via thestar.com
A lush, productive colony of France, Haiti became the world’s first independent black republic in 1804, when former slaves overthrew their masters after a bloody 13-year revolution. The sugar-producing island’s major trading partners — the U.S., France and Britain — then boycotted Haiti, the Americans fearing their own slaves would be inspired to revolt, until Haiti agreed to pay France a retribution fee for its “lost property” in 1825 of 90 million gold francs. The debt strangled the country for more than a century, and still haunts the country. On Haiti’s 200th anniversary, then president Jean-Bertrande Aristide launched a popular radio and bumper sticker campaign demanding France repay the sum. Needless to say, the cheque didn’t arrive.