HAITI 1

Haiti

Neuds S. Saint-Cyr

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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Haiti

In 1492, Christopher Columbus became the first person to explore the new world, most

importantly he was the first person to explore the island of Hispaniola (now split into modern

day Haiti and Dominican Republic). After the exploration of Hispaniola, the Spaniards stumbled

upon the native people of the island of Hispaniola. Soon enough the Spaniards forced the natives

to do hard and manual labor. Due to the harsh working conditions and the diseases that the

Spaniards brought, the natives soon began dying rapidly. After the natives virtually vanished, the

Spaniards began to import slaves to Hispaniola and the rest of the Caribbean (Early Period,

n.d.).

The Island of Hispaniola did not split into two until the Treaty of Rijswijk in 1697, when

the French found interest in the western side of the island. After the split, the French named their

side of the country Saint-Domingue. Saint-Domingue became Frances most prosperous New

World possession, but this would not last for long. The slaves outnumbered the French, and they

also grew tired of the injustice that was being served by the European powers. Inspired by the

French revolution, the slaves decided to get together to have a revolution of their own. The

revolution lasted from 1791 to 1804, and in the end the slaves became a force to reckon with and

won the war. One of the first things that the slaves did after they won was rename the country to

what the natives originally had named it, Ayiti, or as we all know it, Haiti. Haiti became the first

and the only successful slave revolt in the world (Haitian Revolution, n.d.).

The second item on the list of the slaves after the renaming of the country was getting a

flag. The story of the first ever Haitian flag goes like this, Jean-Jacques Dessalines leader of the

Haitian revolution, ripped the white part of the French flag to create the Haitian flag. He felt that

the white in the flag represented the oppression of the French. After he had ripped the flag apart
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he gave it to his God-daughter, Catherine Flon, who sewed the red and blue parts together. The

flag was sewn together on May 18, 1804; this day is now known as Haitian flag day (The

Haitian Flag, n.d.). But that flag didnt last very long. In 1806, the flag that stands today came

about. This new flag has the same base of the old flag, but it has a coat of arms in the middle.

The article The Flag of Haiti, perfectly describes the flag. It says:

The flag of Haiti is composed of equal horizontal parts of blue and red defaced by

the countrys coat of arms in the center. A country of multi ethnicity and color,

these colors represent the union of the races that make up the country. Blue

signifies the black population and its link to its African roots while the red

symbolizes the countrys multi ethnic populace. These two colors are also an

adaptation of the French flag. The coat of arms in the flag of Haiti shows six

draped flags, three on each side, and in the center, lays a palm tree with a liberty

cap of red and blue. These figures are resting on a green lawn and surrounded by

cannons, cannonballs and other items such as a drum, a bugle and ship anchors.

These weapons signify the willingness and the ability of the people to fight for

their country and its freedom.

Over the course of History, the Haitian flag has changed quite a bit. For example, one of

the most notable changes occurred when dictator, Franois Duvalier, took office. In 1964, he

changed the flag from horizontal red and blue lines, to vertical red and black lines. He kept the

coat of arms, but changed the color of the flags draped in the coat of arms to red and black (The

Haitian Flag, n.d.). After his reign, it was then later changed back to the way it was in 1806.

Although the Haitian flag came about in 1806, it wasnt until 1904 the Haitian national

anthem came about. The national anthem is called "La Dessalinienne," In honor of the leader of
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the Haitian revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessaline. The anthem came about through a national

competition, in which writer, Justin LHerissonn and composer, Nicolas Geffar won (Haiti

National Anthem, n.d.).

Haiti is a country like no other, just look at their history. The minute you step off the

plane and step foot in Haiti there is an atmosphere that cannot be re-created elsewhere. The

people, the culture, and the food are just so rich that people fall in love and want to become

citizens of Haiti. When it comes to Haitian citizenship, they have quite strict standards. Haitian

citizenship can be acquired through naturalization. Dual citizenships are not recognized under

any circumstances in Haiti and when a person acquires citizenship of another country they

automatically lose their Haitian citizenship (Haiti: Procedures for Obtaining Citizenship,

2007).

While doing research about Haiti, I couldnt stop wondering, what happened? The

Haitian people are fire breathing dragons, that have stopped breathing fire. They have decided to

stop fighting and to stop believing in themselves. Essentially, they have decided to just go

through the motions of life. They are constantly being discouraged by themselves and outside

forces. Its not that they dont want to breath fire anymore, but its the fact that they forgot that

they had the ability to do so. The Haitian people forgot how they came about and what theyve

accomplished. Most of them have forgot who their ancestors were, but for those who havent

forgotten, like me, know that the same fire that ran through the veins of my ancestors runs

through me, and that is enough for me to continue fighting, to continue believing, and to know

that one day I am going to breathe a fire upon this world that cannot nor will not ever be

extinguished.
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References

Early period. (n.d.). Retrieved from Britanica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti/Early-

period

Flag of Haiti. (n.d.). Retrieved from Famous Wonders: http://famouswonders.com/flag-of-haiti/

Haiti National Anthem. (n.d.). Retrieved from Hougansydney:

http://www.hougansydney.com/haiti-national-anthem.php

Haiti: Procedures for obtaining citizenship; whether dual citizenship is recognized and, if so,

how to obtain it; procedures for renouncing citizenship and the documents required;

grounds for withdrawing a person's citizenship. (2007, March 26). Retrieved from

Refworld: http://www.refworld.org/docid/469cd6a414.html

The Haitian Revolution. (n.d.). Retrieved from Britanica:

https://www.britannica.com/place/Haiti/The-Haitian-Revolution