United States occupation of Haiti

Overview

The United States occupation of Haiti began on July 28, 1915, when 330 U.S. Marines landed at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the National City Bank of New York convinced U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to take control of the country's political and financial interests. The occupation took place following years of socioeconomic instability within Haiti that culminated with the lynching of Haitian President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam by a mob angered by his executions of political prisoners.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The United States occupation of Haiti, beginning July 28, 1915, was initiated when 330 U.S. Marines landed at Port-au-Prince following a period of acute socioeconomic instability in Haiti. The immediate trigger was the lynching of Haitian President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam by a mob angered by his executions of political prisoners, which provided the political justification for intervention. Behind the intervention stood the influence of the National City Bank of New York, which had persuaded President Woodrow Wilson to secure American financial and political interests in the country. Within the broader Banana Wars context, the occupation represented an extension of U.S. interventionist policy in the Caribbean, combining financial motivations with political control. The rebel opposition, associated with commanders such as Charlemagne Péralte and Benoît Batraville, sustained significant casualties — approximately 2,000 killed — against a U.S. force of just over 2,000, indicating the scale of armed resistance the occupation generated. The occupation lasted well beyond its initial phase, implicating multiple U.S. presidents and Haitian client administrators across nearly two decades.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (11)