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2000 | University
College Summer Abroad
Haiti Facts...
Haiti, independent republic of the West Indies,
occupying the western third of the island of Hispaniola. Haiti is bounded on the north by the
Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Dominican Republic, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on
the west by the Windward Passage, which separates it from Cuba. Its area is
10,714 sq mi. Port-au-Prince is Haiti's capital and largest city.
Land and Resources
Haiti consists of two peninsulas, which are separated by the
Golfe de la Gonâve.
Much of Haiti's land is mountainous. In all, five mountain
ranges cross the country.
The Chaîne du Haut Piton, which runs along the northern
peninsula, reaches a height of 1183 m (3881 ft). The Massif de la Selle, which
begins just southeast of Port-au-Prince, reaches a height of 2674
m (8773 ft) at Pic la Selle, the highest point in Haiti. The Massif de la
Hotte reaches a height of 2347 m (7700 ft) at the
extreme western end of the southern peninsula.
The other chains, which include the Massif des Montagnes
Noires and Chaîne des Cahos, and the solitary peak of Montagne Terrible,
range between 1128 and 1580 m (3701 and 5184 ft) high. The Golfe de la Gonâve
contains the largest of Haiti's offshore islands, the island of Gonâve. The
other islands include Île de la Tortue (Tortuga) and Cayemite. Haiti's
shoreline is irregular and there are many natural harbors. The numerous
rivers-most of which are short, swift, and unnavigable-have their sources in
the mountains. Only the Artibonite River, the country's largest, is navigable
for any length. Haiti's inland areas include three productive agricultural
regions, the Plaine du Nord, and two valleys, the Artibonite River Valley and
the Cul-de-Sac. Saumâtre Lake, a saltwater lake in the Cul-de-Sac, is the
nation's largest lake, while Péligre Lake, formed by a dam on the upper
Artibonite River, is the largest freshwater lake.
Climate
Haiti has a tropical climate. The distribution of mountains
and lowlands affects temperature and rainfall, causing
significant climate variations from place to place. Rainfall varies from a
high of 3600 mm (144 in) on the western tip of the southern peninsula, to 600
mm (24 in) on the southwest coast of the northern peninsula. Most of the rain
in the southwest falls in early and late summmer. Port-au-Prince, located at
sea level, has a yearly average temperature of 27° C (80° F). In Kenscoff,
located just south of Port-au-Prince at an elevation of
1432 m (4700 ft), temperatures average 16° C (60° F). The mountains
surrounding the cul-de-sac trap air in the valley, making the air hot, dry,
and stagnant. Vulnerable to hurricanes, Haiti has been struck by destructive
storms in 1963, 1980, 1988, and 1994.
Plants and Animals
Clearing forests for farms and wood for charcoal has stripped
Haiti of most of its valuable native trees. Only some pine forests at high
elevations and mangroves in inaccessible swamps remain. Semidesert scrub
covers the ground in drier zones. Environmental deterioration has had a severe
impact on Haiti's plants, animals, soil, and water resources. Tropical reefs
surrounding the country are threatened by the large quantities of silt washed
down from the eroding mountainsides. Coffee and cacao trees spread across the
mountains in scattered clumps, while sugarcane, sisal, cotton, and rice cover
most of the good farmland. Most of Haiti's native animals were hunted to
extinction long ago. Caiman and flamingo are the most common
wildlife seen today. Haiti's large population and the degree of deforestation
already present seem to preclude the reestablishment of
wildlife, although the climate would be hospitable to any tropical plants or
animals.
Natural Resources
Only 20 percent of Haiti is considered arable, due to years of
poor farming techniques. Bauxite was Haiti's most valuable mineral but extraction has
ceased to be profitable in recent years. Small quantities of copper, salt, and
gold exist but are not considered commercially viable.
Population
About 95 percent of Haitians are of African origin. The
remaining 5 percent are mulatto and other races. The mulatto population makes
up about half of the country's elite. French and Creole, which uses both
French colonial and West African phrases and words, are the official
languages, the latter attaining that status in 1987. The poorer class (about
90 percent of the population) speak Creole, while the elite speak modern
French. About 80 percent of Haiti's people are nominal Roman Catholics, many
of them combining an African animism called voodoo into their religious
beliefs and ceremonies. Other religious groups include Baptists (about 10
percent), Pentecostals (4 percent), and Adventists (about 1 percent). The
Protestant faiths do not allow voodoo practices.
Population Characteristics 
The population of Haiti (1995 estimate) is about 7,180,000,
giving the country an overall population density of about 670 per sq mi.
In arable areas, however, there are about 3035 per sq mi.
About 79 percent of the population is classified as rural.
Political Divisions and Principal Cities
Haiti is divided into nine departments, each of which is
subdivided into the more politically important arrondissements and communes.
Port-au-Prince (population, 1994 estimate, 743,000) is the only modern city
and the country's capital and principal port. Other cities and towns include
Cap-Haïtien (68,000), an export center and seaport; Les Cayes (36,000), an
important coffee export center and seaport; and Gonaïves (34,000) a seaport
in western Haiti.
Education
By law, education is free and compulsory in Haiti for children
between the ages of 7 and 13. In practice, access to education is sharply
limited by school location, language comprehension (classes are taught in
French), the cost of school clothes and supplies, and the availability of
teachers.
Only about 40 percent of the 1.3 million eligible children
actually attend school. About 53 percent of the population
is literate. The University of Haiti (1944), located in Port-au-Prince, has
colleges of medicine, law, business, agronomy, social sciences, architecture,
and engineering. In the early 1990s, about 1500 students were enrolled there.
Many university-level students attend foreign universities.
Way of Life
For most Haitians, daily life is a struggle for survival. An
estimated 75 percent of the population lives in poverty. These people, many of
whom farm small plots of poor mountain land, are often malnourished. Infant
mortality is about 109 per 1000 births, life expectancy is only 45 years, and
the incidence of diseases ranging from intestinal
parasites to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is extremely high.
Only about 41 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water, and
only 25 percent has access to sanitary sewer systems. A limited elite of about
10 percent, mostly professionals, enjoys a sophisticated, affluent lifestyle.
This elite class has traditionally resisted all attempts to restructure the
Haitian social system.
Culture
Haitian culture fuses African, French, and West Indian
elements. Formerly a social divider, the Creole language is now being used in
attempts to define a national culture. The language is used in literature,
drama, music, dance, and some governmental functions. Haitian works of art are
enjoying increasing worldwide recognition. The country has several outstanding
libraries. The collection of the Brothers of Saint Louis de Gonzague
(1912), the National Archives (1860), and the Bibliothèque Nationale (1940),
all located in Port-au-Prince, contain rare works that date from the colonial
period. Also devoted to Haitian history is the National Museum (1983), located
in Port-au-Prince.
Social Problems
Haiti's most serious social problems stem from the
disproportionate distribution of wealth. However, although Haiti is 95 percent
black, there are also racial divisions between the small mulatto elite and the
larger black population. Since colonial times the mulattoes have functioned as
the ruling class.
Having more in common with the wealthy classes of other
countries, the mulattoes identify very little with poor
Haitians. Underdeveloped social, economic, and political institutions-chiefly
education-mean that there are few mechanisms within the country to promote
upward social mobility. Another problem preventing social cohesion
is the physical isolation of rural communities. About 79 percent of Haitians
have little contact with Port-au-Prince or other centers of cultural change.
Economy
Haiti's economy has been shrinking since the early 1980s while
the population has continued to grow. In the mid-1990s, Haiti's per-capita
gross domestic product was $370. This placed Haiti among the world's poorest
nations. Agriculture employs about two-thirds of the labor force;
manufacturing, services, and tourism are the next largest employers.
About 25 to 50 percent of the workforce is underemployed or
unemployed.
The international sanctions employed against Haiti's military
leaders from 1991 to 1994 further
weakened the already crippled economy. Government revenue in
the mid-1990s was about $300 million and spending was
about $416 million. Haiti's international debt is approaching $1 billion.
Agriculture
Most of Haiti's farmers work subsistence plots of land that
produce small amounts of cash crops. Soil erosion and
overworked land are major agricultural problems, while hurricanes and drought
have also taken their toll.
Coffee, sugarcane, sisal, and fruit are the major commercial
crops, while beans, rice, corn, and sorghum are the main food crops.
Coffee is the major agricultural export. Sugarcane, cotton, sisal,
coconuts, and vetiver (a grass that yields oils used in the manufacture of
perfume) are raised on plantations revitalized by loans
from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations (UN) in
the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Chickens are the most common livestock, but some cattle and
goats are also raised.
The country's pig population was decimated when African swine
fever swept through Haiti
in the early 1980s.
Forestry, Fishing, and Mining
Severe deforestation has limited the value of forest products
to Haiti's economy. Some pine logs are harvested from mountaintops, and
mahogany, oak, cedar, and mangrove supply a small amount of forest products. A
lack of modern equipment hinders the fishing industry.
Catches of reef fish and crustaceans are only sufficient to
supply local markets.
Mining has never been an important industry because the
deposits that exist are not commercially viable. Building materials, such as
limestone and clay, and salt and copper are among the few products mined in
Haiti.
Manufacturing
Most of Haiti's manufacturing base is foreign owned and
includes electronics assembly, baseball stitching, and the sewing of beaded
clothing and accessories. Domestic manufacturing is limited to sugar refining,
flour and cement mills, textiles, and food processing. The petite industrie,
or handicraft industry, is an important source of income for many Haitians.
Houses in the shantytowns of Port-au-Prince double as shops where artisans
carve wood, weave cloth, or make a variety of other handicrafts to sell to
tourists. Further industrialization in Haiti has been
obstructed by an uncertain electrical supply, waste disposal problems, limited
transportation, a lack of capital and skilled labor, and government policies.
Energy
Haiti's energy consumption per capita is only one-third that
of the world's poorest nations. Other than private generators, the Péligre
hydroelectric plant on the Artibonite River is the only local source of
commercial energy. In the early 1990s Haiti had a total generating capacity of
217,000 kilowatts and a total production of about 480 million kilowatt-hours,
produced mostly by burning imported fossil fuels. Poor
Haitians use charcoal to supply energy for home use.
Currency, Banking, and Trade
Haiti's unit of currency is the gourde, consisting of 100
centimes. The gourde's value in relation to the United States dollar has been
fixed at 5 to 1 since 1934. On the black market the gourde often is worth less
than half its official value. U.S. currency is recognized as legal tender.
The national Bank of Haiti is government-owned and performs
commercial and central bank functions. U.S., French, and Canadian banks
operate on a small scale. In the mid-1990s Haiti's
major exports were light manufactured goods and coffee, and its chief imports
were machinery and manufactured goods, food and beverages, and chemicals.
The United States was Haiti's primary trading partner, buying
84 percent of its exports and supplying 64 percent of its imports. In the
early 1990s, exports were valued at $135 million and imports at $423 million.
Haiti is a member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS),
a free-trade organization comprising 12 Caribbean nations and the members of
the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM).
Transportation
Haiti's road network was built by U.S. Marines during the U.S.
occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934. Of the 4000 km (2484 mi) of roads, only
950 km (488 mi) are paved. Even main roads are in poor condition,
and most bridges have become unusable. The country has one international
airport in Port-au-Prince and nearly a dozen smaller airstrips throughout the
nation. Domestic air service is provided by a government-owned airline.
The only railroad tracks are privately owned.
Communications
Most of Haiti's communications network is clustered in
Port-au-Prince. International communications tend to be better than domestic.
In the early 1990s there were
31,000 television sets, 50,000 telephones, and about 310,000
radios in use.
There were four daily newspapers in 1990, with an average
circulation of about 45,000,
or about 7 papers per 1000 inhabitants. Most of the newspapers
and broadcast stations are in Port-au-Prince, and these cater to the capital's
richer inhabitants. Rural Haitians depend on personal contacts to disseminate
information.
Labor
The labor force consists of 2.3 million mostly unskilled
workers. Women outnumber men as factory workers. A few labor unions exist, but
poverty and years of dictatorship have prevented labor groups from organizing,
although they are legal. Industrial wages of $2 per day are the lowest in the
Caribbean.
Government
Since the overthrow of the dictatorship of Jean Claude
Duvalier in 1986, Haiti has had five governments, most
installed by coup d'état. Haitian constitutions have been modified to suit
individual rulers throughout the nation's history. Local government has
traditionally been left to appointed supporters of the regime in power and has
often been characterized by violence. The 1987 constitution, currently in
effect, was modeled on those of the United States and France, and is the basis
of the government headed by Jean-Bertrand Aristide, which was restored to
power in 1994.
Executive
Under the 1987 constitution, executive power is vested in a
president directly elected to a five-year term. The president is assisted by a
19-member cabinet that is subject to legislative approval. The prime minister
is selected from the ruling party by the president and serves as head of
government.
Legislature
Haiti's legislature is bicameral. The larger Chamber of
Deputies consists of 83 members elected to four-year terms, and the Senate has
27 members elected to six-year terms.
Judiciary
The highest judicial body in Haiti is the Supreme Court. There
are also courts of appeal, civil courts, and local
courts at the commune level.
Health and Welfare
Haiti's medical system is struggling to cope with the nation's
serious health hazards. There is only one physician for every 6000 inhabitants
and medical facilities are poor. Malaria, dengue, intestinal parasites, yaws,
AIDS, and other infectious diseases are common. Foreign governments and
several international organizations, including the UN and the OAS, provide
food and medicine to Haiti, but the scope of the country's problems overwhelm
these efforts. Haiti's social services are similarly limited.
Defense
Under the François Duvalier regime, two-thirds of the
national budget was spent on the armed forces. In 1995 the government of
Jean-Bertrand Aristide took steps to eliminate the military's participation in
political affairs. Aristide reduced the military from 7000 to 1500 members,
removed 43 senior officers, recruited an entirely new police force and
separated it from the military, and outlawed the Tontons Macoutes, a terrorist
paramilitary organization.
History
The Arawak, the original inhabitants of the island Haiti
shares with the Dominican Republic, called the island Ayti, meaning "land
of mountains." When he arrived in 1492, Christopher Columbus named the
island La Isla Española (Spanish for "The Spanish Island") in honor
of his Spanish sponsors.
The name later evolved into the modern name Hispaniola. After
an early settlement near Cap-Haïtien was destroyed by Native Americans, the
Spanish settled the eastern half of the island and left the west unsettled.
French pirates operating from the island of Tortue hunted wild boar and other
animals in Haiti to sell as food to passing ships. By 1697, when Spain
formally ceded the western one-third of Hispaniola -the portion that later
became Haiti-to France, the French had established a flourishing
slave-plantation system throughout the colony. At the end of the next century,
Saint Domingue (the French colonial term for Haiti) was the world's richest
colony. The population at that time totaled more than 450,000 slaves, more
than 25,000 free mulattoes, and about 30,000 French planters.
About 800 Haitian volunteers fought in the American Revolution
(1775-1783) under the French General Marquis de Lafayette, and thereby gained
some military experience. The French Revolution, which began in 1789, inspired
the 1791 slave rebellion in Haiti. This rebellion was led by Toussaint
L'Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe, Alexandre Sabès Pétion,
and Jean Pierre Boyer. By 1794 forces under Toussaint L'Ouverture (today known
as "the Precursor") had freed the colony's slave population and rid
it of its French and British presence. By 1801 Toussaint ruled the entire
colony. Although Toussaint was captured by French forces in 1802 and died a
prisoner in France, the rebellion he had fostered did not die. In 1804
Dessalines declared Haiti to be the world's first black republic.
Unfortunately, most of the country's plantation infrastructure had been
destroyed and all the experienced administrators had been eliminated. In 1806
Dessalines was assassinated, and for some years thereafter the northern part
of Haiti was held by Christophe. In the southern part of the island a republic
was established by Pétion. Upon the death of Christophe in 1820, Boyer,
the successor to Pétion, consolidated his power throughout the island.
In 1844 the eastern two-thirds of the island declared its
independence as the Republic of Santo Domingo, now the Dominican Republic. The
subsequent history of Haiti was characterized by a series of bitter struggles
for political ascendancy between the blacks and the mulattoes. In 1849 a
black, Faustin Élie Soulouque, proclaimed himself emperor as Faustin I, and
for ten years ruled in a despotic manner. In early 1859, the mulatto Nicholas
Fabre Geffrard restored republican government; he remained in office until
1867.
Occupation by the United States
In the early 20th century, the United States was worried about
French and German influences in Haiti and the security of the newly opened
Panama Canal. In 1915, during World War I, the United States invaded Haiti
to restore order in the country. U.S. Marines secured the countryside and
proceeded to build the institutions needed to govern a modern nation. The
United States collected tariffs, paid foreign debts, restructured the
government and military, built roads and bridges, and trained local people for
leadership roles. Although some Haitians resisted the U.S. occupation, most
notably in 1920, the occupation was generally peaceful. The U.S. military
occupation of Haiti was terminated on August 15, 1934. U.S. reforms did not
last, however, and Haiti fell prey to dictators and disorganization. In the
1930s Haiti suffered through the worldwide depression.
Continued U.S. Influence,
In 1939 President Stenio J. Vincent, first elected in 1930,
took steps to remain in office beyond the expiration of his second term and to
augment his semidictatorial powers. However, when he was confronted with
strong local opposition and U.S. disapproval, Vincent announced that he would
not seek reelection. The Haitian legislature then elected Élie Lescot, a
former minister to the United States, as president.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December
1941, President Lescot, with unanimous approval of the legislature, joined the
Allied forces in World War II by declaring war on Japan on December 8 and on
Germany and Italy on December 12. Early in 1942 Haiti permitted U.S.
antisubmarine aircraft to make use of the Port-au-Prince landing field. Haiti
signed the charter of the United Nations on June 26, 1945, becoming one of the
original members.
Growing political disturbances in Haiti led, on January 11,
1946, to the military overthrow of Lescot, who fled to Miami, Florida. On
August 16 Dumarsais Estimé was elected president.
Haiti signed the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal
Assistance (also known as the Rio Treaty) in September 1947 and the charter of
the Organization of American States (OAS) in April 1948. During 1949 Haitian
revolutionaries, with encouragement from the Dominican government,
precipitated a domestic crisis and provoked Estimé to declare a state of
siege on November 15. In May 1950 the Haitian president was forced to resign,
and a military junta ruled the country until elections were held on October 8.
Paul E. Magloire, a soldier and member of the junta, won the presidency by a
large majority.
The Magloire government encouraged foreign investment to
strengthen the national economy and settled differences
with the Dominican Republic. In 1956, however, controversy developed over the
extent of Magloire's term of office, and in December of that year he
relinquished all power. Political uncertainty followed until September 1957,
when François Duvalier (known as "Papa Doc"), who had been a member
of the Estimé government, was elected president.
The Duvalier Regime
Fear of political rivals led Duvalier to declare several of
them outlaws. At his bidding, the legislature imposed a state of siege on May
2, 1958, and on July 31 authorized him to rule by decree. In this period
Duvalier organized the Tontons Macoutes, an armed force under his personal
control, to intimidate opposition. He dissolved the bicameral legislature on
April 8, 1961, to form a new unicameral legislature.
All the candidates for the new body elected on April 30 were
Duvalier followers. On September 15 the legislature granted him extensive
economic powers. U.S. aid was suspended in 1961 to demonstrate disapproval of
Duvalier's policies.
On April 19, 1963, a military plot against Duvalier was
uncovered and crushed. Haitian police invaded the Dominican embassy to seize
government foes but withdrew when Dominican President Juan Bosch threatened to
use armed force against them. The refusal of the Haitian government to permit
the embassy refugees to leave the country safely led to a buildup of Dominican
troops on the Haitian border. The troops withdrew on
May 13, but Haitian exiles in the Dominican Republic made several unsuccessful
invasions of Haiti in August in the hope of triggering a popular uprising. A
severe hurricane on October 4, followed by a landslide on November 10, caused
about 5500 deaths and much property damage.
A life term as president for Duvalier and a new red-and-black
flag (to symbolize the link between Haiti and Africa) were authorized by a new
constitution proclaimed in 1964. Rebel groups within the country remained
active, despite the oppressive tyranny of Duvalier and the Tontons Macoutes.
By 1967 the president had executed some 2000 political enemies and driven
others into exile.
In January 1971 the legislature amended the constitution to
permit Duvalier to name his son, Jean Claude Duvalier, as his successor. The
19-year-old Duvalier became president after the death of his father on April
21, 1971; the position was reaffirmed for life by a constitutional revision in
1985.
In the early and mid-1970s Jean Claude Duvalier consolidated
his power. Advisers loyal to his father's regime still held important
positions, and his mother exercised considerable influence. An exodus of
refugees to the Bahamas and to the United States during the late 1970s and
early 1980s, a result of political oppression and deepening poverty, drew
international attention to the Duvalier regime. As a result of rising
opposition Duvalier fled Haiti in early 1986 and settled temporarily in
France; a junta succeeded him.
Democratic Elections and Military Takeover
Leslie Manigat was elected president in January 1988 but was
ousted by the military in June.
Lieutenant General Prosper Avril emerged from a subsequent
power struggle as Haiti's president. Renewed political unrest, sparked by
deteriorating economic conditions, led Avril to resign the presidency and flee
in March 1990. Internationally supervised elections in December resulted in a
landslide presidential victory for Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a Roman Catholic
priest and an outspoken advocate for the poor. After the army crushed a mutiny
led by former officials of the Duvalier regime, Aristide was inaugurated in
February 1991. He was ousted by a military coup the following September and
went into exile in the United States.
The OAS imposed sanctions on the new military regime, but
negotiations for Aristide's return to office moved slowly. Of the thousands of
Haitians who attempted to flee to the United States, more than half were sent
back to Haiti by the U.S. Coast Guard. The UN imposed sanctions in June 1993,
then suspended them in August after the Haitian military and Aristide agreed
on a plan for his reinstatement as head of a democratic government by October
30. The military government, led by Lieutenant General Raoul Cédras, refused
to step down and the UN reimposed sanctions in mid-October. In December,
Aristide's prime minister and chief negotiator in Haiti, Robert Malval,
resigned. Gasoline and oil shortages caused by UN sanctions left relief
organizations unable to deliver food and medical supplies, although fuel was
being successfully smuggled into Haiti from the Dominican Republic. In May
1994 the UN imposed broader sanctions, including a ban on international air
travel, against Haiti's military rulers. The new sanctions, aimed at forcing
them to step down and allow Aristide to return to power, permitted only food
and medicine to be shipped into Haiti. In response to economic conditions
worsened by sanctions and continued repression by the military, the number of
Haitians fleeing the country and seeking political asylum in the United States
greatly increased. An additional 20,000 refugees attempted to reach the United
States in 1994. The UN passed a resolution that authorized member states to
use all necessary means to facilitate the return of Aristide.
U.S. Intervention
On September 16, 1994, the United States dispatched former
President Jimmy Carter, Senator Sam Nunn, and former Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell for talks with Haiti's military leadership.
Facing the threat of a U.S. invasion, the Cédras regime agreed to turn over
power to President Aristide. Under the agreement General Cédras, General
Philippe Biamby, and Chief of Police Lieutenant Colonel Michel François would
retire and their positions would be filled with rightfully appointed
individuals.
In return the U.S. negotiators guaranteed that the embargo on
Haiti would be lifted.
On September 19, a force of 20,000 U.S. troops arrived in
Haiti to oversee the transition from dictatorship to democracy. The troops
helped ensure a secure environment throughout the country by seizing weapons
and arresting former members of the police paramilitary. Generals Cédras and
Biamby were offered exile in Panama and they departed the country in October;
François left for the Dominican Republic.
Aristide's Return
On September 29 the UN embargo was lifted and on October 15,
President Aristide returned to Haiti. In November he
named his former commerce minister, Smarck Michel, as the new prime minister.
In November Aristide announced he had given up the priesthood.
President Aristide's return raised the hopes of many Haitians
for peace, reconciliation, and economic revival.
Haiti's economy, never very strong to begin with, was weakened
to the point of collapse by the military takeover and subsequent international
embargo. Much of Haiti's infrastructure-including port facilities, bridges,
and roadways-also deteriorated. Large amounts of international aid have been
earmarked for the improvement and stabilization of
Haiti. Part of the stabilization process includes the disbanding, retraining,
and redeployment of the nation's police and military. In early 1995 U.S.
forces left Haiti and the UN Mission in Haiti took
over.