The recorded written history of Haiti began on 5 December 1492 when the European navigator Christopher Columbus happened upon a large island in the region of the western Atlantic Ocean that later came to be known as the Caribbean. It was inhabited by the Taíno, and Arawakan people, who variously called their island Ayiti, Bohio, or Kiskeya(Quisqueya). Columbus promptly claimed the island for the Spanish Crown, naming it La Isla Española, later Latinized to Hispaniola. French influence began in 1625, and French control of what was called Saint-Domingue—modern-day Haiti—began in 1660. From 1697 on, the western part of the island was French and the eastern part was Spanish. Haiti became one of the wealthiest of France's colonies, producing vast quantities of sugar and coffee and depended on a brutal slave system for the necessary labor. Inspired by the message of the French Revolution, Haitian slaves rose up in revolt in 1791 and after decades of struggle the independent republic of Haiti was officially proclaimed in 1804.
The government of Haiti is a semi-presidential republic, a multiparty system wherein the President of Haiti is head of state elected directly by popular elections. The Prime Minister acts as head of government and is appointed by the President, chosen from the majority party in the National Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the President and Prime Minister who together constitute the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Assembly of Haiti. The government is organized unitarily, thus the central government delegates powers to the departments without a constitutional need for consent. The current structure of Haiti's political system was set forth in the Constitution of March 29, 1987.
Jean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Baby Doc", was the President of Haiti from 1971 until he was overthrown by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father François "Papa Doc" Duvalier as the ruler of Haiti after his death in 1971. After assuming power, he introduced cosmetic changes to his father's regime and delegated much authority to his advisors. Thousands of Haitians were killed or tortured, and hundreds of thousands fled the country during his presidency. He maintained a notoriously lavish lifestyle while poverty among his people remained the most widespread of any country in the Western Hemisphere.
Matthieu Prosper Avril is a Haitian political figure who was President of Haiti from 1988 to 1990. A trusted member of François Duvalier's Presidential Guard and adviser to Jean-Claude Duvalier, Lt. Gen. Avril led the September 1988 Haitian coup d'état against a transition military government installed after Jean-Claude Duvalier's 1986 overthrow. He was President until March 1990, in a period which according to Amnesty International was "marred by serious human rights violations". He was arrested in 2001, but released in March 2004 after the 2004 Haitian coup d'état overthrew Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Henri Namphy was a Haitian general and political figure who served as President of Haiti's interim ruling body, the National Council of Government, from February 7, 1986 to February 7, 1988. He served again as President of Haiti from June 20, 1988 until his deposition on September 17, 1988 in the September 1988 Haitian coup d'état.
Cabaret is a commune in the Arcahaie Arrondissement, in the Ouest department of Haiti. In 2009, the commune had 62,063 inhabitants. During his dictatorship François Duvalier renamed it Duvalierville in 1961 a construction project was begun. Construction eventually stopped, but the name was kept until Duvalier's successor, his son Jean-Claude Duvalier, fled the country in 1986.
A constitutional referendum was held in Haiti on 14 June 1964 alongside general elections. The new constitution made President François "Papa Doc" Duvalier President for Life, with absolute power and the right to name his successor. It also changed the country's flag from blue and red to black and red, with the black symbolising the country's ties to Africa.
General elections were held in Haiti on 22 September 1957. Former Minister of Labour François Duvalier won the presidential election running under the National Unity Party banner, defeating Louis Déjoie, as well as independent moderate Clement Jumelle, who had dropped out on election day in a cloud of suspicions that the army was monitoring the election in favour of Duvalier. Former head of state Daniel Fignolé, considered a champion of poor blacks, was considered ineligible as he had been forcibly exiled months before the election, allegedly kidnapped.
The origins of the military history of Haiti lie in the country's revolution. A decade of warfare produced a military cadre from which Haiti's early leaders emerged. Defeat of the French demonstrated Haiti's considerable strategic stamina and tactical capabilities, but Haiti's victory did not translate into a successful national government or a strong economy. Lacking a strong constitution, Haiti was usually ruled by force. The armed forces, who had been united against the French, fragmented into warring regional factions. The military very soon took control of almost every aspect of Haitian life. Officers assumed responsibility for the administration of justice and for municipal management. According to a Haitian diplomat, the country was in its earlier days "an immense military camp." Without viable civilian institutions, Haiti was vulnerable to military personalities, who permanently shaped the nation's authoritarian, personalist, and coercive style of governance.
A constitutional referendum was held in Haiti on 22 July 1985. The amendments to the new constitution would restore multi-party politics, although only on the condition that all parties swore allegiance to President Jean-Claude Duvalier, as well as re-confirming Duvalier as President for Life and allowing him to single-handedly appoint the Prime Minister and his successor. The changes were reportedly approved by 99.98% of voters, although it was widely considered a sham and led to Duvalier being overthrown the following year.
A constititional referendum was held in Haiti on 30 January 1971. Before the referendum, the Haitian parliament had voted in favour of lowering the age limit for becoming president from 40 years to 20, as well as confirming Jean-Claude Duvalier, son of ailing Dictator François Duvalier as 21 years of age, which would allow him to succeed his father. The referendum asked Haitians the question:
Citizen Doctor François Duvalier. .. has chosen Citizen Jean-Claude Duvalier to succeed him to the Presidency for Life of the Republic. Does this choice answer your aspirations and your desires? Do you ratify it?
Parliamentary elections were held in Haiti on 30 April 1961. They followed the dissolution of Parliament by President François Duvalier and the abolition of the Senate, making the Chamber of Deputies a unicameral body. Duvalier's National Unity Party won all 67 seats in the elections, which were later re-interpreted as presidential elections in order to give Duvalier a six-year presidential term and avoid the need for scheduled presidential election in 1963.
Robert Newbegin II was an American diplomat. Born in Bangor, Maine, he was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts and graduated from Yale University. He entered the Foreign Service in 1929 and served in Berlin, Montevideo, Mexico City, Istanbul, Ankara, Ciudad Trujillo, Bogota and Paris, as well as Washington. He was appointed a Foreign Service inspector in 1952, director of the Office of Middle American Affairs in the State Department in 1954 and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for personnel in 1956.
The Anti-Duvalier protest movement was a series of demonstrations in Haiti from 23 May 1984 – 7 February 1986, that led to the overthrow of President Jean-Claude Duvalier and the Duvalier dynasty regime.
The Duvalier dynasty was an authoritarian family dictatorship in Haiti that lasted almost twenty-nine years, from 1957 until 1986, spanning the rule of the father and son pair François Duvalier and Jean-Claude Duvalier.
The period of 1859 to 1957 in Haitian history covers an era of political struggles, the period of American occupation and multiple coups and elections until the Duvalier dynasty seized control of the country in 1957.
The National Unity Party is a political party in Haiti. It was the de facto only political party in the country during the Duvalier dynasty, an authoritarian family dictatorship of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, which lasted from 1957 to 1986.
Parliamentary elections were held in Haiti on 14 June 1964, alongside a constitutional referendum. The National Unity Party of President François Duvalier was the sole legal party at the time, with all other parties having been banned the previous year.
