The Môle Saint-Nicolas affair was an 1891 diplomatic incident between

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

when in an act of

gunboat diplomacy Gunboat diplomacy is the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power, implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare should terms not be agreeable to the superior force. The term originated in ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

ordered Rear-Admiral

Bancroft Gherardi Bancroft Gherardi (November 10, 1832 – December 10, 1903) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Even though his family hailed from French Corsica, because of his ...

to persuade the cession or lease of Môle Saint-Nicolas to the United States in order to establish a naval base for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Following a prolonged request for Gherardi's diplomatic credentials and increased public pressure, Haiti refused the request of the United States.

Background

The United States had been interested in controlling Haiti in the decades following the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

, when the Caribbean nation won its independence from France. As a way "to secure a U.S. defensive and economic stake in the West Indies", according to the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

, President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

of the United States began the pursuit of the annexing

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

, including Haiti, in 1868.

Hyppolite revolt

Haitian general

Florvil Hyppolite Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite (; 26 May 1828 – 24 March 1896) was a Haitian general and politician who served as the President of Haiti from 17 October 1889 to 24 March 1896. He became President of Haiti following a struggle for successio ...

led a revolt against

President of Haiti The president of Haiti (, ), officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti (, , ), is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the prime minister of ...

François Denys Légitime François Denys Légitime (; November 20, 1841 – July 29, 1935) was a Haitian general who served as President of Haiti from 1888 to 1889. Biography Légitime was born in Jérémie, Haiti, on 20 November 1841 to Denys Légitime and Tinette ...

in August 1889. ''The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge''. Encyclopedia Americana Corp. (1919), vol. 17
pp. 255-6
According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', General Hyppolite reportedly promised the United States that he would allow the construction of a base for the

in exchange for assistance with his revolt, though the report says that Môle Saint-Nicolas was never specified as a location. President Légitime would eventually resign and Hyppolite assumed the presidency of Haiti. Shortly after Hyppolite assumed the presidency of Haiti in October 1889, President of the United States

, acting under the advice of Secretary of State

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as speaker of the U.S. House of Rep ...

, commissioned Rear-Admiral

to negotiate for the acquisition of Môle Saint-Nicolas with the aim of establishing a naval

coaling station Fuelling stations, also known as coaling stations, are repositories of fuel (initially coal and later oil) that have been located to service commercial and naval vessels. Today, the term "coaling station" can also refer to coal storage and feedi ...

there.

Clyde concession

''The New York Times'' wrote of a supposed "Clyde concession" that occurred in late-1889 into 1890: The

Clyde Steamship Company Clyde Steamship Company was a steamship transportation company connecting New York City to Florida as well as routes to Boston and Providence, Cuba, New Orleans, and various Keys. William P. Clyde organized the company in 1874 and acquired variou ...

was reportedly the steamer line destined to benefit from the deal, which would force the Haitian government to pay $50,000 USD annually for services in a contract lasting ninety nine years. ''The New York Times'' stated that the relationship between the Clyde Steamship Company and United States government had "long been a mystery", suggesting that it was possible the company was acting on Secretary Blaine's behalf since a steamer line would not benefit the United States, noting that the "famous harbor once in possession of an American firm, how easy it would be for it to pass into the hands of the Navy Department". The Clyde concession failed and resulted with more direct demands by the United States to acquire the harbor.

Events

The USS ''Philadelphia'' commanded by rear-Admiral Gherardi arrived in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

in January 1891. Gherardi addressed his demand for Môle Saint-Nicolas to the Haitian Government; his letter contained the additional demand that " long as the United States may be the lessee of the Môle Saint-Nicolas, the Government of Haiti will not lease or otherwise dispose of any port or harbor or other territory in its dominions, or grant any special privileges or rights of use therein to any other Power, State, or Government." The rear-admiral presented his orders from Secretary Blaine, though

Anténor Firmin Joseph Auguste Anténor Firmin (18 October 1850 – 19 September 1911), better known as Anténor Firmin, was a Haitian barrister and philosopher, pioneering anthropologist, journalist, and politician. Firmin is best known for his book (), which ...

, then Haitian Secretary of State for Exterior Relations, requested Gherardi's diplomatic credentials since

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

, who was at that time United States Minister at

. Gherardi was then forced to write to

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for his credentials on 20 February 1891; having been confident of a swift victory, Gherardi had not attempted to secure the cooperation of Douglass. Secretary Blaine replied to Gherardi saying that his documentation would arrive by the steamship ''Atlas'' in 4 March 1891, though when the rear-admiral arrived in

Gonaïves Gonaïves (; also Les Gonaïves; , ) is a commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite department of Haiti. The population was 356,324 at the 2015 census. History The city of Gonaïves was founded around 1422 by a group of T ...

, his credentials had not arrived. In an act of

, the White Squadron, which included the USS ''Dolphin'', USS ''Galena'' and USS ''Kearsarge'' joining the USS ''Philadelphia'' for a total of over 100 guns and 2,000 men, was dispatched from

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

to Port-au-Prince on 15 April 1891 with the apparent intention to intimidate the Haitians. By the time Secretary Blaine's letter appointing Gherardi his special Commissioner reached Port-au-Prince, the American squadron had long been in Haiti's waters. The array of force had been counterproductive, provoking loud public protest against the Americans. ''The New York Times'' would later write that the Haitians "semi-barbaric minds saw in it a threat of violence". Under these circumstances, President Hyppolite was compelled to stand firm against the Americans. Firmin refused the deal on the grounds that the

Constitution of Haiti The Constitution of Haiti (, ) was modeled after the constitutions of the United States, Poland and France. The latest version of the document was approved by Parliament in March 2011 and came into effect on June 20, 2012. History A total of 22 ...

forbade alienation of any portion of the nation's territory.

Aftermath

Harrison and Blaine were not discouraged by their failed attempt to acquire Môle Saint-Nicolas. Still bent upon acquiring a naval station in the West Indies, they applied in 1892 to the Dominican Republic. John S. Durham, who had replaced Douglass as Minister at Port-au-Prince and Chargé d'Affaires at

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, was instructed to lease Samana Bay for a term of 99 years at a cost of $250,000. The deal ultimately was not consummated. ''The New York Times'' defended rear-admiral Bancroft Gherardi from fallout of the incident, saying that any criticism of the naval officer was "malicious". The newspaper instead blaming Frederick Douglass for the incident and describing him as " pitiable ... for a man of his reputation and position, and is one that no amount of explanation and no number of articles in the North American Review can smooth away". Upon returning to the United States in 1891, Gherardi said in an interview with ''The New York Times'' that in a short time Haiti would experience further instability, suggesting that future governments in Haiti would abide by the demands of the United States. Twenty five years after the incident, the United States invaded and occupied Haiti for nineteen years.

References