Jared+Cooper

Jared Cooper

Topic 1: Geography and Climate

The Haitian climate is tropical with some variation depending on altitude. Encyclopedia of nations says as follows “Port-Au-Prince ranges in January from an average minimum of 23° C (73° F ) to an average maximum of 31° C (88° F ); in July, from 25–35° C (77–95° F ).” The capital Port-Au-Prince gets rained on an average annual rainfall of 137 cm (54 in). Encyclopedia of nations also says “The rainfall pattern is varied, with rain heavier in some of the lowlands and on the northern and eastern slopes of the mountains.” And there are two wet seasons, April–June and October–November. In Haiti droughts and floods are usual and hurricanes are also a menace.” The Haitian area is only about 28,000 square kilometers, about the size of the state of Maryland. The US Library of Congress says that “It occupies the western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola” and it also states that “[The] Dominican Republic takes up the eastern two-thirds [of the island of Hispaniola].” And Haiti has two peninsulas, one up north and one down in the south. The library of congress also states that “[the] Northwest of the northern peninsula is the Windward Passage, a strip of water that separates Haiti from Cuba”. In the east the edge of Haiti borders the Dominican Republic. After a series of agreements the latest of which was the Protocol of Revision of 1936 which set the 388-kilometer eastern border. The major parts of Haiti have three regions: the northern region, which includes the northern peninsula near the Windward Passage; the central region; and the southern region, which includes the southern peninsula. Also, Haiti controls several nearby islands.





Source of Image:
 * http://www.intercarto.com/EN/map-of-haiti-physical-version-1474-538.html

Topic 2: History

The Island of Hispaniola was indigenous inhabited by Indians called the Arawak Indians. Then in 1492 Christopher Columbus Discovered it and named the island Hispaniola. While landing one of his three ships the Santa Maria ran aground and was rebuilt into Cap-Haϊtien a fort. When later Columbus sailed away with two ships he sailed to what is now the Dominican Republic. What the Spaniards found was gold! Soon people from near and far Looked for riches. Meanwhile a few soldiers stayed on Hispaniola to protect Cap-Haϊtien. The natives raided the fort and killed the soldiers that stayed behind. Meanwhile the settlers in what is now Dominican Republic enslaved the natives. A short while later most Indians died because of the hard Labor brought on by mining gold and growing food. In the early 17th century, the French made a statement that they were there on Hispaniola. In 1697, the Spaniards gave to the French the western Part of the Hispaniola, which is now Haiti. The French colony was based on timber and agriculture and they became one of the riches countries in the Caribbean but for a short lived period which lasted only through heavy importation of slaves and considerable damage of the ecosystem. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'ouverture. After an elongated struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare independence in 1804. In more recent times a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck an already poor Haiti in January 2010 with an epicenter about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-Au-Prince. Sadly Millions are homeless and thousands are dead but experts say “it is a chance to build back better”



Source of Image:
 * http://libcom.org/history/columbus-indians-discovery-america

Topic 3: Architecture

But the gem of Haiti is not an island or a beach it’s its architecture with beautiful buildings and scenic views Port-Au-Prince is truly Haiti’s Gem. The city of Port-Au-Prince has a lot of different types of buildings, ranging from normal office buildings to Classic houses resembling Ginger bread houses to modern homes. On the hill named Place du Champ-de-Mars stands the National Palace, Also the army barracks and Last but not least the statue of Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Some other must see places are the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the National Archives, National Library, and finally the National Museum. The main institution called The University of Haiti was founded in 1944. The capital Port-Au-Prince was laid out in 1749 by the French and called L'Hopital. Similarly the United States capital Washington DC was also laid out by the French. It was damaged by earthquakes in 1751 and 1770 and Later but much worse by the earth quake in 2010 that left millions homeless and thousands dead. Haiti now with thousands of support dollars will try to build out of the rubble and build back a nation. In early January of 2010 a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hurt, crushed, broke and, killed as many as several hundred thousand people. The earthquake destroyed most of the capital of Port-Au-Prince, a city of 2 million, and up heaved the government literally the capital was physical up heaved and nearly Destroyed. The New York Times Upfront (Vol. 142, No. 10) Mar 1, 2010 says that “Redevelopment experts say that might be the silver lining in Haiti's devastation: It presents a chance to ‘build back better.’”

Source of Image:
 * http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Central_America/Haiti/North/Nord/Cap_Haitien/photo867268.htm

Topic 4: Economy Now and Then

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Even though this seems wrong it is not Haiti throughout its history has been plagued with terrible things earthquakes, droughts and, floods that have done terrible things to Haiti’s economy but let’s take a step back to the settlers who as previously stated were very rich where they went astray. They’re economy was built on slaves and they only thrived on the heavy importation of slaves who would later revolt against the French and become Haiti. But the economy is almost completely dependent on farming. Who would do the farming the slaves would and they thought they were passed that stage but they were not and so the country had to learn how to run its self. Eventually they learned but alas it was too late. Some eventually got their act together and made it over the poverty line but 80% did not and the average Haitian today now only makes $1,200 annually in modern United States dollars which I would personally starve on. The worst part is that now everyone is at square one because of the earthquake and the destruction of thousands of houses. This has led to thought that the more togetherness might lead to more cooperation which might translate to building back into a more friendly country.



Source of Image: http://theformofmoney.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2010/1/24/4437120.html

Material for this presentation came from the following sources:
 * World Book Inc., World Book 2009
 * CIA “Haiti,” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html
 * JRank "Haiti" http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Haiti.html
 * User rswa "COUNTRY PROFILE: HAITI" http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Haiti.pdf
 * New York Times Upfront (Vol. 142, No. 10) Mar 1, 2010

 1.1.1. New York Times Upfront  (Vol. 142, No. 10)  Mar 1, 2010