Haiti Fast Facts
Haiti Facts
Where is Haiti?
Haiti’s capital, Port au Prince, is located in the south-central portion of the island of Hispaniola, and is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea on three sides and a large bay on the northwest. Port au Prince is located on the west coast of St. Domingue, Hispaniola.
Haiti is on the northeastern part of Hispaniola. The country is one of the most densely populated on Earth, with approximately 7.3 million residents (2004 Census).
Haiti was once part of the French empire until they granted independence in a 1954 referendum. (The French still hold the last remaining possession of the island, where they established three tiny forts).
History is an integral part of the Haitian culture and cuisine, and Haiti’s history is deep and rich. As such, Haiti’s past, like its present and future, has inspired national pride. Although the people of Haiti have suffered at the hands of their government’s brutal policies, from the French conquest of the island up until the present day, a major source of pride for Haiti’s people is its legacy of independence under one of the world’s most influential and most influential leaders.
The origins of the island’s nation are found in the island of Hispaniola, which sits between the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The first known inhabitants of Hispaniola were Indians of the Carib tribe, who lived in the eastern and south-central part of the island at the time. The Indians were the first of many groups of people to migrate out of the Caribbean.
In 1501, Christopher Columbus sailed south from Seville for the first time to discover Hispaniola. The Spanish were intent on claiming the riches of the Caribbean for Spain. After his second voyage, Columbus established a small port city of Port au Prince, on Haiti’s Bay of Porto-Haitia, on a peninsula of land that he had discovered the previous year.
The French and Spanish had a long bloody conflict over Hispaniola, which was part of the Spanish Viceroyalty. By the time the first