1825

April

On April 17 King Charles X of France recognizes Haiti in return for the crushing assessment of 150 million francs, payment for the expelled French planters' losses in St. Domingue/Haiti. This sum represents a multiple of the value of the entire Haitian economy at the time.

Haiti, under President Alexandre Pétion is pressured into to paying 150 million gold francs to France as a compensation for French slave-owners for their “financial losses” as a result of the abolition of slavery in Haiti. In exchange, France agrees to recognize Haiti’s independence, 21 years after Jean-Jacques Dessalines had freed Haiti from colonial domination and French slavery. The amount will be reduced later to 90 million gold francs, but it will take the Haitian government over 100 years to pay off this debt and it will be French banks that profit immensely from the financing of the payments to France.

The Haitian payments to France cripple the economy, that already had to struggle with a deteriorating sugar and other commodities market and a transition into a post slavery society.

Currently there are efforts under way to demand re-compensation from France.

References

• Schutt-Ainé, Patricia; Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture, p. 38. ISBN 0-9638599-0-0.

External links

• Ordonnance de Charles X - (French text)
• 17 avril 1825: La France reconnaît Haïti, contre l'indemnisation des planteurs - (French text)