In summary, the U.S. greatly benefitted from Haiti's independence b/c they were France's last major foothold in the northern part of the western hemisphere, therefore it made little military sense for them to hold onto the Louisiana territory. So Thomas Jefferson and Congress worked out the deal to buy it for an insanely low bargain basement price of .03 cents an acre. Just think of all the benefits we reaped from the Louisiana Purchase.
For South America, several of the countries owe their independence to Simon Bolivar who used Haiti as a launching pad for his revolutionary army. For instance, here's an excerpt from a Bolivar letter written December 23,1822; concerning the strength of Haiti, and the vulnerability of Colombia:
"I then cast my eyes over the endless coastline of Colombia, threatened by the fleets of every nation, by the Europeans whose colonies surround us, and by the Africans of Haiti whose strength is mightier than primeval fire."
"The wars in Russia and Haiti should be our model on some points, but without the terrible type of self-destruction that those countries adopted." 1
Without the sacrifice and support of the Haitian people, the countries in South America and the U.S. may not have become as prosperous or gained their independence as quickly throughout history. If the Spanish hadn't been hassled by the revolutionary movements, they might have been able to bother the United States or reconquer Mexico.
Questions:
1. Do the countries of America and Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and Bolivia owe Haiti anything? Why or why not?
150 words, due Friday 4/16 by class time.
If interested, the Haitian Embassy in D.C. is sponsoring an art contest to celebrate its Flag Day on May 18. Click here for more info: http://www.haiti.org/files/CALL%20FOR%20ARTISTIC%20CONTRIBUTION.pdf
Sources:
1. http://www.historyvortex.org/HaitianRevolutionImpactSpanishCaribbean.html Haitian Revolution and its Impact on the Spanish Revolution.
