France's historical responsibility for Haiti

Poverty, political chaos and a high crime rate have plagued the Caribbean country of Haiti for decades. Now, violence has spiraled out of control again.

On February 29, acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced new elections — for August 2025. His term of office had been supposed to end in February so many violent gangs interpreted Henry's announcement as a call to arms. They attacked the National Palace and prisons, which led to over 3,000 prisoners freeing themselves.

These armed groups now control large parts of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, and tens of thousands of residents have fled. Henry is currently in the US unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico. He arrived there from the Kenyan capital Nairobi where was promoting a Kenyan-led police mission to restore security in Haiti.

The former colonial power France bears a historical responsibility for the current crisis.

The Haitian Revolution

In 1804, Haiti made history by becoming the first independent country in Latin America and the Caribbean — thanks to the Haitian Revolution, the most successful rebellion by enslaved people in history. But in 1825, France said that it would only recognize Haiti's independence at a price of 150 million francs, the equivalent of about three times Haiti's GDP at the time. France also said that import duties on French products had to be halved.

"Paradoxically, the victors paid reparations to those who had been vanquished, also out of fear of another military invasion," Jean-Claude Bruffaerts, one of the co-authors of the 2022 book "Haïti-France. Les chaînes de la dette: Le rapport Mackau" (Haiti-France. The Chains of Debt: The Mackau Report.)

Haiti even had to borrow money from French banks, at high interest rates, to pay off the debts. Economists call this a "double debt" and Haiti was only able to pay its debts off in 1947.

"So this money was not there for urgently needed infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals. Haiti also needed the protection of an army, which swallowed up even more money. This slowed down the country's economic development considerably," explained Bruffaerts, saying that the lack of investment in infrastructure remained noticeable today. "There are no roads in many parts of the island, healthcare is inadequate, and most schools have no electricity."

Myriam Cottias, a historian and the head of the Paris-based International Research Center on Slavery and Post-Slavery, said countries that freed themselves from slavery struggled to imagine themselves as homogeneous societies. "Slavery creates a breeding ground for political instability, and the divisions in society caused by it do not simply disappear," she told DW. "Even in Haiti today, there is a corrupt elite and a population that remains largely very poor."

The French Revolution

Jean Fritzner Etienne, a Haitian historian at Universite Paris 8, said Haiti's debts helped bolster hierarchical power structures. "The Haitians were inspired by the French Revolution, which had taken place shortly before, in 1789. ... But the French did not apply the principles of their own revolution — liberty, equality, fraternity and human rights — outside their own borders."

Etienne said the United States, which occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934, further reinforced the perception that the country was "inferior." "From 1957 to 1986, it supported the brutal dictatorship of Francois, and later Jean-Claude, Duvalier, known as 'Papa Doc' and 'Baby Doc'" he sai. "And it continues to interfere in internal affairs to this day."

In April 2003, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide demanded that France's government repay the debt once imposed on Haiti. At that time, this would have amounted to almost $22 billion. About a year later, Aristide was overthrown in a coup organized by France and the United States. When asked by DW at a recent press conference whether there was any intent to repay the debt, the French Foreign Ministry replied that this was "not currently under discussion."

Observers doubt that France will return the money. "No former colonial power would do that," said Laurent Giacobbi from the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS). "It would trigger a chain reaction. All ex-colonies would then make claims."

Enduring colonial legacy

Frederic Thomas from the independent Tricontinental Center in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, told DW that "former colonial powers still have a colonial perspective of Haiti." He said that, in their view, "the country is ungovernable and thus international interference is justified." He added that the international community had contributed directly to the current situation by supporting Henry, who was unpopular from the start, after theassassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.

"If the vicious circle of violence and chaos is to be broken, the Haitian population must now finally decide what happens next," Thomas said. "With the help of the so-called Montana Group — with representatives from civil society, the church and trade unions — a transitional government should be formed, and a decision made on whether to station international troops in the country, and if yes, how."

The Montana Group might provide members for a transitional government that will appoint a new interim prime minister and call elections. It is unclear exactly when this government will come into being, but only then will Henry officially resign.

Bruffaerts hopes that the international community will let Haitians decide their future. "France should also invest at least some of the money that Haiti paid it in infrastructure for the island," he said, so that Haiti can finally develop economically.

This article was originally written in German.