haitianhistory:The New York Times covers the 1825 Haitian indemnity issue, historians (and others) r
haitianhistory:The New York Times covers the 1825 Haitian indemnity issue, historians (and others) respond As many of you are most likely aware by now, last week, the New York Times published a series of articles dealing with the 1825 Haitian indemnity to France and its impact on the country’s overall economic development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The piece, which the Times alleges was carried in close collaboration with historians, economists and other specialists of Haiti, comes as a surprise given the publication’s often dismissive tone when discussing Haitian history and current affairs.While it does include some inaccuracies (the presentation of former president Jean-Pierre Boyer [1818-1843] as a more “progressive” leader than he was for instance) and oversimplification (the period of the Duvalier regime [1957-1986], for instance, should perhaps have been dealt with in greater details as it presents a grave example of the Haitian state’s corruption), the articles are very much worth a read.While the English version of the series seems to be behind a paywall (the articles can also be found in French and Haitian Creole), they should be accessible through most public libraries.Beyond the Time’s pieces, as some historians have mentioned, one must wonder why and why now would there be this particular interest in Haiti at the New York Times.In any case, here are the articles in question:“HAITI’S LOST BILLIONS”; “The Root of Haiti’s Misery: Reparations to Enslavers”; “How a French Bank Captured Haiti”; “Invade Haiti, Wall Street Urged. The US Obliged”; “Demanding Reparations, and Ending Up in Exile.” Here are different responses from historians and other popular publications regarding these articles:“Historians Are Mad at the New York Times, Again. Should They Be?”;“The New York Times Corrects Lousy Haiti Coverage in … The New York Times”;“The Times, Haiti, and the treacherous bridge linking history and journalism”;“Rançon française : New York Times a rendu un service important en estimant les pertes d'Haïti entre 21 et 115 milliards de dollars, estime Jonathan M. Katz”;“The New York Times is Wrong About Haiti.”As the Times efforts seem to have started something of a conversation (potentially a controversy), we will update this particular post with any new worthy commentary on this issue. -- source link