The deliberate portrayal of Haiti as one of the poorest, most dangerous and most “underdeveloped” countries in the world is part of an ongoing attempt to dehumanize black and indigenous people, who constitute over 95 people % of the population of Haiti. The systemic poverty on the island is a reflection of Haiti's destabilization, not the morality or choices of its people. Haiti's instability is the result of centuries of colonization, not the Haitian Revolution. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Haitian Revolution was a 13-year uprising against slavery and colonialism by self-freed slaves in present-day Haiti, then called Saint-Domingue. Hundreds of thousands of Africans and those of African descent were enslaved in Haiti as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, where millions of Africans were kidnapped and transported to various parts of the Americas, then forced into slavery on plantations owned and controlled by white planters. The Haitians won not only against the island's white plantation owners (in what is now the Dominican Republic and Haiti), but also against the French, Spanish, and British forces sent to conquer them. In 1804, Haiti became the world's first independent black-led republic after colonization, although colonization never actually “ended.” After the revolution, France (which was supported by the US government) demanded that Haiti reinstate slavery or pay 150 million gold francs to “compensate” the planters who had lost their “properties,” AKA slaves, during the fighting (Ms. Joshi, Google Slides). Spain demanded the same from the Dominican Republic and while the Dominican Republic chose to re-establish slavery and Spanish rule to prevent further fighting and future debt, Haiti chose to pay rather than give up its freedom. Both choices reflect the cruelty of European colonialism and communities trying to make the best decision for their people. Haiti failed to repay France's debt until 1947, 122 years later (Ms. Joshi, Google Slides). This debt, combined with greed for capital, has left Haiti in a state of extreme poverty. Colonial nations like France and the United States stripped the island of its resources for their own profit, leaving Haitians extremely vulnerable. “Haiti is a place that every time the United States occupied it, they took a piece of our land, they took our wealth.” This quote is from a young Haitian girl who, responding to an American talk show host asking a group of elementary school children if Haiti needed help from the United States, continued: “We don't need help from the United States. United States. They'll come here and take our stuff." In another episode of the show, a Haitian woman responds to the claim that the white TV host had come to capture the "positive and beautiful" things about Haiti rather than the stereotypes: "Make sure Trump should know that you guys are the ones who bullied us, and made us be in the state we are in.” Natural disasters have hit Haiti much harder than the Dominican Republic and other nearby islands due to lack of relief funds and soil erosion due to French mass-produced sugar cane and tobacco crops on Haitian soil Over the past decade the island has been hit by several major natural disasters, such as the earthquake and the tsunami that hit various parts of”.