French govt urged to pay back Haiti's $22bn 'independence debt'
Post date: Aug 20, 2010 8:21:37 AM
A colonial France asking $22bn from Haiti
Haiti declared independence from France in 1804
France left colonial Haiti in $22bn poverty debt
French Gov Website hacked...to ask pay back
Leading international academics and authors have written an open letter to France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, urging him to repay a €17 billion "independence debt" imposed on Haiti two centuries ago.
125 years Haiti paid to France
In 1825, French King Charles X demanded Haiti pay 150 million gold francs, a sum which was later reduced to 90 million gold francs, the equivalent of €17 billion. Faced with the prospect of a French blockade, Haiti was powerless to refuse. It took the fledgling nation almost 125 years to pay the full sum.
source: france24.com/en