Factors Which Hindered Haiti's Growth Since 1804
by leslie
Posted: December 15, 2003
Independent Haiti was born out of struggle beginning in 1791 and lasting
beyond 1804. The fight was never an easy one and even after independence,
Haiti had many negative factors hindering progression. Being a Black republic
among white-ruled nations was a major setback as they refused to treat Haiti as
independent. Scissions also existed within Haiti as the Blacks retained control of
the North and the Coloureds, the South. A nation divided could not efficiently
combat external pressures as was possible in unison. The problem was further
compounded by the expulsion of whites from Haiti who possessed expertise in
terms of the management of the economy. This further dampened international
relations which sent the economy dwindling. Another possible blunder was that
Haiti did not develop with the assistance of a mother country, as was the case
with other emancipated territories. In this regard, the development of Haiti was
hindered by the repercussions of the Revolution.
Immediately after the post-war epoch, Haiti was plagued with economic
catastrophe. The revolution had destroyed the very foundation of Haiti's wealth:
the agricultural production of coffee, spices, indigo and ultimately, sugar.
Colonies that had undergone emancipation subsequently experienced the loss of
their main export product, which was commonly sugar cane. Their position was
that, economic loss came as a result of the decreased demand for the product. In
Haiti's case, sugar was still extremely profitable but had come to ruins after the
war. Cuba now took over as the leading sugar-producing colony with little
competition from the smaller West Indian territories. Thus, Haiti began her
independent history struggling to retain her dominant position in the race.
Haiti had problems administering new roles to the once enslaved African
population. Haitian wealth lay in its ability to procure agricultural products for
export. This was formerly done using coerced labour. Now that enslaved labour
was no longer used to cultivate estates, a new labour scheme was required. Free
labour was necessary in order that economic success was attainable. However,
ex-slaves adamantly refused to work under a colonial-like system where they
were subservient to the dominant planter class. Instead, they preferred to
become an independent peasantry with their own lands used for subsistence and
export purposes. While this may not have been a reality for many ex-slaves, they
still had aspirations to become self-dependant estate owners. Land distribution
in part originated from already existing hierarchies within slave communities.
Such stratification aroused feelings of suspicion among former slaves. There
existed the ‘big peasants' who owned land and often hired labour, the ‘small
peasants' who depended on family labour, landless tenants and sharecroppers
who provided labour in exchange for wages.* In this regard, the Haitian revolution
led to, "an agricultural one, with small peasant plots largely replacing the
plantations." This also led to "the creation of the caco armies, bands of peasants
organized into private forces to protect landlords and to raid powerful opponents
and poor rural dwellers alike." * Thus, the agricultural economy was unstable as there was much skirmishing among peasants who struggled for supremacy. Also,
the very fact that they exported in small quantities lessened the possibility for
substantial economic returns. Haitian development was thus hindered from early
on in its life as a Black sovereignty.
Another factor contributing to the impediment of Haiti was that the
international community displayed blatant hostility to the Black nation. Haiti
proved to be an ideological threat to countries dependent on slave labour and
was thus ostracized. Haiti's own rebellion triggered subsequent revolts such as
the Nat Turner insurrection in the United States. Believing in the innate inferiority
of the Africans, it was difficult for Europeans and Euro- Americans to conceive of
continuing trading relations with the Black republic. They also feared that their
countries would suffer the same fate. In this regard, all formal ties were severed
except for a quiet trade that existed with Britain and particularly the United
States.
Another probable reason that made it difficult for Haiti to progress was
that she no longer participated in the slave trade which was then a lucrative fiscal
venture. Whenever labour was depleted, it was easy to get an almost immediate
supply from slave traders. Continuing with the slave trade as an independent
nation would, however, prove contradictory to the ideals of the revolution. Some
Haitians recommended the revival of the slave trade in order to increase the
number of field workers. Labour was desperately needed as fewer than 350,000
Haitians survived the revolution.* Thus, due to the fact that Haiti's population was
critically lowered and that there was no way to upsurge the population without the
slave trade, Haiti was unable to start her independent life with the force needed.
Unable to cope with the changing external world, Haiti continued to
increasingly lag behind. From the mid nineteenth century, there was a change in
the economic tide: a change from an agrarian way of life to a more industrialized
one. Due to the fact that Haiti was almost entirely cut off from the rest of the
world, she was unable to procure the products appropriate to industrialization or
even attempt to manufacture goods. Despite the small number of export
products, Haiti did not do much to expand her economic horizon. In this regard,
Haiti, overshadowed by growing economic enterprise worldwide, could not regain
her dominant position on the market.
Further to this, unlike other territories that were emancipated, Haiti did
not receive assistance from the mother country. Although Haiti was later
recognized as a Black republic by the French, she did not receive help due to the
nature of her independence. Unlike other territories, emancipation was not
granted to Haiti. Instead Haiti fought for her independent status. Additionally, as a
republic, France was not expected to assist Haiti to develop. Rather, Haitian independence was recognized on condition. An indemnity of 150 million francs
was to be paid as well as the reduction of customs charges on French vessels to
half the amount paid by other countries.* Thus, from the onset, Haiti entered
independence with heavy debts, which hindered her upward development.
To further understand the current state of Haiti we must be cognizant of
the dominant figurers who led them after independence. The first that would be
considered is the authoritarian figure, Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Being
enslaved to a cruel white master is said to have increased the intensity of his
hatred towards whites. This hatred was further indicated when, in 1803, he
reputedly tore the white strip from the French tricolour flag.* He insisted that
Haiti's flag had two stripes, a blue and a red one to symbolize that the white had
been ripped out of Haiti.* Dessalines' first critical move was the expulsion of the
whites from Haiti in 1804. It is alleged that approximately 20,000 French were
slaughtered.* Despite the removal of the white plantocracy, Dessalines attempted
to re-instate the French plantation system to rebuild the sugar trade. The problem
with this scheme was that it was difficult to get the newly freed population to do
the work formerly done by slaves. This problem existed since 1794 and
Toussaint tried to amend the situation by introducing the fermage system.
On hearing that Napoleon was to be made emperor, Dessalines decided
to beat him to the coronation. Thus, on October 8, 1804, Dessalines became
Jacques I, Emperor. He was extremely despotic in his leadership, as he
demanded unflinching obedience from the Haitian population. In his short term in
office, he made miscalculated moves that scarred Haiti for a long while after. One
such blunder was the invasion of Santo Domingo which was checked by the
accidental arrival of the French. This war laid the foundation for the animosity
between these two nations. Many Haitians, particularly in the South became
increasingly disenchanted with the rule of the despot. It is not surprising,
therefore, that Dessalines was assassinated only three years after the
declaration of independence.
Haiti subsequently plunged into a situation where political anarchy and
civil war was evident. Henry Christophe from the north and Alexander Petion
from the south contested for the governance of Haiti. Petion and his political
advisors tried to deceive Christophe into becoming president but with virtually no
power. Christophe thus declared the north the State of Haiti on February 17,
1807. On March 9, of the same year, Petion was elected president of the
Republic of Haiti in which he had control over the southern half of the island.
In the black North, Christophe sought to bring his kingdom into the
modern world. He began an ambitious programme of education, at least for the
children of the elite, and spent a great deal on infrastructural development. In
addition, Christophe re-introduced the fermage system. This was mingled with
vigorous disciplinary force and worked with much success. However, it was the
very implementation of this system that hastened the end of Christophe's regime.
Plantations were either placed in the hands of military officers who showed
dexterity and leadership on their missions or mulattoes who could prove their
relationship to the original proprietors and the rest was leased to the government.
Despite the success of the new system, the bulk of the black population were not
in favour of it. They hated that this new system closely resembled slavery. Thus
many of them fled to the south and those that remained, continued to express
their abhorrence for the system. Dessalines' reign was ended when Boyer,
Petion's successor launched an attack on the north. Christophe committed
suicide which put an end to the division between the north and the south. Haiti's
development, in this view, was slowed down due to the dissatisfaction of the ex-
slave population who grudgingly worked under a slave-like system. With an
unhappy labour force, Haiti was unable to move forward as a truly independent
nation.
Under the leadership of Alexander Petion, Haiti was impacted
negatively. He did nothing to re-invigorate the economy unlike Dessalines and
Chrisophe. Due to the insolvency of the treasury, Petion redistributed lands as
payment for military services. The effect of such action was that it created a
growing independent peasantry who utilized their lands mainly for subsistence.
They isolated themselves from cities and the external world and were seldom
involved in government. Coffee supplanted sugar as the main crop as it could be
cultivated by peasants and their families. Despite the massive turnover, coffee
was not of major economic importance. In addition, land plots became smaller as
they were sub-divided by landowners to be distributed to inheritors. This meant
that goods were exported in smaller quantities which was not economically
practicable at the time. Petion purchased peasant products at reasonable cost
when prices overseas were low. This was done in an attempt to raise the market
value of the products. This move proved ineffective as it made southern goods
uncompetitive. Petion's tenure as the southern leader further encouraged
economic backwardness which plagued Haiti for decades to come.
The reunification of Haiti was accomplished under the Boyer regime.
The north, being the more prosperous of the two now assumed the immense
debts of the south. In addition, as new leader of the united country, he extended
land distribution to the north. Thus, Haiti grew largely to become a nation
cultivated by small peasants. Under his reign, Haiti and Santo Domingo were
united. He abolished the tax on primary export goods which deeply upset coffee
cultivators in particular. He also agreed to the terms under which Haitian
independence was recognized by France.* Boyer also became unpopular when
he arrested prominent Black leaders. Such actions culminated in a series of
revolts in the south. Many complained that his leadership was corrupt as army
officers were promoted through nepotism, freedom of the press was restricted
and magistrates and judges became "mere creatures of the president."* Boyer in
1843 abdicated when revolutionary forces had spread and he failed to suppress
them. Here we witness Haiti being controlled by corrupt leaders who only sought
self-aggrandizement. Thus, Haiti's progress was setback and has not been able
to fully recover.
In retrospect, Haiti's progress was hindered as she was ostracized by
the international community. Additionally, she had a huge foreign debt to pay in
order that her independence was recognized. Further to this, she expelled the
whites who possessed managerial expertise. Another factor was that Haiti was
divided at a time when the only chance of her survival was with unity. She also
received no assistance from France to help out as a newly independent nation.
Lastly, the leaders that ruled Haiti after 1804, made decisions that proved to
disrupt the growth of the Black republic. Haiti, in this regard, was unable to
overcome the challenges that she faced that further encouraged her
underdevelopment.
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