On December 17, 1914, US Marines entered the National Bank of Haiti in Port-au-Prince and removed approximately $500,000 in gold reserves. The gold was transported to a US Navy ship and shipped to New York, where it was placed under the control of National City Bank. The United States said the move was intended to protect Haiti's financial system during a period of political instability. However, many Haitians and historians see it as a major violation of Haiti's sovereignty and an important step toward the US occupation of Haiti, which began in 1915 and lasted until 1934. More than a century later, the removal of Haiti's gold remains a powerful symbol of foreign intervention and economic control. It continues to be studied as one of the most significant events in the history of relations between Haiti and the United States.