Editing History of Haiti

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{History of Haiti}}
The recorded '''history of [[Haiti]]''' began in 1492, when the European captain and explorer [[Christopher Columbus]] landed on a large island in the region of the western [[Atlantic Ocean]] that later came to be known as the [[Caribbean]]. The western portion of the island of [[Hispaniola]], where Haiti is situated, was inhabited by the [[Taíno people|Taíno]] and [[Arawak peoples|Arawakan]] people, who called their island ''Ayiti.'' The island was promptly claimed for the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish Crown]], where it was named ''La Isla Española'' ("the Spanish Island"), later [[Latinisation of names|Latinized]] to ''Hispaniola''. By the early 17th century, the French had built a settlement on the west of Hispaniola and called it [[Saint-Domingue]]. Prior to the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–1763), the economy of Saint-Domingue gradually expanded, with sugar and, later, coffee becoming important export crops. After the war which had disrupted maritime commerce, the colony underwent rapid expansion. In 1767, it exported indigo, cotton and 72 million pounds of [[raw sugar]]. By the end of the century, the colony encompassed a third of the entire [[Atlantic slave trade]].

In 1791, slaves staged a revolt which led to the [[Haitian Revolution]]. [[André Rigaud]], leader of the revolution, forced the French to withdraw. When [[Toussaint Louverture]] declared independence in 1802, [[Napoleon]] sent an invasion force to coerce the Haitians. After the death of Toussaint while in imprisonment by the French, the Generals [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]], [[Henri Christophe]], and [[Alexandre Pétion]] laid heavy battle against [[Charles Leclerc (general, born 1772)|Charles Leclerc]], the leader of the French invasion. As the tide of the war turned in favor of the Haitians, Napoleon abandoned the invasion, which led to Dessalines declaring the independence of Haiti in 1804. Dessalines orchestrated a [[1804 Haitian massacre|massacre]] of the remaining French population in Haiti, resulting in over 5,000 deaths. Men, women, and children were killed as revenge for [[Saint-Domingue expedition|Napoleon's invasion]]. Whites were hanged from gallows along the coast, signaling to passing ships that Haiti had purged itself of Europeans.

Soon after independence, Haiti was proclaimed an [[First Empire of Haiti|empire]] under Dessalines. When Dessalines was murdered , Haiti then divided off into two regions, controlled by rival regimes, with Christophe ruling the semi-feudal northern [[State of Haiti]] and Pétion ruling the more tolerant southern [[Republic of Haiti (1806–1820)|Republic of Haiti]]. [[Jean-Pierre Boyer]] succeeded Pétion in 1811; he consolidated power in the west take control Santo Domingo, thereby [[Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo|unifying Hispaniola]]. However, the nation struggled economically due to [[Haiti indemnity controversy|indemnity payments]] beginning in 1825. In 1843, a revolt overthrew Boyer, plunging Haiti into instability marked by transient presidents until [[Faustin Soulouque]] took power in 1847, later declaring himself [[Second Empire of Haiti|emperor]] (1849–1859) before being overthrown by [[Fabre Geffrard]], who restored the republic. From the 1870s to 1890s, the [[National Party (Haiti)|National]] and [[Liberal Party (Haiti)|Liberal]] parties competed for influence. Under the presidencies of [[Florvil Hyppolite]] and [[Tirésias Simon Sam]], Haiti saw a rare period of stability lasting until the early 20th-century.

Haiti was [[United States occupation of Haiti|occupied by the United States]] from 1915 to 1934. After the occupation, President [[Sténio Vincent]] forced through a new constitution that allowed for sweeping powers for the executive branch. The first civilian president, [[Dumarsais Estimé]], ruled for five years until 1950. After a brief period of instability, [[François Duvalier]] rose to prominence and painted himself as the legitimate heir to Estimé. [[Duvalier dynasty|His regime]] is regarded as one of the most repressive and corrupt of modern times; his son, [[Jean-Claude Duvalier|Jean-Claude]], saw Haiti's economic and political condition continue to decline, although some of the more fearsome elements of his father's regime were abolished. The period after Duvalier was dominated by the presidency of [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] until his downfall in the controversial [[2004 Haitian coup d'état|2004 coup d'état]]. A major [[2010 Haiti earthquake|7.0 magnitude earthquake]] hit the country in 2010 and caused widespread devastation.

==Pre-Spanish history==
{{Main|Chiefdoms of Hispaniola}}
Successive waves of [[Arawak peoples|Arawak]] migrants, moving northward from the [[Orinoco]] delta in South America, settled the islands of the [[Caribbean]]. Around 600 AD, the [[Taíno people|Taíno]], an Arawak culture, arrived on the island, displacing the previous inhabitants, however this view is widely disputed. They were organized into ''[[cacicazgo]]s'' (chiefdoms), each led by a ''cacique'' (chief).

==Spanish history (1492–1625)==
[[File:Columbus landing on Hispaniola adj.jpg|thumb|[[Christopher Columbus]] landing on the island of [[Hispaniola]] in 1492.]]
[[Christopher Columbus]] established the settlement, [[La Navidad]], near the modern town of [[Cap-Haïtien]]. It was built from the timbers of his wrecked ship, the [[Santa María (ship)|''Santa María'']], during his [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|first voyage]] in December 1492. When he returned in 1493 on his second voyage he found the settlement had been destroyed and all 39 settlers killed. Columbus continued east and founded a new settlement at [[La Isabela]] on the territory of the present-day [[Dominican Republic]] in 1493. The capital of the colony was moved to [[Santo Domingo]] in 1496, on the southwest coast of the island, also in the territory of the present-day Dominican Republic. The Spanish returned to western Hispaniola in 1502, establishing a settlement at Yaguana, near modern-day [[Léogâne]]. A second settlement was established on the north coast in 1504 called Puerto Real, near modern [[Fort-Liberté]] – which in 1578 was relocated to a nearby site and renamed Bayaja.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haitiantreasures.com/HT_fort-liberte.htm |title=Fort-Liberté: A captivating Site |access-date=2010-07-01 |publisher=Haitian Treasures |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527062805/http://www.haitiantreasures.com/HT_fort-liberte.htm |archive-date=27 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Clammer |first=Paul |author2=Michael Grosberg |author3=Jens Porup |title=Dominican Republic and Haiti |pages=339, 330–333 |access-date=2010-07-01 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kjde3Fmwb7IC&pg=PA340 |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-74104-292-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://population.mongabay.com/population/haiti/3725170/fort-liberte |title=Population of Fort Liberté, Haiti |access-date=2010-07-01 |publisher=Mongabay.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717220658/http://population.mongabay.com/population/haiti/3725170/fort-liberte |archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref>

Following the arrival of Europeans, La Hispaniola's indigenous [[Taíno]] population was nearly [[Taíno genocide|extinguished]], in possibly the worst case of depopulation in the Americas. A commonly-accepted hypothesis attributes the high mortality of this colony in part to European diseases to which the natives had no immunity. There is still heated debate over the population of Taíno people on the island of Hispaniola in 1492 just prior to European arrival, but estimates range from no more than a few tens of thousands, according to a 2020 genetic analysis,<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Reich |first1=David |last2=Patterson |first2=Orlando |date=2020-12-23 |title=Opinion {{!}} Ancient DNA Is Changing How We Think About the Caribbean |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/23/opinion/dna-caribbean-genocide.html |access-date=2020-12-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="2020 genetic2">{{Cite journal |last1=Fernandes |first1=Daniel M. |last2=Sirak |first2=Kendra A. |last3=Ringbauer |first3=Harald |last4=Sedig |first4=Jakob |last5=Rohland |first5=Nadin |last6=Cheronet |first6=Olivia |last7=Mah |first7=Matthew |last8=Mallick |first8=Swapan |last9=Olalde |first9=Iñigo |last10=Culleton |first10=Brendan J. |last11=Adamski |first11=Nicole |date=2020-12-23 |title=A genetic history of the pre-contact Caribbean |url= |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=590 |issue=7844 |pages=103–110 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03053-2 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=7864882 |pmid=33361817}}</ref> to upwards of 750,000.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holguín |title=21st Century Anthropology: A Reference Handbook |publisher=Sage Publications |year=2010 |isbn=-9781412957380 |location=Thousand Oaks, CA, USA}}</ref> The Taíno population declined by up to 95% in the century after the Spanish arrival,<ref>S, Rosenbaum S. Alan. Is the Holocaust Unique?: Perspectives on Comparative Genocide. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2018. Page 302,313.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Stannard|first=David E. |year=1992|title=American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World|location=New York|publisher= Oxford University Press|pages= 261–268|url= https://archive.org/details/americanholocaus00stan}}</ref><ref name="dx.doi.org">{{Cite journal|url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1086&context=edpsychpapers|doi = 10.1080/15283480701326034|title = Us and Them: Identity and Genocide|year = 2007|last1 = Moshman|first1 = David|journal = Identity|volume = 7|issue = 2|pages = 115–135|s2cid = 143561036}}</ref><ref name="2020 genetic" >{{Cite journal|last1=Fernandes|first1=Daniel M.|last2=Sirak|first2=Kendra A.|last3=Ringbauer|first3=Harald|last4=Sedig|first4=Jakob|last5=Rohland|first5=Nadin|last6=Cheronet|first6=Olivia|last7=Mah|first7=Matthew|last8=Mallick|first8=Swapan|last9=Olalde|first9=Iñigo|last10=Culleton|first10=Brendan J.|last11=Adamski|first11=Nicole|date=2020-12-23|title=A genetic history of the pre-contact Caribbean|journal=Nature|volume=590|issue=7844|language=en|pages=103–110|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03053-2|pmid=33361817|pmc=7864882|issn=1476-4687}}</ref> to a few thousand left.<ref name="dx.doi.org"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Stannard|first=David E. |year=1992|title=American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World|location=New York|publisher= Oxford University Press|page= 267|url= https://archive.org/details/americanholocaus00stan}}</ref> Many authors have described the treatment of the Taíno in [[Hispaniola]] under the [[Spanish Empire]] as [[Taíno genocide|genocide]].<ref name="Thornton">{{cite book| first = Russel| last = Thornton| title = American Indian holocaust and survival : a population history since 1492| year = 1987| publisher = Norman : University of Oklahoma Press| isbn = 978-0-8061-2074-4| page = 16 |  url = https://archive.org/details/americanindianho00thor_0}}</ref>
<ref>Multiple sources:
* Sheri P. Rosenberg, "Genocide Is a Process, Not an Event," Genocide Studies and Prevention 7, 1 (April 2012): 16–23. © 2012 Genocide Studies and Prevention. doi: 10.3138/gsp.7.1.16
* [http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15283480701326034 David Moshman (2007) Us and Them: Identity and Genocide, Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 7:2, p. 125, DOI: 10.1080/15283480701326034],
* Alexander Laban Hinton, "Critical Genocide Studies," Genocide Studies and Prevention 7, 1 (April 2012): 4–15. © 2012 Genocide Studies and Prevention. doi: 10.3138/gsp.7.1.4, p. 11
* Keegan, William F., "Destruction of the Taino" in Archaeology. January/February 1992, pp. 51–56.
* Grenke, Arthur. God, greed, and genocide: The Holocaust through the centuries. New Academia Publishing, LLC, 2005. pp. 141–143, 200.
* Rosenbaum, Alan S. Is the Holocaust unique?: perspectives on comparative genocide. Routledge, 2018. p. 302.
* Donald Bloxham, A. Dirk Moses, The Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies, OXFORD UNIVERSITY press, 2010, p. 310.
* Norman M Naimark, Genocide a world history, OXFORD UNIVERSITY press, 2017, p. 39.
* Jones, Adam. 2006. Genocide: a comprehensive introduction. London: Routledge. pp. 108–111.</ref>

A small number of [[Taíno people|Taínos]] were able to survive and set up villages elsewhere. Spanish interest in [[Hispaniola]] began to wane in the 1520s, as more lucrative [[gold]] and [[silver]] deposits were found in Mexico and South America. Thereafter, the population of Spanish Hispaniola grew at a slow pace.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

The settlement of Yaguana was burnt to the ground three times in its just over a century-long existence as a Spanish settlement, first by French pirates in 1543, again on 27 May 1592; by a 110-strong landing party from a four-ship English naval squadron led by [[Christopher Newport]] in his flagship Golden Dragon, who destroyed all 150 houses in the settlement; and finally by the Spanish themselves in 1605, for reasons set out below.<ref>''Historic Cities of the Americas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia'' (2005). David Marley. Page 121</ref>

In 1595, the Spanish, frustrated by the twenty-year [[Dutch Revolt|rebellion of their Dutch subjects]], closed their home ports to rebel shipping from the Netherlands, cutting them off from the critical salt supplies necessary for their herring industry. The Dutch responded by sourcing new salt supplies from Spanish America, where colonists were more-than-happy to trade. Large numbers of Dutch traders/pirates joined their English and French brethren trading on the remote coasts of Hispaniola. In 1605, Spain was infuriated that Spanish settlements on the northern and western coasts of the island persisted in carrying out large-scale and illegal trade with the Dutch, who were at that time fighting a war of independence against Spain in Europe, and the English, a very recent enemy state, and so decided to forcibly resettle their inhabitants closer to the city of [[Santo Domingo]].<ref>Knight, Franklin, ''The Caribbean: The Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism'', 3rd ed. p. 54 New York, Oxford University Press 1990.</ref> This action, known as the ''Devastaciones de Osorio'', proved disastrous for the colonists; more than half of the resettled colonists died of starvation or disease, over 100,000 cattle were abandoned, and many slaves escaped.<ref>''Rough Guide to the Dominican Republic'', p. 352.</ref> Five of the existing thirteen settlements on the island were brutally razed by Spanish troops, including the two settlements on the territory of present-day Haiti, La Yaguana and Bayaja. Many of the inhabitants fought, escaped to the jungle, or fled to the safety of passing Dutch ships.<ref>''Peasants and Religion: A Socioeconomic Study of Dios Olivorio and the Palma Sola Movement in the Dominican Republic''. Jan Lundius & Mats Lundah. Routledge 2000, p. 397.</ref>

This Spanish action was counterproductive as English, Dutch, and French pirates were now free to establish bases on the island's abandoned northern and western coasts, where wild cattle were now plentiful and free. In 1697, after decades of fighting over the territory, the Spanish ceded the western
part of the island to the French, who henceforth called it Saint-Domingue. Saint-Domingue developed into a highly lucrative colony for France. Its economy was based on a labor-intensive sugar industry, which depended on vast numbers of West African slaves. Meanwhile, the situation on the Spanish part of the island deteriorated. The entire Spanish empire sank into a deep economic crisis, and Santo Domingo was in addition struck by earthquakes, hurricanes, and a shrinking population.

==French Saint-Domingue (1625–1789)==
{{Main|Saint-Domingue}}

=== Early French Saint-Domingue (1625–1711) ===
{{Expand section|date=September 2022}}
The [[Kingdom of France|French]] built a settlement on the west coast of [[Hispaniola]], which was known as 'the most fertile part of the [[West Indies]]'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=Matthew |url=http://archive.org/details/sugarbaronsfamil0000park_a8m5 |title=Sugar barons : family, corruption, empire and war |publisher=Hutchinson |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-09-192583-3 |location=London |pages=131 |language=en}}</ref>

===The Pearl of the Antilles (1711–1789)===
[[File:D072- une sucrerie à saint-domingue - Liv3-Ch16.png|thumb|upright=1.5|A [[sugar mill]] in Haiti (''L'Homme et la Terre'' by [[Élisée Reclus]], 1830–1905)]]
[[File:Cap_Français_-_Gravure_ancienne_-_1728.jpg|thumb|Engraving of [[Cap-Français]] in 1728]]

In 1711, the city of [[Cap-Français]] was formally established by [[Louis XIV]] and took over as capital of the colony from [[Port-de-Paix]]. In 1726, the city of [[Les Cayes]] was founded on the Southern coast; it became the biggest settlement in the south. In 1749, the city of [[Port-au-Prince]] was established on the west coast, which in 1770 took over as the capital of the colony from Cap-Français; however that same year the [[1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake]] and [[tsunami]] destroyed the city, killing 200 people immediately, and 30,000 later from famine and disease brought on by the natural disaster. This was the second major earthquake to hit Saint-Domingue as it followed the [[1751 Port-au-Prince earthquake]], which had left only a single stone-built building standing in the town.

Prior to the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–1763), the economy of [[Saint-Domingue]] gradually expanded, with sugar and, later, coffee becoming important export crops. After the war, which disrupted maritime commerce, the colony underwent rapid expansion. In 1767 it exported 72 million pounds of [[raw sugar]] and 51 million pounds of refined sugar, one million pounds of indigo, and two million pounds of cotton.<ref>{{cite book |first=CLR |last=James |title=The Black Jacobins |url=https://archive.org/details/blackjacobinstou00jame |url-access=registration |publisher=Vintage Books |place=New York |year=1963 |page=[https://archive.org/details/blackjacobinstou00jame/page/45 45]|isbn=978-0-679-72467-4 }}</ref> Saint-Domingue became known as the "Pearl of the [[Antilles]]" – the richest colony in the 18th-century [[French colonial empire|French empire]]. By the 1780s, Saint-Domingue produced about 40 percent of all the sugar and 60 percent of all the coffee consumed in Europe. This single colony, roughly the size of [[Hawaii]] or [[Belgium]], produced more [[sugar]] and [[coffee]] than all of [[British West Indies|Britain's West Indian colonies]] combined.

In the second half of the 1780s, Saint-Domingue accounted for a third of the entire [[Atlantic slave trade]]. The population of the [[African slaves]] imported for these plantations is estimated to have been 790,000.  Between 1764 and 1771, the average importation of slaves varied between 10,000 and 15,000, by 1786 about 28,000, and, from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 West African slaves a year. However, the inability to maintain slave numbers without constant resupply from [[Central Africa|Central]] and [[West Africa]] meant the slave population, by 1789, totaled 500,000. This was ruled over by a white population that, by 1789, numbered only 32,000.<ref>{{cite book |first=CLR |last=James |title=The Black Jacobins |page=55}}</ref> At all times, a majority of slaves in the colony were African-born, as the brutal conditions of slavery prevented the population from experiencing growth through natural increase.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-06-17 |title=Slavery, Slavery History and American Slavery |url=http://www.africanaonline.com/slavery_colonial_era.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617033237/http://www.africanaonline.com/slavery_colonial_era.htm |archive-date=2006-06-17  |url-status=usurped |access-date=2022-08-21 }}</ref> African culture thus remained strong among slaves to the end of French rule, in particular the folk-religion of [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]], which commingled Catholic liturgy and ritual with the beliefs and practices of [[Guinea (region)|Guinea]], [[Congo Basin|Congo]] and [[Benin]].<ref>Vodou is a Dahomean word meaning 'god' or 'spirit</ref>

[[File:Citadelle Laferrière Aerial View.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[Citadelle Laferrière]], built by [[Henri Christophe]], is the largest [[fortress]] in the Americas.]]
To govern slavery, in 1685 [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] enacted the ''[[Code Noir]]'', which accorded certain human rights to slaves and responsibilities to the master, who was obliged to feed, clothe, and provide for the general well-being of their slaves. The ''code noir'' also sanctioned corporal punishment, allowing masters to employ brutal methods to instill in their slaves the necessary docility while ignoring provisions intended to regulate the administration of punishments. A passage from [[Henri Christophe]]'s personal secretary, who lived more than half his life as a slave, describes the crimes perpetrated against the slaves of Saint-Domingue by their French masters:

{{blockquote|
Have they not hung up men with heads downward, drowned them in sacks, crucified them on planks, buried them alive, crushed them in mortars? Have they not forced them to eat excrement? And, having flayed them with the lash, have they not cast them alive to be devoured by worms, or onto anthills, or lashed them to stakes in the swamp to be devoured by mosquitoes? Have they not thrown them into boiling cauldrons of cane syrup? Have they not put men and women inside barrels studded with spikes and rolled them down mountainsides into the abyss? Have they not consigned these miserable blacks to man-eating dogs until the latter, sated by human flesh, left the mangled victims to be finished off with bayonet and poniard?"<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Heinl |title=Written in Blood: The Story of the Haitian People, 1492–1995 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780761802303 |url-access=registration |publisher=[[University Press of America]] |location=Lantham, Maryland |year=1996}}</ref>}}

Thousands of slaves found freedom by fleeing from their masters, forming communities of [[Haitian Maroon|maroons]], and raiding isolated plantations. The most famous was [[François Mackandal|Mackandal]], a one-armed slave, originally from [[Guinea (region)|Guinea]], who escaped in 1751. A [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]] Houngan (priest), he united many of the different maroon bands. He spent the next six years staging successful raids and evading capture by the French, reputedly killing over 6,000 people while preaching a fanatic vision of the destruction of white civilization in St. Domingue. In 1758, after a failed plot to poison the drinking water of the plantation owners, he was captured and burned alive at the public square in Cap-Français.

Saint-Domingue also had the largest and wealthiest [[free people of color|free population of color]] in the [[History of the Caribbean|Caribbean]], the ''[[gens de couleur]]'' (French, "people of color"). The mixed-race community in Saint-Domingue numbered 25,000 in 1789. First-generation ''gens de couleur'' were typically the offspring of a male, French slaveowner, and an African slave chosen as a concubine. In the French colonies, the semi-official institution of "[[plaçage]]" defined this practice. By this system, the children were free people and could inherit property, thus originating a class of "mulattos" with property and some with wealthy fathers. This class occupied a middle status between African slaves and French colonists. Africans who attained freedom also enjoyed status as ''gens de couleur.''

As the numbers of ''gens de couleur'' grew, the French rulers enacted discriminatory laws. Statutes forbade ''gens de couleur'' from taking up certain professions, marrying whites, wearing European clothing, carrying swords or firearms in public, or attending social functions where whites were present. However, these regulations did not restrict their purchase of land, and many accumulated substantial holdings and became slave owners themselves. By 1789, they owned one third of the plantation property and one quarter of the slaves of [[Saint-Domingue]].<ref>{{cite book |publisher=GMU |url=http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap8a.html |title=Revolution |chapter=8 |page=1 |access-date=14 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105214459/http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap8a.html |archive-date=5 November 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Central to the rise of the ''gens de couleur'' planter class was the growing importance of [[coffee]], which thrived on the marginal hillside plots to which they were often relegated. The largest concentration of ''gens de couleur'' was in the southern peninsula, the last region of the colony to be settled, owing to its distance from Atlantic shipping lanes and its formidable terrain, with the highest mountain range in the Caribbean.

==Revolutionary period (1789–1804)==
[[File: Toussaint L'Ouverture.jpg|thumb|As the unofficial leader of the revolution, [[Toussaint L'Ouverture]] is considered the father of Haiti.]]
{{Main|Haitian Revolution}}

===Ogé's revolt (1789–1791)===
The outbreak of [[French Revolution|revolution in France]] in the summer of 1789 had a powerful effect on the colony. While the French settlers debated how new revolutionary laws would apply to Saint-Domingue, outright civil war broke out in 1790 when the free men of color claimed they too were French citizens under the terms of the [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]]. Ten days before the [[Storming of the Bastille|fall]] of the [[Bastille]], in July 1789, the French [[National Assembly]] had voted to seat six delegates from Saint-Domingue. In Paris, a group of wealthy mulattoes, led by [[Julien Raimond]] and [[Vincent Ogé]], unsuccessfully petitioned the white planter delegates to support mulatto claims for full civil and political rights. Through the efforts of a group called [[Society of the Friends of the Blacks|'' Société d'Amis des Noirs'']], of which Raimond and Ogé were prominent leaders, in March 1790 the [[National Assembly]] granted full civic rights to the ''gens de couleur.''
Vincent Ogé traveled to St. Domingue to secure the promulgation and implementation of this decree, landing near Cap-Français (now [[Cap-Haïtien]]) in October 1790 and petitioning the royal governor, the Comte de Peynier. After his demands were refused, he attempted to incite the ''gens de couleur'' to revolt. Ogé and [[Jean-Baptiste Chavannes|Jean-Baptiste Chavennes]], a veteran of the [[Siege of Savannah]] during the [[American Revolution]], attempted to attack Cap-Français. However, the mulatto rebels refused to arm or free their slaves, or to challenge the status of slavery, and their attack was defeated by a force of white militia and black volunteers (including [[Henri Christophe]]). Afterward, they fled across the frontier to [[Hinche]], at the time in the Spanish part of the island. However, they were captured, returned to the French authorities, and both Ogé and Chavannes were executed in February 1791.

===The rising of the slaves (1791–1793)===
[[File:Incendie de la Plaine du Cap. Massacre des Blancs par les esclaves noirs révoltés. France militaire. Martinet et Masson.jpg|thumb|"Burning of the Plaine du Cap – Massacre of whites by the blacks". On 22 August 1791, slaves set fire to plantations, torched cities, and massacred the white population.]]

A [[Haitian Vodou|vodou]] ceremony at [[Bois Caïman]] (Alligator Woods) near Cap-Français on 14 August 1791, presided over by a [[houngan]] (Vodou priest) named [[Dutty Boukman]], is traditionally considered to mark the beginning of the [[Haitian Revolution]]. Following this ceremony, slaves in the northern region of the colony staged a revolt, and although Boukman was captured and executed, the rebellion continued to spread rapidly throughout the entire colony. Beginning in September<!--, 1791-->, some thirteen thousand slaves and rebels in the south, led by [[Romaine-la-Prophétesse]], freed slaves and took supplies from and burned plantations, ultimately occupying the area's two major cities, [[Léogâne]] and [[Jacmel]].<ref name="Rey 2017 a">Terry Rey, ''The Priest and the Prophetess: Abbé Ouvière, Romaine Rivière, and the Revolutionary Atlantic World'' (2017), pp. 28, 32–35, 48–49, 52</ref><ref>Matthias Middell, Megan Maruschke, The French Revolution as a Moment of Respatialization (2019), p. 71.</ref><ref name="Dun 2016 65">James Alexander Dun, ''Dangerous Neighbors: Making the Haitian Revolution'' (2016), p. 65</ref><ref>David F. Marley, ''Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict'' (2008), p. 534</ref>

In 1792, [[Léger-Félicité Sonthonax]] and two other national commissioners were sent to the colony by the French Legislative Assembly as part of a Revolutionary Commission. Sonthonax's main goal was to maintain French control of Saint-Domingue, stabilize the colony, and enforce the social equality recently granted to free people of color by the National Convention of France. In March 1792, a coalition of whites and conservative free blacks and forces led by another of the national commissioners, Edmond de Saint-Léger, put down Romaine-la-Prophétesse's revolt<ref name="Dun 2016 65"/><ref name="Rey 2017 b">Rey (2017), pp. 137, 157–59.</ref><ref name=" Popkin 2011 51">Jeremy D. Popkin, ''A Concise History of the Haitian Revolution'' (2011), p. 51</ref> after [[André Rigaud]], who led free black confederate forces based near Port-au-Prince, declined to ally with it.<ref name="Rey 2017 c">Rey (2017), p. 103.</ref>

===Toussaint Louverture ascendant (1793–1802)===
[[File:Vue_de_l%27incendie_de_la_ville_du_cap_français_f1.highres.jpg|thumb|Fire of [[Cap Français]], 21 June 1793]]
[[Image:André Rigaud.gif|thumb|André Rigaud]]

On 29 August 1793, Sonthonax took the radical step of proclaiming the freedom of the slaves in the north province (with severe limits on their freedom). In September and October, emancipation was extended throughout the colony. The French National Convention, the first elected Assembly of the [[French First Republic|First Republic]] (1792–1804), on 4 February 1794, under the leadership of [[Maximilien de Robespierre]], abolished slavery by law in France and all its colonies. The constitution of 1793, which was never applied, and the constitution of 1795, which was put into effect, did both contain an explicit ban on slavery.

The slaves did not immediately flock to Sonthonax's banner, however. [[Counter-revolutionary]] planters continued to fight Sonthonax, with support from the British. They were joined by many of the free men of color who opposed the abolition of slavery. It was not until word of France's ratification of emancipation arrived back in the colony that [[Toussaint Louverture]] and his corps of well disciplined, battle-hardened former slaves came over to the French Republican side in early May 1794. A change in the political winds in France caused Sonthonax to be recalled in 1796, but not before taking the step of arming the former slaves.

When the radical revolutionaries in Paris declared war against Spain in January 1793, the Spanish Crown sent its forces in [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]] into battle on the side of the slaves. By the end of 1793, Spain controlled most of the north, except British-held Môle-Saint-Nicolas and French-held Le Cap François and Port-de-Paix.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Haitian Revolution, 1789-1804|date=1973|publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press|page=79}}</ref> In 1795, Spain ceded Santo Domingo to France and Spanish attacks on Saint-Domingue ceased.

In the south, the British suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the mulatto General [[André Rigaud]]. On 6 October 1794, Rigaud captured Léogane. On 26 December 1794, he attacked the British-held Tiburon, routing its garrison.<ref>{{cite book|title=Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution|date=2009|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|page=182}}</ref> In 1798, having lost territory and thousands of men to [[yellow fever]], the British were forced to withdraw.

In the meantime, Rigaud had set up a mulatto separatist movement in the south. In 1799, with the British gone, Toussaint [[War of Knives|launched an offensive]] against Rigaud's strongholds. As he sent General [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines|Dessalines]] against Grand and Petit Goâve and General [[Henri Christophe|Christophe]] against the mulatto stronghold of Jacmel, American warships bombarded mulatto fortifications and destroyed Rigaud's transport barges.<ref>{{cite book|title=The American Counterrevolution: A Retreat from Liberty, 1783-1800|date=1998|publisher=Stackpole Books|page=485}}</ref> Rigaud's forces were overwhelmed and defeated in 1800.

By 1801, Toussaint was in control of all of Hispaniola, after conquering [[Era de Francia|French Santo Domingo]] and proclaiming the abolition of slavery there. He did not, however, proclaim full independence for the country, nor did he seek reprisals against the country's former white slaveholders, convinced that the French would not restore slavery and "that a population of slaves recently landed from Africa could not attain to civilization by 'going it alone.'"<ref>{{cite book |first=CLR |last=James |title=The Black Jacobins |publisher=Vintage Books |place=New York |year=1990 |page=290}}</ref>

===Napoleon defeated (1802–1804)===
{{Main|Saint-Domingue expedition}}
[[File:Prise du Cap Français par l'Armée Française, sous le Commandement du Général Leclerc, le 15 et 20 Pluviose, An 10 (4-9 Février 1802) - détail.jpg|thumb|The French army led by Le Clerc lands in [[Cap Français]] (1802)]]
[[File:Prise de la Ravine-à-Couleuvres (23 février 1802), par Karl Girardet, gravé par Jean-Jacques Outhwaite.jpg|thumb|Leclerc's veterans [[Battle of Ravine-à-Couleuvres|storm Ravine-a-Couleuvre]] (Snake Gully) in 1802.]]
[[File:Battle for Palm Tree Hill.jpg|thumb|''Battle for Santo Domingo'', by [[January Suchodolski]] (1845)]]
<!--[[File:Haitian_Revolution.jpg|thumb|Attack and take of the [[Crête-à-Pierrot]]. Original illustration by Auguste Raffet, engraving by Hébert, 1839.]]-->
[[File:The_Mode_of_exterminating_the_Black_Army,_as_practised_by_the_French.png|thumb|"The Mode of exterminating the Black Army, as practiced by the French", by [[Marcus Rainsford]], 1805]]
[[File:Revenge_taken_by_the_Black_Army_for_the_Cruelties_practised_on_them_by_the_French.png|thumb|"Revenge taken by the Black Army for the Cruelties practiced on them by the French", by [[Marcus Rainsford]], 1805]]

Toussaint, however, asserted so much independence that in 1802, [[Napoleon]] sent a massive invasion force, under his brother-in-law [[Charles Leclerc (general, born 1772)|Charles Leclerc]], to increase French control. For a time, Leclerc met with some success; he also brought the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola under the direct control of France in accordance with the terms of the 1795 [[Peace of Basel|Treaties of Bâle]] with Spain. With a large expedition that eventually included 40,000 European troops, and receiving help from white colonists and mulatto forces commanded by [[Alexandre Pétion]], a former lieutenant of Rigaud, the French won several victories after severe fighting. Two of Toussaint's chief lieutenants, Dessalines and Christophe, recognizing their untenable situation, held separate parleys with the invaders and agreed to transfer their allegiance. At this point, Leclerc invited Toussaint to negotiate a settlement. It was a deception; Toussaint was seized and deported to France, where he died in April 1803 of [[pneumonia]], while imprisoned at [[Fort de Joux]] in the [[Jura Mountains]].

On 20 May 1802, Napoleon signed a law to maintain slavery where it had not yet disappeared, namely [[Martinique]], [[Tobago]], and [[Saint Lucia]]. A confidential copy of this decree was sent to Leclerc, who was authorized by Napoleon to restore slavery in Saint-Domingue when the time was opportune. At the same time, further edicts stripped the ''gens de couleur'' of their newly won civil rights. None of these decrees were published or executed in Saint-Domingue, but, by midsummer, word began to reach the colony of the French intention to restore slavery. The betrayal of Toussaint and news of French actions in Martinique undermined the collaboration of leaders such as [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines|Dessalines]], [[Henri Christophe|Christophe]], and [[Alexandre Pétion|Pétion]]. Convinced that the same fate lay in store for Saint-Domingue, these commanders and others once again battled Leclerc. As the French were intent on reconquest and re-enslavement of the colony's black population, the war became a bloody struggle of atrocity and attrition. The rainy season brought [[yellow fever]] and [[malaria]], which took a heavy toll on the invaders. By November, when Leclerc died of yellow fever, 24,000 French soldiers were dead and 8,000 were hospitalized, the majority from disease.<ref>{{cite book |first=CLR |last=James |title=Black Jacobins |page=355}}</ref>

Afterward, Leclerc was replaced by [[Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau]]. Rochambeau wrote to Napoleon that, to reclaim Saint-Domingue, France must "declare the negroes slaves, and destroy at least 30,000 negroes and negresses."<ref>{{cite book |first=CLR |last=James |title=Black Jacobins |page=360}}</ref> In his desperation, he turned to increasingly wanton acts of brutality; the French burned alive, hanged, drowned, and tortured black prisoners, reviving such practices as burying blacks in piles of insects and boiling them in cauldrons of molasses. One night, at Port-Républican, he held a ball to which he invited the most prominent mulatto ladies and, at midnight, announced the death of their husbands. However, each act of brutality was repaid by the Haitian rebels. After one battle, Rochambeau buried 500 prisoners alive; Dessalines responded by hanging 500 French prisoners.<ref>{{harvnb|Heinl|1996|pp=108–9}}</ref> Rochambeau's brutal tactics helped unite black and mulatto soldiers against the French.

As the tide of the war turned toward the former slaves, Napoleon abandoned his dreams of restoring France's New World empire. In 1803, war resumed between France and Britain, and with the [[Royal Navy]] firmly in control of the seas, reinforcements and supplies for Rochambeau never arrived in sufficient numbers. To concentrate on the war in Europe, Napoleon signed the [[Louisiana Purchase]] in April, selling France's North American possessions to the United States. The Haitian army, now led by Dessalines, devastated Rochambeau and the French army at the [[Battle of Vertières]] on 18 November 1803.

On 1 January 1804 Dessalines then declared independence,<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/dol/images/examples/haiti/0001.pdf |publisher=National archives |place=UK |title=Déclaration d'indépendance}}</ref> reclaiming the indigenous Taíno name of Haiti ("Land of Mountains") for the new sovereign state. Most of the remaining French colonists fled ahead of the defeated French army, many migrating to [[Louisiana]] or [[Cuba]]. Unlike Toussaint, Dessalines showed little equanimity with regard to the whites. In a final act of retribution, [[1804 Haitian massacre|the remaining French were slaughtered by Haitian military forces]] in a white [[genocide]]. Some 2,000 Frenchmen were massacred at Cap-Français, 900 in Port-au-Prince, and 400 at Jérémie. He issued a proclamation declaring, "we have repaid these cannibals, war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage."<ref>{{harvnb|Heinl|1996|pp=122–23, 125}}</ref>

One exception to Dessalines' proclamation was a group of [[Polish people|Poles]] from the [[Polish Legions (Napoleonic era)|Polish Legions]] that had joined the French military under Napoleon.<ref name="North">{{cite book |last1=North |first1=Jonathan |title=War of Lost Hope, Polish Accounts of the Expedition to Saint Domingue |date=2018 |publisher=Amazon |location=London |isbn=978-1976944123 |pages=104}}</ref> A majority of Polish soldiers refused to fight against the Haitian forces. At the time, there was a familiar situation going on back in their homeland, as these Polish soldiers were fighting for their liberty from the invading Russians, Prussians and Austrians that began in 1772. As hopeful as the Haitians, many Poles were seeking union amongst themselves to win back their homeland. As a result, many Polish soldiers admired their enemy and decided to turn on the French army and join the [[Haiti]]an former slaves, and participated in the Haitian revolution of 1804, supporting the principles of liberty for all the people. [[Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski]], who was half Black, was one of the Polish generals at the time. Polish soldiers had a remarkable input in helping the Haitians in their retaliation against the French oppressor. They were spared the fate of other Europeans. For their loyalty and support for overthrowing the French, some Poles acquired Haitian citizenship after Haiti gained its independence, and many of them settled there, never to return to [[Poland]]. It is estimated that around 500 of the 5,280 Poles chose this option. Of the remainder, 700 returned to France to eventually return to Poland, and some, after capitulating, agreed to serve in the [[British Army]].<ref name="North" /> 160 Poles were later given permission to leave Haiti and some were sent to France at Haitian expense. To this day, many Polish Haitians still live in Haiti and are of [[Mulatto|multiracial descent]]; some have blonde hair, light eyes, and other European features. Today, descendants of those Poles who stayed are living in [[Cazale]], [[Fond-des-Blancs]], [[La Vallée-de-Jacmel]], [[La Baleine]], [[Port-Salut]] and [[Saint-Jean-du-Sud]].<ref name="North" />

Following Haitian independence, the new independent state struggled economically, as European countries and the [[United States]] refused to extend diplomatic recognition to Haiti. In 1825, the French returned with a fleet of fourteen warships and demanded [[Haiti indemnity controversy|an indemnity of 150 million francs]] in exchange for diplomatic recognition; Haitian President [[Jean-Pierre Boyer]] agreed to the French demands under duress. In order to finance the debt, the Haitian government was forced to take numerous high-interest loans from foreign creditors, and [[External debt of Haiti|the debt to France]] was not fully paid until 1947.<ref name=":11">{{cite journal|last=Alcenat|first=Westenley|accessdate=20 October 2021|title=The Case for Haitian Reparations|date=14 January 2017|url=https://jacobinmag.com/2017/01/haiti-reparations-france-slavery-colonialism-debt/|journal=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gamio |first1=Lazaro |last2=Méheut |first2=Constant |last3=Porter |first3=Catherine|last4=Gebrekidan |first4=Selam |last5=McCann |first5=Allison |last6=Apuzzo |first6=Matt |date=2022-05-20 |title=Haiti's Lost Billions |language=en-US |work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/05/20/world/americas/enslaved-haiti-debt-timeline.html |access-date=2022-12-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rosalsky |first=Greg |date=2021-10-05 |title='The Greatest Heist In History': How Haiti Was Forced To Pay Reparations For Freedom |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/10/05/1042518732/-the-greatest-heist-in-history-how-haiti-was-forced-to-pay-reparations-for-freed |access-date=2022-12-06}}</ref>

==Independence: The early years (1804–1843)==
{{Main|Independence of Haiti}}
[[File:Vue de Port-au-Prince et ses environs ca1800 BPL m8805.png|thumb|[[Port-au-Prince]] and surroundings at the start of the 19th century]]
[[File:Jean-Jaques Dessalines (Fondateur de l'Independance d'Haiti).jpg|thumb|[[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]]]]

===Black Republic (1804)===
Haiti became the second state in the Americas after the United States to gain independence from a European colonial power.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Christopher|first1=Marc|title=Haiti|url=http://worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar242480&st=haiti#tab=homepage|website=Worldbook Online|publisher=Worldbook|access-date=3 April 2016}}</ref> Haiti actively assisted the independence movements of many Latin American countries – and secured a promise from the great liberator, [[Simón Bolívar]], that he would free slaves after winning independence from Spain. The country inhabitated mostly by former slaves remained excluded from the hemisphere's first regional meeting of independent states, held in [[Panama]] in 1826, largely due to the atrocities of the [[1804 Haitian massacre|1804 Haitian Genocide]] which targeted European men, women and children who resided in Haiti, including those who were favorable to the revolution.<ref name=":0b">{{Cite journal |last=Girard |first=Philippe R. |date=2005 |title=Caribbean genocide: racial war in Haiti, 1802–4 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00313220500106196 |journal=Patterns of Prejudice |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=138–161 |doi=10.1080/00313220500106196 |issn=0031-322X |s2cid=145204936 |quote=The Haitian genocide and its historical counterparts [...] The 1804 Haitian genocide}}</ref> Despite the efforts of anti-slavery senator [[Charles Sumner]] of Massachusetts, the United States did not recognize the independence of Haiti until 1862. The Southern slave states held a majority in Congress and, afraid of encouraging slave revolts, blocked this; Haiti was quickly recognized (along with other progressive measures, such as ending [[slavery in the District of Columbia]]), after these legislators left Washington in 1861, their states having [[Confederate States of America#Secession|declared their secession]].

Upon assuming power, General Dessalines authorized the Constitution of 1804. This constitution, in terms of social freedoms, called for:
# Freedom of religion. (Under Toussaint, Catholicism had been declared the official state religion.)
# All citizens of Haiti, regardless of skin color, to be known as "Black" (this was an attempt to eliminate the multi-tiered racial hierarchy that had developed in Haiti, with full or near full-blooded Europeans at the top, various levels of light to brown skin in the middle, and dark skinned "Kongo" from Africa at the bottom).
# White men were forbidden from possessing property or land on Haitian soil. Should the French return to reimpose slavery, Article 5 of the constitution declared: "At the first shot of the warning gun, the towns shall be destroyed and the nation will rise in arms."<ref>{{harvnb|Heinl|1996|p=129}}</ref>

===First Haitian Empire (1804–1806)===
{{main|First Empire of Haiti}}
On 1 January 1804, Dessalines proclaimed Haiti an independent sovereign state.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dayan |first=Joan |year=1998 |title=Haiti, History, and the Gods |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-21368-5 |pages=3–4}}</ref> Mid-February, Dessalines told some cities (Léogâne, Jacmel, Les Cayes) to prepare for mass massacres.<ref>{{cite book |last=Girard |first=Philippe R. |year=2011 |title=The Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian War of Independence 1801–1804 |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |publisher=The University of Alabama Press |isbn=978-0-8173-1732-4 |page=319}}</ref> On 22 February 1804, he signed a decree ordering that all [[White people|whites]] in all cities should be put to death.<ref>Blancpain 2001, p. 7.</ref> The weapons used should be silent weapons such as knives and bayonets rather than gunfire, so that the killing could be done more quietly, and avoid warning intended victims by the sound of gunfire and thereby giving them the opportunity to escape.{{sfnp|Dayan|1998|p=4}}

On 22 September 1804, Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor Jacques I. Yet two of his own advisers, [[Henri Christophe]] and [[Alexandre Pétion]], helped bring about his assassination in 1806. The conspirators ambushed him north of [[Port-au-Prince]] at Pont Larnage (now known as Pont-Rouge) on 17 October 1806 en route to battle rebels to his regime.

The state created under Dessalines was the opposite of what the Haitian lower class wanted. While both the elite leaders, such as Dessalines, and the Haitian population agreed the state should be built on the ideals of freedom and democracy,<ref>{{cite web|author=Jean-Jacques Dessalines|title= Haitian Declaration of Independence|year=1804|website=Duke Office of News and Communications|url=https://today.duke.edu/showcase/haitideclaration/declarationstext.html|accessdate=April 30, 2018}}</ref><ref name="faculty.webster.edu">{{cite web|title=The 1805 Constitution of Haiti, May 20, 1805. Translation|website=Webster University Faculty|url=http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti/history/earlyhaiti/1805-const.htm|accessdate=April 30, 2018}}</ref> these ideals in practice looked very different for the two groups. The main reason for this difference in viewpoints of nationalisms come from the fact that one group lived as slaves, and the other did not.{{when|date=January 2023}}<ref name="Mimi Sheller 2000">Mimi Sheller, Black Publics and Peasant Radicalism in Haiti and Jamaica (Florida: [[University Press of Florida]], 2000), 5.</ref> For one, the economic and agricultural practices of Dessalines, and leaders after him, were based on the need to create a strong economic state, that was capable of maintaining a strong military.<ref>Mats Lundahl, "Defense and Distribution: Agricultural Policy in Haiti during the Reign of Jean-Jaques Dessalines, 1804-1806," Scandinavian Economic History Review, 32, no. 2 (2011), 86-87.</ref> For the elite leaders of Haiti, maintaining a strong military to ward off either the French or other colonial powers and ensure independence would secure a free state. The leaders of Haiti saw independence from other powers as their notion of freedom.

However, the Haitian peasantry tied their notion of freedom to the land. Because of the mountainous terrain, Haitian slaves were able to cultivate their own small tracts of land. Thus, freedom for them was the ability to cultivate their own land within a subsistence economy. Unfortunately, because of the leaders' desires, a system of coerced plantation agriculture emerged.<ref>James Franklin, the Present State of Hayti with remarks on its agriculture, commerce, laws, religion, finances and population (Connecticut: Negro Universities Press, 1828), 189-190.</ref> Furthermore, while all Haitians desired a black republic,<ref name="faculty.webster.edu"/> the cultural practices of African Americans were a point of contention. Many within the Haitian population wanted to maintain their African heritage, which they saw as a logical part of the black republic they wanted. However, the elites typically tried to prove the sophistication of Haitians through literature. Some authors wrote that the barbarism of Africa must be expelled, while maintaining African roots.<ref>Beaubrun Ardouin, Etudes sur l’historie d’Haiti : suivies de la vie du général J.M. Borgella (Paris: Dezobry et Magdeleine, 1853-1860), quoted in Erin Zavitz, "Revolutionary narrations: Early Haitian historiography and the challenge of writing counter-history," Atlantic Studies, 14, no. 3 (2017).</ref>

Furthermore, other authors tried to prove the civility of the elite Haitians by arguing that Blacks were capable of establishing and running a government by changing and augmenting the history of the revolution to favor the mulatto and black elites, rather than the bands of slaves.<ref>Thomas Madiou, Histoire d’Haiti, 1847. Quoted in Erin Zavitz, "Revolutionary narrations: Early Haitian historiography and the challenge of writing counter-history," Atlantic Studies, 14, no. 3 (2017), 343.</ref> Furthermore, to maintain freedom and independence, the elites failed to provide the civil society that the Haitian mass desired. The Haitian peasants desired not only land freedom but also civil rights, such as voting and political participation, as well as access to education.<ref name="Mimi Sheller 2000"/> The state failed to provide those basic rights.

The state was essentially run by the military, which meant that it was very difficult for the Haitian population to participate in any democratic process. Most importantly, the state failed to provide the access to education that a state of former slaves needed.<ref>M.B. Bird, the Black Man or Haytian Independence (New York: Published by Author, 1869), 220.</ref> It was nearly impossible for the former slaves to participate effectively because they lacked the basic literacy that had been intentionally denied to them under French colonial rule. Through their differing views on Haitian nationalism and freedom, the elites created a state that greatly favored them, instead of the Haitian peasantry.

===The struggle for unity (1806–1820)===
[[File:Duckworth's Action off San Domingo, 6 February 1806.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of San Domingo|battle of Santo Domingo]] (1806) painted by 	
Nicholas Pocock in 1808]]

After the Dessalines ''coup d'état'', the two main conspirators divided the country in two rival regimes. Christophe created the [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]] [[State of Haiti]] in the north, and the ''[[gens de couleur]]'' Pétion established the [[Republic of Haiti (1806–1820)|Republic of Haiti]] in the south. Christophe attempted to maintain a strict system of labor and agricultural production akin to the former plantations. Although, strictly speaking, he did not establish slavery, he imposed a semi-feudal system, ''fumage'', in which every able man was required to work in plantations (similar to Spanish ''[[Latifundia|latifundios]]'') to produce goods for the fledgling country. His method, though undoubtedly oppressive, produced the greater revenues of the two governments.

In contrast, Pétion broke up the former colonial estates and parceled out the land into small holdings. In Pétion's south, the ''[[gens de couleur]]'' minority led the government and feared losing popular support, and thus, they reduced class tensions by land redistribution. Because of the weak international position and its labor policies (most peasants lived through a subsistence economy), Pétion's government was perpetually on the brink of bankruptcy. Yet, for most of its time, it produced one of the most liberal and tolerant Haitian governments ever. In 1815, at a key period of [[Military career of Simón Bolívar|Bolívar's fight for Venezuelan independence]], Pétion gave the Venezuelan leader [[right of asylum|asylum]] and provided him soldiers and substantial material support. Pétion also had the fewest internal military skirmishes, despite his continuous conflicts with Christophe's northern kingdom. In 1816, however, after finding the burden of the [[Senate]] intolerable,{{explain|date=January 2023}} he suspended the legislature and turned his post into [[President for Life]]. Not long after, he died of [[yellow fever]], and his assistant [[Jean-Pierre Boyer]] replaced him.

[[File:Kingdom of Haiti.jpg|thumbnail|The Kingdom of Haiti in the North and the Republic of Haiti in the South]]
In this period, the eastern part of the island rose against the new powers, following general Juan Sánchez Ramírez's claims of independence from France, which broke the Treaties of Bâle attacking Spain{{explain|date=January 2023}} and prohibited commerce with Haiti. In the Palo Hincado battle (7 November 1808), all the remaining French forces were defeated by Spanish-creole insurrectionists. On 9 July 1809, the Spanish colony Santo Domingo was born. The government put itself under the control of Spain, earning it the nickname of "España Boba" (meaning "The Idiot Spain").

In 1811, [[Henri Christophe]] proclaimed himself King Henri I of the [[Kingdom of Haiti]] in the North and commissioned several extraordinary buildings. He even created a nobility class in the fashion of European monarchies. Yet in 1820, weakened by illness and with decreasing support for his authoritarian regime, he killed himself with a silver bullet rather than face a ''coup d'état''. Immediately after, Pétion's successor, Boyer, reunited Haiti through diplomatic tactics and ruled as president until his overthrow in 1843.

===Boyer's domination of Hispaniola (1820–1843)===
{{main|Republic of Haiti (1820–1849)}}
[[File:President_Jean-Pierre_Boyer_of_Haiti_(Hispaniola_Unification_Regime)_Portrait.jpg|thumb|[[Jean-Pierre Boyer]]]]

Almost two years after Boyer had consolidated power in the west, Haiti invaded Santo Domingo (present-day Dominican Republic) and declared the island free from European powers. Boyer, however, responding to a party on the east that preferred Haiti over Colombia, occupied the ex-Spanish colony in January 1822, encountering no military resistance. In this way he accomplished the unity of the island, which was only carried out for a short period of time by [[Toussaint Louverture]] in 1801. Boyer's occupation of the Spanish side also responded to internal struggles among Christophe's generals, to which Boyer gave extensive powers and lands in the east. This occupation, however, pitted the Spanish white elite against the iron fisted Haitian administration, and stimulated the emigration of many white wealthy families. The entire island remained under Haitian rule until 1844, when in the east a nationalist group called [[La Trinitaria (Dominican Republic)|La Trinitaria]] led a revolt that partitioned the island into [[Haiti]] on the west and [[Dominican Republic]] on the east, based on what would appear to be a riverine territorial 'divide' from the pre-contact period.

From 1824 to 1826, while the island was under one government, Boyer promoted the largest single [[Haitian emigration|free-Black immigration]] from the [[Thomas Jefferson and Haitian Emigration|United States]] in which more than 6,000 immigrants settled in different parts of the island.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bourhis-Mariotti |first=Claire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pV3gEAAAQBAJ&dq=Boyer+haiti+6000&pg=PA26 |title=Wanted! A Nation!: Black Americans and Haiti, 1804-1893 |date=2023-12-15 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-6555-8 |language=en}}</ref> Today remnants of these immigrants live throughout the island, but the larger number reside in [[Samaná Peninsula|Samaná]], a peninsula on the Dominican side of the island. From the government's perspective, the intention of the immigration was to help establish commercial and diplomatic relationships with the US, and to increase the number of skilled and agricultural workers in Haiti.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heinl |first=Robert Debs |title=Written in Blood: The Story of the Haitian People 1492-1995 |publisher=UPA |year=2005 |isbn=0761831770 |edition=newly revised |language=English}}</ref>

[[File:Sans Souci Palace.jpg|thumb|The ruins of the [[Sans-Souci Palace]], severely damaged in the 1842 earthquake and never rebuilt]]
In exchange for diplomatic recognition from France, Boyer was forced to pay a huge indemnity for the loss of French property during the revolution. To pay for this, he had to float loans in France, putting Haiti into a state of debt. Boyer attempted to enforce production through the ''Code Rural'', enacted in 1826, but peasant freeholders, mostly former revolutionary soldiers, had no intention of returning to the forced labor they fought to escape. By 1840, Haiti had ceased to export sugar entirely, although large amounts continued to be grown for local consumption as ''taffia''-a raw rum. However, Haiti continued to export coffee, which required little cultivation and grew semi-wild.

The [[1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake]] destroyed the city, and the [[Sans-Souci Palace]], killing 10,000 people. This was the third major earthquake to hit Western Hispaniola following the 1751 and 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquakes, and the last until the devastating [[2010 Haiti earthquake|earthquake of 2010]].

==Political struggles (1843–1915)==
[[File:Sacre de l'empereur Faustin Soulouque.jpg|thumb|The coronation of [[Faustin I of Haiti]] in 1849]]

[[File:Palais-National incendié par Salnave.jpg|thumb|The National Palace burned down during the revolt against Salnave in 1868]]

[[File:Haiti German legation 1900.jpg|thumb|Staff of the German legation and the Hamburg-Amerika Line agency at Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1900. The agency was involved in the staffing and management of the legation. German nationals were comparatively numerous in Haiti and heavily involved in the Haitian economy until World War I.]]

[[File:Bishop's House, Cap-Haitien - Haiti, her history and her detractors.jpg|thumb|Bishop's House in [[Cap-Haitien]], 1907]]

In 1843, a revolt, led by [[Charles Rivière-Hérard]], overthrew Boyer and established a brief parliamentary rule under the [[1843 Constitution of Haiti|Constitution of 1843]]. Revolts soon broke out and the country descended into near chaos, with a series of transient presidents until March 1847, when General [[Faustin I of Haiti|Faustin Soulouque]], a former slave who had fought in the rebellion of 1791, became president. During this period, Haiti unsuccessfully [[Dominican War of Independence|waged war]] against the Dominican Republic.

In 1849, taking advantage of his popularity, President Faustin Soulouque proclaimed himself Emperor Faustin I. His iron rule succeeded in uniting Haiti for a time, but it came to an abrupt end in 1859 when he was deposed by General [[Fabre Geffrard]], styled the Duke of Tabara.

Fabre Geffrard remained in power until 1867 and successfully promoted a policy of national reconciliation. His achievements included signing a [[concordat]] with the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] in 1860 and restoring [[Roman Catholic]] influence in Haiti, including within the education system.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Haiti’s first concordat (1860) and Cardinal Antonelli’s Reply: Text {{!}} Concordat Watch - Haiti |url=https://www.concordatwatch.eu/haitis-first-concordat-1860-and-cardinal-antonellis-reply-text--t39311 |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=www.concordatwatch.eu |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stieber |first=Chelsea |title=Haiti's Paper War: Post-Independence Writing, Civil War, and the Making of the Republic, 1804–1954 |date=18 August 2020 |isbn=978-1479802135 |pages=201–227 |publisher=NYU Press |language=English}}</ref>

In 1867, [[Sylvain Salnave]] overthrew Geffrard and assumed the presidency. Initially popular, he soon alienated many through his authoritarian tendencies; these included dissolving the National Assembly and annulling the constitution. His heavy-handed rule sparked widespread discontent, which was exploited by Generals [[Jean-Nicolas Nissage Saget]] and [[Michel Domingue]] to lead a rebellion. As defeat loomed, Salnave fled for the Dominican Republic; however, his escape attempt was thwarted by Dominican border guards, who extradited him back to Haiti. He was tried for incendiarism and murder and was executed on January 15, 1870. Saget succeeded him as the next president of Haiti.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors/Part I: Chapter XVI - Wikisource, the free online library |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors/Part_I:_Chapter_XVI |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=en.wikisource.org |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=202}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Matthew |title=Liberty, Fraternity, Exile: Haiti and Jamaica after Emancipation |date=20 October 2014 |publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=978-1469617985}}</ref>

From the 1870s to the 1890s, Haitian politics would be defined by two major political parties: the [[Liberal Party (Haiti)|Liberal Party]] (PL), representing the mulatto elite, and the [[National Party (Haiti)|National Party]] (PN), dominated by the black majority.<ref name="Bethell">{{Cite book |last=Bethell |first=Leslie |title=The Cambridge History of Latin America |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=311–312}}</ref>

In 1874, Saget peacefully transferred power to National-aligned Michel Domingue, marking one of the few times a Haitian head of state served his prescribed term and then retired.<ref>{{Cite book|year=1979|last=Nicholls |first=David |title=From Dessalines to Duvalier: Race, Colour and National Independence in Haiti}}</ref> Many viewed him to be a figurehead; real power laid with his nephew, Septimus Rameau, founder of the National Party.{{sfn|Nicholls|1979|p=109}} 

In 1876, Domingue was overthrown by the Liberals and succeeded by Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal.{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=205}} For the remainder of the decade, the Liberals became increasingly factionalized between the "''Canalistes''" who supported President Canal and the "''Bazelaisistes''" who supported [[Jean Pierre Boyer-Bazelais]], one of the party founders. This infighting severely weakened the Liberals and costed them the 1879 elections, bringing National Party candidate, [[Lysius Salomon]], to the presidency.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Byrd |first1=Brandon |title=Haiti for the Haitians: by Louis-Joseph Janvier |last2=Stieber |first2=Chelsea}}</ref>

During his presidency, Salomon enacted monetary reform, and, in 1880-1881, established the [[National Bank of Haiti]] (''Banque Nationale'').<ref>{{Cite book|year=1978|last=Nicholls |first=David |title=The Wisdom of Salomon: Myth or Reality?}}</ref><ref name="Bethell"/> His presidency also saw a cultural renaissance, with Haitian art flourishing during this period. However, Salomon's efforts to prolong his tenure by amending the constitution sparked fears this would lead to a presidency-for-life, leading to significant oppositions and calls for his resignation. Facing immense pressure, Salomon ultimately resigned.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-20 |title=“From Salomon to Légitime” by Jacques Nicolas Léger (1859-1918) |url=https://islandluminous.fiu.edu/part06-slide10.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220165754/https://islandluminous.fiu.edu/part06-slide10.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2024-12-20 |access-date=2025-01-28 }}</ref>

The nation then descended into civil war; stability was eventually restored under [[Florvil Hyppolite]], who reunified Haiti and ushered in a rare period of peace.{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=217}} Hyppolite appointed [[Anténor Firmin]] as Minister of Finance, who reformed the country's financial systems. Firmin reorganized the banks, taxation, and regularized debt payments to France, stabilizing Haiti's reputation as a reliable debtor nation.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=322}} Though initially backed by the Nationals, he had declared himself a Liberal by the time he reached the presidency, making the divisions increasingly blurry and ultimately irrelevant.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=320}} 

[[Tirésias Simon Sam]], who succeeded Hyppolite after his sudden death in March 1896, was able to maintain the peace he had started.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=321}} 

The final decades of the 19th century were also marked by the development of a Haitian intellectual culture. Major works of history were published in 1847 and 1865. Haitian intellectuals, led by Louis-Joseph Janvier and Anténor Firmin, engaged in a war of letters against a tide of racism and Social Darwinism that emerged during this period. 

By the 20th century, new political forces had emerged, including the [[Firminism]] movement, led by Anténor Firmin. This movement emerged during the political vacuum following the resignation of President Sam after his controversial handling of the [[Luders Affair]].{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=219}} Advocating for economic reform, the reduction of military influence in politics, the broader inclusion of civilian participation in governance, and a third-way that transcended the traditional Liberal and National divide,{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=219}} Firminism quickly gained momentum. As the elections to elect a new president approached, Firmin and General [[Pierre Nord Alexis]] emerged as the primary contenders. Those supporting Firmin were called the "''Firministes''" while those who supported Alexis were called the "''Nordistes''".{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=217}}

Between June and December 1902, Haiti was engulfed in civil war between these two factions.{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=217}} However, Firmin’s movement lacked the necessary military strength to succeed; it was ultimately crushed.{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=219}} Firmin was forced into exile once more and General Alexis was declared president of Haiti on December 17, 1902. There was a subsequent Firminist rebellion in 1908, but that too was crushed by Alexis.{{sfn|Stieber|2020|p=226}}

However, by 1908, Alexis' rule had become tenuous. Amid mounting discontent over famines and natural disasters, General [[François C. Antoine Simon|Antoine Simon]] launched a rebellion against Alexis, eventually driving him to exile later that year. He departed for Kingston, Jamaica, to jeering crowds.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=377-378}} Overjoyed by the news, Firmin's supporters chartered a ship to return to Haiti. However, Firmin himself delayed the journey, waiting for a larger vessel to accommodate his followers and their families - a hesitation that cost him the chance to claim power.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=378}}

On December 8, Antoine Simon declared himself president of Haiti after entering Port-au-Prince.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=378}} Simon aligned his regime with US interests to consolidate power. Firminists in exile published scathing tracts against the government, criticizing him for compromising Haitian sovereignty and independence. One from 1910 accused Simon of “selling the country whole to the Americans” and forewarning that under U.S. domination, “independent Haitians would return to being slaves.”{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=379-380}}

In 1911, General [[Cincinnatus Leconte]] capitalized on border tensions with the Dominican Republic to lead a rebellion and launch his own bid for power, managing to rally some of Firmin's supporters towards his cause. In retaliation, Simon directed a full-scale military assault on [[Ouanaminthe]], the rebellious eastern border town where Leconte had gathered his forces. The attack resulted in the town being burned down and the townsfolk being terrorized.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=381}}

Though both Firmin and Leconte were opposed to Antoine Simon's government, their political ambitions diverged, making them rivals rather than allies. The rivalry between the two factions extended to Cap-Haïtien, where their partisans clashed.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=381}}

While Simon and his ministers focused on quelling the rebellion, generals remaining in Port-au-Prince seized the opportunity to exact revenge on their political enemies and settle scores, with supporters of Firmin being summarily executed on charges of conspiracy.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=381}}

On August 3, Simon fled into exile. Three days later on August 6, Leconte’s forces triumphantly entered Port-au-Prince and established control. Firmin arrived a day later on August 7 in Cap-Haïtien aboard a French steamer, the ''Caravelle'', but his delayed landing weakened his negotiating position. Leconte immediately blocked his entry into the country, denying him the chance to assert his leadership. This denial was a humiliating blow for Firmin, and it dashed the hopes of his supporters for a potential Firmin presidency once more.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=382-383}}

On August 8, Firmin publicly declared his retirement from politics, officially withdrawing his candidacy for the presidency and renouncing any public office, both in Haiti and abroad. In a personal farewell letter, Firmin expressed deep disappointment, lamenting that Haiti had rejected his vision of national unity and progress. This marked the end of his political dreams for Haiti. He returned to St. Thomas, where he spent the remainder of his days. Firmin died on 27 September 1911 in St. Thomas.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=382-383}}

From 1911 to 1915, there were six different presidents, each of whom was killed or forced into exile.<ref>{{harvnb|Heinl|1996|p=791}}</ref> The revolutionary armies were formed by ''cacos'', peasant brigands from the mountains of the north, along the porous Dominican border, who were enlisted by rival political factions with promises of money to be paid after a successful revolution and an opportunity to plunder.

The United States was particularly apprehensive about the role of the German community in Haiti (approximately 200 in 1910), who wielded a disproportionate amount of economic power. Germans controlled about 80% of the country's international commerce; they also owned and operated utilities in Cap Haïtien and Port-au-Prince, the main [[wharf]] and a tramway in the capital, and a railroad serving the Plaine de Cul-du-Sac.

The German community proved more willing to integrate into Haitian society than any other group of white foreigners, including the French. A number married into the nation's most prominent mulatto families, bypassing the constitutional prohibition against foreign land-ownership. They also served as the principal financiers of the nation's innumerable revolutions, floating innumerable loans – at high interest rates – to competing political factions.

In an effort to limit German influence, in 1910–1911, the US State Department backed a consortium of American investors, assembled by the [[Citibank|National City Bank of New York]], in securing the currency issuance concession through the [[National Bank of the Republic of Haiti]], which replaced the prior [[National Bank of Haiti]] as the nation's only commercial bank and custodian of the government treasury.

In February 1915, [[Vilbrun Guillaume Sam]] established a dictatorship, but in July, facing a new revolt, he massacred 167 political prisoners, all of whom were from elite families, and was lynched by a mob in [[Port-au-Prince]].

<gallery>
File:Fabre Geffrard (President d'Haiti 1859-1867).jpg|[[Fabre Geffrard]]
File:Charles Rivière-Hérard.jpg|[[Charles Rivière-Hérard]]
File:Michel Domingue (President d'Haiti 1874-1876).jpg|[[Michel Domingue]]
File:Salomon 200.jpg|[[Lysius Salomon]]
</gallery>

==United States occupation (1915–1934)==
{{Main|United States occupation of Haiti}}
[[File:Occupation of Haiti.jpg|thumbnail|United States Marines and a Haitian guide patrolling the jungle in 1915 during the Battle of Fort Dipitie]]
[[File:American Marines In 1915 defending the entrance gate in Cap-Haitian - 34510.jpg|thumb|American Marines in 1915 defending the entrance gate in Cap-Haïten]]
[[File:Marines' base in Cap-Haïtien.jpg|thumb|Marine's base at Cap-Haïtien]]
[[File:Inauguration du Mausolée de Pétion et de Dessalines.jpg|thumb|Opening of the mausoleum of Pétion and Dessalines in 1926]]
[[File:Bread market, St. Michel (Haiti) (15629128676).jpg|thumb|Bread market in St. Michel, 1928–1929]]

In 1915, after seven Haitian presidents had been violently deposed via assassination or coup d'etat between 1911-1914, the United States responded to fears of undue German influence in the region as well as complaints to President [[Woodrow Wilson]] from American banks to which Haiti was deeply in debt, and occupied the country. The [[United States occupation of Haiti|occupation of Haiti]] lasted until 1934. The US occupation was resented by Haitians as a loss of sovereignty and there were revolts against US forces. Reforms were carried out despite this.

Under the supervision of the United States Marines, the Haitian National Assembly elected [[Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave]] president. He signed a treaty that made Haiti a ''de jure'' US protectorate, with American officials assuming control over the Financial Advisory, Customs Receivership, the Constabulary, the Public Works Service, and the Public Health Service for a period of ten years. The principal instrument of American authority was the newly created ''Gendarmerie d'Haïti'', commanded by American officers. In 1917, at the demand of US officials, the National Assembly was dissolved, and officials were designated to write a new constitution, which was largely dictated by officials in the [[United States Department of State|US State Department]] and [[United States Department of the Navy|US Navy Department]]. [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], Under-Secretary for the Navy in the [[Woodrow Wilson|Wilson]] administration, claimed to have personally written the new constitution. This document abolished the prohibition on foreign ownership of land – the most essential component of Haitian law. When the newly elected National Assembly refused to pass this document and drafted one of its own preserving this prohibition, it was forcibly dissolved by ''Gendarmerie'' commandant [[Smedley Butler]]. This constitution was approved by a plebiscite in 1919, in which less than 5% of the population voted. The US State Department authorized this plebiscite presuming that "the people casting ballots would be 97% illiterate, ignorant in most cases of what they were voting for."<ref>{{cite book |first=Hans |last=Schmidt |title=The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |year=1971 |isbn=9780813522036 |page=99}}</ref>

The Marines and ''Gendarmerie'' initiated an extensive road-building program to enhance their military effectiveness and open the country to US investment. Lacking any source of adequate funds, they revived an 1864 Haitian law, discovered by Butler, requiring peasants to perform labor on local roads in lieu of paying a road tax. This system, known as the [[corvée]], originated in the unpaid labor that French peasants provided to their [[feudalism|feudal]] lords. In 1915, Haiti had {{convert|3|mi}} of road usable by automobile, outside the towns. By 1918, more than {{convert|470|mi|km}} of road had been built or repaired through the corvée system, including a road linking [[Port-au-Prince]] to [[Cap-Haïtien]].<ref>{{harvnb|Heinl|1996|pp=430}}</ref> However, Haitians forced to work in the corvée labor-gangs, frequently dragged from their homes and harassed by armed guards, received few immediate benefits and saw this system of forced labor as a return to slavery at the hands of white men.

In 1919, a new ''caco'' uprising began, led by [[Charlemagne Péralte]], vowing to 'drive the invaders into the sea and free Haiti.'<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Max Boot |last=Boot |first=Max |title=The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power |location=New York |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=046500721X |lccn=2004695066 |year=2003 |page=173}}</ref> The Cacos [[Battle of Port-au-Prince (1919)|attacked Port-au-Prince]] in October but were driven back with heavy casualties. Afterwards, a [[Haitian Creole language|Creole]]-speaking American ''Gendarmerie'' officer and two US marines infiltrated Péralte's camp, killing him and photographing his corpse in an attempt to demoralize the rebels. Leadership of the rebellion passed to [[Benoît Batraville]], a Caco chieftain from [[Artibonite (department)|Artibonite]], who also launched an [[Battle of Port-au-Prince (1920)|assault on the capital]]. His death in 1920 marked the end of hostilities. During Senate hearings in 1921, the commandant of the Marine Corps reported that, in the twenty months of active resistance, 2,250 Haitians had been killed. However, in a report to the Secretary of the Navy he reported the death toll as being 3,250.<ref>{{harvnb|Schmidt|1971|p=102}}</ref> Haitian historians have estimated the true number was much higher; one suggested, "the total number of battle victims and casualties of repression and consequences of the war might have reached, by the end of the pacification period, four or five times that – somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 persons."<ref>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Farmer |author-link=Paul Farmer |title=The Uses of Haiti |publisher=Common Courage Press |year=2003 |page=98}}</ref>

In 1922, Dartiguenave was replaced by [[Louis Borno]], who ruled without a legislature until 1930. That same year, General [[John H. Russell, Jr.]], was appointed High Commissioner. The Borno-Russel dictatorship oversaw the expansion of the economy, building over {{convert|1000|mi|km}} of road, establishing an automatic telephone exchange, modernizing the nation's port facilities, and establishing a public health service. [[Sisal]] was introduced to Haiti, and sugar and cotton became significant exports.<ref>{{harvnb|Heinl|1996|pp=454–55}}</ref> However, efforts to develop commercial agriculture had limited success, in part because much of Haiti's labor force was employed at seasonal work in the more established sugar industries of [[Cuba]] and the [[Dominican Republic]]. An estimated 30,000–40,000 Haitian laborers, known as ''braceros'', went annually to the [[Oriente Province]] of Cuba between 1913 and 1931.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Bridget |last1=Woodling |first2=Richard |last2=Moseley-Williams |title=Needed but unwanted: Haitian Immigrants and their Descendants in the Dominican Republic |publisher=Catholic Institute for International Relations |place=London |year=2004 |page=24}}</ref> Most Haitians continued to resent the loss of sovereignty. At the forefront of opposition among the educated elite was ''L'Union Patriotique,'' which established ties with opponents of the occupation in the US itself, in particular the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP).{{citation needed|date=January 2010}}

The [[Great Depression]] decimated{{citation needed |date= March 2010}} the prices of Haiti's exports and destroyed the tenuous gains of the previous decade. In December 1929, Marines in [[Les Cayes]] killed ten Haitians during a march to protest local economic conditions. This led [[Herbert Hoover]] to appoint two commissions, including one headed by a former US governor of the [[Philippines]] [[William Cameron Forbes]], which criticized the exclusion of Haitians from positions of authority in the government and constabulary, now known as the ''Garde d'Haïti''. In 1930, [[Sténio Vincent]], a long-time critic of the occupation, was elected president, and the US began to withdraw its forces. The withdrawal was completed under US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (FDR), in 1934, under his "[[Good Neighbor policy]]". The US retained control of Haiti's external finances until 1947.<ref>{{harvnb|Schmidt|1971|p=232}}</ref> All three rulers during the occupation came from the country's [[mulatto]] minority. At the same time, many in the growing black professional classes departed from the traditional veneration of Haiti's French cultural heritage and emphasized the nation's African roots, most notably ethnologist [[Jean Price-Mars]] and the journal ''Les Griots'', edited by Dr. [[François Duvalier]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=San Miguel |first1=Pedro Luis |title=Imagined Island : History, Identity, and Utopia in Hispaniola |date=2005-09-30 |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |isbn=9780807829646 |pages=68–69}}</ref>

The transition government was left with a better infrastructure, public health, education, and agricultural development as well as a democratic system. The country had fully democratic elections in 1930, won by [[Sténio Vincent]]. The Garde was a new kind of military institution in Haiti. It was a force manned overwhelmingly by blacks, with a United States-trained black commander, Colonel [[Démosthènes Pétrus Calixte]]. Most of the Garde's officers, however, were mulattoes. The Garde was a national organization;<ref name=oavommo /> it departed from the regionalism that had characterized most of Haiti's previous armies. In theory, its charge was apolitical—to maintain internal order, while supporting a popularly elected government. The Garde initially adhered to this role.<ref name=oavommo>{{Cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/haiti/16.htm|title = Haiti – POLITICS AND THE MILITARY, 1934-57}}</ref>

==Elections and coups (1934–1957)==

[[File:Stenio Vincent portrait.jpg|thumb|[[Sténio Vincent]]]]

===Vincent's presidency (1934–1941)===
President Vincent took advantage of the comparative national stability, which was being maintained by a professionalized military, to gain absolute power. A plebiscite permitted the transfer of all authority in economic matters from the legislature to the executive, but Vincent was not content with this expansion of his power. In 1935 he forced through the legislature a new constitution, which was also approved by plebiscite. The constitution praised Vincent, and it granted the executive sweeping powers to dissolve the legislature at will, to reorganize the judiciary, to appoint ten of twenty-one senators (and to recommend the remaining eleven to the lower house), and to rule by decree when the legislature was not in session. Although Vincent implemented some improvements in infrastructure and services, he brutally repressed his opposition, censored the press, and governed largely to benefit himself and a clique of merchants and corrupt military officers.<ref name=oavommo />

Under Calixte the majority of Garde personnel had adhered to the doctrine of political nonintervention that their Marine Corps trainers had stressed. Over time, however, Vincent and Dominican dictator [[Rafael Trujillo|Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina]] sought to buy adherents among the ranks. Trujillo, determined to expand his influence over all of Hispaniola, in October 1937 ordered the indiscriminate butchery by the Dominican army of an estimated 14,000 to 40,000 Haitians on the Dominican side of the [[Dajabón River|Massacre River]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barsamian |first1=David |title=Louder Than Bombs: Interviews from the Progressive Magazine |date=2004 |publisher=South End Press |page=3 |isbn=9780896087255 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWQkIPrIAAsC&pg=PA3}}</ref> Some observers claim that Trujillo supported an abortive coup attempt by young Garde officers in December 1937. Vincent dismissed Calixte as commander and sent him abroad, where he eventually accepted a commission in the Dominican military as a reward for his efforts while on Trujillo's payroll. The attempted coup led Vincent to purge the officer corps of all members suspected of disloyalty, marking the end of the apolitical military.<ref name=oavommo />

===Lescot's presidency (1941–1946)===

[[File:Elie Lescot portrait.jpg |thumb|[[Élie Lescot]]]]

In 1941 Vincent showed every intention of standing for a third term as president, but after almost a decade of disengagement, the United States made it known that it would oppose such an extension. Vincent accommodated the Roosevelt administration and handed power over to [[Elie Lescot]].<ref name=oavommo />

Lescot was of mixed race and had served in numerous government posts. He was competent and forceful, and many considered him a sterling candidate for the presidency, despite his elitist background. Like the majority of previous Haitian presidents, however, he failed to live up to his potential. His tenure paralleled that of Vincent in many ways. Lescot declared himself commander in chief of the military, and power resided in a clique that ruled with the tacit support of the Garde. He repressed his opponents, censored the press, and compelled the legislature to grant him extensive powers. He handled all budget matters without legislative sanction and filled legislative vacancies without calling elections. Lescot commonly said that Haiti's declared state-of-war against the Axis powers during World War II justified his repressive actions. Haiti, however, played no role in the war except for supplying the United States with raw materials and serving as a base for a United States Coast Guard detachment.<ref name=oavommo />

Aside from his authoritarian tendencies, Lescot had another flaw: his relationship with [[Rafael Trujillo]]. While serving as Haitian ambassador to the [[Dominican Republic]], Lescot fell under the sway of Trujillo's influence and wealth. In fact, it was Trujillo's money that reportedly bought most of the legislative votes that brought Lescot to power. Their clandestine association persisted until 1943, when the two leaders parted ways for unknown reasons. Trujillo later made public all his correspondence with the Haitian leader. The move undermined Lescot's already dubious popular support.<ref name=oavommo />

In January 1946, events came to a head when Lescot jailed the Marxist editors of a journal called ''La Ruche'' (The Beehive). This action precipitated student strikes and protests by government workers, teachers, and shopkeepers in the capital and provincial cities. In addition, Lescot's mulatto-dominated rule had alienated the predominantly black Garde. His position became untenable, and he resigned on 11 January. Radio announcements declared that the Garde had assumed power, which it would administer through a three-member junta.<ref name=oavommo />

===Revolution of 1946===
[[File:"TOGETHER AGAIN FOR FREEDOM^" - NARA - 535669.tif|thumb|"Together again for freedom", 1943 U.S. leaflet]]

The Revolution of 1946 was a novel development in Haiti's history, as the Garde assumed power as an institution, not as the instrument of a particular commander. The members of the junta, known as the Military Executive Committee (Comité Exécutif Militaire), were Garde commander [[Franck Lavaud|Colonel Franck Lavaud]], [[Antoine Levelt|Major Antoine Levelt]], and [[Paul E. Magloire|Major Paul E. Magloire]], commander of the Presidential Guard. All three understood Haiti's traditional way of exercising power, but they lacked a thorough understanding of what would be required to make the transition to an elected civilian government. Upon taking power, the junta pledged to hold free elections. The junta also explored other options, but public clamor, which included public demonstrations in support of potential candidates, eventually forced the officers to make good on their promise.<ref name=oavommo />

Haiti elected its National Assembly in May 1946. The Assembly set 16 August 1946, as the date on which it would select a president. The leading candidates for the office—all of whom were black—were [[Dumarsais Estimé]], a former school teacher, assembly member, and cabinet minister under Vincent; [[Félix d'Orléans Juste Constant]], leader of the [[Haitian Communist Party]] (Parti Communiste d'Haïti—PCH); and former Garde commander [[Démosthènes Pétrus Calixte]], who stood as the candidate of a progressive coalition that included the [[Movement for the Organization of the Country|Worker Peasant Movement]] (Mouvement Ouvrier Paysan—MOP). MOP chose to endorse Calixte, instead of a candidate from its own ranks, because the party's leader, [[Daniel Fignolé]], was only thirty-three years old—too young to stand for the nation's highest office. Estimé, politically the most moderate of the three, drew support from the black population in the north, as well as from the emerging black middle class. The leaders of the military, who would not countenance the election of Juste Constant and who reacted warily to the populist Fignolé, also considered Estimé the safest candidate. After two rounds of polling, legislators gave Estimé the presidency.<ref name=oavommo />

===Estimé's presidency (1946–1950)===
[[File:Dumarsais estime portrait.jpg|thumb|[[Dumarsais Estimé]] ]]
Estimé's election represented a break with Haiti's political tradition. Although he was reputed to have received support from commanders of the Garde, Estimé was a civilian. Of humble origins, he was passionately anti-elitist and therefore generally anti-mulatto. He demonstrated, at least initially, a genuine concern for the welfare of the people. Operating under a new constitution that went into effect in November 1946, Estimé proposed, but never secured passage of, Haiti's first social- security legislation. He did, however, expand the school system, encourage the establishment of rural cooperatives, raise the salaries of civil servants, and increase the representation of middle-class and lower-class blacks in the public sector. He also attempted to gain the favor of the Garde—renamed the Haitian Army (Armée d'Haïti) in March 1947—by promoting Lavaud to brigadier general and by seeking United States military assistance.<ref name=oavommo />

Estimé eventually fell victim to two of the time-honored pitfalls of Haitian rule: elite intrigue and personal ambition. The elite had a number of grievances against Estimé. Not only had he largely excluded them from the often lucrative levers of government, but he also enacted the country's first income tax, fostered the growth of labor unions, and suggested that vodou be considered as a religion equivalent to Roman Catholicism—a notion that the Europeanized elite abhorred. Lacking direct influence in Haitian affairs, the elite resorted to clandestine lobbying among the officer corps. Their efforts, in combination with deteriorating domestic conditions, led to a coup in May 1950.<ref name=oavommo />

To be sure, Estimé had hastened his own demise in several ways. His nationalization of the [[Standard Fruit Company]] banana concession sharply reduced the firm's revenues. He alienated workers by requiring them to invest between 10 percent and 15 percent of their salaries in national-defense bonds. The president sealed his fate by attempting to manipulate the constitution in order to extend his term in office. Seizing on this action and the popular unrest it engendered, the army forced the president to resign on 10 May 1950. The same junta that had assumed power after the fall of Lescot reinstalled itself. An army escort conducted Estimé from the National Palace and into exile in Jamaica. The events of May 1946 made an impression upon the deposed minister of labor, François Duvalier. The lesson that Duvalier drew from Estimé's ouster was that the military could not be trusted. It was a lesson that he would act upon when he gained power.<ref name=oavommo />

===Magloire's presidency (1950–1956)===
[[File:Paul Magloire portrait.jpg |thumb|[[Paul Magloire]] ]]

The power balance within the junta shifted between 1946 and 1950. Lavaud was the preeminent member at the time of the first coup, but Magloire, now a colonel, dominated after Estimé's overthrow. When Haiti announced that its first direct elections (all men twenty-one or over were allowed to vote) would be held on 8 October 1950, Magloire resigned from the junta and declared himself a candidate for president. In contrast to the chaotic political climate of 1946, the campaign of 1950 proceeded under the implicit understanding that only a strong candidate backed by both the army and the elite would be able to take power. Facing only token opposition, Magloire won the election and assumed office on 6 December.<ref name=oavommo />

Magloire restored the elite to prominence. The business community and the government benefited from favorable economic conditions until [[Hurricane Hazel]] hit the island in 1954. Haiti made some improvements on its infrastructure, but most of these were financed largely by foreign loans. By Haitian standards, Magloire's rule was firm, but not harsh: he jailed political opponents, including Fignolé, and shut down their presses when their protests grew too strident, but he allowed labor unions to function, although they were not permitted to strike. It was in the arena of corruption, however, that Magloire overstepped traditional bounds. The president controlled the sisal, cement, and soap monopolies. He and other officials built imposing mansions. The injection of international hurricane relief funds into an already corrupt system boosted graft to levels that disillusioned all Haitians. To make matters worse, Magloire followed in the footsteps of many previous presidents by disputing the termination date of his stay in office. Politicians, labor leaders, and their followers flocked to the streets in May 1956 to protest Magloire's failure to step down. Although Magloire declared martial law, a general strike essentially shut down Port-au-Prince. Again like many before him, Magloire fled to Jamaica, leaving the army with the task of restoring order.<ref name=oavommo />

===The rise of Duvalier (1956–1957)===
The period between the fall of Magloire and the election of Duvalier in September 1957 was a chaotic one, even by Haitian standards. Three provisional presidents held office during this interval; one resigned and the army deposed the other two, Franck Sylvain and Fignolé. Duvalier is said to have engaged actively in the behind-the-scenes intrigue that helped him to emerge as the presidential candidate that the military favored. The military went on to guide the campaign and the elections in a way that gave Duvalier every possible advantage. Most political actors perceived Duvalier—a medical doctor who had served as a rural administrator of a United States-funded anti-yaws campaign before entering the cabinet under Estimé—as an honest and fairly unassuming leader without a strong ideological motivation or program. When elections were finally organized, this time under terms of universal suffrage (both men and women now had the vote), Duvalier painted himself as the legitimate heir to Estimé. This approach was enhanced by the fact that Duvalier's only viable opponent, [[Louis Déjoie]], was a mulatto and the scion of a prominent family. Duvalier scored a decisive victory at the polls. His followers took two-thirds of the legislature's lower house and all of the seats in the Senate.<ref name=oavommo />

==The Duvalier era (1957–1986)==
{{main|Duvalier dynasty}}

==='Papa Doc' (1957–1971)===
[[File:François Duvalier (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[François Duvalier]] in 1968]]
A former Minister of Health who had earned a reputation as a humanitarian while serving as an administrator in a U.S.-funded anti-[[yaws]] campaign, [[François Duvalier]] (known as ''"Papa Doc"'') soon established another dictatorship. His regime is regarded as one of the most repressive and corrupt of modern times, combining violence against political opponents with exploitation of [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]] to instill fear in the majority of the population. Duvalier's paramilitary police, officially the Volunteers for National Security (''Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale'' – VSN) but more commonly known as the [[Tonton Macoute]]s, named for a Vodou monster, carried out political murders, beatings, and intimidation. An estimated 30,000 Haitians were killed by his government.<ref>{{citation |publisher=Country studies |place=US |url=http://countrystudies.us/haiti/17.htm |series=Haiti |title=François Duvalier, 1957–71}}</ref> [[Sexual violence in Haiti|Duvalier employed rape]] as a political tool to silence political opposition.<ref>{{cite book |last=Girard |first=Philippe |title=Haiti: The Tumultuous History – From Pearl of the Caribbean to Broken Nation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L5KnihgGoIMC&pg=PA139 |access-date=21 February 2013 |date=14 September 2010 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-11290-2}}</ref> Incorporating many ''[[houngan]]s'' into the ranks of the Macoutes, his public recognition of Vodou and its practitioners and his private adherence to Vodou ritual, combined with his reputed private knowledge of magic and sorcery, enhanced his popular persona among the common people and served as a peculiar form of legitimization.

Duvalier's policies, designed to end the dominance of the mulatto elite over the nation's economic and political life, led to massive emigration of educated people, deepening Haiti's economic and social problems. However, Duvalier appealed to the black middle class of which he was a member by introducing public works into middle-class neighborhoods that previously had been unable to have paved roads, running water, or modern sewage systems. In 1964, Duvalier proclaimed himself "President for Life".

The [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] administration suspended aid in 1961, after allegations that Duvalier had pocketed aid money and intended to use a [[Marine (military)|Marine Corps]] mission to strengthen the Macoutes. Duvalier also clashed with Dominican President [[Juan Bosch (politician)|Juan Bosch]] in 1963, after Bosch provided aid and asylum to Haitian exiles working to overthrow his regime. He ordered the Presidential Guard to occupy the Dominican chancery in [[Pétion-Ville]] to apprehend an officer involved in a plot to kidnap his children, leading Bosch to publicly threaten to invade Haiti. However, the Dominican army, which distrusted Bosch's leftist leanings, expressed little support for an invasion, and the dispute was settled by [[Organization of American States|OAS]] emissaries.

In 1971, Papa Doc entered into a 99-year contract with [[Don Pierson]] representing Dupont Caribbean Inc. of Texas for a [[free port]] project on the old [[buccaneer]] stronghold of [[Freeport Tortuga|Tortuga]] island located some {{convert|10|mi}} off the north coast of the main Haitian island of Hispaniola.

==='Baby Doc' (1971–1986)===
[[File:Fleeing Duvaliers.jpg|thumb|Jean-Claude and Michèle Duvalier en route to the airport to flee the country, 7 February 1986]]

On Duvalier's death in April 1971, power passed to his 19-year-old son [[Jean-Claude Duvalier]] (known as ''"Baby Doc"''). Under Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haiti's economic and political condition continued to decline, although some of the more fearsome elements of his father's regime were abolished. Foreign officials and observers also seemed more tolerant toward Baby Doc, in areas such as human-rights monitoring, and foreign countries were more generous to him with economic assistance. The United States restored its aid program in 1971. In 1974, Baby Doc expropriated the Freeport Tortuga project and this caused the venture to collapse. Content to leave administrative matters in the hands of his mother, Simone Ovid Duvalier, while living as a playboy, Jean-Claude enriched himself through a series of fraudulent schemes. Much of the Duvaliers' wealth, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, came from the ''Régie du Tabac'' (Tobacco Administration), a tobacco monopoly established by Estimé, which expanded to include the proceeds from all government enterprises and served as a slush fund for which no balance sheets were ever kept.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://countrystudies.us/haiti/18.htm |publisher=Country studies |place=US |series=Haiti |title=Jean-Claude Duvalier, 1971–86}}</ref> His marriage, in 1980, to a beautiful mulatto divorcée, [[Michèle Bennett]], in a $3&nbsp;million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=3000000|start_year=1980}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) ceremony, provoked widespread opposition, as it was seen as a betrayal of his father's antipathy towards the mulatto elite. At the request of Michèle, Papa Doc's widow Simone was expelled from Haiti. Baby Doc's [[kleptocracy]] left the regime vulnerable to unanticipated crises, exacerbated by endemic poverty, most notably the epidemic of [[African swine fever virus]]—which, at the insistence of [[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]] officials, led to the slaughter of the [[Creole Pig|creole pigs]], the principal source of income for most Haitians; and the widely publicized outbreak of AIDS in the early 1980s. Widespread discontent in Haiti began in 1983, when [[Pope John Paul II]] condemned the regime during a visit, finally provoking a rebellion, and in February 1986, after months of disorder, the army forced Duvalier to resign and go into exile.

==The struggle for democracy (1986–present day)==
[[File:Fishing village in Haiti.jpg|thumb|Fishing village in Haiti, 1996]]
[[File:Shopping streetin Haiti.jpg|thumb|Market street in Port-au-Prince, 1996]]

===Transitional government (1986–1990)===
From 1986 to early 1988 Haiti was ruled by a provisional military government under General Namphy. In 1987, a new constitution was ratified, providing for an elected [[bicameralism|bicameral]] parliament, an elected president, and a prime minister, cabinet, ministers, and supreme court appointed by the president with parliament's consent.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Ha%C3%AFti_(1987) |title=Constitution of Haiti}}</ref> The Constitution also provided for political decentralization through the election of mayors and administrative bodies responsible for local government. The [[Haitian presidential election, 1987|November 1987 elections]] were cancelled after troops massacred 30–300 voters on election day.<ref name=Whitney>Whitney, Kathleen Marie (1996), "Sin, Fraph, and the CIA: U.S. Covert Action in Haiti", ''Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas'', Vol. 3, Issue 2 (1996), pp. 303–32, esp. p. 319.</ref> [[Jimmy Carter]] later wrote that "Citizens who lined up to vote were mowed down by fusillades of terrorists' bullets. Military leaders, who had either orchestrated or condoned the murders, moved in to cancel the election and retain control of the Government."<ref>[[Jimmy Carter]], [[Carter Center]], 1 October 1990, [http://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc1379.html Haiti's Election Needs Help]</ref> The election was followed several months later by the [[Haitian presidential election, 1988]], which was boycotted by almost all the previous candidates, and saw turnout of just 4%.<ref>{{cite book |quote=Two months later, these generals conducted an ''election'' that was boycotted by almost all the previous candidates and in which fewer than 4 percent of the people voted; the victor was peremptorially removed when he dared to exert some independence as president. |first=Jimmy |last=Carter |author-link=Jimmy Carter |publisher=[[Carter Center]] |date=1 October 1990 |url=http://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc1379.html |title=Haiti's Election Needs Help}}</ref>

The 1988 elections led to [[Leslie Manigat|Professor Leslie Manigat]] becoming president, but three months later he too was ousted by the military. Further instability ensued, with several massacres, including the [[St Jean Bosco massacre]] in which the church of [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] was attacked and burned down. During this period, the Haitian [[Service d'Intelligence National|National Intelligence Service]] (SIN), which had been set up and financed in the 80s by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] as part of the war on drugs, participated in drug trafficking and political violence.<ref name="weiner">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/14/world/cia-formed-haitian-unit-later-tied-to-narcotics-trade.html?pagewanted=1 |author2=Tim Weiner |title=CIA Formed Haitian Unit Later Tied to Narcotics Trade |work=The New York Times |date=14 November 1993 |first1=Howard W |last1=French |access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref>

===The rise of Aristide (1990–1991)===
In December 1990, [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]], a [[liberation theology]] Roman Catholic (Salesian) priest, won 67% of the vote in [[Haitian general election, 1990–1991|elections]] that international observers deemed largely free and fair. Aristide's radical populist policies and the violence of his bands of supporters alarmed many of the country's elite, and, in September 1991, he was overthrown in the [[1991 Haitian coup d'état]], which brought General [[Raoul Cédras]] to power. The coup saw hundreds killed, and Aristide was forced into exile, his life saved by international diplomatic intervention.

===Military rule (1991–1994)===

[[File:Port-au-Prince airfield seizure.jpg|thumb|U.S. troops seizing Port-au-Prince airfield, September 1994]]

An estimated 3,000–5,000 Haitians were killed during the period of military rule. The coup created a large-scale exodus of refugees to the United States. The [[United States Coast Guard]] interdicted (in many cases, rescued) a total of 41,342 Haitians during 1991 and 1992. Most were denied entry to the United States and repatriated back to Haiti. Aristide has accused the United States of backing the 1991 coup.<ref>[http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=9321 Mark Weisbrot: US Is Still Undermining Haiti, December 2005.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929110548/http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=9321 |date=29 September 2007}}</ref> In response to the coup, the [[United Nations Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 841|Resolution 841]] imposing [[international sanctions]] and an [[arms embargo]] on Haiti.

On 16 February 1993, the [[Sinking of the ferry Neptune|ferry ''Neptune'' sank]], drowning an estimated 700 passengers. This was the worst ferry disaster in Haitian history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://timelines.ws/countries/HAITI.HTML|title=Timeline Haiti|access-date=18 February 2013|archive-date=10 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210031038/https://www.timelines.ws/countries/HAITI.HTML|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9709/09/haiti |publisher=CNN|title=Red Cross lowers estimate of Haitian ferry victims}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/haiti-ferry-disaster-may-have-claimed-400-lives-1238199.html |location=London |work=The Independent |title=Haiti ferry disaster may have claimed 400 lives |date=9 September 1997 |access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref><!---these are all reports of later sinkings but contain reports of the earlier Neptune sinking--->

The military regime governed Haiti until 1994, and according to some sources included drug trafficking led by Chief of National Police [[Michel François]]. Various initiatives to end the political crisis through the peaceful restoration of the constitutionally elected government failed. In July 1994, as repression mounted in Haiti and a civilian human rights monitoring mission was expelled from the country, the United Nations Security Council adopted [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 940]], which authorized member states to use all necessary means to facilitate the departure of Haiti's military leadership and to restore Haiti's constitutionally elected government to power.

[[File:DD-SD-99-03743.jpg|thumb|President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returns triumphantly to the National Palace at Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1994]]

===The return of Aristide (1994–1996)===
In mid-September 1994, with U.S. troops prepared to enter Haiti by force for [[Operation Uphold Democracy]], President [[Bill Clinton]] dispatched a negotiating team led by former president [[Jimmy Carter]] to persuade the authorities to step aside and allow for the return of constitutional rule. With intervening troops already airborne, Cédras and other top leaders agreed to step down. In October, Aristide was able to return. The [[Haitian general election, 1995]] in June 1995 saw Aristide's coalition, the Lavalas (Waterfall) Political Organization, gain a sweeping victory, and [[René Préval]], a prominent Aristide political ally, elected president with 88% of the vote. When Aristide's term ended in February 1996, this was Haiti's first ever transition between two democratically elected presidents.

===Preval's first Presidency (1996–2001)===
[[File:U.S. Coast Guard intercepting Haitian refugees.GIF|thumb|U.S. Coast Guard intercepting Haitian refugees, 1998]]

[[File:René Préval on March 31, 2010.jpg|thumb|[[René Préval]]]]

In late 1996, Aristide broke with Préval and formed a new political party, the Lavalas Family ([[Fanmi Lavalas]], FL), which won [[Haitian legislative election, 1997|elections in April 1997]] for one-third of the Senate and local assemblies, but these results were not accepted by the government. The split between Aristide and Préval produced a dangerous political deadlock, and the government was unable to organize the local and parliamentary elections due in late 1998. In January 1999, Préval dismissed legislators whose terms had expired – the entire Chamber of Deputies and all but nine members of the Senate, and Préval then ruled by decree.

===Aristide's second presidency (2001–2004)===
In May 2000 the [[Haitian legislative election, 2000]] for the Chamber of Deputies and two-thirds of the Senate took place. The election drew a voter turnout of more than 60%, and the FL won a virtual sweep. However, the elections were marred by controversy in the Senate race over the calculation of whether Senate candidates had achieved the majority required to avoid a run-off election (in Haiti, seats where no candidate wins an absolute majority of votes cast has to enter a second-round run-off election). The validity of the Electoral Council's post-ballot calculations of whether a majority had been attained was disputed. The [[Organization of American States]] complained about the calculation and declined to observe the July run-off elections. The opposition parties, regrouped in the Democratic Convergence ([[Convergence Démocratique]], CD), demanded that the elections be annulled, and that Préval stand down and be replaced by a provisional government. In the meantime, the opposition announced it would boycott the [[Haitian presidential election, 2000|November presidential and senatorial elections]]. Haiti's main aid donors threatened to cut off aid. At the November 2000 elections, boycotted by the opposition, Aristide was again elected president, with more than 90% of the vote, on a turnout of around 50% according to international observers. The opposition refused to accept the result or to recognize Aristide as president. Due to these events, Haiti's donor, the European Union and the United States, cut off aid to the country.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hufbauer |first1=Gary Clyde |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-uzlJDD7DwC |title=Economic Sanctions Reconsidered |last2=Schott |first2=Jeffrey J. |last3=Elliott |first3=Kimberly |publisher=Peterson Institute for International Economics |year=2007 |location=Washington |pages=34 |isbn=9780881325362 |language=en}}</ref>

Allegations emerged of drug trafficking reaching into the upper echelons of government, as it had done under the military regimes of the 1980s and early 1990s ([[illegal drug trade in Haiti]]). Canadian police arrested Oriel Jean, Aristide's security chief and one of his most trusted friends, for money laundering.<ref>[http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/03/Worldandnation/Taint_of_drugs_reachi.shtml Taint of drugs reaching Haiti's upper echelons]</ref> Beaudoin Ketant, a notorious international drug trafficker, Aristide's close partner, and his daughter's godfather, claimed that Aristide "turned the country into a narco-country; it's a one-man show; you either pay (Aristide) or you die".<ref>[[BBC]], 19 March 2004, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3524444.stm Haiti's drug money scourge]</ref>

Aristide spent years negotiating with the [[Convergence Démocratique]] on new elections, but the Convergence's inability to develop a sufficient electoral base made elections unattractive, and it rejected every deal offered, preferring to call for a US invasion to topple Aristide.

===The 2004 coup d'état===
{{Main|2004 Haitian coup d'état}}
Anti-Aristide protests in January 2004 led to violent clashes in Port-au-Prince, causing several deaths. In February, a revolt broke out in the city of [[Gonaïves]], which was soon under rebel control. The rebellion then began to spread, and Cap-Haïtien, Haiti's second-largest city, was captured. A mediation team of diplomats presented a plan to reduce Aristide's power while allowing him to remain in office until the end of his constitutional term. Although Aristide accepted the plan, it was rejected by the opposition.
[[File:Port-au-Prince med.jpg|thumbnail|U.S. Marines patrol the streets of Port-au-Prince on 9 March 2004]]
On 29 February 2004, with rebel contingents marching towards Port-au-Prince, Aristide departed from Haiti. Aristide insists that he was essentially kidnapped by the U.S., while the U.S. [[United States Department of State|State Department]] maintains that he resigned from office. Aristide and his wife left Haiti on an American airplane, escorted by American diplomats and military personnel, and were flown directly to [[Bangui]], capital of the [[Central African Republic]], where he stayed for the following two weeks, before seeking [[right of asylum|asylum]] in a less remote location.

Though this has never been proven, many observers in the press and academia believe that the US has not provided convincing answers to several of the more suspicious details surrounding the coup, such as the circumstances under which the US obtained Aristide's purported letter of "resignation" (as presented by the US) which, translated from [[Kreyòl]], may not have actually read as a resignation.<ref name="Hallward2008">{{cite web|url=http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/63/63-Resignation.pdf |title=Did he Jump or was he Pushed? |work=Press for Conversion! |year=2008 |pages=31–37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630054053/http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/63/63-Resignation.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2013 |url-status=live |first=Peter |last=Hallward |author-link=Peter Hallward |publisher=Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade |location=Ottawa |issue=63 |issn=1183-8892}}</ref>

Aristide has accused the U.S. of deposing him in concert with the Haitian opposition.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/03/01/aristide.claim/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040501065712/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/03/01/aristide.claim/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 May 2004 |title=Aristide says U.S. deposed him in 'coup d'état' |publisher=CNN|date=2 March 2004 |access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> In a 2006 interview, he said the U.S. went back on their word regarding compromises he made with them over privatization of enterprises to ensure that part of the profits would go to the Haitian people and then "relied on a disinformation campaign" to discredit him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=12166 |date=19 February 2007 |quote=Aristide's interview was conducted in French, in Pretoria, on 20 July 2006; originally published in London Review of Books |title=An Interview with Jean-Bertrand Aristide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070222050105/http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=12166 |archive-date=2007-02-22 |access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref>

Political organizations and writers, as well as Aristide himself, have suggested that the rebellion was in fact a foreign controlled coup d'état. [[Caribbean Community|Caricom]], which had been backing the peace deal, accused the United States, France, and the International community of failing in Haiti because they allegedly allowed a controversially elected leader to be violently forced out of office. The international community stated that the crisis was of Aristide's making and that he was not acting in the best interests of his country. They have argued that his removal was necessary for future stability in the island state.<ref name=":1" />

American investigators and Haitian investigators under the U.S.-backed interim Haitian government claimed to have discovered extensive [[embezzlement]], corruption, and [[money laundering]] by Aristide. They claimed claimed Aristide had stolen tens of millions of dollars from the country.<ref>[http://www.wehaitians.com/aristide%20probe%20is%20at%20a%20standstill.html Aristide probe is at a standstill]</ref><ref name="aristideaccounts">[http://www.wehaitians.com/aristide%20secret%20bank%20accounts.html Former hell-sent dictator Aristide secret offshore accounts and other crimes]</ref><ref>[http://www.radiokiskeya.com/RapportUCREF.pdf Haitian Financial Intelligence Unit report on corruption under Aristide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060501062854/http://www.radiokiskeya.com/RapportUCREF.pdf |date=1 May 2006}}</ref> None of the allegations about Aristide's involvement in embezzlement, corruption, or money laundering schemes could be proven.{{clarify|in most countries one needs "evidence" first before getting an indictment. It appears that there was lack of EVIDENCE here. Too soon for "proof"|date=April 2011}} The criminal court case brought against Aristide was quietly shelved, though various members of his Lavalas party languished for years in prison without charge or trial due to similar accusations<ref>[http://www.haitianalysis.com/2009/8/14/haiti-liberte-comparing-the-coups-in-haiti-and-honduras Haiti Liberte: Comparing the Coups in Haiti and Honduras] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725013413/http://www.haitianalysis.com/2009/8/14/haiti-liberte-comparing-the-coups-in-haiti-and-honduras |date=25 July 2011}}</ref> The Haitian government suspended the suit against Aristide on 30 Jun 2006 to prevent it from being thrown out for want of prosecution.<ref>[http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35254 HAITI/U.S. Govt Corruption Suit Stalls for Lack of Funds] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920132828/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35254 |date=20 September 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Boniface Alexandre.jpg|thumb|Provisional President Boniface Alexandre (2004–2006) led the intervention of the [[United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti|UN peacekeeping force in Haiti]] in 2004]]
The government was taken over by [[Supreme Court of Haiti|Supreme Court]] [[Chief Justice]] [[Boniface Alexandre]]. Alexandre petitioned the [[United Nations Security Council]] for the intervention of an international peacekeeping force. The Security Council passed a resolution the same day "[t]aking note of the resignation of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as President of Haiti and the swearing-in of President Boniface Alexandre as the acting President of Haiti in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti" and authorized such a mission.<ref name="UN_SRES15292004_page1">{{UN document |docid=S-RES-1529(2004) |type=Resolution |body=Security Council |year=2004 |resolution_number=1529 |highlight=rect_189,839_814,909 |page=1 |accessdate=18 October 2007 |date=29 February 2007}}</ref> As a vanguard of the official U.N. force, a force of about 1,000 [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] arrived in Haiti within the day, and Canadian and French troops arrived the next morning; the United Nations indicated it would send a team to assess the situation within days. On 1 June 2004, the [[peacekeeping]] mission was passed to [[United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti|MINUSTAH]] and comprised a 7,000 strength force led by [[Brazil]] and backed by [[Argentina]], Chile, [[Jordan]], Morocco, [[Nepal]], Peru, [[Philippines]], Spain, [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Uruguay]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vivantartcollection.com/history/ |title=Vivant Art Collection - History |access-date=2008-09-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926203318/http://www.vivantartcollection.com/history/ |archive-date=26 September 2008}}</ref>

Brazilian forces led the United Nations peacekeeping troops in Haiti composed of United States, France, Canada, and [[Chile]] deployments. These peacekeeping troops were a part of the ongoing MINUSTAH operation.

In November 2004, the [[University of Miami School of Law]] carried out a Human Rights Investigation in Haiti and documented serious human rights abuses. It stated that "[[summary execution]]s are a police tactic."<ref name="law.miami.edu">{{cite report |title=Griffin Report – Haiti Human Rights Investigation, 11–21 November 2004 |author=Thomas M. Griffin |publisher=Center for the Study of Human Rights, [[University of Miami School of Law]] |url=http://www.law.miami.edu/cshr/CSHR_Report_02082005_v2.pdf |access-date=2009-05-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320032959/http://www.law.miami.edu/cshr/CSHR_Report_02082005_v2.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2009}}
</ref> It also suggested a "disturbing pattern."<ref name="law.miami.edu"/>

In March 2004, the Haiti Commission of Inquiry, headed by former US attorney-general [[Ramsey Clark]], published its findings : "Noting that 200 US special forces had travelled to the Dominican Republic for "military exercises" in February 2003, the commission accused the US of arming and training Haitian rebels there. With permission from the Dominican president, Hipólito Mejía, US forces trained near the border, in an area used by former soldiers of the disbanded Haitian army to launch attacks on Haitian state property."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mondediplo.com/2004/09/09haiti|title = Haiti: Titide's downfall|date = September 2004}}</ref>

On 15 October 2005, Brazil called for more troops to be sent due to the worsening situation in the country.<ref name="brazilrequestmore">{{cite news |date=15 October 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3745270.stm |title=Brazil seeks more Haiti UN troops |publisher=BBC News|access-date=26 December 2005}}</ref>

After Aristide's overthrow, the violence in Haiti continued, despite the presence of peacekeepers. Clashes between police and Fanmi Lavalas supporters were common, and peacekeeping forces were accused of conducting a massacre against the residents of [[Cité Soleil]] in July 2005. Several of the protests resulted in violence and deaths.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4205630.stm |title=New commander leads Haiti force |date=1 September 2005 |access-date=26 January 2010 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4723805.stm |title=Gun culture 'undermining' Haiti |date=28 July 2005 |access-date=26 January 2010 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

===The second Préval presidency (2006–2011)===
In the midst of the ongoing controversy and violence, however, the interim government planned legislative and executive elections. After being postponed several times, these were held in February 2006. The elections were won by [[René Préval]], who had a strong following among the poor, with 51% of the votes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4718790.stm |publisher=BBC News|title=Preval declared Haiti poll winner |date=16 February 2006 |access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> Préval took office in May 2006.

In the spring of 2008, Haitians demonstrated against rising food prices. In some instances, the few main roads on the island were blocked with [[burning tires]] and the airport at Port-au-Prince was closed.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24031850 |publisher=MSN |journal=MS-NBC |title=Haitian riots over food lead to coup talk |date=9 April 2008 |access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref> Protests and demonstrations by [[Fanmi Lavalas]] continued in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/a-funeral-and-a-boycott-%E2%80%98the-struggle-continues%E2%80%99-in-haiti/ |title=A funeral and a boycott: 'The struggle continues' in Haiti |last=Pina |first=Kevin |date=20 June 2009 |publisher=South Bay View |access-date=26 January 2010 |archive-date=25 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625151000/http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/a-funeral-and-a-boycott-%E2%80%98the-struggle-continues%E2%80%99-in-haiti/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Earthquake of 2010===

[[File:Haitian national palace earthquake.jpg|thumb|left|Large portions of the [[National Palace (Haiti)|National Palace]] collapsed]]
{{Main|2010 Haiti earthquake|Haiti cholera outbreak|}}
On 12 January 2010, Port-au-Prince, Haiti suffered a devastating [[2010 Haiti earthquake|earthquake]] of magnitude 7.0 with a death toll estimated by the Haitian government at over 300,000, and by non-Haitian sources from 50,000 to 220,000. Aftershocks followed, including one of magnitude 5.9. The capital city, Port-au-Prince, was effectively leveled. A million Haitians were left homeless, and hundreds of thousands starved. The earthquake caused massive devastation with most buildings crumbled, including Haiti's presidential palace. The enormous death toll made it necessary to bury the dead in mass graves. Most bodies were unidentified and few pictures were taken, making it impossible for families to identify their loved ones. The spread of disease was a major secondary disaster. Many survivors were treated for injuries in emergency makeshift hospitals, but many more died of gangrene, malnutrition, and infectious diseases.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8456819.stm |publisher=BBC News|title='Thousands dead' in Haiti quake |date=13 January 2010 |access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref>

===The Martelly presidency (2011–2016)===
[[File:Michel Martelly on April 20, 2011.jpg|thumb|133px|[[Michel Martelly]] ]]

On 4 April 2011, a senior Haitian official announced that [[Michel Martelly]] had won the [[Haitian general election, 2010–2011|second round of the election]] against candidate [[Mirlande Manigat]].<ref>Charles, Jacqueline. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110410175820/http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/05/2149983/sweet-micky-martelly-reportedly.html#storyBody Former musician Michel ‘Sweet Micky’ Martelly wins Haiti presidential runoff] ''Miami Herald'' 4 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.</ref> The election involved voter suppression and other methods of rigging.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Johnston|first=Jake|date=February 2011|title=Haiti's Fatally Flawed Election|url=https://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/haiti-2011-01.pdf|journal=Center for Economic and Policy Research|via=CEPR}}</ref> Michel Martelly also known by his stage name "Sweet Micky" is a former musician and businessman. Martelly's administration was met with both anger and acclaim. On one hand, he and his associates were accused of being involved in money laundering and various other crimes resulting in countless demonstrations (which on many occasions would become violent). Many criticized him for the slow progression of the reconstruction phase following the recent quake, or for taking credit for projects started in previous administrations. Some disliked him for his vulgar language and risque past which did not seem to completely go away upon taking presidency. On the other hand, many believe that he was the most productive Haitian president since the Duvalier era. Under his administration, the majority of those left homeless following the quake were given new housing. He offered free education programs to large portions of the Haitian youth as well as an income program for Haitian mothers and students. The administration launched a massive reconstruction program involving principle administration district, Champs-de-Mars, that would modernize and rehabilitate various government buildings, public places, and parks. Michel Martelly put emphasis on foreign investment and business with his slogan "Haiti is Open for Business". Perhaps one of the more major contributions made for the revitalization of the Haitian economy was their push for tourists. Minister of Tourism, [[Stéphanie Villedrouin]], embarked on various competitive tourist projects, including the development of Ile-a-Vache, Jacmel, the north, south-west, and Cotes-des-Arcadins. Tourism had risen significantly between 2012 and 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |work=Reuters|title=Singer 'Sweet Micky' takes oath as Haiti's president |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-martelly-idUSTRE74D0ZL20110514 |access-date=14 May 2011 |date=14 May 2011}}</ref> On 8 February 2016, Michel Martelly stepped down at the end of his term without a successor in place.<ref>BBC. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35518767] BBC 8 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.</ref>

=== The Moïse presidency (2017–2021) ===
{{see also|Haitian crisis (2018–present)}}
[[File:Jovenel Moise.jpg|thumb|133px|[[Jovenel Moïse]] ]]
Following Hurricane Mathew, [[Jovenel Moïse]] was chosen to succeed Martelly as president in an election that has been described by activists as an "electoral coup d'etat."<ref>{{cite web |title=Haiti: 'This is an electoral coup', says activist amid daily protests |url=https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/haiti-%E2%80%98-electoral-coup%E2%80%99-says-activist-amid-daily-protests |website=greenleft.org.au |access-date=2 August 2021 |archive-date=2 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802220015/https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/haiti-%E2%80%98-electoral-coup%E2%80%99-says-activist-amid-daily-protests |url-status=dead }}</ref> The United States supervised the elections and spent upwards of $33 million on them, spending which has been criticized for its inefficiency, with high overhead costs but little done to stop the widespread fraud, violence, and voter suppression present.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-06-07|title=The US Spent $33 Million on Haiti's Scrapped Elections – Here is Where it Went|url=https://cepr.net/the-us-spent-33-million-on-haiti-s-scrapped-elections-here-is-where-it-went/|access-date=2021-08-02|website=Center for Economic and Policy Research|language=en-US}}</ref> Moïse was inaugurated on the grounds where the national palace had been on 7 February 2017. He went on to start the "Caravan de Changement" project, which aims to revitalize the industries and infrastructure of Haiti's less popular areas. However, the actual impact of these efforts is debated. In recent months, Moïse has been implicated in the embezzlement of funds from the PetroCaribe program, as has his predecessor, Martelly.

On 7 July 2018 [[2018–2019 Haitian protests|protests]] led by opposition politician [[Jean-Charles Moïse]] began, demanding the resignation of Jovenel Moïse. Released in November 2017, a Senate probe of the period 2008–2016 (concerning the [[René Préval]] and [[Michel Martelly]] administrations, as well as the chief of staff of then-sitting President Jovenel Moïse) revealed significant corruption had been funded with [[Venezuela]]n loans through the [[Petrocaribe]] program.<ref>{{cite news|title=Haiti owes Venezuela $2 billion – and much of it was embezzled, Senate report says|newspaper=Miami Herald|author=Jacqueline Charles|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article184740783.html|date=15 November 2017}}</ref> Significant protests broke out in February 2019 following a report from the court investigating the Petrocaribe Senate probe.<ref name="BBChaiti">{{cite news|title=Deadly protests hit Haiti capital|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47193837|access-date=13 February 2019|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=11 February 2019}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47220832|title=Inmates escape from Haiti prison|date=12 February 2019|publisher=[[BBC News]]|access-date=13 February 2019|language=en-GB}}</ref>

A new round of protests broke out in February 2021 amid a dispute over Moïse's presidential term. The protesters claim that Moïse's term officially ended on 7 February 2021 and demanded that he step down. Moïse, however, claimed that he has one more year to serve because of delays in starting his term. Protesters have also expressed concerns about a referendum proposed by Moïse, which would reportedly scrap the ban on consecutive presidential terms and enable Moïse to run again.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dispute over Haiti presidential term triggers unrest|publisher=BBC News|author=Rose Delaney|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56069575|date=15 February 2021}}</ref>

On 7 July 2021 President Moïse [[Assassination of Jovenel Moïse|was assassinated]]. Prime Minister [[Claude Joseph]] became interim president.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Porter |first1=Catherine |last2=Santora |first2=Marc |date=7 July 2021 |title=After the killing of Haiti's president, the threat of further political violence escalates. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/world/americas/haiti-president-killed.html |url-status=live |access-date=7 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707113131/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/world/americas/haiti-president-killed.html |archive-date=7 July 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== The Henry presidency (2021-2024) ===
[[Ariel Henry]] served as the acting prime minister and the acting president between 20 July 2021 and March 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/28/haiti-pm-vows-to-work-to-hold-elections-as-quickly-as-possible|title=Haiti PM vows to work to hold elections 'as quickly as possible'|work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al-Jazeera]]|date=28 July 2021|accessdate=28 August 2021}}</ref>

==== 2021 earthquake ====
On 14 August 2021, a strong [[2021 Haiti earthquake|7.2 earthquake]] occurred in Haiti. The earthquake spawned tsunami warnings on the Haitian Coast. The warning was cancelled later that day. The death toll from the quake as of 15 August 2021 is 1,419 people.<ref name="RTEAFP">{{cite news |author1=Agence France-Presse |title=Haiti quake death toll rises as crews scramble to find survivors|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/15/haitians-scramble-to-rescue-survivors-from-ruins-of-major-quake|access-date=15 August 2021 |agency=al-Jazeera |date=15 August 2021}}</ref>

==== Gang violence ====
{{see also|Gang war in Haiti|2022 Haitian crisis}}
On 7 July 2022 [[2022 Port-au-Prince gang battles|massive clashes]] between two rival gangs began in [[Cité Soleil]], an impoverished and densely populated neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Thousands of families had to hide inside their homes, unable to get food or water; dozens of residents were killed by stray bullets. A week of gang violence has left at least 89 people dead. Since an oil terminal that supplies the capital and all of northern Haiti is located in Cite Soleil, the clashes have had a devastating effect on the region's economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20220714-week-of-gang-battles-kills-dozens-deepens-fuel-shortages-in-haiti|title=Week of gang battles kills dozens, deepens fuel crisis in Haiti|work=[[France24]]|date=14 July 2022|accessdate=14 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1122352|title=Gang violence in Port-au-Prince threatens more than a million food-insecure Haitians|work=UN news|date=12 July 2022|accessdate=14 July 2022}}</ref>

On 11 October 2022, Henry and his cabinet requested the deployment of foreign troops to oppose the gangs and anti-government demonstrations in Port-au-Prince.<ref name="Coto 11 Oct. 2022">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-haitis-request-for-troops-resurrects-troubled-history-of-foreign-interventions|title=Haiti's request for troops resurrects troubled history of foreign interventions|last=Coto|first=Dánica|date=11 October 2022|website=[[PBS]]|access-date=20 October 2022}}</ref> On 15 October, the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] sent armored vehicles and military equipment to aid the Haitian government.<ref name="Coto 15 Oct. 2022">{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gangs-violence-us-canada-send-armored-vehicles-e9b8d65dd858ef5c2fc4ca9a5568fd02|title=US, Canada send armored vehicles to bolster Haiti's police|last=Coto|first=Dánica|date=15 October 2022|website=[[Associated Press]]|language=en|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>

On 2 March 2024 gangs [[2024 Haitian jailbreak|attacked two prisons in Haiti]], including the country's largest penitentiary, and allowed prisoners to escape. This was a part of a wave of attacks that the gangs carried out while prime minister Henry traveled to [[Kenya]] to finalize an agreement under which that country would send 1,000 police officers to help restore order to Haiti. The goal of the gangs, according to [[Jimmy Chérizier]], a gang leader known as Barbecue, is to overthrow what remains of the government.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/world/americas/haiti-prison-escape-gangs.html|title=Inmates Escape After Attacks on Two Prisons in Haiti's Capital|date=3 March 2024|website=[[New York Times]]|language=en|access-date=4 March 2024}}</ref>

On 4 March, armed gangs attacked the heavily fortified [[Toussaint Louverture International Airport]], exchanging gunfire with police and the [[Haitian Armed Forces]] in an attempt to take control of the facility after rumors that Henry would return to the country.<ref name="Airport-MiamiHerald">{{cite news |last1=Charles |first1=Jacqueline |title=Haiti has deployed its army; troops joined police to push back gang takeover of airport |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article286242235.html |access-date=5 March 2024 |work=Miami Herald |publisher=McClatchy Media Network |date=4 March 2024}}</ref> fueling speculation that an alliance between rival gangs is forming to overthrow the Haitian elite.<ref name="4-2-Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Luke |title=Haiti's weekend of violence puts government future in doubt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/04/haiti-prison-break-ariel-henry |access-date=5 March 2024 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media |date=4 March 2024}}</ref>

On 12 March, prime minister Ariel Henry said that he will resign when a transitional presidential council is created.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Ariel Henry: Haiti's PM says he will resign {{!}} AP News
|url=https://apnews.com/article/haiti-henry-resignation-prime-minister-violence-28acaecc1d80d993c99fe43a5e1e1f7f
|date=12 March 2024
|access-date=12 March 2024
|archive-date=12 March 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312055948/https://apnews.com/article/haiti-henry-resignation-prime-minister-violence-28acaecc1d80d993c99fe43a5e1e1f7f
|url-status=live
}}</ref> On 25 April 2024, as the [[Transitional Presidential Council]] was sworn in, he presented his resignation in a letter signed on 24 April in [[Los Angeles]]. Henry's outgoing Cabinet appointed Economy and Finance Minister [[Michel Patrick Boisvert]] as interim prime minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latintimes.com/ariel-henry-resigns-haitian-prime-minister-step-toward-formation-new-government-553470|title=Ariel Henry resigns as Haitian PM in step toward formation of new government|work=The Latin Times|date=25 April 2024|accessdate=25 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/haiti-ariel-lhenry-resigns-violence-gangs-government-22868c51b5f4c9ca5a8d69fcb5df376b|title=With fear and hope, Haiti warily welcomes new governing council as gang-ravaged country seeks peace|website=AP|date=25 April 2024 |access-date=27 April 2024 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[External debt of Haiti]]
* [[French colonization of the Americas]]
* [[History of the Americas]]
* [[History of the Caribbean]]
* [[History of the Dominican Republic]]
* [[History of Latin America]]
* [[History of North America]]
* [[List of heads of state of Haiti]]
* [[Parsley Massacre]]—Trujillo's Massacre of Haitians
* [[Politics of Haiti]]
* [[Spanish colonization of the Americas]]
* [[Timeline of Haitian history]]
* [[United States occupation of Haiti]]
* [[2018–2019 Haitian protests]]
* [[2020 Royal Chapel of Milot fire]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
;Published in the 19th century
* {{cite book |publisher=Editions Henri Deschamps |location = Port-au-Prince |title=Histoire d'Haïti: 1819–1826 |author=[[Thomas Madiou]] |date = 1826 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LW8KAQAAIAAJ|language=fr}}
* {{cite book |publisher=H. Colburn and R. Bentley |location=London |title=Notes on Haiti |author=[[Charles Mackenzie (diplomat)|Charles Mackenzie]] |date=1830 |oclc=4099494 |url=https://archive.org/stream/notesonhaitimade01mack}}
* {{cite book |edition=4th |title=Pierer's Universal-Lexikon der Vergangenheit |location=[[Altenburg]] |year=1857 |language=de |publisher=Heinrich August Pierer |chapter=Hayti |hdl=2027/hvd.hc44vj?urlappend=%3Bseq=138 |isbn=9783898535151 |chapter-url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.hc44vj?urlappend=%3Bseq=138}}

;Published in the 20th century
* {{cite book |last=James |first=C. L. R |title=The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution |publisher=Vintage Books |edition=2nd |year=1989 |isbn=0-679-72467-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/blackjacobins00clrj}}

;Published in the 21st century
* Girard, Philippe. ''Haiti: The Tumultuous History'' (New York: Palgrave, Sept. 2010).
* Polyne Millery. ''From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti, and Pan-Americanism, 1870–1964'' (University Press of Florida; 2010) 292 pages;
* Popkin, Jeremy. ''You Are All Free: The Haitian Revolution and the Abolition of Slavery''. ([[Cambridge University Press]]; 2010) 422 pages
* Girard, Philippe. ''The Slaves Who Defeated Napoléon: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian War of Independence'' (Tuscaloosa: [[University of Alabama Press]], November 2011).

==External links==
{{Commons category|History of Haiti}}
* [http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/index-aa.html Bob Corbett's 1995 on-line course on Haitian history]
* [https://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Main_Page The Louverture Project] – a Haitian History Wiki

{{Years in Haiti}}
{{History of North America}}
{{Spanish Empire}}
{{Haiti topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History of Haiti}}
[[Category:History of Haiti| ]]
[[Category:American colonization movement]]