Haiti - GEOGRAPHY GEOGRAPHY Haiti Table of Contents Haiti is a country of only about 28,000 square kilometers, about the size of the state of Maryland. It occupies the western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (La Isla Espa�ola); the Dominican Republic takes up the eastern two-thirds. Shaped like a horseshoe on its side, Haiti has two main peninsulas, one in the north and one in the south. Between the peninsulas is the Ile de la Gon�ve. Northwest of the northern peninsula is the Windward Passage, a strip of water that separates Haiti from Cuba, which is about ninety kilometers away. The eastern edge of the country borders the Dominican Republic. A series of treaties and protocols--the most recent of which was the Protocol of Revision of 1936--set the 388-kilometer eastern border, which is formed partly by the Pedernales River in the south and the Massacre River in the north. The mainland of Haiti has three regions: the northern region, which includes the northern peninsula; the central region; and the southern region, which includes the southern peninsula. In addition, Haiti controls several nearby islands.

The northern region consists of the Massif du Nord (Northern Massif) and the Plaine du Nord (Northern Plain). The Massif du Nord, an extension of the central mountain range in the Dominican Republic, begins at Haiti's eastern border, north of the Guayamouc River, and extends to the northwest through the northern peninsula. The Massif du Nord ranges in elevation from 600 to 1,100 meters. The Plaine du Nord lies along the northern border with the Dominican Republic, between the Massif du Nord and the North Atlantic Ocean. This lowland area of 2,000 square kilometers is about 150 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide. The central region consists of two plains and two sets of mountain ranges. The Plateau Central (Central Plateau) extends along both sides of the Guayamouc River, south of the Massif du Nord. It runs eighty-five kilometers from southeast to northwest and is thirty kilometers wide. To the southwest of the Plateau Central are the Montagnes Noires, with elevations of up to approximately 600 meters. The most northwestern part of this mountain range merges with the Massif du Nord.

Southwest of the Montagnes Noires and oriented around the Artibonite River is the Plaine de l'Artibonite, measuring about 800 square kilometers. South of this plain lie the Cha�ne des Matheux and the Montagnes du Trou d'Eau, which are an extension of the Sierra de Neiba range of the Dominican Republic. The southern region consists of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac and the mountainous southern peninsula. The Plaine du Cul-de-Sac is a natural depression, twelve kilometers wide, that extends thirtytwo kilometers from the border with the Dominican Republic to the coast of the Baie de Port-au-Prince. The mountains of the southern peninsula, an extension of the southern mountain chain of the Dominican Republic (the Sierra de Baoruco), extend from the Massif de la Selle in the east to the Massif de la Hotte in the west. The range's highest peak, the Morne de la Selle, is the highest point in Haiti, rising to an altitude of 2,715 meters. The Massif de la Hotte varies in elevation from 1,270 to 2,255 meters.

The four islands of notable size in Haitian territory are Ile de la Gon�ve, Ile de la Tortue (Tortuga Island), Grande Cayemite, and Ile � Vache. Ile de la Gon�ve is sixty kilometers long and fifteen kilometers wide. The hills that cross the island rise to heights of up to 760 meters. Ile de la Tortue is located north of the northern peninsula, separated from the city of Port-de-Paix by a twelve-kilometer channel. Ile � Vache is located south of the southern peninsula; Grande Cayemite lies north of the southern peninsula. Numerous rivers and streams, which slow to a trickle during the dry season and which carry torrential flows during the wet season, cross Haiti's plains and mountainous areas. The largest drainage system in the country is that of the Artibonite River. Rising as the Lib�n River in the foothills of the Massif du Nord, the river crosses the border into the Dominican Republic and then forms part of the border before reentering Haiti as the Artibonite River.

At the border, the river expands to form the Lac de P�ligre in the southern part of the Plateau Central. The 400-kilometer Artibonite River is only one meter deep during the dry season, and it may even dry up completely in certain spots. During the wet season, it is more than three meters deep and subject to flooding. The ninety-five-kilometer Guayamouc River is one of the principal tributaries of the Artibonite River. The most important river in the northern region is Les Trois Rivi�res, or The Three Rivers. It is 150 kilometers long, has an average width of sixty meters, and is three to four meters deep. The most prominent body of water in the southern region is the salt-water Etang Saum�tre, located at the eastern end of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. At an elevation of sixteen meters above sea level, the lake is twenty kilometers long and six to fourteen kilometers wide; it has a circumference of eighty-eight kilometers. Haiti has a generally hot and humid tropical climate. The north wind brings fog and drizzle, which interrupt Haiti's dry season from November to January.

But during February through May, the weather is very wet. Northeast trade winds bring rains during the wet season. The average annual rainfall is 140 to 200 centimeters, but it is unevenly distributed. Heavier rainfall occurs in the southern peninsula and in the northern plains and mountains. Rainfall decreases from east to west across the northern peninsula. The eastern central region receives a moderate amount of precipitation, while the western coast from the northern peninsula to Port-au-Prince, the capital, is relatively dry. Temperatures are almost always high in the lowland areas, ranging from 15� C to 25� C in the winter and from 25� C to 35� C during the summer. Custom Search Haiti | Tourist Maker Tourist Maker Blog Haiti Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and among the poorest in the world. The island nation once had an extremely beautiful and exotic tropical environment, but decades of uncontrolled logging have left almost no trace of the former impenetrable vegetation. It is located in one of the fastest growing tourism regions in the world, but suffers from severe poverty. Dangerous diseases such as AIDS are spreading alarmingly among the local population.

The situation in Haiti became more complicated after the strong earthquake that rocked the country in 2010. Geographic location, boundaries and size. Haiti occupies the western parts of the island of Hispaniola, which is part of the Great Antilles. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, halfway between Florida in USA and Venezuela in South America . The country lies approximately between 18 and 20° north latitude and between 71 and 74° west longitude. Haiti has a number of small islands near the coast. The biggest islands are La Gonave, located in the Gulf of Gonave west of Haiti, the island of Tortuga, which lies north of the country and the smaller, but extremely beautiful Ile aVache. Haiti shares land borders with the Dominican Republic to the east. Other neighbors are Cuba (northwest), Jamaica (West) and Turks and Caicos Islands (north). The island country covers an area of 27.750 sq. km and is the third largest country in the Caribbean. Relief. Land relief in Haiti is mostly mountainous.

From north to south there are three mountain ranges – Massif du Nord (which is part of the Cordillera Central), south of it lies the Plateau Central and the southern parts of the country respectively are occupied by Massif du Sud. The highest point in the country is located in the southeastern part of Haiti. It is called Pic la Selle and rises about 2715 m altitude. It is located on the southernmost peninsula of Tiburon. The coastline of Haiti is heavily indented by a number of large and small peninsulas and bays. The largest bay is Gonave, which occupies the entire west coast of Haiti, north of the Tiburon Peninsula. Climate. Haiti falls entirely within the tropical climate zone . Daily temperatures reach 30°C in winter and 35°C in summer. Night temperatures are also high – about 22°C in winter and around 25°C summer. Humidity is high throughout the year. There are two seasons – dry and rainy. The dry season is shorter. It begins in November and lasts until March.

The driest month is January, when rainfall is only 30 mm, while the rainiest month is May, with average rainfall up to about 200-250 mm. At the height of the rainy season in June and July there is a short-term decrease in precipitation, until rainfall starts increasing again. Population. Haiti’s population is around 9,000,000 people. This is the second most populous country in the Caribbean after Cuba. The majority of residents (90%) consists of migrants from Africa who were brought here against their will and forced to work the sugar plantations. The official languages are French and Haitian Creole. The majority of the population consists of Christians. The Catholics are the most numerous part of the population and the Protestants are second. Most of the population is concentrated in coastal plains and most sparsely populated are the mountainous areas of the country. Economy. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Neither in North nor in South America is another country with such serious economic problems. Unemployment is a mass phenomenon that affects more than two thirds of the country’s population. The salaries are extremely low.

For example, the salary of a nurse (nurses are some of the most valuable professionals in Haiti) is usually about $ 150 per month. Other professionals, however, rely on much lower incomes. Very few people in this country receive more than $ 750 – $ 800 per year. The majority of people live on about $ 2 per day. What further aggravated the circumstances of the already impoverished country is the disastrous earthquake that struck the country in the late afternoon of January 12th, 2010. The disaster of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale struck in close proximity to the capital Port-au-Prince. From the humanitarian point of view the consequences of the strong earthquake are devastating! Millions of people were made homeless or affected otherwise. Thousands of people were killed or injured. In its destructiveness the Haitian disaster can be compared with the tsunami that swept Southeast Asia on December 26th, 2004. Today, Haiti’s economy is facing major economic difficulties. The main part of the local population is engaged in primitive agriculture, which often can not meet even its personal needs.

The most popular crops in the country are bananas, sorghum, cassava, maize, coffee, sugarcane and cotton. These plants are highly prevalent and widely grown in tropical areas of Central America . Nature. In the past, nature of Haiti was very beautiful. Like the neighboring Dominican Republic, Haiti was covered with thick and heavily wooded tropical forest. Over the years, however, much of the jungle is cut. Today the forests in Haiti are almost completely destroyed, suggesting that today only about 1% of the area of the country is covered by forests. Most of the remaining woodlands are located in mountainous areas of the southern Peninsula of Tiburon. Tourism in Haiti Despite massive deforestation, however, today there is still some detached corners that can make you forget you’re in one of the poorest countries in the world and will make you feel like you are in paradise. In the northern parts of Haiti, on a small peninsula surrounded by mountains covered with tropical forest is located the small private resort Labadee. The place is really great. The private paradise has magnificent white beaches, calm and azure waters, abundant greenery and offers a lot of luxury.

In this elite tourist destination, often come to berth luxury cruise liners, whose passengers going ashore to enjoy the tropical exoticism. On the sand itself there are a lot of chaise-lounges, but umbrellas are not needed because the tourists use the shade of coconut trees . For lovers of water pleasures here are a wonderful water park and amazing coral reefs under the surface of Caribbean Sea. Labadee offers high level of security to its visitors. South of the island of Haiti is located Ile aVache that is very important for the development of the Haitian tourism. It is located about 10 km south of Les Cayes. Ile aVache offers magnificent white beaches, lonely bays with azure water and coral reefs, exotic tropical vegetation and is calm enough to provide its visitors a relaxing holiday in the beautiful Caribbean paradise. In its longest part the island is about 15 kilometers long, and tourists are usually very few in comparison to the island‘s area, so it usually seems almost deserted especially during the hot midday hours. Very important for tourism development in Haiti are local protected areas. In the southwestern part of the Tiburon Peninsula is one of the last remaining rainforests in the country.

It is located at a very high altitude, which in places exceeds 2000 meters. Rain forest falls within the Pic Macaya National Park. Another national park in the country is La Visite National Park. It is also located in the southern parts, but near the capital Port-au-Prince. It is also located at high altitude – about 2,000 meters. Besides parks, Haiti offers its visitors great architectural wealth. There are two sites – The Citadelle Laferrière and The Sans-Souci Palace that are subject of great interest by the tourists. Both architectural landmarks are world heritage sites and are under the auspices of UNESCO. The Sans-Souci Palace is located in the northern parts of the country, not far from Labadee, which makes it very convenient to visit. The Citadelle Laferrière itself is located approximately 4 kilometers from the palace. This allows one to enjoy simultaneously a visit of the two most important attractions in Haiti. Port-au-Prince is the capital of the country. If you want to visit this city, will be better to do that with a group and with a professional guide who knows which places are safe and which not, as most locations are considered to be dangerous.

Individual tourists are more likely to be attacked and robbed in city streets. Individual visitors are also more likely to be too shocked by the misery and poverty in Port-au-Prince. Much of the city is rundown and neglected, and on the streets one can see huge piles of garbage. The traces of the devastating earthquake are at every turn – fallen roofs, ruined fences, destroyed walls and other types of damage. When to travel to Haiti? The best time to visit Haiti is the height of winter – December, January and February. In this period the moisture is most affordable, the rainfall is scarce and the temperatures are lowest. Note that high humidity combined with hot temperatures in Haiti can cause discomfort in sensitive people and is therefore preferable to avoid the hottest months. For those who want to escape the cold and snowy winter in the north, however, Haiti will offer plenty of sunshine and warm weather. What clothes to wear in Haiti? If you are planning to travel to Haiti is good to prepare the thinnest and airy clothes, you can find. Put in your suitcase light open shoes (slippers or sandals). Do not forget sunscreen and sunglasses! You will also need an umbrella if you do not want to comply with the vagaries of the tropical weather.

Short and Oversimplified History of Haiti SHORT AND OVERSIMPLIFIED HISTORY OF HAITI Bob Corbett August 1999. BASIC DATA AND GEOGRAPHY Haiti is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. Hispaniola has two countries. Haiti makes up roughly the western 1/3 of the island. The Dominican Republic makes up the eastern 2/3 of the island. The two countries are not on very friendly terms and never have been. Their roots are very different. Haiti is primarily populated by African-Caribbean people with a history of French colonialism. The Dominican Republic is made up of Afro-European mixed blooded people and their roots are deeply influenced by Spanish colonialism. Additionally the two countries have a long history of mistrust, even hatred. Haiti has twice occupied The Dominican Republic in the 19th century, and in 1937 The Dominican Republic perpetrated a terrible massacre on Haitians living in or near The Dominican Republic's borders. Haiti is about the size of the U.S. state of Maryland, just over 10,000 square miles.

The current population is roughly 7,500,000 in Haiti. Another million Haitians are living abroad in the U.S., Canada and France. It is difficult to know how many of these people are simply waiting for conditions to improve in Haiti, or to what extent these Haitians living abroad are now becoming residents and citizens in these host nations. From 1957 to 1986 Haiti was ruled by the Duvalier family in the persons of Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc -- 1957-1971) and his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc -- 1971-1986). This was a period of brutal dictatorship, the suppression of most normal freedoms in Haiti, particularly political dissent from the "Duvalier revolution." It was, also, in the later years, a period of a rather stable law and order society that one tends to get with dictatorships. In 1986 there was an uprising of the people of Haiti and president Jean-Claude Duvalier fled Haiti. At this time Haiti entered into a very difficult period which is still going on.

It is a period of struggle for control of the country, and what has resulted is a great deal of political and social instability. There seem to be a number of factions including: Old line Duvalierists trying to keep change from coming to Haiti. New line populists, most commonly associated with former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the current president, Rene Preval. There seems to be another force that has entered into the fray which is not quite in the Duvalierist camp, but is also opposed to most of the reforms intended by the populists. These are the drug lords and younger army officers, not fully integrated into the old guard Duvalierists world. Today Haiti is a nation in disarray and disorder, unsafe, economically desperate without much clear hope of significant improvement in the very near future. It is a country in struggle. The vast majority of Haiti's people live in desperate poverty and personal unsafety. They are jobless, hungry, unsafe and discouraged. Despite this many continue to struggle for populist reform. These masses are without much power other than their sheer numbers. The opposition has power, money and most importantly, weapons.

The international community, especially the United States, which has great power in Haiti, seems without serious interest in the plight of the masses of the Haitian poor. =============== THE PRE-COLUMBIAN PERIOD. Before Columbus landed on the island (Dec. 6, 1492), his second land-fall in the "New World," there was a large population of Taino/Arawak people who lived on the island in relative peace. It's difficult to know their numbers with any exactitude, but somewhere over 1/2 million seems a reasonable estimate. They lived lives of great simplicity, farming and fishing. There was little native game on the island to supplement their diets. They had few enemies, but seem to have feared the more war-like and aggressive Carib people who were centered on the nearby island that is today Puerto Rico. Unfortunately for the Taino/Arawak, they befriended the Spanish, and gave them some gifts of gold jewelry. There wasn't much gold on Hispaniola, but the Spanish assumed otherwise and thought that Hispaniola was to be the motherload of gold they hoped to find. This led to return voyages to the island and the suppression of the Taino/Arawak.

It soon became clear that there wasn't much gold on Hispaniola, and the Spanish turned it into a bread basket, providing food for the conquistadors who were exploring and conquering peoples in the rest of the Caribbean and Central America. In the process the Taino/Arawak were virtually enslaved. They did not respond well to this new state of slavery. They died in the labor and more than that they died from European diseases. Effectively, as a distinct and recognizable people on the island of Hispaniola, they disappeared by the middle of the 17th century. The Taino/Arawak survived in other areas of the Caribbean and South America, but not on Hispaniola. Other than in this historical context, they don't contribute much to the later development of the country of Haiti. Their labor was supplanted by African slaves (the ultimate root of the people who today make up the population of Haiti). Certainly there must have been some inter-mating between members of the two peoples, thus some remnants of Taino/Arawak blood must have been passed on, and there are a few words of language or a custom here and there that MIGHT be traced back to a Taino/Arawak influence.

However, this blood and cultural contribution is quite negligible in the formation of the Haitian people. SPANISH COLONIALISM: SUGAR AND SLAVES The Spanish quickly saw that Hispaniola was not to be the source of gold for Spain. Hispaniola was converted into a farming region to provide food for the Spanish in other areas of the Caribbean and Central American. The island was worked first by the Taino/Arawak, but before long, African slaves were imported. This began as early as 1508 and the Africans became the primary labor source very quickly. Sugar was introduced as a crop to join tobacco and coffee as attractive crops as well as regular food stuffs. However, before long Hispaniola became an island of little interest to the Spanish. Spanish settlements were being founded in other areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America and these settlers found it more economical to provide their own food. Hispaniola became a quite uninteresting and useless island. There was one town at the far southeast portion of the island, the settlement which is today the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo.

The Spanish kept this settlement and the farms around it, but little by little the rest of the island was virtually abandoned and unpopulated (including the extremely fertile western part of the island which was later to become Haiti). PIRATES AND THE FRENCH SETTLEMENT IN THE WEST In the 17th and century the major nations of Europe sponsored privateers. These were basically free-lance sailors who worked for a European nation and harassed the shipping of rival nations. The sailors or freebooters as they were called, often received a portion of the spoils won in these high seas battles and were the forerunners of the later pirates. When the nations of Europe de-emphasized the use of privateers, there was a large navy of these tough folks who were not ready to give up their lives of high-seas raiding. They became non-governmental free lance robbers, the pirates that we all know of. One of the strong holds for the pirates was the island of La Tortue (Turtle Island), a small island, just a few miles off the northern coast of what is today Haiti, and, today, a possession of Haiti. The dominant group of pirates who used La Tortue as their base were French pirates.

From the Spanish days of using the western portion of the island, 50 to 100 years earlier, there were many wild animals which survived after the Spanish gave up the use of the island. This included cattle, goats, sheep and horses. Since this region, the northern plain and mountains of Haiti, was very fertile, the animals flourished. The pirates were fond of going across the narrow water way into the island of Hispaniola to hunt wild game. They used to kill the game and cook it over an open flame. This is a "boukan" in French, and this process and these people became known as "boukanniers" in French, or buccaneers in English, a common term for pirates. However, pirating wasn't what it used to be and some of these French pirates choose to settle in Hispaniola and become farmers. They sent back to France for women, and France was only too happy to empty some of the women's prisons, sending a variety of women not desired in France, to this remote Caribbean outpost. Slowly a community developed in the northcentral and northwest of Hispaniola.

By the early part of the 17th century the French even named some of these former pirates as French officials to oversee the community forming there. The Spanish protested the French presence, but never really pushed it too much. The community waxed and crops began to flow back to France. It was an attractive place, fertile and with great potential as a colony. Finally, in 1697 at the Treaty of Rystwik, at the conclusion of a European war not involving Hispaniola at all, the Spanish needed another bargaining chip and ceded the western portion of Hispaniola to the French. Thus the island was divided. The eastern Spanish portion was called Santo Domingo, Spanish for St. Dominic. The western French portion was called San Domingue, French for St. Dominic. But the island was now divided and a defining characteristic, the geographic one, was fixed for modern day Haiti. THE FRENCH COLONIAL PERIOD From the official birth of the colony of San Domingue (1697) for just over 100 years, the French colony waxed and became one of the richest colonies in the history of the world.

An agricultural economy based on slave labor grew sugar cane, coffee, the dye indigo, cotton, tobacco and many exotic spices which were in high demand in Europe and Asia. The planters produced the goods but were prohibited from processing the crops in the colony itself. Thus all the goods were shipped to France and processed there. From the processing plants French merchants spread out to the whole of Europe and near-Asia creating a booming economy for France. Another huge portion of this economy was the slave trade itself. The French colonial slave system was particularly brutal, worse that virtually any other place in the Western world. Slaves were routinely treated with great brutality and inhumanity. However, the French foolishly, for their own safety, allowed the number of slaves to grow without any concern and within a 100 years of colonial rule had arrived at a very dangerous 10-1 ratio of free to slave population. In 1791 there were approximately 500,000 slaves and about 50,000 free people. Some 30,000 of those free people were people of color, both black and mulatto.

In the French colonial system free people of color could own slaves and property, however there were other restrictions. On San Domingue the free people of color were not much into the sugar trade but mainly controlled coffee. However they were a distinct "ruler" class. This structure was phenomenally determinative of much of later Haitian history. After independence and the coming of a black republic, this class of former free planters emerged as rulers of Haiti. This class structure of a very small class of rulers and a huge mass of common folks has always been the norm in Haiti and is one of the greatest barriers to the emergence of Haiti into a nation with any serious sense of democratic equality. THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION: 1791-1804. The spirit of the French Revolution infected Haiti. Added to that the brutality of the French slave system and the huge number of slaves in relation to the free people and the stage was set for a lasting revolution. There had been many revolts of slaves and attempts and social change, but the final moment of French rule came in Aug. 1791 with an uprising which was more about the rights of free people of color than freedom for slaves.

Nonetheless, this 1791 uprising developed into a full-fledged revolution war. France realized the crucial economic importance of the colony and made every attempt to defend their rule. Eventually it came down to Napoleon sending a large expeditionary force to win the colony back securely for France in 1802. This caused the last eruption of revolutionary fervor and the defeat of the French. On Jan. 1, 1804 the nation of Haiti was proclaimed. It was an all-black (and mulatto) republic with a constitutional prohibition against white people owning land. This particular provision of the Haitian constitution lasted until 1918 until the occupying forces of the United States forced a constitution onto Haiti which did not contain this prohibition. There is much controversy about the Haitian Revolution and what sense to make of this victory over the French. We will study this in much greater detail in due time. EARLY DAYS OF INDEPENDENCE: IMITATING THE FRENCH MODEL The fledging leaders of the newly independent Haiti, Dessalines and Christophe, attempted to imitate the French system without slavery. They wanted to build an economy based on plantation agriculture and sugar.

Actually they made astonishing achievements, both returning the economy to roughly 75% of the productivity of the pre-Revolutionary period. However, this was done within the context of a social system which while not a slave economy, approached it, looking much more like European serfdom. This was simply not what the Haitian people wanted. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE "TWO HAITIS" Between about 1820 to 1840, under the presidencies of Alexander Petion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, the old French plantation system of economy died forever. In the briefest form what developed was a world of one nation, but really two Haitis. There was the official nation of Haiti, ruled by the government, but really centered in the two main cities, Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien and the next half-dozen largest towns, all but one being a seaport town. (The sole exception was the inland Central Plateau town of Hinche.) These towns were controlled by the small property owning elite. The vast majority of Haitian people lived in the rural areas and basically didn't belong to "Haiti" in any normal sense of the term.

The did subsistence agriculture and stayed away from "Haiti" and its government and army as much as they possibly could. Given the mountainous nature of much of Haiti this was not difficult to achieve. There were buffer zones, markets, where the rural peasants could trade agricultural products, especially coffee, at a fraction of its international value, in exchange for essentials. This trade allowed the elite class to make a substantial income and for the masses of people to survive in some sort of peace, security and isolation from "Haiti," the official nation. Again, this process was extremely definitive in forming and creating the fundamental social, economic and governmental system which is still dominant in Haiti today. THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: HAITIAN INDEPENDENCE THROUGH THE U.S. OCCUPATION OF 1915. The white slave owning world was utterly shocked by the victory of Haitian revolutionaries over France. Here was a white world with slaves (England didn't banish slavery in 1833, the first major white nation to do so, and the U.S. held slaves until 1862) and this was a terrifying situation.

There was much talk of "servile revolutions" and the worry was that slaves in other places would take the successful Haitian revolutionaries as models and revolt in other locations. This was a special worry in the south of the United States where the agricultura; economies of cotton and tobacco were completely slave-dependent. In France there was the further concern for the usurped property of French citizens, the former white planters from San Domingue. The French wanted recompense for this property before it would recognize Haitian independence. Further there were a great outcry in the white world that black people were inherently incapable of ruling themselves. Multitudes of books and pamphlets belabored this view in the early 19th century and Haiti always came in for attack as one of the key pieces of evidence of this impossibility. It is important to note that the success of the Haitian Revolution came just at the same time as the French and American Revolutions. This was the period of the birth of functional democracy. But, the white nations of Europe and the United States refused to recognize Haitian independence and boycotted trade relations with Haiti.

This was one of the major causes of the development of the "two Haitis" that I discussed above, and made the growth of democracy in Haiti to be virtually impossible. The masses of Haitian rural peasants were illiterate and remain so today. Both the Industrial Revolution and the Democratic Revolutions passed Haiti by. It is critically important to understand the causal implications of these actions and attitudes of the outside world on the internal development of the history of Haiti. FROM THE 1840S TO THE U.S. OCCUPATION OF 1915. Within Haiti there began a curious and disastrous series of governmental revolutions. Basically the government was a tiny class of elite. Various factions of the elite would sponsor a "president" and under the protection of this particular government the favored faction of the elite would pillage the Haitian treasury. After a certain amount of time a different faction of the elite, normally funded by foreign (often German) capital, would raise an army, march on Port-au-Prince and drive the sitting government into exile. The new faction would take its turn at the troff of the Haitian treasury and the cycle continued. The upshot of this period of Haitian history is critical.

First of all it further established the class and color relations which exist to this very day as dominant patterns in Haitian life. Further, the role of foreign capital in funding these revolutions gave an increasing foothold of foreign capital. This became troubling to the United States after the decision to build the Panama Canal. This geo-political decision of the U.S. gave rise to a much more militant interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine and desire for full control over the Caribbean, the "back yard" of the U.S. As World War I approached, the penetration of German capital into Haiti was a great worry to the U.S. Using a trumped up concern for U.S. financial interests and the "concern" with approaching anarchy in Haiti, the U.S. occupied Haiti in June 1915 and remained in control of Haiti until 1934, with financial and political hegemony continuing long after the end of the official occupation. In many ways it still continues today. From 1915 until and including the present, the United States has been a major power and factor in what does and does not happen in Haiti.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE: NOIRISM (NEGRITUDE MOVEMENT) IN HAITI DURING THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION. In the 1930s a movement sprang up in Haiti which turned the mainly mulatto intellectual class away from its old power base -- imitation of white, French European models of life and meaning -- and toward a greater appreciation of blackness, Africanness and Haiti's roots in the common black people. This movement effected the intellectual class, especially poets, novelists and other writers first, later on artists as well. It set the stage for a political ideology which led the "black revolution" which Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) was pledging to enact before it got sidetracked into the personalist dictatorship of the Duvalier dynasty. HAITI'S DESPERATE POVERTY AND THE 1986 REVOLUTION. Haiti's peasants may have lived lives of agrarian simplicity in order to escape a corrupt and damaging government, but eventually simplicity gave way to misery. It's hard to fix when this occurred, but the dynamics are not too hard to see. Haitian peasants owned a bit of land.

However, they chose to divide the land equally among their sons. Thus land plot sizes got smaller and smaller as the population grew. Secondly, the peasants used farming methods which we actually harmful to the land, burning off top soil, and over-planting crops which took too much out of the soil. Lastly, since the only fuel in the country is wood, little by little the vast forests of Haiti were cut, overwhelmingly for charcoal. The land became deforested and the soil could not hold against the season torrential rains. The top soil of Haiti washed away into the sea leaving great pressure on the land left. The result was eventually misery. My own suspicion is that agrarian simplicity with a modestly adequate diet became increasingly scarce after the beginning of the 20th century, and now, as that century ends, Haiti is left in a desperate situation in which millions of her people are malnourished, hungry and having little hope or prospects for a better future. However, a populist movement somewhat tied to the democratic impetus implicit in Latin American Liberation Theology arose in Haiti in the late 1970s and gained power in the early 1980s.

On February 7, 1986 this movement culminated with the fleeing of Jean-Claude Duvalier to France on an U.S. military jet. There was a great deal of hope in the latter part of the 80s, but since then things have deteriorated and today the Haitian movement for more populist movement is in great struggle with forces of reaction. ============== This short and over-simplified history is meant to give the reader a context for a course on Haitian history. The gaps and details will hopefully be filled by the course itself. However, if this sampling has either raised explicit questions which weigh on you, or if there are gaps that leave you surprised, or if you think that from what you already know the picture should look different in some particular that I have sketched, then please don't hesitate to write me at the address below to inquire or suggest additions or corrections. Bob Corbett Where is Haiti Located, Haiti Location in World Map Share | Where is Haiti located on the world map? As shown on the Haiti location map that Haiti is an island country located in the Caribbean Sea where it is part of Greater Antillean archipelago.

As given on the Haiti map, the island Hispaniola houses two countries i.e. Haiti and Dominican Republic. Haiti occupies the western part of the Island. In comparison to other neighbor countries, Haiti has unique historical, regional, and ethno-linguistic position due to some of the significant reasons. Surprisingly, Haiti is one of the first independent countries in the region of Latin America; it got its independence in the year 1804 which was the result of successful slave revolution. Not only this, it is also the first black-led republic in the world. Lastly, Haiti is the only nation that chiefly Francophone independent nation in America; (the only exception is Canada). The government type of Haiti is a semi-presidential republic featured with a multiparty system. In Haiti, the President is head of state elected directly by popular elections. The Prime Minister is chosen from the majority party in the National Assembly and appointed by the President acts as head of state. Likewise, the President and Prime Minister together exercise the political power. Unfortunately, Haiti is very much vulnerable region because it faces major natural disasters time to time.

In the year 2010, Earthquake measuring 7.0 magnitudes ruined Port-au-Prince the capital city. Economically, Haiti is very poor and its GDP is one of the lowest GDPs among American countries. However, largely its economy depends upon the agricultural produce and some of the little reserve of natural resources including bauxite, copper, gold, marble, calcium carbonate, and hydropower. Besides, Mangoes and coffee are two most important exports that generate revenue for the country. Where is Haiti Located Where is Haiti Located 12 Nov, 2012 travel 0 Haiti (official title: The Republic of Haiti) is a small country that occupies part of an island known as Hispaniola. The country covers just 27,750 km2 and has a population of almost 10 million. The capital city, and largest city, of Haiti is Port-au-Prince, which has a population of about 900,000. Haiti has been under both Spanish and French rule and was occupied by the United States for a period of time. Today, it is an independent nation.

Unfortunately, Haiti is best known as a very poor country that has a long history of political strife along with a number of devastating natural disasters. Let’s find out where this country is located. Where is Haiti located? We already know that Haiti is located on the island of Hispaniola. Haiti covers the western portion of this island and the Dominican Republic covers the central and eastern portion. Hispaniola is located in the Caribbean Sea to the south-west of Florida, east of Mexico and north of Venezuela. The following is a map of the world with Haiti marked in red with a red circle. (click to enlarge) In the Caribbean region Haiti is located to the south-east of Cuba, east of Jamaica and west of Puerto Rico. The following is a map of this region with the island of Hispaniola located in the middle. Did you know? Haiti was the first independent country in Latin American and the Caribbean following a slave revolution. Independence was declared in 1804, but wasn’t recognised until 1825. Despite being a small country by area in world standards, Haiti is the third largest country in the Caribbean.

Related Articles Haiti: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts, Guide & Travel/Holidays/Cities Years After Earthquake, Haiti Still Struggles to Recover Geography Haiti, in the West Indies, occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. About the size of Maryland, Haiti is two-thirds mountainous, with the rest of the country marked by great valleys, extensive plateaus, and small plains. Government Republic with an elected government. History Explored by Columbus on Dec. 6, 1492, Haiti's native Arawaks fell victim to Spanish rule. In 1697, Haiti became the French colony of Saint-Dominique, which became a leading sugarcane producer dependent on slaves. In 1791, an insurrection erupted among the slave population of 480,000, resulting in a declaration of independence by Pierre-Dominique Toussaint l'Ouverture in 1801. Napoléon Bonaparte suppressed the independence movement, but it eventually triumphed in 1804 under Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who gave the new nation the Arawak name Haiti .

It was the world's first independent black republic. Haiti Map / Geography of Haiti / Map of Haiti - Worldatlas.com Print this map The island of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Caribbean, contains two separate countries: the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Columbus claimed Hispaniola in 1492, and it later became the major launching base for the Spanish conquest of the Caribbean, as well as the American mainland. Subsequently, the Spanish conquistadors introduced disease and slavery, and the indigenous Arawak peoples were destroyed. In the 17th Century, with the Spanish in control, the French established a colony on the island. The Spanish later ceded the western third of Hispaniola in 1697, which in 1804 became known as Haiti, at the conclusion of the Haitian Slave Revolt. Since then, Haiti has been ruled by a seemingly endless line of dictators; who imposed absolute obedience to their authority. That political turmoil has continually divided Haiti into a very small and wealthy elite, and a large underclass of people with little or no economic or political power.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Haiti did struggle to establish the legitimacy of its government and to improve the economic and social conditions of its people. In 2004, once again, the people revolted, as they continued to search for freedom and equality - long absent in their beloved country of Haiti. On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti. It had a catastrophic magnitude of 9.0, and it devastated many areas of the country. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake, and the Haitian government reported that an estimated 316,000 people had died, 300,000 had been injured and 1,000,000 were made homeless. The government of Haiti also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements in the region. Many notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace. We hope for the best for Haiti as it struggles to recover.

However, if you plan to travel to Haiti, you should be aware of uncertain security situations. The risk of crime is high, including armed robberies, burglaries, kidnapping, murder and attacks on vehicles. You should also exercise extreme caution at all times of the day and avoid travel after dark. See Also Haiti located in the West Indies occupies the western third of - PS - 330 View Full Document Haiti, located in the West Indies, occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. About 9.2 million people call Haiti “home” and they are led by President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. Haiti is under a Republic government. Its capital and largest city is Port-au-Prince and form of currency is the Gourde. The official spoken languages are creole and French. Haiti is ranked 23rd out of 29 countries in the South and Central America/Caribbean region. In terms of economy, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, with 80 percent of the population living under the poverty line.

More than two-thirds of the labor force does not have jobs and there is a shortage of skilled labor. A large majority of all Haitians depend on the agriculture sector. Haiti suffers from higher inflation than similar low income countries, a lack of investment from businesses, and severe trade deficit. Remittances are the primary source of foreign exchange. The business environment has been hurt further by the uncertainty caused by political instability and the earthquake. Import controls, import licensing requirements on agricultural products, inadequate trade capacity and infrastructure, inefficient administration at state-run seaports, and customs corruption add to the cost of trade. Corruption, gang violence, drug trafficking, and organized crime are pervasive; the justice system does not function. Despite a U.N. Stability Mission and a better-trained and This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document equipped national police force, disorder is still easily sparked by paid gangs. Even before the earthquake, progress in reform had been only marginal. The effectiveness of public finance had been severely undermined by political volatility that further weakens an already weak rule of law. Reforms to improve the business and investment climates have had little effect in light of Haiti’s corruption and inefficient judicial system.

Description of Potential Market: We plan to use a number of methods to promote our profit organization. Our main demand driver will be the desire to help the less fortunate people. We hope to convey to our customers that by buying one of our products they are also providing a sustainable income for the Haitian people as well as helping alleviate Haiti’s trash issue. We feel like customers would appreciate that we are helping launch and promote sustainable business in Haiti as well as being environmentally friendly by removing trash from the streets and making one of a kind products out of that trash. We also want to promote our products by emphasizing that they are completely unique and no other products come close to what we offer. We want our customers to take note of the fact that our products are truly unique because really no one else produces jewelry and accessories out of trash and certainly not out of trash lifted from the slums of Haiti. Our products will be conversation starters because of how unique This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM In a country geographically defined between being close to Europe YCP Laura Bonney Professor Fyfe Religion vs.

Politics In a country geographically defined In a country geographically defined between being close to Europe West Indies | Article about West Indies by The Free Dictionary West Indies | Article about West Indies by The Free Dictionary Related to West Indies: East Indies West Indies, archipelago, between North and South America, curving c.2,500 mi (4,020 km) from Florida to the coast of Venezuela and separating the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago, sometimes called the Antilles, is divided into three groups: the Bahamas Bahamas, the , officially Commonwealth of the Bahamas, independent nation (2005 est. pop. 301,800), 4,403 sq mi (11,404 sq km), in the Atlantic Ocean, consisting of some 700 islands and islets and about 2,400 cays, beginning c.50 mi (80 km) off SE Florida and extending c. ..... Click the link for more information. ; the Greater Antilles ( Cuba Cuba , officially Republic of Cuba, republic (2005 est. pop.

11,347,000), 42,804 sq mi (110,860 sq km), consisting of the island of Cuba and numerous adjacent islands, in the Caribbean Sea. Havana is the capital and largest city. ..... Click the link for more information. , Jamaica Jamaica , independent state within the Commonwealth (2005 est. pop. 2,732,000), 4,232 sq mi (10,962 sq km), coextensive with the island of Jamaica, West Indies, S of Cuba and W of Haiti. Jamaica is the largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba and Hispaniola. ..... Click the link for more information. , Haiti Haiti , Fr. Haïti , officially Republic of Haiti, republic (2005 est. pop. 8,122,000), 10,700 sq mi (27,713 sq km), West Indies, on the western third of the island of Hispaniola. ..... Click the link for more information. , the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic , republic (2005 est. pop.

8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Santo Domingo. ..... Click the link for more information. , and Puerto Rico Puerto Rico , island (2005 est. pop. 3,917,000), 3,508 sq mi (9,086 sq km), West Indies, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) SE of Miami, Fla. Officially known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (a self-governing entity in association with the United States), it includes the offshore islands ..... Click the link for more information. ); and the Lesser Antilles ( Leeward Islands Leeward Islands , northern group of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies, extending SE from Puerto Rico to the Windward Islands. The principal islands are the American Virgin Islands; the French island and overseas dept. ..... Click the link for more information.

, Windward Islands Windward Islands, southern group of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies, curving generally southward for c.300 mi (480 km) from the Leeward Islands toward NE Venezuela. ..... Click the link for more information. , Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago , officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, republic (2005 est. pop. 1,088,000), 1,980 sq mi (5,129 sq km), West Indies. The capital is Port of Spain. ..... Click the link for more information. , Barbados Barbados , island state (2005 est. pop. 279,300), 166 sq mi (430 sq km), in the West Indies. The capital and largest city is Bridgetown. Land, People, and Economy The island, E of St. Vincent, in the Windward Islands, is the easternmost of the Caribbean islands. ..... Click the link for more information. ) and the islands off the northern coast of Venezuela. The British dependent territories are the Cayman Islands Cayman Islands , British dependency (2005 est. pop.

44,300), 100 sq mi (259 sq km), comprising three low-lying islands in the West Indies. George Town, the capital and chief port, is on Grand Cayman; the other islands are Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. ..... Click the link for more information. , the Turks and Caicos Islands Turks and Caicos Islands , dependency of Great Britain (2005 est. pop. 20,600), 166 sq mi (430 sq km), West Indies. There are more than 30 cays and islands, of which eight are inhabited. Geographically, the islands are a southeastern continuation of the Bahamas. ..... Click the link for more information. , Anguilla Anguilla , island and British dependency (2005 est. pop. 13,300) 35 sq mi (91 sq km), West Indies, northernmost of the Leeward Islands. The capital is the town of The Valley. The population, which is mainly of African descent, speaks English, the official language. ..... Click the link for more information. , Montserrat Montserrat , British dependency and island (2011 pop.

4,922), 38 sq mi (98 sq km), West Indies, one of the Leeward Islands. It is a rugged, scenic island of volcanic origin. ..... Click the link for more information. , and the British Virgin Islands Virgin Islands, group of about 100 small islands, West Indies, E of Puerto Rico. The islands are divided politically between the United States and Great Britain. Although constituting the westernmost part of the Lesser Antilles, the Virgin Islands form a geological unit with ..... Click the link for more information. . The Dutch territories are Aruba Aruba , island, autonomous part of the Netherlands (2005 est. pop. 71,600), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), in the Lesser Antilles off the coast of Venezuela. Oranjestad is the capital and main port. The population is largely of mixed European and indigenous Caribbean descent. ..... Click the link for more information. , Curaçao Curaçao , island (1989 est. pop.

146,100), 178 sq mi (461 sq km), an autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the Lesser Antilles off the coast of Venezuela. Curaçao is semiarid; most of the plant life is of desert character. ..... Click the link for more information. , Bonaire Bonaire , island (1990 est. pop. 11,000), 112 sq mi (290 sq km), a special municipality of the Netherlands, in the West Indies off the coast of Venezuela. It was formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles. Kralendijk is the chief town. ..... Click the link for more information. , Saint Eustatius Saint Eustatius , island (1989 pop. 1,861), 8 sq mi (20.7 sq km), a special municipality of the Netherlands, one of the Leeward Islands, West Indies. It was formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles. ..... Click the link for more information. , Saba Saba , island (1990 est. pop.

1,100), 5 sq mi (13 sq km), a special municipality of the Netherlands, one of the NW Leeward Islands, West Indies. It was formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles. The rugged island is actually the cone of an extinct volcano rising to c. ..... Click the link for more information. , and part of Saint Martin Saint Martin , Du. Sint Maarten, island, 37 sq mi (96 sq km), West Indies, one of the Leeward Islands. Since its occupation in 1648 by the Dutch and the French, it has been divided. The northern part (1999 pop. ..... Click the link for more information. . The French territories are Guadeloupe Guadeloupe , overseas department and administrative region of France (2005 est. pop. 449,000), 687 sq mi (1,779 sq km), in the Leeward Islands, West Indies. The department comprises the neighboring islands of Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre (Guadeloupe proper) as well as ..... Click the link for more information.

and its dependencies, part of Saint Martin, and Martinique Martinique , overseas department and administrative region of France (2005 est. pop. 433,000), 425 sq mi (1,101 sq km), in the Windward Islands, West Indies. Fort-de-France is the capital. The department and the island of Martinique are coextensive. ..... Click the link for more information. . Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth associated with the United States, and the Virgin Islands of the United States is a U.S. territory. Margarita Margarita , island, 444 sq mi (1,150 sq km), in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. With many smaller islands it constitutes the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta (1990 pop. 263,748). ..... Click the link for more information. belongs to Venezuela. Many of the islands are mountainous, and some have partly active volcanoes. Hurricanes occur frequently, but the warm climate (tempered by northeast trade winds) and the clear tropical seas have made the West Indies a very popular resort area.

Some 34 million people live on the islands, and the majority of inhabitants are of black African descent. History Before European settlement on the islands of the West Indies, they were inhabited by three different peoples: the Arawaks, the Caribs, and the Ciboney. These indigenous tribes were effectively wiped out by European colonists. Christopher Columbus Columbus, Christopher, Ital. Cristoforo Colombo , Span. Cristóbal Colón , 1451–1506, European explorer, b. Genoa, Italy. Early Years ..... Click the link for more information. was the first European to visit several of the islands (in 1492). In 1496 the first permanent European settlement was made by the Spanish on Hispaniola Hispaniola , Span. Española , second largest island of the West Indies, 29,530 sq mi (76,483 sq km), between Cuba and Puerto Rico. Haiti occupies the western third of the island and the Dominican Republic the remainder. ..... Click the link for more information. .

By the middle 1600s the English, French, and Dutch had established settlements in the area, and in the following century there was constant warfare among the European colonial powers for control of the islands. Some islands flourished as trade centers and became targets for pirates. Large numbers of Africans were imported to provide slave labor for the sugarcane plantations that developed there in the 1600s. Until the early 20th cent., the islands remained pawns of the imperialistic powers of Europe, mainly Spain, Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands. The United States entered the scene in the late 19th cent. and is the region's dominate economic influence. Spain lost its last possession in the West Indies after the Spanish-American War (1898), and most of the former British possessions gained independence in the 1960s and 70s (see West Indies Federation West Indies Federation, former federation of 10 British West Indian territories formed in 1958. Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Barbados were the principal members, but the federation included most of the Leeward and Windward islands, then under British control. ..... Click the link for more information. ).

Bibliography See E. E. Williams, From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean, 1492–1969 (1970); M. M. Horowitz, comp., Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean: An Anthropological Reader (1971); J. H. Parry and P. M. Sherlock, A Short History of the West Indies (3d ed. 1971); R. C. West and J. P. Augelli, Middle America (2d ed. 1976); D. Watts, The West Indies: Patterns of Development, Culture, and Environmental Change since 1492 (1987). West Indies the general name for the islands in the Atlantic Ocean located between the continents of North and South America, stretching out in the form of an arc approximately 3,500 km in length. Included in the West Indies are the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the Lesser Antilles. The islands belong to North America. Their total area is about 240,000 sq km, and their population is more than 24 million (1968).

The topography of the islands is greatly dismembered and primarily mountainous, with elevations as high as 3,175 m (on the island of Haiti). There are many active as well as extinct volcanoes; earthquakes are frequent. There are deposits of manganese, chromite, and iron ores and asphalt, petroleum, bauxites, and phosphorites. The climate is tropical and influenced by the trade winds. In the lowlands the vegetation is primarily cultivated; in the mountains there are laurel and coniferous forests. Located on the islands of the West Indies are the states of Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Bahamas, and Barbados, as well as a number of possessions of Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, and the USA.

Ethnic composition.The basic mass of the present-day population is made up of Negroes—descendants of the slaves who were imported from Africa during the period from the 16th through the beginning of the 19th centuries (Haiti, more than 90 percent; Barbados, about 89 percent; and Jamaica, about 80 percent), as well as mulattoes (Dominican Republic, about 70 percent, and Puerto Rico, not less than 50 percent). The descendants of Europeans (for the most part, Spaniards) are to be found in considerable number only in Cuba (approximately 50 percent), Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. In the remaining countries the total white population (primarily British) does not exceed a small percentage. A unique ethnic composition is to be found in Trinidad, where about 50 percent of the population is made up of descendants of emigrants from India. In all these countries there are small groups of Chinese and Syrians. The few descendants of the indigenous American Indian population, which was almost entirely exterminated during the period of colonization, are still in existence only on the islands of Dominica, Cuba, and Trinidad.

Languages include Spanish, in the former colonies of Spain (Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico); English, in the former British colonies (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados); and French, in the former and present French colonies (Haiti, Guadeloupe, and Martinique); local dialects are everywhere predominant. In the Dutch colonies, in addition to Dutch and English, the Papiamentoe dialect is widespread. With regard to religion, the inhabitants of the former Spanish and French colonies are Catholics, and the remainder are Protestants of various denominations. The Indians are mostly Hindus. In certain countries there are still vestiges of African faiths. A. D. D RIDZO Historical surveyThe majority of the islands of the West Indies, populated by the Arawak and Carib tribes of American Indians, were discovered during the sea voyages of Columbus (1492-1502), who mistakenly thought them to be part of India. To distinguish them from the India in the East (East India), these islands later came to be called the West Indies.

The colonization of the West Indies by the Spaniards was accompanied by the allout extermination of the American Indians, and as early as the 16th century the mass importation of slaves from Africa had begun in order to provide labor for the sugar and tobacco plantations, as well as in the mines. With the decline of Spain’s power, the West Indies became the principal object for the rivalry of the European powers in America. In the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, as the result of seizures, wars, and international treaties, Great Britain acquired the islands of St. Christopher (St. Kitts), Barbados, Antigua, Montserrat, Jamaica, Grenada, Dominica, Trinidad, and others; France obtained the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Haiti; Holland, the islands of Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire; and Denmark, the islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix from the group known as the Virgin Islands. By the beginning of the 19th century Spain had kept possession of only Puerto Rico and Cuba. Table 1. Political divisions of the West Indies States and territories

Question: Haiti occupies the western part of which island?
Answer: HISPANIOLA