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Research on Haiti Essay

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HAITI: IT’S PAST AND PRESENT Haiti is the second largest Caribbean Island. It occupies a third of the western part of the island it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is also made up of several islands that surround the main territory. The capital is Port-au-Prince. It rains between November and March in the North of the island and between May and October in the South. “Once covered by forest, the country has been heavily logged for wood and fuel and to clear land for farming, and is now largely deforested.” Haiti is divided into “nine administrative departments.” Besides the capital, other important cities are Cap-Haitien and Gonaives. “Haiti is the most densely populated country in Latin America and has the lowest per …show more content…

Before the war, the whole island of Hispaniola had belonged to Haiti for 22 years. The Dominican War of Independence of 1844 was led by twenty year old Juan Pablo Duarte. Duarte along with Matias Ramon Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sanchez formed a group they called La Trinitaria or the Trinity. They recruited many people and kept their actions very secret to avoid detection by any Haitian authorities. The group was eventually discovered and it was forced to change its name to La Filantropica or The Philanthropic. The group continued to make trouble for the Haitians. In 1843 the group had a break as it worked with a “liberal Haitian party” they were able to overthrow the president. Their success continued and on February 27, 1844, Dominican rebels seized the Fortaleza Ozama in Santo Domingo. Within days all Haitian officials left Santo Domingo. The war continued and the Dominican Republic continued to defend against Haitian attacks. The Republic went on to win more wars against Haiti’s attacks. “In November 6, 1844 a Constituent assembly drafted a constitution, based on the Haitian and United States models, which established separation of powers and legislative checks on the executive.” The war continued throughout September and November of 1845. The war for independence was foreseeable as tensions built over the twenty two years in which Haiti had control of the island. The relationship between

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