Haiti ( ; French Haïti, ; Haitian Creole: Ayiti),
officially the Republic of Haiti ( ; ), is a
Creole- and French-speaking Caribbean
country. Along with the Dominican Republic
, it occupies the island of Hispaniola
, in the Greater
Antillean archipelago.
Ayiti (Land of high mountains) was the indigenous
Taíno or
Amerindian
name for the mountainous western side of the island.
The country's highest
point is Pic la
Selle
, at . The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square
kilometres (10,714 sq mi) and
its capital is Port-au-Prince
.
Haiti's regional, historical, and ethnolinguistic position is
unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation in
Latin America, the first
post-colonial independent Black-led nation in
the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as
part of a successful
slave
rebellion.
Despite having common cultural links with its
Hispano-Caribbean neighbors, Haiti is the only predominantly
Francophone independent nation in
the Americas, and one of only two
(along with Canada
) which
designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking
countries are all overseas
départements or
collectivités of France
.
History
Brief late history
The island of Hispaniola, which Haiti occupies the western third,
was originally inhabited by the
Taíno
Arawak Indians, a seafaring branch of the
South American Arawaks. Ayiti, which means "mountainous land", is a
name used by the Taíno-Arawak people, who also called some sections
of it Bohio, meaning "rich villages". Kiskeya is yet a third term
that has been attributed to the Taínos for the island. The Taíno
population on Hispaniola were divided through a system of
established
cacicazgos (chiefdoms), named Marien, Maguana,
Higuey, Magua and Xaragua, which could be further subdivided. The
cacicazgos (later called
caciques in French) were
tributary kingdoms, with payment consisting of food grown by the
Taíno. Taino cultural artifacts include cave paintings in several
locations in the nation, which have become national symbols of
Haiti and tourist attractions.
Modern-day Léogane
, a town in
the southwest, is at the epicenter of what was the chiefdom of
Xaragua.
Christopher Columbus landed at Môle
Saint-Nicolas
on 5 December 1492, and claimed the island for
Spain. Nineteen days later, his ship the
Santa María ran
aground near the present site of Cap-Haitien
; Columbus was forced to leave 39 men, founding the
settlement of La
Navidad
.
Following
the destruction of La Navidad by the Amerindians, Columbus moved to
the eastern side of the island and established La Isabela
. One of the earliest leaders to fight off
Spanish conquest was Queen
Anacaona, a
Taíno princess from Xaragua who married Chief Caonabo, a Taíno king
(cacique) from Maguana. The two resisted European rule but to no
avail; she was captured by the Spanish and executed in front of her
people. To this day, Anacaona is revered in Haiti as one of the
country's first founders, preceding the likes of founding fathers
such as
Toussaint Louverture
and
Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
The
Spaniards exploited the island for its
gold, mined chiefly by local
Amerindians
directed by the Spanish occupiers. Those refusing to work in the
mines were slaughtered or forced into slavery. Europeans brought
chronic infectious diseases with them that were new to the
Caribbean.
Diseases were the
chief cause of their decline because the Taíno had no natural
immunity, but ill treatment, malnutrition and a drastic drop of the
birthrate also contributed to reduction of the indigenous
population. The first recorded
smallpox
outbreak in Americas occurred in 1507, when Spaniards brought the
disease to Hispaniola.
The Spanish governors began importing enslaved Africans for labor.
In 1517,
Charles V
authorized the draft of slaves. The Taínos became virtually, but
not completely extinct on the island of Hispaniola. Some who evaded
capture fled to the mountains and established independent
settlements. These survivors mixed with escaped African slaves
(runaways called
maroons) and produced a multiracial
generation called
zambos. French settlers later called
people of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry
marabou. The
mestizo
increased in number from children born to relationships between
native women and European men. Others were born as a result of
unions between African women and European men, who were called
mulâtre in French.
The western part of Hispaniola soon was settled by French
buccaneers. Among them, Bertrand D'Ogeron
succeeded in growing tobacco, which prompted many of the numerous
buccaneers and freebooters to turn into settlers. This population
did not submit to Spanish royal authority until the year 1660 and
caused a number of conflicts.
17th century settlement
Bertrand
D'Orgeron attracted many colonists from Martinique
and Guadeloupe
, such as the Roy family (Jean Roy, 1625-1707),
Hebert (Jean Hebert, 1624, with his family) and the Barre
(Guillaume Barre, 1642, with his family), driven out by pressure on
lands generated by extension of sugar plantations. From 1670
to 1690, a drop in the tobacco markets affected the island and
significantly reduced the number of settlers. Freebooters grew
stronger, plundering settlements, such as those of Vera Cruz in
1683 and Campêche in 1686.
Jean-Baptiste
Antoine Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay, elder son of
Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Minister of the Navy, brought back some
order. He ordered the establishment of
indigo and
sugar cane
plantations. The first windmill for processing sugar was created in
1685.
Treaty of Ryswick and slave colony
France and Spain settled hostilities on the island by the
Treaty of Ryswick of 1697, which divided
Hispaniola between them. France received the western third and
subsequently named it
Saint-Domingue
(not the current Santo-Domino which is in the Dominican Republic
and was part of the eastern side given to the Spanish through the
treaty). Many French colonists soon arrived and established
plantations in Saint-Domingue due to high profit potential.
From 1713
to 1787, approximately 30,000 colonists emigrated from Bordeaux
, France, to the western part of the island.
By about 1790, Saint-Domingue had greatly overshadowed its eastern
counterpart in terms of wealth and population. It quickly became
the richest French colony in the New World due to the immense
profits from the sugar, coffee and indigo industries. The labor and
knowledge of thousands of enslaved Africans, who brought skills and
technology for indigo production to the island, made it possible.
The French-enacted
Code Noir (Black Code),
which was prepared by
Jean-Baptiste Colbert and ratified by
Louis XIV, established rigid rules on
slave treatment and permissible freedom. It has been described as
one of the most brutally efficient slave colonies there ever was -
a third of new arrivals died within a few years.
Haitian Revolution
The
French Revolution contributed
to social upheavals in Saint-Domingue and the French and West
Indies. Most important was the revolution of the slaves in
Saint-Domingue, starting on the northern plains in 1791. In 1792
the French government sent three commissioners with troops to try
to reestablish control. They began to build an alliance with
gens de couleur, who were looking
for their rights. In 1793, France and Great Britain went to war,
and British troops invaded Saint-Domingue. The execution of
Louis XVI heightened tensions in the
colony. To build an alliance with the gens de couleur and slaves,
the French commissioners
Sonthonax and
Polverel abolished slavery in the colony.
Six months later, the
National
Convention endorsed abolition and extended it to all of the
French colonies.
Toussaint L'Ouverture, a
former slave and leader in the slave revolt who rose in importance
as a military commander because of his many skills, achieved peace
in Saint-Domingue after years of war against both external invaders
and internal dissension. He had established a disciplined, flexible
army and drove out both the Spaniards and the British invaders who
threatened the colony. He restored stability and prosperity by
daring measures, including inviting the return of planters and
insisting that freed men work on plantations to renew revenues for
the island.
He also renewed trading ties with Great Britain
and the United States
.
Independence
The French government changed and the legislature began to rethink
its decisions on slavery in the colonies. After
Toussaint L'Ouverture created a
separatist constitution,
Napoleon
Bonaparte sent an expedition of 30,000 men under the command of
his brother-in-law, General
Charles
Leclerc, to retake the island. Leclerc's mission was to oust
Louverture and restore slavery. The French achieved some victories.
Leclerc invited Toussaint Louverture to a
parley, kidnapped him and sent him to France, where
he was imprisoned at Fort de Joux. He died there in 1803 of
exposure and tuberculosis or malnutrition and pneumonia.
The native leader
Jean-Jacques
Dessalines, long an ally of Toussaint Louverture, defeated the
French troops led by
Donatien-Marie-Joseph
de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau at the
Battle of Vertières. At the end of
the double battle for emancipation and independence, former slaves
proclaimed the independence of Saint-Domingue on 1 January 1804,
declaring the new nation as Haiti, honoring one of the indigenous
Taíno names for the island. It is the only nation born of a slave
revolt .
Dessalines was proclaimed Emperor for life by his troops. He exiled
or killed the remaining whites and ruled as a
despot. He was assassinated on 17 October 1806. The
country was divided then between a kingdom in the north directed by
Henri Christophe, and a republic in
the south directed by a
gens de couleur Alexandre Pétion.
Henri Christophe is
best known for constructing the Citadelle Laferriere
, the largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere, to
defend the island against the French. President
Jean Pierre Boyer, also a
gens de
couleur, managed to reunify the two halves and extend control
again over the western part of the island.
In July 1825, the king of France
Charles X
sent a fleet of fourteen vessels and troops to reconquer the
island. To maintain independence, President Boyer agreed to a
treaty by which France recognized the independence of the country
in exchange for a payment of 150 million francs (the sum was
reduced in 1838 to 90 million francs) - an indemnity for profits
lost from the slave trade. The French abolitionist
Victor Schoelcher wrote "Imposing an
indemnity on the victorious slaves was equivalent to making them
pay with money that which they had already paid with their
blood."
A long succession of
coups followed the
departure of Jean-Pierre Boyer.
National authority was disputed by factions
of the army, the elite class and the growing commercial class, now
made up of numerous immigrants: Germans,
Americans
, French and English.
On more than one occasion US, French, German and British forces
claimed larges sums of money from the vaults of the National Bank
of Haiti.
Expatriates bankrolled and armed opposing groups. In 1888 US
Marines supported a military revolt against the government. In 1892
the German government supported suppression of the movement of
Anténor Firmin. In 1912 Syrians
residing in Haiti participated in a plot in which the presidential
palace was destroyed. In January 1914, British, German and United
States forces entered Haiti ostensibly to protect their
citizens.
Since 1915
The
United States
occupied the island from 1915 to 1934. The Haitian
administration dismantled the constitutional system, reinstituted
virtual slavery for building roads, and established the National
Guards that ran the country after the Marines left.
From 1957 to 1986, the
Duvalier family
reigned as dictators, turning the country into a
hermit kingdom with a
personality cult and excessive corruption.
They created the private army and terrorist death squads known as
Tonton Macoutes.
Many
Haitians fled to exile in the United States and Canada
, especially
French-speaking Quebec
. In
the 1970s the United States funded major efforts to establish
assembly plants for U.S. manufacturers. In the mid 1980s the US
continued military and economic aid to the regime.
In 1986 protests against "Baby Doc" led the U.S. to arrange for
Duvalier and his family to be exiled to France. Army leader General
Henri Namphy headed a new
National Governing
Council.
In March 1987 a new Constitution was overwhelmingly approved by the
population. General elections in November were aborted hours after
dozens were shot by soldiers and the Tonton Macoute in the capital
and scores more around the country.
In December 1990, the former priest
Jean-Bertrand Aristide won the
election
by more than two thirds of the vote. His mandate began on 7
February 1991. In August 1991, Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government
faced a
non-confidence vote
within the Haitian Chamber of Deputies and Senate. Eighty three
voted against him, while only 11 members voted in support of
Aristide's government. Following a coup d'etat in September 1991,
President Aristide was flown into exile. In accordance with Article
149 of Haiti's Constitution of 1987, Supreme Court Justice Joseph
Nerette was named Provisional President and elections were called
for December 1991. These were blocked by the international
community and the resulting chaos extended into 1994.
In 1994, Haitian
General Raoul Cédras asked former
U.S. President Jimmy Carter to help avoid a
U.S. military invasion of Haiti.
President Carter relayed this information
to President Clinton, who asked Carter,
in his role as founder of The Carter
Center, to undertake a mission to Haiti with Senator Sam
Nunn, D-GA
, and former Joint
Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin
Powell. The team successfully negotiated the departure
of Haiti's military leaders and the peaceful entry of U.S. forces
under
Operation Uphold
Democracy, paving the way for the restoration of Jean-Bertrand
Aristide as president.
Aristide left the presidency in 1995. He was
re-elected in 2000. His
second term was marked by accusations of corruption. In 2004 a
paramilitary coup ousted Aristide a second time. (See
2004 Haitian rebellion) Aristide was
removed by U.S.
Marines from his home in what he described
as a "kidnapping", and briefly held by the government of the
Central
African Republic
to which the U.S. had decided to fly him.
Aristide obtained his release and returned to the hemisphere
shortly afterwards, although he has not returned to Haiti.
Boniface Alexandre assumed
interim authority. In February 2006, following
elections marked by
uncertainties and popular demonstrations,
René Préval (close to the
still-popular Aristide and former president of the Republic of
Haiti between 1995 and 2000) was elected.
The
United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (also known as MINUSTAH)
has been in the country since the
2004 Haiti Rebellion.
Politics
The government of Haiti is a
semi-presidential republic, pluriform multiparty system wherein the
President of Haiti is
head of state directly elected by popular
elections. The Prime Minister
acts as
head of government and is
appointed by the President from the majority party in the National
Assembly.
Executive power is
exercised by the President and Prime Minister who together
constitute the government.
Legislative power is vested in
both the
government and the two chambers
of the
National Assembly of
Haiti. The government is organized
unitarily, thus the
central government delegates
powers to the departments without a constitutional need for
consent. The current structure of Haiti's political system was set
forth in the
Constitution of
Haiti on 29 March 1987. The current president is
René Préval.
Haitian politics have been contentious. Most Haitians are aware of
Haiti's history as the only country in the Western Hemisphere to
undergo a successful
slave
revolution. On the other hand, the long history of
oppression by dictators, including
François Duvalier, has markedly
affected the nation.
France
and the
United
States
have repeatedly intervened in Haitian politics
since the country's founding, sometimes at the request of one party
or another. People's awareness of the threat of such
intervention also permeates national life.
The country has a particularly high level of
corruption.
Departments, arrondissements, and communes
Haiti is divided into ten
departments. The departments are listed
below, with the departmental capital cities in parentheses.
- Artibonite (Gonaïves
)
- Centre
(Hinche
)
- Grand'Anse (Jérémie
)
- Nippes
(Miragoâne
)
- Nord
(Cap-Haïtien
)
- Nord-Est
(Fort-Liberté
)
- Nord-Ouest (Port-de-Paix
)
- Ouest
(Port-au-Prince
)
- Sud-Est
(Jacmel
)
- Sud (Les Cayes
)
The departments are further divided into 41
arrondissements, and 133
communes which serve as second
and third level administrative divisions.
Geography
Haiti is situated on the western part of Hispaniola, the second
largest island in the Greater Antilles.
Haiti is the third
largest country in the Caribbean behind Cuba
and the
Dominican
Republic
(the latter shares a 360 kilometer (224 mi)
border with Haiti). Haiti at its closest point is only about
away from Cuba and has the second longest coastline ( ) in the
Greater Antilles, Cuba having the longest. Haiti's terrain consists
mainly of rugged mountains interspersed with small coastal plains
and river valleys.
The northern region consists of the
Massif du Nord
(Northern Massif) and the
Plaine du Nord (Northern Plain).
The
Massif du Nord is an extension of the
Cordillera
Central in the Dominican Republic. It begins at Haiti's
eastern border, north of the
Guayamouc
River, and extends to the northwest through the northern
peninsula. The lowlands of the
Plaine du Nord lie along
the northern border with the Dominican Republic, between the
Massif du Nord and the North Atlantic Ocean. The central
region consists of two plains and two sets of mountain ranges. The
Plateau Central (Central Plateau) extends along both sides
of the Guayamouc River, south of the
Massif du Nord. It
runs from the southeast to the northwest. To the southwest of the
Plateau Central are the
Montagnes Noires, whose
most northwestern part merges with the
Massif du
Nord.

Mangrove forest in Haiti
The southern region consists of the
Plaine du Cul-de-Sac (the southeast)
and the mountainous southern peninsula (also known as the
Tiburon Peninsula).
The Plaine du
Cul-de-Sac is a natural depression which harbors the country's
saline lakes, such as Trou Caïman
and Haiti's largest lake Lac Azuei
. The Chaîne de la Selle
mountain range, an extension of the southern
mountain chain of the Dominican Republic (the Sierra de Baoruco),
extends from the Massif de la Selle in the east to the Massif de la
Hotte
in the west. This mountain range harbors Pic la Selle
, the highest point in Haiti at 2,680 metres
(8,793 ft).
The country's most important valley in terms of crops is the Plaine
de l'Artibonite, which is oriented south of the Montagnes Noires.
This
region supports the country's (also Hispaniola's) longest river,
the Riviere
l'Artibonite
which begins in the western region of the Dominican
Republic
and continues most of its length through central
Haiti and onward where it empties into the Golfe de la Gonâve. The eastern
and central region of the island is a large elevated plateau. Haiti
also includes various offshore islands.
The historically
famous island of Tortuga
(Île de la Tortue) is located off the coast of
northern Haiti. The
arrondissement of
La Gonâve is located on the island of the
same name, in the
Golfe de la
Gonâve. Gonave Island is moderately populated by rural
villagers.
Île à Vache
(Island of Cows) is located off the tip of
southwestern Haiti. It is a lush island with many beautiful
sights.
Also part of Haiti are the Cayemites
and Ile de Anacaona.
Environment
In 1925, Haiti was lush, with 60% of its original forest covering
the lands and mountainous regions. Since then, the population has
cut down all but an estimated 2% of its original forest cover, and
in the process has destroyed fertile farmland soils, contributing
to
desertification. Erosion has been
severe in the mountainous areas. Most Haitian logging is done to
produce
charcoal, the country's chief
source of fuel. The plight of Haiti's forests has attracted
international attention, and has led to numerous reforestation
efforts, but these have met with little success to date. Despite
the large environmental crises, Haiti retains a very high amount of
biodiversity in proportion to its small
size.
The
island of Hispaniola
is home to more than 6,000 plants, of which 35% are
endemic; and 220 species of birds. None of the birds are
endemic to Haiti, but
La Selle
Thrush is nearly so. The country's high biodiversity is due to
its mountainous topography and fluctuating elevations in which each
elevation harbors different microclimates and its own specific
native fauna and flora. The country's varied scenery include lush
green
cloud forests (in some of the
mountain ranges and the protected areas), high mountain peaks, arid
desert, mangrove forest, and
palm
tree-lined beaches.

2004 Haiti flood
Environmental Problems
In addition to
soil erosion,
deforestation has caused periodic flooding, as
seen on 17 September 2004.
Tropical
storm Jeanne skimmed the north coast of Haiti, leaving 3,006
people dead in flooding and mudslides, mostly in the city of
Gonaïves
. Earlier that year in May, floods killed
over 3,000 people on Haiti's southern border with the Dominican
Republic.
Haiti was again pummeled by tropical storms in late August and
early September 2008. The storms –
Tropical Storm Fay,
Hurricane Gustav,
Hurricane Hanna and
Hurricane Ike – all produced heavy winds and
rain in Haiti. Due to weak soil conditions throughout Haiti, the
country’s mountainous terrain, and the devastating coincidence of
four storms within less than four weeks, valley and lowland areas
throughout the country experienced massive flooding. Casualties
proved difficult to count because the storm diminished human
capacity and physical resources for such record keeping. Bodies
continued to surface as the flood waters receded. A 10 September
2008 source listed 331 dead and 800,000 in need of humanitarian
aid. The grim state of affairs produced by these storms was all the
more life threatening due to already high food and fuel prices that
had caused a food crisis and political unrest in April 2008.
As was the case in 2004, the coastal city of Gonaives was hit
especially hard by the 2008 storms.
The country is working to implement a biofuel solution to its
energy problems. Also, environmental organizations such as the
Peasant Movement of
Papaye (formed by
Jean-Baptiste Chavannes) are trying
to find solutions for Haiti's environmental problems.
Economy
Haiti has remained the poorest country in the
Americas. It is an impoverished country, one of the
world's poorest and least developed. Comparative social and
economic indicators show Haiti falling behind other low-income
developing countries (particularly in the hemisphere) since the
1980s. Haiti now ranks 146th of 177 countries in the United Nations
Human Development Index
(2006). About 80% of the population were estimated to be living in
poverty in 2003. Most Haitians live on or less than $2 a day. Haiti
is the only country in the Americas on the
United Nations list of
Least Developed Countries.
Economic growth was negative in 2001 and 2002, and flat in
2003.
About 66% of all Haitians work in the agricultural sector, which
consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming, but this
activity makes up only 30% of the GDP. The country has experienced
little formal job creation over the past decade, although the
informal economy is growing.
Mangoes and coffee are two of Haiti's most important exports. It
has consistently ranked among the most corrupt countries in the
world on the
Corruption
Perceptions Index.
Foreign aid makes up approximately 30%-40% of the national
government's budget. The largest donor is the United States
followed by Canada, and the European Union also contributes.
Venezuela and Cuba also make various contributions to Haiti's
economy, especially after alliances were renewed in 2006 and
2007.
U.S. aid to the Haitian government was completely cut off in
2001-2004 after the 2000 election was disputed and President
Aristide was accused of various misdeeds.
After Aristide's departure in 2004, aid was restored, and the
Brazilian army led the
United Nations
Stabilization Mission in Haiti peacekeeping operation.
Haiti is expected to receive debt forgiveness for about $525
million of its debt through the
Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) initiative by mid-2009.
Education
Of Haiti's 8.7 million inhabitants, just below half are
illiterate. The literacy rate of 52.9% is the
lowest in the region. Haiti counts 15,200 primary schools, of which
90% are non-public and managed by the communities, religious
organizations or NGOs. The enrollment rate for primary school is
67%, of which less than 30% reach 6th grade. Secondary schools
enroll 20% of eligible-age children. Charity organizations like
Food for the Poor and
Haitian Health Foundation are
currently working on building schools for children as well as
providing them necessary school supplies.
The educational system of Haiti is based on the
French system. Higher education is
provided by universities and other public and private institutions.
It is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.
A list of
universities in Haiti
includes:
- University of Caraibe
(Université Caraïbe) (CUC)
- University of Haiti
(Université d'État d'Haïti) (UEH)
- University Notre Dame
of Haiti (Université Notre Dame d'Haïti) (UNDH)
- Université Chrétienne du Nord d'Haïti (UCNH)
- Université Lumière / MEBSH
- Université Quisqueya (UNIQ)
- Ecole Supérieure d'Infotronique d'Haïti (ESIH)
- Université Roi Henri Christophe
- Université Publique de l'Artibonite aux Gonaïves
(UPAG)
- Université Publique du Nord au Cap-Haïtien
(UPNCH)
- Université Publique du Sud au Cayes (UPSAC)
- Universite de Fondwa (UNIF)
Demographics

Population of Haiti (in thousands)
from 1961 to 2003
Although Haiti averages approximately 360 people per square
kilometer (940 per sq. mi.), its
population is concentrated most heavily in
urban areas,
coastal plains, and
valleys. 90-95% of Haitians (depending on the source)
are of predominately African descent; the remaining 5-10% of the
population are mostly of
mixed-race
background. A small percentage of the non-black population consist
primarily of white Haitians; mostly of
Arab, Western European (
French,
German,
Polish,
Spanish), and
Jewish
origin. . Haitians of Asian descent (mostly of
Chinese origin) number in at approximately
400.
Haitian diaspora
Millions
of Haitians live abroad, chiefly in the United States
, Dominican Republic
, Cuba
, Canada
(especially
in Montreal
), France
, Bahamas
, French Antilles,
the Turks and Caicos, Venezuela
, and French Guiana
.
In North America
There is
a significant Haitian population in South
Florida
, specifically the Miami
enclave of
Little
Haiti
. New York City
, especially in Flatbush,
East Flatbush and Springfield Gardens, also has a thriving
émigré community with the second largest population of Haitians of
any state in the nation. There are also large and active Haitian
communities in Boston
, Massachusetts
; Spring Valley,
New
York
; New
Jersey
; Providence, Rhode Island
; Georgia
; Connecticut
and Pennsylvania
. There is also a large Haitian community in
Montreal-North.
Others include France,Cuba
, Jamaica
, etc.
Languages
One of Haiti's two official languages is
French, which is the principal written,
spoken in schools and administratively authorized language. It is
spoken by most educated Haitians and used in the business sector.
The second is the recently standardized
Haitian Creole, spoken by virtually the
entire population of Haiti. Nearly all Haitians speak this
French-based creole language that harbors significant African
influence, as well as influence from Spanish, and
Taíno.
Religion
Haiti is a largely
Christian country,
with
Roman Catholicism professed
by 80% of Haitians.
Protestants make
up about 16% of the population.
Haitian
Vodou, a
New World Afro-diasporic faith unique to the country,
is practiced by an undetermined percentage of the population.
Religious practice often spans Haiti and its diaspora as those who
have migrated interact through religion with family in Haiti
.
Culture
Haiti has a long and storied history and therefore retains a very
rich culture. Haitian culture is a mixture of primarily French,
African elements, and native
Taíno, with
some lesser influence from the colonial Spanish. The country's
customs essentially are a blend of cultural beliefs that derived
from the various ethnic groups that inhabited the island of
Hispaniola. In nearly all aspects of modern Haitian society
however, the European and African element dominate. Haiti is world
famous for its
distinctive art, notably
painting and sculpture.
Carnival
Music
The music of Haiti is influenced mostly by European colonial ties
and African migration (through slavery). In the case of European
colonization, musical influence has derived primarily from the
French, however Haitian music has been influenced to a significant
extent by its Spanish-speaking neighbors, the Dominican Republic
and Cuba, whose Spanish-infused music has contributed much to the
country's musical genres as well. Styles of music unique to the
nation of Haiti include music derived from vodou ceremonical
traditions and the wildly popular Compas. Compas (in French) or
Kompa (in Creole) is a complex, ever-changing music that arose from
African rhythms and European ballroom dancing, mixed with Haiti's
bourgeois culture. It is a refined music, played with an
underpinning of tipico, and méringue (related to Dominican
merengue) as a basic rhythm. Haiti didn't have any recorded music
until 1937 when Jazz Guignard was recorded non-commercially. One of
the most popular Haitian artists is named Wyclef Jean. His music is
somewhat hip-hop mixed with world music.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Haiti originates from several culinary styles from
the various historical ethnic groups that populated the western
portion of the island of Hispaniola, namely the French, African,
and the Taíno Amerindians.
Haitian cuisine is similar to the rest of the Latin-Caribbean (the
French and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Antilles) however
it differs in several ways from its regional counterparts. Its
primary influence derive from French, and African cuisine, with
notable derivatives from native Taíno and Spanish culinary
technique. Though similar to other cooking styles in the region, it
carries a uniqueness native only to the country and an appeal to
many visitors to the island. Haitians use vegetables and meats
extensively and peppers and similar herbs are often used for
strengthening flavor. Dishes tend to be seasoned liberally and
consequently Haitian cuisine tends to be moderately spicy, not mild
and not too hot. In the country, however, many businesses of
foreign origin have been established introducing several foreign
cuisines into the mainstream culture. Years of adaptation have led
to these cuisines (ie: Levantine from Arab migration to Haiti) to
merge into Haitian cuisine.
Rice and beans in several differing ways are eaten throughout the
country regardless of location, becoming a sort of national dish.
They form the staple diet, which consists of a lot of starch and is
high in carbohydrates. In the more rural areas, however, at great
distances from the major cities, other foods are eaten to a larger
degree such as mais moulu (mayi moulen); a dish comparable to
cornmeal that can be eaten with sauce pois (sos pwa), a bean sauce
made from one of many types of beans such as kidney, pinto, or
garbanzo beans, or pigeon peas (known in other countries as
gandules). Mais Moulu can be eaten with fish (often red snapper),
or alone depending on personal preference. Tomato, oregano,
cabbage, avocado, red and green peppers are several of the many
types of vegetables/fruits that are used in Haitian dishes. Banane
Pésée (Bannan Pézé), flattened plantain slices that are fried in
oil (known as tostones in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico),
are eaten frequently in Haiti as both a snack food and as part of a
meal. They are frequently eaten with tassot and/or griot, which is
deep-fried goat and pork respectively.
See also
References
Further reading
- Paul Butel. Histoire des Antilles Françaises XVIIe - XXe
siècle, Perrin 2002 ISBN 978-2-2620154-0-6
- Noam Chomsky. U.S.
& Haiti. Z magazine, April 2004 Accessed
2008-05-07.
- Edwidge Danticat. "Breath, Eyes, Memory" & "Krik? Krak!" as
well as many other books. 1994-present.
- Wade Davis The Serpent and The
Rainbow. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985
- Michael Deibert. Notes from
the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti. Seven Stories
Press, New York, 2005. ISBN 1583226974.
- Jared Diamond. 2005. Collapse: How
Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking.
ISBN 0-670-03337-5.
- Paul Farmer. Pathologies of
Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003, 2005 edition. ISBN
978-0-520-24326-2.
- Paul Farmer. The uses of Haiti. Monroe, Maine: Common
Courage Press 2003. ISBN 1-56751-242-9
- Carolyn E. Fick. The Making of Haiti: The Saint Domingue
Revolution from Below. Knoxville: University of Tennessee
Press. first ed edition (1 February 1990). ISBN 0870496670, ISBN
978-0870496677
- Robert Debs Heinl and Nancy Gordon Heinl. Written in Blood:
The Story of the Haitian People 1492-1995. Lanham, MD:
University Press of America, 1996. ISBN 0761831770
- C. L. R. James. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint
L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. Vintage, 1938.
ISBN 0-679-72467-2.
- J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat.
Sleeping Rough in Port-au-Prince: An Ethnography of Violence
and Street Children in Haiti. University Press of Florida,
2006. ISBN 0-8130-3009-9
- Mark Kurlansky. A Continent of Islands: Searching for the
Caribbean Destiny. Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1992. ISBN
0-201-52396-5.
- Elizabeth McAlister. Rara! Vodou, Power, and
Performance in Haiti and its Diaspora. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2002. ISBN 0-520-22823-5.
- Melinda Miles and Eugenia Charles, eds. Let Haiti Live:
Unjust U.S. Policies Toward Its Oldest Neighbor.
2004.
- Jack Claude Nezat. The
Nezat And Allied Families 1630-2007 Lulu 2007 ISBN
978-2-9528339-2-9, ISBN 978-0-6151-5001-7
- Randall Robinson. An
Unbroken Agony: Haiti, from Revolution to the Kidnapping of a
President. New York: Perseus Books Group, 2007. ISBN
0465070507.
- Martin Ros. Night of Fire - The Black Napoleon and the
Battle for Haiti. New York: DaCapo Press, 1993. ISBN
0-9627613-8-9
External links
- Government
- History
- Haiti Cinema
- General information
- Travel
- Maps
- Other
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