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

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

when in an act of

gunboat diplomacy In international politics, the term gunboat diplomacy refers to 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 t ...

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 of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

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 I ...

to persuade the cessation 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 maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. 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, 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 State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, President Andrew Johnson of the United States began the pursuit of the annexing Hispaniola, 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. Early life and career Hyppolite was born in 1827 at Cap-Haïtien ...

led a revolt against President of Haiti François Denys Légitime 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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 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, 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 various ...

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 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 people, Haitian barrister and philosopher, pioneering anthropology, anthropologist, journalist, and politician. Firmin is best k ...

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

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

, who was at that time United States Minister at Port-au-Prince. Gherardi was then forced to write to

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

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 (; ht, Gonayiv, ) is a List of communes of Haiti, commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite (department), Artibonite Departments of Haiti, department of Haiti. It has a population of about 300,000 people, but current ...

, 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 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 (french: Constitution d'Haïti, ht, Konstitisyon Ayiti) 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 ...

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 , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, 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