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The Batsch affair was an 1872 diplomatic incident between Haiti and Germany and an example of gunboat diplomacy.[1]
During the Franco-Prussian war, the Haitians openly showed their sympathy for France, which displeased Germany.[2] After Germany prevailed in the war, Captain Karl Ferdinand Batsch, of the frigate Vineta, arrived at Port-au-Prince on June 11, 1872, under the pretext of demanding the payment of £3,000 on behalf of two subjects of the German Empire.[2][3] Without warning Batsch took possession of the two Haitian men-of-war, which, not expecting such an aggression, were lying at anchor in the harbor and unable to make the slightest resistance.[2] Indignant at this attack, the Haitian people—in the words of poet Oswald Durand—"threw the money to the Germans as one would cast a bone to a dog."[2] Batsch took the amount, gave back the two men-of-war, and left Port-au-Prince.[2] But Germany's actions caused long-lived resentment.[2]
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