Haiti

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 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, east of Cuba in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea. As a gateway to the Caribbean, Hispaniola became a haven for pirates during the early colonial period. France received the western third and subsequently named it Saint-Domingue, the French equivalent of Santo Domingo, the Spanish colony of Hispaniola and the name of its patron saint, Saint Dominic.

The 76192 km2 island is divided between two separate, sovereign nations: the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic (48,445 km 2, 18,705 sq mi) to the east, and French/French Creole-speaking Haiti (27,750 km 2, 10,710 sq mi) to the west.

Afterward the sovereign state of Haiti was established on 1 January 1804—the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, and the only nation in the world established as a result of a successful slave revolt.

The term was used 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 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.

Haiti is 27750 km2 in size and has an estimated million people, making it the most populous country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the second-most populous country in the Caribbean as a whole.

Established mainly by the English-speaking parts of the Caribbean, CARICOM has become multilingual in practice with the addition of Dutch-speaking Suriname on 4 July 1995 and Haitian Kreyòl- and French-speaking Haiti on 2 July 2002.

In the midst of the French Revolution (1789–99), slaves and free people of color revolted in the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), culminating in the abolition of slavery and the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte's army at the Battle of Vertières. Upon his death in a prison in France, he was succeeded by his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared Haiti's sovereignty and later became the first Emperor of Haiti, Jacques I. The Haitian Revolution lasted just over a dozen years; and apart from Alexandre Pétion, the first President of the Republic, all the first leaders of government were former slaves.

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.

Spain landed on the island on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic. Navigator Christopher Columbus landed in Haiti on 5 December 1492, in an area that he named Môle-Saint-Nicolas, and claimed the island for the Crown of Castile.

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

The rebellion that began in 1791 was led by a former slave and the first black general of the French Army, Toussaint Louverture, whose military genius and political acumen transformed an entire society of slaves into an independent country.

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.

Upon his death in a prison in France, he was succeeded by his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared Haiti's sovereignty and later became the first Emperor of Haiti, Jacques I. The Haitian Revolution lasted just over a dozen years; and apart from Alexandre Pétion, the first President of the Republic, all the first leaders of government 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.

Most recently, in February 2004, a coup d'état originating in the north of the country forced the resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

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

Upon his death in a prison in France, he was succeeded by his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared Haiti's sovereignty and later became the first Emperor of Haiti, Jacques I. The Haitian Revolution lasted just over a dozen years; and apart from Alexandre Pétion, the first President of the Republic, all the first leaders of government were former slaves.

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.

Most recently, in February 2004, a coup d'état originating in the north of the country forced the resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a former Haitian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president.

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, east of Cuba in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea.

The Greater Antilles is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea: Cuba, Hispaniola (containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands.

As a consequence, Columbus ordered his men to salvage what they could from the ship, and he created the first European settlement in the Americas, naming it La Navidad after the day the ship was destroyed.

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

The Citadelle Laferrière is the largest fortress in the Americas.

The Citadelle Laferrière or, Citadelle Henry Christophe, or simply the Citadelle (Citadel), is a large mountaintop fortress in Nord, Haiti, located on top of the mountain Bonnet a L’Eveque, approximately 27 km south of the city of Cap-Haïtien, 15 km southwest of the Three Bays Protected Area, and 8 km uphill from the town of Milot.

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 gateway to the Caribbean, Hispaniola became a haven for pirates during the early colonial period.

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.

Afterward the sovereign state of Haiti was established on 1 January 1804—the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, and the only nation in the world established as a result of a successful slave revolt. As a gateway to the Caribbean, Hispaniola became a haven for pirates during the early colonial period.

🇭🇹 Haiti

Navigator Christopher Columbus landed in Haiti on 5 December 1492, in an area that he named Môle-Saint-Nicolas, and claimed the island for the Crown of Castile.

Môle-Saint-Nicolas (Mòlsennikola or Omòl) is a commune in the north-western coast of Haiti.

More of the free people of color 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.

In the midst of the French Revolution (1789–99), slaves and free people of color revolted in the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), culminating in the abolition of slavery and the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte's army at the Battle of Vertières. The struggle within Haiti between the free people of color led by André Rigaud and the Haitians of African ancestry led by Louverture devolved into the War of the Knives in 1799 and 1800.

The term was especially used in the French colonies, including La Louisiane and settlements on Caribbean islands, such as Saint-Domingue (Haiti), Guadeloupe, and Martinique.

The struggle within Haiti between the free people of color led by André Rigaud and the Haitians of African ancestry led by Louverture devolved into the War of the Knives in 1799 and 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.

Once in power, he ordered the massacre of most whites. Only three categories of white people were selected out as exceptions and spared: the Polish soldiers, the majority of whom deserted from the French army and fought alongside the Haitian rebels; the little group of German colonists invited to the north-west region; and a group of medical doctors and professionals.

The 1804 Haiti massacre was carried out against the remaining white population of native French people and French Creoles (or Franco-Haitians) in Haiti by Haitian soldiers under orders from Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

France received the western third and subsequently named it Saint-Domingue, the French equivalent of Santo Domingo, the Spanish colony of Hispaniola and the name of its patron saint, Saint Dominic.

After decades of conflicts Spain finally ceded the western third of Hispaniola to France in the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, thus establishing the basis for the later national divisions between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Only three categories of white people were selected out as exceptions and spared: the Polish soldiers, the majority of whom deserted from the French army and fought alongside the Haitian rebels; the little group of German colonists invited to the north-west region; and a group of medical doctors and professionals.

In Haiti, there exists a community called Poloné (or La Pologne, "Polish"), partially descending (and claiming descent) from Poles that were sent there as a military legion by Napoleon in 1802–03.

Sugarcane plantations, worked by slaves brought from Africa, were established by colonists.

Christopher Columbus first brought sugarcane to the Caribbean during his second voyage to the Americas; initially to the island of Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic).