Haiti

Haiti  Byenveni nan Ayiti! Page by: Oilvia Mcdonald

History Summary:

Hispaniola was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and was the first island in the New World settled by the Spanish. By 1550, the native culture of the Taino Indians had dissappeared from the island, and Hispaniola became a neglected, annoying speck in the eye of the Spanish Empire. In the mid-1600s, the western third of the island was full of fortune seekers, castaways, and wayward colonists, predominantly French, who became pirates and buccaneers, hunting wild cattle and pigs set upon the country by the earliestEuropean visitors and selling the smoked meat to passing ships. In the mid-1600s, the French used the buccaneers as mercenaries (freebooters) in an unofficial war against the Spanish. In the Treaty of Ryswick of 1697, France forced Spain to cede the western third of Hispaniola. This area became the French colony of Saint Domingue. By 1788, the colony had become the "jewel of the," the richest colony in the world.   In 1789, revolution in France sparked dissension in the colony,which was full of slaves. In 1791, thirty-five thousand slaves rose in an act of rebellion, dystroyed a thousand plantations, and fled to the hills. Thirteen years of war followed. Spanish, English, and French troops were soon battling one another for control of the colony. The imperial powers militarized the slaves, training them in the arts of "modern" warfare. From the mayhem emerged some of the greatest black military men in history, including Toussaint Louverture. In 1804, the last European troops were soundly defeated and driven from the island by a coalition of former slaves and mulattoes. In January 1804 the rebel generals declared independence, inaugurating Haiti as the first sovereign "black" country in the modern world and the second colony in the Western Hemisphere to gain independence from imperial Europe.  Since gaining independence, Haiti has had fleeting moments of glory. An early eighteenth century kingdom ruled by Henri Christophe prospered and thrived in the north, and from 1822 to 1844 Haiti ruled the entire island. The late nineteenth century was a period of intense internecine warfare in which ragtag armies backed by urban politicians and conspiring Western businessmen repeatedly sacked Port-au-Prince. By 1915, the year in which U.S. marines began a nineteen year occupation of the country, Haiti was among the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere.

 Today, Haiti’s population is over five million people and is poor and highly urbanized. It has struggled economically after winning their independence and has not found a solution to their poverty problems.   Things have notchanged and they still find themselves at the bottom of economic power. The people of Haiti are mainly of black-African origin and speak either Haitian Creole or French andare Roman Catholic and Protestant or voodoo worshippers.Voodoo has been the best knownfeature of Haiti and has gained an image of being a country of sorcery and zombies. Many exaggerate the sense of voodoo in Haiti, but the people of the land keep it within the limits of the family.

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History Timeline:  Browse Haiti Timeline by Year » ** [|1492] [|1493] [|1494] [|1496] [|1498] [|1499] [|1502] [|1503] [|1508] [|1528] [|1592] [|1606] [|1625] [|1659] ** ** [|1664] [|1665] [|1670] [|1685] [|1697] [|1743] [|1749] [|1751] [|1758] [|1766] [|1767] [|1772] [|1777] [|1778] [|1779] [|1781] [|1786] [|1789] [|1790] [|1791] ** ** [|1792][|1793] [|1794] [|1795] [|1796] [|1797] [|1798] [|1799] [|1801] [|1802] [|1803] [|1804] [|1805] [|1806] [|1807] [|1808] [|1809] [|1811] [|1812] [|1814] ** ** [|1816] [|1818][|1820] [|1821] [|1822] [|1825] [|1831] [|1838] [|1841] [|1842] [|1843] [|1844] [|1845] [|1846] [|1847] [|1849] [|1852] [|1853] [|1854] [|1858] ** ** [|1859] [|1860] [|1861][|1862] [|1865] [|1867] [|1869] [|1870] [|1872] [|1874] [|1875] [|1876] [|1879] [|1880] [|1882] [|1883] [|1884] [|1885] [|1888] [|1889] ** ** [|1893] [|1896] [|1897] [|1902][|1904] [|1908] [|1911] [|1912] [|1913] [|1914] [|1915] [|1916] [|1917] [|1919] [|1920] [|1921] [|1922] [|1926] [|1928] [|1929] ** ** [|1930] [|1931] [|1933] [|1934] [|1935][|1937] [|1938] [|1940] [|1941] [|1944] [|1946] [|1948] [|1949] [|1950] [|1951] [|1953] [|1954] [|1955] [|1956] [|1957] ** <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">** [|1958] [|1964] [|1967] [|1968] [|1969] [|1970][|1971] [|1972] [|1974] [|1977] [|1979] [|1980] [|1983] [|1985] [|1986] [|1987] [|1988] [|1990] [|1991] [|1992] ** <span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">** [|1993] [|1994] [|1995] [|1996] [|2000] [|2001] [|2002] [|2003] [|2004] [|2005] [|2006] [|2007] [|2008] **


 * 1492 - Dec. 5, Columbus lands on a large island he names Isla Española (Spanish Island), later changed to Hispaniola. It is inhabited by Taino and Arawak Indians.




 * 1791 - August 22 - Slave revolt begins. Tradition says it starts with a voodoo ceremony led by Dutty Boukman. He is captured and executed but revolt spreads and plantations are torched.


 * 1844 - Dominican Republic declares its independence from Haiti.


 * 1904 - Haiti celebrates 100 years of independence.


 * 1930 - First full democratic elections in Haiti; Stenio Vincent elected.


 * 2010 - January 12 - An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 devastates Port-au-Prince and damages much of Hait

http://timelines.ws/countries/HAITI.HTML http://www.theroot.com/views/haiti-historical-timeline


 * Historical Conflicts:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) was a period of brutal conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, leading to the elimination of slavery and the establishment of [|Haiti] as the first republic ruled by people of African ancestry. Although hundreds of rebellions occurred in the New World during the centuries of slavery, only the revolt on Saint-Domingue, which began in 1791, was successful in achieving permanent independence under a new nation. The Haitian Revolution is regarded as a defining moment in the history of Africans in the New World.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">From what I've learned, the Hatians are very peaceful people with no real ememies. While reading an artical, I came across a quote that read, "At this point, I think the only enemies that Haiti has to face are the earthquakes." If you were talking in the context of true enemies, you might be able to count in the French, due to the Haitian Revolution, but currently, they have none.
 * Historical ememies:


 * World Map:


 * Flag and Significance:

<span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0.2em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The flag of Haiti consists of two equal sized horizontal stripes - the top one is blue and the bottom one is red. In the center of the Haitian flag is the country's coat of arms, placed on a white square. The coat of arms consists of a Palmette surrounded by the liberty cap, and under the palms a trophy with the inscription: 'L'Union Fait la Force', which means 'in union there is strength'. The Haitian flag is an adaptation of the French national flag. The blue stripe represents the joining of black Haitians and mulatto Haitians, who are represented by the red stripe. The current Haitian flag was adopted on February 26, 1986. Haiti declared independence from France on January 1, 1804. The Haitian flag was originally blue and red vertical stripes, which was an adaptation of the French national flag. The white stripe of the French flag was omitted because it represented white colonial oppression. The vertical stripes were changed to horizontal stripes in the mid-19th century. The Haitian flag is also very similar to the flag of Liechtenstein.

http://www.flags-flags-flags.org.uk/haiti-flag.htm


 * Culture:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The culture of Haiti is the fusion of the African, West Indian and the French cultures. The national language of Haiti is Creole and this language is widely used in arts, literature, drama, music and dance. The people of Haiti are known as Haitians and they are very creative and artistic people. Works of art of Haiti are recognized world wide because of their unique features and colorful color selection.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Music is a part of Haitian culture and is influenced by French, Spanish and American music. Drum is the most important musical instrument. The famous and world-renowned music of Haiti is the Haitian Compas or Konpa Direk. Compas is a Spanish word meaning "rhythm" or "tones". A Haitian Jazz musician Guignard, first recorded the music in 1937. The music of Haiti is very unique and is taken from Voodoo ceremony and traditions. The music of Haiti involves medium-to-fast tempo beats accompanied by electric guitars, saxophone, synthesizers and a horn. Some of the popular music forms of Haiti are Rara, Mizik Rasin, Mini-Jazz, Zouk and Haitian Rap.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Festivities of Haiti begin in the month of February and are known as Carnivals. At the time of festivities, people get away from their daily routine and are on streets dancing and singing. There are parade floats accompanied by music during the festival season. A musical festival known as Rara is celebrated before Easter with great pomp and show.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">An ancient religion known as Vodou, is still practiced in many parts of the nation. This religion has many traditions and customs that is a fusion of Central and Western Africa, Europe and Taino religions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> The information of Haiti culture would be incomplete without mentioning the cuisine of Haiti. Like its arts and religion, the cuisine is also widely influenced by the cuisines of Africa, Taino and Europe. The staple food of Haitians is rice and beans. The other dishes are Griyo: fried pork, Mayi moulen: cornmeal, Sòs pwa: bean sauce, Sos poul: chicken in sauce and Poisson: fish. The popular Haitian dessert consists of sweetened milk and rice and banana fried in butter.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> The arts and crafts of Haiti are very much in demand in the international market. The art works of Haitian artists are colorful and world famous. Some of the craft works include needlework, embroidery, leather goods, paper-mache, pottery, sequin flag-making and metal crafts. Haiti really is a magic land that is rich in culture. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Comfortable, lightweight Western-style clothes, often made of cotton and linen fabrics, are typically worn in Haiti. School children all wear uniforms. Men often wear a loose-fitting shirt called a guayabera, similar to other countries in the region and in Latin America. While it is acceptable for women to wear pants, most women, especially in rural areas, continue to wear skirts or dresses.
 * Traditional Clothing:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The traditional folk costume for men is a hand-embroidered shirt made of cotton, linen, or denim fabric. Women traditionally wear an embroidered short-sleeved blouse, a colorful skirt, and a scarf wrapped around their hair.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">A preferred seasoning known as Epis in Haiti is commonly referred to as Sofrito by the rest of the region, a basic recipe goes as following: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Scallion,either small green or red pepper,parsley,garlic,and vegetable oil. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">All of the ingredients are blended together and a dash of sugar or marinade is added. Salt should not be included or substituted for this. This season is mainly used to condiment or prepare meats, cooked rice and/or stews.
 * Traditional Foods:

The Earthquake... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/haiti-earthquake

Hope you enjoyed!

this little strand of words is just to take up space.