HAITI

Haiti is located in the Caribbean and shares and island with the Dominican Republic.  The land is endowed with a beautiful rich culture from Africans, Spaniards and the French but is also marred by coup d'etat and revolution.  This history and culture is featured and represented in Haitian art.

HAITIAN HISTORY: Spanish & French Period

Christopher Columbus arrived on December 5, 1492, which was once inhabited by indigenous people called Tainos - the island that now comprises both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. After Columbus's arrival, the Spanish occupy the whole island and naming it "Espanola" (Hispaniola in English) which means "Little Spain." Exploiting the island's gold and natural resources, the Spanish forced millions of Tainos into slavery and subsequential extinction.

In 1625, the French landed on an island in the northern part of Hispaniola, Tortuga. After years of warfare, the Spanish finally signed the Ryswick Treaty that ceded the western part of the island to France under the direction of King Louis XIV. The French developed their western part of the island into the richest colony in the world with tobacco, indigo, cotton, sugar, coffee, cacao and slaves from Africa.

REVOLUTION: Mulattos & Haitian Revolution

The beginning of the revolution unofficially began in 1751 with the Maroons, who raided and killed over 6,000 soldiers and plantation owners. The French colony was renamed St. Dominigue, which was divided into three main populations: whites, free blacks & mulattos, and slaves. Many of the mulattos were the children of slave mothers raped by colonists and would consequentially inherited their fathers’ the wealth, plantations and power.

The French revolution took place in 1789, creating new laws and opportunity for Saint-Domingue to break the reigns of the French. In 1791, while the mulattos and colonists were fighting over territory, the slaves began to rebel by killing and poisoning their oppressors slave owners. Resulting in the Haitian Revolution and emergence of leaders, beginning with Houngan (Vodou priest) named Boukman who continue killing colonist and plantation owners, who soon was captured and executed.

In 1794, Toussaint L’Ouverture assembled military forces with Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe and joined forces with the French and Alexandre Petion (who was commander for the Mulatto Militia) during the ratification of emancipation. They successfully fought off the British in 1798 and the Spaniards in 1801 reclaiming the whole island. Unfortunately, the betrayal of Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe would result into Toussaint being seized and imprisoned by the French; Toussaint L’ Ouverture died of pneumonia in 1803.

Dessalines, Christophe and Petion would later join forces when word reach that the French intended to restore slavery. They would succeed in devastating French leaders Leclerc, Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau and their army at the Battle of Vertières on November 18, 1803.

AN INDEPENDENT NATION: Constitution & Santo Domingo

On January 1, 1804, Dessalines then declared independence, reclaiming the indigenous Taíno name of Haiti ("Land of Mountains") for the new nation; Haiti was now the first independent black republic, who abolished slavery. France did not recognize Haiti as an independent republic while England and the United States viewed Haiti as a treat to their own colonies. Haiti would later assisted South American nations to free them from Spain.

Dessalines authorized the Constitution of 1804: creating free religion, all citizens of Haiti were consider Black (including mulattos), and forbade white from owning Haitian soil. Unfortunately, in 1806, he was assassinated, which was organized by former advisers Henry Christophe and Alexandre Pétion, who would respectively rule north and the south of Haiti. They would both later died and be succeeded by Jean Pierre Boyer, who united Haiti and Santo Domingo 1821 -1844. However, this occupation then and today pitted Haiti and the now, Dominican Republic against each other. In exchange for diplomatic recognition from France, Boyer was forced to pay a huge indemnity for the loss of French property during the revolution, which was completely repaid in 1879.

POLITICAL INSTABILITY: United States & Presdients

Decades of political instability and unrest followed. Between 1843 and 1915, there were twenty-two leaders with only one of them completing their entire term. Resulting in France, England and Germany claiming interest in Haiti’s international commerce, with Germany being the most successful.

In the early 1900's, the United States sensed a looming war with Europe so it increases it’s presence with war ships in the Caribbean. The opportunity for the United States to invade Haiti occurred in 1915 when Haitian president Vilbrun Guillaume Sam executed 167 political prisoners. The United States occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934, stabilized debt, improved health, education and agricultural development and created the Army of Haiti who maintain peace and stability.

After 1934, the United States was no longer physically present in Haiti but was still influential in Haiti's politics. In 1957, Francois Duvalier (also known as) Papa Doc was elected president; his regime is regarded as the most repressive and corrupt, combining violence from his personal army, "Tonton Makouts," and exploitation of Vodou, he instilled fear and power over the population and his political opponents.
In 1964, Francois Duvalier declared himself Haiti's leader for life, which imposed sanctions and suspension of financial aid from the United States.

Duvalier died in 1971 but not before putting his son Jean Claude Duvalier in power. Haitians as well as foreign powers were friendly towards Jean Claude, which restore the United States aid programs in 1971. Haiti’s economic and political condition continued to decline, especially after Jean Claude declared all Creole pigs be slaughtered due to fear of the African Swine Fever and false rumors of AIDS outbreak, which resulted in his resignation and exile in 1986.

NEW GOVERNMENT: Coup D'etats, Arstide & Preval

From 1986 to 1991, four military coups took place in Haiti, which left thousands of Haitians dead, who attempted to vote for a new leader. Surprisingly, a young Roman-Catholic priest named Jean Bertrand Aristide became president, but like tradition, he was overthrown and exiled by country‘s elite. Aristide fled to the United States for help to be reinstated to power even though he and commentators believed the United States was behind 1991 coup. The election of Bill Clinton to United States president was favorable to Aristide's and his restoration to office.

When Aristide's term ended in February 1996, René Préval, a prominent Aristide political ally, was elected President with 88% of the vote: this was Haiti's first ever transition between two democratically elected presidents. However, after several coups and killings, Aristide was re-elected president in 2001, which many forces opposed. In 2004, rebels marching towards Port-au-Prince, forcing Aristide to depart from Haiti. There is controversy over whether or not he was kidnapped by the United States, while the U.S. State Department maintains that he resigned from office.

On June 1, 2004, the peacekeeping mission was passed to the MINUSTAH (comprising of 7000 forces lead by Brazil and back by Argentina, Chile, Jordan, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Spain, Sri Lanka and Uruguay), who join United Nations peacekeeping troops (composed of United States, France, Canada and Chile) in Haiti. In the midst of the ongoing controversy and violence, the interim government planned presidential elections in February 2006. René Préval, who had a strong following among the poor, won the elections; he took office in May 2006 and is the current president of Haiti.