The Great Island of Haiti
Louisa P.
February 24, 2017 Green Group D1 B4
This the National Flag of Haiti
This is a map of the island country of Haiti
February 24, 2017 Green Group D1 B4
This the National Flag of Haiti
This is a map of the island country of Haiti
Brief History Paragraph-
Haiti's history goes farther back in time than many other islands. Haiti was not a country at first, rather a section of what is now the Dominican Republic. But, 312 years after Christopher Columbus discovered it in 1492, they declared their independence as a new country in 1804. The people who broke off were a mixture of slaves, French, English, and Spanish who did not want to be ruled over by the French or the Spanish. Originally, the country was fully inhabited by Spanish 25 years after Christopher Columbus's first journey, but French explorers and some English men dominated it and soon took over the island. The original natives, the Taino, were almost completely wiped out from diseases transported to the new land by the European settlers. Colonists soon began to set up plantations and mines using the natives as slaves, which also lead to their extinction, only a few years after Columbus landed on Haiti. Today, after all that, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has a population of 10 million people, many of whom are starving, hurt, and homeless. They have suffered countless earthquakes, including an infamous 7.0 magnitude that killed over 300,000 people on Jan. 12, 2010. After shocks came later, including one with a 5.9 magnitude. The capital city, Port au Prince suffered the most. The shock left over a million homeless and hurt. The spread of desise was a major effect on the after deaths. Many more after the quakes died of infectionous desises and inuries due to poor health care. To this day people are still trying to recover from the distastor. Although Haiti suffered many casualties thoughout history, the island holds many interesting facts.
Cool and Interesting Paragraph-
Haiti is a fascinating island country. Did you know that the nation is the most mountainous in the Caribbean? Its mountain peaks reach over 8,000 feet. "Haiti" translates to "land of the mountains". Another cool fact; former slave and author Frederick Douglass was the US Ambassador to Haiti for three years directly before his death. In 1807, President Christophe made gourds the national currency! Now the Haitian money is called "gourdes" thanks to this president's funny desicion. During Jean-Bertrand Aristide's second term as president of the country, the government made the practice of voodoo a state religion. Now Haitians practice a mixture of voodoo, and catholic beliefs. They also have national ceremonies featuring voodoo based dances from Africa. The celebration of Carnival and New Year's Day are the biggest holidays for Haitians. Did you know that the official languages of Haiti include French? Canada is the only other country in the Americas that has French as a national language. Besides French, local talk consits of mostly Haitian Creole and some Spanish.
Citations-
"20 Interesting Facts About Haiti." Traveling with the Jones RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
"History of Haiti." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Feb. 2017. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.