Haiti

Repiblik d Ayiti
République d'Haïti

( In Detail) ( In Detail)
National motto: L'Union Fait La Force ( French: Union Makes Strength)
Official languages	Kreyòl, French
Capital	Port-au-Prince
President	René Préval
Prime Minister	Gérard Latortue
Area - Total - % water	Ranked 143rd 27,750 km² 0.7%
Population - Total (Year) - Density	Ranked 92nd 7.9 million (2003 census) 286/km²
GDP - Total ( Year) - GDP/head	$10.6 billion (2002) $1,400
HDI ( 2003)	0.475 ( 153rd) – low
Currency	Gourde (HTG)
Time zone • Summer (DST)	UTC -5 UTC -4
Independence - Declared - Recognised	(from France) January 1, 1804 1825 (Fr), 1863 (USA)
National anthem	La Dessalinienne
Internet TLD	.ht
Calling Code	509

The Republic of Haiti is a country situated on the western third of the Carribean island Hispaniola and also includes the smaller islands of La Gonâve, La Tortue ( Tortuga), Les Cayemites, and Ile a Vache. Haiti shares Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. The total land area of Haiti is 10,714 square miles (27,750 km²) and its capital is Port-au-Prince on the main island of Hispaniola.

A former French colony, it was the second country in the Americas, after the United States, to declare its independence. In spite of its longevity, it is the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti is currently in a state of transition following a rebellion (see 2004 Haiti Rebellion) which deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 29, 2004; he had been re-elected in 2000 in an election which several opposition parties boycotted due to disputes with the vote counting of the parlimentary elections.

Haitians

History

The island of Hispaniola, of which Haiti occupies the western third, was claimed for Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1492. Within 10 years of Columbus' arrival, an estimated 2 million natives were killed. Spanish settlers imported African slaves whose descendants became most of the population. In 1697 Spain ceded it to France.

The colony was ruled by a small minority of Europeans and mulattos. The ratio of Slaves to free people was 10 to 1 by 1791. Stimulated by the ideals of the American and French revolutions, the slaves revolted. After prolonged fighting Haiti became an independent republic in 1804. It is the only known successful slave rebellion in human history. Haiti defeated Napoleon's expeditionary force of nearly 50,000 men, The British Army, The Spanish Army, and the Dutch Army.

Internally, Haiti in 1804 was run by the Haitians themselves. Outside Haiti, The Euro and American ruling classes did not perceive Haiti well. From Gordon Brown's book - The Toussaint Clause: "The supporters of Toussaint's rebellion against France at first engineered a bold policy of intervention in favor of the rebels. But Southern slaveholders, such as Jefferson, eyed the slave-general's rise and masterful leadership skills with extreme alarm and eventually obtained a reversal of the policy --- even while taking advantage of the rebellion to make the fateful Louisiana purchase."

Experienced Haitian Armies fought alongside American forces in 4 battles of the American Revolutionary Wars starting with Savannah Georgia in 1781, Saratoga and Sarasota Florida, and Yorktown Virginia.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln finally recognized Haiti and appointed Frederick Douglass as the first black US ambassador. Side agreements with Haiti demanded the appointment of only light-skinned black ambassadors to the US, and he was to politely refuse all diplomatic invitations to the White House. American society had not yet progressed to a point where a black man could come into the front door of the White House, and sit at the same table as the President of the United States or the German Ambassador. That would not happen until the late 1950's at best.

By 1915, US President Woodrow Wilson ordered the Occupation of Haiti, because of the country's unpayable debt. The American intervention was best exemplified by the notorious remark of the American Secretary of State at the time, William Jennings Bryan. Upon discovering the ethnic character of Haiti he was appalled: "Imagine!" he expostulated, "Niggers speaking French!" encapsulating for a century white American incomprehension of the humanity of people who don't look like them. The US introduced a constitution (written by Franklin D. Roosevelt) and other reforms. The occupation ended in 1934. During those years, (1915 - 1934)Haitian blacks endured repeated insults by US Marines and rape, not used to seing a functioning black society with degreed Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers, and Judges.

Divide and conquer: Instill differences between blacks and mulattoes. All Presidents during the US Occupation were light skinned blacks. Darker skin Hatians were systematically excluded. The Americans left Haiti in the hands of the mulatto minority. In 1946 Dumarsais Estimé became the country's first black president since 1915. His efforts at reform sparked disorders after he nationalized The United Fruit Company's (Now Chiquita Bannana) assets in 1950. Within 48 hours, there was a coup, followed by renewed dictatorships. He also advocated Vodoo as a National religion. This had to wait until the year 2000 to happen. The charismatic black leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected President in 1991, but deposed in a coup shortly after. This led to a American occupation II, and Aristide returned to power in 1994. He was succeeded by René Préval in 1996, but returned to office in 2001 after elections widely regarded as rigged. In February 2004 he was again overthrown instigated by the United states, and it led to US Occupation III. In the wake of Aristide's removal, Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre succeeded to the Presidency in accordance with the stipulations of the 1987 constitution). Elections were held in February 2006. See Haitian elections, 2006

History

Politics

Haiti is a presidential republic with an elected president and National Assembly. However, some claim it to be an authoritarian government in practice. On 29 February 2004, a rebellion culminated in the defacto resignation of president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and it is unknown if the current political structure will remain.

The constitution was introduced in 1987 under the administration of Leslie Manigat and is modeled on those of the United States and France. Having been either completely or partially suspended for some years, it was fully reinstated in 1994. Since, and as a result of, the aforementioned coup, the future of the 1987 Constitution has fallen into doubt, even though the planned elections for the Presidency, Parliament, and local governments are being held in accordance with its terms.

See List of Presidents of Haiti, 2006 Haitian Elections, 2000 Haitian Elections, 1995 Haitian Elections, 1990 Haitian Elections, and the Constitution of Haiti.

Departments

Haiti is divided into ten departments (provinces):

• Artibonite
• Centre
• Grand'Anse
• Nippes
• Nord
• Nord-Est
• Nord-Ouest
• Ouest
• Sud
• Sud-Est

Geography

Haiti's terrain consists mainly of rugged mountains with small coastal plains and river valleys. The east and central part is a large elevated plateau.

In 1925, Haiti was a lush island paradise, with 60% of its original forest covering the lands and mountainous regions. Over the years, the population cut down 95% of its trees and in the process destroyed fertile farmland soils. Now the mountains are bare down to the bedrock. Pictures from space glaringly show this stark contrast compared to Haiti's neighbour the Dominican Republic. Charcoal production by low-income labor accounts for the bulk of Haitian logging. There has also been dispute between the United States and Haiti about Navassa Island which both countries claim, although it is documented that Navassa Island became part of Haiti after the French signed a territory deal with Spain in 1697 which gave France the western third of the island, including Navassa island which France lost control to the Haitians after the Haitian revolution

This deforestation led to soil erosion and flooding as seen on September 17, 2004. Tropical storm Jeanne skimmed the north coast of Haiti leaving 3006 people dead in flooding and mudslides, mostly in the city of Gonaïves. [1]

Economy

Haiti remains the least-developed country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. Comparative social and economic indicators show Haiti falling behind other low-income developing countries (particularly in the hemisphere) since the 1980s. Haiti now ranks 153rd of 177 countries in the UN’s Human Development Index.

About 80% of the population lives in abject poverty, making it the second poorest country in the world. Nearly 70% of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector, which consists mainly of small-scale subsistence farming and employs about two-thirds of the economically active work force. The country has experienced little job creation since President René Préval took office in February 1996, although the informal economy is growing. Failure to reach agreements with international sponsors have denied Haiti badly needed budget and development assistance.

Demographics

Although Haiti averages about 270 people per square kilometer (699/mi²), its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. About 95% of Haitians are of predominant African descent with caucasian and taino admixture(Although due to the massive rape by the French, most Haitians show a strain of European ancestry averaging about 10%, and many also have a small percentage of Taino ancestry). The rest of the population is mostly mulatto, or mixed Caucasian-African ancestry. A few are of European or Levantine heritage. About two thirds of the population live in rural areas. The biggest city is the capital Port-au-Prince with 2 million inhabitants, followed by Cap-Haïtien with 600,000.Nearly all Haitians speak Kreyòl (Creole), the country's official language. French is the other official language only spoken by about 10% of the population. Roman Catholicism is the state religion, which the majority professes. Some have converted to Protestantism. Protestant churches of numerical strength are Assemblées de Dieu, the Convention Baptiste d'Haïti, the Seventh-day Adventists, the Church of God (Cleveland), the Church of the Nazarene, the Église Episcopale d'Haiti and the Mission Evangelique Baptiste du Sud-Haiti.