1825-April-17: King Charles X of France issued a controversial royal ordinance grantng recognition to Haiti, but under conditions that severely compromised H…

1825-April-17: King Charles X of France issued a controversial royal ordinance grantng recognition to Haiti, but under conditions that severely compromised Haitian sovereignty. The ordinance required Haiti to pay a staggering indemnity of 150 million francs to compensate former French enslavers for their lost property and granted a 50% reduction in customs duties for French ships entering Haitian ports. This “recognition” was no treaty between equals. It was a unilateral decree from the former colonial power. The American government watched these developments closely, as the French move threatened to give France a massive commercial advantage over American merchants in the Haitian market.