In keeping with expediency and simplicity -- here
are some facts --- dispute them, if you can.

Let me know.

n July 1825, King Charles X of France sent a fleet of fourteen vessels and thousands of troops to reconquer the island. To maintain independence, President Boyer agreed to a treaty by which France recognized the independence of the country in exchange for a payment of 150 million francs (the sum was reduced in 1838 to 90 million francs) – an indemnity for profits lost from the slave trade. French abolitionist Victor Schoelcher wrote, "Imposing an indemnity on the victorious slaves was equivalent to making them pay with money that which they had already paid with their blood."

A long succession of coups followed the departure of Jean-Pierre Boyer. In its 200-year history, Haiti has suffered 32 coups; the instability of government and society has hampered its progress.[26] National authority was disputed by factions of the army, the elite class, and the growing commercial class, increasingly made up of numerous immigrant businessmen: Germans, Americans, French and English. In 1912 Syrians residing in Haiti participated in a plot in which the presidential palace was destroyed. On more than one occasion, French, U.S., German and British forces claimed large sums of money from the vaults of the National Bank of Haiti.[27] Expatriates bankrolled and armed opposing groups.

In addition, national governments intervened in Haitian affairs. For instance, U.S. Marines supported a military revolt against the government in 1888. In 1892 the German government supported suppression of the reform movement of Anténor Firmin. In January 1914, British, German and United States forces entered Haiti, ostensibly to protect their citizens from civil unrest.[27]

Since 1915

The United States occupied the island from 1915 to 1934. This occupation was initially resisted by a peasant revolt termed the Cacos Insurrection which was led by Charlemagne Peralt. Accusations of "indiscriminate" killing by US Marines were formally investigated by US Brigadier General George Barnett who concluded that 3250 "natives" were killed.[28] A later investigation noted that 98 Marines perished in the conflict as well.[28] The Haitian administration dismantled the constitutional system, built roads, and established the National Guards that ran the country after the Marines left.

Scholars agree that Haiti was in much better shape after the occupation than before, but some accuse the US of estabishing a "shaky" foundation that left the country with a doomed financial structure. This was due to a 1922 $40 million loan owed to the US as well as the country's national treasury and to the Banque Nationale owned by a New York bank.[28] The result was a financial system that siphoned the country's wealth to offshore creditors instead of reinvesting it in the country's economy.[28]

The US occupation forces established a boundary between Haiti and the Dominican Republic by taking disputed land from the latter. When the US left in 1937, Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo – in an event known as the Parsley Massacre – ordered his Army to kill Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border. [28][29] In a "three-day genocidal spree", he murdered between 10,000 and 20,000 Haitians.[28] He then developed a uniquely Dominican policy of racial discrimination, Antihaitianismo ("anti-Haitianism"), targeting the mostly-black inhabitants of his neighboring country.
. Within the country, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier used both political murder and expulsion to suppress his opponents; estimates of those killed are as high as 30,000. [30]
1957–1986

From 1957 to 1986, the Duvalier family reigned as dictators, turning the country into a hermit kingdom with a personality cult and major corruption. They created the private army and terrorist death squads known as Tonton Macoutes. Many Haitians fled to exile in the United States and Canada, especially French-speaking Québec. In the 1970s the United States funded major efforts to establish in Haiti assembly plants for U.S. manufacturers. In the mid 1980s the US continued military and economic aid to the regime.[31]

In 1986, protests against "Baby Doc" led the U.S. to arrange for Duvalier and his family to be exiled to France. Army leader General Henri Namphy headed a new National Governing Council.[31]

In March 1987, a new Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by Haiti's population. General elections in November were aborted hours after dozens of inhabitants were shot in the capital by soldiers and the Tonton Macoute, and scores more were massacred around the country.
1990s

In December 1990, the former priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide won the election by more than two thirds of the vote. His mandate began on 7 February 1991. In August 1991, Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government faced a non-confidence vote within the Haitian Chamber of Deputies and Senate. Eighty three voted against him, while only 11 members voted in support of Aristide's government. Following a coup d' état in September 1991, President Aristide was flown into exile. In accordance with Article 149 of Haiti's Constitution of 1987, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Nerette was named Provisional President and elections were called for December 1991– elections which were blocked by the international community[citation needed] – and the resulting chaos extended into 1994.

In 1994, Haitian General Raoul Cédras asked former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to help avoid a U.S. military invasion of Haiti. [32] President Carter relayed this information to President Clinton, who asked Carter, in his role as founder of The Carter Center, to undertake a mission to Haiti with Senator Sam Nunn, D-GA, and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell. [32] The team successfully negotiated the departure of Haiti's military leaders and the peaceful entry of U.S. forces under Operation Uphold Democracy, thereby paving the way for the restoration of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president. [32] Aristide left the presidency in 1995.
2000s
See also: 2004 Haitian rebellion, Ottawa Initiative, and United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti

Aristide was re-elected in 2000. His second term was marked by accusations of corruption. In 2004 a paramilitary coup ousted Aristide a second time. (See 2004 Haitian rebellion) Aristide was removed by U.S. Marines from his home in what he described as a "kidnapping", and briefly held by the government of the Central African Republic to which the U.S. had decided to fly him. Aristide obtained his release and went into exile in South Africa.

Boniface Alexandre assumed interim authority. In February 2006, following elections marked by uncertainties and popular demonstrations, René Préval (close to the still-popular Aristide and former president of the Republic of Haiti between 1995 and 2000) was elected president.

The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (also known as MINUSTAH) has been in the country since the 2004 Haiti Rebellion.