The Nation Report

Hannah Houze

Geography

• Haiti is on the western third of the island of Hispaniola

• West of the Dominican Republic, Haiti is between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean

• The climate is tropical, and by the mountains, semiarid

Geography

• Haiti lies in the middle of a hurricane belt and is subject to severe storms from June to October

• Periodic flooding and droughts also occur in Haiti

• Haiti is very mountainous and has fertile valleys in between the mountains

• The mountains and valleys dispersed throughout the country cause extreme areas of contrasting elevation throughout the country

People

• Discovered by Christopher Columbus, Haiti was originally claimed for Spain

• The Treaty of Ryswick splits territories to French controlled and Spanish controlled

• The French had over 500,000 slaves in Haiti

• The slaves revolted and overtook the French in 1803

People

• In 1989, the population of Haiti was 6.1 million

• In this time period, the majority of Haitians were young

• In Haiti, the social structure roughly consists of upper class, middle class, peasants, and urban lower class

Culture

• The Haitian Compas is a dance and musical genre that originated in Haiti

• In Haitian art, food and lush landscapes are favorite subjects

• Kanaval or carnival, is a Haitian festival celebrating an escape from daily life

Culture

• A “World Heritage Site” in Haiti are the Palace of Sans Souci and the Citadel

• The religion in Haiti is predominantly Roman Catholic

• Vodou is also widely practiced, and even some Christians participate in rituals

History

• December 5 1492, Columbus discovers Haiti

• 1697, Treaty of Ryswick and Haiti becomes Saint Domingue

• 1791 slaves rebel against the French who treated the slaves very poorly

• May of 1802, slavery is reintroduced to Haiti and rebellions and massacres ensue

History

• 1804 the North and South have a civil war: Petion vs. Christophe

• In 1820 Christophe commits suicide, and the civil war ends

• 1915, Americans invade Haiti. They leave in 1934, and Haiti prospers

Sources

• 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Haiti

• 2) http://www.travelinghaiti.com/history.asp• 3)

http://motherearthtravel.com/haiti/population.htm• 4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Haiti• 5)

http://www.language-works.com/Haiti/history.htm