Haiti
Haiti, formerly known as Saint-Domingue, is a Caribbean country in the Greater Antilles. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, sharing it with the Dominican Republic.
History
Since 1625, Saint-Domingue was part of France's colonies in the New World. By the middle of the 18th century, the Assassin Brotherhood had established a permanent presence in the colony. Under the leadership of their Mentor François Mackandal, a revolutionary Houngan, the Assassins consisted primarily of African slaves opposing the white colonists of Saint Domingue.[1]
In 1758, François Mackandal was captured and executed after a failed poisoning attempt on the white colonists of Saint-Domingue. Mackandal's students Agaté and Baptiste both individually fled Saint-Domingue and ended up in the French colony of Louisiana.[1]
In 1957, François Duvalier was elected President of Haiti, and became responsible for more than ten years of corrupt and murderous leadership. On 21 April 1971, Duvalier was killed by the Assassins.[2]
Trivia
- The names of the French colony Saint-Domingue, and the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo, which between themselves divided the island of Hispaniola, both translate to "Saint Dominic", a Spanish friar of the Dominican Order.
References
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