Introduction | Geography | History | Economy | People

Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Hispaniola for Spain in 1492. The French invaded in the 17th century and took possession of the west side of the island, creating large sugar cane and coffee plantations. Haiti became the biggest sugar producer and richest colony in the New World.

Mulattos, the children of white masters and African slaves, were technically free but treated as second-class citizens by the white minority. Their call for equality was echoed in the slave community, who made up the vast majority of the population. A slave revolt began in 1791, led by Toussaint L’Ouverture. At the May 1803 congress, a rebel leader grabbed the French tri-color flag of blue, white and red, and tore the white out of it, declaring that he would rip the white man out of the country. Independence was declared in 1804, making Haiti the world’s first black-led republic.

U.S. troops occupied the country from 1915 to 1934 after a long period of instability. Political turmoil ended in 1957 with the election of Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, who ruled until his death in 1971. He was succeeded by his 19-year-old son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc”, who fled to France 15 years later in the face of a popular uprising since he held power through the use of the army and secret police.

Since military rule was declared in 1988, there has been continuing unrest. After a succession of short-lived governments, a Roman Catholic priest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide became president by a landslide in a 1991 election, but was soon forced into exile by the military. Following a U.S.-led agreement, his power was restored, then his leadership tranferred through an election to President Preval in 1996. Aristide was re-elected in 2000 in an election which several parties boycotted due to disputes with the vote-counting of a previous parliamentary election. In February 2006, Preval was again elected, taking office in May.

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