CHAPTER IV
Commerce of Haiti—Her products of the present day compared with those at the time of the French domination—Haiti at the St. Louis Exposition—The various industries—Timber and cabinet woods—Mines.
For the purpose of showing that the Haitians are reverting to barbarism, their detractors affect to praise the prosperity of the island at the time of the French domination; they are especially fond of alluding to the agricultural products which, according to them, have not only never been surpassed, but have not even been equalled since the independence of Haiti. Instead of finding out from trustworthy sources the exact truth of the matter, they hasten to draw the conclusion that the Haitians are lazy and unworthy of possessing such a rich and beautiful island. But they present no evidence in support of their assertions. As it is not my intention to follow the same plan, I will here furnish my reader with a few figures which will enable him to make his own deductions; figures which for obvious reasons the detractors of Haiti, as a rule, omit to mention in their works.
In 1790, at the time when Saint-Domingue was at the height of its prosperity, the products of the island were as follows: White sugar, 70,000,000 lbs.; brown sugar, 93,000,000 lbs.; coffee, 68,000,000 lbs.; cotton, 6,000,000 lbs.; indigo, 1,000,000 lbs.; cocoa, 150,000 lbs.; lignum vitæ and mahogany, 150,000 lbs.
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