Haiti

I don't know anything about the politics of Haiti, but I have been there before and it is a beautiful little country.

i think its a very poor country

Politics

Main article: Politics of Haiti

See also: Elections in Haiti , National Assembly of Haiti , and President of Haiti

The politics of Haiti takes place in a framework of a presidential republic . It is a pluriform multiparty system in which the President of Haiti is head of state directly elected by popular vote. The Prime Minister acts as head of government and is appointed by the President from the majority party in the National Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the President and Prime Minister who together constitute the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Assembly of Haiti . The government is organized unitarily. Therefore, 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 March 29, 1987 . The country has a particularly high level of corruption .

Independence

The French government changed and the legislature began to rethink its decisions on slavery in the colonies. After Toussaint L'Ouverture created a separatist constitution, Napoleon Bonaparte sent an expedition of 30,000 men under the command of his brother-in-law, General Charles Leclerc , to retake the island. Leclerc's mission was to oust Louverture and restore slavery. The French achieved some victories. Leclerc invited Toussaint Louverture to a parley , kidnapped him and sent him to France, where he was imprisoned at Fort de Joux. He died there in 1803 of exposure and tuberculosis [ 4] or malnutrition and pneumonia.

The native leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines , long an ally of Toussaint Louverture, defeated the French troops led by Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau at the Battle of Vertières . At the end of the double battle for emancipation and independence, former slaves proclaimed the independence of Saint-Domingue on 1 January 1804, declaring the new nation as Haiti, honoring one of the indigenous Taíno names for the island. It is the only nation born of a slave revolt [ 4] .

Dessalines was proclaimed Emperor for life by his troops.[ 5] He exiled the remaining whites and ruled as a despot. He was assassinated on 17 October 1806. The country was divided then between a kingdom in the north directed by Henri Christophe , and a republic in the south directed by a gens de couleur Alexandre Pétion . Henri Christophe is best known for constructing the Citadelle Laferriere , the largest fortress in the Western Hemisphere, to defend the island against the French. President Jean Pierre Boyer , also a gens de couleur , managed to reunify the two halves and extend control again over the western part of the island.

In July 1825, the king of France Charles X sent a fleet of fourteen vessels and troops to reconquer the island. To maintain independence, President Boyer agreed to a treaty by which France recognized the independence of the country in exchange for a payment of 150 million francs (the sum was reduced in 1838 to 90 million francs) - an indemnity for profits lost from the slave trade. The French abolitionist Victor Schoelcher wrote "Imposing an indemnity on the victorious slaves was equivalent to making them pay with money that which they had already paid with their blood."

A long succession of coups followed the departure of Jean-Pierre Boyer. National authority was disputed by factions of the army, the elite class and the growing commercial class, now made up of numerous immigrants: Germans , Americans , French and English .

History

Main article: History of Haiti

See also: 2004 Haitian rebellion  and United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti

The island of Hispaniola , of which Haiti occupies the western third, was originally inhabited by the Taíno Arawaks , a seafaring branch of the South American Arawaks. Christopher Columbus landed at Môle Saint-Nicolas on 5 December 1492, and claimed the island for Spain. Nineteen days later, his ship the Santa María ran aground near the present site of Cap-Haitien ; Columbus was forced to leave 39 men, founding the settlement of La Navidad . Ayiti, which means "mountainous land", is a name used by the Taíno-Arawak people, who also called some sections of it Bohio, meaning "rich villages". Kiskeya is yet a third term that has been attributed to the Taínos for the island.

The Taíno population on Hispaniola was divided through a system of established cacicazgos (chiefdoms), named Marien, Maguana, Higuey, Magua and Xaragua, which could be further subdivided. The cacicazgos (later called caciques in French) were tributary kingdoms, with payment consisting of food grown by the Taíno. Taino cultural artifacts include cave paintings in several locations in the nation, which have become national symbols of Haiti and tourist attractions. Modern-day Léogane , a town in the southwest, is at the epicenter of what was the chiefdom of Xaragua.

1510 pictograph telling a story of missionaries arriving in Hispaniola

Following the destruction of La Navidad by the Amerindians, Columbus moved to the eastern side of the island and established La Isabela . One of the earliest leaders to fight off Spanish conquest was Queen Anacaona , a Taíno princess from Xaragua who married Chief Caonabo, a Taíno king (cacique) from Maguana. The two resisted European rule but to no avail; she was captured by the Spanish and executed in front of her people. To this day, Anacaona is revered in Haiti as one of the country's first founders, preceding the likes of founding fathers such as Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines . The Spaniards exploited the island for its gold, mined chiefly by local Amerindians directed by the Spanish occupiers. Those refusing to work in the mines were slaughtered or forced into slavery. Europeans brought chronic infectious diseases with them that were new to the Caribbean. Diseases were the most powerful of the elements because the Taíno had no natural immunity, but ill treatment, malnutrition and a drastic drop of the birthrate also contributed to reduction of the indigenous population.

The Spanish governors began importing enslaved Africans for labor. In 1517, Charles V , authorized the draft of slaves. The Taínos became virtually extinct on the island of Hispaniola. Some who evaded capture fled to the mountains and established independent settlements. These survivors mixed with escaped African slaves (runaways called maroons) and produced a multiracial generation called zambos . French settlers later called people of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry marabou . The mestizo increased in number from children born to relationships between native women and European men. Others were born as a result of unions between African women and European men, who were called mulâtre in French.

The western part of Hispaniola soon was settled by French buccaneers . Among them, Bertrand D'Ogeron succeeded in growing tobacco, which prompted many of the numerous buccaneers and freebooters to turn into settlers. This population did not submit to Spanish royal authority until the year 1660 and caused a number of conflicts.

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République d'Haïti
Repiblik Ayiti

Haiti (pronounced /?he?ti?/ ; French Haïti , pronounced:  [a.iti] ; Haitian Creole : Ayiti ), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti  ; Repiblik Ayiti ), is a Creole - and French -speaking Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic , it occupies the island of Hispaniola , in the Greater Antillean archipelago . Ayiti (Land of high mountains) was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the mountainous western side of the island. The country's highest point is Pic la Selle , at 2,680 metres (8,793 ft). The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres (10,714 sq mi ) and its capital is Port-au-Prince .

Haiti's regional, historical, and ethnolinguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation in Latin America , the first post-colonial independent black -led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion . Despite having common cultural links with its Hispano-Caribbean neighbors, Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas , and one of only two (along with Canada ) which designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking countries are all overseas départements or collectivités of France .

MY FIRST-HAND REPORT ON HAITI

I have been there, to Port Au Prince, the capital and outlying areas in that sections.

The topography of the island is BEAUTIFUL.

However, almost everything is depressing.  The poverty there is not in isolated areas (as we see in the U.S.) it is EVERYWHERE ... you can hardly escape the stench, unslightly structures (including shacks which most live in) and the obviously mass poorness (people carrying dead goats and sheep in the heat on their back, taking it to and from the markets on dirt roads.  A $1 a month use to feed a person when I was there a (some years ago).  Flies on food is common to see.  It's a dirty place with stench downtown.

Now a very small percentage of people (surely less than 1%) have wealth and they live up in the mountains in palacial homes with servants (the government leaders and a handful of business and profession people).  The few resorts that are up in the mountains with majestic views out over the ocean are very nice and you will be served and waited on like a king if you stay in on of them (and they are relatively cheap, since a dollar is a big deal in Haiti, and $5 is big money).  

As long as I can remember, the government in Haiti has been horrible, going back to the days that "Poppa Doc" was the dictator.   Chicago is known for its pay-offs and corruption all through government (last governor indicted, nothing new in Chicago).  But in Chiago, not everybody pays and accepts brides, they just know that its common place.  In Haiti, the corruption is much more open and notorious and most eveybody knows if you need or want something that government has ANYTHING to do with, you need to plan to "pay off" to get it accomplished.

There is some good art there, which is little known or appreciated in USA.  Mostly wood carvings, some of the natives (especially those living in mountains and remote villages) start carving at young ages (with little but time on their hands) and many become very good at it, some amazingly good.  They sell their carvings cheap (for most part) to anyone who happens along the road with dollar bills.  They do some colorful paintings too, not of highest quality, but colorful and often depicting a lot about life in Haiti.

For the most part, most Haitians are rather docile (a result of growing up where you have nothing and are at mercy of bad government) and friendly and likable.  I don't know about crime in Haiti, but the police have been known to be very tough and even had special "hit squads" that were known to eliminate those who were in disfavor with the dictator or elected head of state.  Not sure if the police "hit squads" still exist; there have been some efforts to try and improve the country with "elections" in the last couple decades.

I am glad I went and have seen such massive poverty first hand.  I don't think I will ever go back however.  I have visited many other South American countries, but this is the worst I have ever seen.

Sorry if this offends anyone.  Just telling it as I saw it.

ROB