French President Emmanuel Macron in a statement on April 17 admitted that his home nation erred when they demanded that Haiti pay them 150 million gold francs in order to gain its independence 200 years ago.
Per The Associated Press, Macron issued the statement when he was announcing the establishment of a French-Haitian historical commission to ‘’examine our shared past’’ and also look into their relations. Macron, however, did not touch on the repeated calls for France to pay Haiti reparations.
Macron stated that France ″subjected the people of Haiti to a heavy financial indemnity, … This decision placed a price on the freedom of a young nation, which was thus confronted with the unjust force of history from its very inception.”
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Though Haiti declared its independence from France on January 1, 1804, after a 13-year campaign led by military leader General Toussaint Louverture, their former colonial masters demanded the Caribbean nation pay them 150 million francs (about $21 billion today) to compensate former slaveholders for their loss of property during the Haitian Revolution.
READ ALSO: Colombia’s first Black woman VP urges former colonial powers to pay slavery reparations
The French also ordered Haiti to cut by 50%, the cost of every export the country sent to France and its colonies. In 1838, Haiti pleaded with France to cut its demands to 90 million francs but it would take the first independent Black country 122 years to pay the amount.
Experts have reportedly stated that Haiti’s past financial burdens is one of the roots behind the Caribbean nation’s current economic crisis and turmoil. ″Acknowledging the truth of history means refusing to forget or erase it,″ said Macron.
The commission Macron announced will comprise French and Haitian historians. Macron in his statement said that the members of the commission will table both governments with recommendations to enable them “learn from them and build a more peaceful future.″
READ ALSO: Haiti paid over $20 billion in present-day money to free itself from France. Here’s why
