Haiti's History

Haiti's history is one of the most fascinating - and often overlooked - in the world. The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western 1/3 of the island - Haiti.

The French colony, based largely on sugar plantations, actually became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean and funneled tremendous wealth into France (think Versailles). Its wealth was built on the heavy importation of African slaves and massive environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'Ouverture and after a prolonged struggle, became the *FIRST* black republic to declare its independence in 1804.

But the Haitians struggle for independence didn't end there, and in the centuries that have followed, they have had to pay obscene tariffs to international powerhouses (such as France AND the United States) in order for those countries to recognize Haiti as an independent nation and to trade with them. What's more, because of "first world" economic interests, Haiti's commerce and agriculture has continued to be exploited. The country has been plagued by a long serious of political violence, including the 29-year dictatorship of the Duvalier family, under whose auspices wealth in the country was condensed into 5% of the population while hundreds of thousands of Haitians have become dangerously impoverished. Some of you may even have read the recent rash of news articles tracking the current hunger crisis: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/17/news/Haiti.php.

In the past twenty years, Haiti has struggled to achieve a democratic government. In December 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide won an unprecedented 67% of the vote in a presidential election that international observers deemed largely free and fair. Aristide took office on February 7, 1991, but was overthrown that September in a violent coup led by army elements and supported by many of the country's economic elite. This is the time when America become so largely aware of the "Haitian boat people" who were trying to flee the country as refugees (and, incidentally, were turned away.) After another 10 years of struggling against military coups and political violence, Haiti again held a democratic election, again inaugurating Aristide as President. Today, Haiti is led by Rene Preval, a former ally to Aristide.

Feel free to visit the State Department's site for more info on Haiti: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1982.htm. But for a more complete history of Haiti, we *definitely* recommend reading Paul Farmer's The Uses of Haiti.