America in Haiti, and Haiti in America 1492 -2010

From its initial discovery in 1492 by Christopher Columbus (who called the island Hispaniola), until 1697 when France and Spain divided the Island in two (the Western third – which ended up belonging to France – and was at that time called Saint-Domingue) grew and prospered as the richest colony in the Western Hemisphere due to the enormous profits earned from the growing of sugar, coffee, and indigo. These plantations were profitable in no mean part because they were operated by the French using an immense African slave population,

100 years later (in 1791), inspired by the French Revolution, Toussaint l’Ouverture (a former slave himself) led a revolution against the French that ultimately led to freedom, independence, and the establishment of the first nation born of an African slave revolt. At its conclusion, in 1804, he renamed the country Haiti - an indigenous Taíno word - used by its original inhabitants to describe its beautiful up-hill mountain ranges,

Unfortunately however, it has been pretty much all down-hill from there.

The 19th Century saw the country fall into rapid economic decline, with Haiti agreeing to pay France an unimaginable sum of money as reparations for the slave trade lost as a result of its struggle for independence - a sum many thought to have already been paid for by the blood of the revolutionaries.

And the first half of the 20th century saw American Marines intervene and occupy the country on behalf of the U.S.’ own economic interests. During that time they dismantled the constitution, established a harsh colonial system, and redrew Haiti’s border with its neighbor to the east, the Dominican Republic. Upon their departure in 1934, Dictator Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic proceeded to murder 20,000 Haitians left on the Dominican side of the border.

And things did not get better.

From 1956 to 1986 the country was ruled first by Françoise, and then by his son Jean-Claude Duvalier – known respectively as Papa Doc, and Baby Doc - and the Tonton Macute. This brutal and violent group indiscriminately massacred many thousands of people throughout the country, and precipitated a mass exodus of Haitians to the United States – mostly to places like Florida, New Jersey, and New York, where they constitute the majority of the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn.

The end of the 20th Century saw continued political strife in Haiti with the election - removal by coup - and reinstatement of Jean-Bertrand Aristide as President of Haiti.

The start of the 21st Century saw widespread violence and human rights abuses break out throughout the country, and in 2004 an armed revolt in the North forced Aristide to flee the country for good. Also in 2004 tropical storm Jeanne killed 3,000 people, and in 2008 hurricanes Gustav, Hannah and Ike left 800,000 people in need of humanitarian aid.

And then, on January 12th 2010, a 7.1 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince.