 Fearing the influence of a society of slaves that had successfully revolted against their owners, the United States and European powers refused to recognize Haiti, the second republic in the Western Hemisphere.France demanded a high payment for compensation to slaveholders who lost their property, and Haiti was saddled with unmanageable debt for decades.It became one of the poorest countries in the Americas, while the Dominican Republic gradually has developed into one of the largest economies of Central America and the Caribbean.