For the 1994–1995 United States occupation, see Operation Uphold Democracy.
United States occupation of Haiti
Part of the Banana Wars
Top to bottom, left to right: United States Marines in 1915 defending entrance gate in Cap-Haïtien, United States Marines and a Haitian guide patrolling the jungle during the Battle of Fort Dipitie, United States Navy Curtiss HS-2Ls and other airplanes in Haiti circa 1919
Date
July 28, 1915 – August 1, 1934 (19 years and 4 days)
Location
Haiti
Result
U.S. victory
U.S. interests in Haiti protected
Profits for National City Bank of New York
Belligerents
United States Haiti
Haitian rebels
Commanders and leaders
W.B. Caperton John H. Russell Jr. Smedley Butler Gerald C. Thomas Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave Louis Borno Louis Eugène Roy Sténio Vincent
Second Caco War: 1,500 U.S. Marines[1] 2,700 Haitian Gendarmes[1]
First Caco War: 5,000[1]
Casualties and losses
First Caco War: Unknown, a few casualties 18 wounded[1] Second Caco War: 28+ Americans killed, total unknown[1] 70+ Gendarmes killed, total unknown[1]
Total 146 American deaths[2]
First Caco War: 200 killed[1]
Second Caco War: 2,000+ killed[1]
3,250–15,000 Haitian deaths[3][4] Hundreds to 5,500 forced labor deaths[5]
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U.S. occupation of Haiti
Fort Dipitie
Fort Rivière
1st Port-au-Prince
2nd Port-au-Prince
Les Cayes
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Banana Wars
Cuba
Spanish–American War
1st U.S. occupation
2nd U.S. occupation
Negro Rebellion
Sugar Intervention
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican campaign
Honduras
First Honduran Civil War
Second Honduran Civil War
Nicaragua
Granada
Masaya
Coyotepe Hill
1926–1927 civil war
La Paz Centro
Ocotal
San Fernando
Santa Clara
Telpaneca
Sapotillal
1st Las Cruces
2nd Las Cruces
Quilali
El Bramadero
La Flor
Achuapa
Agua Carta
El Sauce
Mexico
Border War
Veracruz
Haiti
Fort Dipitie
Fort Rivière
1st Port-au-Prince
2nd Port-au-Prince
Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo
Las Trencheras
Guayacanas
San Francisco de Macoris
Part of a series on the
History of Haiti
Pre-Columbian Haiti (before 1492)
Captaincy General of Santo Domingo (1492–1625)
Saint-Domingue (1625–1804)
Haitian Revolution
First Empire of Haiti (1804–1806)
1804 Haiti massacre
Siege of Santo Domingo
North Haiti (1806–1820)
State of Haiti
Kingdom of Haiti
South Haiti (1806–1820)
First Republic of Haiti
Republic of Haiti (1820–1849)
Unification of Hispaniola
Second Empire of Haiti (1849–1859)
Haitian-Dominican Wars
Republic of Haiti (1859–1957)
United States occupation of Haiti
Duvalier dynasty (1957–1986)
Anti-Duvalier protest movement
Republic of Haiti (1986–present)
1991 Haitian coup d'état
Operation Uphold Democracy
2004 Haitian coup d'état
2010 Haiti earthquake
United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti
Assassination of Jovenel Moïse
2021 Haiti earthquake
Timeline
Topics
Military history
List of revolutions and coups d'état
Women's history
Haiti portal
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The United States occupation of Haiti began on July 28, 1915, when 330 U.S. Marines landed at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the National City Bank of New York convinced the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, to take control of Haiti's political and financial interests. The July 1915 invasion took place following years of socioeconomic instability within Haiti that culminated with the lynching of President of Haiti Vilbrun Guillaume Sam by a mob angered by his decision to order the executions of political prisoners. The invasion and subsequent occupation was promoted by growing American business interests in Haiti, especially the National City Bank of New York, which had withheld funds from Haiti and paid rebels to destabilize the nation through the Bank of the Republic of Haiti with an aim at inducing American intervention.[citation needed]
During the occupation, Haiti had three new presidents while the United States ruled as a military regime through martial law led by Marines and the Gendarmerie. Two major rebellions against the occupation occurred, resulting in several thousand Haitians killed, and numerous human rights violations – including torture and summary executions – by Marines and the Gendarmerie of Haiti.[citation needed] A corvée system of forced labor was used by the United States for infrastructure projects, that resulted in hundreds to thousands of deaths.[6] Under the occupation, most Haitians continued to live in poverty, while American personnel were well-compensated. The American occupation ended the constitutional ban on foreign ownership of land, which had existed since the foundation of Haiti.
The occupation ended on August 1, 1934, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt reaffirmed an August 1933 disengagement agreement. The last contingent of marines departed on August 15, 1934, after a formal transfer of authority to the American-created Gendarmerie of Haiti.
^ abcdefghiClodfelter (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015. p. 378.
^Hans Schmidt, The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934 (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1995), p. 103; and “Americans Killed in Action,” American War Library, http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/allwars.htm Archived February 22, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Schmidt cites 146 Marine deaths in Haiti; and the American War Library cites 144 Marines killed in action in the Dominican Republic.
^Hans Schmidt (1971). The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934. Rutgers University Press. p. 102. ISBN 9780813522036.
^Farmer, Paul (2003). The Uses of Haiti. Common Courage Press. p. 98.
^Cite error: The named reference Belleau-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Schmidt, Hans (March 12, 1995). The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2203-6.
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