Haiti

Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of The Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is 27,750 km² (10,714 sq mi), the third largest country in the Caribbean, and has an estimated population of 11.4 million, making it the most populous Caribbean country. The capital is Port-au-Prince.

The island was originally inhabited by the Taíno people. The first Europeans arrived in December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus. Columbus founded the first European settlement in the Americas, La Navidad, on what is now the northeastern coast of Haiti. The island was claimed by Spain, forming part of the Spanish Empire until the early 17th century. Competing claims and settlements led to the west of the island being ceded to France in 1697, which was subsequently named Saint-Domingue. French colonists established sugarcane plantations, worked by enslaved persons brought from Africa, which made the colony one of the world's richest.

In the midst of the French Revolution, enslaved persons, maroons, and free people of color launched the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), led by a former slave and general of the French Army, Toussaint Louverture. Napoleon's forces were defeated by Louverture's successor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines (later Emperor Jacques I), who declared Haiti's sovereignty on 1 January 1804, leading to a massacre of the French. The country became the first independent nation of the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, the first country in the Americas to officially abolish slavery, and only country established by a slave revolt. President Jean-Pierre Boyer decided to invade and occupy Santo Domingo in February 1822, which eventually led to the long Haitian–Dominican war. Defeated, Haiti recognized Dominican independence in 1867, following their declaration in 1844. Haiti's first century of independence was characterized by political instability, ostracism by the international community, payment of a crippling debt to France and the vast cost of the war and the occupation of Santo Domingo. Political volatility and foreign economic influence prompted the US to occupy the country between 1915 and 1934. The last contingent of US Marines departed on August 15, 1934, after a formal transfer of authority to the Garde and Haïti regained its independence. François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier took power in 1957, ushering in a long period of autocratic rule continued by his son, Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier, that lasted until 1986; the period was characterized by state-sanctioned violence against the opposition and civilians, corruption, and economic stagnation. The country endured a 2004 coup d'état, which prompted U.N. intervention, as well as a catastrophic earthquake in 2010 that killed over 250,000 people and a cholera outbreak. Many countries canceled Haiti's debt, including France and the United States. With its deteriorating economic situation, Haiti has experienced a socioeconomic and political crisis marked by riots and protests, widespread hunger, and increased gang activity. As of February 2023, Haiti has no remaining elected government officials and has been described as a failed state.

Haiti is a founding member of the United Nations, Organization of American States (OAS), Association of Caribbean States, and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. In addition to CARICOM, it is a member of the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Historically poor and politically unstable, Haiti has the lowest Human Development Index in the Americas, as well as widespread slavery.