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102-625: The arondissement consists of the following communes: 18°16′00″N 74°10′00″W  /  18.2667°N 74.1667°W  / 18.2667; -74.1667 This article about a location in Haiti is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Haiti Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea , east of Cuba and Jamaica , and south of The Bahamas . It occupies

204-463: A plantation near Grande-Riviere-du-Nord , Saint-Domingue. His enslaved father had adopted the surname from his owner Henri Duclos. The names of Jean-Jacques's parents, as well as their region of origin in Africa , are not known. Most slaves trafficked to Saint-Domingue were from west and central West Africa. He later took the surname Dessalines, after a free man of color who had purchased him. Working in

306-590: A clause that allowed, for the first time, foreign ownership of land in Haiti, which was bitterly opposed by the Haitian legislature and citizenry. The occupation improved some of Haiti's infrastructure and centralized power in Port-au-Prince. 1700 km of roads were made usable, 189 bridges were built, many irrigation canals were rehabilitated, hospitals, schools, and public buildings were constructed, and drinking water

408-462: A few years. Many enslaved persons died from diseases such as smallpox and typhoid fever . They had low birth rates , and there is evidence that some women aborted fetuses rather than give birth to children within the bonds of slavery . The colony's environment also suffered, as forests were cleared to make way for plantations and the land was overworked so as to extract maximum profit for French plantation owners. As in its Louisiana colony ,

510-546: A job. Dessalines was married to Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur from the city of Léogane . The wedding celebration took place in St-Marc Church and Toussaint Louverture was the witness. Marie-Claire was empress under the 1805 Constitution, and she has been credited with the concoction of the soup lendepandans or Pumpkin Independence Soup, now a UNESCO Patrimoine. She was older than her husband and died when she

612-577: A lieutenant in Papillon's army and followed him to Santo Domingo , occupying the eastern half of the island, where he enlisted to serve Spain's military forces against the French colony of Saint-Domingue. In that period, Dessalines met the rising military commander Toussaint Bréda (later known as Toussaint Louverture ), a mature man also born into slavery. He was fighting with Spanish forces on Hispaniola . These men wanted above all to defeat slavery. In 1794, after

714-501: A local rebel leader to lay down his arms per the recent ceasefire agreement, he immediately wrote Leclerc to denounce Louverture's conduct as 'extraordinary'." For this action, Dessalines and his spouse received gifts from Jean Baptiste Brunet . Louverture and a hundred members of his inner circle were arrested by Brunett on 7 June 1802, and deported to France. Louverture was imprisoned at Fort-de-Joux in Doubs, where he died on 7 April 1803, at

816-740: A national martyr. During Senate hearings in 1921, the commandant of the Marine Corps reported that, in the 20 months of active unrest, 2,250 Haitians had been killed. However, in a report to the Secretary of the Navy, he reported the death toll as being 3,250. Haitian historians have claimed the true number was much higher, but this is not supported by most historians outside Haiti. Jean-Jacques Dessalines Jean-Jacques Dessalines ( Haitian Creole : Jan-Jak Desalin ; French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʒak dɛsalin] ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806)

918-464: A payment of 150 million francs . By an order of 17 April 1826, the King of France renounced his rights of sovereignty and formally recognized the independence of Haiti. The enforced payments to France hampered Haiti's economic growth for years, exacerbated by the fact that many Western states continued to refuse formal diplomatic recognition to Haiti; Britain recognized Haitian independence in 1833, and

1020-594: A rebellion in the 1750s; however, he was later captured and executed by the French. Inspired by the French Revolution of 1789 and principles of the rights of man , the French settlers and free people of color pressed for greater political freedom and more civil rights . Tensions between these two groups led to conflict, as a militia of free-coloreds was set up in 1790 by Vincent Ogé , resulting in his capture, torture and execution. Sensing an opportunity, in August 1791

1122-506: A revolution began, led by General Fabre Geffrard , Duke of Tabara. In December of that year, Geffrard defeated the Imperial Army and seized control of most of the country. As a result, the Emperor abdicated his throne on 15 January 1859. Faustin was taken into exile and General Geffrard succeeded him as president. The period following Soulouque's overthrow down to the turn of the century was

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1224-414: A sabre's blow and he was finally stabbed three times with a dagger, with the crowd shouting "the tyrant is killed". The mob desecrated and disfigured Dessalines' remains, which were abandoned on Government Square. There was resistance to providing him with a proper burial, but Défilée ( Dédée Bazile ), a black woman from a humble background, took the mutilated body of the Emperor and buried it. A monument at

1326-510: A significant uprising, capitulated to the rebels, effectively ending Haitian rule of eastern Hispaniola. In March Rivière-Hérard attempted to reimpose his authority, but the Dominicans inflicted heavy losses. Rivière-Hérard was removed from office by the mulatto hierarchy and replaced with the aged general Philippe Guerrier , who assumed the presidency on 3 May 1844. Guerrier died in April 1845, and

1428-591: A slave holder and isolationist, kept the United States neutral, although private US citizens at times provided aid to French planters trying to put down the revolt. John Adams , a vocal opponent of slavery, fully supported the slave revolt by providing diplomatic recognition, financial support, munitions and warships (including the USS Constitution ) beginning in 1798. This support ended in 1801 when Jefferson, another slave-holding president, took office and recalled

1530-664: A small community of German settlers wielding disproportionate influence in Haiti's economy. The German influence prompted anxieties in the United States, who had also invested heavily in the country, and whose government defended their right to oppose foreign interference in the Americas under the Monroe Doctrine . In December 1914, the Americans removed $ 500,000 from the Haitian National Bank, but rather than seize it to help pay

1632-574: A turbulent one for Haiti, with repeated bouts of political instability. President Geffrard was overthrown in a coup in 1867, as was his successor, Sylvain Salnave , in 1869. Under the Presidency of Michel Domingue (1874–76) relations with the Dominican Republic were dramatically improved by the signing of a treaty, in which both parties acknowledged the independence of the other. Some modernisation of

1734-455: The Code Noir ("Black Code"), prepared by Jean-Baptiste Colbert and ratified by Louis XIV , which established rules on slave treatment and permissible freedoms. Saint-Domingue has been described as one of the most brutally efficient slave colonies; at the end of the eighteenth century it was supplying two-thirds of Europe's tropical produce while one-third of newly imported Africans died within

1836-407: The 1804 Haitian massacre of the remaining French population in Haiti, resulting in the deaths of between 3,000 and 5,000 people, including women and children, and an exodus of thousands of refugees. Some modern historians classify the massacre as a genocide due to its systemic nature. Notably, he excluded surviving Polish Legionnaires , who had defected from the French legion to become allied with

1938-577: The American Colonization Society and its efforts in Liberia . Many found the conditions too harsh and returned to the United States. In July 1825, King Charles X of France , during a period of restoration of the French monarchy , sent a fleet to reconquer Haiti. Under pressure, President Boyer agreed to a treaty by which France formally recognized the independence of the state in exchange for

2040-569: The Americas , La Navidad , on its northeastern coast. The island was part of the Spanish Empire until 1697, when the western portion was ceded to France and became Saint-Domingue , dominated by sugarcane plantations worked by enslaved Africans. The 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution made Haiti the first sovereign state in the Caribbean , the second republic in the Americas, the first country in

2142-505: The French army when Saint-Domingue was fending off Spanish and British incursions. Later he rose to become a commander in the revolt against France. As Toussaint Louverture 's principal lieutenant, he led many successful engagements, including the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot . In 1802, Louverture was betrayed and captured, and sent to prison in France, where he died. Thereafter, Dessalines became

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2244-448: The French colonial government allowed some rights to free people of color ( gens de couleur ), the mixed-race descendants of European male colonists and African enslaved females (and later, mixed-race women). Over time, many were released from slavery and they established a separate social class . White French Creole fathers frequently sent their mixed-race sons to France for their education. Some men of color were admitted into

2346-560: The German government supported suppression of the reform movement of Anténor Firmin , and in 1897, the Germans used gunboat diplomacy to intimidate and then humiliate the Haitian government of President Tirésias Simon Sam (1896–1902) during the Lüders Affair . In the first decades of the 20th century, Haiti experienced great political instability and was heavily in debt to France, Germany and

2448-810: The Kingdom of France . In Haitian Creole , it is spelled and pronounced with a y but no H : Ayiti . Another theory on the name Haiti is its origin in African tradition; in Fon language, one of the most spoken by the bossales (Haitians born in Africa), Ayiti-Tomè means: "From nowadays this land is our land." In the Haitian community the country has multiple nicknames: Ayiti-Toma (as its origin in Ayiti Tomè), Ayiti-Cheri (Ayiti my Darling), Tè-Desalin (Dessalines' Land) or Lakay (Home). The island of Hispaniola , of which Haiti occupies

2550-486: The Kingdom of Haiti in the north directed by Henri Christophe, later declaring himself Henri I , and a republic in the south centered on Port-au-Prince, directed by Alexandre Pétion , an homme de couleur . Pétion's republic was less absolutist, and he initiated a series of land reforms which benefited the peasant class. President Pétion also gave military and financial assistance to the revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar , which were critical in enabling him to liberate

2652-767: The United Nations intervened . In 2010, a catastrophic earthquake and a deadly cholera outbreak devastated the country. Haiti is a founding member of the United Nations , Organization of American States (OAS), Association of Caribbean States , and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie . In addition to CARICOM , it is a member of the International Monetary Fund , World Trade Organization , and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States . Historically poor and politically unstable, Haiti has

2754-467: The Viceroyalty of New Granada . Meanwhile, the French, who had managed to maintain a precarious control of eastern Hispaniola, were defeated by insurgents led by Juan Sánchez Ramírez , with the area returning to Spanish rule in 1809 following the Battle of Palo Hincado . Beginning in 1821, President Jean-Pierre Boyer , also an homme de couleur and successor to Pétion, reunified the island following

2856-416: The genocide of nearly all the remaining white men, women, children; between January and April 1804, 3,000 to 5,000 whites were killed, including those who had been friendly and sympathetic to the black population. Only three categories of white people were selected out as exceptions and spared: Polish soldiers, the majority of whom had deserted from the French army and fought alongside the Haitian rebels;

2958-490: The sugarcane fields as a laborer, Dessalines rose to the rank of commandeur , or foreman. He worked on Duclos's plantation until he was about 30 years old. Still enslaved, Jean-Jacques was bought by a man with the last name of Dessalines, an affranchi or free man of color , who assigned his own surname to Jean-Jacques. From then on he was called Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Dessalines kept this name after he gained his freedom. He worked for that master for about three years. When

3060-571: The 1788 Census, Haiti's population consisted of nearly 25,000 Europeans, 22,000 free coloreds and 700,000 Africans in slavery. In contrast, by 1763 the white population of French Canada , a far larger territory, had numbered only 65,000. In the north of the island, those enslaved were able to retain many ties to African cultures, religion and language; these ties were continually being renewed by newly imported Africans. Some West Africans in slavery held on to their traditional Vodou beliefs by secretly syncretizing it with Catholicism. The French enacted

3162-491: The 18,000-strong Haitian army, with a 5,000-man Dominican counterattack failing to oust them. The way to Santo Domingo was now clear. But the news of discontent existing at Port-au-Prince, which reached Soulouque, arrested his further progress and caused him to return with the army to his capital. Emboldened by the sudden retreat of the Haitian army, the Dominicans counter-attacked. Their flotilla went as far as Dame-Marie on

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3264-469: The Americas to officially abolish slavery, and the only country in history established by a slave revolt . The 19th century saw political instability, international isolation, debt to France , and failed invasions of the Dominican Republic, including a costly war . U.S. forces occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934, followed by dictatorial rule of the Duvalier family (1957–1986). After a coup d'état in 2004 ,

3366-532: The Declaration of Independence in 1804, and declared himself emperor. On 1 January 1804, from the city of Gonaïves , Dessalines officially declared the former colony's independence and renamed it " Ayiti " after the indigenous Taíno name. He had served as Governor-General of Saint-Domingue since 30 November 1803. After the declaration of independence, Dessalines named himself Governor-General-for-life of Haiti and served in that role until 22 September 1804, when he

3468-417: The Dominicans were given a further breathing space in which to consolidate their independence. But, when in 1848 France finally recognized the Dominican Republic as a free and independent state and provisionally signed a treaty of peace, friendship, commerce and navigation, Haiti immediately protested, claiming the treaty was an attack upon their own security. Soulouque decided to invade the new Republic before

3570-515: The French Government could ratify the treaty. On 21 March 1849, Haitian soldiers attacked the Dominican garrison at Las Matas . The demoralized defenders offered almost no resistance before abandoning their weapons. Soulouque pressed on, capturing San Juan . This left only the town of Azua as the remaining Dominican stronghold between the Haitian army and the capital. On 6 April, Azua fell to

3672-635: The French declared an end to slavery as a result of the French Revolution, Toussaint Louverture switched allegiances to the French. He fought for the French Republic against both the Spanish and British, who were trying to get control of the lucrative colony of Saint-Domingue. Dessalines followed, becoming a chief lieutenant to Toussaint Louverture and rising to the rank of brigadier general by 1799. Dessalines commanded many successful engagements, including

3774-485: The French equivalent of Santo Domingo , the Spanish colony on Hispaniola . The French set about creating sugar and coffee plantations, worked by vast numbers of those enslaved imported from Africa , and Saint-Domingue grew to become their richest colonial possession, generating 40% of France’s foreign trade and doubling the wealth generation of all of England’s colonies, combined. The French settlers were outnumbered by enslaved persons by almost 10 to 1. According to

3876-529: The French troops at the Battle of Vertières on 18 November 1803, establishing the first state ever to successfully gain independence through a slave revolt. Under the overall command of Dessalines, the Haitian armies avoided open battle, and instead conducted a successful guerrilla campaign against the Napoleonic forces, working with diseases such as yellow fever to reduce the numbers of French soldiers. Later that year France withdrew its remaining 7,000 troops from

3978-419: The French troops under his command. The brutal tactics of Leclerc's successor, Rochambeau , helped to unify rebel forces against the French. The rebels achieved a series of victories, culminating in the last major battle of the revolution, the Battle of Vertières . On 18 November 1803, black and mulatto forces under Dessalines and Pétion attacked the fort of Vertières, held by Rochambeau, near Cap-Français in

4080-580: The Haitian Revolution. After the expulsion of French forces during the last phase of the Haitian Revolution, Dessalines ordered all remaining Europeans (overwhelmingly French people ) in the new Republic of Haiti to be killed, men, women and children, including those who had been friendly and sympathetic to the black population. Many free people of color were also killed. Yet, after declaring himself Governor-for-Life in 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines took his old master Dessalines into his house and gave him

4182-654: The Magua in the northeast, the Marien in the northwest, the Jaragua in the southwest, the Maguana in the central regions of Cibao, and the Higüey in the southeast. Taíno cultural artifacts include cave paintings in several locations in the country. These have become national symbols of Haiti and tourist attractions. Modern-day Léogâne , started as a French colonial town in the southwest, is beside

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4284-463: The Marines had taken control of the capital city and its banks and customs house. The Marines declared martial law and severely censored the press. Within weeks, a new pro-U.S. Haitian president, Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave , was installed and a new constitution written that was favorable to the interests of the United States. The constitution (written by future US President Franklin D. Roosevelt ) included

4386-588: The South of Saint-Domingue, an area where wealthy gens de couleur were concentrated in plantations. Toussaint Louverture's forces had defeated them three years earlier. After the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot , Dessalines defected from his long-time ally Louverture and briefly sided with Leclerc, Pétion, and Rigaud. Several historians attribute Dessalines with being at least partially responsible for Louverture's arrest, as did Louverture's son Isaac. On 22 May 1802, after Dessalines "learned that Louverture had failed to instruct

4488-450: The Spanish forced natives to work in gold mines and plantations. The Spanish passed the Laws of Burgos (1512–1513), which forbade the maltreatment of natives, endorsed their conversion to Catholicism, and gave legal framework to encomiendas . The natives were brought to these sites to work in specific plantations or industries. As the Spanish re-focused their colonization efforts on

4590-445: The U.S. financial advisor-general receiver handled the budget until 1941. The U.S. Marines were instilled with a special brand of paternalism towards Haitians "expressed in the metaphor of a father's relationship with his children." Armed opposition to the US presence was led by the cacos under the command of Charlemagne Péralte ; his capture and execution in 1919 earned him the status of

4692-578: The US Navy. With slavery abolished, Toussaint Louverture pledged allegiance to France, and he fought off the British and Spanish forces who had taken advantage of the situation and invaded Saint-Domingue. The Spanish were later forced to cede their part of the island to France under the terms of the Peace of Basel in 1795, uniting the island under one government. However, an insurgency against French rule broke out in

4794-618: The United States not until 1862. Haiti borrowed heavily from Western banks at extremely high interest rates to repay the debt. Although the amount of the reparations was reduced to 90 million in 1838, by 1900 80% of Haiti's government spending was debt repayment and the country did not finish repaying it until 1947. After losing the support of Haiti's elite, Boyer was ousted in 1843, with Charles Rivière-Hérard replacing him as president. Nationalist Dominican forces in eastern Hispaniola led by Juan Pablo Duarte seized control of Santo Domingo on 27 February 1844. The Haitian forces, unprepared for

4896-524: The United States. A series of short lived presidencies came and went: President Pierre Nord Alexis was forced from power in 1908, as was his successor François C. Antoine Simon in 1911; President Cincinnatus Leconte (1911–12) was killed in a (possibly deliberate) explosion at the National Palace; Michel Oreste (1913–14) was ousted in a coup, as was his successor Oreste Zamor in 1914. Germany increased its influence in Haiti in this period, with

4998-486: The age of 59. When it became apparent that the French intended to re-establish slavery on Saint-Domingue, as they had on Guadeloupe , Dessalines and Pétion switched sides again in October 1802, to oppose the French. By November 1802, Dessalines had become the leader of the alliance with the blessing of Pétion, the most prominent of the affranchis , or free men of color. Leclerc died of yellow fever , which also killed many of

5100-442: The architect of the 1804 massacre of the remaining French residents of newly independent Haiti, including some supporters of the revolution. Alongside Toussaint Louverture , he has been referred to as one of the fathers of the nation of Haiti. Dessalines was directly responsible for the country, and, under his rule, Haiti became the first country in the Americas to permanently abolish slavery. Dessalines served as an officer in

5202-468: The captures of Jacmel , Petit-Goâve , Miragoâne and Anse-à-Veau . In 1801, Dessalines quickly ended an insurrection in the north led by Louverture's nephew, General Moyse. Dessalines gained a reputation for his " take no prisoners " policy, and for burning homes and entire villages to the ground. The rebellious slaves were able to restore most of Saint-Domingue to France, with Louverture in control. The French initially appointed him as governor-general of

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5304-609: The colonialists. Many white colonialists planters and merchants, in addition to free people of color, had already fled the island as refugees, going to Cuba, the United States, and France. Between February and April 1804, Dessalines ordered a massacre of the remaining colonists in Haiti, an event that came to be called the 1804 Haiti massacre . In the Haitian Constitution of 1805, Dessalines declared Haiti to be an all-black nation and forbade white colonists from owning property or land there. Property that belonged to white colonists

5406-513: The colony. Six months later, the National Convention , led by Maximilien de Robespierre and the Jacobins , endorsed abolition and extended it to all the French colonies. The United States , which was a new republic itself, oscillated between supporting or not supporting Toussaint Louverture and the emerging country of Haiti, depending on who was President of the US. Washington, who was

5508-489: The colony. Louverture wanted Saint-Domingue to have more autonomy. He directed the creation of a new constitution to establish that, as well as rules for how the colony would operate under freedom. He also named himself governor-for-life, while still swearing his loyalty to France. The French government had been through changes after the Revolution and was by then led by Napoleon Bonaparte . His wife, Josephine de Beauharnais ,

5610-730: The command of his brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc , to reassert French control. The French achieved some victories, but within a few months most of their army had died from yellow fever . Ultimately more than 50,000 French troops died in an attempt to retake the colony, including 18 generals. The French managed to capture Louverture, transporting him to France for trial. He was imprisoned at Fort de Joux , where he died in 1803 of exposure and possibly tuberculosis . The enslaved persons, along with free gens de couleur and allies, continued their fight for independence, led by generals Jean-Jacques Dessalines , Alexandre Pétion and Henry Christophe . The rebels finally managed to decisively defeat

5712-455: The debt, it was removed for safe-keeping in New York, thus giving the United States control of the bank and preventing other powers from doing so. This gave a stable financial base on which to build the economy, and to enable the debt to be repaid. In 1915, Haiti's new President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam sought to strengthen his tenuous rule by a mass execution of 167 political prisoners. Outrage at

5814-631: The east, and in the west there was fighting between Louverture's forces and the free people of color led by André Rigaud in the War of the Knives (1799–1800). The United States' support for the blacks in the war contributed to their victory over the mulattoes. More than 25,000 whites and free blacks left the island as refugees. After Louverture created a separatist constitution and proclaimed himself governor-general for life, Napoléon Bonaparte in 1802 sent an expedition of 20,000 soldiers and as many sailors under

5916-550: The eastern part of the island, reaching Santo Domingo before retreating in the face of a French naval squadron. In declaring Haiti an independent country, Dessalines also confirmed the abolition of slavery in the new country. Haiti became the first country in the Americas to permanently abolish slavery. Dessalines tried to keep the sugar industry and plantations running and producing without slavery. After having served enslaved under colonialists masters for 30 years, as well as having seen many atrocities, Dessalines did not trust

6018-456: The economy and infrastructure also occurred in this period, especially under the Presidencies of Lysius Salomon (1879–1888) and Florvil Hyppolite (1889–1896). Haiti's relations with outside powers were often strained. In 1889 the United States attempted to force Haiti to permit the building of a naval base at Môle Saint-Nicolas , which was firmly resisted by President Hyppolite. In 1892

6120-472: The enslaved Africans, as well as the Germans who did not take part in the slave trade. He granted them full citizenship under the constitution and classified them as black , along with all other Haitian citizens. Tensions remained with the minority of mixed-race or free people of color , who had gained some education and property during the colonial period. Jean-Jacques Duclos was born into slavery on Cormier,

6222-505: The entire island of Hispaniola . The name was restored by Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines as the official name of independent Saint-Domingue, as a tribute to the Amerindian predecessors. In French, the ï in Ha ï ti has a diacritical mark (used to show that the second vowel is pronounced separately, as in the word na ï ve ), while the H is silent. (In English, this rule for

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6324-632: The first slave armies were established in northern Haiti under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture inspired by the Vodou houngan (priest) Boukman, and backed by the Spanish in Santo Domingo – soon a full-blown slave rebellion had broken out across the entire colony. In 1792, the French government sent three commissioners with troops to re-establish control; to build an alliance with the gens de couleur and enslaved persons commissioners Léger-Félicité Sonthonax and Étienne Polverel abolished slavery in

6426-540: The former capital of the caciquedom of Xaragua. Navigator Christopher Columbus landed in Haiti on 6 December 1492, in an area that he named Môle-Saint-Nicolas , and claimed the island for the Crown of Castile . Nineteen days later, his ship the Santa María ran aground near the present site of Cap-Haïtien . Columbus left 39 men on the island, who founded the settlement of La Navidad on 25 December 1492. Relations with

6528-704: The fort up should the French break through. The defenders inflicted extensive casualties on the attacking army, but after a 20-day siege, they were forced to abandon the fort due to a shortage of food and munitions. The rebels forced their way through the enemy lines and into the Cahos Mountains, with their army still largely intact. The French soldiers under Leclerc were accompanied by mulatto troops led by Alexandre Pétion and André Rigaud , free gens de couleur from Saint-Domingue. Pétion and Rigaud, both sons of wealthy white fathers, had opposed Louverture's leadership. They had tried to establish separate independence in

6630-417: The greater riches of mainland Central and South America, Hispaniola became reduced largely to a trading and refueling post. As a result piracy became widespread, encouraged by European powers hostile to Spain such as France (based on Île de la Tortue ) and England. The Spanish largely abandoned the western third of the island, focusing their colonization effort on the eastern two-thirds. The western part of

6732-567: The intensive production of pottery and agriculture. The earliest evidence of the ancestors of the Taino people on Hispaniola is the Ostionoid culture, which dates to around 600 AD. In Taíno society the largest unit of political organization was led by a cacique , or chief, as the Europeans understood them. At the time of European contact, the island of Hispaniola was divided among five 'caciquedoms':

6834-803: The island and Napoleon gave up his idea of re-establishing a North American empire, selling Louisiana (New France) to the United States , in the Louisiana Purchase . Throughout the revolution, an estimated 20,000 French troops succumbed to yellow fever, while another 37,000 were killed in action , exceeding the total French soldiers killed in action across various 19th-century colonial campaigns in Algeria, Mexico, Indochina, Tunisia, and West Africa, which resulted in approximately 10,000 French soldiers killed in action combined. The British sustained 45,000 dead. Additionally, 350,000 ex-enslaved Haitians died. In

6936-490: The island was thus gradually settled by French buccaneers ; among them was Bertrand d'Ogeron, who succeeded in growing tobacco and recruited many French colonial families from Martinique and Guadeloupe . In 1697 France and Spain settled their hostilities on the island by way of the Treaty of Ryswick of 1697, which divided Hispaniola between them. France received the western third and subsequently named it Saint-Domingue,

7038-463: The island, an army and ships led by General Charles Leclerc . Louverture and Dessalines fought against the invading French forces, with Dessalines fighting them at the battle for which he is most famous, Crête-à-Pierrot . During the 11 March 1802 battle, Dessalines and his 1,300 men defended a small fort against 18,000 attackers. To inspire his troops at the start of the battle, he waved a lit torch near an open powder keg and declared that he would blow

7140-440: The killings led to riots, and Sam was captured and killed by a lynch mob. Fearing possible foreign intervention, or the emergence of a new government led by the anti-American Haitian politician Rosalvo Bobo , President Woodrow Wilson sent U.S. Marines into Haiti in July 1915. The USS  Washington , under Rear Admiral Caperton , arrived in Port-au-Prince in an attempt to restore order and protect U.S. interests. Within days,

7242-412: The leader of the revolution and Général-Chef de l' Armée Indigène on 18 May 1803. His forces defeated the French army at the Battle of Vertières on 18 November 1803. Saint-Domingue was declared independent on 29 November and then as the independent Republic of Haiti on 1 January 1804, under the leadership of Dessalines, chosen by a council of generals to assume the office of governor-general. He ordered

7344-409: The light-skinned elite, as gens de couleur were most likely to have been educated. Disaffected members of Dessalines's administration, including Alexandre Pétion and Henri Christophe , began a conspiracy to overthrow the Emperor. Dessalines was assassinated north of the capital city, Port-au-Prince , at Larnage (now known as Pont-Rouge), on 17 October 1806, on his way to fight the rebels. His body

7446-400: The lowest Human Development Index in the Americas. By 2024, Haiti has faced severe economic and political crises , gang activity, and the collapse of its government. With no elected officials remaining, Haiti has been described as a failed state . Haiti (also earlier Hayti ) comes from the indigenous Taíno language and means "land of high mountains"; it was the native name for

7548-581: The military. More of the free people of color lived in the south of the island, near Port-au-Prince , and many intermarried within their community. They frequently worked as artisans and tradesmen, and began to own some property, including enslaved persons of their own. The free people of color petitioned the colonial government to expand their rights. The brutality of slave life led many people in bondage to escape to mountainous regions, where they set up their own autonomous communities and became known as maroons . One maroon leader, François Mackandal , led

7650-473: The most prominent mulatto figure, but Pétion refused under the pretext that she was in a relationship with Chancy, one of Toussaint's nephews. Euphémie Daguile, one of his best known concubines , was the choreographer of the Karabiyen dance known also as Jacques' favorite dance. It is still danced by Haitian families all over the country. Dessalines had two brothers, Louis and Joseph Duclos, who also later took

7752-555: The nation. His forces were strict in enforcing this, to the extent that some blacks felt as if they were again enslaved. Dessalines also believed in the tight regulation of foreign trade, which was essential for Haiti's sugar and coffee -based export economy. Like Toussaint Louverture, Dessalines encouraged merchants from Britain and the United States over those from France. For his administration, Dessalines needed literate and educated officials and managers. He placed in these positions well-educated Haitians, who were disproportionately from

7854-456: The native peoples, initially good, broke down and the settlers were later killed by the Taíno. The sailors carried endemic Eurasian infectious diseases , causing epidemics that killed a large number of native people. The first recorded smallpox epidemic in the Americas erupted on Hispaniola in 1507. Their numbers were further reduced by the harshness of the encomienda system, in which

7956-702: The new republic. The Southern politicians who were a powerful voting bloc in the American Congress prevented U.S. recognition for decades until they withdrew in 1861 to form the Confederacy . The revolution led to a wave of emigration. In 1809, 9,000 refugees from Saint-Domingue, both white planters and people of color, settled en masse in New Orleans , doubling the city's population, having been expelled from their initial refuge in Cuba by Spanish authorities. In addition,

8058-438: The newly arrived enslaved persons added to the city's African population. The plantation system was re-established in Haiti, albeit for wages; however, many Haitians were marginalized and resented the heavy-handed manner in which this was enforced in the new nation's politics. The rebel movement splintered, and Dessalines was assassinated by rivals on 17 October 1806. After Dessalines' death Haiti became split into two, with

8160-468: The north. Rochambeau and his troops surrendered the next day. On 4 December 1803, the French colonial army of Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered its last remaining territory to Dessalines's forces. This officially ended the only slave rebellion in world history which successfully established an independent nation. In the process, Dessalines became arguably the most successful military commander in Haiti's struggle against Napoleonic France. Dessalines promulgated

8262-504: The process, Dessalines became arguably the most successful military commander in the struggle against Napoleonic France. The independence of Saint-Domingue was proclaimed under the native name 'Haiti' by Jean-Jacques Dessalines on 1 January 1804 in Gonaïves and he was proclaimed "Emperor for Life" as Emperor Jacques I by his troops. Dessalines at first offered protection to the white planters and others. However, once in power, he ordered

8364-483: The pronunciation is often disregarded, thus the spelling Haiti is used.) There are different anglicizations for its pronunciation such as HIGH-ti , high-EE-ti and haa-EE-ti , which are still in use, but HAY-ti is the most widespread and best-established. In French, Haiti's nickname means the "Pearl of the Antilles" ( La Perle des Antilles ) because of both its natural beauty and the amount of wealth it accumulated for

8466-545: The slave uprising of 1791 began, it spread across the Plaine-du-Nord . This was an area of very large sugar cane plantations, where the mass of enslaved Africans lived and worked. Mortality was so high that French colonial planters continued to buy more enslaved people from Africa during the eighteenth century. Dessalines received his early military training from a woman whose name was either Victoria Montou or Akbaraya Tòya. Dessalines became increasingly embittered toward both

8568-412: The small group of German colonists invited to the north-west region ; and a group of medical doctors and professionals. Reportedly, people with connections to officers in the Haitian army were also spared, as well as the women who agreed to marry non-white men. Fearful of the potential impact the slave rebellion could have in the slave states , U.S. President Thomas Jefferson refused to recognize

8670-814: The suicide of Henry Christophe. After Santo Domingo declared its independence from Spain on 30 November 1821, Boyer invaded, seeking to unite the entire island by force and ending slavery in Santo Domingo. Struggling to revive the agricultural economy to produce commodity crops , Boyer passed the Code Rural, which denied peasant laborers the right to leave the land, enter the towns, or start farms or shops of their own, causing much resentment as most peasants wished to have their own farms rather than work on plantations. Starting in September 1824, more than 6,000 African Americans migrated to Haiti, with transportation paid by an American philanthropic group similar in function to

8772-410: The surname Dessalines. Two of his brothers' sons became high-ranking members of the post-Revolutionary Haitian government. In 1791, along with thousands of other enslaved persons, Jean-Jacques Dessalines joined the slave rebellion of the northern plains led by Jean François Papillon and Georges Biassou . This rebellion was the first action of what would become the Haitian Revolution. Dessalines became

8874-506: The war against the Dominicans having become very unpopular in Haiti, it was beyond the power of the new president, General Jean-Baptiste Riché , to stage another invasion. On 27 February 1847, President Riché died after only a year in power and was replaced by an obscure officer, General Faustin Soulouque . During the first two years of Soulouque's administration the conspiracies and opposition he faced in retaining power were so manifold that

8976-462: The west coast of Haiti, which they plundered and set on fire. After another Haitian campaign in 1855, Britain and France intervened and obtained an armistice on behalf of the Dominicans, who declared independence as the Dominican Republic. The sufferings endured by the soldiers during the campaign of 1855, and the losses and sacrifices inflicted on the country without yielding any compensation or any practical results provoked great discontent. In 1858

9078-528: The western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic . Haiti is the third largest country in the Caribbean , and with an estimated population of 11.4 million, is the most populous Caribbean country. The capital and largest city is Port-au-Prince . Haiti was originally inhabited by the Taíno people. In 1492, Christopher Columbus established the first European settlement in

9180-570: The western three-eighths, has been inhabited since around 6,000 years ago by Native Americans who are thought to have arrived from Central or northern South America. These Archaic Age people are thought to have been largely hunter gatherers. During the 1st millennium BC , the Arawakan-speaking ancestors of the Taino people began to migrate into the Caribbean. Unlike the Archaic peoples, they practiced

9282-491: The whites and gens de couleur libres (the mixed-race residents of Saint-Domingue) in the years of conflict during the revolution. Haitian insurgents fought against French colonists and foreign troops in Saint-Domingue. During the years of warfare and changing rule, these included French, British, and Spanish forces. All three European nations had colonies in the Caribbean , where their control and revenues were threatened by

9384-449: Was 100 years old. She was referred to as the adopted wife of the Nation in a letter by Pétion after the Emperor's assassination. The couple had or adopted a total number of 16 children including Jacques' from the previous relationship. Innocent, one of his sons, has a fort named in his honor. Dessalines offered one of his daughters to Pétion in an attempt to relieve racial tensions, as Pétion was

9486-508: Was also introduced to Haiti, and sugarcane and cotton became significant exports, boosting prosperity. Haitian traditionalists, based in rural areas, were highly resistant to U.S.-backed changes, while the urban elites, typically mixed-race, welcomed the growing economy, but wanted more political control. Together they helped secure an end to the occupation in 1934, under the Presidency of Sténio Vincent (1930–1941). The debts were still outstanding, though less due to increased prosperity, and

9588-432: Was brought to the main cities. Agricultural education was organized, with a central school of agriculture and 69 farms in the country. However, many infrastructure projects were built using the corvée system that allowed the government/occupying forces to take people from their homes and farms, at gunpoint if necessary, to build roads, bridges etc. by force, a process that was deeply resented by ordinary Haitians. Sisal

9690-454: Was declared to be "by incontestable right confiscated to the benefit of the state." Dessalines enforced a harsh regimen of plantation labor, described by the historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot as caporalisme agraire (agrarian militarism). As had Toussaint Louverture, Dessalines demanded that all blacks work either as soldiers to defend the nation or as laborers on the plantations, in order to raise commodity crops for export and to help sustain

9792-719: Was dismembered and mutilated. His body was picked up by Marie-Sainte Dédé Bazile and buried in the Cimetière intérieur of Church Ste-Anne and a tomb was raised by Étienne Gérin's wife with the inscription: Ci-git Dessalines, mort à 48 ans (Here lies Dessalines, died at 48 years old). His body was later moved to the Autel de la Patrie (Altar of the Nation) in the Champs-de-Mars alongside Alexandre Pétion's body. The exact circumstances of Dessalines' death are uncertain. Some historians claim that he

9894-486: Was from a slave-owning family. But many white and mulatto planters had been lobbying the government to reimpose slavery in Saint-Domingue. Napoleon was committed to restoring slavery in Saint-Domingue in an effort to restore the basis of the labor to cultivate and process the great sugar crops. Saint-Domingue generated the highest profits of any of the French colonies prior to the Revolution in 1791. The French dispatched an expeditionary force in 1802 to restore French rule to

9996-415: Was killed at Pétion's house at Rue l'Enterrement, after a meeting to negotiate the power and the future of the young nation. Some reports say that he was arrested and was dealt a deadly blow to the head. Another report says he was ambushed and killed at first fire. Yet another account recalls a brutal attack on Dessalines by his men. It says he was shot at twice and hit once. Then his head was split open by

10098-497: Was proclaimed Emperor of Haiti by the generals of the Haitian Revolutionary army. He was crowned Emperor Jacques I in a coronation ceremony on 6 October in the city of Le Cap (now Cap-Haïtien ). On 20 May 1805, his government released the imperial constitution, naming Jean-Jacques Dessalines emperor for life with the right to name his successor. In 1805, after crowning himself Emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines invaded in

10200-416: Was stopped on the frontier. On 1 January 1846 Pierrot announced a fresh campaign to reimpose Haitian suzerainty over eastern Hispaniola, but his officers and men greeted this fresh summons with contempt. Thus, a month later – February 1846 – when Pierrot ordered his troops to march against the Dominicans, the Haitian army mutinied, and its soldiers proclaimed his overthrow as president of the republic. With

10302-402: Was succeeded by General Jean-Louis Pierrot . Pierrot's most pressing duty as the new president was to check the incursions of the Dominicans, who were harassing the Haitian troops. Dominican gunboats were also making depredations on Haiti's coasts. President Pierrot decided to open a campaign against the Dominicans, whom he considered merely as insurgents; however, the Haitian offensive of 1845

10404-519: Was the first Haitian Emperor , leader of the Haitian Revolution , and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution . Initially regarded as governor-general, Dessalines was later named Emperor of Haiti as Jacques I (1804–1806) by generals of the Haitian Revolutionary army and ruled in that capacity until being assassinated in 1806. He spearheaded the resistance against French rule of Saint-Domingue , and eventually became

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