View source for Haiti

{{Short description|Country in the Caribbean}}
{{Redirect|Hayti|other uses|Haiti (disambiguation)|and|Hayti (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Haiti
| common_name            = Haiti
| native_name            = {{lang|fr-HT|République d'Haïti}}{{nbsp}}([[Haitian French|French]])<br />{{native name|ht|Repiblik d Ayiti}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.haiti.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/konstitisyon.pdf|title=Konstitisyon Repiblik d Ayiti|access-date=24 May 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801110700/http://www.haiti.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/konstitisyon.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| image_flag             = Flag of Haiti.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Haiti.svg
| national_motto         = <div style="padding-bottom:0.3em;">{{native phrase|fr|"[[Liberté, égalité, fraternité]]"|italics=off|nolink=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haiti-reference.com/histoire/constitutions/const_1987.htm|title=Article 4 of the Constitution|publisher=Haiti-reference.com|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=21 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232714/https://www.haiti-reference.com/histoire/constitutions/const_1987.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><br />{{native phrase|ht|"Libète, Egalite, Fratènite"|italics=off|nolink=on}}<br />"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"</div> {{nowrap|'''Motto on traditional coat of arms:'''}}<br />{{native phrase|fr|"[[Unity makes strength|L'union fait la force]]"|italics=off|nolink=on}}<br />{{native phrase|ht|"Inite se fòs"|italics=off|nolink=on}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.haitiobserver.com/blog/tag/election/after-the-group-of-g8-now-come-g30-headed-by-louko-desir.html|title=After The Group Of G8, Now Come G30 Headed By Louko Desir|website=Haiti Observer|access-date=28 January 2018|archive-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902041131/http://www.haitiobserver.com/blog/tag/election/after-the-group-of-g8-now-come-g30-headed-by-louko-desir.html|url-status=live}}</ref><br />"Union makes strength"
| national_anthem        = {{native name|fr|[[La Dessalinienne]]|italics=off|nolink=on}}<br />{{native name|ht|Desalinyèn|italics=off|nolink=on}}<br />"The Dessalines Song"<div style="padding-top:0.5em;">{{center|[[File:Haiti National Anthem.ogg]]}}</div>
| image_map              = {{switcher | [[File:Haiti (orthographic projection).svg|frameless]] | Location in the Western Hemisphere | [[File:Map of Haiti and the neighboring countries.jpg|frameless]] | Haiti and its neighbors }}
| image_map2             =
| capital                = [[Port-au-Prince]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|18|35|39|N|72|18|26|W|type:city}}
| largest_city           = Port-au-Prince
| official_languages     = {{unbulleted list | [[Haitian French|French]] | [[Haitian Creole]] }}
| ethnic_groups          = 95% [[Afro-Haitians|Black]]<br />5% [[Mulatto Haitians|Mixed]] or [[White Haitians|White]]<ref name="CIA_20110303" />
| ethnic_groups_year     =
| religion               = {{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap;
|87.0% [[Christianity in Haiti|Christianity]]
|10.7% [[Irreligion|no religion]]
|2.1% [[folk religion]]s
|0.2% others}}
| religion_year          = 2020
| religion_ref           = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/interactives/religious-composition-by-country-2010-2050/|title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010–2050|date=21 December 2022|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|access-date=2 August 2020|archive-date=27 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227084932/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/interactives/religious-composition-by-country-2010-2050/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| demonym                = [[Haitians|Haitian]]
| government_type        = Unitary [[semi-presidential republic]] under an [[Provisional government|interim government]]
| leader_title1          = [[Transitional Presidential Council]]
| leader_name1           = {{unbulleted list
| [[Leslie Voltaire]] (Chairman)
| [[Edgard Leblanc Fils]]
| [[Fritz Jean]]
| Laurent St Cyr
| Emmanuel Vertilaire
| [[Smith Augustin]]
| Louis Gérald Gilles
}}
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of Haiti|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Alix Didier Fils-Aimé]] (acting)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robles |first1=Frances |title=Haitian Prime Minister Is Fired, Adding to the Nation’s Turmoil |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/10/us/haiti-prime-minister-garry-conille-fired.html |access-date=10 November 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 November 2024}}</ref>
| leader_title3          =
| leader_name3           =
| legislature            = [[National Assembly (Haiti)|National Assembly]]{{efn|name=vacantleg|The National Assembly currently has zero members, with all 30 seats in the Senate and all 119 seats in the Chamber of Deputies vacant since all previous members have served their terms as prescribed by the [[Haitian Constitution]] and no election has been held to fill those vacated seats.}}
| upper_house            = [[Senate (Haiti)|Senate]]{{efn|name=vacantleg}} (vacant)
| lower_house            = [[Chamber of Deputies (Haiti)|Chamber of Deputies]]{{efn|name=vacantleg}} (vacant)
| sovereignty_type       = [[Haitian Revolution|Independence from France]]
| established_event1     = Independence declared
| established_date1      = 1 January 1804
| established_event2     = Independence recognized
| established_date2      = 17 April 1825
| established_event3     = [[First Empire of Haiti|First Empire]]
| established_date3      = 22 September 1804
| established_event4     = [[State of Haiti|Southern Republic]]
| established_date4      = 9 March 1806
| established_event5     = [[State of Haiti|Northern State]]
| established_date5      = 17 October 1806
| established_event6     = [[Kingdom of Haiti|Kingdom]]
| established_date6      = 28 March 1811
| established_event7     = [[Unification of Hispaniola]]
| established_date7      = 9 February 1822
| established_event8     = Dissolution
| established_date8      = 27 February 1844
| established_event9     = [[Second Empire of Haiti|Second Empire]]
| established_date9      = 26 August 1849
| established_event10    = Republic
| established_date10     = 15 January 1859
| established_event11    = [[United States occupation of Haiti|United States occupation]]
| established_date11     = 28 July 1915 – 1 August 1934
| established_event12    = Independence from the United States
| established_date12     = 15 August 1934
| established_event13    = [[Constitution of Haiti|Current constitution]]
| established_date13     = 29 March 1987
| area_km2               = 27,750<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/summaries/#geography|title=Country Summary|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=1 September 2023|via=CIA.gov|archive-date=17 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817125957/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/summaries/#geography|url-status=live}}</ref>
| area_rank              = 143rd <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_sq_mi             = 10,714 <!--Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| percent_water          = 0.7
| population_estimate    = 11,470,261<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Haiti|access-date=22 June 2023|year=2023}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2023
| population_estimate_rank = 83rd
| population_density_km2 = 382 <!--(population_estimate ÷ area_km2)-->
| population_density_sq_mi = 989.7 <!--(population_estimate ÷ area_sq_mi)-->
| population_density_rank = 32nd
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $38.952 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.HT">{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=263,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Haiti)|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]|website=IMF.org|date=10 October 2023|access-date=15 October 2023|archive-date=22 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022224405/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=263,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1|url-status=live}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2023
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 144th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $3,185<ref name="IMFWEO.HT" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 174th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $25.986 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.HT" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2023
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 139th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $2,125<ref name="IMFWEO.HT" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 172nd
| Gini                   = 41 <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 2023
| Gini_change            = decrease
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview|title=Haiti Overview: Development news, research, data|access-date=14 November 2024}}</ref>
| Gini_rank              =
| HDI                    = 0.552 <!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2021/2022|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=8 September 2022|access-date=8 September 2022|archive-date=9 October 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 158th
| currency               = [[Haitian gourde|Gourde]] (G)
| currency_code          = HTG
| time_zone              = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| utc_offset             = −5
| utc_offset_DST         = −4
| time_zone_DST          = [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Haiti|+509]]
| cctld                  = [[.ht]]
| country_code           =
}}
'''Haiti''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Haiti.ogg|ˈ|h|eɪ|t|i}} {{respell|HAY|tee}}; [[Haitian French|French]]: {{lang|fr-HT|Haïti}} {{IPA|fr|a.iti||LL-Q150 (fra)-GrandCelinien-Haïti.wav}}; {{langx|ht|Ayiti}} {{IPA-ht|ajiti|}}}} officially the '''Republic of Haiti''',{{efn|{{langx|fr|République d'Haïti}}; {{langx|ht|Repiblik d Ayiti}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00000626/00001/5j|title=Konstitisyon Repiblik Ayiti 1987|publisher=Ufdc.ufl.edu|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922030419/https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00000626/00001/5j|url-status=live}}</ref>}}{{efn|name=Hayti|1=The nation was officially founded as ''Hayti'' in its Declaration of Independence and early prints,<ref name="auto5">{{Cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C12756259|title=Catalogue description Haitian Declaration of Independence|date=1 January 1804|via=National Archive of the UK|access-date=23 May 2020|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207090330/https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C12756259|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/dol/images/examples/haiti/0001.pdf|title=National Archives – Haiti|access-date=1 September 2023|archive-date=1 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101215521/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/dol/images/examples/haiti/0001.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> constitutions,<ref name="auto2">[https://sema-kama.org/la-constitution-imperiale-du-20-mai-1805/ La Constitution Impériale du 20 mai 1805]{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and imperial declarations.<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/exhibitions/remember_haiti/rev_henri-christophe.php|title=Remember Haiti &#124; Revolution &#124; Royaume d'Hayti. Déclaration du roi.|website=brown.edu|access-date=23 May 2020|archive-date=7 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207090322/https://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/exhibitions/remember_haiti/rev_henri-christophe.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Published writings of 1802–1919 in the United States commonly used the name ''Hayti'' (e.g. ''The Blue Book of Hayti'' (1919), a book with official standing in Haiti). By 1873 ''Haiti'' was common among titles of US published books as well as in US congressional publications. In all of [[Frederick Douglass]]' publications after 1890, he used ''Haiti''. As late as 1949, the name ''Hayti'' continued to be used in books published in England (e.g. ''Hayti: 145 Years of Independence—The Bi-Centenary of Port-au-Prince'' published in London, England in 1949) but by 1950, usage in England had shifted to ''Haiti''.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti-archive-new/msg17201.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309003250/http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti-archive-new/msg17201.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 March 2017|title=17201: Corbett: Hayti and Haiti in the English language|editor=Corbett, Bob|date=9 November 2003|publisher=Webster University|access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref>}} is a country on the island of [[Hispaniola]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]], east of [[Cuba]] and [[Jamaica]], and south of [[The Bahamas]]. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the [[Dominican Republic]].<ref name="Dardik">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=de9NDQAAQBAJ|title=Vascular Surgery: A Global Perspective|editor=Dardik, Alan|page=341|year=2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-33745-6|access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="Current Affairs">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5wBsDQAAQBAJ|title=Current Affairs November 2016 eBook|editor=Josh, Jagran|page=93|year=2016|access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref> Haiti is the third largest country in the [[Caribbean]], and with an estimated population of 11.4 million, is the most populous Caribbean country.{{UN Population|ref}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=André |first=Vania |date=2024-06-16 |title=6 Fast facts about Haiti and the Caribbean you should know |url=https://haitiantimes.com/2024/06/16/6-fast-facts-about-haiti-and-the-caribbean-you-should-know/#:~:text=Haiti%20is%20the%20most%20populous,estimated%20population%20of%2011%20million. |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=The Haitian Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The capital and largest city is [[Port-au-Prince]].
Haiti was originally inhabited by the [[Taíno]] people.<ref name="national-geographic">{{cite news|last1=Lawler|first1=Andrew|date=23 December 2020|title=Invaders nearly wiped out Caribbean's first people long before Spanish came, DNA reveals|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/12/invaders-nearly-wiped-out-caribbeans-first-people-long-before-spanish-came-dna-reveals/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223160603/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/12/invaders-nearly-wiped-out-caribbeans-first-people-long-before-spanish-came-dna-reveals/|archive-date=23 December 2020|work=National Geographic}}</ref> In 1492, [[Christopher Columbus]] established the first European settlement in the [[Americas]], [[La Navidad]], on its northeastern coast.<ref name="Davies1953">{{cite journal|last=Davies|first=Arthur|title=The Loss of the Santa Maria Christmas Day, 1492|journal=The American Historical Review|year=1953|pages=854–865|doi=10.1086/ahr/58.4.854|issn=0002-8762}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nilstremmel.com/haiti/f_noframes.htm|title=Haïti histoire – 7 Bord de Mer de Limonade|publisher=Nilstremmel.com|access-date=15 July 2014|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922113243/http://www.nilstremmel.com/haiti/f_noframes.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The island was part of the [[Spanish Empire]] until 1697, when the western portion was [[Peace of Ryswick|ceded to France]] and became [[Saint-Domingue]], dominated by [[sugarcane]] [[sugar plantations in the Caribbean|plantations]] worked by enslaved Africans. The 1791-1804 [[Haitian Revolution]] made Haiti the first [[sovereign state]] in the [[Caribbean]], the second [[republic]] in the Americas, the first country in the Americas to officially abolish slavery, and the only country in history established by a [[slave revolt]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Anacaona, Golden Flower|last=Danticat|first=Edwidge|journal=Journal of Haitian Studies|publisher=Scholastic Inc.|year=2005|isbn=978-0-439-49906-4|volume=11|location=New York|pages=163–165|jstor=41715319|author-link=Edwidge Danticat|issue=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Matthewson|first=Tim|year=1996|title=Jefferson and the Nonrecognition of Haiti|journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society|volume=140|issue=1|pages=22–48|issn=0003-049X|jstor=987274}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1202772.stm|title=Country profile: Haiti|date=19 January 2010|work=BBC News|access-date=23 January 2010|archive-date=1 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901044854/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1202772.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The 19th century saw political instability, international isolation, [[Haiti Independence Debt|debt to France]], and failed invasions of the Dominican Republic, including [[Dominican War of Independence|a costly war]]. [[United States occupation of Haiti|U.S. forces occupied Haiti]] from 1915 to 1934,<ref name="Haite1934">{{cite book|last=Benjamin Beede|title=The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898–1934: An Encyclopedia|year=1994|edition=May 1, 1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanrevoluti0000unse_o8w2/page/784 784]|publisher=Routledge; 1 edition|isbn=0-8240-5624-8|url=https://archive.org/details/americanrevoluti0000unse_o8w2/page/784}} - p 223<BR>''The Haitian and U.S. governments reached a mutually satisfactory agreement in the Executive Accord of August 7, 1933, and on August 15, the last marines departed.''</ref> followed by dictatorial rule of the [[Duvalier dynasty|Duvalier family]] (1957–1986). After a [[2004 Haitian coup d'état|coup d'état in 2004]], the [[United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti|United Nations intervened]]. In 2010, [[2010 Haiti earthquake|a catastrophic earthquake]] and a [[2010s Haiti cholera outbreak|deadly cholera outbreak]] devastated the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2022/09/22/haiti-riots-triggered-by-imf-advice-to-cut-fuel-subsidies/?sh=406676905169|title=Haiti Riots Triggered By IMF Advice To Cut Fuel Subsidies|work=Forbes|last=Shellenberger|first=Michael|date=22 September 2022|access-date=18 October 2022|archive-date=22 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022000112/https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2022/09/22/haiti-riots-triggered-by-imf-advice-to-cut-fuel-subsidies/?sh=406676905169|url-status=live}}</ref>
Haiti is a founding member of the [[United Nations]], [[Organization of American States]] (OAS),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oas.org/en/member_states/member_state.asp?sCode=HAI|title=OAS – Member State: Haiti|publisher=OAS – Organization of American States: Democracy for peace, security, and development|author=<!--staff writer-->|date=1 August 2009|website=oas.org|access-date=23 April 2017|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922060853/http://www.oas.org/en/member_states/member_state.asp?sCode=HAI|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Association of Caribbean States]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acs-aec.org/sites/default/files/english_ebook_acs_20_low_res.pdf|title=Association of Caribbean States (1994–2014)|author=<!--staff writer-->|page=46|year=2014|access-date=25 April 2016|archive-date=11 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811112704/http://www.acs-aec.org/sites/default/files/english_ebook_acs_20_low_res.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and the {{Lang|fr|[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]]|italic=no}}. In addition to [[CARICOM]], it is a member of the [[International Monetary Fund]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/memdate.htm|title=International Monetary Fund: List of Members|website=imf.org|access-date=23 April 2017|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074955/https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/memdate.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[World Trade Organization]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm|title=WTO ¦ World Trade Organization: Members and Observers|website=wto.org|access-date=23 April 2017|archive-date=29 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629193816/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Community of Latin American and Caribbean States]]. Historically poor and politically unstable, Haiti has the lowest [[List of countries by Human Development Index|Human Development Index]] in the Americas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks|title=United Nations Human Development Insights|access-date=21 June 2024|archive-date=12 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712063231/https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks|url-status=live}}</ref>
By 2024, Haiti has faced [[Haitian crisis (2018–present)|severe economic and political crises]], gang activity,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/18/haiti-un-talks-gangs-hunger-cholera|title=Haiti on verge of collapse, NGOs warn as UN talks on restoring order continue|last=Taylor|first=Luke|date=18 October 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=24 October 2022|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114025039/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/18/haiti-un-talks-gangs-hunger-cholera|url-status=live}}</ref> and the collapse of its government. With no elected officials remaining, Haiti has been described as a [[failed state]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/10/haiti-no-elected-officials-anarchy-failed-state|title=Haiti left with no elected government officials as it spirals towards anarchy|last=Taylor|first=Luke|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=11 January 2023|access-date=10 February 2023|archive-date=8 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208113432/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/10/haiti-no-elected-officials-anarchy-failed-state|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/violence-haiti-worsens-canada-bets-153056650.html|title=As violence in Haiti worsens, Canada bets on assistance to police|last=Charles|first=Jacqueline|date=3 May 2023|access-date=3 May 2023|newspaper=[[Miami Herald]]|archive-date=3 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503212914/https://news.yahoo.com/violence-haiti-worsens-canada-bets-153056650.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Etymology==
''Haiti'' (also earlier ''Hayti''){{efn|name=Hayti}} comes from the indigenous [[Taíno language]] and means "land of high mountains";<ref>{{cite book|last1=Haydn|first1=Joseph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOE8AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA321|title=A Dictionary of Dates Relating to All Ages and Nations: For Universal Reference Comprehending Remarkable Occurrences, Ancient and Modern, The Foundation, Laws, and Governments of Countries-Their Progress In Civilization, Industry, Arts and Science-Their Achievements In Arms-And Their Civil, Military, And Religious Institutions, And Particularly of the British Empire|last2=Vincent|first2=Benjamin|year=1860|page=321|access-date=12 September 2015|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115064744/https://books.google.com/books?id=HOE8AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA321|url-status=live}}</ref> it was the native name{{efn|1=The Taínos may have used ''Bohío'' as another name for the island.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Guitar|first1=Lynne|last2=Ferbel-Azcárate|first2=Pedro|last3=Estevez|first3=Jorge|title=Indigenous Resurgence in the Contemporary Caribbean|date=2006|publisher=Peter Lang Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8204-7488-5|page=41|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXZeQZMDpgYC&pg=PA41|access-date=10 July 2015|chapter=iii: Ocama-Daca Taíno (Hear me, I am Taíno)|lccn=2005012816|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217144430/https://books.google.com/books?id=qXZeQZMDpgYC&pg=PA41|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Edmond|first1=Louisket|title=The Tears of Haiti|date=2010|publisher=[[Xlibris]]|isbn=978-1-4535-1770-3|page=42|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_1wDXEB1fOUC&pg=PA42|access-date=10 July 2015|lccn=2010908468|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217144430/https://books.google.com/books?id=_1wDXEB1fOUC&pg=PA42|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Senauth|first1=Frank|title=The Making and Destruction of Haiti|date=2011|publisher=[[AuthorHouse]]|location=Bloomington, Indiana, US|isbn=978-1-4567-5384-9|page=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBdccuwnqY8C&pg=PA1|lccn=2011907203|access-date=10 July 2015|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217144431/https://books.google.com/books?id=QBdccuwnqY8C&pg=PA1|url-status=live}}</ref>}} for the entire island of [[Hispaniola]]. The name was restored by Haitian revolutionary [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]] as the official name of independent Saint-Domingue, as a tribute to the Amerindian predecessors.<ref>{{cite book|last=Martineau|first=Harriet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lp54N7g2CYQC&pg=PA12|title=The Hour and the Man: A Fictional Account of the Haitian Revolution and the life of Toussaint L'Ouverture|year=2010|isbn=978-99904-1-167-6|page=12|publisher=Aruba Heritage Foundation|access-date=12 September 2015|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115071324/https://books.google.com/books?id=lp54N7g2CYQC&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref>
In French, the ''[[ï]]'' in ''Ha'''ï'''ti'' has a [[Diaeresis (diacritic)#French|diacritical mark]] (used to show that the second vowel is pronounced separately, as in the word ''na'''ï'''ve''), while the ''H'' is silent.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stein|first=Gail|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning French|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zaT3kj55aTcC&pg=PA18|year=2003|publisher=Alpha Books|isbn=978-1-59257-055-3|page=18}}</ref> (In English, this rule for the pronunciation is often disregarded, thus the spelling ''Haiti'' is used.) There are different anglicizations for its pronunciation such as ''HIGH-ti'', ''high-EE-ti'' and ''haa-EE-ti'', which are still in use, but ''HAY-ti'' is the most widespread and best-established.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/magazinemonitor/2010/01/how_to_say_haiti_and_portaupri.shtml|title=How to Say: Haiti and Port-au-Prince|publisher=BBC|access-date=19 November 2014|archive-date=19 November 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141119070029/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/magazinemonitor/2010/01/how_to_say_haiti_and_portaupri.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> In French, Haiti's nickname means the "Pearl of the Antilles" (''La Perle des Antilles'') because of both its natural beauty<ref>{{cite web|last=Eldin|first=F.|year=1878|title=Haïti, 13 ans de séjour aux Antilles|trans-title=Haiti, 13 years of stay in the Antilles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3xAIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA33|access-date=21 July 2015|page=33|language=fr|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115071326/https://books.google.com/books?id=3xAIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA33|url-status=live}}</ref> and the amount of wealth it accumulated for the [[Kingdom of France]].<ref>{{Cite web|year=1797|title=Voyage a Saint-Domingue, pendant les années 1788, 1789 et 1790|trans-title=Travel to Santo Domingo, during the years 1788, 1789 and 1790|url=https://archive.org/details/voyagesaintdomin00wimp|access-date=31 March 2018|language=fr}}</ref> In [[Haitian Creole]], it is spelled and pronounced with a ''y'' but no ''H'': {{langx|ht|Ayiti|label=none}}''.''
Another theory on the name Haiti is its origin in African tradition; in Fon language, one of the most spoken by the bossales (Haitians born in Africa), [http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti-archive/msg02162.html Ayiti-Tomè] means: "From nowadays this land is our land."{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
In the Haitian community the country has multiple nicknames: Ayiti-Toma (as its origin in Ayiti Tomè), Ayiti-Cheri (Ayiti my Darling), Tè-Desalin (Dessalines' Land) or Lakay (Home).{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
==History==
{{Main|History of Haiti}}
===Pre-Columbian era===
[[File:Copia de Cacicazgos de la Hispaniola.png|thumb|upright=1.6|The five [[cacique]]doms of Hispaniola at the time of the arrival of Christopher Columbus]]
The island of [[Hispaniola]], of which Haiti occupies the western three-eighths,<ref name="Dardik" /><ref name="Current Affairs" /> has been inhabited since around 6,000 years ago by Native Americans who are thought to have arrived from Central or northern South America. These Archaic Age people are thought to have been largely hunter gatherers. During the [[1st millennium BC]], the Arawakan-speaking ancestors of the Taino people began to migrate into the Caribbean. Unlike the Archaic peoples, they practiced the intensive production of [[pottery]] and agriculture. The earliest evidence of the ancestors of the Taino people on Hispaniola is the Ostionoid culture, which dates to around 600 AD.<ref name=":132">{{Cite journal|last1=Fernandes|first1=Daniel M.|last2=Sirak|first2=Kendra A.|last3=Ringbauer|first3=Harald|last4=Sedig|first4=Jakob|last5=Rohland|first5=Nadin|last6=Cheronet|first6=Olivia|last7=Mah|first7=Matthew|last8=Mallick|first8=Swapan|last9=Olalde|first9=Iñigo |last10=Culleton |first10=Brendan J.|last11=Adamski|first11=Nicole|last12=Bernardos|first12=Rebecca|last13=Bravo|first13=Guillermo|last14=Broomandkhoshbacht|first14=Nasreen|last15=Callan|first15=Kimberly|date=2021-02-04|title=A genetic history of the pre-contact Caribbean|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=590|issue=7844|pages=103–110|bibcode=2021Natur.590..103F|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03053-2|issn=0028-0836|pmc=7864882|pmid=33361817}}</ref> {{Main|Chiefdoms of Hispaniola}}In Taíno society the largest unit of political organization was led by a ''[[cacique]]'', or chief, as the Europeans understood them. At the time of European contact, the island of Hispaniola was divided among five 'caciquedoms': the Magua in the northeast, the Marien in the northwest, the Jaragua in the southwest, the Maguana in the central regions of Cibao, and the Higüey in the southeast.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cassá|first=Roberto|title=Los Indios de Las Antillas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJ-wJ49cNwAC&pg=PA126|year=1992|publisher=Editorial Abya Yala|isbn=978-84-7100-375-1|pages=126–|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=11 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111004223/https://books.google.com/books?id=oJ-wJ49cNwAC&pg=PA126#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Samuel M.|last=Wilson|year=1990|title=Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus|publisher=University of Alabama Press|page=110|isbn=978-0-8173-0462-1}}</ref>
Taíno cultural artifacts include [[cave paintings]] in several locations in the country. These have become national symbols of Haiti and tourist attractions. Modern-day [[Léogâne]], started as a French colonial town in the southwest, is beside the former capital of the caciquedom of ''Xaragua.''<ref name="royal">{{cite journal|url=http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/ant/ROYAL-01.ANT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216092556/http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/data/ant/ROYAL-01.ANT|archive-date=16 February 2009|title=1492 and Multiculturalism|last=Royal|first=Robert|journal=The Intercollegiate Review|date=Spring 1992|volume=27|issue=2|pages=3–10}}</ref>
===Colonial era===
====Spanish rule (1492–1625)====
{{Main|Columbian Viceroyalty|New Spain|Captaincy General of Santo Domingo}}
[[File:Columbus landing on Hispaniola adj.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|[[Artist's impression]] of [[Christopher Columbus]] landing on [[Hispaniola]], engraving by [[Theodor de Bry]]]]
Navigator [[Christopher Columbus]] landed in Haiti on 6 December 1492, in an area that he named ''[[Môle-Saint-Nicolas]]'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924097691590|title=Columbus the Discoverer|editor=Ober, Frederick Albion|page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924097691590/page/n119 96]|year=1906|publisher=Harper & Brothers Publishers New York and London|access-date=2 December 2015}}</ref> and claimed the island for the [[Crown of Castile]]. Nineteen days later, his ship the ''[[Santa María (ship)|Santa María]]'' ran aground near the present site of [[Cap-Haïtien]]. Columbus left 39 men on the island, who founded the settlement of [[La Navidad]] on 25 December 1492.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti|title="Haiti"|access-date=5 September 2019|archive-date=15 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915192813/https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti|url-status=live}}</ref> Relations with the native peoples, initially good, broke down and the settlers were later killed by the Taíno.<ref name="Bradt10">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 10.</ref>
The sailors carried endemic Eurasian [[infectious disease]]s, causing [[epidemic]]s that killed a large number of native people.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/What-Became-of-the-Taino.html|title=What Became of the Taíno?|journal=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|date=October 2011|access-date=16 October 2013|archive-date=7 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207130050/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/What-Became-of-the-Taino.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Koplow|first=David A.|title=Smallpox: The Fight to Eradicate a Global Scourge|url=https://archive.org/details/smallpoxfighttoe00kopl|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-24220-3}}</ref> The first recorded [[smallpox]] epidemic in the Americas erupted on Hispaniola in 1507.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/preparedness/bt_public_history_smallpox.shtm|title=History of Smallpox – Smallpox Through the Ages|publisher=Texas Department of State Health Services|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=24 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924141608/https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/preparedness/bt_public_history_smallpox.shtm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Their numbers were further reduced by the harshness of the ''{{lang|es|[[encomienda]]}}'' system, in which the Spanish forced natives to work in gold mines and plantations.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graves|first=Kerry A.|title=Haiti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8b047XP92i4C&pg=PA22|date=2002|publisher=Capstone|isbn=978-0-7368-1078-4|page=22}}</ref><ref name="Bradt10"/>
The Spanish passed the [[Laws of Burgos]] (1512–1513), which forbade the maltreatment of natives, endorsed their [[Proselytism|conversion]] to Catholicism,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.smu.edu/bakewell/BAKEWELL/texts/burgoslaws.html|title=Laws of Burgos, 1512–1513|publisher=Faculty.smu.edu|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=6 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606074822/http://faculty.smu.edu/bakewell/bakewell/texts/burgoslaws.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and gave legal framework to ''{{lang|es|encomiendas}}.'' The natives were brought to these sites to work in specific plantations or industries.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/186567/encomienda|title=Encomienda (Spanish policy)|encyclopedia=Britannica.com|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=7 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807173447/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/186567/encomienda|url-status=live}}</ref>
As the Spanish re-focused their colonization efforts on the greater riches of mainland Central and South America, Hispaniola became reduced largely to a trading and refueling post. As a result [[Piracy in the Caribbean|piracy]] became widespread, encouraged by European powers hostile to Spain such as France (based on [[Tortuga (Haiti)|Île de la Tortue]]) and England.<ref name="Bradt10"/> The Spanish largely abandoned the western third of the island, focusing their colonization effort on the eastern two-thirds.<ref>Knight, Franklin, ''The Caribbean: The Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism'', 3rd edn, p. 54, New York, Oxford University Press 1990.</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> The western part of the island was thus gradually settled by French [[buccaneer]]s; among them was Bertrand d'Ogeron, who succeeded in growing [[tobacco]] and recruited many French colonial families from [[Martinique]] and [[Guadeloupe]].<ref>{{Cite book|author=Ducoin, Jacques|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/849870919|title=Bertrand d'Ogeron, 1613–1676 : fondateur de la colonie de Saint-Domingue et gouverneur des flibustiers|year=2013|isbn=978-2-84833-294-9|publisher=Télégramme|location=Brest|oclc=849870919}}</ref> In 1697 [[Kingdom of France|France]] and [[Imperial Spain|Spain]] settled their hostilities on the island by way of the [[Treaty of Ryswick]] of 1697, which divided Hispaniola between them.<ref name="Bradt11">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 11.</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
====French rule (1625–1804)====
{{Main|Saint-Domingue|French West Indies}}
France received the western third and subsequently named it Saint-Domingue, the French equivalent of ''[[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]]'', the Spanish colony on [[Hispaniola]].<ref name="firstcolony">{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/3.htm|title=Dominican Republic – The first colony|access-date=19 June 2006|work=Country Studies|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]; [[Federal Research Division]]|archive-date=13 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213213711/http://countrystudies.us/dominican-republic/3.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The French set about creating sugar and coffee plantations, worked by vast numbers of those enslaved imported from [[Africa]], and Saint-Domingue grew to become their richest colonial possession,<ref name="Bradt11"/><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> generating 40% of France’s foreign trade and doubling the wealth generation of all of England’s colonies, combined.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Walter E. Kretchik|chapter=1. Haitian Culture and Military Power|date=2016|language=en|page=6|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|quote=the French colony’s seven thousand plantations to produce 40 percent of France’s foreign trade, nearly double the production of all British colonies combined|title=Eyewitness to Chaos: Personal Accounts of the Intervention in Haiti, 1994}}<!-- auto-translated from Spanish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>
The French settlers were outnumbered by enslaved persons by almost 10 to 1.<ref name="Bradt11"/> According to the 1788 Census, Haiti's population consisted of nearly 25,000 Europeans, 22,000 free coloreds and 700,000 Africans in slavery.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Coupeau|first=Steeve|title=The History of Haiti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tA-XfYZFNvkC&pg=PA18|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2008|page=18|isbn=978-0-313-34089-5|access-date=7 January 2018|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628033520/https://books.google.com/books?id=tA-XfYZFNvkC&pg=PA18|url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast, by 1763 the white population of [[New France|French Canada]], a far larger territory, had numbered only 65,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/encyclopedia/ImmigrationHistoryofCanada.htm|title=Immigration History of Canada|publisher=Faculty.marianopolis.edu|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=16 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216101207/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/encyclopedia/ImmigrationHistoryofCanada.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In the north of the island, those enslaved were able to retain many ties to African cultures, religion and language; these ties were continually being renewed by newly imported Africans. Some West Africans in slavery held on to their traditional [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]] beliefs by secretly syncretizing it with Catholicism.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
The French enacted the ''[[Code Noir]]'' ("Black Code"), prepared by [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]] and ratified by [[Louis XIV]], which established rules on slave treatment and permissible freedoms.<ref name="Bradt12">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 12.</ref> Saint-Domingue has been described as one of the most brutally efficient slave colonies; at the end of the eighteenth century it was supplying two-thirds of Europe's tropical produce while one-third of newly imported Africans died within a few years.<ref name="Farmer-LROB">{{cite web|last=Farmer|first=Paul|title=Who removed Aristide?|access-date=19 February 2010|date=15 April 2004|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n08/farm01_.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608222428/http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n08/farm01_.html|archive-date=8 June 2008}}</ref> Many enslaved persons died from diseases such as [[smallpox]] and [[typhoid fever]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kiple|first=Kenneth F.|title=The Caribbean Slave: A Biological History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=veMLoyrX0BEC|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002|page=145|isbn=978-0-521-52470-4|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628033520/https://books.google.com/books?id=veMLoyrX0BEC|url-status=live}}</ref> They had low [[birth rate]]s,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6K-DocgDY6gC&pg=PA119|title=Sugar Island Slavery in the Age of Enlightenment: The Political Economy of the Caribbean World|author-link1=Arthur Stinchcombe|last=Stinchcombe|first=Arthur L.|date=11 December 1995|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-2200-3|language=en|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628033520/https://books.google.com/books?id=6K-DocgDY6gC&pg=PA119#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and there is evidence that some women [[abortion|aborted]] fetuses rather than give birth to children within the bonds of [[slavery]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_z17AAAAMAAJ|title=Journal of Haitian Studies|date=2001|publisher=Haitian Studies Association|pages=67|language=en|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628033540/https://books.google.com/books?id=_z17AAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The colony's environment also suffered, as forests were cleared to make way for plantations and the land was overworked so as to extract maximum profit for French plantation owners.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
[[File:Fire in Saint-Domingo 1791, German copper engraving.jpg|thumb|Saint-Domingue [[Slave rebellion|slave revolt]] in 1791]]
As in its [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana colony]], the [[New France|French colonial]] government allowed some rights to [[free people of color]] ({{Lang|fr|gens de couleur}}), the [[mixed-race]] descendants of European male colonists and African enslaved females (and later, mixed-race women).<ref name="Bradt11"/> Over time, many were released from slavery and they established a separate [[social class]]. White French [[Creole peoples|Creole]] fathers frequently sent their mixed-race sons to [[France]] for their education. Some men of color were admitted into the military. More of the free people of color lived in the south of the island, near [[Port-au-Prince]], and many intermarried within their community.<ref name="Bradt11"/> They frequently worked as artisans and tradesmen, and began to own some property, including enslaved persons of their own.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="Bradt11"/> The free people of color petitioned the [[New France|colonial]] government to expand their rights.<ref name="Bradt11"/>
The brutality of slave life led many people in bondage to escape to mountainous regions, where they set up their own autonomous communities and became known as [[Haitian Maroon|maroons]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> One maroon leader, [[François Mackandal]], led a rebellion in the 1750s; however, he was later captured and executed by the French.<ref name="Bradt11"/>
====Haitian Revolution (1791–1804)====
{{Main|Haitian Revolution}}
[[File:Général Toussaint Louverture.jpg|thumb|upright|General Toussaint Louverture]]
Inspired by the [[French Revolution]] of 1789 and principles of the [[rights of man]], the French settlers and free people of color pressed for greater political freedom and more [[civil rights]].<ref name="Bradt12"/> Tensions between these two groups led to conflict, as a militia of free-coloreds was set up in 1790 by [[Vincent Ogé]], resulting in his capture, torture and execution.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Sensing an opportunity, in August 1791 the first slave armies were established in northern Haiti under the leadership of [[Toussaint Louverture]] inspired by the Vodou ''houngan'' (priest) Boukman, and backed by the Spanish in Santo Domingo – soon a full-blown slave rebellion had broken out across the entire colony.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
In 1792, the [[French First Republic|French]] government sent three commissioners with troops to re-establish control; to build an alliance with the ''[[gens de couleur]]'' and enslaved persons commissioners [[Léger-Félicité Sonthonax]] and [[Étienne Polverel]] abolished slavery in the colony.<ref name="Bradt12"/> Six months later, the [[National Convention]], led by [[Maximilien de Robespierre]] and the [[Jacobin Club|Jacobins]], endorsed [[abolition of slavery timeline|abolition]] and extended it to all the French colonies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/291/|title=Decree of the National Convention of 4 February 1794, Abolishing Slavery in all the Colonies|publisher=Chnm.gmu.edu|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603234817/http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/291/|archive-date=3 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The [[United States]], which was a new republic itself, oscillated between supporting or not supporting [[Toussaint Louverture]] and the emerging country of Haiti, depending on who was President of the US. Washington, who was a slave holder and isolationist, kept the United States neutral, although private US citizens at times provided aid to French [[Planter (plantation owner)|planters]] trying to put down the revolt. [[John Adams]], a vocal opponent of slavery, fully supported the slave revolt by providing diplomatic recognition, financial support, munitions and warships (including the [[USS Constitution]]) beginning in 1798. This support ended in 1801 when Jefferson, another slave-holding president, took office and recalled the US Navy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/HaitianRev|title=1784–1800 – The United States and the Haitian Revolution|publisher=History.state.gov|access-date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920081517/http://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/HaitianRev|archive-date=20 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/22/books/poles-in-haiti.html|title=Poles in Haiti|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=22 March 1987|access-date=24 July 2013|last=Joseph|first=Raymond A.|author-link=Raymond Joseph|archive-date=14 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914152856/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/22/books/poles-in-haiti.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/john-adams-supports-toussaint-louverture-horrifies-jefferson/|title=John Adams Supports Toussaint Louverture, Horrifies Jefferson|date=29 March 2017|access-date=25 November 2021|archive-date=21 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921232453/https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/john-adams-supports-toussaint-louverture-horrifies-jefferson/|url-status=live}}</ref>
With slavery abolished, Toussaint Louverture pledged allegiance to France, and he fought off the British and Spanish forces who had taken advantage of the situation and invaded Saint-Domingue.<ref name="Latin America's Wars: Volume 1">{{cite book|last1=Scheina|first1=Robert L.|title=Latin America's Wars: Volume 1|date=2003|publisher=Potomac Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution|date=2009|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|page=182}}</ref> The Spanish were later forced to cede their part of the island to France under the terms of the [[Peace of Basel]] in 1795, uniting the island under one government. However, an insurgency against French rule broke out in the east, and in the west there was fighting between Louverture's forces and the free people of color led by [[André Rigaud]] in the [[War of the Knives]] (1799–1800).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/revolution/revolution3.htm|title=The Haitian Revolution of 1791–1803|first=Bob|last=Corbett|publisher=Webster University|access-date=19 October 2013|archive-date=10 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910102328/http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/revolution/revolution3.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Smucker|first=Glenn R.|at=Toussaint Louverture|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/httoc.html|title=A Country Study: Haiti|editor=Richard A. Haggerty|publisher=Library of Congress Federal Research Division|date=December 1989|access-date=2 November 2007|archive-date=2 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502055615/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/httoc.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The United States' support for the blacks in the war contributed to their victory over the mulattoes.<ref name=YPT>{{cite web|title=Haitian Revolution: A YPT Guide|url=https://www.youngpioneertours.com/haitian-revolution-ypt-guide/|website=Young Pioneer Tours|date=7 March 2020|access-date=3 July 2023|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703155758/https://www.youngpioneertours.com/haitian-revolution-ypt-guide/|url-status=live}}</ref> More than 25,000 whites and free blacks left the island as refugees.<ref>{{Cite web|author=<!--staff writer-->|title=The History of the United States' First Refugee Crisis|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-united-states-first-refugee-crisis-180957717/|access-date=10 June 2022|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en|quote=In spite of all this paranoia, however, South Carolina actually lifted its ban on foreign slaves in 1804, and all those who arrived from Saint-Domingue eventually settled there. According to Dessens, many were even welcomed quite warmly. This was especially true for the 8,000 or so of the 25,000 refugees who shared both skin color and a common religion with their American counterparts.|archive-date=10 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610130041/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-united-states-first-refugee-crisis-180957717/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Battle for Palm Tree Hill.jpg|thumb|Battle between [[Polish Legions (Napoleonic period)|Polish troops]] in French service and the [[Haitian Revolution|Haitian rebels]]. The majority of Polish soldiers eventually deserted the French army and fought alongside the Haitians.]]
After Louverture created a separatist constitution and proclaimed himself governor-general for life, [[Napoléon Bonaparte]] in 1802 sent an [[Saint-Domingue expedition|expedition]] of 20,000 soldiers and as many sailors<ref>{{cite book|last=Frasier|first=Flora|title=Venus of Empire:The Life of Pauline Bonaparte|publisher=John Murray|date=2009}}</ref> under the command of his brother-in-law, [[Charles Leclerc (general, born 1772)|Charles Leclerc]], to reassert French control. The French achieved some victories, but within a few months most of their [[French Army|army]] had died from [[yellow fever]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/napoleon/yellow_fever_haiti.htm|title=The Haitian Debacle: Yellow Fever and the Fate of the French|publisher=Montana State University|access-date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207060224/http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/napoleon/yellow_fever_haiti.htm|archive-date=7 December 2013}}</ref> Ultimately more than 50,000 French troops died in an attempt to retake the colony, including 18 generals.<ref>{{cite news|author=Adam Hochschild|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/05/30/CMGKG6F3UV1.DTL|title=Birth of a Nation / Has the bloody 200-year history of Haiti doomed it to more violence?|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=30 May 2004|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=4 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304221956/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/05/30/CMGKG6F3UV1.DTL|url-status=live}}</ref> The French managed to capture Louverture, transporting him to France for trial. He was imprisoned at [[Fort de Joux]], where he died in 1803 of exposure and possibly [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="Farmer-LROB" /><ref name="Bradt13">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 13.</ref>
[[File:Revenge taken by the Black Army for the Cruelties practised on them by the French.png|thumb|Haitians hanging French soldiers]]
The enslaved persons, along with free {{Lang|fr|gens de couleur}} and allies, continued their fight for independence, led by generals [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]], [[Alexandre Pétion]] and [[Henry Christophe]].<ref name="Bradt13"/> The rebels finally managed to decisively defeat the French troops at the [[Battle of Vertières]] on 18 November 1803, establishing the first state ever to successfully gain independence through a slave revolt.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Maurice|last2=Bacon|first2=Jacqueline|editor1-last=Jackson|editor1-first=Maurice|editor2-last=Bacon|editor2-first=Jacqueline|chapter=Fever and Fret: The Haitian Revolution and African American Responses|date=2010|title=African Americans and the Haitian Revolution: Selected Essays and Historical Documents|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZDcAAAAQBAJ&q=African%20American%20and%20the%20Haitian%20Revolution&pg=PT14|access-date=10 October 2018|publisher=Routledge|quote=...the momentous struggle that began in 1791 and yielded the first post-colonial independent black nation and the only nation to gain independence through slave rebellion.|isbn=978-1-134-72613-4|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628033521/https://books.google.com/books?id=dZDcAAAAQBAJ&q=African%20American%20and%20the%20Haitian%20Revolution&pg=PT14#v=snippet&q=African%20American%20and%20the%20Haitian%20Revolution&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the overall command of Dessalines, the Haitian armies avoided open battle, and instead conducted a successful guerrilla campaign against the Napoleonic forces, working with diseases such as yellow fever to reduce the numbers of French soldiers.<ref>C.L.R. James, ''Black Jacobins'' (London: Seckur & Warburg, 1938)</ref> Later that year France withdrew its remaining 7,000 troops from the island and Napoleon gave up his idea of re-establishing a North American empire, selling [[Louisiana (New France)]] to the [[United States]], in the [[Louisiana Purchase]].<ref name="Bradt13"/>
Throughout the revolution, an estimated 20,000 French troops succumbed to yellow fever, while another 37,000 were [[killed in action]],<ref>{{cite web|title=The Haitian Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase|url=https://gazette.com/woodmenedition/jefferson-the-haitian-revolution-and-the-louisiana-purchase-get-out-of-town/article_e5b9a5de-88b2-11ea-9b22-1f1cf7020e1f.amp.html|website=The Gazette|date=10 June 2021|access-date=3 July 2023|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703173841/https://gazette.com/woodmenedition/jefferson-the-haitian-revolution-and-the-louisiana-purchase-get-out-of-town/article_e5b9a5de-88b2-11ea-9b22-1f1cf7020e1f.amp.html|url-status=live}}</ref> exceeding the total French soldiers killed in action across various 19th-century colonial campaigns in Algeria, Mexico, Indochina, Tunisia, and West Africa, which resulted in approximately 10,000 French soldiers killed in action combined.<ref>{{cite book|title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015, 4th ed.|isbn=9780786474707|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8urEDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA199|quote=French losses from 1830–51 were 3,336 killed in battle and 92,329 died of wounds or from all other causes. Between 1830 and 1870, 411 French officers were killed and 1,360 were wounded. The toll for the ranks was an estimated 10,000 killed and 35,000 wounded in all French colonial campaigns. A few thousand from this number died in Mexico or Indochina, but the great bulk met their deaths in Algeria. Disease took an even greater toll. One estimate puts total French and Foreign Legion deaths from battle and disease for the entire century at 110,000.|last1=Clodfelter|first1=Micheal|date=23 May 2017|publisher=McFarland|access-date=18 August 2023|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628033542/https://books.google.com/books?id=8urEDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA199#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The British sustained 45,000 dead.<ref name="Scheina">{{cite book|last1=Scheina|title=Latin America's Wars|publisher=Potomac Books|page=1772}}</ref> Additionally, 350,000 ex-enslaved Haitians died.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Colin|last2=Wilson|first2=Damon|title=An End To Murder: Human beings have always been cruel, savage and murderous. Is all that about to change?|date=2015}}</ref>  In the process, Dessalines became arguably the most successful military commander in the struggle against Napoleonic France.<ref>Christer Petley, ''White Fury: A Jamaican Slaveholder and the Age of REvolution'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), p. 182.</ref>
===Independent Haiti===
====First Empire (1804–1806)====
{{main|First Empire of Haiti|1804 Haiti massacre}}
[[File:Le Serment des Ancêtres, 1823.jpg|thumb|Pétion and Dessalines swearing allegiance to each other before God; painting by [[Guillaume Guillon-Lethière|Guillon-Lethière]]]]
The independence of Saint-Domingue was proclaimed under the native name 'Haiti' by [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]] on 1 January 1804 in [[Gonaïves]]<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/earlyhaiti/dessalines.htm|title="A Brief History of Dessalines", 1825 Missionary Journal|publisher=Webster University|access-date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051228150910/http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/earlyhaiti/dessalines.htm|archive-date=28 December 2005}}</ref><ref name="Bradt209">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 209.</ref> and he was proclaimed "Emperor for Life" as Emperor Jacques I by his troops.<ref>Constitution of Haiti [{{sic}}] ''New-York Evening Post'' 15 July 1805.</ref> Dessalines at first offered protection to the white planters and others.<ref>{{cite book|title=Monthly Magazine and British Register|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVEoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA335|volume=XLVIII|year=1819|publisher=R. Phillips|page=335|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628033521/https://books.google.com/books?id=YVEoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA335#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> However, once in power, he ordered the [[1804 Haiti Massacre|genocide]] of nearly all the remaining white men, women, children; between January and April 1804, 3,000 to 5,000 whites were killed, including those who had been friendly and sympathetic to the black population.<ref name="Davies2008">{{cite book|last=Boyce Davies|first=Carole|title=Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture. A-C. Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mb6SDKfWftYC&pg=PA380|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-700-5|page=380}}</ref> Only [[1804 Haiti massacre#Aftermath|three categories of white people]] were selected out as exceptions and spared: [[Polish Haitian|Polish]] soldiers, the majority of whom had deserted from the French army and fought alongside the Haitian rebels; the small group of [[German Haitian|German]] colonists invited to the [[Nord-Ouest (department)|north-west region]]; and a group of [[Doctor of Medicine|medical doctors]] and professionals.<ref>{{cite book|last=Popkin|first=Jeremy D.|title=Facing Racial Revolution: Eyewitness Accounts of the Haitian Insurrection|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VSeLGtVm0iIC&pg=PA363|access-date=20 June 2017|date=15 February 2010|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-67585-5|pages=137}}</ref> Reportedly, people with connections to officers in the Haitian army were also spared, as well as the women who agreed to marry non-white men.<ref>{{cite book|last=Popkin|first=Jeremy D.|title=The Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian War of Independence, 1801–1804|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=03XSP22p3kgC|access-date=20 June 2017|date=11 February 2011|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-1732-4|pages=322}}</ref>
Fearful of the potential impact the slave rebellion could have in the [[slave states]], U.S. President [[Thomas Jefferson]] refused to recognize the new republic. The Southern politicians who were a powerful voting bloc in the American Congress prevented U.S. recognition for decades until they withdrew in 1861 to form the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/haitian-rev|title=The United States and the Haitian Revolution, 1791–1804|website=history.state.gov|language=en|access-date=7 February 2017|archive-date=20 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220133250/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/haitian-rev|url-status=live}}</ref>
The revolution led to a wave of emigration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inmotionaame.org/migrations/topic.cfm;jsessionid=f8303469141230638453792?migration=5&topic=2&bhcp=1|title=From Saint-Domingue to Louisiana, The African-American Migration Experience|publisher=Inmotionaame.org|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225063309/http://www.inmotionaame.org/migrations/topic.cfm;jsessionid=f8303469141230638453792?migration=5&topic=2&bhcp=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1809, 9,000 refugees from Saint-Domingue, both white planters and people of color, settled ''en masse'' in [[New Orleans]], doubling the city's population, having been expelled from their initial refuge in Cuba by Spanish authorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/congo-square-colonial-new-orleans?page=0,1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914132009/http://www.thenation.com/article/congo-square-colonial-new-orleans?page=0,1|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 September 2018|title=In Congo Square: Colonial New Orleans|publisher=Thenation.com|date=10 December 2008|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> In addition, the newly arrived enslaved persons added to the city's African population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/cultural/The_People/haitian.html|title=Haitians|publisher=Center for Cultural & Eco-Tourism, University of Louisiana|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=25 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725115213/http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/cultural/The_People/haitian.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The plantation system was re-established in Haiti, albeit for wages; however, many Haitians were marginalized and resented the heavy-handed manner in which this was enforced in the new nation's politics.<ref name="Bradt13"/> The rebel movement splintered, and Dessalines was assassinated by rivals on 17 October 1806.<ref name="Haiti">{{cite news|title=News about Haiti, including commentary and archival articles published in ''The New York Times''|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/haiti/index.html|access-date=24 July 2015|first=Deborah|last=Sontag|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-date=19 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219053844/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/haiti/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Deep link needed|date=March 2023}}<ref name="Bradt13"/>
====State of Haiti, Kingdom of Haiti and the Republic (1806–1820)====
{{main|State of Haiti|Kingdom of Haiti}}
[[File:Citadelle Laferrière Aerial View.jpg|thumb|left|[[Citadelle Laferrière]], built 1805–1822, is the largest [[fortress]] in the Americas, and is considered locally to be an [[eighth wonder of the world]].<ref name="Reading Eagle"/>]]
After Dessalines' death Haiti became split into two, with the [[Kingdom of Haiti]] in the north directed by Henri Christophe, later declaring himself [[Henri Christophe|Henri I]], and a republic in the south centered on Port-au-Prince, directed by [[Alexandre Pétion]], an ''homme de couleur''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3lPaBA9nMZkC|title=Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography|last=Bell|first=Madison Smartt|publisher=New York: Pantheon, 2007 (Vintage Books, 2008)|isbn=978-1-4000-7935-3|date=10 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.blackpast.org/gah/haitian-revolution-1791-1804|title=Haitian Revolution (1791–1804)|last=Sutherland|first=Claudia E.|date=16 July 2007|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215211607/https://blackpast.org/gah/haitian-revolution-1791-1804|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=494418|title=Teaching the Haitian Revolution: Its Place in Western and Modern World History|journal=The History Teacher|volume=32|issue=1|pages=33–41|date=Nov 1998|last=Peguero|first=Valentina|doi=10.2307/494418|s2cid=141205471}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=10.1086/526481|title=Preoccupied with Haiti: The Dream of Diaspora in African American Art, 1915–1942|journal=American Art|volume=21|issue=3|pages=74–97|date=Fall 2007|last=Thompson|first=Krista A|doi=10.1086/526481|s2cid=161805052}}</ref> Pétion's republic was less absolutist, and he initiated a series of land reforms which benefited the peasant class.<ref name="Bradt13"/> President Pétion also gave military and financial assistance to the revolutionary leader [[Simón Bolívar]], which were critical in enabling him to liberate the [[Viceroyalty of New Granada]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Simón Bolívar: essays on the life and legacy of the liberator|editor1=Bushnell, David|editor2=Lester Langley|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2008|page=5|isbn=978-0-7425-5619-5}}</ref> Meanwhile, the French, who had managed to maintain a precarious control of eastern Hispaniola, were [[Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo|defeated]] by insurgents led by [[Juan Sánchez Ramírez]], with the area returning to Spanish rule in 1809 following the [[Battle of Palo Hincado]].<ref name="RECONQUEST">{{cite news|date=29 July 2010 <!-- to 13:04 -->|url=http://www.jmarcano.com/mipais/historia/batallas/phincado.html|title=La Reconquista: Batalla de Palo Hincado (La Reconquista: Battle of Palo Hincado) (In Spanish)|publisher=Mi país: Historia (My Country)|access-date=11 September 2010 <!-- at 3:45 -->|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630145140/http://www.jmarcano.com/mipais/historia/batallas/phincado.html|archive-date=30 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
====Unification of Hispaniola (1821–1844)====
{{main|Republic of Haiti (1820–1849)|Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo}}
[[File:President Jean-Pierre Boyer of Haiti (Hispaniola Unification Regime) Portrait.jpg|thumb|Jean-Pierre Boyer, ruler of Haiti 1818–1843]]
Beginning in 1821, President [[Jean-Pierre Boyer]], also an ''homme de couleur'' and successor to Pétion, reunified the island following the suicide of Henry Christophe.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Sagás|first=Ernesto|title=An apparent contradiction? Popular perceptions of Haiti and the foreign policy of the Dominican Republic|publisher=Sixth Annual Conference of the Haitian Studies Association|date=14 October 1994|url=http://haitiforever.com/windowsonhaiti/esagas2.shtml|access-date=19 August 2007|archive-date=29 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929072156/http://haitiforever.com/windowsonhaiti/esagas2.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> After [[Republic of Spanish Haiti|Santo Domingo]] declared its independence from Spain on 30 November 1821, Boyer invaded, seeking to [[Unification of Hispaniola|unite the entire island]] by force and ending slavery in Santo Domingo.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/168728/Dominican-Republic/129491/History|title=Dominican Republic – History|encyclopedia=Britannica.com|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=29 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929180917/https://www.britannica.com/place/Dominican-Republic|url-status=live}}</ref>
Struggling to revive the agricultural economy to produce [[commodity crops]], Boyer passed the Code Rural, which denied peasant laborers the right to leave the land, enter the towns, or start farms or shops of their own, causing much resentment as most peasants wished to have their own farms rather than work on plantations.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76479/Jean-Pierre-Boyer?anchor=ref126082|title=Jean-Pierre Boyer (President of Haiti)|encyclopedia=Britannica.com|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006131451/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76479/Jean-Pierre-Boyer?anchor=ref126082|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webster.edu/%7Ecorbetre/haiti/history/earlyhaiti/boyer.htm|title=1820 – 1843: The rule of Jean-Pierre Boyer|last=Corbett|first=Bob|publisher=Webster University|date=July 1995|access-date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221124022/http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/earlyhaiti/boyer.htm|archive-date=21 December 2013}}</ref>
Starting in September 1824, more than 6,000 [[African Americans]] migrated to Haiti, with transportation paid by an American philanthropic group similar in function to the [[American Colonization Society]] and its efforts in [[Liberia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti-archive/msg00868.html|title=Haiti And Its Diaspora: New Historical, Cultural And Economic Frontiers, reprint from ''US Gazette'' Philadelphia, 1824|last=Firire|first=Girard Alphonse|publisher=Webster.edu|date=27 August 1999|access-date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910113052/http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti-archive/msg00868.html|archive-date=10 September 2013}}</ref> Many found the conditions too harsh and returned to the United States.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
In July 1825, [[Charles X of France|King Charles X]] of [[France]], during a period of restoration of the [[French monarchy]], sent a [[French Navy|fleet]] to reconquer Haiti. Under pressure, President Boyer agreed to a treaty by which France formally recognized the independence of the state in exchange for [[Haiti indemnity controversy|a payment]] of 150 million [[francs]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> By an order of 17 April 1826, the King of France renounced his rights of sovereignty and formally recognized the independence of Haiti.<ref name="FrenchEmbassy">{{cite web|title=La première ambassade française en Haïti|url=https://ht.ambafrance.org/La-premiere-ambassade-francaise-en-Haiti|website=Menu Contenu Plan du siteAmbassade de France à Port-au-Prince|publisher=Government of France|access-date=27 October 2017|language=fr|archive-date=8 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408154957/https://ht.ambafrance.org/La-premiere-ambassade-francaise-en-Haiti|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>M. Degros, Création des postes diplomatiques et consulaires, Revue d'histoire diplomatique, 1986; in French</ref><ref>J-F. Brière, Haïti et la France, 1804–1848 : le rêve brisé, Paris, Karthala 2008; in French</ref> The enforced payments to France hampered Haiti's economic growth for years, exacerbated by the fact that many [[Western world|Western]] states continued to refuse formal [[Diplomacy|diplomatic]] recognition to Haiti; Britain recognized Haitian independence in 1833, and the United States not until 1862.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Haiti borrowed heavily from Western banks at extremely high interest rates to repay the debt. Although the amount of the reparations was reduced to 90 million in 1838, by 1900 80% of Haiti's government spending was debt repayment and the country did not finish repaying it until 1947.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/14/haiti-history-earthquake-disaster|title=Haiti: a long descent to hell|last=Henley|first=Jon|date=14 January 2010|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=15 October 2018|archive-date=15 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715012830/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/14/haiti-history-earthquake-disaster|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bradt13"/>
====Loss of the Spanish portion of the island====
{{main|Dominican War of Independence}}
After losing the support of Haiti's elite, Boyer was ousted in 1843, with [[Charles Rivière-Hérard]] replacing him as president.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Nationalist Dominican forces in eastern Hispaniola led by [[Juan Pablo Duarte]] seized control of Santo Domingo on 27 February 1844.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> The Haitian forces, unprepared for a significant uprising, capitulated to the rebels, effectively ending Haitian rule of eastern Hispaniola. In March Rivière-Hérard attempted to reimpose his authority, but the [[Dominican Republic|Dominicans]] inflicted heavy losses.<ref name="Bethell" /> Rivière-Hérard was removed from office by the mulatto hierarchy and replaced with the aged general [[Philippe Guerrier]], who assumed the presidency on 3 May 1844.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
Guerrier died in April 1845, and was succeeded by General [[Jean-Louis Pierrot]].<ref name="leger197">{{citation-attribution|1={{cite book|last=Léger|first=Jacques Nicolas|author-link=Jacques Nicolas Léger|title=Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors|year=1907|publisher=[[Neale Publishing Company]]|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors|pages=197–198|access-date=9 February 2018|archive-date=18 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218182403/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors|url-status=live}} }}</ref> Pierrot's most pressing duty as the new president was to check the incursions of the Dominicans, who were harassing the Haitian troops.<ref name="leger197"/> Dominican gunboats were also making depredations on Haiti's coasts.<ref name="leger197" /> President Pierrot decided to open a campaign against the Dominicans, whom he considered merely as insurgents; however, the Haitian offensive of 1845 was stopped on the frontier.<ref name="Bethell">{{cite book|last1=Bethell|first1=Leslie|title=The Cambridge History of Latin America: Volume 3|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory0000beth|url-access=registration|date=1984|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory0000beth/page/267 267–69]}}</ref>
On 1 January 1846 Pierrot announced a fresh campaign to reimpose Haitian suzerainty over eastern Hispaniola, but his officers and men greeted this fresh summons with contempt.<ref name="Bethell" /> Thus, a month later – February 1846 – when Pierrot ordered his troops to march against the Dominicans, the Haitian army mutinied, and its soldiers proclaimed his overthrow as president of the republic.<ref name="Bethell" /> With the war against the Dominicans having become very unpopular in Haiti, it was beyond the power of the new president, General [[Jean-Baptiste Riché]], to stage another invasion.<ref name="Bethell" />
====Second Empire (1849–1859)====
{{main|Second Empire of Haiti}}
[[File:Faustin I.jpg|thumb|Faustin I, from ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'', 16 February 1856]]
On 27 February 1847, President Riché died after only a year in power and was replaced by an obscure officer, General [[Faustin Soulouque]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> During the first two years of Soulouque's administration the conspiracies and opposition he faced in retaining power were so manifold that the Dominicans were given a further breathing space in which to consolidate their independence.<ref name="Bethell" /> But, when in 1848 France finally recognized the Dominican Republic as a free and independent state and provisionally signed a treaty of peace, friendship, commerce and navigation, Haiti immediately protested, claiming the treaty was an attack upon their own security.<ref name="Bethell" /> Soulouque decided to invade the new Republic before the French Government could ratify the treaty.<ref name="Bethell" />
On 21 March 1849, Haitian soldiers attacked the Dominican garrison at [[Las Matas de Farfán|Las Matas]]. The demoralized defenders offered almost no resistance before abandoning their weapons. Soulouque pressed on, capturing [[San Juan Province (Dominican Republic)|San Juan]]. This left only the town of [[Azua, Dominican Republic|Azua]] as the remaining Dominican stronghold between the Haitian army and the capital. On 6 April, Azua fell to the 18,000-strong Haitian army, with a 5,000-man Dominican counterattack failing to oust them.<ref name="Latin America's Wars: Volume 1"/> The way to [[Santo Domingo]] was now clear. But the news of discontent existing at Port-au-Prince, which reached Soulouque, arrested his further progress and caused him to return with the army to his capital.<ref name="Jacques">{{citation-attribution|1={{cite book|last=Léger|first=Jacques Nicolas|author-link=Jacques Nicolas Léger|title=Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors|year=1907|publisher=[[Neale Publishing Company]]|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors|pages=202–204|access-date=9 February 2018|archive-date=18 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218182403/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors|url-status=live}}}}</ref>
Emboldened by the sudden retreat of the Haitian army, the Dominicans counter-attacked. Their flotilla went as far as [[Dame-Marie, Grand'Anse|Dame-Marie]] on the west coast of Haiti, which they plundered and set on fire.<ref name="Jacques" /> After another Haitian campaign in 1855, Britain and France intervened and obtained an armistice on behalf of the Dominicans, who declared independence as the Dominican Republic.<ref name="Jacques" />
The sufferings endured by the soldiers during the campaign of 1855, and the losses and sacrifices inflicted on the country without yielding any compensation or any practical results provoked great discontent.<ref name="Jacques" /> In 1858 a revolution began, led by General [[Fabre Geffrard]], Duke of Tabara. In December of that year, Geffrard defeated the Imperial Army and seized control of most of the country.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> As a result, the Emperor abdicated his throne on 15 January 1859. Faustin was taken into exile and General Geffrard succeeded him as president.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
====Late 19th century–early 20th century====
[[File:Luders Affair, Germany, Haiti.jpg|thumb|German Captain Thiele of the ''Charlotte'' handing over the German Ultimatum on 6 December 1897 during the Lüders Affair]]
The period following Soulouque's overthrow down to the turn of the century was a turbulent one for Haiti, with repeated bouts of political instability. President Geffrard was overthrown in a coup in 1867,<ref>{{cite book|first=Jan|last=Rogozinski|year=1999|title=A Brief History of the Caribbean|edition=Revised|publisher=Facts on File, Inc.|location=New York|isbn=0-8160-3811-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofca00rogo_0/page/220 220]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofca00rogo_0/page/220}}</ref> as was his successor, [[Sylvain Salnave]], in 1869.<ref>{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite book|chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors/Part_I:_Chapter_XVI|title=[[Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors]]|last=Léger|first=Jacques Nicolas|author-link=Jacques Nicolas Léger|chapter=Chapter XVI|date=1907|publisher=[[Neale Publishing Company]]|pages=211–216|access-date=8 September 2019|archive-date=9 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109021148/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors/Part_I:_Chapter_XVI|url-status=live}} }}</ref> Under the Presidency of [[Michel Domingue]] (1874–76) relations with the Dominican Republic were dramatically improved by the signing of a treaty, in which both parties acknowledged the independence of the other. Some modernisation of the economy and infrastructure also occurred in this period, especially under the Presidencies of [[Lysius Salomon]] (1879–1888) and [[Florvil Hyppolite]] (1889–1896).<ref>''[[Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors]]'' by [[Jacques Nicolas Léger]], University of Michigan, 2006, 235–236</ref>
Haiti's relations with outside powers were often strained. In 1889 the United States attempted to [[Môle Saint-Nicolas affair|force Haiti]] to permit the building of a naval base at [[Môle Saint-Nicolas]], which was firmly resisted by President Hyppolite.<ref name="leger245">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite book|chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors/Part_I:_Chapter_XXII|title=[[Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors]]|last=Léger|first=Jacques Nicolas|author-link=Jacques Nicolas Léger|chapter=Chapter XXII|date=1907|publisher=[[Neale Publishing Company]]|location=New York; Washington|pages=245–247|access-date=8 September 2019|archive-date=12 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112113317/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Haiti:_Her_History_and_Her_Detractors/Part_I:_Chapter_XXII|url-status=live}} }}</ref> In 1892 the [[German Empire|German government]] supported suppression of the reform movement of [[Anténor Firmin]], and in 1897, the Germans used [[gunboat diplomacy]] to intimidate and then humiliate the Haitian government of President [[Tirésias Simon Sam]] (1896–1902) during the [[Lüders Affair]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Jacques Nicolas Léger|author-link=Jacques Nicolas Léger|title=Haiti, Her History and Her Detractors|url=https://archive.org/details/haitiherhistory00lggoog|year=1907|publisher=[[Neale Publishing Company]]|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/haitiherhistory00lggoog/page/n271 249]}}</ref>
In the first decades of the 20th century, Haiti experienced great political instability and was heavily in debt to France, Germany and the United States. A series of short lived presidencies came and went: President [[Pierre Nord Alexis]] was forced from power in 1908,<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/12/08/104772140.pdf "Hurry Election Of Simon In Haiti; Followers Fear Delay May Cause Disorders And Invite Intervention From United States"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304034010/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/12/08/104772140.pdf |date=4 March 2021 }} ''New York Times'' 8 December 1908</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/12/18/105016384.pdf "Simon Elected President; Following Action by Haitian Congress, He Is Recognized By The United States"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309073618/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/12/18/105016384.pdf |date=9 March 2021 }}, ''The New York Times'' 18 December 1908</ref> as was his successor [[François C. Antoine Simon]] in 1911;<ref>{{cite news|title=Leconte in Haiti's Capital; Revolutionary Leader Takes Possession of National Palace|date=8 August 1911|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/08/08/104873360.pdf|work=The New York Times|pages=4|access-date=13 January 2010|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304140706/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/08/08/104873360.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> President [[Cincinnatus Leconte]] (1911–12) was killed in a (possibly deliberate) explosion at the National Palace;<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hayes|first=Carlton H.|author2=Edward M. Sait|date=December 1912|title=Record of Political Events|journal=Political Science Quarterly|volume=27|issue=4|pages=752|doi=10.2307/2141264|jstor=2141264}}<!--|access-date=13 January 2010--></ref> [[Michel Oreste]] (1913–14) was ousted in a coup, as was his successor [[Oreste Zamor]] in 1914.<ref>Kaplan, ''U.S. Imperialism in Latin America'', p. 61.</ref>
====United States occupation (1915–1934)====
{{main|United States occupation of Haiti}}
[[File:U.S. Marines and guide in search of bandits. Haiti, circa 1919., 1927 - 1981 - NARA - 532584.tif|thumb|left|U.S. Marines and guide in search of Haitian [[Cacos (military group)|Cacos]] fighters against the [[United States occupation of Haiti|U.S. occupation of Haiti]], {{circa|1919}}]]
Germany increased its influence in Haiti in this period, with a small community of German settlers wielding disproportionate influence in Haiti's economy.<ref name=state>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/88275.htm Occupation of Haiti, 1915–34] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223011822/https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/88275.htm |date=23 December 2021 }}, US Department of State</ref><ref name="Bradt15"/> The German influence prompted anxieties in the United States, who had also invested heavily in the country, and whose government defended their right to oppose foreign interference in the Americas under the [[Monroe Doctrine]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="Bradt15"/> In December 1914, the Americans removed $500,000 from the Haitian National Bank, but rather than seize it to help pay the debt, it was removed for safe-keeping in New York, thus giving the United States control of the bank and preventing other powers from doing so. This gave a stable financial base on which to build the economy, and to enable the debt to be repaid.<ref>Office of the Historian, U.S. Government. [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/haiti U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Haiti, 1915–34] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104004131/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/haiti |date=4 January 2016 }}</ref>
In 1915, Haiti's new President [[Vilbrun Guillaume Sam]] sought to strengthen his tenuous rule by a mass execution of 167 political prisoners. Outrage at the killings led to riots, and Sam was captured and killed by a lynch mob.<ref name="Bradt15">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 15.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Millett|first=Allan Reed|title=Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps|page=185|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|date=1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgkbAbwcLfAC|isbn=9780029215968|access-date=8 September 2019|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628034129/https://books.google.com/books?id=sgkbAbwcLfAC|url-status=live}}</ref> Fearing possible foreign intervention, or the emergence of a new government led by the anti-American Haitian politician [[Rosalvo Bobo]], President [[Woodrow Wilson]] sent U.S. Marines into Haiti in July 1915. The {{USS|Washington|ACR-11|6}}, under Rear Admiral [[William Banks Caperton|Caperton]], arrived in Port-au-Prince in an attempt to restore order and protect U.S. interests. Within days, the Marines had taken control of the capital city and its banks and customs house. The Marines declared martial law and severely censored the press. Within weeks, a new pro-U.S. Haitian president, [[Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave]], was installed and a new constitution written that was favorable to the interests of the United States. The constitution (written by future US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]) included a clause that allowed, for the first time, foreign ownership of land in Haiti, which was bitterly opposed by the Haitian legislature and citizenry.<ref name="Bradt15"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Schmidt|first=Hans|title=The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|year=1971|isbn=9780813522036|page=99}}</ref>
[[File:Corps de Charlemagne Péralte.jpg|thumb|right|175px|The body of caco leader Charlemagne Péralte on display after his execution by US forces; the image was counterproductive, with the resemblance to the [[Descent from the Cross|deposition of Jesus]] gaining Péralte the status of national martyr.]]
The occupation improved some of Haiti's [[infrastructure]] and centralized power in Port-au-Prince.<ref name="Bradt15"/> 1700&nbsp;km of roads were made usable, 189 bridges were built, many irrigation canals were rehabilitated, hospitals, schools, and public buildings were constructed, and drinking water was brought to the main cities.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} Agricultural education was organized, with a central school of agriculture and 69 farms in the country.{{sfn|Heinl|1996|pp=454–455}}{{incomplete short citation|date=February 2023}} However, many infrastructure projects were built using the [[corvée]] system that allowed the government/occupying forces to take people from their homes and farms, at gunpoint if necessary, to build roads, bridges etc. by force, a process that was deeply resented by ordinary Haitians.<ref>Danticat, Edwidge (28 July 2015), ''New Yorker Magazine''.</ref><ref name="Bradt15"/> [[Sisal]] was also introduced to Haiti, and sugarcane and [[cotton]] became significant exports, boosting prosperity.<ref name="Henl, pp. 454–455">Henl, pp. 454–455.</ref> Haitian traditionalists, based in rural areas, were highly resistant to U.S.-backed changes, while the urban elites, typically mixed-race, welcomed the growing economy, but wanted more political control.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Together they helped secure an end to the occupation in 1934, under the Presidency of [[Sténio Vincent]] (1930–1941).<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://historicalstudiesineducation.ca/index.php/edu_hse-rhe/article/view/2357|title=Education During the American Occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934|journal=Historical Studies in Education|volume=22|issue=2|pages=1–17|last=Angulo|first=A. J.|year=2010|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922014340/https://historicalstudiesineducation.ca/index.php/edu_hse-rhe/article/view/2357|url-status=live}}</ref> The debts were still outstanding, though less due to increased prosperity, and the U.S. financial advisor-general receiver handled the budget until 1941.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Munro|first=Dana G.|title=The American Withdrawal from Haiti, 1929–1934|journal=The Hispanic American Historical Review|volume=49|issue=1|pages=1–26|doi=10.2307/2511314|jstor=2511314|year=1969}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
The U.S. Marines were instilled with a special brand of paternalism towards Haitians "expressed in the metaphor of a father's relationship with his children."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Renda|first1=Mary|title=Taking Haiti: Military Occupation and the Culture of U.S. Imperialism 1915–1940|url=https://archive.org/details/takinghaiti00mary|url-access=registration|date=2001|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill and London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/takinghaiti00mary/page/15 15]}}</ref> Armed opposition to the US presence was led by the [[Cacos (military group)|cacos]] under the command of [[Charlemagne Péralte]]; his capture and execution in 1919 earned him the status of a national martyr.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=An Iconic Image of Haitian Liberty|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/haiti-u-s-occupation-charlemagne-peralte|magazine=The New Yorker|date=28 July 2015|access-date=6 January 2017|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922012747/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/haiti-u-s-occupation-charlemagne-peralte|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="Bradt15"/> During Senate hearings in 1921, the commandant of the Marine Corps reported that, in the 20 months of active unrest, 2,250 Haitians had been killed. However, in a report to the Secretary of the Navy, he reported the death toll as being 3,250.<ref>{{harvnb|Schmidt|1971|p=102}}</ref> Haitian historians have claimed the true number was much higher, but this is not supported by most historians outside Haiti.<ref>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Farmer|author-link=Paul Farmer|title=The Uses of Haiti|publisher=Common Courage Press|year=2003|page=98}}</ref>
====Post-occupation era (1934–1957)====
After U.S. forces left in 1934, [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] dictator [[Rafael Trujillo]] used [[Antihaitianismo|anti-Haitian]] sentiment as a nationalist tool. In an event that became known as the [[Parsley massacre|Parsley Massacre]], he ordered his army to kill Haitians living on the Dominican side of the border.<ref name="Farmer180">{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Farmer|title=AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame|year=2006|publisher=California University Press|isbn=978-0-520-24839-7|pages=180–181}}</ref><ref name="wucker">{{cite web|last=Wucker|first=Michele|title=Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians and the Struggle for Hispaniola|work=Windows on Haiti|url=http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2003/ling001/wucker.html|access-date=26 December 2007|archive-date=31 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831131817/http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/Fall_2003/ling001/wucker.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Few bullets were used; instead, 20,000–30,000 Haitians were bludgeoned and bayoneted, then herded into the sea, where sharks finished what Trujillo had begun.<ref>{{cite book|title=Decision-making in the UN Security Council: The Case of Haiti, 1990–1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wadg8bm9_8oC&pg=PA198|isbn=978-0-19-829483-2|last1=Malone|first1=David|year=1998|publisher=Clarendon Press|access-date=8 February 2018|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628034131/https://books.google.com/books?id=wadg8bm9_8oC&pg=PA198#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The indiscriminate massacre occurred over a period of five days.
As Haiti President [[Sténio Vincent|Vincent]] became increasingly dictatorial, let he resigned under U.S. pressure in 1941, being replaced by [[Élie Lescot]] (1941–46).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Antoine Louis Leocardie Elie Lescot|url=https://amhe.org/journal/?page_id=2268|access-date=24 May 2023|language=en-US|archive-date=24 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524094115/https://amhe.org/journal/?page_id=2268|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1941, during the [[Second World War]], Lescot declared war on [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] (8 December), [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] (12 December), [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] (12 December), [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] (24 December), [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920-46)|Hungary]] (24 December) and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] (24 December).<ref>Dr Erik Goldstein, Routledge, 2005, ''Wars and Peace Treaties: 1816 to 1991'', p. 217.</ref> Out of these six [[Axis Powers|Axis]] countries, only Romania reciprocated, declaring war on Haiti on the same day (24 December 1941).<ref>Dr Erik Goldstein, Routledge, 2005, ''Wars and Peace Treaties: 1816 to 1991'', p. 218.</ref> On 27 September 1945,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/depts/dhl/unms/founders.shtml|title=Founding Member States|publisher=United Nations|access-date=28 June 2017|archive-date=21 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121135646/https://www.un.org/depts/dhl/unms/founders.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Haiti became a [[member states of the United Nations|founding member]] of the [[United Nations]] (the successor to the [[Member states of the League of Nations|League of Nations]], of which Haiti was also a founding member).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1thordinaryassemb.htm|title=League of Nations Photo Archive – First Assembly, Geneva, November 15- December 18, 1920|website=indiana.edu|access-date=22 June 2017|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406025135/http://www.indiana.edu/~league/1thordinaryassemb.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3RbzX4PjxtgC&pg=PA255|title=Historical Dictionary of Haiti|editor=Hall, Michael R.|page=255|year=2012|isbn=978-0-8108-7810-5|publisher=Scarecrow Press|access-date=22 June 2017|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628034058/https://books.google.com/books?id=3RbzX4PjxtgC&pg=PA255#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1946 Lescot was overthrown by the military, with [[Dumarsais Estimé]] later becoming the new president (1946–50).<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> He sought to improve the economy and education, and to boost the role of black Haitians; however, as he sought to consolidate his rule he too was overthrown in a coup led by [[Paul Magloire]], who replaced him as president (1950–56).<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e6AyDQAAQBAJ|title=Haiti|editor=Clammer, Paul|page=16|year=2016|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=9781841629230|access-date=9 September 2019|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628034059/https://books.google.com/books?id=e6AyDQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Firmly anti-Communist, he was supported by the United States; with greater political stability tourists started to visit Haiti.<ref name="guardiantourism">{{cite news|title=Tourism can help Haiti return to its halcyon days|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jul/26/haiti-tourism-caribbean-redevelopment|work=guardian.co.uk|access-date=26 July 2013|location=London|first=Prospery|last=Raymond|date=26 July 2013|archive-date=23 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923052338/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/jul/26/haiti-tourism-caribbean-redevelopment|url-status=live}}</ref> The waterfront area of [[Port-au-Prince]] was redeveloped to allow cruise ship passengers to walk to cultural attractions.
====Duvalier dynasty (1957–1986)====
{{main|Duvalier dynasty}}
[[File:Duvalier crop2.jpg|thumb|upright|"Papa Doc" [[François Duvalier|Duvalier]] in 1968]]
In 1956–57 Haiti underwent severe political turmoil; Magloire was forced to resign and leave the country in 1956 and he was followed by four short-lived presidencies.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> In the [[Haitian presidential election, 1957|September 1957 election]] [[François Duvalier]] was elected President of Haiti. Known as 'Papa Doc' and initially popular, Duvalier remained President until his death in 1971.<ref name="Bradt17">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 17.</ref> He advanced black interests in the public sector, where over time, people of color had predominated as the educated urban elite.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="bryan">{{cite book|last=Bryan|first=Patrick E.|title=The Haitian Revolution and Its Effects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q9owdkOc0wgC|year=1984|publisher=Heinemann|isbn=978-0-435-98301-7|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628034059/https://books.google.com/books?id=q9owdkOc0wgC|url-status=live}}</ref> Not trusting the army, despite his frequent purges of officers deemed disloyal, Duvalier created a private militia known as ''[[Tonton Macoute|Tontons Macoutes]]'' ("Bogeymen"), which maintained order by terrorizing the populace and political opponents.<ref name="Bradt17"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/174718/François-Duvalier|title=François Duvalier|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> In 1964 Duvalier proclaimed himself 'President for Life'; [[Jérémie Vespers|an uprising]] against his rule that year in [[Jérémie]] was violently suppressed, with the ringleaders publicly executed and hundreds of mixed-raced citizens in the town killed.<ref name="Bradt17"/> The bulk of the educated and professional class began leaving the country, and corruption became widespread.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="Bradt17"/> Duvalier sought to create a personality cult, identifying himself with [[Baron Samedi]], one of the [[loa]] (or ''lwa''), or spirits, of [[Haitian Vodou]]. Despite the well-publicized abuses under his rule, Duvalier's firm anti-Communism earned him the support of the Americans, who furnished the country with aid.<ref name="Bradt17"/><ref name="Štraus">{{citation|mode=cs1|title=Biographies: François Duvalier (1907–1971)|last=Štraus|first=Stane|website=PolymerNotes.org|url=http://www.polymernotes.org/biographies/HTI_bio_duvalier.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711133408/http://www.polymernotes.org/biographies/HTI_bio_duvalier.htm|archive-date=11 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 1971 Duvalier died, and he was succeeded by his son [[Jean-Claude Duvalier]], nicknamed 'Baby Doc', who ruled until 1986.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shaw|first=Karl|title=Power Mad!|trans-title=Šílenství mocných|year=2005|orig-year=2004|publisher=Metafora|location=Praha|language=cs|isbn=978-80-7359-002-4|page=52}}</ref><ref name="Bradt17"/> He largely continued his father's policies, though curbed some of the worst excesses in order to court international respectability.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Tourism, which had nosedived in Papa Doc's time, again became a growing industry.<ref name="Clammer, Paul">{{cite news|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/paul-clammer/haiti-caribbean-destination_b_2593487.html|title=Is Haiti The Caribbean's Best New Destination?|last=Clammer|first=Paul|date=1 February 2014|access-date=3 November 2014|work=The Huffington Post|archive-date=3 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103094114/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-clammer/haiti-caribbean-destination_b_2593487.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, as the economy continued to decline, Baby Doc's grip on power began to weaken. Haiti's pig population was slaughtered following an outbreak of swine fever in the late 1970s, causing hardship to rural communities who used them as an investment.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Abrams|first=Elliott|date=November 2014|title=Getting Rid of Baby Doc|url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/getting-rid-of-baby-doc/|journal=Commentary|volume=138|pages=27–30|issn=0010-2601|access-date=9 September 2019|archive-date=11 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811200020/https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/getting-rid-of-baby-doc/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The opposition became more vocal, bolstered by a visit to the country by [[Pope John Paul II]] in 1983, who publicly lambasted the president.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6tkvAAAAIBAJ&pg=7222,4661909|title='Things in Haiti must change,' pope tells Duvalier|page=15|newspaper=The Spokesman-Review|date=10 March 1983|issn=1064-7317|location=Spokane, Washington|agency=Associated Press|quote=The Roman Catholic pontiff responded with a stern lecture to the island country's tiny moneyed elite, telling the 31-year-old president-for-life of the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, 'Things must change in Haiti.'&nbsp;... 'I call on all those who have power, riches and culture so that they can understand the serious and urgent responsibility to help their brothers and sisters,' {{bracket|[[Pope John&nbsp;Paul&nbsp;II]]}} said.|access-date=9 September 2019|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163105/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6tkvAAAAIBAJ&pg=7222,4661909|url-status=live}}</ref> Demonstrations occurred in Gonaïves in 1985 which then spread across the country; under pressure from the United States, Duvalier left the country for France in February 1986.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
In total, roughly 40,000 to 60,000 Haitians are estimated to have been killed during the reign of the Duvaliers.<ref>"{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/28/AR2011012803142.html|title='Baby Doc' Duvalier missed Haiti. That's why he came back|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Marjorie|last=Valbrun|date=28 January 2011|access-date=29 December 2017|archive-date=20 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720062039/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/28/AR2011012803142.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Through the use of his intimidation tactics and executions, many intellectual Haitians had fled, leaving the country with a massive brain-drain from which it has yet to recover.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l8Nrdxzi-lkC|title=Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti|editor=Wilentz, Amy|page=13|year=2013|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451643978|access-date=24 May 2020}}</ref>
====Post-Duvalier era (1986–2004)====
[[File:DD-SD-99-03743.jpg|thumb|[[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] returns to Haiti following the [[Operation Uphold Democracy|U.S.-led invasion]] in 1994 designed to remove the [[Raoul Cédras|regime]] installed by the [[1991 Haitian coup d'état]]]]
Following Duvalier's departure, army leader General [[Henri Namphy]] headed a new [[National Council of Government (Haiti)|National Governing Council]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> [[Haitian presidential election, 1987|Elections]] scheduled for November 1987 were aborted after dozens of inhabitants were shot in the capital by soldiers and ''Tontons Macoutes''.<ref name=Whitney>Whitney, Kathleen Marie (1996), "Sin, Fraph, and the CIA: U.S. Covert Action in Haiti", ''Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas'', Vol. 3, Issue 2 (1996), pp. 303–32, esp. p. 319.</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Fraudulent [[Haitian presidential election, 1988|elections followed]] in 1988, in which only 4% of the citizenry voted.<ref name=JC>{{cite web|url=http://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc1379.html|title=Haiti's Election Needs Help|date=30 September 1990|first=Jimmy|last=Carter|author-link=Jimmy Carter|publisher=Carter Center|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173852/http://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc1379.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> The newly elected president, [[Leslie Manigat]], was then overthrown some months later in the [[June 1988 Haitian coup d'état]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name=IACHR>[[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights|IACHR]], [http://www.iachr.org/countryrep/Haiti88eng/chap.2e.htm Report on the Situation of Human Tights in Haiti] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728093219/http://www.iachr.org/countryrep/Haiti88eng/chap.2e.htm |date=28 July 2020 }}, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.74 doc. 9 rev. 1, 7 September 1988</ref>
Another [[September 1988 Haitian coup d'état|coup followed]] in September 1988, after the [[St. Jean Bosco massacre]] in which approximately 13 to 50 people attending a mass led by prominent government critic and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] priest [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] were killed.<ref name=IACHR/><ref name=HRW2>Americas Watch Committee (U.S.), National Coalition for Haitian Refugees, Caribbean Rights (Organization). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=YRQPgQr_x04C&q=bosco The More things change-- human rights in Haiti] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628034101/https://books.google.com/books?id=YRQPgQr_x04C&q=bosco#v=snippet&q=bosco&f=false |date=28 June 2024 }}'', [[Human Rights Watch]], 1989. pp. 96–8.</ref> General [[Prosper Avril]] subsequently led a military regime until March 1990.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="Rohter">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/15/news/ex-ruler-of-haiti-faces-human-rights-suit-in-us.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206104600/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/15/news/ex-ruler-of-haiti-faces-human-rights-suit-in-us.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 February 2018|title=Ex-Ruler of Haiti Faces Human Rights Suit in U.S.|editor=Rohter, Larry|date=15 November 1991|work=The New York Times|access-date=10 September 2019}}</ref><ref>Anthony Payne and Paul K. Sutton (1993), ''Modern Caribbean politics''. JHU Press, 1993. p90</ref>
Avril transferred power to the army chief of staff, Gen. [[Hérard Abraham]], on March 10, 1990. Abraham gave up power three days later, becoming the only military leader in Haiti during the twentieth century to voluntarily give up power. Abraham later helped to secure the [[1990–91 Haitian general election]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
In December 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president in the [[Haitian general election, 1990–91|Haitian general election]]. However, his ambitious reformist agenda worried the elites, and in September of the following year he was overthrown by the military, led by [[Raoul Cédras]], in the [[1991 Haitian coup d'état]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref>Collins, Edward Jr., Cole, Timothy M. (1996), "Regime Legitimation in Instances of Coup-Caused Governments-in-Exile: The Cases of Presidents Makarios and Aristide", ''Journal of International Law & Practice'' 5(2), p&nbsp;220.</ref> Amidst the continuing turmoil many Haitians attempted to flee the country.<ref name="Bradt17"/><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
In September 1994, the United States negotiated the departure of Haiti's military leaders and the peaceful entry of 20,000 US troops under [[Operation Uphold Democracy]].<ref name="Bradt17"/> This enabled the restoration of the democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president, who returned to Haiti in October to complete his term.<ref name="CCHaiti">{{cite web|publisher=The Carter Center|title=Activities by Country: Haiti|url=http://www.cartercenter.org/countries/haiti.html|access-date=19 February 2010|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173124/http://www.cartercenter.org/countries/haiti.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Manegol|first=Catherine S.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/16/world/mission-haiti-scene-for-aristide-s-followers-every-step-dance-every-cheer-song.html|title=For Aristide's Followers, Every Step Is a Dance, Every Cheer a Song|work=The New York Times|date=16 October 1994|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922090800/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/16/world/mission-haiti-scene-for-aristide-s-followers-every-step-dance-every-cheer-song.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As part of the deal Aristide had to implement free market reforms in an attempt to improve the Haitian economy, with mixed results.<ref name="Bell">{{cite book|last=Bell|first=Beverly|date=2013|title=Fault Lines: Views across Haiti's Divide|location=Ithaca, NY|publisher=Cornell University Press|pages=30–38|isbn=978-0-8014-7769-0}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> In November 1994, [[Hurricane Gordon (1994)|Hurricane Gordon]] brushed Haiti, dumping heavy [[rain]] and creating [[flash flood]]ing that triggered mudslides. Gordon killed an estimated 1,122 people, although some estimates go as high as 2,200.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hurricane Gordon 1994|publisher=Hurricane Central|url=http://hurricanecentral.freeservers.com/Prelim_Reports/1994_Gordon.htm|access-date=4 October 2016|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922111011/http://hurricanecentral.freeservers.com/Prelim_Reports/1994_Gordon.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hurricane Gordon 1994|publisher=NOAA|url=http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/gordon94.html|access-date=4 October 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007062220/http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/gordon94.html|archive-date=7 October 2016}}</ref>
[[1995 Haitian general election|Elections]] were held in 1995 which were won by [[René Préval]], gaining 88% of the popular vote, albeit on a low turnout.<ref>[http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2137_95.htm Haiti: Elections held in 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305135914/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2137_95.htm |date=5 March 2016 }} Inter-Parliamentary Union</ref><ref>[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p392 {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Aristide subsequently formed his own party, [[Fanmi Lavalas]], and political deadlock ensued; the [[Haitian presidential election, 2000|November 2000 election]] returned Aristide to the presidency with 92% of the vote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hallward|first=P.|title=Damming the Flood:Haiti, Aristide, and the Politics of containment|location=London, UK|publisher=Verso Books|year=2007|pages=xiii, 78–79}}</ref> The election had been boycotted by the opposition, then organized into the [[Convergence Démocratique]], over a dispute in the [[Haitian legislative election, 2000|May legislative elections]]. In subsequent years, there was increasing violence between rival political factions and [[human rights abuse]]s.<ref name="Bradt19">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 19.</ref><ref name="bussandgardner">{{cite book|last1=Buss|first1=Terry F.|last2=Gardner|first2=Adam|title=Haiti in the Balance: Why Foreign Aid Has Failed and What We Can Do about It|url=https://archive.org/details/haitiinbalancewh00buss|url-access=registration|date=2009|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|isbn=978-0-8157-0164-4}}</ref> Aristide spent years negotiating with the Convergence Démocratique on new elections, but the Convergence's inability to develop a sufficient electoral base made elections unattractive.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
In 2004 [[2004 Haitian coup d'état|an anti-Aristide revolt began]] in northern Haiti. The rebellion eventually reached the capital, and Aristide was forced into exile.<ref name="Bradt19"/><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> The precise nature of the events are disputed; some, including Aristide and his bodyguard, Franz Gabriel, stated that he was the victim of a "new [[coup d'état]] or modern kidnapping" by U.S. forces.<ref name="Bradt19"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/186/34344.html|title=Aristide Kidnapped by US Forces?|publisher=Globalpolicy.org|date=1 March 2004|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807130449/https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/186/34344.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2004/3/16/exclusive_aristide_and_his_bodyguard_describe|title=Exclusive: Aristide and His Bodyguard Describe the U.S. Role In His Ouster|publisher=[[Democracy Now!|Democracynow.org]]|date=16 March 2004|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922093612/https://www.democracynow.org/2004/3/16/exclusive_aristide_and_his_bodyguard_describe|url-status=live}}</ref> These charges were denied by the US government.<ref>{{cite news|last=Buschschluter|first=Vanessa|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8460185.stm|title=The long history of troubled ties between Haiti and the US|work=BBC News|date=16 January 2010|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=1 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901044512/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8460185.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bradt19"/> As political violence and crime continued to grow, a [[United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti|United Nations Stabilisation Mission (MINUSTAH)]] was brought in to maintain order.<ref name="Bradt20">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 20.</ref> However, MINUSTAH proved controversial, since their periodically heavy-handed approach to maintaining law and order and several instances of abuses, including the alleged sexual abuse of civilians, provoked resentment and distrust among ordinary Haitians.<ref>{{cite news|last=Varner|first=Bill|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=az0cdhHzic3M|title=Haitian Gangs Seek Truce That Would Ease Elections|publisher=Bloomberg.com|date=25 August 2005|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=16 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916205622/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Klarreich|first=Kathie|title=Will the United Nations' legacy in Haiti be all about scandal?|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2012/0613/Will-the-United-Nations-legacy-in-Haiti-be-all-about-scandal|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=10 September 2013|date=13 June 2012|archive-date=21 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921235743/https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2012/0613/Will-the-United-Nations-legacy-in-Haiti-be-all-about-scandal|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
[[Boniface Alexandre]] assumed interim authority until 2006, when René Préval was re-elected President following [[Haitian general election, 2006|elections]].<ref name="Bradt20"/><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="thompson2006">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/10/international/10haiti.html|last=Thompson|first=Ginger|title=Candidate of Haiti's Poor Leads in Early Tally With 61% of Vote.|work=The New York Times|date=10 February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424203107/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/10/international/10haiti.html|archive-date=24 April 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
====Post-Aristide era (2004–present)====
{{See also|Haitian crisis (2018–present)}}
Amidst the continuing political chaos, a series of natural disasters hit Haiti. In 2004, [[Hurricane Jeanne#Haiti|Tropical Storm Jeanne]] skimmed the north coast, leaving 3,006 people dead in flooding and [[mudslide]]s, mostly in the city of [[Gonaïves]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sfl-0923haitigallery,0,7266223.photogallery|title=Photo Gallery: Jeanne hits Haiti|work=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=16 February 2010|archive-date=5 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505105859/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sfl-0923haitigallery,0,7266223.photogallery|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2008, Haiti was again struck by tropical storms; [[Tropical Storm Fay (2008)|Tropical Storm Fay]], [[Hurricane Gustav]], [[Hurricane Hanna (2008)|Hurricane Hanna]] and [[Hurricane Ike]] all produced heavy winds and rain, resulting in 331 deaths and about 800,000 in need of humanitarian aid.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-09-10-Haiti-floods_N.htm|title=UN seeks almost US$108 million for Haiti floods|work=[[USA Today]]|date=10 September 2008|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=15 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015233344/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-09-10-Haiti-floods_N.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The state of affairs produced by these storms was intensified by already high food and fuel prices that had caused a food crisis and political unrest in April 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4718790.stm|work=BBC News|title=Preval declared Haiti poll winner|date=16 February 2006|access-date=4 May 2010|archive-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925052428/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4718790.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1228245020080413|title=Haiti's government falls after food riots|date=12 April 2008|access-date=16 February 2010|work=Reuters|archive-date=20 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172406/https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1228245020080413|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
[[File:Haitian national palace earthquake.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|The [[National Palace (Haiti)|Haitian National Palace]], located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, heavily damaged after the [[2010 Haiti earthquake|earthquake of 2010]]. This was originally a two-story structure; the second story completely collapsed.]]
On 12 January 2010, at 4:53&nbsp;pm local time, Haiti was struck by a [[moment magnitude scale|magnitude]]-7.0 [[2010 Haiti earthquake|earthquake]]. This was the country's most severe earthquake in over 200 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/|title=Magnitude 7.0 – Haiti Region|access-date=12 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115110510/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/|archive-date=15 January 2010}}</ref> The earthquake was reported to have left between 160,000 and 300,000 people dead and up to 1.6 million homeless, making it one of the [[List of natural disasters by death toll|deadliest natural disasters ever recorded]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Haiti Earthquake Fast Facts|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/12/world/haiti-earthquake-fast-facts/index.html|website=CNN|date=12 December 2013|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925001717/https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/12/world/haiti-earthquake-fast-facts/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Archibold|first=Randal C.|date=13 January 2011|title=Haiti: Quake's Toll Rises to 316,000|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/world/americas/14briefs-Haiti.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/world/americas/14briefs-Haiti.html|archive-date=2 January 2022|url-access=limited|url-status=live|access-date=18 March 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It is also one of the deadliest earthquakes ever recorded.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://ourworldindata.org/the-worlds-deadliest-earthquakes|title=What were the world's deadliest earthquakes?|journal=Our World in Data|date=2 February 2024|last1=Ritchie|first1=Hannah|author1-link=Hannah Ritchie|last2=Roser|first2=Max|author2-link=Max Roser|access-date=10 April 2023|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410172355/https://ourworldindata.org/the-worlds-deadliest-earthquakes|url-status=live}}</ref> The situation was exacerbated by a subsequent massive [[Haiti cholera outbreak|cholera outbreak]] that was triggered when cholera-infected waste from a [[United Nations]] peacekeeping station contaminated the country's main river, the [[Artibonite River|Artibonite]].<ref name="Bradt20"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sontag|first1=Deborah|title=In Haiti, Global Failures on a Cholera Epidemic|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/americas/haitis-cholera-outraced-the-experts-and-tainted-the-un.|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/americas/haitis-cholera-outraced-the-experts-and-tainted-the-un.|archive-date=2 January 2022|url-access=limited|url-status=live|access-date=21 June 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2011-01-06/year-indecision-leaves-haiti-recovery-standstill|title=A year of indecision leaves Haiti recovery at a standstill|publisher=Oxfam.org|date=6 January 2011|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=2 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102155112/http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2011-01-06/year-indecision-leaves-haiti-recovery-standstill|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, it was reported that roughly 10,000 Haitians had died and nearly a million had been made ill. After years of denial, the United Nations apologized in 2016, but {{as of|2017|lc=y}}, they have refused to acknowledge fault, thus avoiding financial responsibility.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gladstone|first1=Rick|title=U.N. Brought Cholera to Haiti. Now It Is Fumbling Its Effort to Atone|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/world/americas/cholera-haiti-united-nations-peacekeepers-yemen.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/world/americas/cholera-haiti-united-nations-peacekeepers-yemen.html|archive-date=2 January 2022|url-access=limited|url-status=live|newspaper=The New York Times|date=27 June 2017|access-date=12 January 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
General elections had been planned for January 2010 but were postponed due to the earthquake.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> [[2010–11 Haitian general election|Elections were held on 28 November 2010]] for the senate, the parliament and the first round of the presidential elections. The run-off between [[Michel Martelly]] and [[Mirlande Manigat]] took place on 20 March 2011, and preliminary results, released on 4 April, named Michel Martelly the winner.<ref name="Bradt21">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 21.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2951-haiti-inauguration-michel-martelly-56th-president-of-haiti.html|title=Haiti – Inauguration : Michel Martelly, 56th President of Haiti|publisher=Haitilibre.com|date=14 May 2011|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922004322/https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2951-haiti-inauguration-michel-martelly-56th-president-of-haiti.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, both former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to Haiti; attempts to try Duvalier for crimes committed under his rule were shelved following his death in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/world/americas/20haiti.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/world/americas/20haiti.html|archive-date=2 January 2022|url-access=limited|url-status=live|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Ginger Thompson|title=Aristide Says He Is Ready to Follow Duvalier Back to Haiti|date=19 January 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/04/jean-claude-duvalier-baby-doc-haiti-dies|title=Jean-Claude Duvalier, former Haitian dictator, dies aged 63|newspaper=The Guardian|author=<!--staff writer-->|date=4 October 2014|access-date=17 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208082446/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/04/jean-claude-duvalier-baby-doc-haiti-dies|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kushner2011">{{cite news|first=Jacob|last=Kushner|url=http://www.salon.com/2011/01/17/cb_haiti_ex_dictator_returns/|title=Haiti's 'Baby&nbsp;Doc' in surprise return from exile|work=Salon|agency=Associated Press|date=17 January 2011|archive-date=27 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527224344/http://www.salon.com/2011/01/17/cb_haiti_ex_dictator_returns/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bradt21"/> In 2013, the Haitian government called for European governments to pay [[reparations for slavery]] and establish an official commission for the settlement of past wrongdoings.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SofDAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT14|chapter=Formulating the Case for Reparations|last=Gifford|first=Lord Anthony|title=Colonialism, Slavery, Reparations and Trade: Remedying The 'Past'?|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|pages=96|isbn=978-1-136-59792-3|access-date=25 February 2018|archive-date=28 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628034613/https://books.google.com/books?id=SofDAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT14#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21587236-pressure-grows-compensation-caribbean-trade-blood-money|title=Slavery reparations: Blood money|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=5 October 2013|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-date=4 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204120133/https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21587236-pressure-grows-compensation-caribbean-trade-blood-money|url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, after continuing political wrangling with the opposition and allegations of electoral fraud, Martelly agreed to step down in 2016 without a successor in place.<ref name="Bradt21"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/world/americas/michel-martelly-haitis-president-departs-without-a-successor.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/world/americas/michel-martelly-haitis-president-departs-without-a-successor.html|archive-date=2 January 2022|url-access=limited|url-status=live|title=Michel Martelly, Haiti's President, Departs Without a Successor|date=7 February 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=7 February 2016|last=Robles|first=Frances}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After numerous postponements, partly owing to the effects of devastating [[Hurricane Matthew]], [[November 2016 Haitian presidential election|elections]] were held in November 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-election-idUSKCN0XM0CC|title=Haiti says election could drag on for months, protests grow|work=Reuters|date=25 April 2016|access-date=26 April 2016|last=Guyler Delva|first=Joseph|archive-date=21 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921213143/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-election-idUSKCN0XM0CC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18834-haiti-flash-the-elections-of-october-9-postponed.html|title=Haiti – FLASH : The elections of October 9 postponed|work=Haiti Libre|date=5 October 2016|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922005549/https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18834-haiti-flash-the-elections-of-october-9-postponed.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The victor, [[Jovenel Moïse]] of the [[Haitian Tèt Kale Party]], was sworn in as president in 2017.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=cep_haiti|number=803456135873363968|date=28 November 2016|title=Résultats préliminaires des élections présidentielles du 20 Novembre 2016 pic.twitter.com/i9GsrkkU8p}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-haiti-elecion-idUKKBN13O08L|title=Businessman Moise wins Haiti election in first round – provisional results|work=Reuters|date=29 November 2016|access-date=16 November 2017|location=Port-au-Prince|first=Makini|last=Brice|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807204157/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-haiti-elecion-idUKKBN13O08L|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Haitian crisis (2018–present)|Protests began]] on 7 July 2018, in response to increased fuel prices. Over time these protests evolved into demands for the resignation of president Moïse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/haiti-thousands-protest-against-corruption/a-47421473|title=Haiti: Thousands protest against corruption|date=8 February 2019|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]|language=en-GB|access-date=19 November 2019|archive-date=9 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909030932/https://www.dw.com/en/haiti-thousands-protest-against-corruption/a-47421473|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 7 July 2021, President Moïse was [[Assassination of Jovenel Moïse|assassinated]] in an attack on his private residence, and First Lady [[Martine Moïse]] was hospitalized.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 July 2021|title=Official: Haiti President Jovenel Moïse assassinated at home|url=https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-haiti-government-and-politics-b56a0f8fec0832028bdc51e8d59c6af2|access-date=7 July 2021|website=AP NEWS|language=en|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922050149/https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-haiti-government-and-politics-b56a0f8fec0832028bdc51e8d59c6af2|url-status=live}}</ref> Amid the political crisis, the government of Haiti installed [[Ariel Henry]] as the acting prime minister on 20 July 2021.<ref name="haitifactbook">{{cite web|title=Haiti – Background|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|website=The World Factbook|date=15 June 2022|publisher=CIA|access-date=16 June 2022|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209014627/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first1=Caitlin|last1=Hu|first2=Natalie|last2=Gallón|first3=Matt|last3=Rivers|first4=Etant|last4=Dupain|title=Haiti's acting prime minister Claude Joseph to step down amid power struggle after president's assassination|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/19/americas/haiti-acting-pm-claude-joseph-to-step-down-intl/index.html|date=19 July 2021|access-date=19 July 2021|website=CNN|archive-date=19 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719150004/https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/19/americas/haiti-acting-pm-claude-joseph-to-step-down-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 14 August 2021, Haiti suffered [[2021 Haiti earthquake|another huge earthquake]], with many casualties.<ref>{{Cite news|date=14 August 2021|title=Haiti struck by deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-58215631|access-date=15 August 2021|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814141827/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-58215631|url-status=live}}</ref> The earthquake has also damaged Haiti's economic conditions and led to a rise in [[Gang|gang violence]] which by September 2021 had escalated to a long-lasting full-blown [[Gang war in Haiti|gang war]] and other violent crimes within the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.iadb.org/ideas-matter/en/estimating-the-potential-economic-impact-of-haitis-2021-earthquake/|title=Estimating the Potential Economic Impact of Haiti's 2021 Earthquake|first=Eduardo|last=Cavallo|author2=Laura Giles Álvarez|author3=Andrew Powell|website=IDB|date=28 September 2021|access-date=18 January 2022|archive-date=21 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921215202/https://blogs.iadb.org/ideas-matter/en/estimating-the-potential-economic-impact-of-haitis-2021-earthquake/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1102062|title=Haiti facing stalled elections, kidnapping surge, rampant insecurity|website=UN News|publisher=United Nations|date=4 October 2021|access-date=18 January 2022|archive-date=21 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921210751/https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1102062|url-status=live}}</ref> As of March 2022, Haiti still had no president, no parliamentary quorum, and a dysfunctional high court due to a lack of judges.<ref name="haitifactbook" /> In 2022, [[2022 Haitian crisis|protests]] against the government and [[Global energy crisis (2021–present)|rising fuel prices]] intensified.<ref>{{cite news|title=Haiti suffers deadly demonstrations against rise in fuel prices|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/09/17/haiti-suffers-deadly-demonstrations-against-rise-in-fuel-prices_5997305_4.html|work=Le Monde|date=17 September 2022|access-date=8 October 2022|archive-date=8 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008194256/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/09/17/haiti-suffers-deadly-demonstrations-against-rise-in-fuel-prices_5997305_4.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Haiti reaches a breaking point as the economy tanks and violence soars|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/haiti-reaches-a-breaking-point-as-the-economy-tanks-and-violence-soars|work=PBS|date=4 October 2022|access-date=8 October 2022|archive-date=8 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008194256/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/haiti-reaches-a-breaking-point-as-the-economy-tanks-and-violence-soars|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2023, kidnapping jumped 72% from the first quarter of the previous year.<ref>{{cite news|last=Phillips|first=Tom|title=UN calls for foreign intervention in Haiti as violence surges|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/21/haiti-un-international-specialized-support-force|access-date=26 April 2023|work=The Guardian|date=21 March 2023|archive-date=28 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328164710/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/21/haiti-un-international-specialized-support-force|url-status=live}}</ref> Doctors, lawyers, and other wealthy members of society were kidnapped and held for ransom.<ref name="kidnapping">{{cite news|last=Wilentz|first=Amy|title=Haiti, April 2023: Soon There Will Be No One Left to Kidnap|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/world/haiti-gangs-ariel-henry-biden/|access-date=26 April 2023|agency=The Nation|date=17 April 2023|archive-date=26 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426135431/https://www.thenation.com/article/world/haiti-gangs-ariel-henry-biden/|url-status=live}}</ref> Many victims were killed when ransom demands were not met, leading those with the means to do so to flee the country, further hampering efforts to pull the country out of the crisis.<ref name="kidnapping"/> It is estimated that amidst the crisis up to 20% of qualified medical staff had left Haiti by the end of 2023.<ref name="medical crisis">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/world/americas/haiti-gang-violence-health.html|title=Haiti's Hospitals Survived Cholera and Covid. Gangs Are Closing Them.|last1=David C.|first1=Adams|first2=Frances|last2=Robles|work=New York Times|date=2024-03-17|access-date=19 March 2024|archive-date=17 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317162256/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/world/americas/haiti-gang-violence-health.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In March 2024, Ariel Henry was prevented by gangs from returning to Haiti, following a visit to [[Kenya]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/haiti-prime-minister-gangs-resign-e583a191a2f800bc63752220a47dec0d|title=Haiti's prime minister is locked out of his country and faces pressure to resign|website=[[Associated Press News]]|date=6 March 2024|access-date=7 March 2024|archive-date=6 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306214053/https://apnews.com/article/haiti-prime-minister-gangs-resign-e583a191a2f800bc63752220a47dec0d|url-status=live}}</ref> Henry agreed to resign once a transitional government had been formed. As of that month, nearly half of Haiti's population was living under [[Hunger|acute food insecurity]], according to the [[World Food Programme]].<ref name=":1" /> On April 25, 2024, the [[Transitional Presidential Council]] took over the Governance of Haiti and is scheduled to stay in power until 2026.<ref name="sworn in">{{cite news|newspaper=Le Nouvelliste|last=Robenson|first=Geffrard|date=25 April 2024|title=Les membres du Conseil présidentiel de transition ont prêté serment, tôt jeudi 25 avril 2024, au Palais national|url=https://lenouvelliste.com/article/247858/les-membres-du-conseil-presidentiel-de-transition-ont-prete-serment-tot-jeudi-25-avril-2024-au-palais-national|lang=fr|access-date=1 May 2024|archive-date=26 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426122820/https://lenouvelliste.com/article/247858/les-membres-du-conseil-presidentiel-de-transition-ont-prete-serment-tot-jeudi-25-avril-2024-au-palais-national|url-status=live}}</ref>  [[Michel Patrick Boisvert]] was named interim prime minister.<ref name="sworn in"/> On 3 June 2024, the council swore in [[Garry Conille]] as acting prime minister.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Haitian Prime Minister Sworn In |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/new-haitian-prime-minister-sworn-in-7717df19 |access-date=29 November 2024 |agency=Agence France Presse |work=Barron's |date=3 June 2024}}</ref> On 10 November 2024, [[Alix Didier Fils-Aimé]] replaced Conille as acting prime minister.<ref>{{cite news |title=Le nouveau Premier ministre haïtien Alix Didier Fils-Aimé a prêté serment |date=11 November 2024 |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/am%C3%A9riques/20241111-qui-est-alix-didier-fils-aim%C3%A9-nomm%C3%A9-premier-ministre-en-ha%C3%AFti |access-date=29 November 2024 |work=[[Radio France Internationale]] |language=fr}}</ref>
==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Haiti}}
[[File:Haiti topographic map-fr.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|Topographical map of Haiti]]
Haiti forms the western three-eighths of [[Hispaniola]], the second largest island in the [[Greater Antilles]]. At {{convert|27750|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} Haiti is the third largest country in the Caribbean behind [[Cuba]] and the [[Dominican Republic]], the latter sharing a {{convert|360|km|mi|0|adj=on|sp=us}} [[Dominican Republic–Haiti border|border]] with Haiti. The country has a roughly horseshoe shape and because of this it has a disproportionately long coastline, second in length ({{convert|1771|km|mi|0|abbr=on|disp=or}}) behind Cuba in the Greater Antilles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/today/placesinthenews/archive/2010arch/20100114_haiti.html|title=Geography: Haiti|website=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-date=9 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809172231/https://www.loc.gov/today/placesinthenews/archive/2010arch/20100114_haiti.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/caribb/haiti/htland.htm|title=Geography: Haiti|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-date=29 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929181413/https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/haiti|url-status=live}}</ref>
Haiti is the most mountainous country in the Caribbean, its terrain consists of mountains interspersed with small coastal plains and river valleys.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|title=CIA World Factbook – Haiti|access-date=3 September 2019|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209014627/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|url-status=live}}</ref> The climate is tropical, with some variation depending on altitude. The highest point is [[Pic la Selle]], at {{convert|2680|m|ft|0||sp=us}}.<ref name="NgCheong-Lum, Roseline 19">{{cite book |last=NgCheong-Lum |first=Roseline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FUSD2v4EQE8C |title=Haiti (Cultures of the World) |publisher=Times Editions |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7614-1968-6 |location=New York |page=19 |access-date=29 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217144429/https://books.google.com/books?id=FUSD2v4EQE8C |archive-date=17 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
The northern region or '''Marien Region''' consists of the ''[[Massif du Nord]]'' (Northern Massif) and the ''[[Plaine du Nord]]'' (Northern Plain). The ''Massif du Nord'' is an extension of the ''Cordillera Central'' in the Dominican Republic.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> It begins at Haiti's eastern border, north of the [[Guayamouc River]], and extends to the northwest through the northern peninsula. The lowlands of the ''Plaine du Nord'' lie along the northern border with the Dominican Republic, between the ''Massif du Nord'' and the North Atlantic Ocean.
The central region or '''Artibonite Region''' consists of two plains and two sets of mountain ranges. The ''Plateau Central'' (Central Plateau) extends along both sides of the Guayamouc River, south of the ''Massif du Nord''. It runs from the southeast to the northwest. To the southwest of the ''Plateau Central'' are the ''[[Montagnes Noires, Haiti|Montagnes Noires]]'', whose most northwestern part merges with the ''Massif du Nord''. Haiti's most important valley in terms of crops is the Plaine de l'Artibonite, which lies between the Montagnes Noires and the Chaîne des Matheux.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> This region supports the country's longest river, the [[Artibonite River|Riviere l'Artibonite]], which begins in the western region of the Dominican Republic and continues for most of its length through central Haiti, where it then empties into the [[Gulf of Gonâve|Golfe de la Gonâve]].<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Also in this valley lies Haiti's second largest lake, [[Lac de Péligre]], formed as a result of the construction of the [[Péligre Dam]] in the mid-1950s.<ref name=Wells>Jennifer Wells, [https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2010/11/21/a_dam_for_the_people_and_a_people_damned.html "A dam for the people, and A people damned"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903191441/https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2010/11/21/a_dam_for_the_people_and_a_people_damned.html |date=3 September 2019 }}, ''Toronto Star'', 21 November 2010</ref>
[[File:Aerial 2.jpeg|thumb|right|Saint-Marc Arrondissement, [[Artibonite (department)|Artibonite Department]]]]
The southern region or '''Xaragua Region''' consists of the ''[[Plaine du Cul-de-Sac]]'' (the southeast) and the mountainous southern peninsula (the [[Tiburon Peninsula, Haiti|Tiburon Peninsula]]). The Plaine du Cul-de-Sac is a natural depression that harbors the country's saline lakes, such as [[Trou Caïman]] and Haiti's largest lake, [[Étang Saumatre]]. The [[Chaîne de la Selle]] mountain range – an extension of the southern mountain chain of the Dominican Republic (the Sierra de Baoruco) – extends from the Massif de la Selle in the east to the [[Massif de la Hotte]] in the west.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
Haiti also includes several offshore islands. The island of [[Tortuga (Haiti)|Tortuga]] is located off the coast of northern Haiti. The [[Arrondissements of Haiti|arrondissement]] of [[Gonâve Island|La Gonâve]] is located on the island of the same name, in the [[Gulf of Gonâve|Golfe de la Gonâve]]; Haiti's largest island, Gonâve is moderately populated by rural villagers. [[Île à Vache]] is located off the southwest coast; also part of Haiti are the [[Cayemites]], located in the Gulf of Gonâve north of [[Pestel, Grand'Anse|Pestel]]. [[Navassa Island]], located {{convert|40|nmi|mi km}} west of [[Jérémie]] on the south west [[peninsula]] of Haiti,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/haiti/rock.htm|title=Whose Rock Is It? Yes, the Haitians Care|author=Larry Rohter|date=19 October 1998|work=Port-au-Prince Journal (reprinted in New York Times)|access-date=28 January 2012|archive-date=8 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408000212/http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/haiti/rock.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> is subject to an ongoing territorial dispute with the United States, who currently administer the island.<ref name="USGS">{{cite web|author=<!--staff writer-->|date=August 2000|publisher=US Geological Survey|title=Navassa Island: A Photographic Tour (1998–1999)|access-date=18 November 2012|url=http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/navassa|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119101317/http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/navassa/|archive-date=19 November 2012}}</ref>
===Climate===
[[File:Haiti Köppen.svg|thumb|left|Köppen climate types of Haiti]]
Haiti's climate is tropical with some variation depending on altitude.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/> Port-au-Prince ranges in January from an average minimum of {{convert|23|°C|1}} to an average maximum of {{convert|31|°C|1}}; in July, from {{convert|25|–|35|°C|°F}}. The rainfall pattern is varied, with rain heavier in some of the lowlands and the northern and eastern slopes of the mountains. Haiti's dry season occurs from November to January.
Port-au-Prince receives an average annual rainfall of {{convert|1370|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}. There are two rainy seasons, April–June and October–November. Haiti is subject to periodic droughts and floods, made more severe by deforestation. Hurricanes are a menace, and the country is also prone to flooding and earthquakes.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/>
===Geology===
[[File:Haiti Saut-d'Eau.JPG|thumb|right|[[Saut-d'Eau]] waterfall]]
There are [[Thrust fault#Blind thrust faults|blind thrust faults]] associated with the [[Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone|Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system]] over which Haiti lies.<ref name="USGSHaiti2">{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/#summary|title="Magnitude 7.0 – HAITI REGION Tectonic Summary" United States Geological Survey, 12 January 2010|publisher=Earthquake.usgs.gov|access-date=11 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115110510/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/|archive-date=15 January 2010}}</ref> After the earthquake of 2010, there was no evidence of [[surface rupture]] and geologists' findings were based on seismological, geological and ground deformation data.<ref name="Hayes">{{cite journal|last=Hayes|first=G.P.|author2=Briggs R.W.|author3=Sladen A.|author4=Fielding E.J.|author5=Prentice C.|author6=Hudnut K.|author7=Mann P.|author8=Taylor F.W.|author9=Crone A.J. |author10=Gold R.|author11=Ito T.|author12=Simons M.|year=2010|title=Complex rupture during the 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake|journal=Nature Geoscience|doi=10.1038/ngeo977|volume=3|issue=11|pages=800–805|bibcode=2010NatGe...3..800H|url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/21200/2/ngeo977-s1.pdf|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=2 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202124109/https://authors.library.caltech.edu/21200/2/ngeo977-s1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
The northern boundary of the fault is where the [[Caribbean Plate|Caribbean]] [[tectonic plate]] shifts eastwards by about {{convert|20|mm|in|abbr=in}} per year in relation to the [[North American Plate]]. The [[strike-slip fault]] system in the region has two branches in Haiti, the [[Septentrional-Oriente fault zone|Septentrional-Oriente fault]] in the north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault in the south.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
A 2007 earthquake hazard study, noted that the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone could be at the end of its seismic cycle and concluded that a worst-case forecast would involve a 7.2&nbsp;M<sub>w</sub> earthquake, similar in size to the [[1692 Jamaica earthquake]].<ref name="DeMets">{{cite journal|last=DeMets|first=C.|author2=Wiggins-Grandison W.|year=2007|title=Deformation of Jamaica and motion of the Gonâve microplate from GPS and seismic data|journal=[[Geophysical Journal International]]|volume=168|issue=1|pages=362–378|doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.03236.x|bibcode=2007GeoJI.168..362D|doi-access=free}}</ref> A study team performing a hazard assessment of the fault system recommended "high priority" historical geologic rupture studies, as the fault was fully locked and had recorded few earthquakes in the preceding 40&nbsp;years.<ref name="18cgc">{{cite web|url=http://www.ig.utexas.edu/jsg/18_cgg/Mann3.htm|title=Entiquillo-Plantain Garden Strike-Slip Fault Zone: A Major Seismic Hazard Affecting Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica|publisher=18th Caribbean Geological Conference|last1=Mann|first1=Paul|last2=Calais|first2=Eric|last3=Demets|first3=Chuck|last4=Prentice|first4=Carol S|last5=Wiggins-Grandison|first5=Margaret|date=March 2008|access-date=13 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116160020/http://www.ig.utexas.edu/jsg/18_cgg/Mann3.htm|archive-date=16 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The magnitude 7.0 [[2010 Haiti earthquake]] happened on this fault zone on 12 January 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-10-06|title=3 Questions: Understanding the Haiti earthquakes|url=https://news.mit.edu/2021/3-questions-camilla-cattania-william-frank-haiti-earthquakes-1006|access-date=2024-06-01|website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology|language=en|archive-date=1 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601090904/https://news.mit.edu/2021/3-questions-camilla-cattania-william-frank-haiti-earthquakes-1006|url-status=live}}</ref>
Haiti also has rare elements such as [[gold]], which can be found at The [[Mont Organisé]] [[gold mining|gold mine]].<ref>[http://www.ute.gouv.ht/caracol/images/stories/docs/environmental%20assessment%20of%20the%20usaidhaiti%20north%20park%20power%20project.pdf ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE USAID/HAITI NORTH PARK POWER PROJECT] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805102537/http://www.ute.gouv.ht/caracol/images/stories/docs/environmental%20assessment%20of%20the%20usaidhaiti%20north%20park%20power%20project.pdf |date=5 August 2022 }}. United States Agency for International Development. ute.gouv.ht. June 2011</ref>
Haiti has no currently active volcanoes. "In the Terre-Neuve Mountains, about 12 kilometers from the Eaux Boynes, small intrusions at least as late as [[Oligocene]] and probably of [[Miocene]] age are known. No other volcanic activity of as late a date is known near any of the other warm springs."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Brown|first=John S.|title=The Hot Springs of the Republic of Haiti|journal=The Journal of Geology|publisher=University of Chicago Press|volume=32|issue=5|year=1924|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/623111|issn=0022-1376|doi=10.1086/623111|pages=384–399|bibcode=1924JG.....32..384B|s2cid=128421492|access-date=25 July 2022|archive-date=22 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822165823/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/623111|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Environment===
{{Main|Environment of Haiti|Deforestation in Haiti}}
[[File:Haiti deforestation.jpg|thumb|Haiti's border with the [[Dominican Republic]] in 2002, showing the extent of deforestation on the Haitian side (left)]]
The [[Erosion|soil erosion]] released from the upper [[Drainage basin|catchments]] and [[deforestation]] have caused periodic and severe flooding, as experienced, for example, on 17 September 2004. Earlier in May that year, floods had killed over 3,000 people on Haiti's southern border with the Dominican Republic.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2004-09-23-haiti-deforest_x.htm|title=Deforestation Exacerbates Haiti Floods|work=USA Today|date=23 September 2004|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=23 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223200050/http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2004-09-23-haiti-deforest_x.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Haiti's forests covered 60% of the country as recently as 50 years ago, but that has been halved to a current estimate of 30% tree cover. This estimate poses a stark difference from the erroneous figure of 2% which has been oft-cited in discourse concerning the country's environmental condition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.envirosociety.org/2016/05/haiti-is-covered-with-trees/|title=Haiti Is Covered with Trees|website=EnviroSociety|last=Tarter|first=Andrew|date=19 May 2016|access-date=19 May 2016|archive-date=16 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116104040/http://www.envirosociety.org/2016/05/haiti-is-covered-with-trees/|url-status=live}}</ref> Haiti had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 4.01/10, ranking it 137th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G}}</ref>
Scientists at the [[The Earth Institute#Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)Earth Institute|Columbia University's Center for International Earth Science Information Network]] and the [[United Nations Environment Programme]] are working on the Haiti Regenerative Initiative, an initiative aiming to reduce poverty and natural disaster vulnerability through ecosystem restoration and sustainable resource management.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://haiti.ciesin.columbia.edu/|title=Haiti GeoPortal at CIESIN|year=2012|publisher=Columbia University|location=New York|access-date=6 December 2016|archive-date=11 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911115349/http://haiti.ciesin.columbia.edu/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
====Biodiversity====
{{Main|Wildlife of Haiti}}
[[File:Hispaniolan Solenodon crop.jpg|thumb|right|The endangered Hispaniolan solenodon, endemic to the island]]
Haiti is home to four ecoregions: [[Hispaniolan moist forests]], [[Hispaniolan dry forests]], [[Hispaniolan pine forests]], and [[Greater Antilles mangroves]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}}</ref>
Despite its small size, Haiti's mountainous terrain and resultant multiple climatic zones has resulted in a wide variety of plant life.<ref name="Bradt6">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 6.</ref> Notable tree species include the [[breadfruit tree]], [[mango tree]], [[acacia]], [[mahogany]], [[coconut palm]], [[royal palm]] and [[Cedrela odorata|West Indian cedar]].<ref name="Bradt6"/> The forests were formerly much more extensive, but have been subject to severe deforestation.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
Most mammal species are not native, having been brought to the island since colonial times.<ref name="Bradt6"/> However, there are various native [[bat]] species, as well as the endemic [[Hispaniolan hutia]] and [[Hispaniolan solenodon]].<ref name="Bradt6"/> Whale and dolphin species can also be found off Haiti's coast.
There are over 260 species of birds, 31 endemic to Hispaniola.<ref name="Bradt4">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 4.</ref> Notable endemic species include the [[Hispaniolan trogon]], [[Hispaniolan parakeet]], [[grey-crowned tanager]] and the [[Hispaniolan Amazon]].<ref name="Bradt4"/> There are also several [[Raptor (bird)|raptor]]s, as well as pelicans, ibis, hummingbirds and ducks.
Reptiles are common, with species such as the [[rhinoceros iguana]], [[Chilabothrus fordii|Haitian boa]], [[American crocodile]] and [[gecko]].<ref name="Bradt5">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 5</ref>
==Government and politics==
{{Main|Politics of Haiti}}
[[File:Jovenel Moise.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jovenel Moïse]] was the 43rd [[president of Haiti]] from 7 February 2017 until his [[Assassination of Jovenel Moïse|assassination on 7 July 2021]].]]
The government of Haiti is a [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] republic, a multiparty system wherein the [[president of Haiti]] is head of state and elected directly by popular [[elections in Haiti|elections]] held every five years.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref>{{cite web|title=1987 Constitution of the Republic of Haiti|url=http://pdba.georgetown.edu/constitutions/haiti/haiti1987.html|publisher=Georgetown University|access-date=9 July 2011|at=Article 134|archive-date=1 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901061334/https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Haiti/haiti1987.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[prime minister of Haiti]] acts as head of government and is appointed by the president, chosen from the majority party in the National Assembly.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> Executive power is exercised by the president and prime minister who together constitute the government.<ref>{{Cite web|author=<!--staff writer-->|date=2009-08-01|title=OEA - Organización de los Estados Americanos: Democracia para la paz, la seguridad y el desarrollo|url=https://www.oas.org/es/sap/deco/moe/haiti2011/ficha.asp|access-date=2024-06-01|website=www.oas.org|language=es|archive-date=1 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601091443/https://www.oas.org/es/sap/deco/moe/haiti2011/ficha.asp|url-status=live}}</ref>
Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the [[National Assembly of Haiti]], the [[Senate (Haiti)|Senate]] (Sénat) and the [[Chamber of Deputies (Haiti)|Chamber of Deputies]] (Chambre des Députés).<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/><ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/> The government is organized [[unitary state|unitarily]], thus the central government ''delegates'' powers to the departments without a constitutional need for consent. The current structure of Haiti's political system was set forth in the [[Constitution of Haiti]] on 29 March 1987.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/>
Haitian politics have been contentious: since independence, Haiti has suffered 32 [[List of revolutions and coups d'état in Haiti|coups]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1741707&ps=rs|title=Haiti Starts Over, Once Again|author=Michele Kelemen|newspaper=Npr.org|date=2 March 2004|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=27 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027003735/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1741707|url-status=live}}</ref> Haiti is the only country in the Western Hemisphere to undergo a successful [[Haitian Revolution|slave revolution]]; however, a long history of oppression by dictators such as [[François Duvalier]] and his son [[Jean-Claude Duvalier]] has markedly affected the republic's governance and society. Since the end of the Duvalier era Haiti has been transitioning to a democratic system.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Haiti}}
Administratively, Haiti is divided into ten [[Departments of Haiti|departments]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/> The departments are listed below, with the departmental capital cities in parentheses.
[[File:Haiti, administrative divisions - Nmbrs - colored.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|Departments of Haiti]]
# [[Nord-Ouest (department)|Nord-Ouest]] ([[Port-de-Paix]])
# [[Nord (Haitian department)|Nord]] ([[Cap-Haïtien]])
# [[Nord-Est (department)|Nord-Est]] ([[Fort-Liberté]])
# [[Artibonite (department)|Artibonite]] ([[Gonaïves]])
# [[Centre (department)|Centre]] ([[Hinche]])
# [[Ouest (department)|Ouest]] ([[Port-au-Prince]])
# [[Grand'Anse (department)|Grand'Anse]] ([[Jérémie]])
# [[Nippes]] ([[Miragoâne]])
# [[Sud (department)|Sud]] ([[Les Cayes]])
# [[Sud-Est (department)|Sud-Est]] ([[Jacmel]])
The departments are further divided into 42 [[Arrondissements of Haiti|arrondissements]], 145 [[Communes of Haiti|communes]] and 571 [[communal section]]s. These serve as, respectively, second- and third-level administrative divisions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lenouvelliste.com/lenouvelliste/article/148647/Creation-de-cinq-nouvelles-communes-par-decret-presidentiel|title=Création de cinq nouvelles communes par décret présidentiel|editor=Olivier, Louis-Joseph|date=14 August 2015|work=Le Nouvelliste|access-date=17 March 2016|language=fr|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323033146/http://lenouvelliste.com/lenouvelliste/article/148647/Creation-de-cinq-nouvelles-communes-par-decret-presidentiel|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14858-haiti-politic-5-new-communes-in-haiti.html|title=Haïti – Politique: 5 nouvelles communes en Haïti|date=16 August 2015|work=Haiti Libre|access-date=17 March 2016|archive-date=28 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028102215/https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14858-haiti-politic-5-new-communes-in-haiti.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://haiti-reference.com/pages/plan/geographie-et-tourisme/divisions-territoriales/|title=7300.- Divisions territoriales|date=17 August 2015|publisher=Haiti-Référence|access-date=17 March 2016|language=fr|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322033652/https://www.haiti-reference.com/pages/plan/geographie-et-tourisme/divisions-territoriales/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Haiti}}
Haiti is a member of a wide range of international and regional organizations, such as the United Nations, CARICOM, [[Community of Latin American and Caribbean States]], [[International Monetary Fund]], [[Organisation of American States]], {{Lang|fr|[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]]|italic=no}}, [[OPANAL]] and the [[World Trade Organization]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/>
In February 2012, Haiti signaled it would seek to upgrade its observer status to full associate member status of the [[African Union]] (AU).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4863-haiti-diplomacy-haiti-becomes-a-member-of-the-african-union.html|title=Haiti becomes a member of the African Union|publisher=Haitilibre.com|date=2 February 2012|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=23 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823052924/https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4863-haiti-diplomacy-haiti-becomes-a-member-of-the-african-union.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The AU was reported to be planning to upgrade Haiti's status from observer to associate at its June 2013 summit<ref name="haitics">{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2012/0229/Long-distance-relationship-Haiti-s-bid-to-join-the-African-Union|title=Long distance relationship: Haiti's bid to join the African Union|last=Sampson|first=Ovetta|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=29 February 2012|access-date=1 March 2012|archive-date=11 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911115357/https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2012/0229/Long-distance-relationship-Haiti-s-bid-to-join-the-African-Union|url-status=live}}</ref> but the application had still not been ratified by May 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/despite-reports-haiti-not-joining-the-african-union/|title=Despite reports, Haiti not joining the African Union|work=PBS NewsHour|access-date=5 April 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=17 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017235643/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/despite-reports-haiti-not-joining-the-african-union/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Military===
{{Main|Armed Forces of Haiti}}
Haiti has a strong military history dating to the pre-independence struggle. The [[Armée Indigène|Indigenous Army]] is essential in the construction of the state the management of land and public finances. Up to the 20th century, every Haitian president was an officer in the army. During the US intervention, the army was remodeled as Gendarmerie d'Haiti and later on as Force Armée d'Haiti (FAdH). In the early 1990s, the army was unconstitutionally decommissioned and replaced by the Haitian National Police (PNH). In 2018, Président Jovenel Moise reactivated the FAdH.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
Haiti's Ministry of Defense is the main body of the armed forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.md.gouv.ht/mission.php|title=Missions et Attributions du Ministère de la Défense|publisher=Ministere de la Defense|access-date=21 October 2014|archive-date=17 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117025602/https://www.md.gouv.ht/mission.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> The former [[Armed Forces of Haiti|Haitian Armed Forces]] were demobilized in 1995; however, [[Defence Force of Haiti|efforts to reconstitute it are currently underway]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/16/haiti-army-again/2822823/|title=Haiti a step closer to having army again|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=29 January 2014|date=16 September 2013|archive-date=21 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921192227/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/16/haiti-army-again/2822823/|url-status=live}}</ref> The current defense force for Haiti is the [[Haitian National Police]], which has a highly trained SWAT team, and works alongside the [[Haitian Coast Guard]]. In 2010, the [[Haitian National Police]] force numbered 7,000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sadowski|first=Dennis|title=Hope and struggles remain in Haiti six months after earthquake|newspaper=Florida Catholic|location=Orlando, Florida|pages=A7|date=6–19 August 2010}}</ref>
As of 2023, the Haitian army includes one infantry battalion that is in the process of being formed, with 700 personnel.<ref>{{Cite book|author=<!--staff writer-->|date=2023|title=The Military Balance 2023|publisher=[[International Institute for Strategic Studies]]|page=402}}</ref>
===Law enforcement and crime===
{{Main|Haitian National Police|Crime in Haiti}}
[[File:Members of the Haitian National Police Force marching band stand at parade.jpg|300px|thumb|Members of the Haitian National Police Force marching band stand at parade]]
The legal system is based on a modified version of the [[Napoleonic Code]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/haiti.htm|title=Haitian Law|publisher=Jurist.law.pitt.edu|access-date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630063029/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/haiti.htm|archive-date=30 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
Haiti has consistently ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world on the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6120522.stm|title=Haiti tops world corruption table|work=BBC News|date=6 November 2006|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=28 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728134841/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6120522.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a 2006 report by the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]], there is a strong correlation between corruption and poverty in Haiti. The republic ranked first of all countries surveyed for levels of perceived domestic corruption.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://transparency.ie/content/2006-corruption-perceptions-index-reinforces-link-between-poverty-and-corruption-and-shows-w|title=2006 Corruption Perceptions Index reinforces link between poverty and corruption|publisher=Transparency International|date=6 November 2006|access-date=15 January 2009|archive-date=12 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512214417/http://transparency.ie/content/2006-corruption-perceptions-index-reinforces-link-between-poverty-and-corruption-and-shows-w|url-status=live}}</ref> It is estimated that President [[Jean-Claude Duvalier|"Baby Doc" Duvalier]], his wife [[Michèle Bennett|Michele]], and their agents stole US $504 million from the treasury between 1971 and 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bribe/2009/05/haiti-the-long-road-to-recovery.html|title=Haiti: The Long Road to Recovery, Public Broadcasting Service|author=Siri Schubert|publisher=Pbs.org|date=22 May 2009|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=1 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901041909/http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bribe/2009/05/haiti-the-long-road-to-recovery.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, after the Haitian Army folded in 1995, the Haitian National Police (HNP) gained sole power of authority on the Haitian citizens. Many Haitians as well as observers believe that this monopolized power could have given way to a corrupt police force.<ref name="Haiti: Police and Law Enforcement">{{cite web|url=http://www.gsdrc.org/document-library/haiti-police-and-law-enforcement/|title=Haiti: Police and Law Enforcement|date=2010|access-date=18 June 2017|publisher=GSDRC|archive-date=8 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608090305/http://www.gsdrc.org/document-library/haiti-police-and-law-enforcement|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some media outlets alleged that millions were stolen by former president [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]].<ref name="American Spectator Vol 1994">{{cite journal|title=Aristide Development|journal=American Spectator|volume=27|issue=7|date=1 July 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiokiskeya.com/RapportUCREF.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060501062854/http://www.radiokiskeya.com/RapportUCREF.pdf|archive-date=1 May 2006|title=Rapport UCREF|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2005/10/31/6524/Probe-of-Aristide-administration-finds-evidence-of-embezzlement|title=Probe of Aristide administration finds evidence of embezzlement|work=Dominican Today|date=31 October 2005|access-date=5 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200037/http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2005/10/31/6524/Probe-of-Aristide-administration-finds-evidence-of-embezzlement|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117124344952105351|title=The Haiti File|author=Mary Anastasia O'Grady|publisher=Online.wsj.com|date=12 February 2007|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=15 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015232318/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117124344952105351|url-status=live}}</ref> The BBC also described [[pyramid scheme]]s, in which Haitians lost hundreds of millions in 2002, as the "only real economic initiative" of the Aristide years.<ref name="basketcase">{{cite news|last=Schifferes|first=Steve|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3522155.stm|title=Haiti: An economic basket-case|work=BBC News|date=1 March 2004|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=28 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728143315/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3522155.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
Conversely, according to the 2013 [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]] ([[UNODC]]) report, murder rates (10.2 per 100,000) are far ''below'' the regional average (26 per 100,000); less than {{sfrac|1|4}} that of Jamaica (39.3 per 100,000) and nearly {{sfrac|1|2}} that of the Dominican Republic (22.1 per 100,000), making it among the safer countries in the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2014/April/some-437000-people-murdered-worldwide-in-2012-according-to-new-unodc-study.html|title=Some 437,000 people murdered worldwide in 2012, according to new UNODC study|access-date=12 April 2015|archive-date=17 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417184608/http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2014/April/some-437000-people-murdered-worldwide-in-2012-according-to-new-unodc-study.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf|title=Global Study on Homicide|year=2013|publisher=UNODC|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-date=22 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722011654/https://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In large part, this is due to the country's ability to fulfil a pledge by increasing its national police yearly by 50%, a four-year initiative that was started in 2012. In addition to the yearly recruits, the Haitian National Police (HNP) has been using innovative technologies to crack down on crime. A notable bust in recent years{{When|date=March 2017}} led to the dismantlement of the largest kidnapping ring in the country with the use of an advanced software program developed by a [[United States Military Academy|West Point]]-trained Haitian official that proved to be so effective that it has led to its foreign advisers to make inquiries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-Haiti-among-safest-destinations-in-the-Americas%252C-say-recent-studies-14006.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111101726/http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-Haiti-among-safest-destinations-in-the-Americas%2C-say-recent-studies-14006.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2013|title=Haiti among safest destinations in the Americas, say recent studies|work=Caribbean News Now|date=7 January 2013|access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/haiti-earthquake-fails-to-deter-hotel-boom/2013/06/22|title=Haiti earthquake fails to deter hotel boom|editor=Luxner, Larry|work=Baltimore Post-Examiner|date=22 June 2013|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-date=27 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427111441/http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/haiti-earthquake-fails-to-deter-hotel-boom/2013/06/22|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2010, the [[New York City Police Department]] (NYPD) sent a team of officers to Haiti to assist in the rebuilding of its police force with special training in investigative techniques, anti-kidnapping strategies and community outreach. It has also helped the HNP set up a police unit in [[Delmas, Ouest|Delmas]], a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/11/17/19200343/|agency=Associated Press|title=NYPD officers train Haitian police|work=USA Today|date=17 November 2014|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-date=3 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903230526/http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2014/11/17/19200343/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="USAID">{{cite web|url=http://www.usaid.gov/haiti/governance-rule-law-and-security|title=Haiti: governance, Rule of Law, and Security|publisher=USAID|access-date=20 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426002122/http://www.usaid.gov/haiti/governance-rule-law-and-security|archive-date=26 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Sean|last1=Gardiner|access-date=28 July 2021|title=NYPD Set to Aid Haitian Cops|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704271804575405632390017998|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=3 August 2010|issn=0099-9660|via=wsj.com|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728231626/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704271804575405632390017998|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=28 July 2021|title=NYPD Answering Calls for Help in Haiti|date=5 April 2014|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nypd-officers-training-police-port-au-prince-haiti-earthquake-devastation-violence/1021929/|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728231628/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nypd-officers-training-police-port-au-prince-haiti-earthquake-devastation-violence/1021929/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2012 and 2013, 150 HNP officers received specialized training funded by the US government, which also contributed to the infrastructure and communications support by upgrading radio capacity and constructing new police stations from the most violent-prone neighborhoods of [[Cité Soleil]] and [[Grande Ravine]] in Port-au-Prince to the new northern industrial park at [[Caracol, Nord-Est|Caracol]].<ref name="USAID" />
=== Haitian penitentiary system ===
Port-au-Prince [[Prison|penitentiary]] is home to half of Haiti's prisoners. The prison has a capacity of 1,200 [[Detention (imprisonment)|detainees]] but {{as of|2017|November|lc=y}} the penitentiary was obliged to keep 4,359 detainees, a 363% occupancy level.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://apnews.com/a43ce17acfd0425cb2af90a1133a8418|title=Malnutrition killing inmates in Haiti jails|work=apnews.com|first=David|last=McFadden|date=20 February 2017|access-date=2 January 2020|archive-date=2 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102124056/https://apnews.com/a43ce17acfd0425cb2af90a1133a8418|url-status=live}}</ref> The inability to receive sufficient funds has caused deadly cases of [[malnutrition]], combined with the tight living conditions, increases the risk of infectious diseases such as [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="auto" />
Haitian law states that once arrested, one must go before a judge within 48 hours; however, this is very rare.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} Unless families are able to provide the necessary funds for inmates to appear before a judge, there is a very slim chance the inmate would have a trial, on average, within 10 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/living-hell-officials-alarmed-by-upsurge-of-inmates-dying-in-haiti-prisons/|title=Living hell: Officials alarmed by upsurge of inmates dying in Haiti prisons|date=20 February 2017|work=Fox News|access-date=30 March 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=31 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331035837/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/20/living-hell-officials-alarmed-by-upsurge-inmates-dying-in-haiti-prisons.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In confined living spaces for 22–23 hours a day, inmates are not provided with latrines and are forced to [[Defecation|defecate]] into plastic bags. These conditions were considered inhumane by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2008.<ref name="prison">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39034992|title=Haitian prison rife with malnutrition|date=21 February 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=30 March 2018|language=en-GB|archive-date=4 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504000600/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39034992|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 3 March 2024, armed gangs stormed the main prison in Port-au-Prince and around 3700 inmates escaped, while 12 people were killed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68462851|title=Haiti violence: Haiti gangs demand PM resign after mass jailbreak|work=BBC News|date=3 March 2024|access-date=11 March 2024|archive-date=12 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312034751/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68462851|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Haiti}}
[[File:GDP per capita develoment of Haiti.svg|thumb|right|Historical GDP per capita development]]
Haiti's per capita [[GDP]] is $1,800 and its GDP is $19.97 billion (2017 estimates).<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/> The country uses the [[Haitian gourde]] as its currency. Despite its tourism industry, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Americas, with corruption, political instability, poor infrastructure, lack of health care and lack of education cited as the main causes.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/> Unemployment is high and many Haitians seek to emigrate. Trade declined dramatically after the 2010 earthquake and subsequent [[2010 Haiti cholera outbreak|outbreak of cholera]], with the country's [[Gross domestic product#Cross-border comparison and purchasing power parity|purchasing power parity GDP]] falling by 8% (from US$12.15 billion to US$11.18 billion).<ref name="CIA_20110303">{{cite web|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|work=[[The World Factbook]]|title=Haiti|date=22 September 2021|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209014627/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|url-status=live}}</ref> Haiti ranked 145th of 182 countries in the 2010 United Nations [[Human Development Index]], with 57.3% of the population being deprived in at least three of the HDI's poverty measures.<ref name="UNDP_2010">{{cite web|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423024550/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HTI.html|archive-date=23 April 2011|url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HTI.html|title=International Human Development Indicators: Haiti|year=2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Following the disputed 2000 election and accusations about President Aristide's rule,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wow509.com/news/jean-bertrand-aristide-net-worth/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141016002417/http://www.wow509.com/news/jean-bertrand-aristide-net-worth/|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 October 2014|title=Jean Bertrand Aristide net worth|work=WOW509|access-date=16 October 2014}}</ref> US aid to the Haitian government was cut off between 2001 and 2004.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/03/07/before_fall_of_aristide_haiti_hit_by_aid_cutoff/|title=Before fall of Aristide, Haiti hit by aid cutoff by|author=Farah Stockman|publisher=Boston.com|date=7 March 2004|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061421/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/03/07/before_fall_of_aristide_haiti_hit_by_aid_cutoff/|url-status=live}}</ref> After Aristide's departure in 2004, aid was restored and the [[Brazilian army]] led a [[United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti]] peacekeeping operation. After almost four years of recession, the economy grew by 1.5% in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/haiti/economy/|title=Haiti: Economy|publisher=Michigan State University|access-date=16 January 2010|archive-date=7 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407044532/https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/haiti/economy/|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2009, Haiti met the conditions set out by the [[IMF]] and [[World Bank]]'s [[Heavily Indebted Poor Countries]] program to qualify for cancellation of its external debt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2009/cr09288.pdf|title=Haiti: Enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries|publisher=International Monetary Fund|date=September 2009|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=21 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621015540/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2009/cr09288.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2015, more than 90 percent of the government's budget came from an agreement with [[Petrocaribe]], a Venezuela-led oil alliance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2015/countries/haiti.pdf|title=Haiti Economy|access-date=11 April 2015|archive-date=2 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102170139/https://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2015/countries/haiti.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Foreign aid===
{{Further|Foreign aid to Haiti}}
Haiti received more than US$4 billion in aid from 1990 to 2003, including US$1.5 billion from the United States.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Thomson Reuters Foundation|url=http://www.trust.org/item/20090928173400-eslm0/|title=Haiti's aid controversy|author=Anastasia Moloney|date=28 September 2009|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=22 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722215735/http://www.trust.org/item/20090928173400-eslm0/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The largest donor is the US, followed by [[Canada]] and the [[European Union]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/21/world/1-billion-is-pledged-to-help-haiti-rebuild-topping-request.html|title=$1 Billion Is Pledged to Help Haiti Rebuild, Topping Request|author=Christopher Marquis|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=21 July 2004|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=12 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912080404/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/21/world/1-billion-is-pledged-to-help-haiti-rebuild-topping-request.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2010, following the earthquake, US President [[Barack Obama]] promised US$1.15 billion in assistance.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jonathan M.|last=Katz|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/11/haitis-police-struggle-control-ravaged-capital/|title=Haiti's police struggle to control ravaged capital|agency=Associated Press|date=11 April 2010|work=Fox News|access-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015232317/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/11/haitis-police-struggle-control-ravaged-capital/|archive-date=15 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The European Union pledged more than €400 million (US$616 million).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100118/twl-haiti-fears-grows-despite-surge-in-r-4bdc673.html|title=Haiti fears grows despite surge in relief effort|work=[[Yahoo! News]]|date=18 January 2009}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Neighboring [[Dominican Republic]] has also provided extensive humanitarian aid to Haiti, including the funding and construction of a public university,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=272087|title=Universidad de Haití donada por RD se llamará ahora 'Roi Henry I'|work=El Nuevo Diario|access-date=20 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806181826/http://elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=272087|archive-date=6 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> human capital, free healthcare services in the border region, and logistical support after the 2010 earthquake.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://es.globalvoices.org/2010/01/16/republica-dominicana-ayuda-a-su-vecino-haiti-despues-del-terremoto/|title=República Dominicana: Ayuda a su vecino Haití después del terremoto|access-date=20 July 2016|archive-date=12 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912080411/https://es.globalvoices.org/2010/01/16/republica-dominicana-ayuda-a-su-vecino-haiti-despues-del-terremoto/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The United Nations states that US$13.34 billion has been earmarked for post-earthquake reconstruction through 2020, though two years after the 2010 quake, less than half of that amount had actually been released. {{As of|2015}}, the US government has allocated US$4 billion, US$3 billion has already been spent, and the rest is dedicated to longer-term projects.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/what-does-haiti-have-show-13-billion-earthquake-aid-n281661|title=What does Haiti have to show for the US$13 billion in earthquake aid?-NBC News.com|website=[[NBC News]]|date=January 2015|access-date=7 October 2019|archive-date=4 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704074958/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/what-does-haiti-have-show-13-billion-earthquake-aid-n281661|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Trade===
According to the 2015 CIA [[World Factbook]], Haiti's main import partners are: Dominican Republic 35%, US 26.8%, Netherlands Antilles 8.7%, China 7% (est. 2013). Haiti's main export partner is the US 83.5% (est. 2013).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|title=The World Factbook|work=cia.gov|access-date=24 May 2015|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209014627/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|url-status=live}}</ref> Haiti had a trade deficit of US$3 billion in 2011, or 41% of GDP.<ref name="ammart">{{cite web|last=Watkins|first=Tate|title=How Haiti's Future Depends on American Markets|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/05/how-haitis-future-depends-on-american-markets/275682/|work=The Atlantic|date=8 May 2013|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref>
===Energy===
{{Main|Electricity sector in Haiti}}
[[File:Haiti electricity production.svg|thumb|Haiti electricity production by source]]
Haiti relies heavily on an oil alliance with [[Petrocaribe]] for much of its energy requirements. In recent years, hydroelectric, solar and wind energy have been explored as possible sustainable energy sources.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clintonfoundation.org/our-work/clinton-foundation-haiti/programs/powering-haiti-clean-energy|title=Powering Haiti with Clean Energy|access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Power plant in Port-au-Prince.JPEG|thumb|Power plant in Port-au-Prince]]
As of 2017, among all the countries in the Americas, Haiti is producing the least energy. Less than a quarter of the country has electric coverage.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=May 2017|title=The Haiti Sustainable Energy Programme|url=https://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/UNEP_Haiti_sustainable_energy.pdf|journal=UNEP|access-date=14 December 2018|archive-date=12 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912080359/https://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/UNEP_Haiti_sustainable_energy.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most regions of Haiti that do have energy are powered by generators. These generators are often expensive and produce a lot of pollution. The areas that do get electricity experience power cuts on a daily basis, and some areas are limited to 12 hours of electricity a day. Electricity is provided by a small number of independent companies: Sogener, E-power, and Haytrac.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pauyo|first=Jean|date=March 2017|title=Transmitting and Distributing Electricity in Haiti|url=https://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/sites/default/files/electricity_grid_pauyo_english.pdf|journal=Copenhagen Consensus Center|access-date=18 February 2019|archive-date=12 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912080409/https://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/sites/default/files/electricity_grid_pauyo_english.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> There is no [[national electricity grid]].<ref name=":02">Matthew Lucky, Katie Auth, Alexander Ochs, et al., Haiti Sustainable Energy Roadmap: Harnessing Domestic Energy Resources to Build an Affordable, Reliable, and Climate-Compatible Electricity System (Washington, DC: Worldwatch Institute, 2014).</ref> The most common source of energy is wood, along with charcoal. About 4 million metric tons of wood products are consumed yearly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usaid.gov/haiti/energy|title=Energy|date=16 August 2018|publisher=U.S. Agency for International Development|access-date=5 January 2019|archive-date=12 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912080412/https://www.usaid.gov/haiti/energy|url-status=dead}}</ref> Like charcoal and wood, petroleum is also an important source of energy. Since Haiti cannot produce its own fuel, all fuel is imported. Yearly, around 691,000 tons of oil is imported into the country.<ref name=":02" />
In 2018, a 24-hour electricity project was announced; for this purpose 236 MW needs to installed in Port-au-Prince alone, with an additional 75 MW needed in all other regions. Presently only 27.5% of the population has access to electricity; moreover, the national energy agency l'Électricité d'Haïti (Ed'H) is only able to meet 62% of overall electricity demand.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vantbefinfo.com/energie-le-projet-delectrification-24-24-presente-aux-citoyens-haitiens/|title=Vant Bèf Info Énergie : le projet d'électrification 24/24 présenté aux Citoyens haïtiens -|date=31 October 2018|work=Vant Bèf Info|access-date=4 November 2018|language=fr-FR|archive-date=5 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105012118/https://www.vantbefinfo.com/energie-le-projet-delectrification-24-24-presente-aux-citoyens-haitiens/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Personal income===
[[File:CapHaitienMarche.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A market in [[Cap-Haïtien]]]]
Haiti suffers from a shortage of skilled labor, widespread unemployment, and underemployment. Most Haitians in the labor force have informal jobs. Three-quarters of the population lives on US$2 or less per day.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency|website=cia.gov|access-date=12 December 2016}}</ref>
[[Remittances]] from Haitians living abroad are the primary source of foreign exchange, equaling one-fifth (20%) of GDP and more than five times the earnings from exports as of 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=The World Factbook|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|work=cia.gov|access-date=24 May 2015}}</ref> In 2004, 80% or more of college graduates from Haiti were living abroad.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423034022/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21109448~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html?cid=3001|archive-date=23 April 2011|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21109448~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html?cid=3001|publisher=[[World Bank]]|title=Latin America Shouldn't Bet Everything On Remittances|date=31 October 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>
Occasionally, families who are unable to care for children may send them to live with a wealthier family as a ''[[restavek]]'', or [[house servant]]. In return the family are supposed to ensure that the child is educated and provided with food and shelter; however, the system is open to abuse and has proved controversial, with some likening it to child slavery.<ref name="kennedy14">{{Cite journal|doi=10.1353/hrq.2014.0059|title=Toward Effective Intervention for Haiti's Former Child Slaves|journal=Human Rights Quarterly|volume=36|issue=4|pages=756–778|year=2014|last1=Kennedy|first1=C. L.|s2cid=144412249}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.haiti-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Report-Haiti-Child-Domestic-Workers-31072015.pdf|title=Child Domestic Workers in Haiti 2014|last=Sommerfelt|first=Tone|date=October 2014|website=haiti-now.org}}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
===Real estate===
In rural areas, people often live in wooden huts with corrugated iron roofs. Outhouses are located in back of the huts. In Port-au-Prince, colorful [[shantytowns]] surround the central city and go up the mountainsides.<ref name="c151222">{{Cite news|first=Nathalie|last=Gagnon-Joseph|title=On sports, treasure hunting, and life|url=https://bartonchronicle.com/a-week-in-haiti-on-sports-treasure-hunting-and-life/|newspaper=The Chronicle|location=Barton, Vermont|pages=28A, 29A|date=22 December 2015|access-date=29 December 2015|archive-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101024149/https://bartonchronicle.com/a-week-in-haiti-on-sports-treasure-hunting-and-life/|url-status=dead}}</ref><!---the softcopy requires a subscription. Sorry. There is no softcopy alternative-->
The middle and upper classes live in suburbs, or in the central part of the bigger cities in apartments, where there is urban planning. Many of the houses they live in are like miniature fortresses, located behind walls embedded with metal spikes, barbed wire, broken glass, and sometimes all three. The houses have backup generators, because the electrical grid is unreliable. Some even have rooftop reservoirs for water.<ref name="c151222" />
===Agriculture===
{{Further|Agriculture in Haiti}}
[[File:Amid rows of cabbage, Haiti.jpg|thumb|Rows of cabbage, Haiti]]
Haiti is the world's leading producer of [[Chrysopogon zizanioides|vetiver]], a root plant used to make luxury perfumes, essential oils and fragrances, providing for half the world's supply.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tradeforum.org/Frager-Haiti-shortening-the-perfume-chain-to-become-world-number-one/|title=Frager, Haiti: shortening the perfume chain to become world number one|publisher=International Trade Centre|author=<!--staff writer-->|access-date=12 April 2015|archive-date=12 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912133256/https://www.tradeforum.org/Frager-Haiti-shortening-the-perfume-chain-to-become-world-number-one/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/04/chanel-perfume-legislation-guerlain-loreal|title=Perfume manufacturers must cope with the scarcity of precious supplies|work=The Guardian|date=4 March 2014|access-date=12 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fida-pch.org/index.php?p=stories.View&story=11|title=FEATURE-Perfumers promote fair trade for Haiti's 'super-crop'|last=Adams|first=David|date=24 April 2014|work=Reuters UK|access-date=12 April 2015|archive-date=12 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912111603/https://fida-pch.org/?p=stories.View&story=11|url-status=dead}}</ref> Roughly 40–50% of Haitians work in the agricultural sector.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/><ref name="feedh" /> However, according to soil surveys by the United States Department of Agriculture in the early 1980s, only 11.3 percent of the land was highly suitable for crops. Haiti relies upon imports for half its food needs and 80% of its rice.<ref name="feedh">{{cite news|title=Feeding Haiti: A new menu|url=https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21579875-government-tries-load-up-plates-poorest-people-americas-new-menu|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=24 July 2013|date=22 June 2013}}</ref>
Haiti exports crops such as [[mango]]es, [[cocoa bean|cacao]], [[coffee]], [[papaya]]s, [[mahogany]] nuts, [[spinach]], and [[watercress]].<ref name="ute.gouv.ht">{{cite web|url=http://www.ute.gouv.ht/caracol/images/stories/docs/environmental%20assessment%20of%20the%20usaidhaiti%20north%20park%20power%20project.pdf|title=Environmental Accessment of the USAID/Haiti North Park Power Project|page=23|publisher=USAID|year=2011|access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref> Agricultural products constitute 6% of all exports.<ref name="ammart" /> In addition, local agricultural products include [[maize]], [[beans]], [[cassava]], [[sweet potato]], [[peanut]]s, [[pistachio]]s, [[banana]]s, [[millet]], [[pigeon pea]]s, sugarcane, [[rice]], [[sorghum]], and [[wood]].<ref name="ute.gouv.ht" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indexmundi.com/haiti/economy_profile.html|title=Haiti Economy Profile 2016|access-date=14 December 2016}}</ref>
===Currency===
{{Main|Haitian gourde}}
The [[Haitian gourde]] (HTG) is the national currency. The "[[Haitian gourde|Haitian dollar]]" equates to 5 gourdes (''goud'').{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} The vast majority of the business sector and individuals will also accept US dollars, though at the outdoor markets gourdes may be preferred. Locals may refer to the USD as "dollar américain" (''dola ameriken'') or "dollar US" (pronounced ''oo-es'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haitihub.com/download/Money-Matters-in-Haiti.pdf|title=All About Money: Gourdes, Dollars and Sense for Work and Life in Haiti|publisher=haitihub.com|access-date=16 February 2014}}</ref>
===Tourism===
{{Main|Tourism in Haiti}}
[[File:Labadee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Labadee]], a cruise ship destination]]
The tourism market in Haiti is undeveloped and the government is heavily promoting this sector. Haiti has many of the features that attract tourists to other Caribbean destinations, such as white sand beaches, mountainous scenery and a year-round warm climate. However, the country's poor image overseas, at times exaggerated, has hampered the development of this sector.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/> In 2014, the country received 1,250,000 tourists (mostly from cruise ships), and the industry generated US$200 million in 2014.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
Several hotels were opened in 2014, including an upscale [[Best Western#Differentiation|Best Western Premier]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/52973/best-western-international-targets-120|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125201322/http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/52973/best-western-international-targets-120|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 January 2013|title=Best Western International targets 120 new hotel projects in 2013|publisher=Traveldailynews.com|access-date=24 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/dispatch-good-times-in-haiti.html|title=Dispatch: Good Times in Haiti|last=Major|first=Brian|work=[[TravelPulse]]|date=9 December 2014}}</ref> a five-star Royal Oasis hotel by Occidental Hotel and Resorts in [[Pétion-Ville]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/caribbean/articles/Haiti-returns-to-the-tourist-map/|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/caribbean/articles/Haiti-returns-to-the-tourist-map/|archive-date=10 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Haiti returns to the tourist map|editor=Thomson, Ian|date=27 July 2014|work=The Telegraph|access-date=13 February 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/travel/haiti-an-unlikely-location-for-luxury.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/travel/haiti-an-unlikely-location-for-luxury.html|archive-date=2 January 2022|url-access=limited|url-status=live|title=An Unlikely Location for Luxury|editor=Lall, Gay Nagle|date=22 May 2013|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=13 February 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelweekly.com/Caribbean-Travel/Tourism-minister-plan-is-to-reveal-hidden-beauty-of-Haiti|title=Tourism minister's plan aims to reveal Haiti's 'hidden beauty'|editor=Myers, Gay Nagle|date=21 May 2013|work=Travel Weekly|access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref> a four-star [[Marriott International|Marriott Hotel]] in the Turgeau area of Port-au-Prince<ref>{{cite news|author=Barbara De Lollis|url=http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/11/marriott-announces-first-hotel-in-haiti-port-au-prince/574010/1|title=Marriott announces first hotel in Haiti|publisher=Travel.usatoday.com|date=29 November 2011|access-date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626145655/http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/11/marriott-announces-first-hotel-in-haiti-port-au-prince/574010/1|archive-date=26 June 2012}}</ref> and other new hotel developments in Port-au-Prince, [[Les Cayes]], [[Cap-Haïtien]] and [[Jacmel]].{{citation needed|date=March 2014}}
===Caracol Industrial Park===
On 21 October 2012, Haitian President [[Michel Martelly]], US Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]], Bill Clinton, [[Richard Branson]], [[Ben Stiller]] and [[Sean Penn]] inaugurated the {{convert|600|acre|ha|adj=on|order=flip|sigfig=2}} Caracol industrial park, the largest in the [[Caribbean]].<ref name="usatoday.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/22/clinton-haiti-earthquake/1650763/|title=Clintons land in Haiti to showcase industrial park|work=[[USA Today]]|date=22 October 2012|access-date=11 January 2014}}</ref> The project cost US$300 million and included a 10-megawatt [[power plant]], a water-treatment plant and worker housing.<ref name="usatoday.com" /> The plan for the park pre-dated the 2010 earthquake but was fast-tracked as part of US foreign aid strategy to help Haiti recover.<ref name="bostonreview">{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/jake-johnston-haiti-earthquake-aid-caracol/|title=Outsourcing Haiti|work=[[Boston Review]]|date=16 January 2014|access-date=24 March 2024}}</ref> The park was part of a "master plan" for Haiti's North and North-East departments, including the expansion of the [[Cap-Haïtien International Airport]] to accommodate large international flights, the construction of an international seaport in [[Fort-Liberté]] and the opening of the $50 million Roi Henri Christophe Campus of a new university in Limonade (near Cap-Haïtien) on 12 January 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/haiti-clinton-caracol-idUSL1E8LM3BF20121022|title=Clintons preside at star-studded opening of Haitian industrial park|publisher=Reuters.com|date=22 October 2012|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=19 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619104102/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/22/haiti-clinton-caracol-idUSL1E8LM3BF20121022|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2012, [[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]] believed the park had the potential to create as many as 65,000 jobs once fully developed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uspolicy.be/headline/state-dept-fact-sheet-haitis-caracol-industrial-park|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150421070053/http://www.uspolicy.be/headline/state-dept-fact-sheet-haitis-caracol-industrial-park|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 April 2015|title=State Dept. Fact Sheet on Haiti's Caracol Industrial Park|publisher=US Policy|date=22 October 2012|access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usaid.gov/haiti/caracol-industrial-park|title=Caracol Industrial Park|publisher=USAID|year=2014|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219063300/http://www.usaid.gov/haiti/caracol-industrial-park|archive-date=19 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[South Korea]]n clothing manufacturer [[Sae-A Trading Co. Ltd]], the park's only major tenant, created 5,000 permanent jobs out of the 20,000 it had projected and promised to build 5,000 houses yet only 750 homes had been built near Caracol by 2014.<ref name="bostonreview" />
Ten years later, the park was considered to have failed to uphold its promise to deliver the transformation the Clintons had promised.<ref name="guardiancaracol">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/11/haiti-and-the-failed-promise-of-us-aid|title=Haiti and the failed promise of US aid|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=11 October 2019|access-date=24 March 2024}}</ref> The US invested tens of millions of dollars into the port project but eventually abandoned it.<ref name="guardiancaracol" /> In order to establish the park, hundreds of families of small farmers had to be removed from the land, approximately 3,500 people overall.<ref name="buzzfeed">{{cite news|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/karlazabludovsky/haiti-industrial-park-caracol|title=These Haitians Were Children When A US-Funded Project Evicted Them|work=[[Buzzfeed]]|date=15 June 2022|access-date=24 March 2024}}</ref> An audit by the [[United States Government Accountability Office]] uncovered that the port project lacked "staff with technical expertise in planning, construction, and oversight of a port" and revealed that [[USAid]] hadn't constructed a port anywhere since the 1970s.<ref name="guardiancaracol" /> A USAid feasibility study in 2015 found that "a new port was not viable for a variety of technical, environmental and economic reasons", that the US was short US$72m in funds to cover the majority of the projected costs, and that private companies USAid had wanted to attract "had no interest in supporting the construction of a new port in northern Haiti".<ref name="guardiancaracol" />
==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===
{{Main|Transport in Haiti}}
[[File:Haiti rail map 1925.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|Rail map as of 1925]]
Haiti has two main highways that run from one end of the country to the other. The northern highway, Route Nationale No. 1 (National Highway One), originates in Port-au-Prince, winding through the coastal towns of [[Montrouis]] and [[Gonaïves]], before reaching its terminus at the northern port [[Cap-Haïtien]]. The southern highway, Route Nationale No. 2, links Port-au-Prince with [[Les Cayes]] via [[Léogâne]] and [[Petit-Goâve]]. The state of Haiti's roads are generally poor, many being potholed and becoming impassable in rough weather.<ref name="Encylopedia Britannica - Haiti"/>
The port at Port-au-Prince, [[Port international de Port-au-Prince]], has more registered shipping than any of the other dozen ports in the country. The port's facilities include [[Crane (machine)|cranes]], large [[Berth (moorings)|berths]], and [[warehouse]]s, but these facilities are not in good condition. The port is underused, possibly due to the substantially high port fees. The port of [[Saint-Marc]] is currently the preferred port of entry for consumer goods.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
In the past, Haiti used rail transport; however, the rail infrastructure was poorly maintained when in use and cost of rehabilitation is beyond the means of the Haitian economy. In 2018 the Regional Development Council of the Dominican Republic proposed a "trans-Hispaniola" railway between both countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dreamintv.com/single-post/2018/02/20/CRD-Wants-to-Build-Railway-that-Runs-Through-Haiti|title=CRD Wants to Build Railway that Runs Through Haiti|website=dreamintv.com|date=20 February 2018|access-date=17 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117222328/https://www.dreamintv.com/single-post/2018/02/20/CRD-Wants-to-Build-Railway-that-Runs-Through-Haiti|archive-date=17 November 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Airports===
[[File:Toussaint Louverture International Airport.jpg|thumb|Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport]]
{{Main|List of airports in Haiti}}
[[Toussaint Louverture International Airport]], located {{convert|10|km|mi|0|abbr=off|spell=on|sp=us}} north-northeast of Port-au-Prince proper in the commune of [[Tabarre]], is the primary hub for entry and exit into the country. It has Haiti's main [[jetway]], and along with [[Cap-Haïtien International Airport]] handles the vast majority of the country's international flights. Cities such as Jacmel, Jérémie, Les Cayes, and Port-de-Paix have smaller, less accessible airports that are serviced by [[regional airlines]] and private aircraft.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
In 2013, plans for the development of an international airport on Île-à-Vache were introduced by the prime minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-9270-haiti-tourism-official-launch-of-project-tourist-destination-ile-a-vache.html|title=Haiti – Tourism : Official launch of project "Tourist destination Ile-à-Vache" – HaitiLibre.com : Haiti news 7/7|work=HaitiLibre.com}}</ref>
In May 2024, the airport reopened following three months closure following violence, and is expected to help ease a shortage of medications and basic supplies.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2024-05-20|title=Haiti's main international airport reopens nearly three months after gang violence forced it closed|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/haitis-international-airport-reopens-rcna153117|access-date=2024-05-26|website=NBC News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Port-au-Prince: Haiti's main airport reopens after weeks of gang violence|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cndd394p7n2o|access-date=2024-05-26|website=www.bbc.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>
===Bus service===
[[File:Tap tap public transportation Haiti.jpg|thumb|A "tap tap" bus in [[Port-Salut]]]]
[[Tap tap]] buses are colorfully painted buses or pick-up trucks that serve as shared taxis. The "tap tap" name comes from the sound of passengers tapping on the metal bus body to indicate they want off.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jansochor.com/photo-blog.aspx?id=tap-tap-haiti|title=Tap-Tap|access-date=29 January 2014}}</ref> These vehicles for hire are often privately owned and extensively decorated. They follow fixed routes, do not leave until filled with passengers, and riders can usually disembark at any point. The decorations are a typically Haitian form of art.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unv.org/en/news-resources/news/doc/un-volunteer-takes-part.html|title=UN Volunteer takes part in art exhibition in Germany|access-date=29 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202105103/http://www.unv.org/en/news-resources/news/doc/un-volunteer-takes-part.html|archive-date=2 February 2014}}</ref>
===Communications===
{{Main|Telecommunications in Haiti|Television in Haiti}}
In Haiti, communications include the radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet. Haiti ranked last among North American countries in the World Economic Forum's Network Readiness Index (NRI){{snd}} an indicator for determining the development level of a country's information and communication technologies. Haiti ranked number 143 out of 148 overall in the 2014 NRI ranking, down from 141 in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GITR/2014/GITR_OverallRanking_2014.pdf|title=NRI Overall Ranking 2014|publisher=World Economic Forum|access-date=28 June 2014}}</ref>
=== Water supply and sanitation ===
{{Main|Water supply and sanitation in Haiti}}
Haiti faces key challenges in the [[water supply]] and [[sanitation]]
sector. Notably, access to public services is very low, their quality is inadequate and public institutions remain very weak despite foreign aid and the government's declared intent to strengthen the sector's institutions. Foreign and Haitian [[NGO]]s play an important role in the sector, especially in rural and urban slum areas.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Haiti}}
[[File:Haiti-demographie.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Haiti's population (1800–2021)]]
In 2018, Haiti's population was estimated to be about 10,788,000.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/> In 2006, half of the population was younger than age 20.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/public/global/pid/227|title=New Haiti Census Shows Drastic Lack of Jobs, Education, Maternal Health Services|publisher=United Nations Population Fund|date=10 May 2006|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=14 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514113013/http://www.unfpa.org/public/global/pid/227|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1950, the first formal census gave a total population of 3.1 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/haiti/21.htm|title=Haiti – Population|publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> Haiti averages approximately {{convert|350|/km2|/mi2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|sp=us}}, with its population concentrated most heavily in urban areas, coastal plains, and valleys.
[[File:EscombrosBelAir7.jpg|thumb|People in Port-au-Prince]]
Most Haitians are descendants of black [[Ethnic groups of Africa|Africans]] who were [[Slavery|enslaved]] and [[Human trafficking|trafficked]] from Africa during the [[Atlantic slave trade]]. Many are also descendants of [[Free people of color|Mulattoes]] who are [[multiracial|mixed-race]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti"/>
Millions of Haitian descent live abroad in the [[Haitian Americans|United States]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Haitian Cuban|Cuba]], [[Canada]] (primarily [[Montreal]]), [[the Bahamas]], [[France]], the [[French Antilles]], the [[Turks and Caicos]], [[Jamaica]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Venezuela]], [[Brazil]], [[Suriname]] and [[French Guiana]]. There were an estimated 881,500 people of Haitian ancestry in the United States in 2015,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B04003&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150118121537/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B04003&prodType=table|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 January 2015|title=American FactFinder – Results|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=14 December 2016}}</ref> while in the Dominican Republic there were an estimated 800,000 in 2007.<ref name="pinadep">{{cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215084725/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37018|archive-date=15 February 2009|title=DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Deport Thy (Darker-Skinned) Neighbour|access-date=14 October 2008|last=Pina|first=Diógenes|publisher=Inter Press Service (IPS)|date=21 March 2007}}</ref> There were 300,000 in Cuba in 2013,<ref>[http://www.afrocubaweb.com/haiticuba.htm Haiti in Cuba] Retrieved 30 December 2013.</ref> 100,000 in Canada in 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All|title=Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data|access-date=26 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205060008/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All|archive-date=5 December 2008}}, Statistics Canada (2006).</ref> 80,000 in Metropolitan France (2010),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/france-suspends-expulsions-of-illegal-haitians-1.567985|title=France Suspends Expulsions Of Illegal Haitians|newspaper=Gulfnews.com|date=14 January 2010|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> and up to 80,000 in the Bahamas (2009).<ref>{{cite news|last=Davis|first=Nick|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8257660.stm|title=Bahamas outlook clouds for Haitians|work=BBC News|date=20 September 2009|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref>
In 2018, the life expectancy at birth was 63.66 years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Life expectancy at birth, total (years) – Haiti {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=HT|access-date=22 December 2020|website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref>
===Racial discrimination===
{{Main|Gens de couleur}}
Under colonial rule, [[Mulatto|Haitian mulattoes]] were generally privileged above the black majority, though they possessed fewer rights than the white population. Following the country's independence, they became the nation's social elite. Numerous leaders throughout Haiti's history have been mulattoes. During this time, the enslaved persons and the [[affranchi]]s were given limited opportunities toward education, income, and occupations, but even after gaining independence, the social structure remains a legacy today as the disparity between the upper and lower classes have not been reformed significantly since the colonial days.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=2574763|title=Class Structure and Class Conflict in Haitian Society|first1=Roland|last1=Wingfield|first2=Vernon J.|last2=Parenton|date=1965|journal=Social Forces|volume=43|issue=3|pages=338–347|doi=10.2307/2574763}}</ref> Making up 5% of the nation's population, mulattoes have retained their preeminence, evident in the political, economic, social and cultural hierarchy in Haiti.<ref>{{cite web|last=Smucker|first=Glenn R|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+ht0033%29|title=A Country Study: Haiti; The Upper Class|editor=Haggerty, Richard A.|publisher=Library of Congress Federal Research Division|date=December 1989}}</ref> As a result, the elite class today consists of a small group of influential people who are generally light in color.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=2769747|title=Caste and Class in Haiti|first=John|last=Lobb|date=2018|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=46|issue=1|pages=23–34|doi=10.1086/218523|s2cid=144100302}}</ref>
===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Haiti}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in Haiti according to the [[Pew Research Center]] (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/haiti#/?affiliations_religion_id=11&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries+Countries&restrictions_year=2015|title=Religions in Haiti – PEW-GRF|website=globalreligiousfutures.org|access-date=25 February 2018|archive-date=29 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929181606/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/haiti#/?affiliations_religion_id=11&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries+Countries&restrictions_year=2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|label1 = Catholicism
|value1 = 56.8
|color1 = purple
|label2 = Protestantism
|value2 = 29.6
|color2 = Blue
|label3 = Unaffiliated
|value3 = 10.6
|color3 = gray
|label4 = Other
|value4 = 3
|color4 = Red
}}
The 2018 [[CIA World Factbook]] reported that 55% of Haitians were [[Roman Catholicism in Haiti|Catholics]] and 29% were [[Protestantism in Haiti|Protestants]] (Baptist 15.4%, Pentecostal 7.9%, [[Seventh-day Adventist]] 3%, Methodist 1.5%, other 0.7%). Other sources put the Protestant population higher, suggesting that it might have formed one-third of the population in 2001.<ref name="ReyStepick2013">{{cite book|last1=Rey|first1=Terry|last2=Stepick|first2=Alex|title=Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faith: Haitian Religion in Miami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40SIdXeUEhUC&pg=PA6|year=2013|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-1-4798-2077-1|page=6|quote=With no indications of any subsequent decline in Protestant affiliation either in Port-au-Prince or the countryside, one could reasonably estimate that today Haiti is already more than one-third Protestant}}</ref> Like other countries in Latin America, Haiti has witnessed a general Protestant expansion, which is largely [[Evangelical Protestant|Evangelical]] and [[Pentecostal]] in nature.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2014/november/sorry-pope-francis-protestants-catholics-latin-america-pew.html|title=Sorry, Pope Francis: Protestants Are Converting Catholics Across Latin America|first=Morgan|last=Lee|website=News & Reporting|date=13 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/|title=Religion in Latin America|date=13 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2006/10/05/overview-pentecostalism-in-latin-america/|title=Overview: Pentecostalism in Latin America|date=5 October 2006}}</ref>
Haitian [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] [[Chibly Langlois]] is president of the National Bishops Conference of the Catholic Church.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
[[Haitian vodou|Vodou]], a religion with West African roots similar to those of [[Cuba]] and [[Brazil]], is formally practiced by 2.1% of the population; however, it is estimated that 50-80% of Haitians incorporate some elements of Vodou belief or practices into their religion, particularly with Catholicism. This reflect Vodou's colonial origins, when enslaved persons were obliged to disguise their traditional [[loa]] (''lwa''), or spirits, as [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] saints, as part of a process called [[syncretism]]. As such, it is difficult to estimate the number of Vodouists in Haiti,<ref>{{cite book|last=Blier|first=Suzanne Preston|editor-first=Cosentino|editor-last=Donald J.|title=Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou|publisher=Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History|year=1995|pages=61–87|chapter=Vodun: West African Roots of Vodou|isbn=978-0-930741-47-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu/object/relifp-46|chapter=The Madonna of 115th St. Revisited: Vodou and Haitian Catholicism in the Age of Transnationalism|last=McAlister|first=Elizabeth|editor1-first=S.|editor1-last=Warner|title=Gatherings in Diaspora|location=Philadelphia|publisher=Temple Univ. Press|isbn=978-1-56639-614-1|year=1998}}</ref> especially given the legacy of historic persecution and misrepresentation in popular media and culture, as well as modern stigmatization among segments of the growing Protestant population. Nonetheless, Vodou was officially recognized by the Haitian government in 2003.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Haiti" />
Reflecting the ubiquity of Vodou culture and beliefs, while many Catholics and Protestants in Haiti denounce Vodou as ''[[Theistic Satanism|devil worship]]'', they do not deny the power or existence of its spirits; rather, they are regarded as "[[evil]]" and "[[Satanism|satanic]]" adversaries that require intervention through [[Christian prayer]]. Protestants view Catholic veneration of saints as [[idolatry|idol worship]], and some Protestants would often destroy statues and other Catholic paraphernalia.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UT0nAAAAQBAJ|title=Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faith Haitian Religion in Miami|editor=Rey, Terry|editor2=Stepick, Alex|page=197|year=2013|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9780814777084|access-date=16 April 2021}}</ref>
Minority religions in Haiti include [[Islam in Haiti|Islam]], [[Bahá'í Faith in Haiti|Bahá'í Faith]], [[History of the Jews in Haiti|Judaism]], and [[Buddhism]].<ref name="CIA_20110303" />
===Languages===
The two official languages of Haiti are [[French language|French]] and [[Haitian Creole]]. French is the principal written and administratively authorized language (as well as the main language of the press) and is spoken by 42% of [[Haitians]].<ref>{{cite book|title=La langue française dans le monde 2014|date=2014|publisher=Nathan|isbn=978-2-09-882654-0|url=http://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/projet/Rapport-OIF-2014.pdf|access-date=20 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412002239/http://www.francophonie.org/Langue-Francaise-2014/projet/Rapport-OIF-2014.pdf|archive-date=12 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>À ce propos, voir l'essai ''Prétendus Créolismes : le couteau dans l'igname'', Jean-Robert Léonidas, Cidihca, Montréal 1995</ref> It is spoken by all educated Haitians, is the medium of instruction in most schools, and is used in the business sector. It is also used in ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations and church Masses. Haiti is one of two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) to designate French as an [[official language]]; the other French-speaking areas are all [[French overseas departments and territories|overseas]] ''[[Departments of France|départements]]'', or ''[[Overseas collectivity|collectivités]]'', of France, such as [[French Guiana]]. Haitian Creole is spoken by nearly all of the Haitian population. French, the base language for Haitian Creole, is popular among the Haitian elite and upper classes. French is also popular in the business sector, and to a far lesser degree, English due to [[Haiti–United States relations|American influence]]. Spanish is spoken by some Haitians who live along the [[Dominican Republic–Haiti border|Haitian-Dominican border]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-haiti.html|title=What Languages Are Spoken in Haiti?|date=29 July 2019}}</ref> English and Spanish may also be spoken by Haitian deportees from the United States and various Latin American countries. Overall, about 90–95% of Haitians only speak Haitian Creole and French fluently, with over half only knowing Creole.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/haiti/schools-teaching-creole-instead-french-rise-haiti/|title=Schools Teaching in Creole Instead of French on the Rise in Haiti|date=13 November 2019}}</ref>
Haitian Creole,<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~creole/creolenatllangofhaiti.html|title=Creole: The National Language of Haiti|last=Valdman|first=Albert|journal=Footsteps|volume=2|issue=4|pages=36–39|publisher=Indiana University Creole Institute|access-date=6 August 2008|archive-date=26 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626233455/http://www.indiana.edu/~creole/creolenatllangofhaiti.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> locally called ''Kreyòl'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Haitian Creole|url=https://celtop.sitehost.iu.edu/portal/Haitian%20Creole/index.html|access-date=4 October 2022|website=[[Indiana University]] – Center for Language Technology|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> has recently undergone standardization and is spoken by virtually the entire population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~creole/creolenatllangofhaiti.html|title=Creole: National Language of Haiti|last=Valdman|first=Albert|publisher=[[Indiana University]]|access-date=11 January 2014|archive-date=26 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626233455/http://www.indiana.edu/~creole/creolenatllangofhaiti.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of the [[French-based creole languages]], Haitian Creole has a vocabulary overwhelmingly derived from French, but its grammar resembles that of some West African languages. It also has influences from [[Taíno|Taino]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Bonenfant|first=Jacques L.|title=History of Haitian-Creole: From Pidgin to Lingua Franca and English Influence on the Language|url=http://www.fmuniv.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/History_of_haitian_review_of_higher_education.pdf|editor=Haggerty, Richard A.|publisher=Library of Congress Federal Research Division|date=December 1989|access-date=1 January 2014|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014030/http://www.fmuniv.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/History_of_haitian_review_of_higher_education.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Haitian Creole is related to the other French creoles, and in particular to the [[Antillean Creole|Antillean]] and [[Louisiana Creole French|Louisiana Creole]] variants.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
<!---Spanish is often inserted here but never with a reference. There are indications that Haitians speak little Spanish.--->
===Emigration===
{{Main|Haitian diaspora}}
There is a large Haitian diaspora community, predominantly based in the US and Canada, France, and the wealthier Caribbean islands.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
Emigrants from Haiti have constituted a segment of American and Canadian society since before [[Haitian Revolution|the independence of Haiti from France]] in 1804.<ref name="HammondCanadaHaiti2010">{{cite web|last1=Hammond|first1=Stuart|title=Canada and Haiti: A brief history|url=http://canadahaitiaction.ca/canada-haiti-history|website=Canada Haiti Action Network|access-date=13 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202034558/http://canadahaitiaction.ca/canada-haiti-history|archive-date=2 February 2016|date=2010}}</ref><ref name="PBSResourceBank">{{cite web|title=People & Events French West Indian refugees in Philadelphia 1792 – 1800|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p466.html|website=PBS.org|access-date=13 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063339/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p466.html|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Many influential early American settlers and black freemen, including [[Jean Baptiste Point du Sable]] and [[W. E. B. Du Bois]], were of Haitian origin.<ref name="Kinzie 1856 190">{{Harvnb|Kinzie|1856|p=190}}</ref><ref name="Meehan 1963 445">{{Harvnb|Meehan|1963|p=445}}</ref><ref name="Cohn2009">{{cite book|last=Cohn|first=Scotti|title=It Happened in Chicago|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7627-5056-6|pages=2–4|publisher=Globe Pequot Press}}</ref><ref>Lewis, p. 18.{{incomplete short citation|date=February 2023}}</ref>
===Education===
{{Main|Education in Haiti}}
[[File:Universite henrichristophe.jpg|thumb|The Universite Roi Henri Christophe in [[Limonade]]]]
The educational system of Haiti is based on the [[Education in France|French system]]. Higher education, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://menfp.gouv.ht/|title=Ministry of Education|access-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022224755/http://menfp.gouv.ht/|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><!---not sure cite should be here. ministry is linked above and cite provided at end of sentence--> is provided by universities and other public and private institutions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Education in Haiti; Primary Education|url=http://www.buildingwithbooks.org/intra/Intl_Programs/profile_Haiti.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080323105543/http://www.buildingwithbooks.org/intra/Intl_Programs/profile_Haiti.html|archive-date=23 March 2008|access-date=15 November 2007}}</ref>
More than 80% of primary schools are privately managed by nongovernmental organizations, churches, communities, and for-profit operators, with minimal government oversight.<ref>{{cite news|title=Education: Overview|url=http://www.usaid.gov/Haiti/education|work=United States Agency for International Development|access-date=30 May 2015|archive-date=12 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912080417/https://www.usaid.gov/haiti/education|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the 2013 Millennium Development Goals Report, Haiti has steadily boosted net enrollment rate in primary education from 47% in 1993 to 88% in 2011, achieving equal participation of boys and girls in education.<ref>{{cite news|title=Haiti boosts health and education in the past decade, says new UNDP report|url=http://www.latinamerica.undp.org/content/rblac/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2014/06/25/haiti-makes-progress-towards-reducing-poverty-and-boosts-health-and-education-in-the-past-decade-says-new-undp-report.html|work=United Nations Development Programme|access-date=30 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531031932/http://www.latinamerica.undp.org/content/rblac/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2014/06/25/haiti-makes-progress-towards-reducing-poverty-and-boosts-health-and-education-in-the-past-decade-says-new-undp-report.html|archive-date=31 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Charity organizations, including [[Food for the Poor]] and [[Haitian Health Foundation]], are building schools for children and providing necessary school supplies.
According to the 2015 [[World Factbook]], Haiti's literacy rate is 60.7%.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
Many reformers have advocated the creation of a free, public and universal education system for all primary school-age students in Haiti. The [[Inter-American Development Bank]] estimates that the government will need at least US$3 billion to create an adequately funded system.<ref>{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Franz|url=http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/untold-stories/improving-access-education-haiti|title=Improving Access to Education in Haiti|publisher=Pulitzercenter.org|date=25 October 2010|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=14 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914013009/http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/untold-stories/improving-access-education-haiti|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Upon successful graduation of secondary school, students may continue into [[higher education]]. The higher education schools in Haiti include the [[University of Haiti]]. There are also [[List of medical schools in the Caribbean|medical schools]] and [[Legal education|law schools]] offered at both the University of Haiti and abroad. [[Brown University]] is cooperating with L'Hôpital Saint-Damien in Haiti to coordinate a [[pediatrics|pediatric health care]] curriculum.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://brown.edu/initiatives/global-health/haiti/medical-education-and-leadership-development-project-meld|title=Haiti|access-date=21 October 2014}}</ref>
===Health===
{{Main|Health in Haiti}}
{{As of|2012}}, 60% of children in Haiti under the age of 10 were [[Vaccine|vaccinated]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ksl.com/?sid=20314561|title=Haiti to vaccinate 95 percent of children under 10|website=KSL.com|access-date=21 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&Itemid=270&gid=4175&lang=en|title=Haiti – Pan American Health Organization}}</ref> compared to 93–95% in other countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6341a1.htm|title=Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten — United States, 2013–14 School Year|access-date=14 December 2016}}</ref> Recently there have been mass vaccination campaigns claiming to vaccinate as many as 91% of a target population against specific diseases (measles and rubella in this case).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/stories/haitian_children.html|title=CDC Global Health – Stories – 5 things CDC has done to help rebuild Haiti's immunization system since the 2010 earthquake|access-date=14 December 2016}}</ref> Most people have no transportation or access to [[List of hospitals in Haiti|Haitian hospitals]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-14/haiti-survivors-face-outbreaks-of-diarrhea-measles-malaria.html|title=Haiti Survivors Face Outbreaks of Diarrhea|journal=BusinessWeek|date=14 January 2010}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
The [[World Health Organization]] cites [[diarrhea]]l diseases, [[HIV/AIDS]], [[meningitis]], and respiratory infections as common causes of death in Haiti.<ref>{{cite news|first=Madison|last=Park|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/13/haiti.earthquake.medical.risks/|title=Haiti earthquake could trigger possible medical 'perfect storm|publisher=cnn.com|date=13 January 2010|access-date=31 July 2014}}</ref> Ninety percent of Haiti's children suffer from [[waterborne disease]]s and [[intestinal parasite]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2008/11/environment-haiti-cant-face-more-defeats/|title=Haiti Can't Face More Defeats|last=Leahy|first=Stephen|publisher=Ipsnews.net|date=13 November 2008|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> HIV infection is found in 1.71% of Haiti's population (est. 2015).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/|title=The World Factbook: HAITI. Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, 12 Jan. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017. — Central Intelligence Agency|website=cia.gov|date=22 September 2021}}</ref> Per a 2017 report, incidence of [[tuberculosis]] (TB) in Haiti is the highest in the region with an estimated 200 cases per 100,000 people.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Masurand|first1=Jack|last2=Koenig|first2=Serena|last3=Julma|first3=Pierrot|last4=Ocheretina|first4=Oksana|last5=Durán-Mendicuti|first5=Maria|last6=Fitzgerald|first6=Daniel|last7=Pape|first7=Jean|date=30 May 2017|title=Active Tuberculosis Case Finding in Haiti|journal=The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene|volume=97|issue=2|pages=433–435|doi=10.4269/ajtmh.16-0674|pmid=28722608|pmc=5544073}}</ref> Approximately 30,000 Haitians fall ill with [[malaria]] each year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/haiti-and-dominican-republic-look-to-eradicate-malaria|title=Haiti and Dominican Republic Look to Eradicate Malaria|publisher=Foxnews.com|date=8 October 2009|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118082049/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,562682,00.html|archive-date=18 November 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
Roughly 75% of Haitian households lack running water. Unsafe water, along with inadequate housing and unsanitary living conditions, contributes to the high incidence of infectious diseases. There is a chronic shortage of health care personnel and hospitals lack resources, a situation that became readily apparent after the January 2010 earthquake.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA528274|title=The Geology of Haiti: An Annotated Bibliography of Haiti's Geology, Geography and Earth Science|author1=Robert Lee Hadden|author2=Steven G. Minson|page=10|year=2010|access-date=24 July 2013|archive-date=11 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111034200/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a528274.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[infant mortality rate]] in Haiti in 2019 was 48.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 5.6 per 1,000 in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births) – Haiti, United States {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN?locations=HT-US|access-date=26 April 2021|website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref>
After the 2010 earthquake, [[Partners In Health]] founded the [[Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais]], the largest [[Solar power|solar-powered]] hospital in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pih.org/blog/solar-powered-hospital-in-haiti-yields-sustainable-savings|title=Solar-Powered Hospital in Haiti Yields Sustainable Savings|access-date=21 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210114940/http://www.pih.org/blog/solar-powered-hospital-in-haiti-yields-sustainable-savings|archive-date=10 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/5883/Solar-Powered-Hospital.aspx|title=Solar Powered Hospital|editor=Lombardo, Tom|publisher=Engineering.com|date=23 June 2013|access-date=18 April 2015|archive-date=7 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807112157/https://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/5883/Solar-Powered-Hospital.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Largest cities===
{{Further|List of cities in Haiti}}
{{Largest cities
| country      = Haiti
| stat_ref     = [http://www.geonames.org/HT/largest-cities-in-haiti.html geonames.org]
| list_by_pop  =
| div_name     = Department
| div_link     =
| city_1 = Port-au-Prince|div_1 = Ouest (department){{!}}Ouest|pop_1 = 1,234,742|img_1 = US Navy 100221-N-5787K-002 An aerial view of the logistical area near the port in Port-au-Prince (cropped).jpg
| city_2 = Cap-Haïtien|div_2 = Nord (Haitian department){{!}}Nord|pop_2 = 534,815|img_2 = View of Cap-Haitien.jpg
| city_3 = Carrefour, Ouest{{!}}Carrefour <small>({{abbr|in Metro P.P.|The city is located inside the Port-au-Prince's metropolitan area}})</small>|div_3 = Ouest (department){{!}}Ouest|pop_3 = 442,156|img_3 = Carrefour, Haiti.jpg
| city_4 = Delmas, Ouest{{!}}Delmas <small>({{abbr|in Metro P.P.|The city is located inside the Port-au-Prince's metropolitan area}})</small>|div_4 = Ouest (department){{!}}Ouest|pop_4 = 382,920|img_4 = Delmas 48 Haiti.jpg
| city_5 = Pétion-Ville{{!}}Pétion-Ville <small>({{abbr|in Metro P.P.|The city is located inside the Port-au-Prince's metropolitan area}})</small>|div_5 = Ouest (department){{!}}Ouest|pop_5 = 283,052
| city_6 = Port-de-Paix|div_6 = Nord-Ouest (department){{!}}Nord-Ouest|pop_6 = 250,000
| city_7 = Croix-des-Bouquets{{!}}Croix des Bouquets <small>({{abbr|in Metro P.P.|The city is located inside the Port-au-Prince's metropolitan area}})</small>|div_7 = Ouest (department){{!}}Ouest|pop_7 = 229,127
| city_8 = Jacmel|div_8 = Sud-Est (department){{!}}Sud-Est|pop_8 = 137,966
| city_9 = Léogâne|div_9 = Ouest (department){{!}}Ouest|pop_9 = 134,190
| city_10 = Les Cayes|div_10 = Sud (department){{!}}Sud|pop_10 = 125,799
}}
==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Haiti}}
Haiti has a lasting and unique cultural identity, blending traditional French and African customs, mixed with sizable acquirements from the Spanish and indigenous Taíno cultures.<ref name="Yurnet-Thomas">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=giQaoQz8N0AC&pg=PA13|title=A Taste of Haiti|last=Yurnet-Thomas|first=Mirta|pages=13–15|year=2002|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=978-0-7818-0998-6|access-date=18 June 2015}}</ref>
===Art===
{{Main|Haitian art}}
[[File:Swearing-in ceremony of Diaspora GwètòDe by Konfederasyon Nasyonal Vodou Ayisyen 09.jpg|thumb|Swearing-in ceremony of Haitian Diaspora GwètòDe]]
Haitian art is [[Haitian art|distinctive]], particularly through its paintings and sculptures.<ref name="Yurnet-Thomas" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://globalfaithinaction.org/haiti-culture-and-sports/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427211956/http://globalfaithinaction.org/haiti-culture-and-sports/|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 April 2012|title=Haiti – Culture And Sports|last=Onofre|first=Alejandro Guevara|access-date=2 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/haiti/|title=In Haiti, Art Remains a Solid Cornerstone|last=Legro|first=Tom|publisher=[[PBS]]|date=11 January 2011}}</ref> Brilliant colors, [[Naïve art|naïve]] perspectives, and sly humor characterize [[Haitian art]]. Frequent subjects in Haitian art include big, foods, landscapes, market activities, jungle animals, rituals, dances, and gods. As a result of a deep history and strong African ties, symbols take on great meaning within Haitian society. Many artists cluster in 'schools' of painting, such as the Cap-Haïtien school, which features depictions of daily life in the city, the Jacmel School, which reflects the steep mountains and bays of that coastal town, or the Saint-Soleil School, which is characterized by abstracted human forms and is heavily influenced by Vodou symbolism.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
In the 1920s the ''indigéniste'' movement gained international acclaim, with its expressionist paintings inspired by Haiti's culture and African roots. Notable painters of this movement include [[Hector Hyppolite]], Philomé Oban and [[Préfète Duffaut]].<ref name="Bradt36">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 36.</ref> Some notable artists of more recent times include [[Edouard Duval-Carrié]], Frantz Zéphirin, Leroy Exil, [[Prosper Pierre Louis]] and [[Louisiane Saint Fleurant]].<ref name="Bradt36"/> Sculpture is also practiced in Haiti; noted artists in this form include George Liautaud and [[Serge Jolimeau]].<ref name="Bradt37">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide – Haiti'', p. 37.</ref>
===Music and dance===
{{Further|Music of Haiti}}
Haitian music combines a wide range of influences drawn from the many people who have settled here. It reflects French, African and Spanish elements and others who have inhabited the island of [[Hispaniola]], and minor native [[Taino]] influences. Styles of music unique to Haitian culture include music derived from [[Haitian Vodou|Vodou]] ceremonial traditions, [[Rara music|Rara]] parading music, [[Twoubadou]] ''ballads'', [[mini-jazz]] rock bands, [[Rasin]] movement, [[Haitian hip hop|Hip hop]] kreyòl, [[méringue]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afropop.org/radio/radio_program/ID/692/Music%20and%20the%20Story%20of%20Haiti|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113022326/http://www.afropop.org/radio/radio_program/ID/692/Music%20and%20the%20Story%20of%20Haiti|archive-date=13 November 2007|title=Music and the Story of Haiti|publisher=Afropop Worldwide}}</ref> and [[compas]]. Youth attend parties at nightclubs called ''[[Nightlife|discos]]'', and attend ''Bal'' (ball, as in a formal dance).
''[[Compas]] (konpa)''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heritagekonpa.com/The%20Haitian%20Music%20Billboard.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210081147/http://www.heritagekonpa.com/The%20Haitian%20Music%20Billboard.htm|archive-date=10 February 2010|title=Haitian music billboard|date=10 February 2010|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref> is a complex, ever-changing music that arose from African rhythms and European ballroom dancing, mixed with Haiti's bourgeois culture. It is a refined music, with [[méringue]] as its basic rhythm. Haiti had no recorded music until 1937 when [[Jazz Guignard]] was recorded non-commercially.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwEL9mUcVA8C&pg=PA23|title=A Day for the Hunter, a Day for the Prey: Popular Music and Power in Haiti|last=Averill|first=Gage|year=1997|page=23|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-03291-7|access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref>
===Literature===
{{Main|Haitian literature}}
Haiti has always been a literary nation that has produced poetry, novels, and plays of international recognition. The [[Saint-Domingue|French colonial experience]] established the French language as the venue of culture and prestige, and since then it has dominated the literary circles and the literary production. However, since the 18th century there has been a sustained effort to write in [[Haitian Creole]]. The recognition of Creole as an official language has led to an expansion of novels, poems, and plays in Creole.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nzengou-Tayo|first=Marie-José|chapter=Chapter 7: Creole and French in Haitian Literature|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4xbGzLuBvWwC&pg=PA153|title=The Haitian Creole Language: History, Structure, Use, and Education|editor1-first=Arthur K.|editor1-last=Spears|editor2-first=Carole M.|editor2-last=Berotte Joseph|language=en|publisher=Lexington Books|pages=153–176|isbn=978-0-7391-7221-6|date=2012}}</ref> In 1975, [[Franketienne]] was the first to break with the French tradition in fiction with the publication of ''Dezafi'', the first novel written entirely in Haitian Creole.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewyPMi4WZPAC|title=Frankétienne and Rewriting: A Work in Progress|last=Douglas|first=Rachel|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7391-3635-5|pages=50–60}}</ref> Other well known Haitian authors include [[Jean Price-Mars]], [[Jacques Roumain]], [[Jacques Stephen Alexis]], [[Marie Vieux-Chauvet]], Pierre Clitandre, [[René Depestre]], [[Edwidge Danticat]], [[Lyonel Trouillot]] and [[Dany Laferrière]].
===Cinema===
Haiti has a small though growing cinema industry. Well-known directors working primarily in documentary film-making include [[Raoul Peck]] and [[Arnold Antonin]]. Directors producing fictional films include [[Patricia Benoit (director)|Patricia Benoît]], Wilkenson Bruna and Richard Senecal.
===Cuisine===
{{Main|Haitian cuisine}}
Haiti is famous for its [[creole cuisine]] (related to [[Cajun cuisine]]), and its [[soup joumou]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.creolemadeeasy.com/cmejom/free/recipes/127-pumpkin-soup-soup-joumou.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521034622/http://www.creolemadeeasy.com/cmejom/free/recipes/127-pumpkin-soup-soup-joumou.html|archive-date=21 May 2014|title=Pumpkin Soup – Soup Joumou|publisher=Creolemadeeasy.com|access-date=22 May 2014}}</ref>
===Architecture===
[[File:Sans-Souci Palace, National History Park, Haiti.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Sans-Souci Palace, National History Park, Haiti]]
{{See also|List of World Heritage Sites in the Caribbean}}
Monuments include the [[Sans-Souci Palace]] and the [[Citadelle Laferrière]], inscribed as a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/180|title=National History Park – Citadel, Sans the great Souci, Ramiers|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=23 January 2010}}</ref> Situated in the Northern [[Massif du Nord]], in the [[National History Park]], the structures date from the early 19th century.<ref name="heritage">{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/579|title=Heritage in Haiti|date=20 January 2010|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=23 January 2010}}</ref> The buildings were among the first built after Haiti's independence from France.
<!---needs merger with above paragraph--->
The [[Citadelle Laferrière]], the largest fortress in the Americas, is located in northern Haiti. It was built between 1805 and 1820 and is today referred to by some Haitians as the [[eighth wonder of the world]].<ref name="Reading Eagle">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19780129&id=BN4hAAAAIBAJ&pg=5745,4456684|title=Haiti's Citadelle Described As 8th Wonder of the World|publisher=United Press International|page=40|date=29 January 1978|via=Reading Eagle|access-date=21 October 2014}}</ref>
The [[Institut de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine National|Institute for the Protection of National Heritage]] has preserved 33 historical monuments and the historic center of Cap-Haïtien.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haiti.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121&Itemid=90|title=Institut de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine National|publisher=Haiti.org|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref>
[[Jacmel]], a colonial city that was tentatively accepted as a World Heritage Site, was extensively damaged by the 2010 earthquake.<ref name="heritage" />
===Museums===
[[File:Santa Maria Anchor.JPG|upright|thumb|''Santa María''<nowiki/>'s anchor on display]]
The anchor of Christopher Columbus's largest ship, the ''[[Santa María (ship)|Santa María]]'' rests in the [[Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien]] (MUPANAH), in Port-au-Prince.<ref>{{cite journal|title=MUPANAH and the Promotion of Historical and Cultural Values|doi=10.1111/j.1468-0033.2011.01744.x|volume=62|issue=4|journal=Museum International|pages=39–45|year=2010|last1=Paret|first1=Robert|s2cid=142632278}}</ref>
===Folklore and mythology===
{{Main|Haitian mythology}}
Haiti is known for its [[folklore]] traditions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Munro|first=Martin|title=Exile and Post-1946 Haitian Literature: Alexis, Depestre, Ollivier, Laferrière, Danticat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JC-m0n2yww8C&pg=PA14|date=2013|publisher=Liverpool University Press|isbn=978-1-84631-854-2|pages=14–}}</ref> Much of this is rooted in [[Haitian Vodou]] tradition. Belief in [[zombies]] is also common.<ref name="Bradt35">Clammer, Paul (2016), ''Bradt Travel Guide - Haiti'', p. 35.</ref> Other folkloric creatures include the [[Soucouyant|lougarou]].<ref name="Bradt35"/>
===National holidays and festivals===
{{Further|Public holidays in Haiti}}
The [[Haitian Carnival]] has been one of the most popular carnivals in the Caribbean. In 2010, the government decided to stage the event in a different city outside Port-au-Prince every year.<ref name="haitilibre.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-5009-haiti-culture-more-than-300-000-people-celebrated-the-carnival-2012-in-les-cayes.html|title=More than 300,000 people celebrated the Carnival 2012 in Les Cayes|publisher=Haitilibre.com|date=22 February 2012|access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://magazine.nd.edu/news/47009-global-doc-kanaval/|title=Global Doc: Kanaval|last=DeGennaro|first=Vincent|date=19 March 2014|access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> The National Carnival follows the popular Jacmel Carnival, which takes place a week earlier in February or March.<ref name="haitilibre.com" />
[[Rara festival|Rara]] is a festival celebrated before [[Easter]]. The festival has generated a style of [[Carnival music]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Rara {{!}} Haitian Music|url=http://www.haitianmusic.net/haitian-folk-music/rara|website=Haitian Music|date=17 April 2012|access-date=17 November 2017|archive-date=17 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117122814/http://www.haitianmusic.net/haitian-folk-music/rara|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://music.si.edu/story/rara-vodou-power-and-performance|title=Rara: Vodou, Power, and Performance|date=8 March 2016|website=Smithsonian Music|language=en|access-date=14 April 2020}}</ref>
===Sports===
{{Main|Culture of Haiti#Sports}}
[[File:Haiti national football team training in Port-au-Prince 2004-08-16 2.jpg|thumb|[[Haiti national football team]] training in Port-au-Prince, 2004]]
[[Association football|Football]] (soccer) is the most popular sport in Haiti with hundreds of small clubs competing at the local level. Basketball and baseball are growing in popularity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/blue-jays-helping-bring-baseball-to-haiti/c-31222026|title=Blue Jays helping bring baseball to Haiti|first=Chris|last=Toman|date=13 May 2012|publisher=[[Major League Baseball]]}}</ref><ref name="sport">{{cite book|title=Haiti in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCi9jFR6v1oC&pg=PA82|last=Arthur|first=Charles|publisher=Interlink Pub Group Inc|pages=82–83|isbn=978-1-56656-359-8|year=2002}}</ref> [[Stade Sylvio Cator]] is the [[multi-purpose stadium]] in Port-au-Prince, currently used mostly for [[association football]] matches. In [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]], the [[Haiti national football team]] were only the second [[Caribbean]] team to make the [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]]. The national team won the [[2007 Caribbean Nations Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caribbeanandco.com/history-caribbean-teams-fifa-world-cup/|title=History of Caribbean teams in the FIFA World Cup|access-date=2 September 2014}}</ref>
Haiti has participated in the [[Haiti at the Olympics|Olympic Games]] since the year 1900 and won a number of medals. Haitian footballer [[Joe Gaetjens]] played for the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States national team]] in the [[1950 FIFA World Cup]], scoring the winning goal in the 1–0 upset of [[England national football team|England]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/jun/10/world-cup-2010-usa-1950-england|title=World Cup 2010: How the USA's 1950 amateurs upset England and the odds|author=Ewen MacAskill|newspaper=The Guardian|date=10 June 2010}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Index of Haiti-related articles]]
* [[Madan Sara]]
* [[Outline of Haiti]]
{{Portal bar|Haiti|Caribbean|Latin America|Caribbean}}
==Notes==
{{notelist|45em}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
{{EB1911 poster|Haiti}}
* Arthur, Charles. ''Haiti in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture''. Interlink Publishing Group (2002). {{ISBN|1-56656-359-3}}.
* Dayan, Colin. ''Haiti, History, and the Gods''. University of California Press (1998).
* Ferrer, Ada. ''Freedom's Mirror: Cuba and Haiti in the Age of Revolution.'' New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
* {{Cite journal|last=Geggus|first=David|date=1997|title=The Naming of Haiti|journal=NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids|volume=71|issue=1/2|pages=43–68|doi=10.1163/13822373-90002615|jstor=41849817|issn=1382-2373|doi-access=free|ref=none}}
* Girard, Philippe. ''Haiti: The Tumultuous History'' (New York: Palgrave, September 2010).
* Hadden, Robert Lee and Steven G. Minson. 2010. [http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA528274 The Geology of Haiti: An Annotated Bibliography of Haiti's Geology, Geography and Earth Science] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111034200/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a528274.pdf |date=11 January 2020 }}. US Army Corps of Engineers, Army Geospatial Center. July 2010.
* {{cite book|last=Heinl|first=Robert|title=Written in Blood: The History of the Haitian People|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780761802303|url-access=registration|publisher=University Press of America|location=Lantham, Md.|year=1996}}
* {{cite book|last=Kinzie|first=Juliette|title=Wau-Bun, the "Early Day" in the North-West|year=1856|publisher=Derby and Jackson|author-link=Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie|url=https://archive.org/details/waubunearlydayin00kinz|access-date=25 August 2010}}
* [[Kovats-Bernat, J. Christopher]]. ''Sleeping Rough in Port-au-Prince: An Ethnography of Street Children and Violence in Haiti''. University Press of Florida (2008). {{ISBN|978-0-8130-3302-0}}.
* {{cite journal|last=Meehan|first=Thomas A.|title=Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the First Chicagoan|journal=Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society|year=1963|volume=56|issue=3|pages=439–453|jstor=40190620}}
* Prichard, Hesketh. ''Where Black Rules White: A Journey Across and About Hayti''. These are exact reproductions of a book published before 1923: (Nabu Press, {{ISBN|978-1-146-67652-6}}, 5 March 2010); (Wermod and Wermod Publishing Group, {{ISBN|978-0-9561835-8-3}}, 15 October 2012).
* Robinson, Randall. ''[[An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President]]''. Basic Civitas (2007). {{ISBN|0-465-07050-7}}.
* Wilentz, Amy. ''The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier''. Simon & Schuster (1990). {{ISBN|0-671-70628-4}}.
* Marquis, John. ''Papa Doc: Portrait of a Haitian Tyrant'' (LMH Publishing, 2007)
==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Haiti}}
'''Government'''
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://primature.gouv.ht/ Prime Minister of Haiti] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417051738/http://primature.gouv.ht/ |date=17 April 2015 }}
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20180808161437/http://parlementhaitien.ht/ Haitian Parliament] (archived 8 August 2018)
* {{in lang|fr}} [https://www.mspp.gouv.ht/ Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population]
'''General information'''
* [https://visithaiti.com/ Visit Haiti] Official Tourism Website
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Hayti |volume= XI |last= Champlin |first= John Denison  |author-link= John Denison Champlin Jr. | pages=543–546 |short=1}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Haiti |volume = 12 |last= |first= |author-link= |pages=824–827 |short=1}}
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti/ Haiti]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080607084933/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/haiti.htm Haiti] at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' (archived 7 June 2008)
* [https://www.loc.gov/item/2001023524/ A Country Study: Haiti] from the US [[Library of Congress]] (December 1989).
*{{Wikiatlas}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1202772.stm Haiti profile] from the [[BBC News]].
* [https://newint.org/columns/country/2011/06/01/haiti/ Country Profile] at ''[[New Internationalist]]''.
* [http://www.gvsu.edu/haitiwater Web Site about Safe and Sustainable Water Solutions for Haiti]
{{Haiti topics}}
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