Needs to be mentioned that the french side of this Island when it was first a colony it was the richest in the Caribean... until the soil was overused... then of course it was sold to the slaves who had worked that land, who then formed the country of Haiti The french then collected payments from the new country of Haiti for many years...and from this the seeds of what there is today were sown..........
Saint-Domingue became rich and remained rich all the way to the Haitian Revolution which put up in smoke much of that wealth. Saint-Domingue wasn't just the richest colony in the Caribbean, it was the richest colony ever created in the history of humanity. Its yearly production amounted to one-third of all the French production in the world. It had to be the biggest creator of wealth on a per kilometer basis than France itself. Cap François (now Cap Haïtien) was considered the Paris of the West Indies because of its extreme beauty, the many fountains and gardens that filled its streets and squares, and the appearance of the buildings themselves. The harbor became the busiest with the most merchant ships of any city in the Americas and had the greatest shipping lanes with Europe, greater than cities like New York or Boston.
Then, the new country of Haiti being in charge mostly by illiterate uncultured people who had no idea what they were doing didn't help. The land was never sold to the Haitians, the reparations that Haiti's government agreed to pay France (Jean Pierre Boyer is the responsible one for agreeing to those terms) was for the lost value of the slaves. That agreement was agreed to and put in effect more than two decades
after Haiti became an independent country.
Another thing I have noticed for many years is that some people want to put the blame for Haiti's deforestation on the French. I haven't read most of historical documents and books by visitors to Haiti. The few about Haiti that I have read is because they are attached to entire sections focused on the Dominican Republic. Since its there, might as well read them too
after reding the parts on the DR. Others are historical books about Haiti or Saint-Domingue that I own I knew before hand that there are many sections where the DR is mentioned, but the books are in no way focused on the DR, nit even one chapter is devoted to the DR. When it comes to forest cover, I don't know what percentage of Haiti was still covered. What I do know is that many of these books (and the visits themselves often by the auther of the book) were published many decades after Haiti became independent but still in the 1800's. Plus, over 80% of the Haitian territory is mountainous. When the describe that the mountains are covered in verdure and that these are some of the most beautiful scenery they have seen, you bet it catches the attention. I thought the French are responsible for why deforestation became so intense in Haiti and the Haitians inherited this deforested land? How come they talk of the mountains everywhere in Haiti covered in tropical vegetation well after Haiti became a country?