The narrator is mostly correct. Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 4 of 9). Response to some Marxist objections. (1) In 1804 there were embargoes against Haiti by France, England, USA. However these embargoes were quite porous since private merchants (English, French, American, Spanish) were still doing commerce with Haiti. In 1807 English abolished TransAtlantic slave trade and in 1808 England ended the Haiti embargo; by 1814 more than 80% of Haitian trade was with England. Besides in the 1800's England and Spain were at war with France so little military naval effort was focused on Haiti. Haiti had no military navy, no merchant marine so Haiti had no capability to pursue merchant trade, no capability to project military naval power on its own. Haiti was at the mercy of others for maritime trade. (2) Many nations, when newly established, were not given a "welcome basket" by the community of Nations. The birth of the USA was greeted with war with England. The birth of Israel was greeted with war with Arab nations. The USA recognized the USSR in 1933 and the USSR was established in 1917. And yet there was USA-USSR trade before 1933. The USA recognized the People's Republic of China in 1979 and the PRC was established in 1949. And yet there was USA-PRC trade before 1979. These trades occur despite ideological differences. These trades occur because the USSR and the PRC had goods/services to offer to the community of Nations. By 1804 Haiti utterly wrecked its economic infrastructure and had little to offer to trade with the community of Nations. (3) The American Occupation of 1915-1934 did not impoverish Haiti. On the contrary, the Americans built up Haiti's degraded infrastructure: 180 bridges were built; the Péligre Dam (source of up to 1/2 of the nation's electric power) was started; Port-au-Prince was the first city in Caribbean/Latin America to have an automatic dialing phone system; General Hospital of Port-au-Prince was built; 10 more hospitals built outside of Port-au-Prince; 1000 miles of roads were built; the first Agricultural College was established in Damiens; Jacmel was the first town in the Caribbean to be electrified; US Navy built some 150 rural clinics; lighthouses were built; harbors were dredged; etc.. But, but, but the corvées!!! Americans used FORCED LABOR to build the roads!!! Nope. The corvée laws were on the books by the Haitian government since 1804. Since many communities cannot pay taxes by money, they pay said taxes by maintaining the roads near their localities. The corvée laws were derived from Ancient Roman Law. The communities were not paying their taxes with the consequence being that the roads were badly degraded. The American were simply applying Haitian Law; the tax delinquent communities needed to pay up with labor. Nobody enjoys paying taxes in any shape or form. It is cruel and inhumane to make tax delinquents to pay taxes (the horror!!!). Yet, from 1915-1934, Haiti was still a low-export economy. There were a few American companies present such as United Fruit but their operations were small compared to their operations in Central America. 3 main reasons: (a) Legal restrictions on foreigners owning land in Haiti (b) most cultivated land was owned by small farmers (c) the small farmers did not work with American companies. In Central America most cultivated land was owned by a few oligarchs and said oligarchs worked with the American companies. Yet, from 1915-1934, Haiti's per capita exports compared to the rest of the Caribbean more than doubled from 8% (1915) to 18% (1934); said ratio is 60% (1820), 5% (2005). (4) Conflict of visions between the populace (ex-slaves) and the Haitian elite (White, Mixed, Black). The ex-slaves wanted nothing more than a piece of land and cultivate it for their basic needs. Essentially the ex-slaves wanted a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy. Nation building was not on the mind of the ex-slaves. Nation building was on the minds of the elite who knew fully well that Haiti cannot be totally self-sufficient and thus needed to rebuild the economy to produce goods/services to trade with other Nations. The elite wanted to rebuild the plantation system and the ex-slaves wanted none of that!!! Henri Christophe (Black) was able to impose the plantation system in the North but at the cost of raising anger of the peasant (ex-slave) class. The peasant anger became so great that Henri Christophe committed suicide in 1820. Ironically, Northern Haiti under Christophe (Black) became wealthier (relatively) than Southern Haiti under Pétion (Mulatto) who pushed for Land Redistribution, not Plantation system. (5) Marxists sweep under the rug the occupation of the Dominican Republic. Why? Because it does not fit the narrative of Haiti being a victimized innocent. Haiti occupied the Dominican Republic from 1821 to 1844. Haitian president Boyer confiscated all church property, all lands owned by Whites, and deported all foreign clergy. Oh, but that was the second invasion by Haiti; in 1805, the Haitian Army invaded the Dominican Republic, reached Santo Domingo, and made a fast retreat using the destroy and burn tactics much favored by J.J Dessalines. Why the retreat? There were reports that a French flotilla was coming towards Port-au-Prince. Even after 1844 the Haitians did not give up; for the next 12 years there were several minor military excursions into the Dominican Republic. Militarism, combined with Subsistence Economy, deepens Poverty. But, but, but Haiti did not invade the DR, Haiti occupied the DR by INVITATION!!! Yep. In 1915 the USA occupied Haiti by INVITATION. In 1938 Germany occupied Austria by INVITATION. In 2014 Russia occupied Crimea by INVITATION. Independence Day in the DR celebrates independence from Haiti, not from Spain. (6) Reparations to France: the Marxists' favorite bugaboo. Were the reparations the fundamental cause of Haiti's poverty? Answer: NO. Haiti was already entrenched in Poverty by 1826 when France demanded reparations. Mind you, the 1826 reparation demand was the THIRD request; the previous 2 were made to Christophe (refused), to Pétion (refused). The third time was the charm for France. Haiti's 1821 invasion of the Dominican Republic (DR) was a strategic error. Military adventurism and a moribund economy made for a very bad mix. France was not stupid. After 5 yrs of Haiti being stuck in the DR quagmire, France popped up (again!) and made the reparations demand. Haiti cannot fight both the French and the Dominicans. Haiti decided to pay reparations. France asked only for 1 year's worth of colonial output. In 1820, Haiti's output was only 1/20 of colonial output; that it took Haiti more than 100 years to pay the reparations is no surprise. From 1826-1844 Haiti plundered the DR of its wealth to pay as much as it can for the reparations. (7) Often politically driven programs do not bring Economic or Societal Progress. What feels good usually does no good. Embracing victimhood (politically popular as of 2024 AD) brings no kind of prosperity. Become a victim and win a prize!!! Victims of the World, Unite!!!
@@brian9967 this guy copying and pasting and has no idea what he's talking about making assumptions. Haiti problems are both internal and external reasons. But mostly internal. From 1791-1804 that's not enough time to develop collective consciousness, culture, government. Haiti in 1804 destroyed means of production. Evidence of this is their attempts to revive the French plantation model. Of which during the Haitian occupation 1822-1844 they brought the entire island into debt leading to the French indemnity.
From 1822-1844 admixture was and also in the present day is minimal. Between the two. We have huge differences in demographics and adaptations in our development on the island. Recent studies from 2017 and 2020 explain this. www.researchgate.net/publication/319646249_Taino_and_African_maternal_heritage_in_the_Greater_Antilles academic.oup.com/gbe/article/12/9/1579/5896526
The narrator is mostly correct. Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 1 of 9). During its colonial days, Haiti’s slave plantations supplied over half of the world’s sugar. But after the slaves gained their freedom from the brutal regime and the country declared independence in 1804, sugar disappeared from the economy as small farms produced coffee, subsistence agriculture, and food for local markets. In 1950, when Haiti was at least producing some sugar, its exports were far behind comparable countries: sugar exports in Puerto Rico were 35 times higher, and in the Dominican Republic exports were 14 times higher. A common explanation for Haiti’s resistance to producing sugar is that Haitian culture rejected the industry because of the associated historical traumas. However Haitians went to the DR, Cuba, even Puerto Rico to harvest sugar cane so there was not much of a cultural stigma towards the sugar industry. A major contributor to Haiti’s failure to restore its sugar economy was historical property rights institutions that created significant transaction costs to starting large-scale farms. 3 post-Independence property rights institutions: (1) a large redistribution of the former French plantations; (2) inheritance patterns on peasant land that gave every family member a veto right to selling it; and (3) a constitutional ban on foreigners owning land in Haiti. But the property rights institutions in Haiti are important because they were not established by colonists; instead, they were created by a newly independent nation in reaction to colonists. These are post-colonial institutions. From 1900 to 1960, sugar accounted for 76 percent of Cuba’s export value, 51 percent of the Dominican Republic’s, 46 percent of Puerto Rico’s, and 26 percent of Jamaica’s. Sugar contributed only 5 percent to Haiti’s exports. Less than 10% of Haiti's sugar production was exported whereas for the other Caribbean countries about 90% was exported. Since 1987 (demise of HASCO) sugar in Haiti has been a cash crop raised by peasants rather than by large-scale plantations. Sugar Exported (Million lbs) ...............Haiti.......Dom.Rep.......P.Rico.......Jamaica.......Cuba 1900______1_______150________200_________2_______1,000 1910______1_______250________500_________3_______2,000 1920______2_______300________700________10_______5,000 1930______3_______550______1,000________50_______2,000 1940______4_______700______1,500_______200_______4,500 1950______5_______900______1,600_______400_______7,000 In 2014, on coffee: Country__________________Haiti______Dom.Rep.____Cuba______Jamaica Production (tonnes)______19,500_____13,500______9,000_____1,620 Export (tonnes)___________120______1,020________660_____1,320 Export/Production (%)_______0.6________7.6_________7.3_______81.5 Population (M)_____________10.4_______10.3_______11.3_______2.8 Area (1000 km^2)___________27.8_______48.7______110.9______11.0 In part 2 of this series, I show that while the sugar industry had a 96% collapse post 1804, coffee suffered only a 75% collapse. Pre-1804 Saint-Domingue also provided 50% of world supply of coffee. Post 1804, coffee was the only saving grace for the Haitian economy. Why? Because coffee requires less labor and maintenance than sugar. Because it was more difficult to destroy coffee estates (mountains) than it is to destroy sugar estates (plains). Since 1804 Haitian coffee production never reached more than 35% of colonial levels. Still by 1820 the Haiti export per capita was only 60% of the export per capita in the rest of the Caribbean (which were still colonized). In 2014 Haiti exported 0.6% of its coffee production while Jamaica exported 81.5% of its coffee production. The low-export nature of the Haitian economy is based on the 2 principles of the ex-slave farmers: zero risk and zero investment.
@@Friedfish-zm7fx I'm gonna respond to your comments piece by piece and make it quick. The first part why Haiti is poor. First. Saint Domingue produced half of the world's sugar for its time. Between 1625-1804 Haiti did not exist yet. It was still a French plantation economy. Second. After Haiti independence the people of Haiti destroyed the means of production. This is why there are various examples with Deadlines, Christophe and Boyer had trouble trying to revive the plantation economy. This would eventually lead to the French indemnity. As they brought the entire island into debt.
@@Friedfish-zm7fx now your jumping into the early 20th century. After the first U.S. occupation the American military created regulated contracted labor and imported people of Haitian descent to work the sugar can which was owned and regulated by foreigners not Dominicans.
@@Friedfish-zm7fx now Haiti problems are due to both internal and external reasons. But mainly internal. From evolutionary perspective when you study world cultures. They had time to develop a collective consciousness. From 1791-1804 that is not enough time for a people to develop collective culture, government, etc. The revolution of the people of Haiti was a series of revolts. At the initial they did not have the time to cultivate a society. Which why they had many examples of political instability. And have examples of damages by the French. Also refer 2011 study I reference in regards to the French plantation and treatment of people of Haiti during early 18th century through 1791. nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/handle/11250/2499980
The narrator is mostly correct. Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 3 of 9). (E) Subsistence Economy. The old and recent historical data show that exports are a small part of Haiti's economy. Settling for a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy is OK. There are tribes living the Stone Age style deep in the Amazon forest and in the jungles of the Congo and Papua New Guinea for thousands of years. Subsistence Economy can be done. However the Planet is populated with Predatory Nations. Fortunately for the Stone Age inhabitants of the Amazon, Central Africa and Papua New Guinea, they have the military protection of the sovereign countries in which they live. The Amish lives in a somewhat Subsistence Economy and there is no Amish Nation: the Amish community is part of the USA and is thus protected by the USA. Trying to maintain proper military power with a Subsistence Economy cannot be sustained for long. Up to 1840, the Haitian military consumed 50% of the government budget, then the consumption went down to 25% by 1860. (F) The low trust character of Haitian society. The Haitian and French revolutions have a few things in common: they are both based on J.E.A.R. = Jealousy, Envy, Anger, Resentment. JEAR is the blood of Socialism and Communism. The concern for "equality" is the launchpad for JEAR. Words "equal(ity)", "democracy" appears _________________________________Equal(ity)____Democracy US Declaration of Independence_____1_____________0 US Constitution____________________0_____________0 French Constitution 1793___________3_____________1 French Constitution 1958__________10_____________4 Haiti Constitution 1805___________3_____________0 Haiti Constitution 1987___________7_____________4 All the freed slaves in Haiti were given a plot of land and then the fun began. The Ancients had it correct: give 3 people equal amount of money at sunrise and they will become unequal before sunset. Dessalines was on his way to deal with some land speculators when he was assassinated. The point is: large-scale farms are much more efficient than small-scale farms and cooperative farms in Haiti were difficult to establish and these rare cooperatives did not last long. Thus time after time, Haiti falls back to a Subsistence Economy. Are there today (2024 AD) large landowners (you know, them evil, nasty, greedy oligarchs!)? Yes. However, in 1950, 80% of the Artibonite Valley (where rice is grown) was still in the hands of the small farmers. The national economic dynamics is still dominated by small-land farmers. The Amish, again. Amish companies are usually no more than 5 employees. Yet said small companies frequently combine together for large tasks. The trust aspect of Amish culture is rare in Haitian society. Mind you, Amish runs a mainly Subsistence Economy, not an Industrial Economy. If Haiti were Amish country, Haiti would be in much better shape. Mind you, the Amish are not warmongers and they would not invade the Dominican Republic. >>>>> Summary: Saint Domingue was a super producer of sugar in the late 1700's because of large-scale farming. Then came Independence of 1804. Land Reform: everyone gets equal share of the Land. Consequence of Land Reform: small-scale farming which brings about at best a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy. Haiti thus lost the status of Sugar Super-Producer and started on the Road to Poverty. Constant political turmoil is characteristic of a low-trust society. The low trust nature of Haitian culture makes difficult the establishment of cooperative farming needed for economic growth. Some may say that Haiti is not poor, that Haiti is impoverished. Poor. Impoverished. The Merriam-Webster dictionary used as an example phrase: "a country may become impoverished after a devastating war". Yes, Saint Domingue was rich. Then Saint Domingue became impoverished after a devastating war. The impoverished Saint Domingue became Haïti. Haïti started poor and has remained poor for the next 200+ years. Since 1804 Haiti had a low-export economy, namely a Subsidence Economy, a Survival Economy. Low-Export = Poverty. High-Export = Prosperity. The Low-Export Economy was and is the wish of the peasant (ex-slave) class. Democracy at play: the majority class (the peasant/ex-slave) prevailed over the minority class (the elite bourgeois) on economic matters. The elite (the bourgeoisie) wanted, wished a High-Export economy but such an economy cannot be accomplished without the labor and consent of the worker/peasant (ex-slave) class. In Haiti, a Marxist Economy was achieved long before the foundation of Marxism was put on paper.
@@Friedfish-zm7fx kid you mention Marxism like I'm a Marxist? I'm center left with some conservative views. Now again as I responded to your other comment. The people of Haiti destroyed their means of production. Evidence of this of the difficulty they had trying to revive the French plantation model. Which during the Haitian occupation 1822-1844. They brought the entire island into debt with mismanagement. Leading to the French indemnity. Another dub to your arguments.
The narrator is mostly correct.
Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 4 of 9).
Response to some Marxist objections.
(1) In 1804 there were embargoes against Haiti by France, England, USA. However these embargoes were quite porous since private merchants (English, French, American, Spanish) were still doing commerce with Haiti. In 1807 English abolished TransAtlantic slave trade and in 1808 England ended the Haiti embargo; by 1814 more than 80% of Haitian trade was with England. Besides in the 1800's England and Spain were at war with France so little military naval effort was focused on Haiti. Haiti had no military navy, no merchant marine so Haiti had no capability to pursue merchant trade, no capability to project military naval power on its own. Haiti was at the mercy of others for maritime trade.
(2) Many nations, when newly established, were not given a "welcome basket" by the community of Nations. The birth of the USA was greeted with war with England. The birth of Israel was greeted with war with Arab nations. The USA recognized the USSR in 1933 and the USSR was established in 1917. And yet there was USA-USSR trade before 1933. The USA recognized the People's Republic of China in 1979 and the PRC was established in 1949. And yet there was USA-PRC trade before 1979. These trades occur despite ideological differences. These trades occur because the USSR and the PRC had goods/services to offer to the community of Nations. By 1804 Haiti utterly wrecked its economic infrastructure and had little to offer to trade with the community of Nations.
(3) The American Occupation of 1915-1934 did not impoverish Haiti. On the contrary, the Americans built up Haiti's degraded infrastructure: 180 bridges were built; the Péligre Dam (source of up to 1/2 of the nation's electric power) was started; Port-au-Prince was the first city in Caribbean/Latin America to have an automatic dialing phone system; General Hospital of Port-au-Prince was built; 10 more hospitals built outside of Port-au-Prince; 1000 miles of roads were built; the first Agricultural College was established in Damiens; Jacmel was the first town in the Caribbean to be electrified; US Navy built some 150 rural clinics; lighthouses were built; harbors were dredged; etc..
But, but, but the corvées!!! Americans used FORCED LABOR to build the roads!!! Nope. The corvée laws were on the books by the Haitian government since 1804. Since many communities cannot pay taxes by money, they pay said taxes by maintaining the roads near their localities. The corvée laws were derived from Ancient Roman Law. The communities were not paying their taxes with the consequence being that the roads were badly degraded. The American were simply applying Haitian Law; the tax delinquent communities needed to pay up with labor. Nobody enjoys paying taxes in any shape or form. It is cruel and inhumane to make tax delinquents to pay taxes (the horror!!!).
Yet, from 1915-1934, Haiti was still a low-export economy. There were a few American companies present such as United Fruit but their operations were small compared to their operations in Central America. 3 main reasons: (a) Legal restrictions on foreigners owning land in Haiti (b) most cultivated land was owned by small farmers (c) the small farmers did not work with American companies. In Central America most cultivated land was owned by a few oligarchs and said oligarchs worked with the American companies.
Yet, from 1915-1934, Haiti's per capita exports compared to the rest of the Caribbean more than doubled from 8% (1915) to 18% (1934); said ratio is 60% (1820), 5% (2005).
(4) Conflict of visions between the populace (ex-slaves) and the Haitian elite (White, Mixed, Black). The ex-slaves wanted nothing more than a piece of land and cultivate it for their basic needs. Essentially the ex-slaves wanted a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy. Nation building was not on the mind of the ex-slaves. Nation building was on the minds of the elite who knew fully well that Haiti cannot be totally self-sufficient and thus needed to rebuild the economy to produce goods/services to trade with other Nations. The elite wanted to rebuild the plantation system and the ex-slaves wanted none of that!!! Henri Christophe (Black) was able to impose the plantation system in the North but at the cost of raising anger of the peasant (ex-slave) class. The peasant anger became so great that Henri Christophe committed suicide in 1820. Ironically, Northern Haiti under Christophe (Black) became wealthier (relatively) than Southern Haiti under Pétion (Mulatto) who pushed for Land Redistribution, not Plantation system.
(5) Marxists sweep under the rug the occupation of the Dominican Republic. Why? Because it does not fit the narrative of Haiti being a victimized innocent. Haiti occupied the Dominican Republic from 1821 to 1844. Haitian president Boyer confiscated all church property, all lands owned by Whites, and deported all foreign clergy. Oh, but that was the second invasion by Haiti; in 1805, the Haitian Army invaded the Dominican Republic, reached Santo Domingo, and made a fast retreat using the destroy and burn tactics much favored by J.J Dessalines. Why the retreat? There were reports that a French flotilla was coming towards Port-au-Prince. Even after 1844 the Haitians did not give up; for the next 12 years there were several minor military excursions into the Dominican Republic. Militarism, combined with Subsistence Economy, deepens Poverty.
But, but, but Haiti did not invade the DR, Haiti occupied the DR by INVITATION!!! Yep. In 1915 the USA occupied Haiti by INVITATION. In 1938 Germany occupied Austria by INVITATION. In 2014 Russia occupied Crimea by INVITATION. Independence Day in the DR celebrates independence from Haiti, not from Spain.
(6) Reparations to France: the Marxists' favorite bugaboo. Were the reparations the fundamental cause of Haiti's poverty? Answer: NO. Haiti was already entrenched in Poverty by 1826 when France demanded reparations. Mind you, the 1826 reparation demand was the THIRD request; the previous 2 were made to Christophe (refused), to Pétion (refused). The third time was the charm for France. Haiti's 1821 invasion of the Dominican Republic (DR) was a strategic error. Military adventurism and a moribund economy made for a very bad mix. France was not stupid. After 5 yrs of Haiti being stuck in the DR quagmire, France popped up (again!) and made the reparations demand. Haiti cannot fight both the French and the Dominicans. Haiti decided to pay reparations. France asked only for 1 year's worth of colonial output. In 1820, Haiti's output was only 1/20 of colonial output; that it took Haiti more than 100 years to pay the reparations is no surprise. From 1826-1844 Haiti plundered the DR of its wealth to pay as much as it can for the reparations.
(7) Often politically driven programs do not bring Economic or Societal Progress. What feels good usually does no good. Embracing victimhood (politically popular as of 2024 AD) brings no kind of prosperity. Become a victim and win a prize!!! Victims of the World, Unite!!!
How is it possible that you wrote all this and made no mention whatsoever of racial differences in IQ?
@@Friedfish-zm7fx take your nonsense elsewhere. No Marxist here.
👇
nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/handle/11250/2499980
@@brian9967 this guy copying and pasting and has no idea what he's talking about making assumptions.
Haiti problems are both internal and external reasons. But mostly internal.
From 1791-1804 that's not enough time to develop collective consciousness, culture, government.
Haiti in 1804 destroyed means of production. Evidence of this is their attempts to revive the French plantation model. Of which during the Haitian occupation 1822-1844 they brought the entire island into debt leading to the French indemnity.
During the occupation did Haitians mixed with Dominicans, due to there were more Haitians than Dominicans?
From 1822-1844 admixture was and also in the present day is minimal. Between the two. We have huge differences in demographics and adaptations in our development on the island.
Recent studies from 2017 and 2020 explain this.
www.researchgate.net/publication/319646249_Taino_and_African_maternal_heritage_in_the_Greater_Antilles
academic.oup.com/gbe/article/12/9/1579/5896526
The narrator is mostly correct.
Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 1 of 9).
During its colonial days, Haiti’s slave plantations supplied over half of the world’s sugar.
But after the slaves gained their freedom from the brutal regime and the country declared independence in 1804, sugar disappeared from the economy as small farms produced coffee, subsistence agriculture, and food for local markets.
In 1950, when Haiti was at least producing some sugar, its exports were far behind comparable countries: sugar exports in Puerto Rico were 35 times higher, and in the Dominican Republic exports were 14 times higher.
A common explanation for Haiti’s resistance to producing sugar is that Haitian culture rejected the industry because of the associated historical traumas. However Haitians went to the DR, Cuba, even Puerto Rico to harvest sugar cane so there was not much of a cultural stigma towards the sugar industry.
A major contributor to Haiti’s failure to restore its sugar economy was historical property rights institutions that created significant transaction costs to starting large-scale farms.
3 post-Independence property rights institutions: (1) a large redistribution of the former French plantations; (2) inheritance patterns on peasant land that gave every family member a veto right to selling it; and (3) a constitutional ban on foreigners owning land in Haiti.
But the property rights institutions in Haiti are important because they were not established by colonists; instead, they were created by a newly independent nation in reaction to colonists. These are post-colonial institutions.
From 1900 to 1960, sugar accounted for 76 percent of Cuba’s export value, 51 percent of the Dominican Republic’s, 46 percent of Puerto Rico’s, and 26 percent of Jamaica’s. Sugar contributed only 5 percent to Haiti’s exports. Less than 10% of Haiti's sugar production was exported whereas for the other Caribbean countries about 90% was exported. Since 1987 (demise of HASCO) sugar in Haiti has been a cash crop raised by peasants rather than by large-scale plantations.
Sugar Exported (Million lbs)
...............Haiti.......Dom.Rep.......P.Rico.......Jamaica.......Cuba
1900______1_______150________200_________2_______1,000
1910______1_______250________500_________3_______2,000
1920______2_______300________700________10_______5,000
1930______3_______550______1,000________50_______2,000
1940______4_______700______1,500_______200_______4,500
1950______5_______900______1,600_______400_______7,000
In 2014, on coffee:
Country__________________Haiti______Dom.Rep.____Cuba______Jamaica
Production (tonnes)______19,500_____13,500______9,000_____1,620
Export (tonnes)___________120______1,020________660_____1,320
Export/Production (%)_______0.6________7.6_________7.3_______81.5
Population (M)_____________10.4_______10.3_______11.3_______2.8
Area (1000 km^2)___________27.8_______48.7______110.9______11.0
In part 2 of this series, I show that while the sugar industry had a 96% collapse post 1804, coffee suffered only a 75% collapse. Pre-1804 Saint-Domingue also provided 50% of world supply of coffee. Post 1804, coffee was the only saving grace for the Haitian economy. Why? Because coffee requires less labor and maintenance than sugar. Because it was more difficult to destroy coffee estates (mountains) than it is to destroy sugar estates (plains). Since 1804 Haitian coffee production never reached more than 35% of colonial levels. Still by 1820 the Haiti export per capita was only 60% of the export per capita in the rest of the Caribbean (which were still colonized). In 2014 Haiti exported 0.6% of its coffee production while Jamaica exported 81.5% of its coffee production.
The low-export nature of the Haitian economy is based on the 2 principles of the ex-slave farmers: zero risk and zero investment.
@@Friedfish-zm7fx I'm gonna respond to your comments piece by piece and make it quick. The first part why Haiti is poor.
First. Saint Domingue produced half of the world's sugar for its time. Between 1625-1804 Haiti did not exist yet. It was still a French plantation economy.
Second. After Haiti independence the people of Haiti destroyed the means of production. This is why there are various examples with Deadlines, Christophe and Boyer had trouble trying to revive the plantation economy. This would eventually lead to the French indemnity. As they brought the entire island into debt.
@@Friedfish-zm7fx now your jumping into the early 20th century. After the first U.S. occupation the American military created regulated contracted labor and imported people of Haitian descent to work the sugar can which was owned and regulated by foreigners not Dominicans.
@@Friedfish-zm7fx now Haiti problems are due to both internal and external reasons. But mainly internal. From evolutionary perspective when you study world cultures. They had time to develop a collective consciousness. From 1791-1804 that is not enough time for a people to develop collective culture, government, etc. The revolution of the people of Haiti was a series of revolts. At the initial they did not have the time to cultivate a society. Which why they had many examples of political instability. And have examples of damages by the French. Also refer 2011 study I reference in regards to the French plantation and treatment of people of Haiti during early 18th century through 1791.
nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/handle/11250/2499980
The narrator is mostly correct.
Why Haiti began and remains poor (pt 3 of 9).
(E) Subsistence Economy. The old and recent historical data show that exports are a small part of Haiti's economy. Settling for a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy is OK. There are tribes living the Stone Age style deep in the Amazon forest and in the jungles of the Congo and Papua New Guinea for thousands of years. Subsistence Economy can be done. However the Planet is populated with Predatory Nations. Fortunately for the Stone Age inhabitants of the Amazon, Central Africa and Papua New Guinea, they have the military protection of the sovereign countries in which they live. The Amish lives in a somewhat Subsistence Economy and there is no Amish Nation: the Amish community is part of the USA and is thus protected by the USA. Trying to maintain proper military power with a Subsistence Economy cannot be sustained for long. Up to 1840, the Haitian military consumed 50% of the government budget, then the consumption went down to 25% by 1860.
(F) The low trust character of Haitian society. The Haitian and French revolutions have a few things in common: they are both based on J.E.A.R. = Jealousy, Envy, Anger, Resentment. JEAR is the blood of Socialism and Communism. The concern for "equality" is the launchpad for JEAR. Words "equal(ity)", "democracy" appears
_________________________________Equal(ity)____Democracy
US Declaration of Independence_____1_____________0
US Constitution____________________0_____________0
French Constitution 1793___________3_____________1
French Constitution 1958__________10_____________4
Haiti Constitution 1805___________3_____________0
Haiti Constitution 1987___________7_____________4
All the freed slaves in Haiti were given a plot of land and then the fun began. The Ancients had it correct: give 3 people equal amount of money at sunrise and they will become unequal before sunset. Dessalines was on his way to deal with some land speculators when he was assassinated. The point is: large-scale farms are much more efficient than small-scale farms and cooperative farms in Haiti were difficult to establish and these rare cooperatives did not last long. Thus time after time, Haiti falls back to a Subsistence Economy.
Are there today (2024 AD) large landowners (you know, them evil, nasty, greedy oligarchs!)? Yes. However, in 1950, 80% of the Artibonite Valley (where rice is grown) was still in the hands of the small farmers. The national economic dynamics is still dominated by small-land farmers.
The Amish, again. Amish companies are usually no more than 5 employees. Yet said small companies frequently combine together for large tasks. The trust aspect of Amish culture is rare in Haitian society. Mind you, Amish runs a mainly Subsistence Economy, not an Industrial Economy. If Haiti were Amish country, Haiti would be in much better shape. Mind you, the Amish are not warmongers and they would not invade the Dominican Republic.
>>>>> Summary:
Saint Domingue was a super producer of sugar in the late 1700's because of large-scale farming. Then came Independence of 1804. Land Reform: everyone gets equal share of the Land. Consequence of Land Reform: small-scale farming which brings about at best a Subsistence Economy, a Survival Economy. Haiti thus lost the status of Sugar Super-Producer and started on the Road to Poverty. Constant political turmoil is characteristic of a low-trust society. The low trust nature of Haitian culture makes difficult the establishment of cooperative farming needed for economic growth.
Some may say that Haiti is not poor, that Haiti is impoverished. Poor. Impoverished. The Merriam-Webster dictionary used as an example phrase: "a country may become impoverished after a devastating war". Yes, Saint Domingue was rich. Then Saint Domingue became impoverished after a devastating war. The impoverished Saint Domingue became Haïti. Haïti started poor and has remained poor for the next 200+ years.
Since 1804 Haiti had a low-export economy, namely a Subsidence Economy, a Survival Economy. Low-Export = Poverty. High-Export = Prosperity. The Low-Export Economy was and is the wish of the peasant (ex-slave) class. Democracy at play: the majority class (the peasant/ex-slave) prevailed over the minority class (the elite bourgeois) on economic matters. The elite (the bourgeoisie) wanted, wished a High-Export economy but such an economy cannot be accomplished without the labor and consent of the worker/peasant (ex-slave) class. In Haiti, a Marxist Economy was achieved long before the foundation of Marxism was put on paper.
@@Friedfish-zm7fx kid you mention Marxism like I'm a Marxist? I'm center left with some conservative views. Now again as I responded to your other comment. The people of Haiti destroyed their means of production. Evidence of this of the difficulty they had trying to revive the French plantation model. Which during the Haitian occupation 1822-1844. They brought the entire island into debt with mismanagement. Leading to the French indemnity. Another dub to your arguments.
@@AntilleanFederation I agree with you on this matter.