Ordinance of Charles X — Haitian Independence Recognition (1825)

The Ordinance of April 17, 1825, issued by Charles X of France, nominally recognized Haitian independence but imposed a reparations debt of 150 million francs (later reduced to 90 million) to compensate former French colonists for their 'lost property,' including enslaved people. Delivered under military threat by a fleet of 14 warships, the ordinance was not a bilateral treaty but a unilateral royal concession. Haiti paid on this debt until 1947, draining the country's financial resources for over a century. It is one of the most consequential documents of the post-independence period.