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officially Republic Of Haiti, Haitian Creole Repiblik Dayti, French Republique D'haiti, island country of the West Indies, the only independent French-speaking republic in the Americas, occupying the western third of the island of Hispaniola and several nearby small islands. It is situated about 600 miles (970 km) southeast of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean and has a total land area of 10,579 square miles (27,400 square km). The capital is Port-au-Prince. The country comprises two peninsulas separated by the Gulf of Gonaives. Haiti is bordered on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Dominican Republic, and on the south and west by the Caribbean Sea. The population in 1990 was estimated to be 5,590,000. Haiti is a mountainous country; about two-fifths of the total land area is above 1,600 feet (490 m) in elevation. The principal mountain system, the Massif du Nord (average elevation 4,000 feet [1,200 m]), extends eastward into the Dominican Republic, where it is called the Cordillera Central. Mount La Selle in the southeast is Haiti's highest point (8,773 feet [2,674 m]). The mountain ranges alternate with fertile but heavily overpopulated lowlands, the largest (150 square miles [390 square km]) bein
g the coastal Plaine du Nord ("Northern Plain"). The Artibonite River, with a length of 174 miles (280 km) and a drainage basin of 2,600 square miles (6,700 square km), is the principal river. The alluvial plain of the Artibonite joins Haiti's northwestern and southern peninsulas. Agriculture accounts for one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs approximately three-fifths of the workforce. Subsistence farming predominates. Arable land is in short supply (about one-quarter of the rural populace have no land), and rice, corn (maize), and sweet potatoes, the chief staples, are double-cropped. Production of most foodstuffs falls short of domestic demand. As much as four-fifths of the country's food is imported. Coffee is the principal cash crop and accounts for more than one-tenth of Haiti's export revenue; sugarcane, sisal, and cacao are also widely cultivated. Cattle and pigs are raised. By the early 20th century the United States had gained extensive commercial privileges in Haiti. From 1915 to 1934, U.S. Marines occupied the country. After these troops were withdrawn, Haiti was troubled by hostilities with the Dominican Republic and by domestic political instability. After Francois ("Papa Doc") Duvalier was elected president in 1957, he organized a private military force, the Tontons Macoutes, to subdue his opponents and had himself elected president for life. Despite an economic decline, continued internal discord, and poor relations with the Dominican Republic, Duvalier ruled as dictator until his death in 1971. He was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude ("Baby Doc") Duvalier. Under the latter's rule, Haiti's gross economic inequalities, political repression, and corrupt government administration continued unabated. In 1986 increasing popular unrest in the form of antigovernment demonstrations prompted Jean-Claude to go into exile. The country remained under military rule. Much of the history of Haiti prior to Christopher Columbus' voyage to the island of Hispaniola in 1492 is unknown. By the end of the 16th century, most of Haiti's native Arawak Indians had disappeared--worked to death, slaughtered outright by Spaniards, or killed by disease. Spanish settlement was thin and restricted mainly to the eastern end of the island. French
Some common words found in the essay are:
Two-fifths Haiti's, Artibonite River, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, August November, Dominican Republic, Doc Duvalier, Hispaniola Saint-Dominique, Caribbean Sea, Jean-Pierre Boyer, Nearly Haitians, dominican republic, total land, square miles, 20th century, upper-class elite, political repression, du nord, gdp employs, doc duvalier, atlantic ocean,
Approximate Word count = 1535
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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