INTL 190 - Haiti in a Transnational Context

Haiti's history

According to Adam M. Silvia on An Island Luminous, Haiti is the former home of Arawaks. When Hispaniola was discovered, the island was predominantly inhabited by Taino people. Their primary crops are cassava and sweet potato. Christopher Columbus discovered Tainos in 1492 and quickly returned to Spain to report to the royal family. However, when a ship ran aground and could not bring the entire crew back to Spain, Navidad was founded on the island. Provoked by Spain, Tainos destroyed the castle. When Columbus returned in 1493, he found no one alive. He established a colony in Hispaniola, and colonization of the island began. The Spanish people who lived on these lands became enslaved. However, as the Tainos dwindled due to disease, colonists began importing more and more enslaved Africans as workers, which led to the Atlantic slave trade. Also, the beginning of the tragic fate of enslaved people.

According to Murdo J. MacLeod on Britannica, French pirates settled on the island in the mid-16th century. Later, both French and English pirates established bases there. In the 1660s, the French established ports in the northwest, and the French West Indies Company took control of the region. In 1697, Spain formally ceded the western third of Hispaniola to France. Later, the French renamed it, Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo entered the French colonial period. Between 1791 and 1804, Haiti broke out The Haitian Revolution and declared independence on January 1st, 1804. However, in the 1890s, the United States tried to control Haiti's military and business privileges. Furthermore, the U.S. controlled Haiti from 1915 to 1934.



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