Haiti is home to 10.4 million people, and the third largest Caribbean nation. It was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, where his flagship boat, the Santa Maria, sank after running aground on Haiti's north coast.
Haiti gained its independence in 1804, and is the only nation in the world that was established as a result of a successful slave revolt.
France later came to the island and fought with the Spanish for control over the island - in 1697, the Treaty of Ryswick divided the island between them. Thousands of slaves were imported from Africa to work on sugar plantations. The retention of African culture, religion and language was facilitated by the constant influx of new slaves, unlike in the US, where slave masters attempted to stomp out any cultural and religious connections the slaves had to their homelands.
Inspired by the French Revolution of 1789, free people of color and slaves on the island pressed for freedom and civil rights. Due to the constant import of African slaves, Africans greatly outnumbered the whites, and slavery was abolished in 1792 in the french colony.
in 1802 and again in 1803, the French attempted to take back the island, but were unsuccessful on both occasions - the first attempt resulted in most of the troops dying from yellow fever, and the second attempt was defeated by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who went on to be the first ruler of independent Haiti.
Fearful of the influence of the slave's revolution, the US as well as most European nations refused to recognize the new republic, in fact the US did not officially recognize Haiti until after the American Civil War.
in 1825, King Charles X of France attempted to reconquer the island. Under pressure, then president Boyer agreed to a treaty by which France formally recognized Haiti's independence, in exchange for a payment of 150 million francs ($21 billion dollars today). Even with a reduction to 90 million francs in 1838, the enforced payment to France reduced Haiti's economy for years, and as western nations would not recognize it, the economy and society remained isolated.
Political unrest followed in the 20th century, with the US occupying the island from 1915 to 1934. Following this, Dictator Rafael Trujillo took power, his directions leading to the Parsley Massacre, when between 10,000 and 20,000 Haitians living on the Dominican border were killed.
After a period of disorder, Dr. Francois Duvalier, aka Papa Doc, was elected President. He stayed in power by enlisting the Tontons Macoutes (Bogeymen), who maintained order by terrorizing the populace and political opponents. He was succeeded by his son, who led from 1971 to 1986, when he was ousted, and sought exile in France. The Tontons were still active and caused the abortion of the subsequent general elections. The elected President, Leslie Manigat, was overthrown several months later in June 1988. Another coup d'etat followed shortly therafter in in 1988, followed by the St Jean Bosco massacre.
In 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected President, but was overthrown by the military the following year by yet another coup detat. the US intervened, this resulted in the restoration of Aristide as president.
In 2004, a revolt began, which eventually reached the capital and forced Aristide into exile in South Africa. Rene Preval was elected president in 2006.
The planned General Election in January 2010 was postponed due to the Haiti earthquake. In 2011, the current president Michel Martelly was declared.