1825-July-03: A French fleet of fourteen warships carrying nearly 500 guns arrived in the harbor of Port-au-Prince to deliver the official notice of recognit…

1825-July-03: A French fleet of fourteen warships carrying nearly 500 guns arrived in the harbor of Port-au-Prince to deliver the official notice of recognition. The menacing position of the fleet made it clear that President Jean-Pierre Boyer had little choice but to accept the onerous terms of the ordinance. This “diplomacy by intimidation” ensured that Haiti’s entry into the family of nations was marked by a crushing debt that would plague its economy for over a century. An English observer noted that the Haitian populace did not join in the ensuing celebrations wholeheartedly, as rumors of the heavy concessions had already begun to circulate.