History of Haitian nationality and citizenship

The Republic of Haiti is located on western portion of the island Hispaniola in the Caribbean. Haiti declared its independence from France in the aftermath of the first successful slave revolution in the Americas in 1804, and their identification as conquerors of a racially repressed society is a theme echoed throughout Haiti's history.

Haiti has a unique history of racial ideology. During its colonial period, class structure shifted from one based on wealth, to divisions distinguished by race. Once accepted as elite, families of African descent were rejected because of racist stereotypes. This regression shaped the evolution of the Haitian Revolution as peoples of African descent rose up against the white colonial planters. Haitians are primarily of African descent but a lot of Haitians are also of the indigenous Taino descent (Arawak native Indians) which inhabited the island prior to Christopher Columbus's arrival. The Taino were nearly wiped out due to diseases the Europeans brought with them and because of cruel practices including slavery. The Tainos fled to the mountains just before the Africans arrived on the island. Mixing between the remaining Tainos and some of the Africans occurred and it is believed a lot of Haitians in present-day have some ancestral links to the indigenous Tainos.

As part of the French Empire, nationality in Saint-Domingue, now the Republic of Haiti, was based on a mixture of economics and race, combining white planter elite, black slaves, and free black planters. Haiti was unusual, as it was the only slave society in the Americas with a significant population of free black planters. Unlike most colonial slave societies, status was based on economics rather than race, creating a unified master class of both races. "Whereas the freedmen in all other slave societies entered at the lowest ranks of free society, in the French West Indies they were often permitted to enter the class of plantation owners from the beginning." Officially, imperial policy and the inequality of slavery's distribution of freedom and wealth excluded all blacks from the civil, public sphere of society. However, those with little or no official power were able to use public law to fight for their security in liberty and justice. For example, many slaves were able to use the French Code Noir marriage provision and claim independence. There was no fine line between the races as interracial relationships were not uncommon; colonists often had sexual relations with their slaves, generally recognizing the paternity of their children and freeing them from slavery. Men and women who escaped slavery were able to assert themselves in civil society; the opportunity to advance economically was not reserved for white Europeans.

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