A Brief History of Haiti
Haitians come from an island in the Caribbean called Haiti. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. The island of Hispaniola was discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus who promptly claimed the island for Spain. When Columbus arrived, he found the island to be occupied by the Taínos who were the original natives of the land but eventually became extinct due in large part to old world diseases for which they were not immune to.
The Spaniards colonized the island but later ceded the western third of the island to the French after French pirates repeatedly challenged them for the land. Piracy gradually decreased and with the encouragement of Louis XIV, many of the French became planters. They began growing tobacco, indigo, cotton, and cacao on the fertile northern plain, thus prompting the importation of African slaves. The slaves were brought to work the sugarcane and coffee plantations but in 1791, the slave population--led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, and Henri Christophe--revolted and gained control of the northern part of Haiti (then called Saint-Domingue).
In 1804, local forces defeated an army deployed by Napoleon Bonaparte, established independence from France, and renamed the area Haiti.
Haiti is the world's oldest black republic and the second-oldest republic after the United States in the Western Hemisphere. Before Haiti's January 2010, earthquake Haiti's population was estimated at over 9 million people. Over two-thirds of Haiti's inhabitants live in rural areas. Port-au-Prince, the capital, has a population of well over 1 million. Almost all Haitians are descendants of the 500,000 enslaved West Africans who won their freedom from France 1804.
There are more than 800,000 Haitians living in the United States, with about 75 percent of them residing either in New York or Florida. Miami's "Little Haiti" is now an established community.
Haitians come from an island in the Caribbean called Haiti. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. The island of Hispaniola was discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus who promptly claimed the island for Spain. When Columbus arrived, he found the island to be occupied by the Taínos who were the original natives of the land but eventually became extinct due in large part to old world diseases for which they were not immune to.
The Spaniards colonized the island but later ceded the western third of the island to the French after French pirates repeatedly challenged them for the land. Piracy gradually decreased and with the encouragement of Louis XIV, many of the French became planters. They began growing tobacco, indigo, cotton, and cacao on the fertile northern plain, thus prompting the importation of African slaves. The slaves were brought to work the sugarcane and coffee plantations but in 1791, the slave population--led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, and Henri Christophe--revolted and gained control of the northern part of Haiti (then called Saint-Domingue).
In 1804, local forces defeated an army deployed by Napoleon Bonaparte, established independence from France, and renamed the area Haiti.
Haiti is the world's oldest black republic and the second-oldest republic after the United States in the Western Hemisphere. Before Haiti's January 2010, earthquake Haiti's population was estimated at over 9 million people. Over two-thirds of Haiti's inhabitants live in rural areas. Port-au-Prince, the capital, has a population of well over 1 million. Almost all Haitians are descendants of the 500,000 enslaved West Africans who won their freedom from France 1804.
There are more than 800,000 Haitians living in the United States, with about 75 percent of them residing either in New York or Florida. Miami's "Little Haiti" is now an established community.
This country has great history.
ReplyDelete