{"product_id":"haiti-p-271ab-20-gourdes-2001-vf-very-fine-plus-bicentennial-toussaint-louverture-constitution-of-1801-copy","title":"Haiti P-271Ab 20 Gourdes 2001 VF+ Very Fine Plus—Bicentennial—Toussaint L'Ouverture—Constitution of 1801 (Copy)","description":"\u003ch3\u003eCondition\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVery Fine Plus: \u003c\/strong\u003e1 moderate crease each both horizontally and vertically, bright, full original color, no smudges apparent, crisp paper, a few corner or other smaller folds \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBanknote Characteristics\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eP-271Aa: 2 serial numbers, 1 or 2 prefix letters, 6 digits, with serifs\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eP-271Ab:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 serial number, 1 or 2 prefix letters, 9 digits, no serifs ← \u003cem\u003ethis listing\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Light orange and burnt orange \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFront:\u003c\/strong\u003e Portrait of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Toussaint_Louverture\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFrançois-Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture\u003c\/a\u003e (20 May 1743–8 April 1803), leader of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Haitian_Revolution\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHaitian Revolution\u003c\/a\u003e; embossed open 1801 Constitution book center left; embossed “1801 \/ 2001” center right; holographic foil at right with “BRH BANQUE DE LA REPUBLIQUE D’HAITI,” map of Haiti, and Phrygian cap\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBack:\u003c\/strong\u003e The \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Haitian_Constitution_of_1801\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eConstitution of Haiti of 1801\u003c\/a\u003e as an open book; segmented security thread with repeating “BRH 20”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWatermark:\u003c\/strong\u003e Palm tree topped with \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Phrygian_cap\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePhrygian cap\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eComposition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paper\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 162 × 70 mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIssuing entity:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bank_of_the_Republic_of_Haiti\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBank of the Republic of Haiti (Banque de la République d'Haïti)\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePrinter:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Giesecke_%26_Devrient\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGiesecke+Devrient\u003c\/a\u003e, Leipzig (1852–date)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDemonetized:\u003c\/strong\u003e No — \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Demonetization_(currency)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003edemonetization\u003c\/a\u003e status not confirmed\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignatures:\u003c\/strong\u003e Not specified\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurrency:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Haitian_gourde\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eThird gourde\u003c\/a\u003e (1872–date)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOfficial language(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Haitian_Creole\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHaitian Creole\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/French_language\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFrench\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCountry:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRepublic of Haiti (1804–date) — this note issued during this period\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout Haiti\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCapital:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Port-au-Prince\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePort-au-Prince\u003c\/a\u003e (city pop ~1 million; metro pop ~2.6 million, UN 2020) — very roughly similar to Kansas City metro or Vienna\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePopulation:\u003c\/strong\u003e ~11.5 million (UN 2023) — similar to Belgium or Ohio\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eArea:\u003c\/strong\u003e 27,750 km² (~10,714 mi²)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGDP per capita at \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purchasing_power_parity\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePPP\u003c\/a\u003e:\u003c\/strong\u003e ~$3,200 USD (IMF 2023) — ranks ~185th out of 193 globally\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMain exports:\u003c\/strong\u003e Apparel, mangoes, cocoa, coffee, essential oils\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBorders:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dominican_Republic\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDominican Republic\u003c\/a\u003e (east); Caribbean Sea on all other sides\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguages:\u003c\/strong\u003e Haitian Creole (universal), French (official, used in government and education)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSovereignty:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFrench colony of Saint-Domingue \u003c\/strong\u003e(1659–1804)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRepublic of Haiti (\u003c\/strong\u003e1 January 1804–date) — the \u003cstrong\u003efirst Black republic in the world \u003c\/strong\u003eand the first nation born of a successful slave revolt \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHaiti Unfiltered\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHaiti was \u003cstrong\u003ethe wealthiest colony in the Western Hemisphere\u003c\/strong\u003e — producing roughly 40% of Europe’s sugar and more than half its coffee. Then it won its freedom, and the world made it pay for that too.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eToussaint L’Ouverture \u003cstrong\u003enever saw the country he made possible.\u003c\/strong\u003e Captured by Napoleon’s forces in 1802, he died in a freezing French mountain prison in April 1803 — eight months before independence was declared. The revolution succeeded without him.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Constitution of 1801 — the open book on the back of this note — \u003cstrong\u003eabolished slavery while Haiti was still technically a French colony.\u003c\/strong\u003e Toussaint wrote it, signed it, and was arrested for it within a year.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn 1825, France sent warships to Port-au-Prince and demanded \u003cstrong\u003e150 million gold francs\u003c\/strong\u003e — \u003cstrong\u003ecompensation\u003c\/strong\u003e to French slaveholders for their \u003cstrong\u003e“lost property”, human beings.\u003c\/strong\u003e Haiti, desperate for diplomatic recognition and facing a naval blockade, agreed. \u003cstrong\u003eThe debt wasn’t fully paid off until 1947.\u003c\/strong\u003e Over 122 years, Haiti transferred the equivalent of tens of billions of modern dollars to the country that had enslaved its people.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLook at a satellite image of Hispaniola and you’ll see the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic drawn in green and brown. \u003cstrong\u003eHaiti has lost over 98% of its original forest cover.\u003c\/strong\u003e Desperate poverty drove generations of Haitians to cut trees for charcoal — the only fuel they could afford. The land eroded. The rains stopped holding. The soil washed into the sea.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Constitution That Outlawed Slavery — Before the Country Existed\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1801, a formerly enslaved man sat down and wrote a constitution for a country that didn’t exist yet. It declared slavery \u003cstrong\u003eabolished forever.\u003c\/strong\u003e It made him governor-for-life. It was an act of extraordinary audacity — and Napoleon couldn’t let it stand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe sent 40,000 soldiers to reverse it. Yellow fever killed most of them. The rest were defeated. \u003cstrong\u003eHaiti was born on January 1, 1804\u003c\/strong\u003e — the only nation in history created by a successful slave revolt — and that open book on the back of this note is where it started.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Man on the Front\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToussaint L’Ouverture was born into slavery on a sugar plantation. He taught himself to read. He became a general. He \u003cstrong\u003eoutmaneuvered the British, the Spanish, and the French — sometimes all at once.\u003c\/strong\u003e The British sent 20,000 troops to take Saint-Domingue. They lost 15,000 to combat and disease and went home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNapoleon eventually got him — not in battle, but through a fake peace negotiation. Toussaint was arrested under a flag of truce, shipped to a prison in the Jura mountains, and left to freeze. He died in April 1803. \u003cstrong\u003eHe never knew Haiti would win.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Bill That Arrived After Liberation\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEight months after Toussaint died, Haiti declared independence. Then France sent warships. The message: \u003cem\u003epay us for the slaves you freed, or we blockade your ports and no one trades with you.\u003c\/em\u003e Haiti — isolated, embargoed by the US, unrecognized by the world — agreed. \u003cstrong\u003e150 million gold francs.\u003c\/strong\u003e Borrowed from French banks to pay the French government. Interest on top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe last payment was made in \u003cstrong\u003e1947.\u003c\/strong\u003e For 122 years, a significant portion of Haiti’s national income went to Paris. Economists who have modeled the counterfactual suggest Haiti transferred \u003cstrong\u003ethe equivalent of $21 billion\u003c\/strong\u003e in today’s money — capital that could have built schools, roads, hospitals, and forests. Instead it built French bank accounts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eOwn a Note From the Country That Changed What Freedom Means\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe P-271Ab is a standard circulation note — legal tender, printed by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Giesecke_%26_Devrient\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGiesecke+Devrient\u003c\/a\u003e in Leipzig, now retired from circulation. The Ab variety — single serial number, one prefix letter, nine digits, no serifs — accounts for roughly 26% of known examples. It’s the less common of the two main sub-varieties, and it’s in Extra Fine condition: bright, full color, minimal handling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo sides of a banknote. The man who started the revolution on one. The document that made it legal on the other. The whole story fits in your hand.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World Money Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51844588405047,"sku":"HT271AbVFP","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/7165\/3431\/files\/271Ao.jpg?v=1775005341","url":"https:\/\/worldmoneystore.com\/products\/haiti-p-271ab-20-gourdes-2001-vf-very-fine-plus-bicentennial-toussaint-louverture-constitution-of-1801-copy","provider":"World Money Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}