Pre-Colombian Era: Taino-Arawak peoples (Indians)

Columbus Landing

Spanish Abuse: Indian Enslavement

Subsequent Indian Resistance

Indian Resistance Heroes: King Caonabo, Manicatoex, King Guarionex, King Behechio, Queen Anacaona, King Cotubanama, Cacique Henri

Ultimate Indian Decimation

Importation of African Slaves

Haiti's Status Change: From Spanish to French Colony

Prosperity followed by Civil Unrest and Slave Revolts

Slave Revolts Heroes: Boukman, Jean-Francois, Biassou

Independence Precursor: TOUSSAINT LOUVERTURE: Black Spartacus

War of Independence Heroes: Toussaint Louverture, Jean- Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe

Independent Haiti

Haiti Occupied (twice)

Occupation Resistance Hero: Commander Charlemagne P�ralte

Remarkable (Famous/Infamous) Leader: Dr. Fran�ois ("Papa Doc") Duvalier

Haiti was first inhabited by the gentle Taino and Arawak peoples.

On December 6, 1492, Christopher Columbus, who got lost on his way to India on a mission from Spain, landed in Haiti. He mistook the native Taino population for Indians, thinking that he had already reached India. He claimed the land in the name of Spain and called it Hispaniola due to its resemblance to the country of which he was a mercenary scout.

The native Taino/Arawak population, enslaved to work in gold mines, dwindled into extermination as they were highly unfamiliar with hard work. Then the Spanish began importing slaves from the African West Coast to work in the mines.

In 1697, the French took possession of the western half of Hispaniola, which had been granted to them by the Spanish Treaty of Ryswick, and named it Saint Domingue. They continued to bring in African slaves to work on a vast network of plantations. For 94 years, the colony of Saint Domingue, which has become known as "La Perle des Antilles" or Pearl of the Antilles, was France's most important and wealthiest overseas territory. It produced an excessive amount of sugar, rum, coffee and cotton from the labor of the African slaves whom the French treated with undue harshness, creating hatred amid an already resentful environment.

In 1789, the French Revolution set the stage in Saint Domingue for the Haitian Revolution which began in August 21, 1791 as a successful slave revolt initiated by a large group of run-away slaves (maroons) who had retreated deep into the mountains. On the evening of August 14th, Dutty Boukman held a meeting at Bois Caiman. "Grande P�l�", an elderly woman at the meeting, sacrificed a black pig. Maroons and slaves alike drank of the pig's blood and swore to launch a major assault on their oppressors.

The following week, on the evening of August 21st, Cap Fran�ais was in flames. The smouldering ruins were to set the stage for the Precursor of Haiti's Independence: Fran�ois Dominique Toussaint (L'ouverture) who worked tirelessly to free the slaves. Toussaint fought against the French, the Spanish, the British and anyone who seemed to oppose the sentiments he had toward Haiti's independence. By August 1800, Toussaint was ruler of all Saint Domingue and no foreign power was on the territory. He was governor general of the entire island of Hispaniola, including Santo Domingo which he entered in the name of France on January 26, 1801.

On July 26, 1801 Toussaint published and promulgated a new constitution for Saint Domingue which abolished slavery and proclaimed himself governor-general for life without France's prior approval. Napoleon Bonaparte then decided that Toussaint, "this gilded African", would have to go. He sent his brother-in-law, General Charles Leclerc with a well-outfitted troop of soldiers to invade Saint Domingue. On Feb. 2, 1802 Leclerc arrived in Cap Fran�ais. Henri Christophe would not allow the French to disembark, and torched the city when Leclerc pressed the issue. Then everyone joined in unified fashion to drive the French from St. Domingue for once and for all, and to preserve the nation as an independent entity.

On November 18, 1803, The Battle of Vertieres was a decisive Haitian victory over the French and, within a few days thereafter, St. Domingue was no longer a French colony. On January 1, 1804, after nearly 13 years of struggle, Haitian Independence was finally declared.

Haiti's Contributions to the World

Haiti has impacted American history in a variety of ways:

Henri Christophe, future king of Haiti, formed provisional units and served during "The Siege of Savannah", the bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War, in 1779 Georgia, under French Admiral Count Charles-Hector Theodat d'Estaing. On the verge of being defeated by the British, the Americans had sent Benjamin Franklin to France to seek the help of the French crown for a few good fighting men. His majesty, Louis the XVI, then turned to comte d'Estaing to recruit the 1,500 or so "Affranchi" soldiers from Saint-Domingue. Heroic "Affranchis" volunteered to fight on the side of the Americans in their war against the British, in Savannah, Georgia. Henri Christophe's 800 volunteer soldiers fought courageously and they fearlessly shed their blood for the independence of the United States. Side by side with the soldiers of George Washington, they fiercely backed the Americans in their Revolutionary War against the British and assured America a victory in the Battle of Savannah. "This legion saved the army at Savannah by bravely covering its retreat."

Again, if it has not been for the Haitians who defeated Napoleon Bonaparte's most powerful army in the world at the time, France would not have had to liquidate its interest in the southeastern to southwestern region of North America to the United States. After her defeat in Haiti, France was so cash poor that she had to sell the United States a vast amount of land for a song. This was known as the Louisiana Purchase. Today all that land included in the Louisiana Purchase is part of the United States as a direct result of the Haitian Revolution.

On the other hand, The Haitian Revolution directly affected America in such a way that the news of a successful slave uprising spread like wild fire up the coast and throughout the land. The slaves often told stories about this not too far away land (Haiti) where ex-slaves have fought and won their freedom. Haiti became a land open to all who wanted to live free and, by law, any slave who reached her shores would automatically be free. Not only did Haiti spend money to help free slaves in other regions such as Latin America (Bolivia in particular), but she would also buy shipments of slaves then set them free. Thus, Haiti became a threat to countries whose economies depended on slavery. The United States, fearful that Haiti's Independence (in 1804) could stir unrest here and in other slaveholding countries, reluctantly began to consider the slave trade's abolishment in 1807.

Haiti has also contributed to American culture:

Many of the American slaves, especially those of Louisiana were brought from Haiti rather than directly from Africa. It is not a coincidence that the people of Louisiana speak Creole, eat foods called boudin, mirliton, beignets, red beans and rice, etc. It is not a coincidence that they celebrate Mardi Gras and have knowledge of the "Veau-doux" religion. Certain food names such as mirliton are unique to Haiti and Louisiana.

Another of Haiti's contribution to America and her culture is her children: Haiti gave us Jean Baptiste Pointe-du-Sable, a fur trader, a black man born in Haiti of a Haitian mother and a French father, who founded America's great city of Chicago in 1772, a settlement then called Eschikagou on the north bank of the Chicago River. The first birth on record in 1796 Chicago was of Eulalia Pointe du Sable, daughter of Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable and his Potawatomi Indian wife, Catherine. Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable was officially recognized as Chicago's founder by both the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago on October 25, 1968. The 22� Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable stamp was first issued on February 20, 1987 in his honor.

Haiti also gave us Jean Jacques Audubon (a.k.a John James Audubon), who was born April 26, 1785, at Les Cayes, in Haiti, then migrated to Louisiana and founded the Audubon Society.

One of Haiti's ex-slave, Pierre Toussaint whose owners had escaped the Haitian revolution to settle in New York, is about to become the first African American canonized saint.

Pierre Toussaint, the First Haitian Born Saint

Ferdinand Francois D�sir� Budan de Boislaurent (Born: 28 Sept 1761 in Limonade, Cap-Fran�ais, Haiti, Died: 6 Oct 1840 in Paris, France), a doctor and a mathematician who is best remembered for his discovery of a mathematical rule which gives necessary conditions for a polynomial equation to have n real roots between two given numbers. The rule was in a memoir sent to the Institute in 1803, made public in 1807, presented to the Academy in 1811 and finally published in 1822.

Again, Haiti entertained France and the rest of the world through the famous playwright and novelist ALEXANDER DUMAS, Sr. (Alexandre Dumas, P�re) whose father, Mr. Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, and grand-mother, Marie-C�ssette Dumas, were both natives of J�r�mie, Haiti. The author, althought primarily a playwright, was most famous for such highly acclaimed novels as "The Three Musketeers"/Les Trois Mousquetaires, "Camille"/La Dame Aux Camelias, "The Count of Monte Cristo"/Le Comte De Monte Cristo, "The Man in the Iron Mask"/Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, ou Dix ans plus tard, etc... He also inadvertently discovered an unconventional remedy for cholera when he mistakenly took undiluted ether. By twenty-five, Dumas had his first success as a playwright and, by the time he was 35, he had managed to overcome poverty to become one of the world's most popular writers.

Haiti has inspired the Latin American Independence Struggle and helped make it a reality:

Simon Bolivar, the most significant leader in the struggle for South American independence from Spanish colonialism, the Liberator whose birthday (July 24, 1783) is a national holiday both in Venezuela and Bolivia, visited and sought refuge in the city of Jacmel, Haiti, with Francisco de Miranda (his partner in arms) when the Spaniards defeated them in 1814. Bolivar was able to reopen his campaign for the liberation of the Americas, after being defeated by Spain, thanks to help from Haiti. The Haitian government supplied him with seven ships, arms, and soldiers, setting only one condition: that he free the slaves.

Independence Has Its Price

Much of the country's agricultural wealth was destroyed, as much as 1/3 of its population was dead, and it was eventually forced to accept paying substantial reparations to France. Since Haiti's successful bid for independence had become a threat to countries whose economies depended on slavery, the rest of the world shunned it and refused to recognize it as an independent nation. Europe began its blockade. The U.S. imposed an economic embargo on Haiti, that had a devastating impact on its entire economic future. No nation would buy from Haiti, nor would anyone sell to it. Thomas Jefferson's anti-immigration policies toward Haiti barred Haitians from setting foot on US soil. Even Simon Bolivar, the South American Liberator whom Haiti had saved and helped with supplies in 1814, lacked the courage to establish diplomatic relations with Haiti after his victory. When he convened a meeting in Panama of the American nations, he did not invite Haiti. Someone once exclaimed: "Juste parce-que nous oser prend libert�-nous, le monde entier marquer nous dur!"

From 1804 To Present Day

1805
Jean-Jacques Dessalines becomes the emperor of Haiti.

October 17, 1806
As an insurrection erupted against Emperor Dessalines� system of ("fermage", or) state landlordism, he moves south to deal with the rebels and gets assassinated in a roadside ambush at Pont Rouge, near Port-Au-Prince.

1807-1820
Haiti is divided into two states. In the northern part, Henri Christophe proclaims himself king in 1811. In the south and west provinces, Alexandre Petion rules as the republic�s president. Jean-Pierre Boyer succeeds Petion as president for life in 1818. He reunites Haiti when king Henri dies in 1820.

1822
President Boyer occupies the Spanish part of Hispaniola and rules the island as a whole.

1825
France tentatively recognizes Haiti�s independence following president Boyer�s agreement to pay a large indemnity of 150 million francs in gold, which took between 1825 and 1922 to be paid in full.

May 1826
President Boyer�s Rural Code restores the system of ("fermage" or) feudal landlordism/state socialism formerly imposed by Toussaint L�Ouverture, emperor Dessalines and king Henri Christophe.

1838
France officially recognises Haiti's independence, 34 years after Haitians defeated Napoleon's army in the first and only successful slave revolt against a colonial power.

1843
President Boyer is overthrown by a revolution. An era of political unrest and ephemeral governments ensues.

1844
The Spanish Part of Hispaniola becomes independent. It is now known as the Dominican Republic.

1847
Faustin Soulouque is elected president by the Senate.

August 1849
Soulouque rules Haiti as Emperor Faustin I.

1859
General Fabre Geffrard overthrows the emperor and rules as the president.

1860
President Fabre Nicolas Geffrard signs a concordat with the Vatican which finally recognizes Haiti.

1862
The United States gives Haiti full diplomatic recognition.

1867
Major Sylvain Salnave overthrows Greffard, succeeds him as president, dies in 1869.

1870
Nissage-Saget becomes the first Haitian head of state to serve out his entire term and peacefully retire to private life in 1874. Renewed political turmoil follows his retirement.

1879
Lysius Felicite Salomon becomes president. He founds a National Bank, distributes state land to peasants, allows foreign companies to own property in Haiti. German companies control wholesale and resale trade while France buys most of Haiti�s coffee and other exports.

1888-1915
Eleven generals succeed each other to the presidency. Europeans dominate Haiti�s economy and intervene openly in the nation�s political affairs. Many Haitian politicians depend on foreign gunboats to intervene in rebellions and to keep said politicians� rivals out of power.

1915
Haiti�s government deeply in debt to foreign companies (mainly French). World War I is raging. American President Woodrow Wilson is said to take into consideration Haiti�s great strategic and military value since it controls the most direct route to the Panama Canal (the WinwardPassage). He is said to fear that Germany (in paticular) might occupy Haiti and use her as a naval base from which submarine attacks might be launched against the U.S.

Political rivals force Haitian president Vilbrun Guillaume Sam to take refuge in the French legation which an angry mob invaded in order to seize and kill him.

In July 1915, Port-Au-Prince witnessed the arrival of American sailors and marines who occupied Haiti until 1934.

Sudre Dartiguenave is elected president on August 12, 1915.

May 1916
American marines land next door, in Dominican Republic, thus occupying the entire island.

1917
Haiti�s constitution is amended.

October 1918
Haitian commander Charlemagne Peralte fights a guerilla war against the marines to protest the (corvee) system of forced labor imposed by Americans while building roads in Haiti.

1922
Louis Borno succeeds Dartiguenave as president.

1928
Amendments are made in the constitution in order to increase Borno�s presidential power and to extend his term in office.

October 1929
Students protest and go on strike throughout Haiti. The uprisings and riots attract worldwide attention. Borno is ousted the following year.

October 1930
Stenio Vincent is elected president. He presses for immediate cessation of American occupation.

August 1933
President Vincent and American president Franklin D. Roosevelt sign an executive agreement for the withdrawal of American troops.

August 1934
All American troops leave. Haiti is free from occupation.

1935
President Stenio is reelected for an extension of his term in office. In 1941, he becomes the first Haitian president (since Nissage-Saget) to peacefully hand over his office, remain in the country and retire to private life (after 11 years of devoted presidential service to his country).

1941
Elie Lescot is elected president.

January 1946
Three army officers removes Lescot in response to student protests and riots.

May 1946
Dumarsais Estime, president.

May10, 1950-December 10,1956
Paul Eugene Magloire, president.

September 1957
Dr. Fran�ois "Papa Doc" Duvalier is elected president.

April 1971
Papa Doc dies in office. His nineteen-year-old son, Jean-Claude Duvalier, succeeds him as President-for-life.

1980
The indolent playboy president marries Michele Bennett whose arrogance and wanton greed cause his downfall: rumors of the Treasury being looted begin to surface, the people begin to show defiance and, army officers begin to lose their enthusiasm. Demonstrations grow in size and intensity.

January 30, 1986
Mass protests spread throughout Port-Au-Prince against Duvalier�s government.

February 7, 1986
Jean-Claude, his wife and their immediate family flee to France, leaving the country virtually bankrupt and in high political turmoil. Fearful foreign investors withdraw their investments. Industrial production subsequently collapse. Following Duvalier�s exile, ephemeral governments rule in rapid succession.

February 7, 1991
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is inaugurated as president... goes into exile shortly thereafter as a result of a military coup by General Cedras. The Organization of American States and the United States of America call for an economic embargo against the coup regime.

September 19, 1994
U.S. troops and a multinational force land in Haiti after the coup leaders agree to step down and leave the country.

October 15, 1994
President Aristide and his Government-in-exile are returned to Haiti.

February 1996
Ren� Garcia Pr�val is inaugurated as president, serving a five-year term.

February 7, 2001
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is once again sworn in as president, serving a five-year term.

Haiti's Geography

Haiti is a country of 27,750 square kilometers (10,714 sq mi.), about the size of the state of Maryland. Its geographic coordinates are 19 00 N, 72 25 W; it occupies the western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic takes up the eastern two-thirds. Shaped like a horseshoe on its side, Haiti has two main peninsulas, one in the north and one in the south. Between the peninsulas is L'Ile de la Gon�ve. Haiti is divided into three regions: northern, central, and southern; it is bordered to the north, west and south by the Caribbean Sea and to the east by the Dominican Republic. Haiti's population is estimated at 7,180,294. It has 9 "states" called departments: Artibonite, Centre, Grand'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est. Sometimes, Florida (USA) is jokingly referred to as "Le Dixi�me Departement" or the Tenth State. The land produces: coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, rice, corn, mahogany, etc. Natural resources: bauxite. Industries: sugar refining, flour milling, textiles, cement, tourism, light assembly industries based on imported parts. Seaports and harbors: Cap-Haitien, Gonaives, Jacmel, Jeremie, Cayes, Miragoane, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc.

Climate

Official time

Languages

FRENCH

is mostly spoken by the �lite and middle class.

CREOLE

is a comparatively recent language derived from French, just as French is derived from Latin. It is the product of the transformation of French in Saint Domingue (early Haiti) by African slaves who needed a common language, one the slave-owners were forced to learn in order to speak to their slaves. It is famed for its proverbs which exhibit the ancestors' wisdom and acquired wit. Although 85% of the words making up its vocabulary are French, Creole has preserved phonetic habits and grammatical structures which are clearly African. The illiterate understands no French at all; yet all Haitians understand Creole and speak it at least part of the time. Thus, adult literacy programs are in Creole. Haitian linguists have long debated the spelling rules for Creole. Apparently, Protestant missionaries introduced a phonetic spelling called "The Laubach Orthography" which has been since recommended by American linguists. The disadvantage of this system is that it gives written Creole words an exotic appearance which some find quite pedantic; whereas the French spelling makes it easier to understand terms which are not too remote from Creole's parent stem. Today's Creole orthography was developed by the Institut P�dagogique National (IPN--National Pedagogic Institute), it has been the standard in Haiti since 1978.

ENGLISH:

Haitian migration to the United States and trade with North America also resulted in the introduction of English words into the Creole lexicon. A significant number of Haitian families spent years in the United States and they returned to Haiti fluent in English. For many monolinguals (those who only speak Creole), learning English appeared more practical than learning French, and English posed fewer psychological and social obstacles. The availability and the popularity of English language television programs on Haiti's private cable service also helped familiarize Haitians with the language.

HAITI's DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION in the U.S :

Embassy: 2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-4090 through 4092
FAX: [1] (202) 745-7215

Consulate(s) General are in:

Miami
Ingraham Bldg.
259 S. W. 13th St.
Miami, FL 33131.
(305) 377-3547

Chicago
220 S. State St., Suite 2110
Chicago, IL 60601.
(312) 922-4004, FAX (312) 922-7122

Boston
262 Washington St.,
Boston, MA 02108.
(617) 723-5211

New York
271 Madison Av.,
New York, NY 10016.
(212) 697-9767

San Juan
654 Nunos Rivera Av., Suite 909,
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 00918.

OTHER HAITIAN EMBASSIES & CONSULATES:

Ambassade d'Haiti au CANADA
112 Rue Kent, Suite 1308
Place de Ville, Tour B
Ontario, Canada K1P 5P2
fax: (613) 238-2986

Consulat d'Haiti � MONTREAL
1801 McGill College, Suite 1335
Montr�al, Qu�. H34 2N4
(514) 499-1919 / 499-1324
fax: (514)499-1818

Ambassade d'Haiti � la DOMINICANIE
33 Avenia Juan Sanchez Ramirez
Santo-Domingo, Rep. Dominicana

Consulat d'Haiti � BARAHONA
Consul Chef de Poste
P.O. Box 132
Calle Tony Mota Ricart #16
Barahona, Republica Dominicana
Tel: (809) 524-4598/ Cellular phone: (809) 222-4887
Helpline for Haitians in R.D. (toll free/local): 1-200-4598

Ambassade d'Haiti au BREZIL
Charg� d'Affaires
SHIS QI. 17
CONJ, 4 CASA-19
70465 Brasilia DF
Tel: (5561) 248-6437
Fax: (5561) 248-7472

Ambassade d'Haiti au MEXIQUE
Calle Taine, no. 229 (4e Piso)
Colonia Polanco
Mexico, D.F. Mexico
Tel: (525) 250-7918
Fax: (525) 545-1363

US DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION in HAITI:

Embassy: Harry Truman Boulevard, Port-au-Prince
mailing address: P. O. Box 1761, Port-au-Prince
telephone: [509] 22-0354, 22-0368, 22-0200, 22-0612
FAX: [509] 23-1641

The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy located on
Rue Oswald Durand, Port-au-Prince
telephone (509) 23-7011 or 23-6421
Consular Annex fax (509) 23-9665.

EMBASSIES and CONSULATES in HAITI:

Austria
Blvd du Quai, between rue Pav�e and rue des Miracles

British Consulate
Hotel Montana
rue Cardozo, P�tionville
(PO Box 1032, Port-au-Prince)
(T 57-3969, F 57-4048)

Canada
Bank of Nova Scotia Bldg, Route de Delmas, Delmas 18 (T 23-2358/ 4919/ 9373, F 23-8720)

Denmark
above Copa, on ave Marie Jeanne at rue Paul VI and Blvd Harry Truman

Dominican Republic
121 rue Panam�ricaine (50 m down rue Jos� de San Mart�n), P�tionville
(T 57-1650/0383)

France
51 rue Capois at the SW corner of the Champs de Mars,
near Hotel Palace
(T 22-0951/2/3, F 22-0963)

Germany and Honduras
167 rue du Centre, where buses leave for Santo Domingo
(T 57-3128/0456)

Norway
ERF building
rue Paul VI at rue Magasin de l'Etat

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