This book examines a critical period of Haitian history and diplomacy. The author contends that the social, economic, and political decline of Haiti during the early part of the century was hastened by many factors: the growing commercial and military competition in the Caribbean among the great powers; the less favorable terms of trade; the development among the cosmopolitan urban elite of a culture of imitation and alienation from Haitian national values; and the inability of traditional political mechanisms to provide satisfactory solutions to new problems.