Haiti, a Brief History

Haiti has been called “the land the world forgot.”

Located less than 700 miles from the United States in the beautiful Caribbean Sea, Haiti is surrounded by glamorous tourist destinations, including the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the Turks and Caicos islands. By stark contrast, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It occupies the western third of the island of Hispanola, which it shares with its neighbor, the Dominican Republic.

Inhabited first by the Taíno Arawak people, the island was colonized by the Spanish in the late 15th century. It was acquired as part of the French colonial empire by the end of the 17th century and was named Saint-Domingue. It became the richest French colony in the New World because of its production of sugar, coffee and indigo.  However, the terrible price for its prosperity was the human tragedy of slavery, as the Europeans imported thousands of enslaved Africans to work its rich plantations.

Political events in Europe, including the French Revolution, contributed to social upheaval in Saint-Domingue. The French were cruel slave masters, and by the late 18th century, the slaves out-numbered their French oppressors by a ratio of 12:1. Taking advantage of their numerical strength and the general atmosphere of unrest, they rose up in a bloody and successful revolt, which began in 1791. After France and other nations failed to regain control of Saint-Domingue, the former slaves declared the independence of their new nation, which they named Haiti, on January 1, 1804. Haiti thus became the first country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery and the first black republic.

But despite this remarkable beginning, the young nation has enjoyed no “happily ever after.” Power struggles among the nation’s early leaders soon resulted in division into two countries for several years. Even after the nation reunified, it suffered a long succession of governmental overthrows. The United States occupied Haiti from 1915-1934 to restore order following a bloody coup. Oppression by dictators including “Papa Doc” and “Baby Doc” Duvalier (1957-1986) and ongoing contentious politics have left deep scars on the nation. A UN-monitored democratic election in 1990 established Catholic priest Jean-Bertrande Aristide as the President of Haiti with a stunning 67% of the votes. But political turmoil continued. Less than 8 months into his presidency, Aristide was forced into exile by a military coup, and the military terrorized the populace to crush the new spirit of democracy. The UN and U.S. intervened in 1994, sending 20,000 U.S. troops in to restore constitutional order. Aristide was reinstated and was later democratically succeeded as President by René Préval in 1996. He was then re-elected in 2000, but allegations of election fraud and corruption marred this term in office. Growing opposition to Aristide’s leadership came to a head in early 2004, finally resulting in his going into exile in February, 2004, amid circumstances that remain controversial.  An interim government was set in place and a multi-national UN peacekeeping force has been present in Haiti since 2004. In the 2006 general election, René Préval was once again elected to lead the embattled nation.

Because of its tumultuous political history, Haiti has been plagued by a lack of infrastructure that has resulted in many woes, including crushing poverty, 80% unemployment, 53% illiteracy, malnutrition, lack of access to potable water or adequate healthcare, and devastating deforestation. The loss of trees to logging and charcoal production has caused lengthening droughts, and the threat of famine is ever-present. The global food crisis of the past year has been hardest on the world’s poorest, many of whom live in Haiti. The country is also subject to natural disasters, especially hurricanes. The back-to-back storms, Faye, Gustav, Hanna and Ike, which all pummeled Haiti within a 4-week period in 2008, caused deadly floods in some areas and the loss of precious family garden plots in many others. Most homes outside (and many within) urban areas have never had electricity and piped water, so aside from the oddly ubiquitous presence of cell phones and the increasing difficulty in growing crops, many people live a way of life that has changed little since Haiti gained its independence 200 years ago.

For facts and demographics about Haiti, please refer to Demographics.

Recommended sources:

CIA World FactBook on Haiti: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

Arthur, C. Haiti in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture. Brooklyn, 2002.

 

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