Louis Borno
Encyclopedia
Eustache Antoine Francois Joseph Louis Borno (20 September 1865 – 29 July 1942) was a lawyer
(law degree earned in 1890 at the Faculty of Paris
) and Haitian politician. He served as President of the Republic of Haiti
from 1922 to 1930 during the period of the American occupation of Haiti (1915–1934). Borno was of Mulatto
heritage, being the son of a White French father and a Black Haitian mother.
; then, in 1908, served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for President Nord Alexis.
The country of Haiti, devastated by internecine conflicts and the mismanagement of its leaders, was looked upon as a strategically vital location by the United States
at the onset of World War I
. The U.S. had extended its influence throughout the Caribbean
and Latin America
following the construction of the Panama Canal
by invoking the Roosevelt Corollary
to the Monroe Doctrine
In 1914, the United States under President Woodrow Wilson
presented a project for the control of customs and finances of Haiti. Borno, then Foreign Minister of President Joseph Davilmar Theodore
, refused. The United States responded by confiscating the reserves of the National Bank of Haiti.
On 28 July 1915, a Haitian mob killed President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in the legation of France
, where he had taken refuge. The same day, U.S. troops landed in the country, restoring order to Port-au-Prince
. They organized the election of a new president, Philippe Sudre Dartiguenave
, and immediately imposed a protectorate. Borno, appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, negotiated a U.S. commitment to the economic development of the country and refused to transfer any territory.
American contempt and brutality against the local population led to armed revolts in the countryside carried out by "cacos," farmers who had remained armed since the war of independence and were imbued with a culture of rebellion. U.S. troops claimed several thousand victims. Embarrassed by media coverage of the war and disappointed at the ineffectiveness of the occupation, U.S. President Harding
decided in 1922 to improve the level of American administrators and appointed as High Commissioner Major General John H. Russell
.
The Haitian state was in debt. The external debt alone was equivalent to 4 years of the government budget. Borno decided in June 1922 to take out a loan of 23 million dollars to clear all debts. He reduced export taxes and soon the trade deficit balanced.
Infrastructure improvements were particularly impressive: 1700 km of roads were made usable, 189 bridges were built, many irrigation canals were rehabilitated, hospitals, schools, and public buildings were constructed, and drinking water was brought to the main cities. Port au-Prince became the first city of Latin America to have phone service available with automatic dialing. Agricultural education was organized with a central school of agriculture and 69 farms in the country.
Borno relied on the Catholic Church, with congregations coming from France to develop low-cost quality education throughout the country. Aware that many Haitians did not speak French, he was the first president to authorize the use of Creole in the education system.
He went to the United States in 1926 where he met President Calvin Coolidge
. He mainly settled old border conflicts with Dominican President Horacio Vásquez
in 1929.
But Borno refused to organize free elections. He maintained a Council of State, whose 21 members were appointed by himself. Thus he was re-elected by it on 12 April 1926. The print media was upset about this. Borno tried to regulate it and even imprisoned some journalists.
The world economic crisis that began in 1929 changed American policy. President Herbert Hoover
sought to disengage itself from Haiti. He appointed a commission for this purpose, chaired by Cameron Forbes, who arrived in December 1929.
Because of the economic crisis, Haitian farmers became upset. On December the 6, an excited group faced some U.S. marines who fired on them and killed some.
The Forbes Committee resolved to organize free elections and end the American administration, but remained pessimistic about the sustainability of democracy in Haiti. The opposition chose a provisional president, Louis Eugene Roy
.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
(law degree earned in 1890 at the Faculty of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) and Haitian politician. He served as President of the Republic of Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
from 1922 to 1930 during the period of the American occupation of Haiti (1915–1934). Borno was of Mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
heritage, being the son of a White French father and a Black Haitian mother.
Nationalist minister
In 1899, he was a diplomat in the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
; then, in 1908, served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for President Nord Alexis.
The country of Haiti, devastated by internecine conflicts and the mismanagement of its leaders, was looked upon as a strategically vital location by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The U.S. had extended its influence throughout the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
following the construction of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
by invoking the Roosevelt Corollary
Roosevelt Corollary
-Background:In late 1902, Britain, Germany, and Italy implemented a naval blockade of several months against Venezuela because of President Cipriano Castro's refusal to pay foreign debts and damages suffered by European citizens in a recent Venezuelan civil war. The incident was called the...
to the Monroe Doctrine
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is a policy of the United States introduced on December 2, 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention...
In 1914, the United States under President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
presented a project for the control of customs and finances of Haiti. Borno, then Foreign Minister of President Joseph Davilmar Theodore
Joseph Davilmar Théodore
Joseph Davilmar Théodore was President of Haïti from November 7, 1914 to February 22, 1915. Born in the town of Ennery in the northern half of the country, he began his career in the military, and organized the cacao farmers of the north in the revolt against President Oreste Zamor...
, refused. The United States responded by confiscating the reserves of the National Bank of Haiti.
On 28 July 1915, a Haitian mob killed President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in the legation of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he had taken refuge. The same day, U.S. troops landed in the country, restoring order to Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
. They organized the election of a new president, Philippe Sudre Dartiguenave
Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave
Philippe Sudre Dartiguenave was a Haitian political figure. He served as president of Haïti from 12 August 1915 to 15 May 1922 in a government set up by the United States after its intervention began on July 27, 1915 following an uprising which resulted in the death of Jean Vilbrun Guillaume...
, and immediately imposed a protectorate. Borno, appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, negotiated a U.S. commitment to the economic development of the country and refused to transfer any territory.
American contempt and brutality against the local population led to armed revolts in the countryside carried out by "cacos," farmers who had remained armed since the war of independence and were imbued with a culture of rebellion. U.S. troops claimed several thousand victims. Embarrassed by media coverage of the war and disappointed at the ineffectiveness of the occupation, U.S. President Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
decided in 1922 to improve the level of American administrators and appointed as High Commissioner Major General John H. Russell
John H. Russell, Jr.
John Henry Russell, Jr. was a major general and 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps. His only child was Brooke Astor, a noted philanthropist.-Biography:...
.
Cooperating President
When President Dartiguenave served out his term, Louis Borno was elected by the State Council on 10 April 1922, to the surprise of the Americans. Borno, however, soon came to an agreement with Russell. He maintained a policy of "honest and frank cooperation," as Borno called it and persuaded the Americans to help develop the country economically.The Haitian state was in debt. The external debt alone was equivalent to 4 years of the government budget. Borno decided in June 1922 to take out a loan of 23 million dollars to clear all debts. He reduced export taxes and soon the trade deficit balanced.
Infrastructure improvements were particularly impressive: 1700 km of roads were made usable, 189 bridges were built, many irrigation canals were rehabilitated, hospitals, schools, and public buildings were constructed, and drinking water was brought to the main cities. Port au-Prince became the first city of Latin America to have phone service available with automatic dialing. Agricultural education was organized with a central school of agriculture and 69 farms in the country.
Borno relied on the Catholic Church, with congregations coming from France to develop low-cost quality education throughout the country. Aware that many Haitians did not speak French, he was the first president to authorize the use of Creole in the education system.
He went to the United States in 1926 where he met President Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
. He mainly settled old border conflicts with Dominican President Horacio Vásquez
Horacio Vásquez
Felipe Horacio Vásquez Lajara was a Dominican general and political figure. He served as the acting president of the Dominican Republic in 1899, and again between 1902 and 1903. Supporters of Vásquez were known as Horacistas, as opposed to Jimenistas, supporters of Vásquez's main rival, Juan...
in 1929.
But Borno refused to organize free elections. He maintained a Council of State, whose 21 members were appointed by himself. Thus he was re-elected by it on 12 April 1926. The print media was upset about this. Borno tried to regulate it and even imprisoned some journalists.
The world economic crisis that began in 1929 changed American policy. President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
sought to disengage itself from Haiti. He appointed a commission for this purpose, chaired by Cameron Forbes, who arrived in December 1929.
Because of the economic crisis, Haitian farmers became upset. On December the 6, an excited group faced some U.S. marines who fired on them and killed some.
The Forbes Committee resolved to organize free elections and end the American administration, but remained pessimistic about the sustainability of democracy in Haiti. The opposition chose a provisional president, Louis Eugene Roy
Louis Eugène Roy
Louis Eugène Roy was a prominent Haïtian banker that was selected by U.S. General John H. Russell, the American High Commissioner to Haïti, to serve as that country's interim president, following the resignation of Louis Borno. Roy served from May 15 to November 18, 1930, during which time his...
.