The total population in Haiti is estimated at 9,801,664 people (July 2012), which is slightly more than metropolitan Chicago. More than a third of the Haitian population is 14 years old or younger. If the birth rate stays at a comparable level, providing for the rapidly growing population will impose a huge challenge to Haiti. … Continue reading Demographics in Haiti

Haiti is located in Central America on an island called Hispaniola. The island is divided into the Dominican Republic in the East and Haiti in the West.

Francois Duvalier, later known as “Papa Doc” became president in 1957. After surviving an attempted coup, he refilled the key positions in government, military, and economy with persons of his trust. Besides this, he secured his power by creating a ‘secret police’ which brutally suppressed the people. The “tonton macoutes” murdered over 30,000 Haitians. Victims … Continue reading Decades of Haitian Dictatorship

Several years of political turmoil culminated in the lynching of Haiti’s president. He was lynched by a crowd of people. This led way to the United States occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934.

After defeating and expelling the colonial powers, the slave descendants had yet another battle to be fought. Due to the class differentiation created by the white French colonists fathering children with their African slaves; and, despite the unifying factor of their oppression by the colonists, the single country of Haiti divided into two separate states. … Continue reading Post-Colonial Times

Inspired by the equality-based ideals of the French Revolution learned through colonial education, nearly 500,000 slaves revolted. Under the leadership of Toussaint L’Overture, the Haitian slaves fought and defeated the French Colonialists. Declaring independence in 1804, Haiti became not only the first colonialized country in which slaves won their freedom, but also the first independent … Continue reading Haitian Independence

Haiti became one of the wealthiest Caribbean colonies, due to the heavy importation of African slaves and the exploitation of Haiti’s natural resources. At the height of colonization, almost half of the sugar produced in the world came from Haiti. The country was also the world market leader in the production of coffee, cotton, and … Continue reading Colonial Times

Haiti was originally settled by Taino Amerindians. The name Haiti means “Mountainous Land” in the Taino language. After Columbus discovered the island Hispaniola in 1492, Spanish settlers nearly annihilated the Taino tribes within twenty-five years. Spain assigned the mountainous western two-thirds of the island to France, thus creating the state of Haiti.