Tensions in Haiti's domestic politics and foreign…

Tensions in Haiti's domestic politics and foreign affairs have grown during Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal's administration, particularly because of the differences between liberal and nationalist parties in Parliament.

There are riots in Port-au-Prince following a stormy debate in the House of Representatives on June 30, 1879.

Although the government manages to restore law and order, Boisrond-Canal, unable to mediate between the Liberal and National parties, resigns as president on  July 17.

After his resignation, Boisrond-Canal leaves again for exile in Jamaica.

The successor to the presidency is Lysius Salomon, one of Haiti's abler leaders.

Salomon was born in 1815 in Les Cayes, where his family is influential among the tiny black elite of the south.

Prominent and educated, his family has often clashed with the relatively more powerful mulatto elite of south Haiti.

During the regime of Charles Rivière-Hérard, the Salomons had been wanted for arrest after a heated battle with the mulattoes and exiled to Neyba.

As Faustin Soulouque came into power, Lysius Salomon had returned along with other powerful black leaders to serve the new government.

Salomon had become the minister of finance under Faustin and began to monopolize export transactions in coffee and cotton, run foreign imports through state monopolies, and impose levies on capital.

As a result, smuggling and piracy had exploded during Soulouque's reign.

After the fall of Soulouque, Salomon had been exiled to Paris and London, where he had read and traveled widely.

On August 18, 1879, Salomon returns to Haiti and becomes president with huge support from the people.