In 1825, France forcibly imposed a treaty on the young Haitian republic in which, in exchange for France's recognition of its independence, Haiti undertook to pay 150 million francs in compensation to the former owners of Saint-Domingue, who had left the island during the Revolution. The Haitian state was only able to pay this sum by borrowing from French banks. This colossal loan, which took decades to repay, weighed heavily on Haiti's history.
Little is known about this episode, particularly in France. In 2022, the New York Times published a lengthy investigation into this " double debt " and its dramatic cost for Haiti's development, under the title The Ransom, but the results received little coverage in France itself. More generally, the entire history of the Haitian Revolution, from the slave revolt in Saint-Domingue in 1791 to Haiti's declaration of independence in 1804, under the leadership of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, remains insufficiently known, beyond the figure of Toussaint Louverture, and despite the many important works published in recent decades on both sides of the Atlantic. The same is true of Haiti's post-independence history, particularly during the first decades of the new state's formation.
The international colloquium, to be held at the Collège de France onJune12, 13 and 14 2025, has a triple objective. On the one hand, it aims to take stock of the 1825 episode, with the best specialists in the field, to understand how the indemnities were calculated and then paid out, the context in which they were imposed on Haiti, the consequences they had, in the short and long term, on Haitian society, economy and politics, as well as the commercial conditions that accompanied them, which are sometimes overlooked. A number of papers will also look at these issues in the broader context of the relief provided to Dominican refugees or the compensation granted to former slave owners after the definitive abolition of slavery in the French Empire, for example in Martinique in 1849.
On the other hand, the colloquium will broaden the perspective to present the public with a synthesis of the most recent work on Saint-Domingue before and during the revolution, with a particular focus on the intellectual history of Haiti in the 19th century, a field that is currently in full expansion. Finally, we will look at contemporary issues, linked to the memory of the events of 1825, to the repeated demands for reparation, notably by Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2003, and to the current political situation.
The symposium, which will bring together some thirty participantsfrom Haiti, the Caribbean, the United States and Europe over three days, will also be accompanied by a cultural event, with a reading of certain scenes from Aimé Césaire'sLa Tragédie du roi Christophe. The whole event will shed new light on the history of Haiti and its relations with France.
Organized by Antoine Lilti, Arnaud Orain, Dominique Rogers and Cécile Vidal.
