By all accounts, the nation of Haiti has devolved to depths unseen since the Haitian Revolution of 1791. After the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, gangs took over the island nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince, leaving the country’s 11 million people in terror. Through the decades, Haitians have experienced various types of governments. Let’s take a few moments to examine some of them.
The people of Haiti achieved independence from their French enslavers in 1804. Afterward, they experienced their government under the rule of a series of short-lived Emperors and Kings. From 1806 to 1811, King Henry I established himself as a constitutional monarchy, a system of government in which a monarch is the Head of State and is governed by a parliament. This is different from an absolute monarchy, a system of government ruled by a monarch who has control of the government and state.
Between 1811 and 1957, the island nation had over 30 leaders, including U.S. military forces who occupied it from 1915 to 1934. Some of the leaders in Haiti lasted for mere days, while others were in power for years. While some led based on the principles of democracy, a system of government in which the power is vested in the people and free elections are held, others were military leaders who used their power to exert control over others and achieve goals with or without the support of society.
The year 1957 saw the rise of the Duvalier dynasty. It began with elected President Francois Duvalier, a physician who was called “Papa Doc” by his patients. Duvalier was a corrupt leader who lined his pockets with money that should have gone to support society. To maintain power, he created a secret police known as the TonTon Macoute that terrorized citizens of Haiti, killing an estimated 30,000 people. Duvalier’s presidency was best described as a dictatorship, a form of government in which a single person or political entity controls political authority.
