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Haiti (Haïti in French; Ayiti in Haitian Creole; Hayti in nineteenth century English), 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 (Tortuga), 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 27,750 km² (10,714 sq mi) and its capital is Port-au-Prince. A former French colony, Haiti was to become the first independent black republic, and the only nation ever having a successful slave revolt. Haiti became the second independent country in the Americas (after the United States) when it declared its independence on January 1, 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, harsh treatment of the natives, and especially epidemic diseases such as smallpox caused the Arawak and Taino 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 1609 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 (about 32,000 in 1790) who held political and economic control; the gens de couleur, some 28,000 free people of color (about ½ of mulatto background) who faced second-class status; and the slaves, who numbered about 500,000.• (Living outside French society were the maroons, escaped ex-slaves who formed their own settlements in the highlands.) At all times, a majority of slaves in the colony were African-born, as the very 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
American occupation Throughout the nineteenth 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 (written by future president Franklin D. Roosevelt) 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 (as most previous presidents had done) there was a coup, followed by the second formal Military Council of Government led by Paul Magloire. In 1957, Dr. François Duvalier ("Papa Doc") 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 ("bogeymen") 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 (nicknamed "Baby Doc") 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 led by Raoul Cedras, 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, consisting mostly of paramilitary groups led by ex-U.S. Special Forces agent Guy Philippe. 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. In the months following the February Coup, the country was engulfed into violence between the interim government's forces and Lavalas supporters, and many members of the Lavalas party were sent to jail or exiled. 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 départements: Each department is divided into from three to seven arrondissements, and the arrondissements are further divided into communes. Geography
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 (particularly in the hemisphere) 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 293 people per km² (758 people/sq mi), its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. About 90% 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. Taino bloodlines are argued to be present in a minority of the population. Haiti's official languages are French and Haitian Creole, however, Spanish is spoken near the border due to the proximity of the Dominican Republic Culture Nearly all Haitians speak Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole), one of the country's official languages. Haitian Creole is a language based on French, Spanish, and also some African and Taino dialects. French is the other official language. 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" ("After God There are Cuban Doctors.") 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 Catholic observances. While Vodoun has origins in Africa, many Haitian traditions and artistic styles reflect a unique syncretism, or combination, of Catholicism and Vodoun. Music Main article: Music of Haiti The music of Haiti is easily distinguished from other styles. It includes kompa 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 (kasav), yam, and maize (mayi). Haitian food, though unique in its own right, shares much in common with the rest of Latin America. Some popular dishes are: 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: 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. Further reading See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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