Haiti on Pixibot

The Republic of Haiti is a country situated on the western third of the island of Hispaniola and the smaller islands of La GonÃ¢ve, La Tortue (Tortuga), Grande Caye, and Ile a Vache in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba; Haiti shares Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. The total land area of Haiti is 10,714 square miles (27,750 square km) and its capital is Port-au-Prince on the main island of Hispaniola.

A former French colony, it was the first country in the Americas after the United States to declare its independence. In spite of its longevity, it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti is currently in a state of anarchy following a rebellion against its President.

Repiblik d AyitiRÃ©publique d'HaÃ¯ti

(In Detail)

National motto: L'Union Fait La Force (French: Union Makes Strength)

Official languages KreyÃ²l, French

Capital Port-au-Prince

President Boniface Alexandre (interim)

Prime Minister GÃ©rard Latortue

Area - Total - % water Ranked 143rd 27,750 kmÂ² 0.7%

Population - Total (Year) - Density Ranked 92nd 7.5 million (July 2003) 271/kmÂ²

GDP - Total (Year) - GDP/head $10.6 billion (2002) $1,400

Currency Gourde (HTG)

Time zone UTC -5 (no DST)

Independence - Declared - Recognised (from France) January 1, 1804 1825 (Fr), 1863 (USA)

National anthem La Dessalinienne

Internet TLD .ht

Calling Code 509

History

History of Haiti Haiti

1804: Independence

Freed blacks and mulattos joined with slaves against Napoleonic France to achieve the Caribbean's first successful revolution for independence. The largely black nation remained isolated politically throughout the 19th century, though penetrated economically by international capitalism.

1915: U.S. Occupation

When a popular uprising against Haitian dictator Guillaume Sam threatened American business interests on the island, American President Woodrow Wilson sent the first sailors and marines to Port-au-Prince on July 28, 1915. Within six weeks, representatives from the United States controlled Haitian customs houses and administrative institutions. For the next nineteen years, Haiti's powerful neighbor to the north guided and governed the country. During this period the legal government of Haiti was (both technically and effectively) the U.S. Marine Corps. The specific order from the Navy to the invasion commander, Admiral William Deville Bundy, was to "protect American and foreign" interests.

Representatives from the United States wielded veto power over all governmental decisions in Haiti, and Marine Corps commanders served as administrators in the provinces. Local institutions, however, continued to be run by Haitians, as was required under policies put in place during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson.

"Cacos" was the US term for the Haitian rebels who opposed the occupation of the island after the Americans took control in 1915.

Opposition to the Occupation began right after the Marines entered Haiti in 1915. The rebels vehemently tried to resist American control of Haiti. In response, the Haitian and American governments began a vigorous campaign to disband the rebel armies.

Philippe SudrÃ© Dartiguenave, the mulatto president of the Senate, agreed to accept the presidency of Haiti after several other candidates had refused on principle.

With a figurehead installed in the National Palace and other institutions maintained in form if not in function, Admiral Caperton declared martial law, a condition that persisted until 1929.

In 1917 President Dartiguenave dissolved the legislature after its members refused to approve a constitution written by United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt. A referendum subsequently approved the new constitution (by a vote of 98,225 to 768), however, in 1918. Generally a liberal document, the constitution allowed foreigners to purchase land. Dessalines had forbidden land ownership by foreigners, and since 1804 most Haitians had viewed foreign ownership as anathema.

1918: Rebellion

The occupation by the United States had several effects on Haiti Haiti News . An early period of unrest culminated in a 1918 rebellion by up to 40,000 former cacos and other disgruntled people. The scale of the uprising overwhelmed the Gendarmerie, but marine reinforcements helped put down the revolt at the estimated cost of 2,000 Haitian lives. Thereafter, order prevailed to a degree that most Haitians had never witnessed. The order, however, was imposed largely by white foreigners with deep-seated racial prejudices and a disdain for the notion of self-determination by inhabitants of less-developed nations. These attitudes particularly dismayed the mulatto elite, who had heretofore believed in their innate superiority over the black masses. The whites from North America, however, did not distinguish among Haitians, regardless of their skin tone, level of education, or sophistication. This intolerance caused indignation, resentment, and eventually a racial pride that was reflected in the work of a new generation of Haitian historians, ethnologists, writers, artists, and others, many of whom later became active in politics and government. Still, as Haitians united in their reaction to the racism of the occupying forces, the mulatto elite managed to dominate the country's bureaucracy and to strengthen its role in national affairs.

The occupation greatly improved some of Haiti's infrastructure. Roads were improved and expanded through the use of forced-labour gangs. This violent form of "corvee labour", with chain-gangs and armed guards permitted to shoot anyone who fled compulsory service, was widely regarded as tantamount to slavery. The education system was re-designed from the ground up; however, this involved the destruction of the pre-existing system of "Liberal Arts" education inherited (and adapted) from the French. It is to be observed that the Marine corps was even less successful in creating a system of education for Haitians than the contemporary government of the U.S. was in providing access to education for its own Black population. Also, due to its emphasis on vocational training, the American system that replaced the French was despised by the elite. Thus, among the two major infrastructural programs carried out by the government of occupation, the use of forced labour enraged the lower classes of rural Haiti, and the educational "reform" enraged the urban elite.

1922: Louis Borno

In 1922 Louis Borno replaced Dartiguenave, who was forced out of office for temporizing over the approval of a debt consolidation loan. Borno ruled without the benefit of a legislature (dissolved in 1917 under Dartiguenave) until elections were again permitted in 1930 Radio Metropole Haiti . The legislature, after several ballots, elected mulatto StÃ©nio Vincent to the presidency.

The occupation of Haiti continued after World War I, despite the embarrassment that it caused Woodrow Wilson at the Paris peace conference in 1919 and the scrutiny of a congressional inquiry in 1922. By 1930 President Herbert Hoover had become concerned about the effects of the occupation, particularly after a December 1929 incident in Les Cayes in which marines killed at least ten Haitian peasants during a march to protest local economic conditions. Hoover appointed two commissions to study the situation. A former governor general of the Philippines, W. Cameron Forbes, headed the more prominent of the two. The Forbes Commission praised the material improvements that the United States administration had wrought, but it criticized the exclusion of Haitians from positions of real authority in the government and the constabulary, which had come to be known as the Garde d'HaÃ¯ti. In more general terms, the commission further asserted that "the social forces that created [instability] still remain--poverty, ignorance, and the lack of a tradition or desire for orderly free government."

1934: U.S. Withdrawal

The Hoover administration did not implement fully the recommendations of the Forbes Commission, but United States withdrawal was under way by 1932, when Hoover lost the presidency to Roosevelt, the presumed author of the most recent Haitian constitution. On a visit to Cap HaÃ¯tien in July 1934, Roosevelt reaffirmed an August 1933 disengagement agreement. The last contingent of marines departed in mid-August, after a formal transfer of authority to the Garde. As in other countries occupied by the United States in the early twentieth century, the local (U.S.-trained) military was often the only cohesive and effective institution left in the wake of withdrawal. This sowed the seeds for a sequence of military-backed dictatorships, all attached to American patronage, which would define the next 50 years of Haiti's history.

The Rise of Duvalier

A medical doctor, FranÃ§ois Duvalier was not allowed to establish his own practice due to racist customs in Haiti (he was black). After securing employment with an American medical project that was fighting widespread tuberculosis, Duvalier had the opportunity to see the poverty that existed in the countryside.

This fueled his interest in politics, and despite the fact that the Haitian government was predominantly mulatto, Duvalier was able to gain a following and joined forces with powerful union leader Daniel Fignole. Together they formed the popular Mouvement Ouvriers Paysans (MOP) Haiti News Network party. They continued to gain public support and waited for their moment to seize the power.

Both men wanted to take the top job of President, therefore the party was split and in 1957 Fignole became president of Haiti. His position lasted only 18 days, however, because Duvalier was able to overthrow him and began what was to become a 29-year dynasty.

1957-1986: Duvaliers and Aborted freeport

Duvalier, also known as "Papa Doc," became president in 1957 and dictator in 1964. He was known for his army of sunglasses-clad volunteers, the Tonton Macoute. In 1967 proposals were made to construct a freeport on the Haitian island of Tortuga by a consortium formed in the United States by Don Pierson of Eastland, Texas.

These plans reached maturity in 1971 when a 99-year contract was entered into by FranÃ§ois Duvalier on behalf of the Haitian government. Although construction of infastructure and a new international airport was commenced, two other events brought about the sudden demise of the whole venture. When FranÃ§ois Duvalier suddenly died in 1971 his son Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc") took over at the age of 19. The advisers soon concluded that Haiti needed a new image to attract economic assistance, tourism, and investment. In 1974 it became known that the freeport had entered into a multimillion dollar contract with the Gulf Oil corporation to advance development on the island. This news prompted "Baby Doc" to expropriate the venture for himself, under prompting from his advisors including his mother, Simone Ovide Duvalier; Defense and Gen. Claude Raymond, commander of the army, and his brother, Foreign Minister Adrien Raymond; and Minister of Coordination and Information Fritz CinÃ©as. This move by the regency caused the collapse of the freeport venture.

Under the Baby Doc regime some political prisoners were released, press censorship eased, and a policy of "gradual democratization of institutions" was professed. But in fact no sharp changes from previous policies occurred. No political opposition was tolerated, and all important political officials and judges were still appointed by the president. Haiti continued a semi-isolationist approach to foreign relations, although the government actively solicited foreign aid. In 1980 Duvalier married MichÃ¨le Bennett, who later supplanted his hard-line mother in Haitian politics. In the face of increasing social unrest, however, Duvalier and his wife left the country early in 1986, leaving the entire country in poverty and lacking international commercial development. A six-member council replaced Duvalier when he fled to southern France, where he lived in luxury in Cannes until his wife left him and took his children and most of their cash Map Of Haiti . He now lives in modest circumstances in Paris.

1986: After Duvalier Regime

After Duvalier fled, US installed a military regime, The National Council of Government (CNG), headed by General Henri Namphy. It was supposed to design a new Constitution and arrange for democratic elections within two years, but didn't step down until 1990, when Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military coup d'etat, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996.

In the late 1970s, a time of increasing militancy against the brutal regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier, Aristide urged change and often found himself at odds with his superiors in the Roman Catholic Church. In 1986, the year Duvalier was driven from power, Aristide survived the first of many assassination attempts. In 1990, when a notorious Duvalierist announced his candidacy for president, progressive-centre forces united to urge Aristide to run for the office. He was elected in Haiti's first free democratic election on Dec. 16, 1990, with an overwhelming 67% of the vote. Aristide's campaign motto, "Lavalas" (Creole for "flood"), became the name for a diverse coalition of parties that symbolized hope for the Haitian people (80% of whom earned less than $150 a year). In his seven months as president in 1991, Aristide proposed raising the minimum wage, initiated a literacy campaign, dismantled the repressive system of rural section chiefs, and oversaw a drastic reduction in human rights violations. A coup on Sept. 30, 1991, led by the military and financed by members of Haiti's elite, declared that such reforms would not be tolerated. The coup's leaders: General Raul Cedras, Colonel Michel Francois, and general Philippe Biamby, were all graduates of the US Army School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. After three years of exile, a U.S. invasion allowed Aristide to return and resume his presidency on Oct. 15, 1994. The economy was in shambles, infrastructure almost nonexistent, and more than 4,000 people had been killed. Barred constitutionally from immediate reelection, he stepped down in 1996. The old Lavalas coalition fractured, and in November 1996 he launched a new political party, Fanmi Lavalas (Lavalas Family).

2000-2004: Second Aristide Term and Ensuing Crises

In May 2000, Haiti held legislative and local government elections. The Family Lavalas Party won over 50% of the vote in nearly all the contests but a dispute arose about the method used to tabulate the percentages for the Senate elections. The OAS and the international community condemned the results for the Senate elections as fradulent. The Haitian government refused to re-calculate the percentages. In response, most of the opposition parties refused to acknowledge the results or take part in second-round run-offs Haiti Photo . In the months leading up to the Presidential election at the end of the year, numerous negotiations failed to produce a settlement. Therefore, most opposition groups boycotted the Presidential election. Aristide easily won this election, but due to the earlier dispute, the opposition parties never accepted his victory as legitimate.

Aristide took office on February 7, 2001, but his presidency was mired in controversy, and his government was undermined by the political impasse and the use of armed gangs, called 'chimeres', to enforce his rule. By 2003, the country was deeply divided between pro-and anti-Aristide camps.This finally led to an armed conflict which increased in intensity on February 5, 2004, 200 years after the Haitian Revolution, when an armed rebel group calling itself the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front took control of the GonaÃ¯ves police station. This rebellion then spread throughout the central Artibonite province by February 17 and was joined by opponents of the government who had been in exile in the Dominican Republic. Aristide was forced to resign and go into exile again (Central African Republic, Jamaica, South Africa).

Haiti Post-Aristide

In the wake of Aristide's departure, while Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre succeeded to the Presidency (in accordance with the stipulations of the 1987 constitution), the Conseil des Sages, a seven-member executive advisory board which was appointed by the OAS-sanctioned Tipartite Council (consisting of Leslie Voltaire, Paul Denis, and Adamo Guino, immediately selected the Prime Minister, former Manigat Foreign Minister Gerard Latortue, who, in turn, selected his cabinet, which consists mostly of opposition leaders or spokespersons:

Adeline Magloire Chancy â€“ Womenâ€™s Conditions
Philippe Mathieu â€“ Agriculture
Yvon Simeon - Foreign Affairs
Yves Andre Wainwright â€“ Environment
Pierre Buteau â€“ Education
Bernard Gousse â€“ Justice and Public Security
Daniele Saint-Lot â€“ Commerce and Industry
Henri Bazin - Finance
Josette Bijoux - Health
Smarck Michel - Planning
Herard Abraham - Interior
Magali Comeau Denis - Culture

Non-Cabinet Officials:

Michel Brunache - Chief of Cabinet
Max Mathurin - Head of Provisional Electoral Council (CEP)

Haiti Info

Gousse had, since his appointment, become notorious for the summary imprisonment of Lavalas party members and supporters, and, seemingly under pressure from Washington, resigned from office on June 15, 2005. He was replaced as justice minister by Henri Dorlean.

The Council of Sages, which consists of the following:

Lamartine Clermont (Catholic Church) Ariel Henry (Democratic Platform opposition group) Anne-Marie Issa (Owner of Signal FM Radio) MacDonald Jean (Anglican Church) Daniele Magloire (associations unclear) Christian Rousseau (University of Haiti Administrator (previously involved in opposition student protests)) Paul Emile Simon â€“ Fanmi Lavalas (party of Aristide government),

has, like the present interim government, its proponents, the Haitian National Police, and MINUSTAH (which consists mostly of Brazilian, Chilean, and other multinational peacekeeping contingents), become the source of controversy both within and without Haiti, especially in Brazil (which provides a bulk majority of the peacekeeping force), the United States (which is heavily suspected of possession of foul play in many areas behind the February 2004 coup), Canada (whose Martin government had also supported the overthrow of Aristide, and whose own RCMP is training a significant contingent of the rather-notorious HNP), and, to a somewhat lesser degree, France (from whom Aristide had requested a restitution of exactly US$21,685,135,571.48, the modern-day equivalent of the 90 million gold francs {originally set at 150 million, but later reduced} which were demanded as ransom by the French government from then-President Jean-Pierre Boyer). Protest groups, websites, and news feeds have since been formed in response to the 2004 coup and following events, such as the Haiti Action Committee and the Canada Out of Haiti Campaign (a project of the Canada-Haiti Action Network).

The UN mission, in the meantime, has itself ran aground in its relations with both the interim government (and its proponents), the Lavalas party (and its grassroots support), and human rights activists, often being accused (by the first group) of not doing enough to curtail the seemingly omnipresent and eternal violence, rape, and extortion which has tainted Haiti's international image, (by the second group) of colluding with armed (and notorious) militants and policemen in the suppression of neighborhood violence in Port-au-Prince, and (by the third group) actively participating in violence against the Lavalas party and grassroots support, all of which have been constantly refuted by UN officials, including Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Force Commander Lieutenant-General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro Pereira of Brazil Radio Haiti . See the 2005 July 6 United Nations assault on Cite Soleil, Haiti.

Furthermore, as Haiti has always been heavily subject to the onslaught of the Caribbean hurricane season, the immense death toll (well over 1,500 initial fatalities, which extended to over 3,000 as aid slowly came through) and weight of environmental and infrastructural damage (subsequent floods and mudslides in GonaÃ¯ves added significantly to the death toll; and estimated 300,000 people were made homeless) which resulted from the September 17, 2004 northern coastal skim of Haiti by Tropical storm Jeanne, came as no exception [1]. 2005's Hurricane Dennis, however, resulted in a significantly lesser loss of life (less than 200 fatalities) [2].

In the midst of the ongoing controversy and violence, however, the interim government has planned legislative and executive elections for November 6 (originally set for Novermebr 13), 2005, with a runoff set for December 13. Local elections were originally scheduled for October 9, but have, as of August 9, been indefinately postponed until late December.

On September 17 Tropical storm Jeanne skimmed the north coast of Haiti leaving 3006 people dead in flooding and mudslides, mostly in the city of GonaÃ¯ves. [3]

This weather-related article is a stub. You can help pedia by expanding it.

Politics

Politics of Haiti

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, 2005 Haitian elections, and 1987 Constitution of Haiti.

Departments

Departments of Haiti

Haiti is divided into nine departments (provinces):

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

Map of Haiti

Geography

Geography of Haiti

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.

Economy

Economy of Haiti Picture Of Haiti

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 150th of 175 countries in the UNâ€™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 RenÃ© PrÃ©val 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

Demographics of Haiti

Although Haiti averages about 270 people per square kilometer, its population is concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys. About 95% of Haitians are of African descent. 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-HaÃ¯tien with 600,000.

French is one of two official languages, but it is spoken by only about 10% of the people. Nearly all Haitians speak KrÃ¨yol(Creole), the country's other official language. English is increasingly spoken among the young and in the business sector.

Roman Catholicism is the state religion, which the majority professes. Some have converted to Protestantism. Many Haitians also practice voodoo traditions, seeing no conflict with their Christian faith. Protestant churches of numerical strength are AssemblÃ©es de Dieu, the Convention Baptiste d'HaÃ¯ti, the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Church of God (Cleveland), the Church of the Nazarene, the Ã‰glise Episcopale d'Haiti and the Mission Evangelique Baptiste du Sud-Haiti.

Culture

Culture of Haiti

A distinction should be made between Haitian Vodou and American (New Orleans) Voodoo. They are similar in some respects, but very different in most. Haitian Vodou mostly involves communication with spiritual deities (Lwa or Loa) whereas New Orleans Voodoo usually relies heavier on charms and other talismans resembling another caribbean/afro influenced religion: Hoodoo.

Miscellaneous topics

Communications in Haiti
Foreign relations of Haiti
Kreyol ayisyen
List of Haitian companies
Military of Haiti
Transportation in Haiti Port Au Prince Haiti