Figure 1.--The Haitian economy was largely agricultural. Here we see a farm in the 1940s. Haiti is still largely agricultural. Enviromental degredation and poor farming methods limit productivity. .

Independent Haiti has been unable to develop the counry's economy. And what was the richest colony in the Americas gradualy evolved into one of the poorest countries in the world. The French after seizing the ciolony proceeded to build large numbers of plantatiins. The Spanish had descimated the Native American population so both French plnters imported African slaves. About a quater of the colony was arable land. Huge fortunes werte made, but the plantation system was incredablr brutal. The apauling conditions on the plantations combined with the French revolution resulted in a slave revolt and eventual independendence. The slaves when they revolted from French rule, destoyed the plantatios where they had toiled and been brutalized. The slaves killed all the white that they capured, including women and children. In destroying the plantations, they obliterated the economic vitality of the colony. This ensuing isolation and subsequent incompetent rule left Haiti the poorest country in the Americas. The economy is still largely agricultural with two-thirds of the country earning its livlihood from agriculture. The envirinmental devestation and priitive methods limit the productivity of agriculture. There is also some light industry and muniing. Economic failure has led to a range of ecological problems, including deforestation and overfishing leaving the country an ecological nightmare. Haiti has an obstensiably free market economy. It has some advantages such as low labor costs and free access to the U.S. market. The chaos, lack of the rule of law, largely uneducated population, and other factors have left the country poverty stricken. This combined with ith the enviromental degredation and government coruption have meant that the country unlike many Caribbean countries has made no economic progress. An estimated 80 percent of the opulation live in povery and over half in abject poverty. Haiti experienced a mssive earhquake (January 2010). A devestating 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed much of its capital city of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. The earhquake only woirsened the economic conditions. Only a massive international relief effort led by the United States prevented a humanitarian nightmare. The chaos and coruption in the country discourage needed fireign investment.

Created: 3:12 AM 5/10/2012
Last updated: 3:12 AM 5/10/2012