The effect of Colonization on Haiti
What is colonialism? By definition we can simply say that colonialism is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one people or nation for the economic or political benefit of a dominant state. If we look at the history of Haiti we will see that Haiti has been colonize by many different countries like France, Spain, and the United Sates. There are many reasons to explain the colonization of Haiti and the impact of colonialism on Haitians.
A brief story about Haiti, The island of Hispaniola, which today is occupied by the Haitians and the Dominicans, was discoverer by Christopher Columbus during his first voyage to the New World in 1492. Hispaniola, or Santo Domingo, as it became known under Spanish domination, became the first colony of the Spanish Empire. It was in Santo Domingo that the Spanish crown introduced the system of repartimientos. After the imprisonment of Columbus and his brother Bartolomé, The colony's new governor, Nicolás de Ovando, laid the groundwork for the island's development. During his term, the repartimientos system gave way to the encomienda system under which all land was considered the property of the crown. The system also granted stewardship of tracts to encomenderos, who were entitled to employ or we can say to enslave Indian labor. After the Spanish colonization of Haiti came the French colonization.
Although Haiti but at this time (Santo Domingo) never realized its economic potential under Spanish rule, it remained strategically important as the gateway to the Caribbean. The Caribbean region provided the opportunity for seafarers from Britain, France, and the Netherlands to impede Spanish shipping, to waylay galleons crammed with gold, and to establish a foothold in a hemisphere parceled by papal decree between the Roman Catholic kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. This competition was carried on throughout the Caribbean, but nowhere as intensely as on Hispaniola....