THE CARIBBEAN HAITI

Haiti is a small country in the Caribbean with a proud rebellious streak and a terribly troubled past.  This small former Spanish and then French colony, which shares an island called Hispaniola with the Domincan Republic, has a challenging history full of colonial manipulation, inspiring independence following an unprecedented slave rebellion (1791-1804), devastating environmental catastrophes, deep political failure, and, through it all, the ability of a resilient people to survive.     

For almost several decades (1957-1986) members of Duvalier family ruled Haiti -- first "Papa" Doc, then his son, "Baby" Doc.  Since then Haiti has endured several presidential transitions and intermittent military coups, some with U.S. support and some without. When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, it devastated a nation that has struggled so hard to stay hopeful despite having already survived devastation time and time again. Throughout this chaos the astoundingly resilient Haitian people have become collectively poorer and poorer…though in class we will not forget Haiti’s extreme wealth of culture, especially its extraordinary music and dance.