Encyclopedia
Haiti , officially the
Republic of Haiti, occupies one third of the Caribbean island of
Hispaniola, and also includes many smaller islands such as
La Gonâve, La Tortue , Les Cayemites, Île de Anacaona, and La Grande Caye. The uninhabited island of
Navasse is claimed both by Haiti and the
United States. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the
Dominican Republic. The total area of Haiti is 10,714 square miles and its capital is
Port-au-Prince.
A former
French colony, Haiti is the first independent black republic. Haiti became the second independent country in
the Americas when it declared its independence on January 1st, 1804.
Haiti has recently undergone a state of transition following
an uprising, which forced President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign on February 29, 2004. He had been re-elected in 2000 in an election which several parties boycotted due to disputes with the vote-counting of a previous parliamentary election.
René Préval was elected president in his place on February 7, 2006, and took office in May.
History
The island of
Hispaniola, of which Haiti occupies the western third, was originally inhabited by
Taíno and Arawak. On December 5, 1492, the
Santa Maria, captained by
Christopher Columbus, ran aground on the present site of Môle Saint-Nicolas, Haiti, and claimed the island for
Spain.
Under Spain
Enslavement and harsh treatment of the natives caused their population to plummet over the next quarter-century. In response, the Spanish began to import African slaves to search for gold on the island. Spanish interest in Haiti waned, however, after the 1520s, when vast reserves of gold and silver were discovered in
Mexico and
South America.
Fearful of pirate attacks, the king of Spain in 1606 ordered all colonists on Haiti to move closer to the capital city,
Santo Domingo. However, this resulted in British, Dutch and French pirates establishing bases on the island's abandoned northern and western coasts. French settlement of the island began in 1625, and in 1664
France formally claimed control of the western portion of the island. By the 1697
Treaty of Ryswick,
Spain ceded the western third of Hispaniola to France. France named its new colony Saint-Domingue.
While the Spanish side of the island was largely neglected, the French side prospered and became the richest colony in the Western Hemisphere, exporting large amounts of sugar and coffee. French colonial society contained three population groups: Europeans who held political and economic control; the
gens de couleur, some 28,000 free people of color who faced second-class status; and the slaves, who numbered about 500,000. At all times, a majority of slaves in the colony were African-born, as the brutal conditions of slavery prevented the population from experiencing growth through natural increase. African cultures thus remained strong among slaves until the end of French rule.
Independence
Inspired by the
French Revolution, the
gens de couleur pressed the colonial government for expanded rights. In October 1790, 350 revolted against the government. On May 15, 1791, the French National Assembly granted political rights to all blacks and mulattoes who had been born free - but did not change the status quo regarding slavery. On August 22, 1791, slaves in the north rose against their masters near Cap-Français . This revolution spread rapidly and came under the leadership of
Toussaint L'Ouverture. He soon formed alliances with the
gens de couleur and the maroons, whose rights had been revoked by the French government in retailiation for the uprising.
Toussaint's armies defeated the French colonial army, but then joined forces with it in 1794, following a decree by the revolutionary French government that abolished slavery. Under Toussaint's command, the Saint-Domingue army then defeated invading Spanish and British forces. This cooperation between Toussaint and French forces ended in 1802, however, when
Napoleon sent a new invasion force designed to subdue the colony; many islanders suspected the army would also reimpose slavery. Napoleon's forces initially were successful at fighting their way onto the island, and persuaded Toussaint to a truce. He was then betrayed, captured and died in a French prison. This backfired on the French, as it motivated
Jean-Jacques Dessalines and
Henri Christophe, leaders of separate military factions, to resume the rebellion. Napoleon's forces were further troubled by a
yellow fever epidemic that swept through the island.
Dessalines's army defeated the French forces at the Battle of Vertières on November 18, 1803. On January 1, 1804 the nation declared its independence, securing its position as the second independent country in the
New World, and the only successful slave rebellion in world history.
Dessalines was its first ruler. The name
Haiti was chosen in recognition of the old Arawak name for the island, Ayiti.
The new State of Haiti supported the
abolitionist cause wherever possible. Haiti aided
Simón Bolívar, allowing him refuge and supporting his revolutionary efforts under the condition he free Latin America's slaves. The slaveholding powers surrounding Haiti isolated the new nation under a cordon sanitaire, fearing slave revolutions of their own. The Haitian Revolution is thought to have inspired numerous slave revolts in the Caribbean and United States. The blockade was virtually total. The Vatican withdrew its priests from Haiti and did not return them until 1860. France refused to recognize Haiti's independence until it agreed to pay an indemnity of 150 million francs, to compensate for the losses of French planters in the revolutions, in 1833. Payment of this indemnity brought the government deeply in debt and crippled the country's economy.
In 1806, Dessalines, by now Emperor, was murdered in a power struggle with political rivals who thought him a tyrant. The nation divided into two parts, a southern republic founded by
Alexandre Pétion , becoming the first black-led republic in the world and the first Caribbean state to achieve independence while the north became a kingdom under
Henri Christophe. The idea of liberty in the southern republic was as license, a fondness for idleness shared by elite and peasant. Christophe believed that liberty was the opportunity to show the world that a black nation might be equal, if not better than the white nations. Consequently he worked the field hands under the same unrelenting military system he developed under Toussaint. He also built for himself eight palaces including his capital Sans Souci and the massive
Citadelle Laferrière, the largest fortress in the Western hemisphere.
In August 1820, King Henri I suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. When the news spread of his infirmities, the whispers of rebellion, deceit and treachery began. On October 2, 1820, the military garrison at St. Marc led a mutiny that sparked a revolt. The mutiny prempted a conspiracy of some of Christophe's most loyal generals. Some of his trusted aides took him from the palace of Sans-Souci up to his Citadel, to await the inevitable confrontation with the rebels. Christophe ordered his attendants to dress him in his formal military uniform and for two days desperately tried to raise the strength to lead out his troops. Finally, from the desk he barked and snarled orders in these last days and finally ordered his doctor to leave the room. Shortly after he left, Christophe raised his pistol and shot himself dead through the heart.
Following Christophe's death the nation was reunited as the Republic of Haiti under Jean-Pierre Boyer, Petion's successor. Boyer invaded the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo and united the entire island of Hispaniola under Haitian rule until 1844 when the
Dominican Republic obtained its independence.
American occupation
Throughout the 19th century, the country was ruled by a series of presidents, most of whom remained in office only briefly. Meanwhile, the country's economy was gradually dominated by foreigners, particularly from
Germany. Concerned about German influence, and disturbed by the
hanging of President Guillaume Sam by an enraged crowd, the United States invaded and occupied Haiti in 1915. The United States imposed a constitution and applied an old system of compulsory corvée labor to everyone. Previously this system had been applied only to members of the poor, black majority. The occupation had many long-lasting effects on the country. United States forces built schools, roads and hospitals, and launched a campaign that eradicated yellow fever from the island.
As their occupation resulted in the centralization of government and industry from the provinces to the capital, destroying the socio-economic fabric of the country and launching an exodus from the countryside, some nationalist rebels, called the Cacos, waged a strong guerilla warfare, headed by
Charlemagne Péralte and later Dominique Batraville.
As a consequence, the U.S.-controlled government created a National Guard which in future decades would become the Armée d'Haiti and be said to commit many atrocities against its own people. The occupation was ended in 1934.
The Duvaliers
The Americans left Haiti in the hands of the
mulatto minority, but in 1946 Dumarsais Estimé became the country's first black president since the American occupation began. His efforts at reform sparked disorder, and when he attempted to extend his term of office in 1950 there was a coup, followed by the second formal Military Council of Government led by Paul Magloire.
In 1957, Dr.
François Duvalier came to power in the country's first universal suffrage election; many believed this outcome was manipulated by the army. In 1964, he declared himself president for life. Duvalier maintained control over the population through his secret police organization, the Volunteers for National Security - nicknamed the Tonton Macoutes after a folkloric villain. This organization drew international criticism for its harsh treatment of political adversaries, both real and suspected. Upon Duvalier's death in 1971, he was succeeded by his 19-year-old son Jean-Claude Duvalier as Haiti's new president for life. The younger Duvalier regime became notorious for corruption, and was deposed in 1986, ushering in a new period of upheaval.
Catholic pro-democratic movement
The unravelling of the Duvalier regime began with a popular movement supported by the local church and set in motion by the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1983, who before embarking his plane gave a rousing speech ending with an angry exclamation: "Things must change here!"
In 1984, anti-government riots broke out throughout the nation and the Haitian Catholic Bishops' Conference initiated a literacy program designed to prepare the Haitian public for participation in the electoral process.
Aristide
The charismatic black leader
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president in 1991, but was deposed in a coup shortly after. There followed three years of brutal control by a military junta, before a second American invasion and occupation in 1994 returned Aristide to power. One of the first acts of the re-installed government of Aristide was to disband the army, to great popular acclaim.
Aristide was succeeded by a close ally and former
prime minister,
René Préval, in 1996. While Aristide was the first democratically elected president in Haitian history, Préval's administration was most notable for the fact that he was the first person in Haiti's history to constitutionally succeed a president and then serve a complete term, leaving office voluntarily at the prescribed time. Every previous president had either died in office, been assassinated, been deposed, overstayed his prescribed term, or been installed by a foreign power.
Aristide returned to office in 2001 after elections that were boycotted by many of his opponents, who accused his party, Fanmi Lavalas, of counting votes improperly in a previous senatorial election, as well as threatening critics. Aristide denied the charges and accused his opponents of accepting U.S. assistance, and plotting to overthrow his government. The opposition mostly denied this, but many of its members continually called for his early resignation.
In February 2004, the Aristide government was overthrown by armed rebels. These rebels were led by urban gangs formerly working for Fanmi Lavalas and demobilized soldiers. All of these armed opponents were alleged to be allied with the political opposition. As Aristide departed the country, many members of his government fled or went into hiding, and the United States again sent Marines into Port-au-Prince. After Aristide's departure, Supreme Court Chief Justice
Boniface Alexandre succeeded to the presidency appointed by a council of elders and supported by the United States, Canada, and France.
Elections were held in February 2006, and
René Préval was again elected president. See
Haitian elections, 2006.
Politics
Politics of Haiti takes place in a framework of a
presidential republic, and of a pluriform multi-party system, whereby the President of Haiti is the
head of state, while the Prime Minister is head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Assembly of Haïti.
Administrative Divisions
Administratively, Haiti is divided into ten departments:
- Artibonite
- Centre
- Grand'Anse
- Nippes
- Nord
- Nord-Est
- Nord-Ouest
- Ouest
- Sud-Est
- Sud
Geography
Haiti's terrain consists mainly of rugged mountains with small coastal plains and river valleys. The east and central part is a large elevated plateau. The highest point in Haiti is Chaine de la Selle at 8,793
feet . The 224-
mile border is shared with the
Dominican Republic.
In 1925, Haiti was a lush tropical paradise, with 60% of its original forest covering the lands and mountainous regions. Since then, the population has cut down all but 2% of its forest cover, and in the process has destroyed fertile farmland soils while contributing to
desertification. Erosion has been severe in the mountainous areas. Pictures from space glaringly show the stark difference in forestation between Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic. Most Haitian logging is done to produce
charcoal, the country's chief source of fuel. The plight of Haiti's forests has attracted international attention and has led to numerous reforestation efforts, but these have met with little success to date.
In addition to soil erosion, the deforestation has also caused periodic flooding, as seen on September 17, 2004.
Tropical storm Jeanne skimmed the north coast of Haiti leaving 3,006 people dead in flooding and mudslides, mostly in the city of Gonaïves.
There has been a dispute between the United States and Haiti about
Navassa Island , which both countries claim. The Haitian claim relies on documentation that Navassa became part of Haiti after a 1697 agreement between France and Spain that gave France the western third of Hispaniola plus nearby islands, including Navassa Island. The United States claims the island pursuant to its own Guano Islands Act of 1856.
Economy
Haiti remains the least-developed country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. Comparative social and economic indicators show Haiti falling behind other low-income developing countries since the 1980s. Haiti now ranks 153rd of 177 countries in the UN’s
Human Development Index. About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty, ranking the country second-to-last in the world for that metric.
Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming. The country has experienced little formal job creation over the past decade, although the informal economy is growing.
Under the second Aristide administration and the Alexandre-Latortue administration, difficulty in reaching agreements with international sponsors denied Haiti badly needed budget and development assistance. In addition to these geopolitical obstacles, another major impediment to development during the last 20 years has been the repeated episodes of violence that have rocked the country. While there was relative calm under the governments of Fanmi Lavalas, this may not have been sufficiently long-lived to convince foreign investors to commit significant capital to Haiti.
Consequently, the country has experienced shortages, severe trade deficits, and periodic high inflation during this 20-year period. Reports have suggested that most of Haiti's flow of foreign reserves, during at least the last five years, has come from a combination of
remittances from the sizeable expatriate community and taxes on incoming phone calls.
Demographics
Although Haiti averages about 758 people per square mile , its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. About 95% of Haitians are of predominant African descent. The rest of the population is mostly
mulatto, or mixed Caucasian-
African, ancestry. A few are of
European or
Levantine heritage. Haiti's official languages are French and Haitian Creole, however, Spanish is spoken near the border due to the proximity of the
Dominican RepublicCulture
Nearly all Haitians speak Kreyòl Ayisyen , one of the country's official languages.
French is the other official language, spoken by educated people. Many also speak
English and
Spanish, particularly due to the proximity of the Spanish-speaking
Dominican Republic and
Cuba as well as the high amount of trade between the nations. There is a popular saying in Haiti: "Aprè Bondye se doktè Kiben-yo"
Religion
Roman Catholicism is the state religion, which the majority of the population professes. An estimated 20 percent of the population practices Protestantism. Protestant churches of numerical strength are
Assemblées de Dieu, the Convention Baptiste d'Haïti, the
Seventh-day Adventists, the Church of God, the
Church of the Nazarene, the
Église Episcopale d'Haïti and the Mission Evangelique Baptiste du Sud-Haïti.
Many Haitians also practice the religion of
Vodou or Voodoo, whether exclusively or alongside their Christian observances. While Vodoun has origins in Africa, many Haitian traditions and artistic styles reflect a unique syncretism, or combination, of Catholicism and Vodoun. But not all practice Voodoo. Some think Voodoo is fake and misused by Haitians to scare people off.
Music
Main article: Music of HaitiThe music of Haiti is easily distinguished from other styles. It includes konpa and kadans, and Haitians have also imported zouk from the lesser Antilles and merengue from the Dominican Republic. Some Haitian popular musicians such as T-Vice and Carimi perform regularly in the
United States and
Québec. Sweet Micky is unarguably one of the greatest legends of Kompa music. The most successful and well known Haitian artist of this epoch is
Wyclef Jean, who is internationally recognized for being one of the first Haitian artists to find commercial success.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Haiti is influenced in a large part by
French cuisine as well as some native staples such as
cassava , yam, and maize . Haitian food, though unique in its own right, shares much in common with the rest of
Latin America. Some popular dishes are:
- Diri ak Pwa: Rice and Beans
- Griyo: Fried Pork
- Kabrit: Goat
- Sos poul: Chicken in sauce
- Mayi moulen: Cornmeal
- Legim: Vegetables
- Pwason: Fish
- Diri ak Let: A dessert composed of sweetened milk and rice
- Banann Fri/Peze:
A preferred season known as
Epis in Haiti is commonly referred to as Sofrito by the rest of the region, a basic recipe goes as following:
- Celery
- Red peppers
- Green peppers
- Cilantro
- Onion
- Garlic
- Vegetable Oil
- Tomatoes
All of the ingredients are blended together and a dash of sugar or Adobo is added. Salt should not be included or subsituted for this. This season is mainly used to condiment or prepare meats, cooked rice and/or stews.
Famous Haitians
- Jean Dominique - Journalist - Jean Léopold Dominique was a noted Haïtian journalist who spoke out against successive dictatorships. He was one of the first people in Haïti to broadcast in Kréyòl, the language spoken by most of the populace. Despite fleeing the country twice when his life was under threat, he continued to return to his native Haïti. He was assassinated on April 3, 2000, a crime for which no one has ever been prosecuted. Dominique's life was the focus of the Jonathan Demme documentary The Agronomist.
- Nicolas Geffrard - Haitian songwriter; composed Haitian national anthem "La Dessalinienne" 1904 , Haiti
...
- American hip hop artist ,
USA- Lil' Fizz - A member of the African American R'n'B quartet known as B2K, before they disbanded in late 2003. Lil' Fizz whose real name is Dreux Pierre Frederic, always mentioned that he was African American, Native American and White - his black side being of Haitian descent.
- Sweet Micky a.k.a Michel Martelly - Musician and singer - Michel Martelly, better known as "Sweet Micky", was born on February 12, 1961, and grew up in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Carrefour. He released his first album, Ou la la, in 1989. His popularity rapidly increased as he cultivated an image as a hedonistic playboy, and touched a sympathetic nerve among those seeking some escapism from everyday hardships. He soon enjoyed a national notoriety thanks to performances marked by his liberal use of betiz - Creole for playful and satirical obscenities - that form part of his repartee with the audience that is delivered in a slang mixture of English, French and Creole.
- Luck Merville - is a Francophone Canadian actor and singer-songwriter. He was in the original cast of the French musical "Notre Dame de Paris".
- Emeline Michel - Singer - Born in Gonaïves, Michel is a captivating performer, versatile vocalist, accomplished dancer, songwriter and producer. She has recorded and appeared on concert stages throughout the Caribbean, Europe, North & South America, and Africa over the last 15 years. Singing both in French and Creole, her seven CDs have catapulted her to international acclaim. Emeline Michel is beloved by Haitians for combining traditional rhythms with social, political and inspirational content.
- Raoul Peck - Film maker - Grew up in Zaire where his parents had emigrated to escape the Duvalier dictatorship when he was eight years old. Graduated from the Berlin Film and Television Academy in 1988. Received international acclaim including best film at the 1994 Milan African Film Festival for L'Homme sur les Quais , a moody and dark film set in a sleepy fictional Haitian town where the dictatorship of Francois Duvalier is viewed through the eyes of a young girl. Lumumba, a film about the life and murder of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, won the Paul Robeson prize for the best film by a director of African descent outside the continent at the 17th Pan-African Cinema and Television Film Festival in February 2001. Peck is the founder of the Fondation Forum Eldorado, dedicated to cultural development in Haiti and the Caribbean and working with schools and underprivileged communities in Haiti. For the work of the Fondation, Peck bought a movie theatre called the Eldorado near the Oloffson Hotel in Port-au-Prince. With the help of contributions, the theatre has become one of the rare local facilities affordable to local artists and schools.
- Emmanuel Vedrine- A world-famous Haitian intellectual and author of : A panorama of Haitian Indian Civilization,An Annotated Bibliography on Haitian Creole , Dictionary Of Haitian Creole Verbs With Phrases And Idioms and Founder of the E.Vedrine Creole Project.
- See List of Haitians.
References
Further reading
- Paul Farmer, The uses of Haiti, Common Courage Press 2003, ISBN 1567512429
- C. L. R. James: The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution
- Martin Ros: Night of Fire - The Black Napoleon and the Battle for Haiti, DaCapo Press, New York 1993, ISBN 0962761389
See also
External links
History- - Embassy of Haiti
- - Founders and heroes of Haiti
- - in-depth information about Haitian history and literature
- - information about the 1937 massacre of 18,000 Haitians by Dominican President Rafael Trujillo
News- [https://listhost.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/haiti-news Haiti-news list], Haitian news
- , political, social, economics, culture and entertainment, sports news
AdvocacyHealth Care- - Stop malnutrition in Haiti before it takes another life.
- - Christian health development organization in Haiti & Grace Children's Hospital
- A New England based Health Partnership with the people of Cap-Haitien
- - Haitian medical aid organization
- - Public health NGO Partners in Health
NGOs- - Educational and grassroots development in rural Haiti.
- - Advocay for the Ecology of Seguin
- - Markets sustainable, development projects in Haiti to an active community of Haiti enthusiasts and aid donors
- - educational iniative in Haiti
- - sustainable development and reforestation
- - home of Haitian community online
- - Haitian people, news, and culture
- - Haitian History Wiki
- - A student led project which lodged a complaint on behalf of former PM Yvon Neptune
- - News and human rights activism for Haiti with weekly newsletter
