Oh, bitter-sweet Haiti! One must understand Haiti's turbulent past to appreciate its present strides in returning it to a position of prominence among the many Caribbean destinations.
» Haiti General Information
Area: 27,750 sq km (10,714 sq miles)
Capital: Port-au-Prince
Currency: Gourde (HTG)
GNI per capita: US $660 (World Bank, 2008)
Language: Kreyòl, French
Main exports: Light manufactures, coffee, oils, mangoes
Passport valid for six months from date of entry required by all.
› Public Holidays
January 1, Independence Day/New Year's Day; January 2, Ancestry Day; January 6, Epiphany; April 14, Good Friday; April 14, Americas Day; May 18, Flag Day and University Day; May 25, Ascension; May 22, Sovereignty and Thanksgiving Day; June 15, Corpus Christi; August 15, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; October 17, Death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines; October 24, United Nations Day; November 1, All Saints Day; November 18, Vertières Day or Armed Forces Day; December 5, Discovery of Haiti; December 25, Christmas Day.
› Visas
Not required for touristic stays of up to six months except by nationals of China (PR), Colombia, Dominican Republic and Panama who do require a tourist visa.
» Haiti History
The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
