The eyes of the world have been turned to Haiti over the past two weeks since unfathomable damage was done by a 7.0 earthquake on 12th January. We wonder what has made Haiti so poor. Certainly their history before 1804 was the same as the rest of the West Indies. Then we read Sir Hilary Beckles account which has been flying around the Internet. My point is, in my humble way, to tell the rest of... moreThe eyes of the world have been turned to Haiti over the past two weeks since unfathomable damage was done by a 7.0 earthquake on 12th January. We wonder what has made Haiti so poor. Certainly their history before 1804 was the same as the rest of the West Indies. Then we read Sir Hilary Beckles account which has been flying around the Internet. My point is, in my humble way, to tell the rest of the story; for Haiti’s current poverty only started with them being forced to pay restitution to France in order to be recognised as an independent nation and allowed back into world commerce. view page