The effects of the ingestion of large quantities may be so rapid that death may take place in a couple of hours, owing to collapse, consequent on perforation of the walls of the oesophagus or stomach, or from asphyxia due to swelling of the glottis consequent on some of the acid having entered the larynx.
Why is Haiti so Poor? The causes of Haiti's poverty can be traced back to the year 1492, when it was first colonized. After being given to the French in 1697, Haiti was simply a moneymaking enterprise. As many as 29,000 slaves were imported each year from Africa to work on sugarcane plantations.
Why Is Haiti So Poor? A market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, appears in the above photo, which was taken between 1909 and 1920. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, which makes the devastation caused by yesterday's earthquake that much harder on an already struggling nation. As death toll estimates continue to rise and other nations flood in to provide aid, we wondered how this small country came to be so poverty-stricken.