Haiti is an island of vast contrasts, from poverty and wealth to a geography that ranges from mountains to beaches; it is an island in turmoil.
Formerly under French control, Haiti was the first Caribbean state to overthrow the tyranny of slavery and colonial rule following a series of wars in the early 19th century.
The Earliest Settlers in Haiti
The Tainos, Haiti's earliest inhabitants are believed to have arrived on the island around 2600 BC having made the journey from what is now Venezuela in dug out canoes. Life was good in the new world. By the time Christopher Columbus set foot on Hispaniola as Haiti was called in 1492, the Tainos numbered around 400,000. But within 30 years of the arrival of the Spanish, the indigenous people were virtually wiped out. Their numbers decimated with diseases brought by the foreigners that the Tainos had no resistance to.
The Colonisation of Haiti by the French.
The French arrived during the 17th century and in 1697, Spain ceded the western third of the island to the French in the Treaty of Ryswick.
The fortunes of the colony were transformed. The economy which was based on forestry and sugar related industries worked by approximately 500,000 black slaves became one of the wealthiest in the world.
However things were about to change. Following the French revolution in 1789 free 'mulattos' or mixed race children from liaisons between colonists and black slaves demanded equal rights, while the island's slave population led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, (sometimes referred to as the slave who overthrew Napoleon), revolted against their owners and overseers.
Eventually, after a prolonged struggle the slave population won their freedom and Haiti declared independence from France in 1804.
The Haitian Geography and Climate
Haiti's climate is tropical changing to semi arid where the mountainous region of the east cuts off the trade winds. The island is prone to severe storms between the months of June and October lying as it does in the middle of the hurricane belt.
Apart from the devastation caused by tropical storms, Haiti is also prone to minor earthquakes, although the region was devastated by a major quake, the most severe for 200 years, which struck the island on January 12th 2010 at 1653 local time. BBC News reported that the US Geological Survey recorded the epicentre was approximately 15km (10m) south-west of Port –au-Prince and was quickly followed by 2 severe after shocks measuring a magnitude of 5.9 and 5.5. Initial reports told of approximately 500,000 casualties, though this was revised downwards as rescuers arrived in the field and began their search for survivors.
Due to extensive de-forestation the island is prone to soil erosion which brings with it flooding and at times, drought. However its climate and geographic beauty makes Haiti a potential tourist haven, though decades of political instability and violence has severely damaged that prospect.
The Modern Island of Haiti
The island as a whole is split into 2 countries. Haiti makes up the western third of the island while the remaining 2 eastern two thirds constitute the Dominican Republic.
Today, Haiti is the poorest nation in the western world. It is reported that 80% of the population survives below the poverty line. Approximately two thirds of Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, primarily small-scale subsistence farming.
The 29 year dictatorship of Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier was a reign of terror which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Haitians. Hopes of political stability and economic growth were raised when former priest, Jean-Bertrand Astride was elected in 1990. But the optimism this brought was dashed when the new president was overthrown by the military shortly after his election.
Over a decade of instability followed. This included electoral irregularities, torture and extra-judicial killings. New elections followed in 2004 and a United Nations stabilisation force has been deployed in an attempt to control the violence.
One of the most serious underlying problem encountered by Haiti as a whole is the huge wealth gap between the impoverished black Creole speaking majority and the French speaking minority. It is a surprising fact that just 1% of the French speaking minority own almost half of the country's wealth.
The Republic of Haiti has a population of approximately 10 million. If the instability caused by political unrest and wealth disparity can be arrested, possibly the area will able to capitalise on its natural beauty and tap into the lucrative tourist trade, and once more become one of the wealthiest countries in the America's.
Formerly under French control, Haiti was the first Caribbean state to overthrow the tyranny of slavery and colonial rule following a series of wars in the early 19th century.
The Earliest Settlers in Haiti
The Tainos, Haiti's earliest inhabitants are believed to have arrived on the island around 2600 BC having made the journey from what is now Venezuela in dug out canoes. Life was good in the new world. By the time Christopher Columbus set foot on Hispaniola as Haiti was called in 1492, the Tainos numbered around 400,000. But within 30 years of the arrival of the Spanish, the indigenous people were virtually wiped out. Their numbers decimated with diseases brought by the foreigners that the Tainos had no resistance to.
The Colonisation of Haiti by the French.
The French arrived during the 17th century and in 1697, Spain ceded the western third of the island to the French in the Treaty of Ryswick.
The fortunes of the colony were transformed. The economy which was based on forestry and sugar related industries worked by approximately 500,000 black slaves became one of the wealthiest in the world.
However things were about to change. Following the French revolution in 1789 free 'mulattos' or mixed race children from liaisons between colonists and black slaves demanded equal rights, while the island's slave population led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, (sometimes referred to as the slave who overthrew Napoleon), revolted against their owners and overseers.
Eventually, after a prolonged struggle the slave population won their freedom and Haiti declared independence from France in 1804.
The Haitian Geography and Climate
Haiti's climate is tropical changing to semi arid where the mountainous region of the east cuts off the trade winds. The island is prone to severe storms between the months of June and October lying as it does in the middle of the hurricane belt.
Apart from the devastation caused by tropical storms, Haiti is also prone to minor earthquakes, although the region was devastated by a major quake, the most severe for 200 years, which struck the island on January 12th 2010 at 1653 local time. BBC News reported that the US Geological Survey recorded the epicentre was approximately 15km (10m) south-west of Port –au-Prince and was quickly followed by 2 severe after shocks measuring a magnitude of 5.9 and 5.5. Initial reports told of approximately 500,000 casualties, though this was revised downwards as rescuers arrived in the field and began their search for survivors.
Due to extensive de-forestation the island is prone to soil erosion which brings with it flooding and at times, drought. However its climate and geographic beauty makes Haiti a potential tourist haven, though decades of political instability and violence has severely damaged that prospect.
The Modern Island of Haiti
The island as a whole is split into 2 countries. Haiti makes up the western third of the island while the remaining 2 eastern two thirds constitute the Dominican Republic.
Today, Haiti is the poorest nation in the western world. It is reported that 80% of the population survives below the poverty line. Approximately two thirds of Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, primarily small-scale subsistence farming.
The 29 year dictatorship of Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier was a reign of terror which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Haitians. Hopes of political stability and economic growth were raised when former priest, Jean-Bertrand Astride was elected in 1990. But the optimism this brought was dashed when the new president was overthrown by the military shortly after his election.
Over a decade of instability followed. This included electoral irregularities, torture and extra-judicial killings. New elections followed in 2004 and a United Nations stabilisation force has been deployed in an attempt to control the violence.
One of the most serious underlying problem encountered by Haiti as a whole is the huge wealth gap between the impoverished black Creole speaking majority and the French speaking minority. It is a surprising fact that just 1% of the French speaking minority own almost half of the country's wealth.
The Republic of Haiti has a population of approximately 10 million. If the instability caused by political unrest and wealth disparity can be arrested, possibly the area will able to capitalise on its natural beauty and tap into the lucrative tourist trade, and once more become one of the wealthiest countries in the America's.
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