lthough part of the Caribbean family of nations, Haiti’s historical experience distances this country of seven million inhabitants from the rest of the region. Haitian slaves rebelled against their white masters and proclaimed a free republic in 1804. The rest of the Caribbean nations obtained their independence more than a century later.

Haiti’s Palais National, typical of the colonial architectural heritage in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Toussant L’ Ouverture and Jean Jacques Dessaline led the independence movement which encountered numerous obstacles from the beginning.
During the 193 years of its existence, the Haitian Republic has witnessed the promulgation of 23 constitutions and the swearing-in of 42 chiefs of State, of which 7 remained in power for more than 10 years, 9 declared themselves presidents for life, and 29 were either assassinated or forced to seek exile.

The chronic instability provoked the first US intervention that lasted from 1915 to 1934. Seventy nine years later, in 1994, the US intervened again, under the auspices of the UN, to restore democracy and guarantee the return of Jean Bertrand Aristide, ousted by a military coup after winning a democratic election.

Haitian culture is an amalgam of African and French inheritance. While educated Haitians speak both Creole and French, the other two thirds of the population communicate almost exclusively in Creole. The capital Port-au-Prince is the second largest Francophone city on the American continent, after Montreal.