Faith Nyasuguta
Thursday, April 17 marked exactly 200 years since Haiti was forced to sign the Indemnity Agreement with France, a turning point many historians say condemned the Caribbean nation to a cycle of poverty and foreign dependence. As Haiti celebrates two centuries of independence, the painful legacy of that 1825 agreement has resurfaced with renewed calls for France to issue reparations.
In 1825, just 21 years after winning independence in a bloody revolt against French colonial rule and slavery, Haiti faced a new kind of coercion. French warships arrived off its coast, and under threat of invasion, Haiti’s government signed a decree agreeing to pay France 150 million francs. This “indemnity” was framed as compensation to former French slaveholders who had lost “property”, namely, enslaved people, during Haiti’s revolution.
The payment was later reduced to 90 million francs but came at an enormous cost. Haiti had to borrow heavily from French and later U.S. banks at high interest rates, locking the country into a crushing debt cycle that persisted for over a century. The debt wasn’t fully paid off until 1947, and economists estimate that its cumulative effect drained billions in potential investment from Haiti’s economy.
Now, on the 200th anniversary of that fateful agreement, Haitian activists and scholars are amplifying demands that France acknowledge and repair the damage. “The indemnity was not just immoral, it was an act of economic warfare,” said Marlene Douze, a Haitian historian. “It dismantled the possibility of self-determined progress.”
While France has acknowledged the injustice, it has yet to accept the idea of reparations. On April 17, French President Emmanuel Macron marked the anniversary by announcing the launch of a joint Haitian-French historical commission. The group is tasked with investigating the legacy of the indemnity and making recommendations, but no reparations have been promised.
“We recognize the weight of history and the harm inflicted,” Macron said during a televised statement. “This commission will allow our nations to confront the past with honesty.” Yet many in Haiti remain skeptical. Critics argue that commissions are often used to delay meaningful action. “What Haiti needs is restitution, not reflection,” said Nèfta Freeman of the Black Alliance for Peace.
The demand for reparations has also gained support across the region. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has included Haiti’s claim in its broader push for reparations from European colonial powers. The movement is gaining traction, with increasing international pressure on former colonizers to address historical injustices not just with words, but with financial redress.
Some Haitians have begun calculating what France owes, adjusting for inflation and interest. Recent academic studies suggest that the indemnity cost Haiti over $20 billion in today’s money. This figure does not account for the opportunity cost of economic stagnation and social instability that followed.
Beyond the numbers, the legacy of the indemnity agreement has had lasting political and psychological effects. Haiti, the first Black republic and the first country to abolish slavery through revolution, was made to pay for its freedom in a way that no other nation ever was. That message, that Black independence would be punished, resonated globally and continues to shape perceptions of Haiti today.
Despite decades of setbacks, corruption, and foreign intervention, many Haitians view this anniversary as a moment of possibility. Civil society groups are calling for any future reparations to be managed transparently, with direct benefits to education, healthcare, and infrastructure. “This money belongs to the people,” said activist Roseline Jean. “It must never be lost in politics again.”
As the global reparations conversation grows louder, April 17, 2025, may go down as more than just an anniversary, it could mark the beginning of a serious reckoning with a colonial debt that never should have existed.
RELATED:
