History of Haiti

Pre Columbus

It is believed Haiti was first settled around 2600 BC by travelers from South America, though little seems to be known of these first inhabitants. The next wave of settlers was the ancient Arawaks who arrived around 250 BC, but again little is known of their presence. It is not until approximately 700 AD that the Taino, an Arawak tribe from Venezuela, arrived in Haiti. These settlers remained in what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic until the Europeans arrived several hundred years later.

The Taino were believed to be a very peaceful people, living together in large villages. They developed an agricultural-based society and made pottery and furniture and weaved baskets. They are thought to be responsible for words such as “barbecue”, “hammock”, and “canoe”. The Taino referred to their island as Ayti (meaning “land of mountains” or “mountainous country”). By the late 15th Century, the Caribs were starting to arrive in Ayti and the Spanish arrived in 1492. At this time there were several hundred thousand Taino inhabiting Ayti.

Spanish occupation

In late 1492 Christopher Columbus’s expedition reached the island of Ayti and named it Hispaniola. The first settlement was called La Navidad (Christmas) and was located on what is now Haiti’s northern coast. Initially the Taino and the Spanish had friendly relations as the Taino greeted the foreigners and welcomed them to Ayti. Unfortunately these relations quickly soured as the Spanish tried to exert their ways upon the Taino. Columbus left for Spain in 1493 and returned to Hispaniola in the same year to find that La Navidad had been destroyed by the Taino. On his return, he came with many ships intended to reinforce La Navidad and colonize Hispaniola. Seeing that La Navidad had been destroyed, the Spanish ventured further east along the northern coast of Hispaniola and started a new town called Isabella. It was from here that Hispaniola was settled by the Spanish. Over the next 50 years as Spain settled the island and searched for Gold, the Taino were subjected to European diseases, forced labour and violence. By 1550 the Taino had virtually been eliminated from Hispaniola. Having found no Gold in Hispaniola, the Spanish essentially abandoned the island, though it was still considered part of colonial Spain. From the late 1500’s to the mid 1600’s, both British and French forces raided the island of Hispaniola. Eventually, Spain conceded the western third of Hispaniola to the French in the Ttreaty of Ryswick (1697). The western third became known as St. Domingue, and the eastern portion, still Spanish, was known as Santo Domingo.

French occupation

The French had started to inhabit the western portions of Hispaniola prior to the Treaty of Ryswick. The French believed that the island would be valuable to them, and came to a settlement with the Spanish for the western third of it. After the Treaty of Ryswick, the French began to exploit St. Domingue for it’s resources of coffee, rum, sugar and cotton. They brought slaves from Western Africa to farm the resources and by the late 1700’s there were an estimated 500,000 slaves working in St. Domingue (Haiti). Because of the harsh conditions slaves were subjected to, most did not live long enough to have children. Of the children who were born, many were of mixed lineage (French and African) and were referred to as mulattos. St Domingue developed a culture of 3 classes: the white colonialists, the free black populaton (mainly mulattos), and the black slaves. Gradually, slaves escaped the inhumane conditions they were subjected to and ran to the mountainous regions of the island. From there they mounted hit-and-run attacks against the white colonialists, seeking freedom for all slaves. The colonialists used the mulatto population to aid their defense. Eventually the mulattos rose up against them, demanding the fair treatment mandated by France, but refused by the colonialists. The whites then turned to the black slaves to help them against the mulatto population, creating further tension between the 3 classes of inhabitants of St. Domingue.

Slave Rebellion

From 1791 to 1803 the rebellions continued. France got involved in order to end the rebellions, as did the British and Spanish, as they saw opportunities to eliminate the French presence from St. Domingue. Toussaint Louverture, an educated slave and able leader, arranged safe transport for his former masters whom he regarded as kind, then joined the rebellion. With the aid of the French, Toussaint led a victory and secured freedom. He declared himself the ruler of a free Haiti. Fearing a free nation of ex-slaves, France betrayed Toussaint and attacked St Domingue. Toussaint was tricked into capture and died soon after in a French prison. As France and Britain resumed hostilities, the ex-slaves again rose against the French. Victory was achieved under General Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Haiti was proclaimed a free nation in 1804.

Independent Haiti

Dessalines’ control was predominantly in northern Haiti as he was not well liked by the mulatto population, many of whom lived in the southern region of the new nation. In 1806 Dessalines was assassinated and civil war broke out between the northern and southern sections of Haiti. Civil war raged until 1820 when Jean-Pierre Boyer declared himself the new ruler of Haiti. The next year Boyer invaded Santo Domingo (the other side of Hispaniola) and united the entire island right through to 1844. Though Boyer’s reign was lengthy, he failed to make any significant progress in the lives of most Haitians. Education was limited, the economy was stagnant and resentment between the mulatto and black populations grew, as the generally better educated mulatto held more senior positions in Haiti. In 1844 Santo Domingo rose up against Haiti and the Dominican Republic was born. From this point until 1915, Haiti went through 22 new leaders, most of which left their positions through assassinations or revolutions, some of which were sponsored by outside forces promising economic gain to the new leadership.

USA Occupation

In 1915 American forces, under order of Woodrow Wilson, invaded Haiti and gained a foothold in the Caribbean. They stayed until 1934. During the 20 years of American occupation, peace reigned, though at the hands of an occupying force. During this period the infrastructure of Haiti was greatly improved. Roads and bridges were built, and telephone lines and clean water were supplied to outlying towns and villages. Haiti still wasn’t free, however, as the foreign power of America was controlling the country and the Haitians were resentful. Under mounting international pressure, the United States left Haiti in 1934.

20th Century continued

President Vincent of Haiti took advantage of the period of stability following the American occupation and started to consolidate his powers. He slowly took control of all executive decisions and started eliminating his opposition. The military, who was better trained and independent from political power since the American presence, was brought under control of the President after a brutal attack by the Dominicans on Haitians living on the Dominican side of the island, Under pressure from the United States, President Vincent abandoned his vision of Ruling-for-Life and stepped aside to allow a new President. President Lescot ruled for a short time and then gave way to Estime, Magloire, and 3 more very brief Presidents, who were followed by “Papa Doc” Francois Duvallier (1957). Duvallier was a practitioner of voodoo and was quite ruthless toward any and all opposition. As had been done by many rulers before him, Duvallier declared himself President-for-Life, and ruled until his death in 1971. On Duvallier’s death his son, Jean Claude Duvallier assumed office. But Jean Claude did not take an active role in the government of Haiti and the “dinosaurs” of the Papa Doc regime continued their reign. In 1986 Jean Claude was forced to flee Haiti and several more Presidents came and went. In 1991, the nation held it’s first elections and voted in President Aristide. The election, however, was plagued with accusations of rigged votes and corruption. Violence and unrest eventually caused UN intervention in 1994. Today, Haiti continues to be one of the most impoverished and unstable countries in the Caribbean.