How Did The French Revolution Affect Haiti

en a problem since Haiti became and independent nation. Because of Haiti’s rough economic start as a free nation and foreign and internal factors, Haiti was not properly set up to industrialize and be able to join a competitive free market without damage being done to the local industries that support Haiti. Before Haiti became a free, independent nation, it was sugar and coffee producing powerhouse owned by the French that relied on slave labor. By period of the French Revolution, plantations in Haiti produced more than half of all the coffee produced around the world and 40% of the sugar for France and Britain, making it a profitable colony for France. Also during this time, the population of slaves in Haiti was between 500 and 700 thousand, heavily outnumbering whites and freed blacks. Due to
numerous slave rebellions and uprisings and political changes going on in France during the time, the French withdrew from Haiti in 1803 and Haiti became the first free black republic nation. After Haitians won their freedom, the new and fragile government got hit with one economic setback after another, setting Haiti back behind other industrializing nations. Haiti was forced by the French to pay heavy reparations with money that they did not yet have, and this money was not fully paid off until 1947.
President Thomas Jefferson, who was opposed to Haitian independence and frightened that the success of the revolution there would spark a similar uprising in the United States, abolished trade with Haiti, along with other world leaders in France and Spain. These policies along with an unstable government prevented Haiti from developing a system of trade with other nations and industrializing with the rest of the world. Haiti developed into a self-sustaining agricultural nation. In the 20th century, high levels of political corruption and instability along with recurrent natural disasters and underdeveloped industry have kept foreign investors away from Haiti. According to the Corruptions Percentage Index, Haiti has a score of 22, with 0 being highly corrupt and 100 being very clean. Wherever money that is earned from foreign investment lined the pockets of government officials, not back into Haiti. Haiti is a tropical island that sits on colliding tectonic plates, making it more susceptible to natural disasters like the devastating earthquake in 2010 that ruined Haitian industries and government, also frightening
off investors who want to put money in a reliable industry. Eric Verreydt, a representative of the International Monetary Fund said, "Haiti desperately needs investment, and the only people who are likely to invest here are foreigners and rich Haitians living in the United States. That is a fact of life." Lack of developed industries and foreign investment coupled with corruption and being battered from natural disasters have made Haiti unfit to compete in a global market when it comes to producing manufactured products Haiti today is known for its cheap labor force that is willing to work in factories due to unsuccesses in agricultural endeavors, relating to its history as hub for free slave labor. Forcing Haiti to join the free trade market damaged the self producing and self sufficient industries that Haiti developed over decades. Though the sufferings of Haiti come from a long line of historical disasters and ruin that came not only from men, but also from nature, there are methods to take to help Haiti’s local industries recover and survive the effects of globalization. Efforts to support and boost Haiti’s local agricultural industries and small businesses while still managing to provide food and aid to those in poverty who need cheaper food options, especially after a natural disaster, have been put in place. Organizations like the Lambi Fund of Haiti work with local grassroots organizations and Haitian people in order to improve the lives of those that live in rural areas. The organization has programs that work to increase food sustainability and income for peasant families working in the agricultural economy in order to increase development and environmental programs that help communities safely secure water that they can use for farming, along with reforestation programs to help replenish the environment. With their work, the fund impacted nearly 1,222,145 Haitians, and improved economic conditions, increased food availability, and reduced soil erosion that renders soil infertile for farming. The USAID, the same organization that imports rice to Haiti, also has programs that aim to increase locally sourced food production while making sure that families in poverty have enough food to eat. Their Feed the Future Initiative works with Haitian farmers in order to increase productuction, modernize natural resource management, and reduce post- harvest losses and facilitate public sector and private sector partnerships. The USAID also collaborates with the Haitian government in order to increase access to locally produced nutritious foods. These programs have increased production of crops like maize, beans, plantains and rice by working with more than 300 farmers associations and more than 70,000 farmers. Their centers have trained over 7,000 farmers in sustainable farming techniques and provided irrigation systems to farmers to increase harvest yields in drought seasons. Outside of aid programs from foreign countries, Haiti’s government has worked to bring more investment into Haiti by taking measures to improve and develop infrastructure and create more jobs to kickstart the economy. In 2012, two years after a devastating earthquake, the government along with former prime minister Garry Conille drafted plans to entice corporations to invest in Haiti with a 15 year tax holiday, a reduction or elimination of taxes, and subsidies for foreign businesses. Haiti still remains the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest countries in the world, apparel sector exports that account for over 90% of Haitian exports reached a profit of 850 million in 2016, as a result of investment in Haitian factories due to their labor force. Despite the efforts to aid farmers and the Haitian economy, it is likely that Haiti will continue to be dependent on foreign imports because of the damage that has been done to their industries. Throughout history, Haiti has existed to be exploited by foreign countries, and the collapse of the rice industry and other agricultural and local sectors of its economy due to forced involvement in the free market without having the industry or money to compete with more developed countries is no exception to this. The United States should have known how detrimental their actions would be to Haiti, but instead they used Haiti as a guinea pig, and destabilized Haiti’s economy and industries under the guise of free trade and bringing aid and stability. The reasons behind why Haiti sits where it is today, as one of the poorest countries in the world, stem from its past. When Haiti gained its freedom, it was the first nation in the Caribbean to do so, Haiti had no one to look to and had to develop on its own after being alienated from world powers at the time. Now, Haiti is a hub for charities and there are organizations trying to help out farmers in rural areas who now have to compete with the West and find ways to make a livable profit. In order to ensure the survival of its local industries to bring money back into Haiti, the Haitian government should restore tariffs to a higher percent to slow down the importation of food that Haiti is able to produce on its own and provide subsidies for local farmers to pay for seeds and modern technologies so that they are able to produce larger quantities of rice that they are able to sell for a lower price and still make a profit.