Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: The Economy
occurred in 1862 during the American Civil War. Meanwhile,
social conditions deteriorated seriously, and heightened conflicts
between the black majority and the ruling mulattoes produced
severe economic disorders and alarming political
instability. The ensuing government chaos and the steady
decline of the economy led to gradual involvement in Haiti's
affairs by European and United States interests. In 1915, concerned
about European—especially German—economic competition
and political rivalry in the Caribbean, the United
States used the opportunity of an internal crisis and numerous
government changes during a particularly unstable period of
Haiti's history to intervene militarily and occupy the Caribbean
island nation. The immediate pretext for the intervention was
the execution on July 27 of more than 150 political prisoners,
provoking an angry mob to parade the dismembered corpse of
the president through the streets of Port-au-Prince. This shocking
spectacle prompted the United States to land military
forces in Haiti's capital exactly one day later, on July 28, 1915
(see United States Involvement in Haiti, 1915-34, ch. 6).
The nineteen-year occupation ended in 1934, when United
States forces were withdrawn at the request of the elected government
of Haiti. That the occupation's impact was of a lasting—and
significant—nature, was evidenced by the fact that
within only six weeks of the landing, Marine Corps commanders
were serving as administrators in the provinces. Civilian
United States representatives also were in control of Haitian
customs and other administrative institutions. However, United
States occupation forces aroused sharp resistance and strong
nationalist sentiments among black intellectuals, who resented
the entrenchment of the mulatto minority in power by what
they perceived to be United States connivance.
On the government-to-government front, nevertheless, a
treaty passed by the Haitian legislature in November 1915 gave
the United States authority to appoint financial advisers and
receivers and to run the country's public works and public
health programs. Among the positive economic aspects of the
occupation were major infrastructure projects carried out by
United States forces, occasionally employing forced labor. The
forces concentrated on constructing hospitals, schools, roads,
bridges, wharves, and lighthouses, and creating clean water
facilities and telephone systems. United States financial advisers
and receivers also managed to keep Haiti current on its foreign
debt payments at a time when default by other borrowers
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