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More Information about Haiti

With its 9,203,083 people Haiti is the 88th largest country in the world by population. It is the 147th largest country by area with 27,750 square kilometers. The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare independence in 1804. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in May of 2006. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 2 million people live within the zone of heavy to moderate structural damage. The earthquake is assessed as the worst in this region over the last 200 years and massive international assistance will be required to help the country recover.

Reading about Haiti

Check out the recommended reading list below for great sources of information on Haiti.

• Haiti (Bradt Travel Guide) Paul Clammer
• Haiti Bruce Gilden
• A Wedding in Haiti Julia Alvarez
• Lonely Planet Dominican Republic & Haiti (Country Travel Guide) Paul Clammer
• Haitian Creole Phrasebook: Essential Expressions for Communicating in Haiti Jowel C. Laguerre
• Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti Amy Wilentz
• Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica (P.S.) Zora Neale Hurston
• Una boda en Haiti: Historia de una amistad (Spanish Edition) Julia Alvarez
• Dominican Republic 1:400,000 & Haiti 1:350,000 Travel Map (International Travel Maps) ITM Canada
• Haiti: Best Nightmare on Earth Herbert Gold