1817-July-15: A specific diplomatic friction arose involving the American merchant vessel Orient, which had been boarded by Haitian forces at Les Cayes to re…
1817-July-15: A specific diplomatic friction arose involving the American merchant vessel Orient, which had been boarded by Haitian forces at Les Cayes to release a Haitian sailor. The United States agent, Morris, protested the action as an infringement on the rights of an American ship in a foreign port. President Pétion countered that the sailor in question had been subjected to ill-treatment and that the state had a duty to protect its citizens. This incident served as a microcosm of the larger diplomatic struggle over the protection of persons and property in a country the U.S. did not officially recognize. It proved that without a formal treaty, American merchants and sailors remained vulnerable to the arbitrary application of Haitian law.