The Legacy of French Colonialism in Haiti: Economic Instability and Gender Inequality

The Legacy of French Colonialism in Haiti: Economic Instability and Gender Inequality

Presenter(s)

Lydia Andrews

Comments

9:00-10:15, Kennedy Union Ballroom

Description

This research examines how Haiti’s colonial past, particularly its exploitative plantation economy (1697–1804) and the burden of post-independence debt (1825–1947), has contributed to systemic financial hardship and gender inequality. The poto-mitan figure, derived from the Haitian Creole words for “pillar” (poto) and “center” (mitan), is often viewed as a source of strength that symbolizes resilience, self-sacrifice, and responsibility, particularly among working-class, dark-skinned Haitian women. However, this figure, emerging from colonial and postcolonial labor structures, places disproportionate economic burdens on women while devaluing their contributions. This social construct has reinforced a gendered and racialized division of labor, limiting Haitian women’s economic mobility. Over the past fifty years (1970s–present), continued economic instability, worsened by political unrest and foreign interventions, has exacerbated these gender disparities, constricting Haitian women’s participation in the formal economy. Through an analysis of historical colonial policies, post-independence economic struggles, and contemporary gendered labor dynamics, this research seeks to examine how colonial legacies continue to shape economic and social inequalities in Haiti.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Capstone Project

Primary Advisor

Masha I. Kisel

Primary Advisor's Department

Global Languages and Cultures

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Institutional Learning Goals

Critical Evaluation of Our Times; Diversity

The Legacy of French Colonialism in Haiti: Economic Instability and Gender Inequality

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