Adélina Soulouque

The Charming life of the Haitian Elite class

After the slave revolution, the Haitian Elite or upper class was comprised of Haiti Military class, Haiti's Mulato class and free Blacks. This picture is the lovely wife of Emperor Faustin Soulouque, Adelina who is a member of the Haitian elite class.

Wealthy families could only married into wealthy families. Poor women could only be mistress

The Haitian Elite or upper class is always comprised of Military class, Haiti's Mulato class and free Blacks. An estimate suggests that about 1% of the total population, constitute the Haitian bourgeoisie--an elite group that the world rarely focuses on. They are often related through years of intermarriage and business dealings. They are educated, worldly, multilingual and rich, sometimes exceedingly so (about 300 are millionaires). A few of them are black, some are white, and most of them are mixed who have separated themselves from ordinary black Haitians in every respect. Pétionville's discothèques, casino, and health spas are packed on the weekends with affluent Haitians-- it is where you can witness the disparity of Haiti's wealth. The society is trapped in cycles of poverty, corruption and exploitation. Some of them have prospered mainly in the import-export or textile businesses. One percent of Haitians control 50 percent of the country's economy, and its top 500 taxpayers generate 80% of its tax revenues. In 2013, Haiti had a GDP of $8.199 billion, and 95% of that was roughly in the hands of about 10 families (eleven or twelve extended families in Haiti, many of them linked through marriage over many generations).

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