Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. But it certainly didn’t get to be that way on its own accord. Years of colonial theft by Western powers have left the Caribbean nation depleted — though by no means broken — and the country has a long history of resiliency.

The New York Times, with the help of several historians, recently published a special report series on the generations-long economic extortion of the country by France and other Western nations. The injustices done to the country are well documented, yet, for many, the Times’ piece was an eye-opening read. In it, reporters investigate the cardinal corruption that would ultimately damage Haiti’s economy and political stability.

Just as the legacy of slavery in the United States has created a gross economic disparity between Black and white Americans, the blatant acts of theft and financial coercion by Western powers greatly hindered Haiti’s ability to prosper — the fallout from which we witness today through Haiti’s ongoing turmoil.

Here are five ways France and the U.S. plundered Haiti and forever impacted its sovereignty.

France forced Haiti to pay reparations for its own freedom.

In 1804, Haiti successfully overthrew French forces, which were considered to be one of the strongest armies at the time, and declared its independence. However, Haiti’s victory in the Haitian Revolution was quickly cut short when France returned in 1825, threatening to enslave Haitians unless they paid for France’s loss of “property,” or Haitian people. France demanded that Haitians pay 150 million francs in order to gain their freedom. This is what’s known as the “independence debt,” which took Haiti 122 years to pay off, which was completed in 1947

France’s unrealistic demands imposed a "double debt" on Haiti.

The Haitian people agreed to pay France reparations for their freedom, quickly amassing debt in order to pay it. Without the funds to pay, Haitians had to take out a loan from French banks, causing a “double debt” dilemma. 

Estimates by the Times found that the double debt cost Haiti roughly $21 billion to $115 billion in lost economic growth over time. 

A French bank siphoned millions of dollars in fees and interest from Haiti.

By the 1880s, Haiti’s extortion payments were nearly paid off, and the country was ready to start investing in the nation’s future. However, Haiti’s new national bank was owned by a French bank, Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC). 

The CIC helped finance the Eiffel Tower, according to the Times, and was doing so mostly at the expense of Haiti. Exuberant fees and interest placed on the Haitian government made the bank so much money that their profits sometimes exceeded Haiti’s entire public works budget. This led to more loans, which further drained the country.

As The New York Times describes it, “The National Bank of Haiti, on which so many hopes were pinned … was national in name only. Far from an instrument of Haiti’s salvation, the central bank was, from its very inception, an instrument of French financiers and a way to keep a suffocating grip on a former colony into the next century.”

The U.S. seized $500,000 in gold from Haiti.

In 1914, U.S. Marines were sent to Haiti to allegedly restore order after several Haitian presidents were assassinated or overthrown. But they never left and Haiti’s 19-year military occupation by the U.S. began. At the start of the turmoil, the National City Bank of New York, now known as Citigroup, got involved in Haiti’s affairs, hoping to take advantage of the tumultuous times Haiti was in. The bank convinced the U.S. State Department to remove gold from the vaults of Haiti’s national bank. In December 1914, eight U.S. Marines, armed with weapons, entered the bank and left with $500,000 in gold, which would value for over $14 million today.

The U.S occupation caused Haiti to fall even deeper into debt and despair.

For decades, the American occupation of Haiti not only impacted Haiti’s finances, but also returned the Haitian people to a life full of fear and submission. According to the Times, the U.S. disbanded Haiti’s parliament at gunpoint, rewrote its constitution and slaughtered thousands of people. The U.S.’ control over Haiti’s finances lasted more than 30 years, and during that time a large portion of Haiti’s money was sent to New York bankers, profiting them while deteriorating Haiti. The Haitian government was forced, yet again, to borrow money, this time from Wall Street. By the time American financial control ended in 1947, Haiti was so poor that the Haitian farmers who helped generate the profits often lived on a diet “close to the starvation level,” United Nations officials determined, according to the Times.