Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Haiti and America's Historic Debt

By Robert Parry
January 13, 2010

Announcing emergency help for Haiti after a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake, President Barack Obama noted America’s historic ties to the impoverished Caribbean nation, but few Americans understand how important Haiti’s contribution to U.S. history was.

Read on.
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13 comments:

Tom Baxter said...

Excellent short article. However it ignores debt. As part of the 'peace' agreement, Haiti agreed to repay France the cost of the slaves and plantations lost. To make the first payment, Haiti had to close its public schools. The debt was refinanced by US banks in ~1900-1920 and payments continued under the direction of the few, the proud, the USMC. Much of the foreign aid loaned to Haiti goes to US banksters. Read Smedley Butler, for a account by someone at the tip of the spear.

Wed Jan 13, 01:53:00 PM 2010
The Juanster said...

Misters Parry and Baxter are to be commended for the relating of this part of the saga of Haiti's debt.But the most relevant interest to Americans should be the role of White British Slaves used in the raping of the Carribean's resources to fill the coffers of the U.S.Colony, France and Great Britian.
Volume I: History of Transportation

"The transportation of convicted felons to remote and inhospital frontier areas to expiate their offences by unremitting hard labour is a practice at least as old as the Roman Empire. Few colonizing powers, however, can have relied as heavilyi and consistently on the wholesale deportation of their prison population as did England throughout two and a half centuries of imperial expansion. By the time America made her Declaration of Independence in 1776, the prisons of England had disgorged over 40,000 of their inmates to her colonies, there, most of them to survive and populate the land of their exile. Often, within the space of their own lifetime, they achieved freedom and respectability, though many remained tied to a form of serfdom which made them little different from bonded slaves. The standard history books have little or nothing to tell us about this great wave of dispossessed human kind or of their significant part in the development of colonial America. Those who were transported for their petty economic crimes were largely illiterate and have left us few records of their sufferings and later achievements; while those who transported them chose to ply their trade well away from the public stage, where few questions were asked of them. The transportation agents performed a useful service. How, and with what results in terms of human misery and degradation, were matters of small public interest. When William Wilberforce and the reformers go to work to bring to notice the atrocities of the traffic in black slaves, the almost equally appalling activiites of the White Slave Traders were fading from memory - and the more closely regulated transportation schemes to Australia had yet to begin."
Taken from: Peter Wilson Coldham, Introduction to Volume I: History of Transportation, 1615-1775,

Thu Jan 14, 02:27:00 AM 2010
Nanette Bulebosh said...

I appreciate Mr. Parry's explanation. It's yet another reminder of how poorly history is taught in the U.S. We're rarely told such things about our own esteemed President Jefferson; even less often does American education even touch upon our neighbors' histories.

In this context, Pat Robertson's egregious comments yesterday about Haiti's pact with the devil sort of make sense, to the extent that his warped and deluded mind makes any sense at all.

My heart goes out to the Haitians. I can't do much to help, from where I sit in the Midwest. But I can send them a little money.

And I can correct the idiocies promoted by Faux News as often as I hear them.

Thu Jan 14, 09:45:00 AM 2010
Anonymous said...

Haiti was one of President Lincoln's chosen places along with Liberia to send Freed American Slaves with his efforts to Colonize all blacks from the United States. As former president of the Illinois Colonization Society his beliefs still in tact Lincoln wanted no White Person to ever come face to face with any black person ever again.

Thu Jan 14, 10:04:00 AM 2010
Anonymous said...

Readers may also want to familiarize themselves with what the Red Cross did in Haiti while accepting donations of blood. As I understand it, cash was paid to the Duvaliers for the blood, which was used to make blood products the Red Cross sold, while the donor received only a Coca Cola. This practice contributed to the spread of HIV. HIV infection happened in Haiti due to the sex trade, a trade that flourished in Haiti due to its poor economy.

Thu Jan 14, 11:39:00 AM 2010
The Juanster said...

I have a question for Anon.
Was Lincoln's view-point arrived at before of after the decision was made to induct Blacks into the Union Army? Was the movie "Glory" based on Lies?
It appears that from this mindset of his, it flies in the face of and contradicts Lincoln's speech in N.Y on 02/27/1860. Are you familiar with the TONA Research.org? This imo, is one of the best thesis on how Lincoln' mindset deviated from that of the Founding Father's except Jefferson. See The Demon Of Discord;
Ratification and Suppression of the Original Thirteenth Article
of Amendment to the Constitution of the United States http://www.barefootsworld.net/orig13threality.html
To also reply to Nanette, the irony of her ability to reference her place of residence as being in the Midwest has to be credited to Haiti also.See; Haiti's Gift to the U.S. http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/revolution/revolution4.htm

Thu Jan 14, 01:19:00 PM 2010
Walter L. Bradley Jr. said...

Although this article is excellent, I was disappointed that no mention of the U.S. Imperialist Invasion and Occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934 that took place on behalf of corporate interests.

Sat Jan 16, 10:43:00 AM 2010
The Juanster said...

To W.Bradley jr.
I beleve Mr. Baxter touched upon this via the mention Of Maj.Gen.Smedley Butler's book [War is A Racket] The General was a participant and eyewitness to this particular episode in our history.
Google the bios of the General and I'm sure you'll find answers to your query.

Sat Jan 16, 11:31:00 AM 2010
The Juanster said...

A bit of Information regarding Haiti you also might find not only interestin but revealing. Especially when you ask youself this question; Where's the justification in my haveing to pay you for my forcefully assisting you to remove your foot from off my neck?

Sat Jan 16, 11:42:00 AM 2010
The Juanster said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sat Jan 16, 07:39:00 PM 2010
The Juanster said...

OOPs, The Missing Link;
http://question-everything.mahost.org/History/Haiti.htm

Sat Jan 16, 07:52:00 PM 2010
Anonymous said...

what a load of garbage. americans have no debt to haiti. haitians are the model for 'black/marxist',and black, nationalism and the extermination of both indigenous people,and whites.in fact they ran all the bishops and priests are that are not white. so the haitian blacks reside in a paradise one of the most productive in the world agriculturally and have turned it into the worlds most corrupt country year after year while they practice the SATANIC religion of Vudu and practice revenge and the promiscous sexuality and drunkeness that comes with it. the haitians got the earthquake precisely as they made a pact with the devil to serve him if they could kill the whites and have their own country. plenty of white slaves were worked to death in haiti. fuck haiti,and fuck haitians, they hate americans. they have their 'paradise' for blacks only let them deal with their own mess they have made. not one cent of our tax dollars should go to these heathen racists. jefferson did not back napoleon he remained neutral. haiti would be much better off if they invited the french back in. a few rich jews have run that island and own enormous amounts of land. that is why aristide,their boy did not implement land reform. maybe if the satanic, racist, anti-white, black marxist, thugs of haiti give up their satanic religion and hatred of whites, i might send them some money. and yes, i worked for the frech and tried to get some business going with the haitians in the 60s and 70s. they were satanic, racist, vulgar, ruthless,liars, one and all!

Mon Jan 18, 04:44:00 AM 2010
The Juanster said...

Anon,

Shame,shame,shame on you. I can't believe that you'd deny the humanity of an individual simply because of what they believe. IMO, you are that type of person Ben Franklin was speaking to: "The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance": Benjamin Franklin
Before you can make such a judgement call, wouldn't it be justifiable to substantiate your views by being able to verify as an eyewitnesss, that Any Earthly religious belief is the one the Creator prefers? IOW, go to Heaven, return and give us the umitigated Truth, OK?
If you were to look at the big picture, The question of what religion is the Right One, is the basis of all of the planet's conflicts. As long as this question divides the Majority Grass-Root of the Planet, A Minority will forever rule them.

Mon Jan 18, 09:12:00 PM 2010

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