How colonial-era debt helped shape Haiti's poverty and political unrest

A problem that keeps some formerly colonized countries impoverished: the demand to pay former slave-owners and colonizers in exchange for independence.

When Haiti won its independence nearly 200 years ago, it came at a hefty price -- an estimated $21 billion today. The country spent the next century paying off the debt to its former slave owners, France. It's a financial conundrum that those experts and historians say have helped keep some formerly colonized countries impoverished: the demand by former slave owners and colonizers for pay in exchange for independence. The French recognized Haiti's independence in 1825 but in return demanded a hefty indemnity of 100 million francs, approximately $21 billion (USD) today. It took Haitians more than a century to pay off the debt to its former slave owners and lenders including the City Bank of New York, experts who spoke with ABC News said.