Haiti people
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Haiti: A Brief History
By Katie Traynor, MA.
The account of the Haitian people is a narrative of spirit, strength, triumph, apathy, and resignation. Haiti is situated on the island of Hispaniola, located 80 miles southwest of Cuba, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the North and the Caribbean Sea to the south (Arthur, 2007). In its early history, Haiti was a flourishing island and was one of the richest colonies in the world. It was tenanted with thriving plantations and the prosperous exportation of mahogany and sugar, all of which was dependent upon slave labor from the African continent. Today there are over 9 million people living in Haiti, a country with a landmass similar to the State of Maryland. With unemployment approaching 80%, more than half of the population lives on less than one U.S. dollar a day (Arthur). Currently, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere (CIA, 2009). To understand the epic economic downfall of this small country, one must consider the historical progression of events from the first settlers to the present social structure. Charle
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Haiti
Country in the Caribbean
"Hayti" redirects here. For other uses, see Haiti (disambiguation) and Hayti (disambiguation).
Republic of Haiti République d'Haïti (French) | |
|---|---|
| Motto: "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" (French)[2] "L'union fait la force" (French) "Inite se fòs" (Haitian Creole)[3] "Union makes strength" | |
| Anthem: La Dessalinienne (French) Desalinyèn (Haitian Creole) "The Dessalines Song" | |
Location in the Western Hemisphere Haiti and its neighbors | |
| Capital and largest city | Port-au-Prince 18°35′39″N72°18′26″W / 18.59417°N 72.30722°W / 18.59417; -72.30722 |
| Official languages | |
| Ethnic groups | 95% Black 5% Mixed or White[4] |
| Religion (2020)[5] | |
| Demonym(s) | Haitian |
| Government | Unitary semi-presidential republic under an interim government |
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History of HaitiThe recorded history of Haiti began in 1492, when the European captain and explorer Christopher Columbus landed on a large island in the region of the western Atlantic Ocean that later came to be known as the Caribbean. The western portion of the island of Hispaniola, where Haiti is situated, was inhabited by the Taíno and Arawakan people, who called their island Ayiti. The island was promptly claimed for the Spanish Crown, where it was named La Isla Española ("the Spanish Island"), later Latinized to Hispaniola. By the early 17th century, the French had built a settlement on the west of Hispaniola and called it Saint-Domingue. Prior to the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the economy of Saint-Domingue gradually expanded, with sugar and, later, coffee becoming important export crops. After the war which had disrupted maritime commerce, the colony underwent rapid expansion. In 1767, it exported indigo, cotton and 72 million pounds of raw sugar. By the end of the century, the colony encompassed a third of the entire Atlantic slave trade. In 1791, slaves st Copyright ©mudmind.pages.dev 2025 | |