'Two hundred years on, 'the legacy of colonialism' remains firmly intact in Haiti and across Africa

'Two hundred years on, 'the legacy of colonialism' remains firmly intact in Haiti and across Africa

On Thursday, Latin American social organizations demanded that the authorities and civil society organizations of France pay compensation for the debt imposed on Haiti by the State after it gained its independence. READ ALSO: Jamaican soldiers arrive in Haiti to support the multinational anti-gang mission Through a statement, the organizations recalled that “on April 17, 2025, 200 years of the order imposed by France for Haiti to pay compensatio…

The grim legacy of Haiti's 'double debt'

France's demand that Haiti pay it an indemnity to compensate dispossessed French slave-owners when the nation became independent, 200 years ago, was the first in a series of inequities against the young nation, burdening its potential with debt.

On April 17, 1825, King Charles X imposed the payment of an exorbitant compensation to Haiti in exchange for the recognition of the first black republic. A debt that, for many Haitians, had consequences until today, while the country was in the grip of a wave of violence.

Find our editorial of Friday, April 18. Recognising a debt inherited from King Charles X, brother of Louis XVI, when it is hard to close the end of the month seems incongruous.

Two hundred years ago today, on April 17, 1825, France demanded an exorbitant sum from Haiti in exchange for its independence, plunging the former colony into destitution. Some are now demanding reparations.