Chronography of Haiti
Page last
modified 28 November 2023
See also South, Central, America for other countries
in this region
14 August 2021, Haiti was struck by a
,magnitude 7.2 earthquake.
7 July 2021, Haitian President Jovenal Moise,
53, was assassinated. He had been sworn into office in 2/2017.
4 October 2014, Jean Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier died, aged 63.
He became dictator of Haiti in 1971. Like his father, Papa Doc, he lived in luxury
whilst most Haitians lacked paved roads or sewerage. The poorer Haiti was, the
more foreign aid came in, to be diverted to luxuries for the Duvaliers. In the
1980s the Haitian economy collapsed, with many fleeing on boats to Florida; in
1986 food riots forced the Duvaliers to flee, on an American plane. He was
useful to the USA as an anti-Communist close to Cuba, and Haiti was a non-unionised
cheap-labour locale for US businesses. To universal surprise he returned to
Haiti in 2011, after the disastrous earthquake, broken, he said, by exile, and
claiming he wished to help his country. His ex-wife Michelle had bankrupted him,
taking all the money, and Jean Claude was reduced to living in two
rented rooms in Paris. A Haitian judge ruled that any charges against him were
time-expired.
12 January 2010, A 7.0 magnitude earthquake, the most severe in 200
years, hit Haiti, killing over
316,000 and destroying the capital, Port au Prince. Over 1,000,000 were left
homeless.
19 February 2005, 350 inmates escaped
from a prison in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Jean Bertrand Aristide Presidency
29 February 2004, Haitian
President Jean Bertrand Aristide was
ousted in a military coup.
22 February 2004,
Rebels captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Ha�tien, after just a few
hours of fighting.
5 February 2004,
Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front captured the city of
Goniaves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.
Start of rebellion against Jean Bertrand Aristide
17 December 1995, Rene Preval
was elected President of Haiti.
19 September 1994, US
troops went to Haiti to overthrow the military junta led by Raoul Cedras.
Former President Jean Bertrand Aristide
returned after a three-year exile on 15 October 1994, but was ousted in 2004.
30 September 1991, In
Haiti, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a military coup, by
Brigadier-General Raoul Cedras. Aristide was granted safe
passage to Venezuela.
5 February 1991, Haiti's first
democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, was sworn in.
27 January 1991, In
Haiti, rumours that Lafontant had escaped prison (he had not, and
was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment) led to violent protests,
attacks on two police stations, and the deaths of 17 in Port au Prince.
6 January 1991, Roger Lafontant,
former leader of the infamous Tonton Macoutes, stormed the Haitian Presidential
Palace and forced the resignation of provisional President Ertha Pascal Trouillot. Lafontant
aimed to prevent� Aristide from taking office; Lafontant
declared himself provisional President. The next morning Loyalist forces stormed
the Palace, set Trouillot free and arrested Lanfontant. Thousands rioted on
the streets, destroying Lafontant�s headquarters and killing many of
his supporters; they also destroyed the Cathedral and the Archbishop�s Palace.
At least 75 were killed and 150 injured.
16 December 1990, Bertrand
Aristide of the Left-wing Lavalas Party was elected President of
Haiti, ending 3 decades of military rule.
18 September 1988, In Haiti, General Namphy was deposed in a
military coup.
19 June 1988, In Haiti, Leslie Manigat, civilian President, was deposed
in a military coup and replaced by General Henri Namphy.
7 February 1988, In Haiti, Leslie Manigat was inaugurated
as President, ending 2 years of military rule.
Duvalier
regime 1954-86
7 February 1986. Baby Doc Duvalier was ousted from government in Haiti, ending 28 years of one-family rule there. He fled to exile
in France, taking perhaps US$ 100 million with him. In Port-au-Prince, members
of Duvalier�s
secret police, the Tonton Macoutes, were lynched by an angry mob.
18 July 1981, Six Haitians made a
symbolic landing by Haitian Government helicopter on Navassa Island, which lies
just 50 km west of Haiti but which is claimed by the USA as a �guano island�
under an 1860 Act of Congress. The six were arrested by the US Navy.
21 April 1971. The Haitian
dictator Papa
Doc Duvalier, or Francois Duvalier, died in his bed aged 64,
after ruling for 14 years. He survived six assassination attempts. He was
succeeded by his son, 19-year old Jean Claude.
1965, The Haitian economy was in trouble.
US aid, which in 1960 had been equivalent to some 50% of Haitian public
spending, had halted, as had tourism. The country�s main export goods, coffee
and sisal, had fallen in price on world markets.
17 September 1963, Haiti was
officially made a One Party State, with all civil rights suspended. In fact
there were very few civil rights anyway, but this move cemented the Party of
|National Unity as another support mechanism for Duvalier.
5 August 1963, Haitian
exiles attempted to overthrow Papa Doc Duvalier, mounting an invasion of
Haiti from the Dominican Republic. However they were driven out of Haiti after
2 days fighting.
3 May 1963, Martial law
was declared in Haiti.
24 May 1959, Duvalier
suffered a heart attack. There was a brief moment of national rebellion, but he
recovered and within a month was fully back in power.
28 July 1958, Atrtempted coup on Papa Doc Duvalier, as a band of 5 Americans
and 2� Haitian military officers
landed� near Port Au Prince, hoping to
rally the population ina revolution. All the band were killed by loyalist
troops and the incident strengthened the position of Duvalier.
22 September 1957. Dr Francois �Papa doc� Duvalier
was elected President of Haiti. He
had promised to end corrupt military regimes in Haiti but his own regime mixed
voodoo with the presence of brutal secret police, the Ton Ton Macoute.
25 September 1954, Papa Doc
Duvalier won Presidential elections in Haiti.
14
April 1907, Francois Duvalier, Haitian President and
dictator, was born.
6 August 1934, US Marines withdrew from Haiti, ending 19 years of
military occupation.
12 July 1918, Haiti declared war on
Germany as part of its alliance with the United States.
12 June 1918, Haiti held a referendum on
its new constitution, with 99% of voters approving it.
16 September 1915, Haiti became a US
Protectorate.
27 July 1915. Revolution in Haiti. President
Vilbrun Guillaume was killed by a mob.
5 February 1911, Revolution in Haiti was suppressed after
its leader, General
Montreuil Guillaume, was captured by government troops and shot.
2 December 1908, Rebels captured the Haitian capital, Port
au Prince, and Alexis
fled on board a French ship. Alexis died in Jamaica in 4/1910. Generral Simon
then became President.
1908, Further revolution in
Haiti after (12/1907) anti-government conspirators had been arrested and
sentenced to death. The revolution spread and by 1/1908 Goniave, St Marc and
other towns were controlled by the insurgents. President Alexis regained
control and intitally pardoned the rebels. In March 1908 however he reversed
this and executed some of them. Further death sentences on rebels were pronounced
in Seotember 1908, and revolution broke out again in November.
1902, Haiti endured 9 months of
civil was until, in December, Nord Alexis was elected President. Under his
rule there was instability and riots. In 1904 Haitian soldiers attacked French
and German representatives, and these countires exacted reprisals on Haiti.
5 August 1902, Antenor Firmin formed a rebel government in
Haiti at Goniaves.
1896, General Tiresias Simon Sam took
power. He ruled until forced to flee to Paris in 1902.
1888-89, Civil war in Haiti between
Generals Legitime
and Hippolyte.
The latter gained suporemacy,and ruled with harsh absolute authority until his
death in 1896.
1867, Sylvester Salnave became
President but was shot after two years. He was succeeded in turn by Nissage Saget
(1870), Dominique
(1874) and Boisrond-Canal
(1876). All of these were driven into exile by revolution. Then came President
Salomon, who succeeded in ruling for ten years before he too was
driven into exile by revolution.
1858, Emperor Faustin I was deposed
and a Republic restored under President Fabre Geffrard. Geffrard�s rule was fair but
firm, and in 1867 popular discontent forced him to flee to Jamaica.
1849, Political order returned
to Haiti when Soulouque
proclaimed himself Emperor Faustin I.
1844-49, Haiti endured political
instability, with a rapid series of presidents and depositions.
1844, The Dominican Republic
seceded from Haiti. This division of Hispaniola has been maintained since then.
March 1843, Jean Boyer, President of Haiti,
was overthrown and he fled to Jamaica. There had been economic problems after Boyer
had paid an indemnity of 150 million gold �Francs to France in return for recognition of Haitian
independence.
1825, France extracted a promise from Haiti to pay it
150 million gold francs, in return for French recognitiuon of Haitian
independence and to compensate French slave owners for their losses on the island. This huge
sime was over 3 years total income for the island and could not be paid, so a
banking iinstitution was created to spread the payment, involving onerous ongoing
interest payments to France. This consumed some 5% of Haitian annual income
between 1840 and 1915. Rights to these payments were finally ceded by French
banks to
the USA who
had then occupied the island to safeguard its own interests there. This �debt� was
only finally extinguished in 1950.
1818, General Jean Pierre Boyer (1776-1850)
became ruler of Haiti. In 1822 he took advantage of dissension in the (Spanish)
Dominican Republic and invaded it. However he was deposed by a revolution in 1843,
and fled the island. In 1844 the Dominican Republic proclaimed its independence
from Haiti.
1810, Hostilities between Henri
Christophe and Alexandre Sabes Petion ended. Henry Christophe
became King
Henry I of Haiti. However his rule, like that of Dessalines,
proved tyrannical, there was an insurrection, and he committed suicide in 1820.
1806, Haiti (Hispaniola) �was now territorially split three ways. In the
north, Henri
Christophe (1767-1820) took control. The south was under Alexandre Sabes
Petion ((1770-1818). The Spanish re-estalished colonial control in
the east (Dominican Republic).
17 October 1806, The tyrannical Emperor Jacques I, first ruler
of Haiti, was assassinated. Henri Christophe was appointed president of
Haiti, becoming King Henri I in 1811. He committed suicide in 1820.
10/1804, Jacques Dessalines proclaimed
himself Emperor. He massacred all the White people in Haiti. His rule proved
tyrannical and he lost public support.
1 January 1804, Haiti became independent from France, under Jean-Jacques Dessalines, after a 13-year
anti-colonial war. Haiti was the first state vin Latin America to gain
independence.
29 August 1803. General Dessalines proclaimed the independence
of Haiti. In 1844 the Dominican
Republic seceded from Haiti.
7 April 1803, Toussaint L�Ouverture died in prison in France.
March 1802, The French met strong
resistance once they moved inland from Cap Francais, and were also decimated by
diseases such as yellow fever.
5 February 1802, Bonaparte, Consul in France, sent his brother
in law, General
LeClerc, with 25,000 troops, to restore French rule. They landed at
Cap Francais (now, Cap Hatien) this day, to find the city set on fire by
retereating Black troops under Henry Chtristophe (1767-1820). Neither side
could gain supremacy and France offered a peace treaty to Toussaint L�Ouverture. This
however was a ruse and as soon as Toussaint L�Ouverture had laid down arms he
was seized and taken to prison in France, where he died in 1803. This
infuriated the Black population who restarted the rebellion under General
Dessalines (1758-1806).
1801, Toussaint L�Ouverture succeeded
in restoring order and now proclaimed a constitutional government with himself
as Governor for life. France, however, was suspoicious of this move.
1795, By treaty with Spain,
France acquired sovereignty over the whole island (Hispaniola).
1793, French Commissioners, in
an attempt to resolve the rebellion, proclaimned an end to slavery. However
this proclamation was ignored by the landowners.
August 1791, Haitian slaves massacred
the French as a rebellion under Black leader Toussaint L�Ouverture started a
13-year conflict. The Haitians put up strong resistance against French,
Dutch
and English
troops.
28 February 1776, Jean Boyer, President of Haiti, was born (died
in Paris 1850).
1697, Hispaniola was divided
between Spain and France. This was under the Treaty of Ryswick, 30 September 1697, under which Spain ceded the
western third of Hispaniola, now comprising Haiti, to France.
1519, Enrique, great-nephew of Anacaona
and Caonabo,
who had been raised in a Spanish convent on Haiti., began a rebellion against
the Spanish colonisers. After 14 years guerrilla warfare in the Bahoruco
Mountains, the Spanish were compelled to recognise his autonomy.
1512, The Spanish, having failed
to extract slave labour from the indigenous Haitians, now began to import slaves
from Africa.
1506, The Spanish began sugar
cultivation on Haiti.
1504, Queen Anacaona of Xaragua was
coerced into attending a feast given by the Spanish Governor, Nicolas de
Ovando. At thos feast she was arrested, charged with treason, and
hanged. The Spanoish then made war on the indigenous people of Ayiti,
massacring amost all the Xaraguans. See also 1496.
1496, Caonabo, husband of Queen Anacaona
of Xaragua (a principality of the island of Ayiti) died pon board a ship on
wh9och he was being forcibly taken to Spain. See also 1504.
6 December 1492. Christopher Columbus
landed on an island he called Hispaniola, now Haiti, in search of
gold. He had won backing from Spain for
his expedition on condition he found gold to finance another war by Christian
Spain against the Moors. Many Christians also believed that Christ�s second
coming would not occur until all pagans had been converted to Christianity or
at least defeated by Christendom.