By Lazaro Gamio, Constant Méheut, Catherine Porter, Selam Gebrekidan, Allison McCann and Matt Apuzzo
May 20, 2022
Two decades after Haiti won its independence from France, a squadron of warships returned with an ultimatum from King Charles X.
The choice: money or war.
France demanded that Haitians pay their former masters 150 million francs, a staggering amount, far beyond their means.
With the warships looming off the coast, Haiti agreed.