State of the Greater Antilles, Haiti occupies one the Western third of the island of Hispaniola, in Caribbean Sea, the other part constituting the territory of the Dominican Republic. Port-au-Prince is the capital.

Haiti became in 1804 the first independent black republic after the Haitian Révolution (1791 - 1803) which led the army of Napoleon to give up the island.

Evolution of the name of the country

At the Taïno S, Ayiti meant Ground of the high mountains or the mountain in the sea .

When the French, coming from the island of the Tortoise towards the Large Ground , occupied the Western part of the island of Hispaniola, they francized the name of use among Spaniards “Santo Domingo” in Saint-Domingue. Of 1630 with 1664, this name remained abstract until Colbert incorporates the colony of Santo Domingo in the Compagnie of the Indies Occidentales. The name of Santo Domingo will be confirmed by the treaties of Ryswick (1697) and of Basle (1795) to designate the Western part ( leave occidentalis ), who, during this French colonial period, the “pearl of the Antilles was also called”.

January 1st 1804, by declaring the independence of the country, Dessalines gives again to him the Amerindian name of Haiti, eager to break with names Frenchwoman and Spanish.

Haiti is sometimes the name given, in French, with the whole of the island.

In creole, the country is called Ayiti.

History

See also: History of Haiti

This island of the Greater Antilles was discovered by Christophe Colomb on December 5th 1492. It named it Hispaniola.

The people of culture Arawak, the Caribbean and Taino S occupied the island before the arrival of the Spaniards. One estimates their number at the end of the 15th century with approximately 300.000.

The Spanish exploited the island for its gold. The Amerindian refusing to work in the mines were massacred and reduced in slavery; the rare ones which escaped to find refuge in the mountains were marginalized and strongly reduced to poverty. The infectious illness arrived with Europeans made devastations; the ill treatments, the denutrition and the fall of birthrate made the remainder: the indigenous population was decimated in a few decades.

The Spaniards decided to replace the “Indians” in the plantations by an abundant labor: off-set black slaves of Africa. Since 1517, Charles Quint authorized the milked slaves.

The west of the island being neglected by the Spanish colonists, of the Boucanier S French were established there little by little, then colonists organized plantations and cities.

The Traité of Ryswick of 1697 divided the island between the France and the Spain. At the 18th century, under the name of Santo Domingo, the Western part becomes the French colony richest of all the America thanks to the immense profits of the sugar industry. Hundreds of African thousands of were brought to Saint-Domingue like slaves to make function this industry. Their fate was juridically framed by the black Code, prepared by Colbert and enacted by Louis XIV.

French revolution involved serious upheavals social, of which most important in the area was the revolt of the slaves which leads to the Abolition of slavery in 1793 by the civil police chiefs Sonthonax and Polverel, (decision endorsed and generalized with the whole of the French colonies by the Convention six months later). The Black All Saints' day Louverture, appointed Governor by France, after having restored peace and having driven out the Spaniards and the English who threatened the colony, restores prosperity by daring measurements. But it was too far promulgating a constitution separatist. Napoleon Bonaparte, under the influence of the Creoles and the traders, sent to a forwarding of 30.000 men under the orders of his brother-in-law the General Leclerc to dislocate Louverture and restore slavery. But, after some victories and the arrest and the deportation of All Saints' day Louverture, the French troops ordered by Rochambeau ended up being beaten with the Bataille of Vertières by Jean-Jacques Dessalines and on January 1st 1804, the independence of the country was proclaimed under the name of Haiti.

By occurring this day, Haiti became the first country in the world to make effective the abolition of slavery, at the end of a double battle for freedom and the independence, gained by former slaves over the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Dessalines was made proclaim governor with life by his troops. It made carry out the white remained on the island and controlled as a despot. He perishes assassinated on October 17th, 1806. The country was divided then between a kingdom in the north, directed by Henri Christophe and a republic in the south, directed by Alexandre Pétion.

The president Jean Pierre Boyer made reunify these two parts; he conquered moreover the part is island.

The July 11th 1825, the king of France Charles X threatened to reconquer the island and sent a fleet of 14 vessels. Boyer had to sign a treaty according to which France recognized the independence of the country only in exchange of an allowance of 150 million gold franc (the sum will be brought back in 1838 to 90 franc million).

A long succession of coups d'etat followed the departure of Boyer. The capacity did not cease being disputed by factions of the army, the elites mulatto and black, and the commercial class (itself made up of great number from abroad - German, American, French and English in particular). The country is impoverished, few Heads of alarming State of its development. As soon as the capacity weakened, of the armed revolts started, maintained by the candidates with the succession. At the beginning of the 20th century, the country was in a state of quasi-permanent insurrection.

The United States occupied the island of 1915 to 1934.

Thereafter, of 1957 with 1986, reigned the dictatorship of the Duvalier, under which the system of denouncement and death squads known as Tonton Macoute was set up. Many Haitians exiled themselves, in particular in the United States and the Quebec.

The former priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide gained the elections in December of the year 1990. Its mandate began the February 7th 1991, but a soldier and coup d'etat carried out by Raoul Cédras supported by the middle-class of businesses reversed it as of September. In 1994, it was restored with the capacity under the pressure of the administration of Bill Clinton (which threatened of an military intervention) in the condition which it gives up recovering the years lost at the time of the military interlude. It left thus the presidency in 1995 and was re-elected in 2000. After several months of popular demonstrations and pressures exerted by the international community, more particularly by France and the USA, Aristide was taken along in exile by soldiers étasuniens, the February 29th 2004, when armed forces made up of opponents and former servicemen who controlled the North of the country threatened to go on the Port-au-Prince capital. According to Aristide, it was removed against its liking. According to the American but so French and Brazilian authorities, it voluntarily agreed to start from its country.

Boniface Alexandre, president of the Court of appeal, ensured the capacity by interim. In February 2006, following elections marked by uncertainties on the calculation of ballot papers, and thanks to the support of popular demonstrations, Rene Préval, near to Aristide and former president to the Republic of Haiti between 1995 and 2000, was elected.

See the List of the presidents d' Haïti of 1804 to today.

; Summary

  • 1492 : Discovered island by Christophe Colomb
  • 1517 : Authorization of the draft of the Africans by Charles Quint
  • 1685 : Promulgation of the Black Code by Louis XIV
  • 1697 : Separation of the island between France and Spain, following the Treated of Ryswick
  • 1790 : Colonial Parliament by the white colonists.
  • 1791 : Revolt slaves
  • 1793 : Stamping from the slaves of Santo Domingo by the police chiefs Sonthonax and Polverel
  • 1794 : General abolition of slavery by the Convention
  • 1801 : Promulgation of a constitution specific to Saint-Domingue by All Saints' day Louverture.
  • 1802 : Peace of Amiens with England. Forwarding of the general Leclerc in Saint-Domingue
  • 1804 : Independence of Haiti
  • 1826 : Recognition of independence by France against an allowance of 150 million gold franc
  • 1915-34 : American occupation
  • 1957 : Election of François Duvalier
  • 1971 : Jean-Claude Duvalier succeeds his father on April 22nd, 1971
  • 1986 : Escape and exile of Jean-Claude Duvalier (February 7th, 1986)
  • 1988 : Leslie Manigat carried with the capacity following the elections organized by the army (February 7th, 1988 - June 20th, 1988)
  • 1988 : Coup d'etat of Henri Namphy (June 20th, 1988 - September 18th, 1988)
  • 1988 : Coup d'etat of Prosper April (September 18th, 1988 - March 10th, 1990)
  • 1990 : Interim of Ertha Pascal-Trouillot (March 18th, 1990 - February 7th, 1991)
  • 1990 : Election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide (victim of a coup d'etat on September 30th, 1991, it returned to the country on October 15th, 1994 to finish its mandate after three years of exile)
  • 1996 : Election of Rene Préval (February 7th, 1996 - February 7th, 2001).
  • 2001 : Second mandate of Jean-Bertrand Aristide
  • 2004 : Resignation and forced exile of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Installation of a government AD interim .
  • 2004 : Boniface Alexandre becomes provisional president (from February 29th to May 14th, 2006)
  • 2006 : New mandate of Rene Préval

Policy

See also: Political of Haiti

Haiti is a République. The right to vote is granted to all the citizens of more than 18 years.

The legislative power is exerted by two rooms: the Senate and the House of Commons.

Departments

See also: Departments of Haiti

Haiti is divided into 10 department S:

There also exists what is usually called the 10th department , representing the few two million Haitians living outside the country: the Haitian Diaspora.

The department of Nippes was created in 2003, representing the Eastern half of Grand' Anse.

Geography

See also: Geography of Haiti

Haiti is made up mainly of mountains escarpées with small coastal plains and valleys. The central part and the East are a large plate of altitude. The principal river is the Artibonite.

More the big city is the capital Port-Au-Prince with 2 million inhabitants, followed by Cape-Haitian with 800.000 inhabitants.

The Climat is tropical. The rain season extends from April at June and October at November. The country undergoes important precipitations regularly and hurricane S. For example, of recent memory, the September 18th 2004, the Ouragan Jeanne Haiti devastation and a week later, the provisional appraisal of than 1160 had more died and 1250 missings. The effects of the Tempête worsen the already difficult living conditions of this country: 170000 people miss food and of water. The country had already suffered from the pouring rain in May 2004 which had involved the death of 1220 people.

See also: Towns of Haiti

Economy

See also: Saving in Haiti

Demography

See also: Demography of Haiti

Culture

See also: Culture of Haiti

Codes

Haiti has as codes:

See too

References

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