Haiti History 101: How Did Things Get So Bad? What You Need To Know

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 1 of 7). During its colonial days, Haiti’s slave plantations supplied over half of the world’s sugar. But after the slaves gained their freedom from the brutal regime and the country declared independence in 1804, sugar disappeared from the economy as small farms produced coffee, subsistence agriculture, and food for local markets. In 1950, when Haiti was at least producing some sugar, its exports were far behind comparable countries: sugar exports in Puerto Rico were 35 times higher, and in the Dominican Republic exports were 14 times higher. A common explanation for Haiti’s resistance to producing sugar is that Haitian culture rejected the industry because of the associated historical traumas. However Haitians went to the DR, Cuba, even Puerto Rico to harvest sugar cane so there was not much of a cultural stigma towards the sugar industry. A major contributor to Haiti’s failure to restore its sugar economy was historical property rights institutions that created significant transaction costs to starting large-scale farms. 3 post-Independence property rights institutions: (1) a large redistribution of the former French plantations; (2) inheritance patterns on peasant land that gave every family member a veto right to selling it; and (3) a constitutional ban on foreigners owning land in Haiti. But the property rights institutions in Haiti are important because they were not established by colonists; instead, they were created by a newly independent nation in reaction to colonists. These are post-colonial institutions. From 1900 to 1960, sugar accounted for 76 percent of Cuba’s export value, 51 percent of the Dominican Republic’s, 46 percent of Puerto Rico’s, and 26 percent of Jamaica’s. Sugar contributed only 5 percent to Haiti’s exports. Less than 10% of Haiti's sugar production was exported whereas for the other Caribbean countries about 90% was exported. Since 1987 (demise of HASCO) sugar in Haiti has been a cash crop raised by peasants rather than by large-scale plantations. Sugar Exported (Million lbs) ...............Haiti.......Dom.Rep.......P.Rico.......Jamaica.......Cuba 1900______1_______150________200_________2_______1,000 1910______1_______250________500_________3_______2,000 1920______2_______300________700________10_______5,000 1930______3_______550______1,000________50_______2,000 1940______4_______700______1,500_______200_______4,500 1950______5_______900______1,600_______400_______7,000 In 2014, on coffee: Country__________________Haiti______Dom.Rep.____Cuba______Jamaica Production (tonnes)______19,500_____13,500______9,000_____1,620 Export (tonnes)___________120______1,020________660_____1,320 Export/Production (%)_______0.6________7.6_________7.3_______81.5 Population (M)_____________10.4_______10.3_______11.3_______2.8 Area (1000 km^2)___________27.8_______48.7______110.9______11.0

USA and Haiti. For the USA, first was Declaration of Independence, second was War. For Haiti, first was War, second was Declaration of Independence. BIG DIFFERENCE. Years before 1776, the founders of the USA debated, argued, counter-argued about the requirements, attributes, qualities needed for nationhood, thus slowly forming a proper mindset and proper temperament of the american people for eventual nationhood. In the case of Haiti, there was first Rebellion, visceral Anger, most Righteous Anger, blood-churning lust for Revenge against the French colonists. War was engaged and won by the Haitian slaves. A war engaged without aforethought, without afterthought akin to a fight initiated by a hot-headed person driven by righteous anger. The war won, what now? Declaration of Independence of 1804 was the only valid alternative because re-inviting French rule defeats the purpose of the war. The key point is: in 1804 the Haitian people was not prepared for effective nation building. That the French came back in 1826, required and actually got reparations from Haïti implies that Haïti's independence was a façade, a joke. With Independence comes responsibility and the (supposed) ability to defend oneself. After 1804 Haïti built 20-odd fortresses about 5 miles inland: they would concede coastal areas because France had a Navy and Haiti did not. But Haiti got overextended with their invasion of the Dominican Republic (1821-1844). Ooops!!! Independence for independence's sake is a silly concept. Ask yourself: what is the purpose for Independence? What is the ultimate goal: winning the war? winning the peace? Since 1804 Haiti has been losing the Peace. A 5 year-old child is foolish to seek independence from the parents. Yes, France were terrible parents. There is no International Child Protection Services for Nations. So Haiti, the 5 year-old child, was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Bad Karma for Haiti. Haiti is still stuck between a rock and a hard place because of its own bad governance. In 1804 Haiti found itself in an awkward position: a slave-less Nation amongst slave-full Nations. No Nation, past and present, is 100% self-sufficient and thus needs to trade non-militarily with other Nations. Haiti needed to make itself an asset, not a liability, to the community of Nations. An independent Nation is an actual Nation even if other Nations do not recognize it as such. Look at Taiwan: despite not being recognized officially by many nations ALL nations want to trade with Taiwan. Taiwan is an asset to the community of Nations. One cannot say the same about Haiti. But, but, but Taiwan did not have to suffer the torture of French-style colonial slavery!!! Swing and a miss. The point of Taiwan, which suffered through Japanese colonialism, is that even when it is the object of the People's Republic of China's campaign to delegitimize Taiwan in the eyes of the International World, Taiwan is still thriving. But let us play the Victim Olympics Game. South Korea went through WW2 and the Korean War and by 1953 South Korea was in much worse physical state than Haiti has been in 1804. Yet today (2024 AD) South Korea is in much better shape than Haiti. Key difference: in 1954 the Korean people were more educated and civilized than the Haitian ex-slaves of 1804 who were utterly uneducated and very barely domesticated. Haiti had 200 years to civilize its population and no foreign power prevented the domestication of the Haitian people. Sorry Marxist revisionists: Simon Bolivar would still have accomplished his goals against Spain without Haiti's assistance; Haiti's token help was appreciated but it was not essential. Slavery in South America would still be abolished without the advice from Pétion. The USA would still have won over Great Britain without the 200-odd freed Haitian slaves who died in the battle of Savannah. The Marxist advocates for Haiti have lost perspective: the relevant issue is the Present and the Future, not the Past. The Marxist revisionists are stuck and lost in the weeds of the Past, grasping at straws, acting like some aged movie star looking at reruns of the very distant (and very irrelevant) glorious past.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 4 of 7). Response to some Marxist objections. (1) In 1804 there were embargoes against Haiti by France, England, USA. However these embargoes were quite porous since private merchants (English, French, American, Spanish) were still doing commerce with Haiti. In 1807 English abolished TransAtlantic slave trade and in 1808 England ended the Haiti embargo; by 1814 more than 80% of Haitian trade was with England. Besides in the 1800's England and Spain were at war with France so little military naval effort was focused on Haiti. Haiti had no military navy, no merchant marine so Haiti had no capability to pursue merchant trade, no capability to project military naval power on its own. Haiti was at the mercy of others for maritime trade. (2) Many nations, when newly established, were not given a "welcome basket" by the community of Nations. The USA recognized the USSR in 1933 and the USSR was established in 1917. And yet there was USA-USSR trade before 1933. The USA recognized the People's Republic of China in 1979 and the PRC was established in 1949. And yet there was USA-PRC trade before 1979. These trades occur despite ideological differences. These trades occur because the USSR and the PRC had goods/services to offer to the community of Nations. By 1804, Haiti utterly wrecked its economic infrastructure and had little to offer to trade with the community of Nations. (3) Conflict of visions between the populace (ex-slaves) and the Haitian elite (White, Mixed, Black). The ex-slaves wanted nothing more than a piece of land and cultivate it for their basic needs. Essentially the ex-slaves wanted a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy. Nation building was not on the mind of the ex-slaves. Nation building was on the minds of the elite who knew fully well that Haiti cannot be totally self-sufficient and thus needed to rebuild the economy to produce goods/services to trade with other Nations. The elite wanted to rebuild the plantation system and the ex-slaves wanted none of that!!! Henri Christophe (Black) was able to impose the plantation system in the North but at the cost of raising anger of the peasant (ex-slave) class. The peasant anger became so great that Henri Christophe committed suicide in 1820. Ironically, Northern Haiti under Christophe (Black) became wealthier (relatively) than Southern Haiti under Pétion (Mulatto) who pushed for Land Redistribution, not Plantation system. (4) Marxists sweep under the rug the occupation of the Dominican Republic. Why? Because it does not fit the narrative of Haiti being a victimized innocent. Haiti occupied the Dominican Republic from 1821 to 1844. Haitian president Boyer confiscated all church property, all lands owned by Whites, and deported all foreign clergy. Oh, but that was the second invasion by Haiti; in 1805, the Haitian Army invaded the Dominican Republic, reached Santo Domingo, and made a fast retreat using the destroy and burn tactics much favored by J.J Dessalines. Why the retreat? There were reports that a French flotilla was coming towards Port-au-Prince. Even after 1844 the Haitians did not give up; there were several minor military excursions into the Dominican Republic. Militarism, combined with Subsistence Economy, deepens Poverty. (5) Reparations to France: the Marxists' favorite bugaboo. Were the reparations the fundamental cause of Haiti's poverty? Answer: NO. Haiti was already entrenched in Poverty by 1826 when France demanded reparations. Mind you, the 1826 reparation demand was the THIRD request; the previous 2 were made to Christophe (refused), to Pétion (refused). The third time was the charm for France. Haiti's 1821 invasion of the Dominican Republic (DR) was a strategic error. Military adventurism and a moribund economy made for a very bad mix. France was not stupid. After 5 yrs of Haiti being stuck in the DR quagmire, France popped up (again!) and made the reparations demand. Haiti cannot fight both the French and the Dominicans. Haiti decided to pay reparations. France asked only for 1 year's worth of colonial output. In 1820, Haiti's output was only 1/40 of colonial output; that it took Haiti more than 100 years to pay the reparations is no surprise. From 1826-1844 Haiti plundered the DR of its wealth to pay as much as it can for the reparations. (6) Often politically driven programs do not bring Economic or Societal Progress. What feels good usually does no good. Embracing victimhood (politically popular as of 2024 AD) brings no kind of prosperity. Become a victim and win a prize!!! Victims of the World, Unite!!!

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 3 of 7). (E) Subsistence Economy. The old and recent historical data show that exports are a small part of Haiti's economy. Settling for a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy is OK. There are tribes living the Stone Age style deep in the Amazon forest and in the jungles of the Congo and Papua New Guinea for thousands of years. Subsistence Economy can be done. However the Planet is populated with Predatory Nations. Fortunately for the Stone Age inhabitants of the Amazon, Central Africa and Papua New Guinea, they have the military protection of the sovereign countries in which they live. The Amish lives in a somewhat Subsistence Economy and there is no Amish Nation: the Amish community is part of the USA and is thus protected by the USA. Trying to maintain proper military power with a Subsistence Economy cannot be sustained for long. (F) The low trust character of Haitian society. The Haitian and French revolutions have a few things in common: they are both based on J.E.A.R. = Jealousy, Envy, Anger, Resentment. JEAR is the blood of Socialism and Communism. The concern for "equality" is the launchpad for JEAR. Words "equal(ity)", "democracy" appears _________________________________Equal(ity)____Democracy US Declaration of Independence_____1_____________0 US Constitution____________________0_____________0 French Constitution 1793___________3_____________1 French Constitution 1958__________10_____________4 Haiti Constitution 1805___________3_____________0 Haiti Constitution 1987___________7_____________4 All the freed slaves in Haiti were given a plot of land and then the fun began. The Ancients had it correct: give 3 people equal amount of money at sunrise and they will become unequal before sunset. Dessalines was on his way to deal with some land speculators when he was assassinated. The point is: large-scale farms are much more efficient than small-scale farms and cooperative farms in Haiti were difficult to establish and these rare cooperatives did not last long. Thus time after time, Haiti falls back to a Subsistence Economy. Are there today (2024 AD) large landowners (you know, them evil, nasty, greedy oligarchs!)? Yes. However, in 1950, 80% of the Artibonite Valley (where rice is grown) was still in the hands of the small farmers. The national economic dynamics is still dominated by small-land farmers. The Amish, again. Amish companies are usually no more than 5 employees. Yet said small companies frequently combine together for large tasks. The trust aspect of Amish culture is rare in Haitian society. Mind you, Amish runs a mainly Subsistence Economy, not an Industrial Economy. If Haiti were Amish country, Haiti would be in much better shape. Mind you, the Amish are not warmongers and they would not invade the Dominican Republic. Summary. Saint Domingue was a super producer of sugar in the late 1700's because of large-scale farming. Then came Independence of 1804. Land Reform: everyone gets equal share of the Land. Consequence of Land Reform: small-scale farming which brings about at best a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy. Haiti thus lost the status of Sugar Super-Producer and started on the Road to Poverty. Constant political turmoil is characteristic of a low-trust society. The low trust nature of Haitian culture makes difficult the establishment of cooperative farming needed for economic growth.

Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 6 of 7). Haiti and rice. >>>>> The Clintons destroyed the Haitian rice farmers!!! <<<<< Blaming Haiti's rice imports on forced decreased rice tariffs from 50% to 3% (in the Dominican Republic the rice tariff is 20%) appear to be a bit misplaced. Haiti Imports, by year (A) = total($B); (B) = Petrol($M); (C) = Fabrics ($M); (D) = Palm Oil ($M); (E) = Wheat ($M); (F) = Rice ($M); (G) = Cars ($M); (H) = Poultry Meat ($M); (I) = Sugar($M); Year_______(A)______(B)______(C)_______(D)_____(E)_____(F)_______(G)_____(H)______(I) 2018_____4.18_____317______391_____118_____106_____254_____121_____100_____87 2019_____3.84_____292______384_____111_____143_____237______77_____103_____85 2020_____3.75_____240______294_____147_____108_____297_____129_____101____103 2021_____4.12_____295______413_____168_____112_____248_____170_____156____109 2022_____5.93_____525______275_____126_____160_____256_____126_____112_____91 A lot of focus on rice. The US is the major source of rice to Haiti. However one overlooks Haiti's deficits in Palm Oil, Poultry Meat, Sugar: are the Clintons making money off these commodities? Haitian rice production has remained essentially steady since the 1970s, at around 70,000 tons/yr. There were peak production of 90,000 tons in 1985, of 80,000 tons in 1996, of 77,000 tons in 2011. Year 2011 is interesting because the cholera outbreak in Haiti happened in the Artibonite Valley (rice growing region) on Oct 2020. Haiti 1960 rice production was 40,000 tons increasing gradually to 68,000 tons in 1970. Yes, rice production grew under mean, cruel, tyrannical Duvalier. I am not a fan of Duvalier but give the devil his due. Meanwhile, rice imports started to grow in 1985 at 700 tons (same time as Haiti's peak rice production), to 80,000 tons in 1990, to 150,000 tons in 1995, growing gradually to 300,000 tons in 2015. The forced (by Clinton Administration in 1996) tariff decrease to 3% evidently had NO effect on Haiti rice production. Besides, there is no way to boost Haiti's rice production 4-fold (= 300,000/70,000). At no point in history had Haiti produced 300,000 tons of rice annually. One has to look at the range of food crops in Haiti and food consumption in Haiti. Along with corn, beans, tubers and plantains, rice has an increasing share in the basic domestic diet due to the relatively low cost. Haitians used to consume rice once-a-week in the 1980’s. The higher food demand induced by the fast population growth and lower import tariffs implemented in the late 1980s to address this need made rice imports one of the least expensive carbohydrate sources. As a result, rice has become a basic item for daily use today. The low prices of imported rice have helped change consumption patterns of some consumers, enticing them to insert rice as a less expensive alternative source of carbohydrate. Blending imported rice with other starchy foods such as bread and imported pasta, and other staple foods like, plantains, sweet potato, cassava and dasheen has become part of the Haitian diet. A banana side story. I recalled seeing near Jérémie a cement post with a United Fruit Company (UFC) metal plate. I tried to find UFC's banana production in Haiti but I cannot obtain the relevent info since UFC went defunct in 1970. UFC presence in Haiti spanned from 1930 to 1948. In 1949 the Haitian government nationalized the banana business (took over UFC's operations). A few years later (1952?) the nationalized business went kaput. Has Haiti been exporting bananas lately? Probably, but I cannot find the numbers. All I can find is Haiti's 2022 fruit exports = $11M. In 2022 the fruit exports of the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cuba are respectively $411M (of which $267M = bananas), $60M, $0.5M (of which $30K = bananas). In 2023 the kg/person banana production of Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic is respectively 22.7, 23.2, 23.3, 117.8.