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The island of Ay-ti -

Few nations in the world are internationally known by their indigenous name. Haiti, however, and the entire island of Hispaniola that it shares with the Dominican Republic, was known as Ay-ti by its original inhabitants who arrived by boat from Central and South America around 5000 BCE.

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The first inhabitants of the Land of the Mountains -

In Taíno-Arawakan, Ay-ti means the "Land of the Mountains." Hispaniola was then, as it is today, covered in green mountains that dominate the center of the island. The indigenous Taíno and Ciboney peoples, and their Arawakan languages, are closely related to the Yanomami of the Amazon basin.

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The Taíno people -

The Taíno were the main inhabitants of not only Ay-ti but also Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, and many other Caribbean islands. Across the Caribbean, the Taíno established sedentary settlements and adhered to a matrilineal hierarchy. As island folk, the Taíno were wonderfully skilled fishermen and and equally adept farmers. Subsistence and goods came from a diverse range of plants and animals including manatees, small land mammals, yucca, and corn.

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The five chiefdoms of Quisqueya -

At the time of Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Caribbean, Ay-ti, also known as Quisqueya or "Mother of all Lands," was divided into five principle chiefdoms: Marién, Maguá, Maguana, Jaragua, and Higüey.

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The five chiefdoms of Quisqueya -

Modern-day Haiti occupies the western half of ancient Ay-ti, where most of the Jaragua and Marién chiefdoms once were, along with about half of the Maguana chiefdom. The Taíno chiefdoms were all led by caciques, who could be male or female, and all cooperated together.

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Columbus arrives in Hispaniola -

Christopher Columbus reached the island he dubbed La Isla Española, or Hispaniola for short, on December 9, 1492. As was the case with many of the already-inhabited Caribbean islands Columbus "discovered," the explorer claimed ownership of Hispaniola on behalf of the Spanish Crown of Castille. The indigenous Taíno residents were at first receptive to the 39 newcomers Columbus had left to settle on the island, but relations quickly soured and a conflict began that continued to some degree for centuries.

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Anacaona -

Anacaona was the beloved cacique of the Jaragua at the time of the Spaniards' arrival. Under her leadership, coexistence between the settlers and the Taíno flourished; cooperation and intermarriage was commonplace. In 1503, however, Nicolás de Ovando, the Spanish-appointed governor of Hispaniola, decided that Anacaona and the island's other caciques had too much power and ordered their captures and executions. The hanging of Anacaona, a beloved leader, poet, and musician, changed the relationship between the inhabitants of Ay-ti and the settlers of Hispaniola forever.

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The smallpox epidemic of 1507 -

Some years after the first colonial conflict on Hispaniola, during which the islands indigenous people were subjected to forced labor on plantations and in gold mines, the first recorded smallpox epidemic shocked and decimated the Taíno population. Smallpox, a European disease against which the Taíno had no natural immunity, along with artificial famine and servitude, killed over 90% of the native population by 1514.

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The first enslaved peoples are brought to Hispaniola -

Africans captured, bought, and sold into chattel slavery began to arrive in Hispaniola almost immediately after the settlement of Europeans. By 1505, Columbus' son Diego Columbus was in charge of the massive and lucrative slave trade in and out of Hispaniola.

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The despotism of the Columbus family -

The father-son duo of Christopher and Diego Columbus proved an efficient vehicle of catastrophe for the Caribbean. Diego took over the post of Viceroy of the Indies from his father in 1508 and set up his headquarters in Santo Domingo, the main settlement on the eastern side of Hispaniola in the modern-day Dominican Republic. Throughout his reign, Columbus followed in his father's footsteps, squashing every inkling of revolt and resistance across the Caribbean, leading to the almost-total decimation of the Taíno population and the massive import of enslaved Africans so large that it overshadowed the rate of European immigration into the area.

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Maroons in the mountains -

Throughout the 16th century, self-liberated Africans and Taíno escaped into the mountains to form the islands first maroon settlements. Living in the woods and mountains, safe from European oppression and influence, these maroon communities were able to preserve their native and African customs and develop new, Hispaniola-specific customs and spiritualities. While settling safely away from European dangers, maroon communities fought consistently with their still-enslaved brethren against oppression and slavery.

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The First Ayitian Revolution -

It didn't take long for the enslaved populations of Hispaniola to organize and rise up against their European oppressors. In 1521, the First Ayitian Revolution took place, and is today remembered as the first of the many revolts against colonialism that mark the history of Haiti. The uprising began on Christmas Day, when a group of 20 Africans raided and destroyed Diego Columbus' plantation near Santo Domingo. Soon, groups of Taíno maroons joined in the revolt, led by cacique-in-exile Enriquillo. This attack galvanized maroon communities across Hispaniola, and fragmented attacks on settler plantations continued to strike fear into the hearts of settlers well into the 18th century.

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Hispaniola and the pirates -

Hispaniola's shaky and caustic political situation made it a haven for pirates as well. With most of the commerce and conflict occurring on the eastern side of the island, in the modern-day Dominican Republic, the western side was left largely unattended. French buccaneers and pirates began to settle and build their own plantations and trading posts.

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The Peace of Ryswick -

By the end of the 17th century, the French pirate presence in western Hispaniola became a legitimate French presence, and conflict between the French and the Spaniards was widespread. In 1697, at the end of the Nine Year's War between France and the anti-French Grand Alliance that included Spain, the Peace of Ryswick was signed. This treaty put an official end to the European conflicts on Hispaniola, politically separating the island between the Spanish Santo Domingo in the east and the French Saint-Domingue, which would become Haiti shortly over a century later, in the west.

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Life on Saint-Domingue -

For the Caribbean and African inhabitants of Saint-Domingue, little changed in daily life under official French rule. Now a primarily slavery-based economy, virtually all of the cultivable land in Saint-Domingue was developed into sugar, coffee, and tobacco plantations. The enslaved population of the colony outnumbered the free white and mixed population many times over.

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Creole culture -

Centuries of cultural mixing and intermarriage, both forced and voluntary, had created a unique creole environment in Saint-Domingue. A creole language that mixed French, Taíno-Arawakan, and African dialects emerged and was spoken by the vast majority of maroons and enslaved peoples. By the 18th century, the free ruling class wasn't exclusively European. The convoluted rules that dictated racial makeups and social positions allowed for the creation of a large demographic of free black and mixed-race citizens who were able to, and frequently did, own their own plantations and slaves.

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The advent of Vodou -

A spiritual system known as Vodou not only developed but blossomed amongst the native, creole, and African populations of Hispaniola and later Saint-Domingue. Ancient African and Taíno beliefs and a hint of Catholicism came together to form a vast pantheon of deities known as Iwa. Vodou became a source of solace and energy for the residents of the island fighting European oppression.

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François Mackandal -

One of the early heroes of the fight for Haitian independence was the North African-born maroon and Vodou priest François Mackandal (not pictured). During the 18th century, Mackandal galvanized maroon communities and enslaved people against the French ruling class.

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The Mackandalist uprising -

Mackandal frequently mixed poisons and distributed them amongst enslaved communities, enlisting them in a covert campaign against their oppressors. It is estimated that hundreds of plantation owners were killed through Mackandalist poisonings. These widespread killings struck fear into the hearts of the Europeans, and a colony-wide manhunt for Mackandal was undertaken out of fears that he would scare all lucrative European business interests off of the island. In or around 1758, François Mackandal was finally captured by colonial authorities and burned alive. The maroon hero was deified by the Haitian Vodou community, and many attendees of his execution claimed to have seen him rise from the flames after the death of his body.

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The Haitian Revolution -

Although he may have been executed, the spirit of Mackandal continued to fuel the desire for liberation amongst the maroons and the enslaved. One stormy night in August of 1791, a maroon Vodou priest by the name of Dutty Boukman held a secret Vodou ceremony with thousands of maroons and enslaved Africans present. Speaking on liberation, autonomy, and unity, the ceremony acted as a catalyst for revolutionary sentiments shared by all in attendance. That same night, those enslaved who attended the ceremony went back to their plantations and began to slaughter their oppressors in their sleep. In only 10 days, all of the northern province of Saint-Domingue was liberated and under rebel control.

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Toussaint Louverture -

Before long, a young former slave named Toussaint Louverture emerged as the new face of Haitian liberation. Inspired by the revolutionary energy of Boukman and the Enlightenment thinking that spurred the French Revolution and the Rights of Man, Louverture took the reins of leadership and spread the spirit of revolt throughout the entire French colony. Just one year later, slavery was officially abolished in Saint-Domingue.

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The world's only successful revolt against enslavement -

The Louverturian Revolt was the largest uprising of enslaved peoples since the days of Spartacus, the Roman slave who instigate the Third Servile War in 73 BCE. It was also the only slave rebellion in history that successfully led to the abolition of slavery and, eventually, an independent nation.

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Louverturian Saint-Domingue -

Of course, the legal abolition of slavery was only the first step towards real, material liberty. During the years that Louverture served as general and de facto ruler of Saint-Domingue under France, chains were broken and freedoms were won, but the once enslaved plantation workers were still more or less forced to work the fields for nominal pay. France, of course, was still in control politically and financially, but Louverture and his valiant pushes forward led to the true liberation of Haiti in 1803, one year after his death.

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Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the first independent Haiti -

On January 1, 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a protégé of Louverture, named himself the first emperor of Haiti. After hundreds of years, at least part of Hispaniola was called by its original name once more. Dessalines continued Louverture's work trying to preserve the liberty of Haiti's now overwhelmingly black population against European meddling.

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Haiti: A freedmen's paradise -

Although the first decades of freedom for Haiti were rocky and not without hardships, the infant island nation was a haven for black and African people escaping oppression from American and Caribbean countries where slavery was still in full effect. Early Haitian kings and presidents like Henri Christophe (pictured) and Jean-Pierre Boyer made a habit out of capturing slaver ships bound for Cuba or America passing through Haitian waters and liberating the people on board, welcoming them with open arms to Haiti. Additionally, anyone escaping slavery was granted asylum in Haiti, including those who led mutinies on slaver ships and changed course towards Haiti's shores.

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Turmoil throughout the years -

Even with legal liberation, the chains of debt caused persistent problems for Haiti's leadership and citizenry. Numerous presidents continued to use forced labor, albeit paid labor, to bolster the country's economy and lessen Haiti's dependence on foreign aid. Time and time again, the people of Haiti rose up against this new form of oppression, and president after king after emperor was deposed in quick succession.

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Turmoil throughout the years -

This turmoil lasted for centuries, with leaders of all political shades trying their hand at fortifying Haiti. Michel Domingue (pictured), who served as president from 1874 to 1876, succeeded in establishing amicable relations with the newly independent Dominican Republic after decades of conflict between the two nations of Hispaniola. Unfortunately, Domingue's domestic economic policy was severely unpopular, and he was forced into exile after serving only two years of his eight-year term.

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U.S. interference -

Presidents came and went in rapid succession, with shortened terms, coups, and untimely deaths becoming commonplace. In 1914, the United States, to which Haiti was extremely indebted, seized US$500,000 from Haiti's national bank and held it for "safe-keeping," leaving Haiti destitute. The next year, US President Woodrow Wilson sent a military occupation to the island nation and installed its own puppet government under the leadership of pro-American president Philippe Sudré Dartiguenave. The US occupation was vehemently opposed by Haitian citizens and militia groups, and finally ended in 1934.

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Duvalier totalitarianism -

As was the case in many places in the world, totalitarianism and fascism began to gain footing in Haiti during the 20th century. François Duvalier named himself President for Life in 1957 and remained in power until his death in 1971. These years were marked by fierce and violent political and public oppression at the hands of his private militia, and public executions of dissidents became commonplace. Duvalier's son took over for another 15 years and continued his father's policies of oppression.

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Jean-Bertrand Aristide -

Jean-Bertrand Aristide became Haiti's first democratically-elected president in 1991. Aristide had been a champion of the pro-democracy resistance during the Duvalier years, and as president supported democratic policies and campaigned for the normalization of Haitian creole culture and practices like Vodou. Aristide was overthrown by foreign-backed coups not once but twice, first in 1991 and again in 2004; the second of these coups was widely believed to have been orchestrated by France and the United States. Aristide was a champion of the working class, and called on France to deliver reparations for the centuries of enslavement in Haiti, but his habit of antagonizing foreign powers and the domestic ruling class ultimately led to his exile from 2004 to 2011.

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Haiti today -

The people of Haiti have proven over the centuries to be one of the most proud and resilient populations in the world. Through political turmoil, frequent natural disasters, and unrepentant physical and financial destruction from colonial and post-colonial powers, the culture of Haiti has remained vibrant and proud.

Sources: (Associated Press) (Restavek Freedom) (Age of Revolutions)

See also: Defining moments in black history

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