Title: The history of Haiti Purpose: To understand how Haiti became what it is and all the trials it has endured Thesis: In order to explain Haiti’s history I will discuss its location, when and how it became independent and Haiti today and also its early history Intro: Attention Getter: Who here has heard of the horrible plight of Haiti? Haiti has been through constant suffering everyday due to economic difficulty, lack of food, lack of clean water, hurricanes, and possibly everything that could go wrong with the world. I’m sure no one in their right mind would want to be there now but does anyone know how Haiti became as it is now.
Well that’s what I’m about to tell you. Preview: In order to understand the history of Haiti I must explain 1) its early history, 2) where it’s located and its population 3) when and how it became independent and Haiti today [Transition: First let me explain a little about Haiti’s location and population] Body I. According to The History of Haiti by Steeve Coupeau Haiti is a small country of some 17,398. 39 miles 28,000 km?. 1. Haiti was once a prosperous paradise but now is a disheveled wasteland Haiti is located approximately 750 miles southeast of Florida and just to the east of Cuba.
Haiti occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti has a land mass of 10,714 sq. miles. Haiti, an Indian word meaning “mountains,” is made up of extremely mountainous country of which only 20 percent of the territory lies below 600 feet. The highest mountain in Haiti (Chain de la Sel) is almost 9,000 feet above sea level. The climate in Haiti is tropical with average temperatures ranging from 80 degrees in January to 86 degrees in July. There are also two rainy seasons. The first runs from April to June and the second between October and November.
The terrain is mountainous and only 15%is flat Haiti is one of poorest countries out there due to decline of agriculture It was once known as the Pearl of the Antilles, a beautiful fertile paradise that was later exploited at the arrival of the French. [Transition: Now that I’ve explained a little about Haiti’s location let me explain about Haiti’s early history] II. In order to understand Haiti’s early history and how it got the name Haiti A. In 1492 Christopher Columbus set up a Spanish settlement Navidad on the north coast of the island of Hispaniola known as Haiti today. 1. It was called Santo Domingo a.
According to Thayer Watkins of applet-magic. com it became a staging point for later expeditions and supplied supplies for conquistadors in Mexico and others. b. The Spaniards were given estates on the island and were allowed control over the natives. 2. Santo Domingo (Sainte-Dominigue) becomes Haiti a. After the conquest of Mexico and the establishment of New Spain lost its status and their economy dramatically dropped b. In the 16th century Spain lost control of the seas to the Dutch, French and the British. In the 17th century Santo Domingo was invaded by pirates and others and soon belonged to the French.
The French named the island Sainte-Dominigue but later changed it to the Haiti based upon its native name which means mountainous. 3. Slaves a. The French were into foreign trade so they traded valuables for slaves with Africa. b. Mulattoes born from the slaves and white men were given special privileges and were slightly wealthy c. In 1751-1757 to the 18th century escaped slaves formed a grouped called maroons and using a method called guerilla warfare fought against the French for their independence, many mulattoes joined as well Transition: Now that I’ve explained a little about Haiti’s location and it’s early year let me explain about how they got their Independence and Haiti Today] III. In The First Black Republic in August 1791 against the farm owners started among the slaves in Haiti 1. Haiti gained their independence in 1804 through bloodshed and war. a. The First Black Republic says that Plantations were destroyed and many whites were killed or forced to flee from the island. French, Spanish, and English troops provided aid. They were fighting each other for control but they all agreed the main aim: to prevent black domination in a former colony. . Francois Toussaint L’Ouverture became the leader of the former slaves. Toussaint remained in charge in the following many years of frequent battles, but in 1802 he was captured by French forces and later died in a French prison. 2. Independence a. According to Jacob Crawfurd of crawfurd. dk With the French arrival a revolution started once again and when it was finally over, an army of black slaves had their victory against the army of Napoleon. On January 1st 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, an African-born ex-slave could declare Haiti independent.
It was the first black republic in the world and the first country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery completely b. Dessalines, who had commanded the black and the mulatto forces during the final phase of the revolution, became the new country’s leader; he ruled under the dictatorial 1801 constitution. The land he governed had been devastated by years of warfare. The agricultural base was all but destroyed, and the population was uneducated and largely unskilled. Commerce was virtually nonexistent. Contemplating this bleak situation, Dessalines determined, as Toussaint had done, that a firm hand was needed. . Under Dessalines the Haitian economy had made little progress despite the restoration of forced labor. According to Travelinghaiti. com Conflict between blacks and mulattoes ended the cooperation that the revolution had produced and the brutality toward whites shocked foreign governments and isolated Haiti internationally. A lasting enmity against Haiti arose among Dominicans as a result of the emperor’s unsuccessful invasion of Santo Domingo in 1805. Dessalines’s failure to consolidate Haiti and to unite Haitians had ramifications in the years that followed, as the nation split into two rival enclaves. . Haiti Today a. With the dictatorship of Jean-Bertrand Aristide who came to power in 1994 with the help of US troops. Most Haitians and the outside world celebrated the return of Aristide and had high hopes for a democratic future of the Country. All started well, but within a few years he lost interest in improving living conditions for his people and most human rights where violated. During Aristide rule Haiti lost all international support and aid. Torture, murders, political violence, gang-wars and violation of most other human rights are taking place every day.
The situation in Haiti is currently chaotic and uncertain. b. Power is only for some hours per day available in many parts of the capital Port-au-Prince; often there are outages for days. Running water is very rarely available; the same is true for telephone. Smaller cities and villages have never been connected to these services. Roads are in very bad condition, mostly unpaved with large potholes. Transportation is provided by Tap-Taps which are any kind of vehicle you can transport people with. The traditional mini-vans are decorated with bible verses and prayers. c.
Housing is also very simple and normally families of more than 10 person share 1 or 2 rooms in a cottage. Port-au-Price is dominated by Bidonvilles (slums) where crowds of people live in very poor conditions well under the existence minimum. Since Haiti produces only few crops and has no industries either, the people rely on cheap food aid from allover the world: rice, beans, corn, cereal flour, sugar … Street vendors sell the abundant local fruit and vegetable: plantains, bananas, mango, pineapples, aubergines, grenadines, oranges, grapefruit, sugar cane…. All other goods are very expensive but available.
Most Haitians rely on US Dollars sent by friends and relatives living in the US (about 20 % of all Haitians are currently living in the USA), the majority of the people are unemployed. d. The government remains silence and without action while international organizations guarantee that enough food is available. Unfortunately, the cheap food discourages local farmers to grow crops and thus there is almost no agriculture apparent anymore. Also, important projects like up scaling power stations, building drinking water reservoirs and repairing the telephone system are not currently considered.
It is a shame how indifferent organizations like the UN are whose police force seems only to guard embassies and rich peoples’ homes. Conclusion: Today I spoke to you about the history of Haiti. I explained a little about Haiti’s location, when and how it became independent, its early history and Haiti today. Memorable Statement: Anwo soley de nou de klere de ki de fe de ki de Bondye, lanme de soulve de Ki, loraj de gwonde de fe de ki, nyaj nan de yon de kache tandem de zot de La de Bondye, nou de gade de Li de La d’E, fe de tou SA Blan de we de Li.
Le krim de mande de Bondye Blan, hommes de byenfe de vle de nou de PA d’e teignent la feve de silicium de ki de La, odonen des vajans de nou ; Nou de soutien-gorge de kondui de la Virginie de Li, asistans de nou de Ba de Li, nou nan de je de dlo de swaf de ki de Blan de colorant de potre de Jete, nou nan pale de ke de ki de libete de La de Koute. References: Watkins, Thayer (1991). Political and Economic History of Haiti http://www. applet-magic. com/haiti. htm Crawfurd, Jacob (2003) updated (2004). 200 years of independence for Haiti: The first black Republic http://crawfurd. k/africa/haiti200. htm Laguerre, Eusau (2008). Independence of Haiti http://www. travelinghaiti. com/history_of_haiti/independence_haiti. asp Coupeau, Steeve (2007) the History of Haiti, the Pearl of the Antilles (pp. 1-3) Greenwood: Greenwood Publishing Group Leger, Jacques Nicolas (1907) Haiti, Her History and Her Detractors, (pp. 22) Michigan: The Neale Pub. Co. Richard A. Haggerty, Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1991. Bourne, Joel K. Jr (2008). National Geographic: Dirt Poor, (pp 108-111) Vol. 214- No. 3