Can Haiti be Saved? Essay -- Countries of The World

Introduction Haiti is most commonly referred to as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere with 80% of its population living in poverty. The country is plagued with the misfortunes of natural disasters, a history of extensive debts, and a poor social system. When looking at the country today, there seems to be little productivity. However, most are unaware that Haiti was once one of the richest colonies in the New World. Much like today, the exports were agricultural and textile products such as tobacco, cocoa beans, coffee, fruit, and cotton. As opposed to being viewed as a failed state, Haiti was France’s prized possession, named the â€Å"Pearl of the Antilles†. The colony was extremely profitable as a result of the slave trade and produced more than half of the world’s sugar (Watkins, 2012). The country today is a stark contrast. In the following paper, I will discuss how Haiti became a developing nation. Additionally, I will analyze several of the Haitiâ₠¬â„¢s current economic policies and their hindrance on the further development of the country. Background In order to understand Haiti’s current economic situation, it is important to know about the country’s past. As stated previously, Haiti was once referred to as the Pearl of the Antilles. However, the slave revolts that finally secured Haiti’s independence in 1804 ruined plantations across the island. Afterwards, the newly freed Haitians attempted to resume the large scale production. But, this effort was a failed one. Eventually, the plantations were distributed in the form of small scale farms. It is important to note, though, that these farms were mainly government owned and began a long history of government property ownership (Watkins, 2012). Further... ...Watkins, T. (2012, April 02). Department of economics. Retrieved from http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/haiti.htm Mackey, R. (2010, August 16). France asked to return money ‘extorted’ from haiti. Retrieved from http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/france-asked-to-return-money-extorted-from-haiti/ Dunkel, G. (2003, October 16). U.s. embargoes against haiti -- from 1806 to 2003 . Retrieved from http://www.iacenter.org/haiti/embargoes.htm Ives, K. (2010, July 14). Land ownership at the crux of haiti's stalled reconstruction. Retrieved from http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/2589-land-ownership-at-the-crux-of-haitis-stalled-reconstruction Transparency.org. (2011). Retrieved from http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/ SICE. (2012). Foreign trade information systmes. Retrieved from http://sice.oas.org/ctyindex/HTI/HTINatlDocs_e.asp