Haiti and The German Connection

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The earliest known german settlement in St. Domingue was Bombardopolis, south of the Mole. About a thousand Germans came to Bombardopolis in the eighteenth century and eked out a living growing coffee.

They received Haitian citizenship from Dessalines after 1804, and gradually mingled with the rest of the population.

Christophe had German military engineers designed the citadel La Ferriere and supervised its construction.

They never left Haiti.

A little known story about Haitian hospitality and virtue: in december 1840, a ship from Bremen with a hundred and seventy German emigrants onboard had been wrecked at Point Isabella and driven on shore in heavy wind. No lives were lost but the passengers were brought to the Cap-Haitian deprived of all their belongings.

Their misfortunes aroused the sympathy of the good people of Cap-Haitien.

Having no german consul present in Cap-Haitien in 1840, they might have perished of hunger if it wasn't for the generous assistance of all classes of Cap-Haitian citizen.

They were housed and cared for with food, medical assistance, and clothing.

Some of them stayed back in Haiti and never made it to their destination.

German merchants began to settle for good in Haiti in the 1850's.

By the 1870's german merchants were in a player in the game of Haitian politics: bamboozling government officials while bankrolling insurections.

It thus came about, on the morning of 11 June 1872, that two german naval gunboats steamed unauthorized into Port-au-Prince harbour to claim indemnities on behalf of german merchants for the sum of 3000 british pounds.

The money was raised and paid by the Haitian government in a hurry.

Nonetheless, the german marines shit on the Haitian flags of caputured Haitian ships before returning them to us. Toward the end of the 19th century, german commercial and political interests in Haiti were well known.

Internal loans floated by the corrupted Haitian governments on discounts as high as 40% were taken by German merchants whose rewards included concessions for electric companies, ice plants, the wharf, and railroad franchises.

In september 1897, Emile Luders, half-haitian german national was jailed then deported.

Consequently, in december 1897 two German warships anchored off Port-au-Prince and demanded $20,000 dollars, and professed other insults to the Haitians or all Haitian ships would be sank and Port-au-Prince bombarded.

The money was raised hastily and paid.
German influence continued unabatted in Haiti until the American occupation of 1915.
So much ungrateful dead toward the Haitian people, it is heart breaking.

Is Haiti ever gonna get some gratitude?

welcome to the revolution

Rubens F. Titus, April 21 2008, 11:37 PM

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