permitted foreigners to own land in Haiti.

One effect of the Marine occupation was the nominal reestablishment of the biracial elite’s control of the government. Black Haitians, in contrast, felt that they were excluded from public office and subjected to racist indignities at the hands of the Marines, including the corvée (statute labour, or forced labour for public works); in response, peasant cacos (guerrillas) carried out a series of attacks. The Marines’ public works program included building new health clinics and sewerage systems, but most Haitians felt that the Marines’ efforts were inadequate.

In October 1930, Haitians chose a national assembly for the first time since 1918. It elected as president Sténio Joseph Vincent. In August 1934 U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt withdrew the Marines; however, the United States maintained direct fiscal control until 1941 and indirect control over Haiti until 1947. In 1935 a plebiscite extended Vincent’s term to 1941 and amended the constitution so that future presidents would be elected by popular vote.

Military regimes and the Duvaliers

In October 1937, troops and police from the Dominican Republic massacred thousands of Haitian labourers living near the border. The Dominican government agreed to compensate the slain workers’ relatives the following year, but only part of the promised amount was actually paid. The enmity between the two countries had long historical roots and racist underpinnings: Dominicans, with their Spanish culture and largely European ancestry, looked disdainfully upon Black Haitian labourers; however, the Dominican economy depended on cheap Haitian labour.

In 1946 Haitian workers and students held strikes and violent demonstrations in opposition to the president, Élie Lescot, who had succeeded Vincent in 1941. Three military officers seized power, and, under their supervision, Dumarsais Estimé was elected president. In 1950, after Estimé had attempted to extend his term, the military took control. In October Col. Paul E. Magloire was elected president in a plebiscite.

Magloire was forced to resign in 1956, and considerable unrest and several provisional presidents followed until François Duvalier—called “Papa Doc,” he was a physician with an interest in Vodou—was elected president in September 1957. Duvalier promised to end domination by the biracial elite and to extend political and economic power to the Black masses. Violence continued, however, and there was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Duvalier in July 1958. In response, Duvalier organized a paramilitary group—the so-called Tontons Macoutes (“Bogeymen”)—to terrorize the population. In 1964 Duvalier, by then firmly in control, had himself elected president for life. Haiti under Duvalier was, in effect, a police state.

During Duvalier’s time in power, Haiti experienced increasing international isolation, renewed friction with the Dominican Republic, and a marked exodus of Haitian professionals. The regime was characterized by corruption and human rights abuses, but a personality cult developed around Duvalier himself, and some sectors of society strongly supported him, including a small upwardly mobile Black middle class.

Near the end of his life, Duvalier faced a contracting economy, withdrawal of most U.S. aid, and a decline in tourism. In response, he relaxed some of the severe repression and terror that had characterized his early regime. Before his death in 1971, he designated his son, Jean-Claude, aged 19 and nicknamed “Baby Doc” by the foreign media, to succeed him as president for life. The regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier sought international respectability. Repression diminished, and tourism, U.S. aid, and the economy revived somewhat. Opponents, however, saw little change in the regime’s basic nature.

By the mid-1980s the ranks of the Tontons Macoutes had swelled to some 15,000 men, but they failed to silence a series of countrywide demonstrations against high unemployment, poor living conditions, and the lack of political freedom. In February 1986 Duvalier fled Haiti, with U.S. assistance, for France.

Meanwhile, two public health scares adversely affected Haiti in the 1980s. First, U.S. agricultural authorities oversaw the mass eradication of Haiti’s pig population in response to an outbreak of African swine fever in the late 1970s. The extermination caused widespread hardship among the peasant population, many of whom had bred pigs as an investment. This coincided with reports that AIDS was becoming a major problem in Haiti. As a result of these health concerns and ongoing political unrest, the country’s tourism sector virtually collapsed.

Democratic aspirations

After Duvalier’s departure, a five-member civilian-military council led by Lieut. Gen. Henri Namphy took charge, promising free elections and democratic reforms. The first attempt at elections, in November 1987, ended when some three dozen voters were killed. In January 1988 Leslie Manigat won elections that were widely considered fraudulent, and Namphy overthrew him in June. A few months later Lieut. Gen. Prosper Avril took power, but his unstable regime ended in March 1990.

On December 16, 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a leftist Roman Catholic priest, won the presidency by a landslide in what were widely reported to be the first free elections in Haiti’s history. Legislative elections in January 1991 gave Aristide supporters a plurality in Haiti’s parliament. However, Aristide’s reformist policies alienated the wealthy elite, and, after he had been in office less than eight months, Brig. Gen. Raoul Cédras deposed him and began to repress political opposition. The United States and other nations imposed a trade embargo, but it was partly circumvented by smuggling through the Dominican Republic. Tens of thousands of Haitians attempted to flee their country in small boats bound for the U.S. state of Florida, but the vast majority were returned to Haiti.

In September 1994 the de facto government agreed to step down and allow some 20,000 U.S. troops to occupy the country. Aristide returned the following month, whereas Cédras and other coup leaders went into exile. Aristide dismantled the Haitian military—an act that would have been impossible without the presence of the U.S. military—and, under pressure from the United States and other countries, pressed for free-market reforms. Haiti benefited economically from a large influx of international aid and loans, but many of its farmers (the largest component of its workforce) struggled to compete with cheaper imported foodstuffs. The United States and the United Nations (UN) began forming a new Haitian police force, but the bulk of U.S. forces were soon withdrawn. The Haitian police were thrust into their duties with inadequate preparation and were soon criticized for high incidences of corruption and unwarranted violence.

Elections in 1995 brought about the first peaceful transfer of power between elected presidents in Haiti’s history when René Préval, an associate of Aristide, was chosen to succeed him. Préval, faced with political infighting among the groups that had supported Aristide, dissolved the parliament in 1999. The following year, in allegedly fraudulent elections, Préval’s supporters took control of the legislature, and Aristide was reelected president.

Haiti in the 21st century

Aristide faced serious economic and political problems on his return to power in 2001. International aid sanctions, imposed after the 2000 elections, helped fuel a downward economic spiral that further impoverished an already desperate population. Instances of disease (including HIV/AIDS) rose sharply, as did levels of lawlessness and violence. Aristide’s second term was marked by accusations of corruption, and open opposition to his rule broke out in 2003. The bicentennial observance of Haiti’s independence, on January 1, 2004, was muted and was marked by street demonstrations. By late February Aristide had fled the country in the face of a rebel insurgency and the loss of U.S. and French support. Assistance from abroad slowed, and Haiti’s main source of income now came from remittances from Haitians overseas.

Aristide’s departure left a polarized country, and conflicts between his supporters and his rivals escalated, leading to hundreds of deaths and international accusations of human rights abuses. Concurrently, U.S.-led armed forces under the authority of the UN Security Council were sent to Port-au-Prince to stabilize the situation and to oversee the installation of an interim government.

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH [French: Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti]) assumed authority over the international intervention in June 2004 with a mandate to maintain security, help stabilize the political process, and monitor and promote human rights. MINUSTAH personnel included thousands of Brazilian-led troops, police, and volunteers from countries around the world. However, various human rights organizations accused MINUSTAH and the UN- and U.S.-trained Haitian National Police force of having committed atrocities against political demonstrators and other citizens. In December 2004, at hearings in Brazil, the MINUSTAH commander testified that the mission had been strongly pressured by the international community to use violence. Most of the force was directed against groups in the slum areas of Port-au-Prince that held strong allegiance to former president Aristide; those groups were often termed “gangs” by MINUSTAH and the media.

The interim government, planning to hold presidential elections by the end of 2005, had registered about three-fourths of eligible voters, but crime, kidnappings, and gang activity delayed the election process. On February 7, 2006, 63 percent of Haitian voters went to the polls, and Préval claimed the presidency, earning 51 percent of the vote with the overwhelming support of Haiti’s poor. A sense of optimism prevailed throughout that year, but increasing food and fuel prices during his term led to protests. Moreover, government instability—the parliament rejected Préval’s nominations for prime minister several times—impeded social progress.

Violent riots against high costs of living broke out in April 2008, and much of the anger was directed toward the government and MINUSTAH. Several people were killed and dozens injured. As a result, the Haitian Senate dismissed the prime minister, Jacques-Édouard Alexis, but his replacement, Michèle Pierre-Louis, did not take office until September. Pierre-Louis was Haiti’s first female prime minister, and her selection seemed to offer promise that a new generation, including women, was taking the reins of power, even though the personnel still came exclusively from the urban elite. However, in October 2009, Pierre-Louis was ousted by the Senate, which criticized her for having done little to improve the country’s living standards. She was replaced by Jean-Max Bellerive, who had served as minister of planning in her cabinet.

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Meanwhile, the country was subject to two major natural disasters within a year and a half. In August and September 2008 a series of hurricanes ravaged the country, killing nearly 800 Haitians and displacing hundreds of thousands. Flooding destroyed crops, and the country had to rely on international relief efforts. Rebuilding was hampered by a lack of government action and continued violence both from Haitians and from MINUSTAH. Disaster struck again on January 12, 2010, when a devastating earthquake southwest of Port-au-Prince resulted in massive damage and considerable loss of life in the capital and surrounding region. The quake caused the collapse of homes as well as public buildings, such as hospitals, schools, and almost all the important national government buildings—including the National Palace (which was ultimately condemned and torn down in September 2012), the parliament building, the main post office, a number of ministries, and the city hall. The day-to-day operation of the government was effectively halted for a time. It was estimated that some three million people were affected by the quake—nearly one-third of the country’s total population. In addition to a death toll of 316,000, more than one million Haitians were left homeless. An international effort was mounted by multinational organizations and countries around the world to provide aid to the country.

Long after the 2010 earthquake an estimated 1.3 million survivors were still living in makeshift shelters, generally with only rudimentary sanitation and other facilities. The bulk of the refugees were still in Port-au-Prince, and much of the city remained in ruins. With so many people crowded together, concerns were high that an epidemic might strike the camps. Beginning in mid-October 2010, nine months after the quake, a cholera outbreak did hit Haiti, killing thousands of people and afflicting thousands more over the course of several months.

Amid the continuing chaos, the presidential election to choose Préval’s successor, which was to have taken place in February 2010, was delayed until November 28. Voter turnout was low, and allegations of electoral fraud were widespread. No candidate received a majority of the votes cast, and the top two—popular musician Michel Martelly and Mirlande Manigat, a legal scholar and the wife of a former president of Haiti—faced each other in a runoff election on March 20, 2011. Martelly was declared the winner on April 21.

In late October 2012 Hurricane Sandy wreaked further destruction on Haiti’s ongoing efforts to recover from the 2010 earthquake and subsequent setbacks. Dozens died in floods and landslides, and the storm caused extensive property damage, including the destruction of roads and some two-thirds of the crops in the southern region.

The Martelly government reached a crisis point in late 2014 and early 2015 with its failure to organize parliamentary and local elections, which were three years overdue. Martelly and the political opposition reached an impasse over the composition of the electoral council—the body that would organize the elections—and the electoral law itself. In the absence of elections, the parliamentary terms of the lower house and all but one-third of the Senate expired on January 12, 2015. Martelly dissolved the parliament, which left him the country’s sole leader. He formed an 18-member cabinet that included a number of opposition politicians, and he declared that he would work toward holding the vote later in the year.

The first round of parliamentary elections finally took place on August 9. A second round took place on October 25, alongside the presidential election. In the October poll, Martelly’s chosen successor, a little-known candidate from the private sector, nonetheless won the largest share of the vote, which brought allegations of fraud and protests in the streets. A presidential runoff was scheduled for December 27, but it was postponed and then shelved amid continuing unrest and the refusal of the second-place candidate to participate. After weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations demanding Martelly’s resignation and counterprotests supporting him, a deal was reached in early February 2016, whereby he agreed to leave office before the election of a successor. An interim president was to be elected by the new parliament, which had been sworn in on January 11. The results of the October 2015 election would be reviewed by a verification commission, which would determine whether the runoff could proceed or new elections would be called.

The interim president, Jocelerme Privert, took office on February 14, 2016, for a term designated to end June 14. At that time a new interim president elected by the parliament was to be installed or Privert’s term officially extended, but, because of stalling tactics by members of the parliament, the deadline passed without event. In May 2016 the electoral review commission declared that the October 2015 election had been so marred by fraud that fresh elections should be held. The first round of the new presidential election was held on November 20, 2016, and business leader Jovenel Moïse won a clear majority of the vote, obviating the need for a runoff. Privert remained interim president until February 7, 2017, when Moïse was sworn in, but the official transfer of power did little to bring stability to the country.

Moïse had campaigned on a platform of economic growth, but, almost from the outset, his administration was dogged by allegations of corruption. Opposition politicians from across the ideological spectrum pushed back against Moïse’s attempts to consolidate power, especially when in October 2019 he indefinitely postponed scheduled legislative elections. In January 2020 the terms of the sitting legislators expired, and Haiti entered into a period of rule by presidential decree. A wave of violent crime brought protesters into the streets in late 2020, and demonstrations intensified in early 2021. The opposition claimed that, according to their interpretation of Haiti’s constitution, Moïse’s term expired in February 2021, whereas Moïse and most international organizations held that he had another year in office. On February 7, 2021, Moïse reported that he had foiled a coup attempt, and two days later he forced out three senior members of the Court of Cassation. The latter event led Haiti’s judiciary to suspend work, which effectively froze the legal process across the country. The opposition demanded Moïse’s resignation, but the president dug in and announced his intention to hold a referendum to amend the constitution. In May 2021 Moïse declared a state of emergency and imposed a national curfew after a spike in cases of COVID-19, and he soon postponed the planned constitutional referendum.

On July 5, 2021, Moïse named Ariel Henry, a former minister of the interior, as prime minister; Henry would be the seventh person to hold that position in Moïse’s administration. While the opposition was still raising questions about the legitimacy of a prime minister appointed without any legislative approval, events took a shocking turn that would usher in a new era of uncertainty in Haiti. In the early morning hours of July 7, unidentified gunmen burst into the presidential residence, assassinated Moïse, and wounded the Haitian first lady. The killing left a vacuum of power at the highest level of Haitian government. Henry had not yet been sworn in as prime minister, and René Sylvestre, the president of the Court of Cassation and the first in line of succession in the event of presidential incapacitation, had died of COVID-19 on June 23. Interim prime minister Claude Joseph announced that he was in control and declared martial law. The source of Joseph’s authority remained unclear, however, as his assumption of presidential power relied on legislative consent, and the Haitian parliament had been effectively dissolved since 2020.