Haiti

Haiti (Haïti ; Ayiti ), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti) and formerly called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Jamaica lies about 145 km south of Cuba, and 191 km west of Hispaniola (the island containing the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic); the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands lies some 215 km to the north-west.

It occupies the western three-eighths of the island which it shares with the Dominican Republic.

It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of only two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two sovereign states.

Haiti (Haïti ; Ayiti ), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti) and formerly called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Haiti is 27750 km2 in size and has an estimated population of million, making it the most populous country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Cuba.

It is east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

Haiti (Haïti ; Ayiti ), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti) and formerly called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Since 1808, the 76192 km2 island has been divided into two separate, sovereign nations: the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic (48,445 km 2, 18,705 sq mi) to the east and French / French-based Haitian Creole-speaking Haiti (27,750 km 2, 10,710 sq mi) to the west.

After 12 years of conflict, Napoleon Bonaparte's forces were defeated by Louverture's successor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared Haiti's sovereignty on 1 January 1804 — the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, the first country to abolish slavery, and the only state in history established by a successful slave revolt.

The term was used also by Napoleon III's French government in the 1860s as Amérique latine to consider French-speaking territories in the Americas (French Canadians, French Louisiana, French Guiana, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy), along with the larger group of countries where Spanish and Portuguese languages prevailed, including the Spanish-speaking portions of the United States (Southwestern United States and Florida) Today, areas of Canada (such as Quebec) and the United States (with the exception of Puerto Rico) where Spanish, Portuguese and French are predominant are typically not included in definitions of Latin America.

In the midst of the French Revolution (1789–99), slaves and free people of color launched the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), led by a former slave and the first black general of the French Army, Toussaint Louverture.

The Haitian Revolution (Révolution haïtienne ) was a successful anti-slavery and anti-colonial insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign nation of Haiti.

In the midst of the French Revolution (1789–99), slaves and free people of color launched the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), led by a former slave and the first black general of the French Army, Toussaint Louverture.

However, his achievements set the grounds for the black army's absolute victory and for Jean-Jacques Dessalines to declare the sovereign state of Haiti in January 1804.

To its south-west lies the small island of Navassa Island, which is claimed by Haiti but is disputed as a United States territory under federal administration.

Located northeast of Jamaica, south of Cuba, 40 nmi west of Jérémie on the south west peninsula of Haiti, the island is subject to an ongoing territorial dispute between Haiti and the United States, which administers through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Apart from Alexandre Pétion, the first President of the Republic, all of Haiti's first leaders were former slaves.

Alexandre Sabès Pétion (April 2, 1770 – March 29, 1818) was the first President of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818.

After 12 years of conflict, Napoleon Bonaparte's forces were defeated by Louverture's successor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared Haiti's sovereignty on 1 January 1804 — the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, the first country to abolish slavery, and the only state in history established by a successful slave revolt.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: Jan-Jak Desalin; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution.

Since the turn of the 21st century, the country has endured a coup d'état, which prompted a U.N. intervention, as well as a deadly earthquake that killed over 250,000.

The 2004 Haitian coup d'état occurred after conflicts lasting for several weeks in Haiti during February 2004.

The first Europeans arrived on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus, who initially believed he had found India or China.

Columbus subsequently visited the islands now known as Cuba and Hispaniola, establishing a colony in what is now Haiti—the first European settlement in the Americas since the Norse colonies nearly 500 years earlier.

Haiti is 27750 km2 in size and has an estimated population of million, making it the most populous country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Cuba.

The organization has become multilingual with the addition of Dutch-speaking Suriname in 1995 and Haitian- and French-speaking Haiti in 2002.

Haiti (Haïti ; Ayiti ), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti) and formerly called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Six island states share the region of the Greater Antilles in total, with Haiti and the Dominican Republic sharing the island of Hispaniola.

Since the turn of the 21st century, the country has endured a coup d'état, which prompted a U.N. intervention, as well as a deadly earthquake that killed over 250,000.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake (Séisme de 2010 à Haïti; Tranblemanntè 12 janvye 2010 nan peyi Ayiti) was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 M w earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne (Ouest) and approximately 25 km west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.

Following a series of short-lived presidencies, François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier took power in 1956, ushering in a long period of autocratic rule that was continued by his son Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier that lasted until 1986; the period was characterised by state-sanctioned violence against the opposition and civilians, corruption and economic stagnation.

He succeeded his father François "Papa Doc" Duvalier as the ruler of Haiti after his death in 1971.

Columbus subsequently founded the first European settlement in the Americas, La Navidad, on what is now the northeastern coast of Haiti.

La Navidad was a fort that Christopher Columbus and his men established in present-day Haiti in 1492 from the remains of the Spanish ship, the Santa María.

Nineteen days later, his ship the Santa María ran aground near the present site of Cap-Haïtien.

Cap-Haïtien (Kap Ayisyen; Cape Haitian), often referred to as Le Cap or Au Cap, is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord.

As a result piracy became widespread, encouraged by European powers hostile to Spain such as France (based on Île de la Tortue) and England.

Piracy flourished in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports such as Port Royal in Jamaica, Tortuga in Haiti, and Nassau in the Bahamas.

As a result piracy became widespread, encouraged by European powers hostile to Spain such as France (based on Île de la Tortue) and England.

Tortuga Island (Île de la Tortue, ; Latòti; Isla Tortuga, Turtle Island) is a Caribbean island that forms part of Haiti, off the northwest coast of Hispaniola.

Nineteen days later, his ship the Santa María ran aground near the present site of Cap-Haïtien.

Having gone aground on Christmas Day, 1492, on the shores of Haiti, through inexperience of the helmsman, it was partially dismantled to obtain timbers for Fort Navidad, "Christmas Fort," placed in a native Taíno village.

More of the free people of colour lived in the south of the island, near Port-au-Prince, and many intermarried within their community.

Port-au-Prince (, ; Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti.

After 12 years of conflict, Napoleon Bonaparte's forces were defeated by Louverture's successor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared Haiti's sovereignty on 1 January 1804 — the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, the first country to abolish slavery, and the only state in history established by a successful slave revolt.

In Haiti and most of the French, Anglophone and Dutch Caribbean, the population is predominantly of African origin; on many islands there are also significant populations of mixed racial origin (including Mulatto-Creole, Dougla, Mestizo, Quadroon, Cholo, Castizo, Criollo, Zambo, Pardo, Asian Latin Americans, Chindian, Cocoa panyols, and Eurasian), as well as populations of European ancestry: Dutch, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish ancestry.

However an insurgency against French rule broke out in the east, and in the west there was fighting between Louverture's forces and the free people of colour led by André Rigaud in the War of the Knives (1799-1800).

The War of Knives (French: Guerre des couteaux), also known as the War of the South, was a civil war from June 1799 to July 1800 between the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, a black ex-slave who controlled the north of Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti), and his adversary André Rigaud, a mixed-race free person of color who controlled the south.

In the midst of the French Revolution (1789–99), slaves and free people of color launched the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), led by a former slave and the first black general of the French Army, Toussaint Louverture.

The term arose in the French colonies, including La Louisiane and settlements on Caribbean islands, such as Saint-Domingue (Haiti), St.Lucia, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Martinique, where a distinct group of free people of color developed.