Historical evolution of Haiti

Main entry: Haitian history Haiti was once the residence of the Indian tribe Arawak. When Hispaniola Island was discovered, there were about 6,543,800 Indians, mainly Taino, and a few Siboni people lived in the northwest of the island. At that time, there were already five Indian indigenous regimes on the island, who lived in densely populated villages, catching birds, fish, rodents and farming the land. Indians in Hispaniola cultivated with stone axes and wooden shovels. The main crops are cassava and sweet potato.

1492, on Columbus's first voyage, because his flagship ran aground, he could not return to Spain with the crew of two other ships, so he built the Navidad Castle near today's Cap Haitien.

When Columbus returned here in 1493, he found no one alive in the fortress. He established Isabella colony on the north coast of Hispaniola Island, and began to colonize the island.

1502, Hispaniola officially became a Spanish colony, and the Indian military resistance on the island was shattered. In the16th century, the Spanish had established 15 cities on the island. In addition, Spanish officers and soldiers all got the land on the island, and turned the Indians living on these lands into slaves, which were used to mine gold, grow sugar cane and raise cattle. Due to the influence of smallpox, the Arawaks disappeared on the island in 1544.

After the extinction of the aborigines, the plantations and pastures in the western part of Hispaniola Island were abandoned by Spanish landlords, and the western part of the island became a deserted no-man's land, gradually becoming the stronghold of pirates from Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries. By the end of 16, these pirates had seriously threatened Spain's sea routes. Some hunters from Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries gradually came to the west of Hispaniola Island to hunt bison and wild boar, make bacon and sell it to pirates, and some farmers grow tobacco and some basic food crops.

Among the European immigrants in the west of Hispaniola, the French have a numerical advantage. 1640, the French took Torti Island, northwest of Hispaniola Island, as their own. 1665, the French government declared that the western part of Hispaniola was a French colony and was called "Santo Domingo". 1679, Santo Domingo was formally ceded to France by Spain according to the Lesvik Treaty.

Considering the establishment of colonies in this area, the French government not only attached great importance to stopping piracy, but also persuaded hunters to move to colonial areas and become settled farmers. By the end of 17, with the continuous immigration of French colonists, Santo Domingo became one of the richest colonies in America.

168 1 year, king Louis XIV of France promulgated the "black decree", which stipulated that plantations mainly provided slaves with adequate food, clothing and shelter, but also allowed them to brutally punish black slaves. Henry Christopher, a slave and later emperor of Haiti, recorded in his memoirs all kinds of torture suffered by white planters: "White people hung black people upside down, nailed them to boards, buried them alive, put them in sacks and threw them into the river, forced them to eat shit, peeled them off with whips, tied them up for ants and mosquitoes to eat, threw them alive into boiling water, tied them to cannons, smashed them and let dogs eat them ..." They were in the central Cordillera. These escaped slaves are called "black slaves".

The main crops in Santo Domingo were tobacco and indigo, followed by cotton, sugar cane and coffee. All available land has been cultivated. Sugarcane is planted on wet plains, coffee is planted in mountainous areas, indigo is planted on dry hills, and cotton fields are distributed on dry plains. Remote areas that can't be planted are also used to raise cattle and pigs. Sugarcane is the most important cash crop in Santo Domingo. 1767 exported 72 million pounds of coarse sugar and 52 million pounds of white sugar to Europe. 1780, Santo Domingo provided 40% sugar and 60% coffee in the European market. Part of the local food demand depends on self-cultivation and most of it needs to be imported.

1790, the administrative center and the largest port of Santo Domingo, Cape France (that is, Cape Haiti), population 15000, with many prosperous public buildings and wide streets and squares. The second largest city is Port-au-Prince, 1790 with a population of 6000. Most other towns are also located along the coast, playing the role of ports and trade centers. Plantations are densely distributed inland, and all-weather paved roads and river-crossing stone bridges have been built between plantations and ports.

From 65438 to 0789, the French Revolution broke out, which brought great impact to the French colonies in the western hemisphere. 1790, on the eve of the black uprising, there were 32,000 whites on Santo Domingo, most of whom were French immigrants. They are divided into two categories. The first category includes big planters, senior officials, big businessmen and their families. The second category includes small landlords, small shopkeepers, craftsmen, port workers and other lower-class whites. The number of mulattoes is between 35,000 and 56,000. In addition, there are about 30 thousand free blacks. Black slaves can be freed by being released by their owners. Some plantation owners release slaves when they are too old to work, so as not to burden them with food and clothing. Black maids and their hybrids who have sex with their owners are often free. However, free blacks cannot be employed as judges and officers, and are forbidden to use muskets and wear swords. The style and material of clothes are also stipulated. On the eve of the Haitian revolution, there were about 500,000 slaves in the plantation in Santo Domingo. From 1783 to 179 1, Santo Domingo's slave imports accounted for one third of the total slave imports in the western hemisphere. Most of these slaves came from Dahomey, Congo and Guinea in West Africa, and they brought Voodoo in West Africa to Santo Domingo. 1790, the French National Assembly called for legislation on the rights of colored freemen, which was opposed by Moro de Saint Merry, a colonial representative from Martinique. He put forward the view: "If the National Assembly unfortunately enacted legislation on the status of mixed-race children, it would be all over. Colonists will think that they have been betrayed; Hybrids, egged on by their friends, will take the most extreme measures. Then, slaves-who also have the same friends and the same means of action-will try to achieve the same goal. The colony will soon become a huge slaughterhouse ... "With the passage of time, Moro's prediction has gradually become a reality in Santo Domingo. The local colonial authorities refused to implement the decree put forward by the French National Assembly that freemen have the right to participate in provincial and colonial parliamentary elections; Local hybrids took up arms and demanded their rights. The argument between whites and hybrids attracted all the attention of colonial authorities, so they didn't notice the signal that blacks were about to rebel.

1790, the slaves in Santo Domingo spread the news of preparing for the uprising to each other through a secret voodoo meeting at night. 1791August 22nd, 200,000 slaves in the northern plain of Haiti blew the drums and rose up. White planters and their wives and children were suddenly attacked at midnight. Slaves set fire to sugarcane fields and houses and slaughtered white residents. Ten thousand local white residents and a small regular army could not suppress the uprising, and within a few weeks, northern Haiti was in ruins. About 2000 whites were killed, 180 sugar cane plantations and 900 coffee and indigo plantations were destroyed, and more than 10000 slaves died of fighting, hunger or white repression. Two months later, the whole northern Haiti fell into the hands of slaves, and only the fortified camps in Cape France and the western mountainous areas were still in the hands of whites. There was no slave uprising in western Haiti, but there was a war between whites and mixed-race people who demanded decentralization. Except in Port-au-Prince (poor whites spontaneously formed armed forces to resist the white upper class and hybrids), the mixed-race troops gained the upper hand in the battle. In southern Haiti, white planters armed black slaves against hybrids.

179 1 June, the black uprising in Santo Domingo has evolved into an overlapping scuffle between the white upper class and poor whites, white royalists and revolutionaries, mixed-race and whites, mixed-race and blacks, and armed slaves in the south and slaves in the northern uprising. The only hope to restore order is to send troops from France, but jacobins in the National Assembly opposes any motion to support the Santo Domingo colonists and the royal governor. It was not until 1792 that jacobins took control of the National Assembly that he sent a "revolutionary army" to Santo Domingo to publicize the concept of "freedom, equality and fraternity". However, the revolutionary army sent from France faced the resistance of Santo Domingo royalists and had to unite with the rebels. 1In June, 793, blacks captured the French Cape and looted the city.

1793 in August, France issued a decree to liberate slaves in St. Dominic. Surviving whites fled to the United States, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico to escape the revenge of blacks (on the west coast of Puerto Rico, French refugees from Santo Domingo built the city of Mayaguez with French characteristics).

The black uprising in Santo Domingo and the subsequent war caused serious panic among the authorities in western Santo Domingo (Dominica) and British Jamaica, who were afraid that local blacks would follow suit. Both countries sent expeditionary forces to Santo Domingo. A British army captured Port-au-Prince in March 1794, which was welcomed by French colonists. But 1795 After the Maronite uprising broke out in Jamaica (manipulated by the French behind the scenes), Britain withdrew.

Toussaint L'Ouverture, the black leader, led the war against Britain. He used to be a slave in the plantation, and wandered and plundered in northern Santo Domingo after the black uprising in 179 1. After the war broke out between Spain and France, he joined the Spanish army and became a mercenary of the royalists.

1794, due to the British invasion, he led his troops to defect from the Spanish army and join the French army. Toussaint L'Ouverture received support from the United States, which provided ships and materials. 1798, Maitland, commander-in-chief of the British intervention army, signed a peace treaty of withdrawal with Toussaint L'Ouverture.

After the British army retreated, Toussaint Louvidur turned to attack the mixed-race territory in the south and west, killing more than 1000 mixed-race women and children, and the whole Santo Domingo was under his control. Louverture became the de facto ruler of St. Dominique (1799 was appointed governor by the French ruling cabinet), and then ordered the freed slaves to stop wandering and return to work on the land. From 1800 to 1802, Santo Domingo's economy, which was almost completely destroyed, gradually recovered. 180 1 month 1 day, Haiti promulgated its first constitution, declaring that slavery will be abolished forever, all residents are equal before the law, private property is inviolable, and freedom of trade is advocated. Toussaint Louverture is a lifelong president and has the right to choose his successor.

180 1 1 In February, Napoléon Bonaparte appointed Charles Leclerc as the commander of the French Expeditionary Force and led a fleet of 54 warships and 30,000 soldiers to explore Haiti.

1February 2, 802, arrived in Cap-Ha? tien. The rebels under the command of Henri Christophe resolutely fought back and ordered the burning of Cap Haitien. Soon, in order to get rid of the encirclement of the French army, the insurgents retreated to the inland and coastal mountainous areas. Another rebel general, Desalin, was also severely frustrated in the fighting in Port-au-Prince in western Haiti. When the uprising failed, Toussaint L'Ouverture was forced to make peace with the French.

1in June, 802, leclerc designed to lure Toussaint Louverture to Gona? ves in western Haiti, arrested Toussaint Louverture and escorted him to France. Leclerc's treachery aroused great anger among the Haitian people. Under the leadership of Desalin, Christopher and A.S. Petion, the insurgents launched a powerful offensive and annihilated the French Expeditionary Force.

1803165438+1October18 Desalin captured the last fortress of the French army, Fortis, and the French army was forced to surrender. In this expedition, the French army lost 35 thousand people. 165438+1On October 29th, Haiti officially declared its independence.

1 804 65438+1October1,General Jean-Jacques Desalin, a subordinate of Toussaint Louverture, announced the establishment of Haiti, and in September of that year he was named "Jacques I", the emperor of Haiti. The word "Haiti" comes from Tylenol, which means "mountainous". Dishalin launched a campaign to wipe out all the surviving whites. In Cape France, 2,000 whites were massacred by Haitian troops. 800 people were massacred in Port-au-Prince and 400 in Jerem. Only Poles in Napoleon's army were pardoned because they refused to take part in the fight against blacks. More than 400 Poles chose to stay in Haiti, and their descendants still speak Polish. Jean-Jacques Desalin was the first ruler and emperor of Haiti. He formulated a highly centralized constitution for Haiti, established private ownership of land in northern Haiti, and distributed the expelled French property to blacks and mixed-race people. He relied on military means to implement management, restore agriculture, and distribute agricultural harvest equally to farmers and workers. However, when he tried to apply the system that worked in the north to the south, he met with resistance. Desalin took tough measures to reform, which in turn led to a coup.

1806, Desalin was assassinated. In that year, a new constitution was formulated in Port-au-Prince, which stipulated that Haiti was a republic and restricted the power of the president. Henri Christophe, who became president, hated this and tried to conquer Port-au-Prince by force, but he was defeated by Alexandre Pétion, a mulatto. Haiti was immediately divided into two parts: Henri Christophe ruled the north with Cap Haitien as its capital, Petion ruled the south with Port-au-Prince as its capital.

In the north, Henri Christophe claimed to be "President of Haiti" and became king in 18 1 1. He was called Henry I. He drove the blacks to build six palaces and eight palaces for themselves, and 200,000 migrant workers built a huge Lafley Elborgh for themselves. Henri Christophe also established a hierarchy of nobility, awarding four princes, eight dukes, 22 earl, 37 barons and 14 knights. His oppression of the people aroused resistance. 1820, Christopher shot himself in a coup.

In the south of Haiti, Petion divided a large piece of real estate into small pieces of farmland, which was very popular, but economically disastrous. The export of sucrose will decrease from 179 1 to10.63 billion pounds in 2020. Petion died in 18 18, and his successor jean pierre Boye unified Haiti and ruled it until 1843. 1822 sent troops to capture Santo Domingo (1809 returned to Spanish rule, 182 1 declared independence).

After the restoration of France, the Bourbon dynasty filed a claim against Haiti, demanding compensation for the white plantations confiscated during the War of Independence. This request was rejected in 1825, so France sent a fleet to block the island of Hispaniola and demanded compensation of 30 million US dollars. Boye finally agreed to pay $6.5438+0.8 million, but Haiti was unable to pay, so it began negotiations with France. The final result of the negotiation is to reduce the compensation to $6.5438+0.2 million, which will be paid in 30 years and $400,000 per year. In order to pay compensation, Boye reduced government expenditure and adopted a military management policy in rural areas to maintain agricultural production.

1843, an earthquake destroyed Cap Haitien, the capital of Haiti, and Port-au-Prince was destroyed by fire. In the chaos, Charles Eller, a mulatto, staged a coup, forcing Boyer to flee to Jamaica. In the following four years, Haiti produced four black presidents in succession, and 1844 lost Santo Domingo.

1847, Haitian Senate elected illiterate black captain Faustin Suluk as president. After Faustine came to power, he exiled those senators who tried to manipulate him and abolished the Republic of China in 1849. Faustin, who claimed to be Emperor Faustin I, held a grand and expensive coronation ceremony in Port-au-Prince in April 1852.

Faustine tried to reconquer Santo Domingo after taking office, but failed. By 1858, with the increase of expenses brought by the war and the expenses needed to maintain the royal family's ostentation and extravagance, Haiti's national treasury was extremely empty. 1859 65438+ 10, General Fabres Gvlad, Duke of Tabarra, as the chief of staff, staged a coup to force Faustine to abdicate and become president himself.

Gvlad is regarded as one of the best presidents in Haiti. He supported education, established schools of medicine, navigation and art, encouraged the establishment of industrial technical schools in cities and sent students to study in Europe. Gevlad ordered the construction of water storage facilities in major cities to help agriculture and small industries, and hired foreigners to help develop the country. In foreign policy, he supported Dominican Zionists (1844 national independence,186/kloc-0 returned to Spanish rule for fear of being annexed by Haiti), helped Dominican exiles launch anti-Spanish war, which led to Spanish revenge and reduced their prestige. 1867, Gevlad was forced to resign due to domestic political turmoil.

After Gevlad stepped down, Haiti fell into a state of civil war, which eventually led to foreign intervention. After independence, Haiti retained a strict caste system. Among the so-called "noble" castes, most of them are mixed-race, and there are also rich blacks with relatively pure blood. They live in cities, own real estate in rural areas, and monopolize civil and military officials, judges, lawyers, doctors and other occupations; In addition, 97% of the country's population (almost all black) is in a low position. 1867, black people in the south launched an uprising, and the president recruited troops from farmers in the north to suppress it, thus causing long-term hostility between the north and the south of Haiti. From 1908 to 19 15, six coups took place in Haiti, and eight presidents were replaced, plunging into long-term civil strife and civil war. Although the Haitian Constitution prohibits foreigners from owning land, French and German enterprises have acquired many land ownership rights in Haiti through local agents.

19 14 After the outbreak of World War I, German interest groups in Haiti were suspected by the United States. The United States expanded the scope of Monroe Doctrine through the "extension" of President theodore roosevelt, and acquired Puerto Rico and Cuba to defend the intervention of the United States in the event of civil strife or "European occupation" in Caribbean countries. 1914165438+10. In October, during the coup in Haiti, the US Navy sent a cruiser to Port-au-Prince to transport the $500,000 deposit of the Haitian National Bank to new york (19 19) to avoid being destroyed.

1965438+In May 2005, a coup d' é tat broke out again in Haiti. In order to put out the coup, the ruler Jean-Van Buren Guillaume Sang ordered the killing of all political prisoners in the prison, and he himself was killed and dismembered by thugs who rushed into the French legation soon after. Haiti fell into anarchy, which eventually led to the American invasion. 1965438+In July 2005, the US Marine Corps landed in Port-au-Prince, took control of the situation, and elected a president that the United States thought appropriate. Customs is the main source of income for the Haitian government and is placed under the supervision of the United States. The United States supervises the Haitian Senate to formulate a new constitution. Based on the U.S. Constitution, it stipulates that the term of office of the president is four years, and the term of office of members of the Senate and House of Representatives is six years and two years, giving citizens of 2 1 year old the right to vote.

In the next eight years, Haiti's economy improved. The national debt decreased from $24 million to120,000, and the export increased from $8.93 million to $22 million. Haiti's domestic industry has been fostered, and the United States has also built public health institutions, roads, water supply systems and sewage treatment systems, as well as public schools. In addition, the United States has established a well-trained local police force to replace the unreliable presidential guard. However, the American occupation also attracted Haitian resistance. In an uprising from 19 18 to 1920, 2,000 Haitians, 7 US Marines and 27 Haitian policemen were killed. After 1930s, American Monroe Doctrine's foreign policy in Latin America was replaced by franklin roosevelt's good neighbor policy. 1934, American troops left Haiti.

1934, the last American marines who occupied Haiti left Haiti. After the American withdrawal, President Stenio Vincent ruled Haiti until 194 1. During his tenure, he revised the Haitian Constitution and changed the term of office of the President to five years. When the Dominican dictator Rafael Leonid Trujillo Molina ordered the massacre of Haitian nationals and expelled them from Dominica, Vincent took restraint measures and pressured Dominica through other American countries, and obtained $750,000 in compensation.

19411On February 8th, Haiti declared war on Japan, and soon declared war on Germany and Italy. During World War II, Haitian President Elie Leiskow worked closely with the United States. At the request of the United States, Haiti strengthened the production of rubber, plant fiber and vegetable oil during the war. The United States has formulated a health assistance plan to help Haiti establish a public health system.

Due to the influx of American wartime aid materials and funds, black market transactions and bribery activities in Haiti increased, and the rubber production increase plan also expelled tens of thousands of Haitian farmers from their small farms, which led to farmers' dissatisfaction and triggered the June 1946 coup. The military commission that took over the political power held parliamentary elections, and the parliament elected dimas Estime as president in May 1946. Estime sought to amend the constitution and be re-elected, which led to another coup in 1950. Colonel Paul Eugène Magloire of the Military Commission became president. During his tenure, the World Health Organization helped Haiti to establish a public health system and launched an extensive vaccination program to eliminate malaria, yellow fever, smallpox and syphilis on the island. The Maglori government has formulated a new constitution, encouraged foreign investment, and obtained loans from the United States to build a hydropower station on the Artibonite River, dredge the port of Cap-Ha? tien and start large-scale mining of copper, lignite and bauxite resources. 195 1 year, Haiti's five-year agricultural plan expanded the cultivation of sugar cane, coffee and cocoa, and rewarded food production. 1956, the pro-American president Magloire was overthrown. 1957 in September, Dr. Fransois Duvalier was elected President of Haiti by the Military Commission, thus beginning the Duvalier family's rule over Haiti for 29 years.

From 65438 to 0986, Jean-Claude Duvalier, the son of Fransois Duvalier, stepped down and the "National Management Committee" headed by General henri namphy exercised military rule.

1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president, but his term was destroyed by a military coup. From 6: 438 to 9: 94, with the international intervention authorized by the United Nations, Aristide returned to the presidency. 1996, René Pré val was elected President. In 2000, Aristide was re-elected as president.

In February 2004, a military rebellion broke out in Haiti, and the rebels forced Aristide to flee abroad. After that, Justice Boniface Alexander of the Supreme Court became the interim president according to the Constitution. The United Nations sent peacekeeping troops to supervise the elections in Haiti.

On February 7, 2006, Haiti held presidential and parliamentary elections, with 33 candidates running for the presidency and 65,438+0,300 candidates running for 65,438+0,29 parliamentary seats.