To understand disaster recovery in the Caribbean, it’s useful to look at the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti or 2017’s Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The history of colonialism, imperialism, and exploitation echoed throughout the recovery process in these cases. For example, Haiti was required to repay France for liberating itself from slavery. It is estimated that this payment prevented $20 billion of growth in the economy. In Puerto Rico, the island’s status as a U.S. territory and a Caribbean island presented confusion for the 50% of Americans who weren’t aware that the island was part of the U.S.