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1825: France sends a fleet to Haiti to "negotiate compensation" for French slaveowners driven out in the rebellion 30 years earlier. The Haitians have no choice but to agree. Haiti's President Boyer, the "Mulatto Machiavelli", does manage to secure French recognition of Haiti -- a major step forward for the small state, which had been diplomatically isolated since its creation -- but the indemnity is still crushing: 150 million francs, more than twice the country's annual income. The sum would later be negotiated downwards to just 90 million, but paying it off would still hamstring Haiti's economy for two generations.

So: WI President Boyer had told King Charles' government where to get off?

The French seem to have been ready for a large-scale punitive raid rather than a war of conquest. (There were still plenty of living Frenchmen who remembered France's disastrous attempt to reconquer Haiti in the early 1800s.) So the "invasion" would probably involve burning Port-au-Prince and maybe some other coastal towns. The fleet would then sail home, honor satisfied, and Haiti would continue to be diplomatically isolated.

I'm not sure, but this might work out better for Haiti in the long run. I think France would eventually recognize them anyway -- either under Louis Orleans, or by 1848-9 at the latest. Diplomatic recognition doesn't seem to have done them much good OTL. And they'd miss the indemnity, which really was a major burden; for many years the debt payments were 50% of government revenue or more. 19th century Haiti had plenty of problems anyway, but the debt probably made it completely ungovernable.

One thing I /don't/ think will happen: I don't think that Haiti continues to control the Dominican Republic in this TL. (They did OTL from 1822 to 1845.) Haiti treated the DR as a conquered province; that was already clear in the first year of occupation. The indemnity payments probably made things worse, but the Dominicans would have revolted at the first good opportunity anyway.

So, a slightly better Haiti, maybe. Any other changes?


Doug M.
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