Fascinating reading about Haiti. I am not sure the entire premise is correct, but the story is compelling of just how threatening slave rebellions and free societies have been in history. Certainly, the economic privations resulting from relatively little contact with international trading networks would set any nation back. However, it seems to me that the notion that the society resulting from a slave rebellion was unable to create viable institutions without contact from Western cultures is not quite right.  Indeed, by my thinking contacts societies that created slavery in its 18th and 19th century forms (i.e. Western European nations) would not necessarily have enriched Haiti’s political traditions. Regardless, interesting reading: Boston Review — Sidney Mintz: Article Title.