The Colonial Undertow

Haiti is, from a merely historical perspective, one of those absurdities that are formed in the territories that don’t interest anyone; in the spaces in between places where empires take turns. First it had the misfortune of being converted into a refuge and barracks of French buccaneers and filibusters, less constructive than the adventurers, noblemen and missionaries that Spain and Portugal sent to the New World. And then, the best that can be said of the western part of the Spanish Empire is that the General Toussaint Louverture, forerunner of independence and great apostle of the abolition of slavery, owned and exploited a coffee plantation, cared for by slaves originating from the same African place that his grandfather came from, which is today known as Benin.

France was, especially in America, a bad colonial power. Its footprint in Haiti is not that of a positive and patient sowing nature, but one of haste; take everything that you can and take off running. In the Treaty of Ryswick, at the end of war between the French and the Grand Alliance, if Spain had not preferred the part of Catalonia invaded by the French to a part of Santo Domingo, things would have been different. As you can see, Haiti was the second country of the continent to obtain independence and the most unfortunate of them all in contrast to the Latin American republics. Haiti is a stage dominated by corruption, rum and voodoo.

Now, under the sad circumstance that marks the Haitian reality, the government of Washington, conscious of its “imperial responsibility,” has felt obligated to lead the assistance that Port-au-Prince and its catastrophic environs require. Barack Obama has personally led the assistance of a defenseless territory after two centuries of inane independence and predatory leaders. France, the budding metropolis of the situation, feels offended and accuses the U.S. of being overbearing and directing global aid. Brazil and other large states of the region do not applaud the North American impetus either. Just as usual, the fundamental point — the aid for a few million unfortunate — becomes secondary. Except for France — which did not lay the necessary groundwork in the time of Louis XIV — everyone is left with reasons for those absurd jealousies regarding U.S. dominance. However, an “empire” stops being one when it does not exert its influence. Fortunately, it does not seem that Obama wants to relinquish this power.