13595: Pina: Land Tenure and Reform in Haiti

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: kevin pina <kpinbox@hotmail.com>


This a very excellent document recently written on the situation of Haiti's
countryside. It is a PDF but if you don't have Acrobat you can browse it as
an HTML document as well. The following is a short excerpt from the
introduction. The full text can be found at URL:

http://www.spatial.maine.edu/~onsrud/Landtenure/ CountryReport/Haiti.pdf

Land Tenure and Reform in Haiti
Amber Bethell
abethell@spatial.maine.edu
May 2002
Abstract

Haiti struggles with poverty and environmental degradation. The political
system
is far from stable. Most Haitians do not have secure ownership of their
lands
because the government lacks the ability to enforce tenure. Each time the
government changes hands, fighting over the land begins again. Haiti has
been
a democratic state for the last 7 years. They have begun testing agrarian
land
reform in the Artibonite Valley. This paper will discuss the development of
land
arrangements in Haiti and examine the results of the current land reform
policies.

1. Introduction

Haiti is a land with much strife. The people are poor and hungry. In fact,
Haiti is
the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The country averages about one
government per year. Many theorize that securing tenure in land is one
method
for combating poverty and hunger. This paper will address the history of
land
tenure in Haiti and the feasibility of secure tenure for improving the
nation.

2. History

Haitians are proud of leading the only successful slave revolution in
history. Haiti
is the only country in Latin America whose culture is largely French and
whose
population is mostly African.

2.1 Political

Haiti is a rugged mountainous country. Christopher Columbus sighted the
island
of Hispaniola in 1492. The wealth of the colony came from gold exports. The
original inhabitants were called Tainos or Arawaks and described as
peaceable.
By the 16 th century the indigenous population was almost extinct.
The French were given the western 1/3 of Hispaniola in 1697 because the gold
was mostly gone. Buccaneers were the first to colonize the island. The
French
began migrating once they realized sugar, cocoa, and coffee grew well there.
Slaves from Africa were brought in after the indigenous people died from
forced
labor and disease. The French settlers were known to be cruel to the slaves
and
resentment from the slaves caused a rebellion in 1791. Toussaint became the
leader and under his authority peace was restored. Slaves were ordered back
to
the plantations. Napoleon attempted to persuade Haiti back under French
rule.
The Haitians fought back and Napoleon gave up his attempts to conquer them.
Haiti declared independence in 1804. The early years of independence
produced a militarized state and the collapse of plantations. The
aristocrats lost
their land and the people owned or squatted on their own small farms.




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