Ouest ( French ) or Lwès ( Haitian Creole ; both meaning "West") is one of the ten departments of Haiti . It is located in south-central Haiti, linking the Great-North and the Tiburon Peninsula .
53-505: Ouest (French for west) may refer to: Ouest (department) , Haiti Ouest Department (Ivory Coast) , defunct administrative subdivision of Ivory Coast Ouest Province , Cameroon Ouest Province , Rwanda Ouest-France , a French newspaper West France (European Parliament constituency) (French: Ouest ) See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Look up ouest in Wiktionary,
106-465: A prophète (male prophet), and Rey connects Romaine to the transgender feminized religious figures of West Central Africa . The religious leader spoke of being possessed by a female spirit, something comparable to vodou beliefs according to which a person can be possessed by divinities of another gender. Romaine "transgressed conventional gender norms", being visibly feminine in demeanor and appearance, wearing ribbons and rosaries and dressing like
159-643: A Congress and chose Jean-Jacques Dessalines as commander of the Armée Indigènes and chose the Haiti Flag designed by Catherine Flon . According to Thomas Madiou 's recount of the Haitian Revolution, the fight for Port-au-Prince is one of the most important fights. After Gabart gained control of St-Marc , the entire Artibonite region was under the control of Dessalines and the Armée Indigène . In
212-511: A battalion of 400 men led by Boyer and Singlar, destroying the site and capturing Romaine's wife and daughter, although Romaine themself escaped. A letter dated April 12, 1792, published in the Mercure de France and likely written by Ouvière, states that Romaine not only avoided capture but "continues to preach". Nothing further is known of Romaine after 1792. Romaine-la-Prophétesse's religion, ethnic or national origin, and gender identity have been
265-533: A clause in the Code Noir that freed slaves who married their owners; at the time, Adam was 43 years old, and of their three children, Louis-Marie was 11, Pierre-Marie was 9, and Marie-Jeanne was 7. At the time of the wedding, Romaine owned 40 carreaux of land (approximately 127 acres ) and at least two slaves. Adam had at least one other daughter, Marie Louise, who was baptized a free woman in 1763 (at which time Adam had also been recorded as free), and who married
318-482: A dozen bays and harbors. The Bay of Port-au-Prince is the largest in the country and one of the biggest in the Caribbean harboring many islands, cays, and reefs. The island of Gonave is the largest satellite island on Hispaniola being the size of Singapore . The largest lake in the country is a salty lake in a depression in the plain of the same name, Azuei Lake. A smaller lake lies next to it Caiman Lake. Both lakes form
371-409: A fort), about 25 kilometers east of it. They injured or killed slave-owners and symbolically cut their whips, and told enslaved people that the king had freed them. Soon after raids around Jacmel began, Tavet (who had become the mayor of that city) sent a delegation of forty men and several brigades of armed, mounted police (the maréchaussée ) toward Trou Coffy to negotiate a peace treaty, though
424-413: A free black man in 1787, with Romaine listed as her stepfather. Romaine came to be respected in the area, especially in the free black community, and between 1785 and 1791 became a godparent to nine people, while Adam became a godmother to four, connecting the couple to numerous other families. Romaine also served as a witness to at least one marriage, and was friends with three successive curates of
477-450: A national park harboring flamingos and caimans . The hills of Port-au-Prince consist of a mountain from the Massif de la Selle - Cordillera Meridional , where one can find multiple forests such as Foret-des-Pins and Parc-la-Visite. The most important rivers in the department are Blanche River, Froide River, Monance River, and Bois-de-Chène Ravine. The earthquake activities in the area are
530-529: A peace treaty between Trou Coffy and Léogâne giving Romaine control of the government of that city. The treaty was "unprecedented not only in Saint-Domingue but also in the entire revolutionary Atlantic world" in putting a black leader in charge of one of a European colony's most important cities. The white royalist de Villards, who had been named to his post in November in a compromise between local whites and
583-631: A prophetess and dressed as a woman once the uprising began, and may have been transgender or genderfluid . Romaine briefly governed the two main cities in southern Haiti , Léogâne and Jacmel . In 1792, support for violent revolution waned among wealthier free blacks, while formerly-enslaved blacks deserted due to (or disregarded) the peace treaties Romaine had signed to gain control of Léogâne and Jacmel. White colonists, reinforced by France, pushed Romaine's forces back to their base at Trou Coffy and destroyed it, capturing Romaine's wife and daughter. Romaine escaped and continued to preach. Romaine Rivière
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#1732858412696636-762: A result of the Enriquillo-Plantain-Garden fault going from Jamaica to the Dominican Rep passing through the Xaragua Peninsula and the Gonave Microplate . Two well-documented earthquakes happen in the area. On 12 January 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck in the department, the largest in Haiti in two centuries. In the Port-au-Prince Arrondissement , many areas suffered damage. In
689-578: A saber in hand, and preached that God was black. A few contemporary and later accounts say that, like many Haitians, Romaine blended Catholicism with African folk practices and beliefs, and is seen by some writers as a Vodou priest. Carolyn Fick argues that "not one reference to this leader can be found that even vaguely suggests genuine African voodoo practices", but Rey counters that Romaine's use of herbal remedies and other things are suggestive of vodou. Colin Palmer says identifying Romaine outright as
742-584: A turban (other islanders wore headwraps ) and appeared like "a prophet of the Roman religion [in] the clothing of a Turk", and later denounced the insurgent leader as "the Muhammad of Saint Domingue". Other contemporary French accounts were also hostile and regarded the insurgent leader as a "villain", "charlatan", "maniac", or "adventurer". Romaine-la-Prophétesse appears in Victor Hugo 's novel Bug-Jargal , and plays
795-408: A vodou priest is anachronistic, as Romaine was active at a time when Vodou was only just beginning to emerge as a religion, while Rey says that although Romaine's religious practices differed from Makandal , Dutty Boukman and others, "it would be fallacious to conclude therefore that he was not practicing Vodou—or, perhaps, that any of these figures were practicing Vodou", since at the time Vodou
848-406: A week off from work, but it had come to be opposed by a coalition of whites and conservative free blacks, which was reinforced by Saint-Léger's soldiers. On March 12, 1792, Romaine staged a final raid on Léogâne and initially captured its canons, before being repulsed by fire from Saint-Léger's canons, muskets, and frigate La Galathée . On March 25, Saint-Léger decisively raided Trou Coffy with
901-528: A woman. At the same time as identifying as a prophetess, the insurgent leader also identified as either a godson or godchild of the Virgin Mary, and Fick says one critic "claimed that his real intention [...] was to become king of Saint Domingue." Romaine may have been transgender (though Rey argues applying that term could be anachronistic) or genderfluid . Mary Grace Albanese and Hourya Bentouhami [ fr ] count Romaine-la-Prophétesse among
954-820: Is also part of the Ouest department. The department's stretch of coastline lies entirely in the Gulf of Gonâve . A part majority of the department lies in the Plaine-de-Cul-de-Sac which continues to the Dominican Rep. as the Hayo de Enriquillo . Two other plains that lie in the region are the Plain of Arcahaie-Cabaret and the Plain of Léoganes . The Golfe is more than 500 km in length from Mole-Saint-Nicolas to Abricots and it consists of more than
1007-442: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ouest (department) It is the jurisdictional seat of the national capital, the city of Port-au-Prince . It has an area of 4,982.56 square kilometres (1,923.78 sq mi) and a population of 4,029,705 (2015 estimate), making it both the largest department by area and the most populated department in Haiti. The department
1060-467: Is now Fondwa ), becoming a prominent coffee grower and trader. In 1791 and 1792, during the early Haitian Revolution , Romaine led some thirteen thousand slaves and rebels in freeing slaves from and burning the provinces plantations and briefly controlling two major cities, Léogâne and Jacmel . Ogé and Chavannes organized more than 300 blacks the Suisses to rebel against their so-called master. Caradeux
1113-508: The Gulf of Gonave . Leaving Petite-Rivière-de-l'Artibonite on September 15, the general stopped in St-Marc by Gabart and was in Arcahaie by Pétion on September 17. The same night for Croix-des-Bouquets where he camped by Frère. Pétion continued to march toward P-au-P and was by habitation Drouillard the next day. The French general of Croix-des-Bouquets Lux left the arrondissement to go help
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#17328584126961166-576: The Léogâne Arrondissement , the city of Léogâne suffered 80-90% destruction. Other places in Léogâne were also affected. Ouest is the wealthiest department in Haiti, with economic poles in different sectors. Ouest's tourism sector touches on different branches such as leisure tourism in the Cotes-des-Arcadins, eco-tourism with Park Azuei-Caiman and Park La Selle, historical tourism with
1219-400: The women who led the Haitian Revolution . Romaine has been compared to Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita , who professed to be the incarnation of a male Catholic saint, as both of their religious self-identifications "transcended gender". In January 1792, during Romaine's occupation of the city, the mayor of Léogâne referred to the insurgent leader as "hermaphroditic". Ouvière said Rivière wore
1272-616: The City of Port-au-Prince . In 1793 the city fell to the British troops where they built the Fort-National until Toussaint gained it back for the French government. Many maroon troops controlled the mountain around Port-au-Prince mainly Romaine-la-Prophetesse and Lamour Dérance and Cangé. Around 1772, Romaine-la-Prophétesse acquired a plantation named Trou Coffy in the department (likely in what
1325-672: The French troops and Dessalines enter the city proudly with Pétion on his right and Gabart on his left. Pétion , Germain Frère and Yayou are signatories of the Haitian Declaration of Independence . Ouest was part of the Second Military Division of the West with Pétion as commander. Pétion build the twin forts Jacques and Alexandre on the order of Dessalines. On October 17, 1806, coming from Dessalinesville , Emperor Jacques 1st
1378-791: The French troops in P-au-P, he passed by Damien, Sarthe and the convoy was attacked by the Indigènes. By September 23, Cangé left Léogane , marched toward Port-au-Prince, and attacked the Fort-Bizoton in Carrefour , Gabart was at the St-Joseph gate and Dessalines camped in Turgeau a neighborhood located east of the city. The city of Port-au-Prince is officially sieged by the Armée Indigénes. The very next day Pétion
1431-659: The French-colonized side of the island, to the West Province of Saint-Domingue , and there acquired a small coffee plantation named Trou Coffy in a deep, narrow, crater-like valley in the mountains near Léogâne , likely in what is now Fondwa . Various notarial records show Romaine buying and selling land and slaves in the area around Léogâne and Grande Marre in the 1780s, and establish that they had become "a respectable coffee grower and trader" by that time. Romaine met Marie Roze Adam, an enslaved creole (mulatta) woman, on
1484-749: The Port-au-Prince area since 1749 until today. The department is bordered to the north by Artibonite and Centre and the Mattheux mountain chain , the west by the Gulf of Gonave, the south by the Sud-Est department and the La Selle Mountain Chain , and the Dominican Republic to the east through the province of Independencia . It is the second largest department in Haiti after Artibonite . Gonâve Island
1537-671: The Prophetess " ), born Romaine Rivière around 1750 in Santo Domingo , was a free black coffee plantation owner and leader of an uprising early in the Haitian Revolution . In 1791, in response to rising racial tensions in Saint-Domingue and to an armed group gathered at a nearby plantation, Romaine and followers burned that plantation and others throughout southern Haiti, freeing thousands of enslaved people. Romaine identified as
1590-502: The Virgin Mary suggests Romaine had been deeply Marian since long before the insurgency, during which Ouvière "exploit[ed] the prophetess' ardent Catholic piety" to gain Romaine's trust. Shortly after the insurgency began, Romaine professed to be a godchild of the Virgin Mary , and produced written messages supposedly from her calling for the overthrow of slavery. Romaine said Mass with
1643-420: The area was a destroyed Spanish town called Santa-Maria-de-la-Paz-Verdadera, the actual city of Tabarre . The earliest French settlement in the area was a hospital named Morne L'Hopital. In the second half of the 18th century, the French wanted to build a new colonial capital outside the troubled North. One of the suggestions was Petit-Goâve but later they chose the region of l'Hopital building which would become
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1696-590: The countless historical monuments especially the National Museum , and cultural tourism. For many years, agriculture was a part of the economy of the department, with the Arcahaie plain being a center for plantain , the Cul-de-Sac and Léogane being known for large sugar-cane plantations mostly for the production of rum , and the hills of Kenscoff cultivating different vegetables. Unfortunately, over-construction and
1749-762: The ever-expansion of the city, those areas see their fertile land now covered with asphalt and concrete. Much of Haiti's road network extends out of Ouest. The bay harbors many ports of sizable capacity owned or operated by the state or private parties. Haiti's largest airport, the Toussaint Louverture Airport , is located in Delmas . The Department of Ouest is subdivided into five arrondissements , which are further subdivided into twenty communes . (with 2009 Population Estimates in parentheses) Romaine-la-Proph%C3%A9tesse Romaine-la-Prophétesse ( French: [ʁɔmɛn la prɔfetɛs] , " Romaine
1802-420: The eyes of whites and station in planter society were threatened by the slave uprising's revolutionary nature and increasing violence, also came to desire an end to the uprising, and asked the white French Catholic priest and doctor Félix Pascalis Ouvière (Abbé Ouvière) to go to Trou Coffy and negotiate a peace treaty. In late December 1791, Ouvière—who had exchanged letters with Romaine for months—negotiated
1855-531: The forces of André Rigaud , whose free black soldiers esteemed the Trou Coffy insurgents, Romaine directed Léogâne to send food, clothes, and munitions to Rigaud's camp at Bizoton near Port-au-Prince. The violent excesses committed by Romaine's troops, however, made Rigaud unwilling to ally with them. The Trou Coffy uprising freed many slaves, and resulted in pressure on plantation owners to make concessions to those slaves who did not revolt, who were given more days
1908-582: The free black confederacy, remained as mayor, but was subordinate to Romaine. Romaine's forces soon also occupied Jacmel, having by then burned large parts of it. (Later, before ceding control of it, they would set fire to Léogâne as well.) Romaine now controlled a large swath of West Province, but this power, and their control of the Trou Coffy insurgency, was breaking down. During a Mass on New Year's Day in St. Rose de Lima (the oldest church in Haiti) held to solemnize
1961-666: The free dictionary. West (disambiguation) All pages with titles beginning with Ouest All pages with titles containing Ouest Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Ouest . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ouest&oldid=1255310622 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing French-language text Short description
2014-405: The group seems to have decided to try to attack Trou Coffy instead, and sent a request for assistance to Léogâne. In late 1791, with at least ten thousand (and by some estimates as many as thirteen thousand) followers, largely former slaves, Romaine besieged Jacmel and Léogâne. Romaine's closest confidante throughout this insurgency was a son-in-law, Soliment, who had married Marie-Jeanne when she
2067-492: The parish of Léogâne. These connections and alliances allowed Romaine to later quickly gather a number of supporters when inter-racial tensions in the colony rose to the point of open conflict in 1791. In 1791, as tensions between white and black Haitians turned into the Haitian Revolution , Joseph-Marie Tavet, one of the region's richest and most powerful residents, gathered about a hundred armed men at his plantation near Romaine-la-Prophétesse's. Fearing "the mistreatment that
2120-514: The peace treaty between Trou Coffy and Léogâne, insurgents no longer acting under Romaine's control disrupted the homily. Furthermore, after leaving Trou Coffy, Ouvière provided a detailed description of the camp to Romaine's enemies in the colonial government. These enemies were in turn being reinforced: French national commissioner Edmond de Saint-Léger was making his way to Port-au-Prince and mustering troops with which to retake Léogâne even as Romaine's own forces deserted. Seeking an alliance with
2173-414: The plantation of Rene Guindet, as Romaine repeatedly visited this plantation, possibly as a trading partner or employee. Between 1772 and 1777, Adam bore them three children. Romaine spent twelve years working to liberate Adam and their children from slavery, ultimately buying them from Guindet for 6,000 livres on August 10, 1785. Twelve days later, on August 22, Romaine married Adam, taking advantage of
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2226-399: The plantation to the ground. After this, Romaine's supporters increased significantly, numbering in the thousands, including women as well as men, in a general uprising against slavery. Over the course of the uprising, these forces took weapons and supplies from and burned plantations everywhere from Bainet , about 45 kilometers west of Jacmel, to Marigot (where free black insurgents built
2279-558: The rough slave master in the region orderer their execution in Omòl .In 1791, Pétion, Pinchinnat, Beauvais, and more rebelled against the French authority and reclaimed their civil rights. After the Battles of Pernier, Croix-des-Bouquets , and Mirebalais they gained a Concordat, although the slaves did not gain anything. In Arcahaie, on May 18, 1803, the generals of the North and West and Maroons met for
2332-479: The south, only the major port town of Les Cayes was still under French control. In the north, Cap-Haitian and Mole-St-Nicolas are still under French control. Rochambeau anticipated that the next step for Dessalines would be the conquer of Port-au-Prince, so he moved the capital of the colony back to Cap-Francois which would be harder for the British Navy to put under blockade versus Port-au-Prince located in
2385-404: The subject of scholarly discussion and uncertainty. Biographer Terry Rey writes that Romaine was most likely Catholic as well as a figure in the nascence of Haitian Vodou . Rey says that although some critics alleged "that the prophetess opportunistically feigned and exploited religious faith to fan the fires of violent fanaticism", the fact that all three of Romaine's children were named for
2438-465: The whites of the colony never ceased to mete out against the people of color" and feeling obliged to protect them, Romaine called on friends and community connections including free blacks and some poor whites ( petits blancs ) to gather with arms at Trou Coffy, significantly outnumbering Tavet's group. Over several days beginning on or around September 24, 1791, Romaine's forces attacked Tavet's plantation, injuring several people, and eventually burning
2491-502: Was 14 or 15, while Romaine's second-in-command was Elie Courlogne. Third or fourth in command, and directly in charge of Romaine's fight for Jacmel, was a poor white man named Delisle de Bresolle. Many of the area's free blacks initially allied with the charismatic Romaine, and with their support, the Trou Coffy insurgents pressed the inhabitants of Léogâne until they could no longer sustain even minimal resistance and sued for peace. Wealthier free blacks, feeling that their credibility in
2544-671: Was ambushed and assassinated plunging the country into a civil war. His body was buried in St-Anne Cemetery. On January 2, 1904, he received state funerals and later on his body was moved to the Autel de la Patrie in Champs-de-Mars along with Pétion's body. On January 1, 1807, only three years after the Haitian Declaration of Independence , the northern troops fought the western troops in the Sibert Battle, where Pétion almost died. Cabaret
2597-510: Was born around 1750 in Santo Domingo , the Spanish-controlled part of Hispaniola , as a free black person. Their parents' names are given in French records as Jean Rivière and Gabrielle Joseph. Notarial and parochial records describe Romaine as illiterate, or at least unable to make a signature, but Haitian historian Jean Fouchard offers evidence that Romaine was or became otherwise well-educated. By 1772, Romaine had migrated to
2650-452: Was located in the habitation Philippeaux and started bombarding the French troops. By October 5, an aide-de-camp of Lavalette brought a letter to Dessalines with the terms of their capitulation. Dessalines accepted with an exchange of prisoners and adjuvant-general Bonnet came back to the Haitians and gave the French 4 days to leave the city. Thus on September 9 Port-au-Prince was freed from
2703-525: Was not a distinct, uniform religion. Trou Coffy insurgents viewed their leader as a healer (who employed herbal remedies) and a prophetic figure in the mold of generations of Kongolese prophets. Though Romaine was not born in the Kongo, many followers were, and Romaine's Marianism and religious practices were typical of the Kongolese. Romaine prominently identified as a prophétesse (prophetess) rather than
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#17328584126962756-565: Was part of the Xaragua kasika under the leadership of Anacaona. There are many native settlements in the department notably around Akaya , Azuei Lake, Yaguana , the island of Guanabo and Goava . It is understood that the Azuei Plaine region was used as a hunting ground for the natives. The island of Gonave is the last point of refuge for the Taino natives. One of the only Spanish settlements in
2809-415: Was the de facto border between the two states. Under Jean-Pierre Boyer , fearing the return of the French boat, he ordered the construction of a city in the heights like Toussaint with Ennery , Dessalines with Dessalines and Christophe with Milot and naming it after his mentor Pétionville . Being the political center of the country, most of Haiti's political instability and economical fight happen in
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