Landowners in western Hispaniola imported increasing numbers of African slaves, which totaled about 5,000 in the late 17th century. Subsequently both French and British buccaneers held bases there. The adults covered their bodies with the red drapery of a “roucou” fruit. Eventually, the poor whites and slaves rebelled, causing the Haitian revolution. They were courageous, united and good working men. Haiti was one of several landfalls Christopher Columbus made during his first voyage to the New World in 1492. They provided him with hospitality, and even allowed them to build the fort of the Nativite, the first Spanish establishment of the new world. This led to a revolution that eventually resulted in independence in 1804. Others became fervent adherents of Roman Catholicism, and many began to practice both religions. The Corona Crisis Around the World: A Year On, Russian Literature around the World: Eugene Onegin, The Pleasure-Purpose Principle and How We Can Be Happier This Lockdown, Bible Translation: The Present, the Past and its Future, How Czechs See Classic Russian Literature: Oblomov, Traditional Korean Music: Trendier and Trendier. The next 212 years were full of instability and violence. The Tainos were a peaceful semi-sedentary people. Depend what you mean by Haitian. Some slaves managed to escape into the mountainous interior, where they became known as Maroons and fought guerrilla battles against colonial militia. While Haiti, formerly Saint Domingue under French control, was at one time the world’s wealthiest sugar and coffee producer, the tides have changed in terms of Haiti … Haiti was once the French colony of Saint-Domingue, the wealthiest, most profitable colony in the world. The Taino, an Arawak group, became dominant; also prominent were the Ciboney. Among those "influences" is the history of occupation by France and the United States. The Arawak and other indigenous peoples later developed large communities there. Malnutrition and starvation also were common, because plantation owners failed to plan adequately for food shortages, drought, and natural disasters, and slaves were allowed scarce time to tend their own crops. On top of that, if Columbus had not found the island, the island would not have been ‘civilized’. Large numbers of slaves, Maroons, and affranchis found solace in Vodou (Voodoo), a syncretic religion incorporating West African belief systems. They aspired to the economic and social levels of the Europeans, and they feared and spurned the slave majority; however, the colonists generally discriminated against them, and the aspirations of the affranchis became a major factor in the colony’s struggle for independence. Emperor Dessalines tried to create a court but his efforts were the subjectof ridicule by the more educated mulattoes. French pirates in the mid-16th century entrenched themselves firmly on Tortue Island and other islands off the western end of Hispaniola. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. —Thomas Jefferson (1804) Despite its long periods of economic and political isolation, Haiti has always been an important global center, and a particularly modern entity. Italian navigator Christopher Columbus sighted Quisqueya on Dec. 6, 1492, and named it La Isla Española (“The Spanish Island”), later Anglicized as Hispaniola. Their name indicates this – “Tainos” is a word in their language which refers to these aspects. By the 1780s nearly two-thirds of France’s foreign investments were based on Saint-Domingue, and the number of stopovers by oceangoing vessels sometimes exceeded 700 per year. In the 17th century, France colonized on part of the Island and renamed it Saint-Dominigue. They make them check for gold and coins in rivers. The whole Island was once under the control of Spain in 1942 after Columbus made an appearance. The devastating trans-formation of Haiti from a verdant productive country to a landscape of desert chaparral and relentless … Around 1492, Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus, while in the service of Spanish Catholic monarchs Isabelle de Castille and Ferdinand d’Aragon, discovered Bohio -“Haiti”- in the high mountains. In the 1660s the French founded Port-de-Paix in the northwest, and the French West Indies Corporation took control of the area. Over the next few decades the Spanish enslaved vast numbers of Taino and Ciboney to mine for gold. Slaves in the colony, like those throughout the Caribbean, endured lengthy, backbreaking workdays and often died from injuries, infections, and tropical diseases. The Taino Civilization The island that now includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic was first inhabited by approximately 400,000 indigenous people like the Arawak Taíno and Ciboney.The Arawak Taíno called this island Quisqueya (Mother of the Earth) and Haiti (Land of Mountains), the latter of which was preserved by Haitian Creole language and made into the island’s official name. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Haiti was colonized by Spain in the 15th century after Christopher Columbus discovered Hispaniola in 1492. The Tainos used drums, lambie, and music for entertainment. Columbus established a makeshift settlement on the north In 1789 Saint-Domingue had an estimated population of 556,000, including roughly 500,000 African slaves—a hundredfold increase over the previous century—32,000 European colonists, and 24,000 affranchis (free mulattoes [people of mixed African and European descent] or blacks). The island that now includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic was first inhabited about 5000 bce, and farming villages were established about 300 bce. In 1804, General Dessalines assumed dictatorial power, and Haiti became the second independent nation in the Americas. The expansion of banks such as Citigroup into Cuba, Haiti, and beyond reveal a story of … They mostly prayed for protection from bad luck through amulets. Located in the Caribbean, Haiti (View: A Map of Haiti) occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, with the Dominican Republic in the eastern two-thirds. France claimed one-third of Hispaniola, naming its colony Saint-Domingue. Today, Haiti is a completely free country. We had the original indigenous of the island original name (Ayiti, Kiskeya, Boyo) that were the Taino and Ciboney , then the African brought as slaves. With the encouragement of then King Of France, Louis XIV, the growing of tobacco, indigo, cotton, coffee and … I believe that the discovery of the island has brought both advantages and disadvantages for our new world. Spanish Discovery and Colonization. The success of the Spanish in Haiti would soon attract other colonizers to the ‘New World’. Your email address will not be published. On his arrival he called the Tainos “Indians” because of their ‘red skin’. Dessalines tried to establishties between the black and mulatto leadership by encouraging marriages. The Treaty of Rijswijk (1697) formally ceded the western third of Hispaniola from Spain to France, which renamed it Saint-Domingue. They were colonized because of their kindness and their ignorance. And two centuries ago, Haiti also became the first country with independent black people in the world. The Arawak and other indigenous peoples later developed large communities there. The years between 1659 and 1791 are the only period of political stability Haiti has known. Many power hungry men who cared little for their people controlled Haiti. Thousands of slaves imported from other Caribbean islands met the same fate.