In the beginning, Haiti was filled with promise. Under French colonial rule, Haiti was the most profitable colony in the world. At one point, its most important city was even known as the “Paris of the Antilles,” brimming with bookstores, cafes, gardens, and art.
Decades before Britain outlawed slavery or the U.S. Civil War began, Haiti became the first in the modern world to mount a successful slave revolution in 1791. After gaining its freedom from France and establishing an independent nation in 1804, Haiti became the first free Black nation in the Americas.
And then, two decades after winning its independence, Haiti became the first again. This time, “Haiti became the first and only country where the descendants of enslaved people paid the families of their former masters for generations” (The New York Times' Haiti 'Ransom' Project).
This is Haiti’s ransom: this is the price it paid for freedom. It is the story written into ledgers and bank statements that “… reveal a debt so large, and so lasting, that it would help cement Haiti’s path to poverty and underdevelopment” (The New York Times' Haiti 'Ransom' Project).
This is the story that The New York Times' Haiti ‘Ransom’ Project tells. The project is a collection of investigative articles published May 20, 2022, that describe in excruciating detail the true cost of Haiti’s independence from France.
In these six articles, Selam Gebrekidan, Matt Apuzzo, Catherine Porter and Constant Méheut describe the decades of exploitation by France, by the U.S., and by Haiti’s own leaders that brought Haiti to where it is today.
The Ransom:
“The Root of Haiti’s Misery: Reparations to Enslavers”: Read about Haiti’s price of freedom and the decades of exploitation suffered at the hands of its enslavers.
“Haiti’s Lost Billions”: Read about the crippling reparations France demanded following Haiti’s independence that helped cement the country’s path to poverty.
“How a French Bank Captured Haiti”: Read how a Parisian bank siphoned tens of millions of dollars out of the country, becoming central to Haiti’s financial exploitation.
“Invade Haiti, Wall Street Urged. The U.S. Obliged.”: Read how Wall Street’s financial interests played a role in the 20th century U.S. occupation of Haiti.
“Demanding Reparations, and Ending Up in Exile”: Read how a Haitian president’s calls for reparations from France became part of his undoing.
“6 Takeaways About Haiti’s Reparations to France”: Read the key findings the Times’ investigative reporters gained from scouring documents in archives and libraries on three continents.
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