France–Haiti relations

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France-Haiti relations
Map indicating locations of France and Haiti

France
Haiti
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of France, Port-au-PrinceEmbassy of Haiti, Paris

France–Haiti relations are foreign relations between France and Haiti. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, United Nations, and the World Trade Organization.

History

Main article: Saint-Domingue

The first French to arrive to Haiti were pirates who began to use the island of

Treaty of Ryswick that same year. France named the colony Saint-Domingue.[2] The colony was France's most productive and richest colony, and was made to grow primarily tobacco, indigo, sugar, cotton, and cacao. France used the labor of slaves from Africa, as a result of the near extinction of the Taíno people.[3]

Independence

Battle of Vertières, 1803
Main article: Haitian Revolution

From 1789 to 1799, France underwent a revolution. The revolution in France had great implications in Haiti. In August 1791, slaves in the northern region of Haiti staged a revolt which would be known as the Haitian Revolution.[2] In 1793, France sent as an envoy Léger-Félicité Sonthonax to maintain control and stabilize the colony from the revolution. In February 1793, Haitian leader Toussaint Louverture joined Spanish forces in fighting the French.[4] In October 1793, Sonthonax emancipated the slaves in all of Haiti.[4] In May 1794, Louverture left the Spanish army after they refused to free their slaves in the eastern part of Hispaniola.

In 1801, Louverture defeated the Spanish in Santo Domingo and emancipated the slaves of the territory.[4] In 1802, General Napoleon Bonaparte sent 40,000 French and Polish troops to Hispaniola. Soon afterwards, Napoleon's brother-in-law General Charles Leclerc asked to meet Louverture to discuss terms. It was a deception and Louverture was seized and deported to France where he died in April 1803.[5] After the death of Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines stood as leader of the independence struggle and continued battling French forces. After the battle of Battle of Vertières in November 1803, France abandoned all hope of retaining control over the colony. On 1 January 1804, Dessalines declared independence for Saint-Domingue and renamed the new nation 'Haiti'.[6]

France officially acknowledged Haitian independence in 1824.[7][8][9]

Post Independence

In 1825, French King Charles X demanded Haiti reimburse and compensate France for the loss of money and trade from Haiti's independence. France threatened to invade Haiti and sent 12 war ships to the island nation.[10] On 17 April 1825 an agreement was made between the two nations. France renounced all attempts to re-conquer Haiti and recognized Haiti as an independent nation after Haiti agreed to pay France 150 million gold francs in indemnity to the former colonists within five years. In November 1825, the first French consul presented his credentials to President Jean-Pierre Boyer.[11] On 12 February 1838, a 'Treaty of Peace and Friendship' was signed between both nations.[12]

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between, both nations have signed several agreements and treaties, such as an agreement on commerce (1958); treaty on trade (1959); agreement on air transportation between both nations (1965); agreement on cultural, scientific and technical cooperation (1972); convention on the protection of investments (1973); cooperation on tourism (2007) and an agreement on joint research and of professional training (2015).[13]

French military unloading equipment and aid onto a beach in Haiti, 2010

Since independence, France continued to play an important role in Haitian affairs. Several Haitian Presidents ousted from power sought refuge in France, such as Presidents Jean-Pierre Boyer, Lysius Salomon, Franck Lavaud and Jean-Claude Duvalier. In December 1993, France asked the United Nations to tighten sanctions on Haiti after the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power by the military in September 1991.[14]

In February 2010, French President Nicolas Sarkozy paid a visit to Haiti, the first by a French President.[15] During his visit, President Sarkozy promised Haiti €230 million EUR in aid after the island nation suffered its worst earthquake in its history. President Sarkozy also announced the cancellation of €56 million EUR debt owed by Haiti to France.[15] In May 2015, French President François Hollande paid an official visit to Haiti and promised $145 million USD in development projects within the island nation.[16]

Trade

In 2017, trade between both France and Haiti totaled €69 million EUR.[17] France's main exports to Haiti include: manufactured products, clothing, mechanical equipment, dairy products, and medicines. Haiti's main exports to France include: fruits and vegetables, beverage plants (cocoa and coffee), distilled alcoholic beverages (rum), ready meals, and spice plants.[17]

Resident diplomatic missions

  • Embassy of France in Port-au-Prince
    Embassy of France in Port-au-Prince
  • Embassy of Haiti in Paris
    Embassy of Haiti in Paris
  • Consulate-General of Haiti in Paris
    Consulate-General of Haiti in Paris

See also

References

  1. ^ Pirate Den: Tortuga
  2. ^ a b History of Haiti
  3. ^ To Heal Haiti, Look to History, Not Nature
  4. ^ a b c "Upheavals in France and Saint-Domingue". Archived from the original on 2020-11-14. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  5. ^ Toussaint Louverture
  6. ^ Independence of Haiti
  7. ^ "La première ambassade française en Haïti". Menu Contenu Plan du siteAmbassade de France à Port-au-Prince (in French). Government of France. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  8. ^ M. Degros, Création des postes diplomatiques et consulaires, Revue d’histoire diplomatique, 1986; in French
  9. ^ J-F. Brière, Haïti et la France, 1804-1848 : le rêve brisé, Paris, Karthala 2008; in French
  10. ^ France Asked to Return Money ‘Extorted’ From Haiti
  11. ^ La première ambassade française en Haïti (in French)
  12. ^ Les relations franco-haïtiennes (in French)
  13. ^ France Diplomatie: Agreements and Treaties with Haiti (in French)
  14. ^ France Is Seeking Support in U.N. For Tightening Sanctions on Haiti
  15. ^ a b Haiti promised €230m EUR as Nicolas Sarkozy visits former colony
  16. ^ "French President Hollande pledges Haiti investment". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05.
  17. ^ a b French Ministry of the Economy: Haiti (in French)
  18. ^ Embassy of France in Port-au-Prince
  19. ^ Embassy of Haiti in Paris
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