Haitian Heritage Month, 2016
Background Information, Lesson Plans, and Internet Resources for the Secondary Classroom
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Department of Social Sciences
May 2016 (Revised)
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
Ms. Perla Tabares Hantman, Chair
Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, Vice-Chair
Ms. Susie V. Castillo
Dr. Lawrence S. Feldman
Dr. Wilbert “Tee” Holloway
Dr. Martin Karp
Ms. Lubby Navarro
Dr. Marta Pérez Wurtz
Ms. Raquel A. Regalado
Logan Schroeder Stephens
Student Advisor
Mr. Alberto M. Carvalho
Superintendent of Schools
Mrs. Maria L. Izquierdo, Chief Academic Officer
Office of Academics and Transformation
Ms. Lissette M. Alves, Assistant Superintendent
Division of Academics
Mr. Robert C. Brazofsky, Executive Director
Department of Social Sciences
Introduction and an Instructional Note to Teachers about
Haitian Heritage History Month
Haitian Heritage Month is celebrated each May. This occasion gives our diverse community the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the many historic, social, and cultural contributions Haitians have made to our community, nation, and world.
To assist teachers, staff in the Department of Social Sciences has developed this instructional resource guide that includes background information, detailed lesson plans, character education activities, and Internet resources to support Haitian Heritage Month. The resources in this guide include:
· BACKGROUND INFORMATION - Background information that is helpful for both the teacher and student is provided.
· LESSONS, ACTIVITIES, AND STRATEGIES FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS - Detailed lesson plans with all support materials needed to complete the lessons are provided in this section of the guide.
· INTERNET RESOURCES - Related background information, lesson plans and interactive activities may be found on the web sites listed in this section of the guide.
· SECONDARY CHARACTER EDUCATION RESOURCES – Additional lesson ideas are included to support the core value of “integrity,” which has been designated by the District for the month of May.
Background Information
· Haiti - World Book (Advanced), 2014
· Facts About Haiti
· A Chronology of Key Events in the History of Haiti
· Maps of Haiti
· Haitian Flag Day, Flag, and Shield
· Haiti Earthquake - Fast Facts
· Hurricanes and Haiti: A Tragic History
Haiti
The article below on Haiti is an excellent overview of the nation’s geography, history and people. The article is intended primarily as a reference for teachers.
The article is from the on-line edition of the World Book Encyclopedia Advanced (2014) available for students and teachers through the Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Department of Library Media Services. To access the full article:
1. Visit Library Media Services at http://library.dadeschools.net/
(Password needed. Check with the Media Specialist.)
2. Click the On-line Data Bases and select World Book Online Reference Center
3. Select World Book Advanced
4. Search for the article entitled “Haiti.”
Introduction - Haiti is a country in the Caribbean region. It covers the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which lies between Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. The Dominican Republic covers eastern Hispaniola. Most of Haiti is mountainous, and the country's name comes from an Indian word that means high ground.
Haiti’s official name in French is République d’Haiti. Its official name in Creole is Repiblik dAyiti. Both official names mean Republic of Haiti. Port-au-Prince is Haiti’s capital and largest city.
Haiti is the oldest black republic in the world. In addition, it is the second oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere. Only the United States is older. Haiti has been independent since 1804. Most of the time, it has been ruled by dictators.
Haiti is one of the most densely populated and least developed countries in the Western Hemisphere. Many Haitians are farmers who raise food mainly for their families. The country has a shortage of hospitals and doctors. Because of poor diet and medical care - especially in rural areas - the average life expectancy in Haiti is only about 50 years.
Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator in the service of Spain, arrived at Hispaniola in 1492. His crew established a Spanish base in what is now Haiti. Later, French settlers developed Haiti into what was then the richest colony in the Caribbean.
Government - A president serves as Haiti's head of state. The people elect the president to a five-year term. The president appoints a prime minister to serve as head of the government. A parliament called the National Assembly makes the country's laws. The people elect members of the upper house, called the Senate, to six-year terms. Members of the lower house, called the Chamber of Deputies, are elected to four-year terms.
People - Most of the people are descendants of Africans brought to Haiti to work as slaves. A majority of Haitians live in the country's overcrowded coastal plains and mountain valleys, where the soil is most productive. A typical Haitian family grows beans, corn, rice, yams, and other necessities on a tiny plot of land. They may also raise chickens, pigs, or goats. The family usually lives in a one-room dwelling built with a thatched roof and walls made of sticks covered with dried mud.
Most Haitian farmers use a hoe to till their land. Sometimes, a farmer will request help from other farmers for major jobs such as clearing the land, planting, or harvesting crops. This type of cooperative effort is called a combite (also spelled coumbite). During a combite, the farmers encourage one another with music and singing.
Most Haitians belong to the Roman Catholic Church. However, the religious beliefs and practices of many Haitians are strongly influenced by African customs. As a result, a religion known as Vodou exists in Haiti. People who follow Vodou, sometimes called Voodoo, believe that by performing certain ceremonies they can be monte (taken over) by spirits. For example, ahoungan (Vodou priest) draws a veve (sacred design) on the ground with flour. Then, the people dance until spirits have taken over one or more of them. The followers of Vodou believe in many spirits, such as the gods of rain, love, war, and farming. Since the mid-1900’s, a growing number of Haitians have become Protestants.
About 5 percent of the people of Haiti are mulattoes (people of mixed African and European ancestry). Most mulattoes belong to the middle or upper class, and many have been educated abroad. A few Americans, Europeans, and Syrians also live in Haiti. Most Haitians speak Creole, a language partly based on French. The middle and upper classes also speak French.
Land - Mountains cover about 80 percent of Haiti. Two chains of rugged mountains run across the northern and southern parts of Haiti and form two peninsulas at the west end of the island. The northern peninsula juts about 100 miles (160 kilometers) into the Atlantic Ocean, and the southern peninsula extends about 200 miles (320 kilometers) into the Caribbean Sea. A gulf, Golfe de la Gonave, and an island, Île de la Gonave, lie between the two peninsulas. The wide Artibonite Valley of the Artibonite River lies between the mountains in eastern Haiti. Tortue Island (also called Tortuga Island) lies off the northern coast. Tropical pines and mahogany forests cover some mountains, and tropical fruit trees grow on others.
The people grow coffee and cacao (seeds used to make cocoa and chocolate) in the mountains. Rice and sugar cane are the main crops in the black, fertile soil of the Artibonite Valley. Because of a shortage of suitable land, farmers raise crops wherever they can, even on steep mountain slopes. In some mountain areas, overcultivation has resulted in serious soil erosion.
Haiti has a tropical climate with mild temperatures. Temperatures range from 70 to 95 °F (21 to 35 °C) along the coasts and from 50 to 75 °F (10 to 24 °C) in the mountains. The tropical forests in the northern mountains receive about 80 inches (200 centimeters) of rain a year. The southern coast receives less than 40 inches (100 centimeters). Destructive hurricanes sometimes strike the country between June and October.
Economy - Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. Frequent natural disasters and political unrest have weakened the country's economy. Haiti has a high unemployment rate. Many Haitians live in poverty. Remittances (money sent home) from Haitians living abroad and foreign aid are important to the economy.
Haiti's economy relies largely on agriculture. Many of Haiti's workers are farmers. But most farmers own barely enough land to grow food for their families. The country grows bananas, beans, coffee, corn, mangoes, rice, sugar cane, and yams. Haitian farmers raise beef and dairy cattle, chickens, goats, and hogs.
Haiti has few industries. The country's factories produce cement, clothing and textiles, and food and beverage products. Craft workers in the cities sell handicrafts to tourists. Mining plays a small role in Haiti's economy.
Haiti imports much more than it exports. The United States is Haiti's leading trade partner. The country imports machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum products, rice, and sugar. It exports clothing, cocoa, fruits, and oils.
Haiti has a poor transportation system. The country has no railroads and most roads are unpaved. Port-au-Prince has an international airport. Cap-Haïtien and Port-au-Prince have important seaports. Some cruise ships stop at Labadie, a small resort on Haiti’s northern coast.
History - Haiti has had a tumultuous history. Europeans controlled what is now Haiti from the 1500's through the 1700's. Military leaders and dictators ruled Haiti during much of the 1900's. In addition, peacekeeping forces from various countries have occupied Haiti on and off since the 1990's. Natural disasters also have caused serious problems for the nation.
Colonial Days - Christopher Columbus arrived at an island he named Hispaniola in 1492. One of his ships, the Santa Maria, ran aground on Christmas Day on reefs near the present-day city of Cap-Haïtien. Columbus's crew used the ship's timber to build a fort, which Columbus named Fort Navidad. Some of the crew stayed to hold the fort when Columbus sailed on. But the Arawak Indians who lived on the island destroyed the fort and killed the men.
Columbus discovered gold in what is now the Dominican Republic. Other Spanish settlers then rushed to Hispaniola. They forced the Indians to mine gold and raise food. They treated the Indians so harshly that by 1530 only a few hundred Indians were alive. Africans were then brought in and forced to work as slaves.
Spanish settlers began leaving Hispaniola for more prosperous Spanish settlements in Peru and Mexico. By 1606, there were so few Spaniards left on Hispaniola that the king of Spain ordered them to move closer to the city of Santo Domingo (in what is now the Dominican Republic). French, English, and Dutch settlers then took over the abandoned northern and western coasts of Hispaniola. Many settlers became pirates called buccaneers. The buccaneers used the small island of Tortue (also called Tortuga) as a base and attacked ships carrying gold and silver to Spain. The Spanish tried to drive out the buccaneers but failed. In 1697, Spain recognized French control of the western third of the island.
France named its new colony Saint-Domingue. French colonists brought in Africans as slaves and developed big coffee and spice plantations. By 1788, there were eight times as many slaves (almost 500,000) as colonists.
Independence - In 1791, during the French Revolution, the slaves in Saint-Domingue rebelled against their French masters. The slaves destroyed plantations and towns. Toussaint Louverture, a former slave, took control of the government and restored some order to the colony. Toussaint wanted to separate Saint-Domingue from France. He wrote a constitution that essentially removed Saint-Domingue from French control. But Napoleon I came to power in France in 1799, and in 1802, he sent an army to Saint-Domingue to restore French rule. After several battles, the army sent by Napoleon captured Toussaint and imprisoned him in France, where he later died. In Saint-Domingue, many of the French soldiers caught yellow fever and died. After a long campaign, the African rebels defeated the French army in 1803. On Jan. 1, 1804, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the leader of the rebels, proclaimed the colony an independent country named Haiti.
Dessalines became the nation's first chief of state. When he was killed in 1806, two other generals, Alexandre Pétion and Henri Christophe, struggled for power. Pétion took control of southern Haiti, and Christophe took control of the northern part of the country. Jean-Pierre Boyer replaced Pétion in 1818 and reunited the country after Christophe committed suicide in 1820. In 1821, Boyer took control of the Spanish colony in eastern Hispaniola. Haiti ruled it until the colony revolted in 1844. During the next 70 years, 32 different men ruled Haiti. Unrest spread throughout the country.
U.S. Occupation - In 1915, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sent Marines to Haiti to restore order. He feared other nations might try to take Haiti if unrest continued. Haitians resented this interference. The U.S. occupation force made Haiti make payments on its large debts to other countries. The force strengthened the government; built highways, schools, and hospitals; and set up a sanitation program that eliminated yellow fever in Haiti. The U.S. force withdrew in 1934, and Haiti regained control of its own affairs. The next two Haitian presidents encouraged foreign companies to invest money in Haiti. But the upper-class benefited most from these investments.
Military Rulers and Dictators - Army officers took control of Haiti's government in 1946, and again in 1949 after riots broke out. An army officer, Paul Magloire, was elected president in 1950. He resigned in 1956 when rioting broke out, and the army took control of the government again.
François Duvalier, a country doctor, was elected president of Haiti in 1957. In 1964, he declared himself president for life. Duvalier ruled as a dictator. In 1971, Haiti's Constitution was amended to allow the president to choose his successor. Duvalier chose his son, Jean-Claude. François Duvalier died in April 1971. Jean-Claude, then only 19 years old, succeeded him. He also declared himself president for life and ruled as a dictator. Both the Duvaliers controlled Haiti's armed forces and a secret police force. The secret police enforced the Duvaliers' policies, often using violence. The people called the secret police Tontons Macoutes (bogeymen).
In the early 1970's, many people left Haiti because of poor economic conditions and severe treatment by the secret police. In 1986, Haitians staged a revolt against Jean-Claude Duvalier. Jean-Claude fled from Haiti. Lieutenant General Henri Namphy became head of the government. Namphy tried to disband the Tontons Macoutes but failed.