Haiti: The back story AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 02/09/2010

Haiti: The back story AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 02/09/2010 It had been this outsider’s intention this week to write about the widely-expressed concern regarding the USA’s current intentions in Haiti, which bear all the signs of military occupation. And I did, but then I thought that readers might be interested to learn something of the history of this small Caribbean nation. Contemporary events will, therefore, be discussed next week. According to Trinidadian historian Eric Williams in his history of the Caribbean, From Columbus to Castro (Andre Deutsch, 1970), in the years between 1783, when the USA gained its independence from Britain, and 1789, the year of the French Revolution, Haiti — or Saint-Domingue as it was then called — “supplied half of Europe with tropical produce. Its exports were one-third more than those of all the British West Indies combined; its commerce employed 1,000 ships and 15,000 French sailors. Saint-Domingue was the world’s premier sugar producer, the gem of the Caribbean.”.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune ALTERNATE URL: http://www.classicposters.com/commentary/20100209com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Debates aren’t important FRONTLINE Questions Villar must answer FEATURE Lunar New Year tradition blossoms in Vietnam MR. EXPOSE Campaign starts at Plaza Miranda NO HOLDS BARRED Pornographic AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Haiti: The back story