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Hispaniola island, West Indies, in the Caribbean Sea, lying southeast of Cuba and west of Puerto Rico. Politically, Hispaniola is divided into the separate countries of Haiti, which occupies the western third of the island, and the Dominican Republic. It was named La Isla Española by Christopher Columbus, who landed on the island during his first voyage in 1492.

The original inhabitants of Hispaniola were Native Americans of the Arawak group. They eventually became extinct as a result of exploitation by the early Spanish colonists. Black African slaves were later imported to take the place of the Native American laborers. In 1697, by the Peace of Ryswick, a portion of Hispaniola was formally ceded to France and became known as Saint-Domingue. The remaining Spanish section was called Santo Domingo. In 1795, Spain relinquished Santo Domingo to France. General Jean Jacques Dessalines expelled the French in 1804 and proclaimed the independence of the island, which was renamed Haiti. In 1822 Santo Domingo, which had come under Spanish rule again in 1808, was reunited with the rest of the island. In 1844 Santo Domingo once more declared its independence, forming the Dominican Republic, and the island, as a geographic unit, assumed its former name, Hispaniola. Area of the island, about 76,200 sq km (about 29,420 sq mi).

OCCUPYING THE EASTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE ISLAND OF HISPANIOLA (the remaining third is Haiti), the Dominican Republic holds many superlatives. it .vas home to the first European colony in the New World, and it has the Caribbean's highest peak, largest lake, and biggest city. But above all it is known for its extensive white sand beaches. Within the last decade it has built a substantial tourist industry on the basis of these beautiful natural assets. Beyond the beach resorts, however, tourism has had minimal impact. If you're adventurous you will be rewarded with discovering an enormously.

This fertile island was heavily populated by Taino Indians when Columbus first arrived on these shores in 1492. He named it Isla Espanola (or Hispaniola) and decided it would be an ideal place for a colony, especially since gold deposits were also discovered.
The first settlement was built on the north coast at La Isabela, but it was a bad choice-difficult to defend, hot, and disease ridden. The present-day capital, Santo Domingo, was established on a much more promising site at the mouth of the Ozama River in 1496. During the early years of Spanish rule, the economy was fueled by gold, but by 1515 the gold had run out and the Spanish began to ignore Hispaniola in favor of the more lucrative mines of South America and the prospect of wealth in Mexico.

By the 17th century the northwestern part of the island was occupied by pirates and French buccaneers, who managed to resist attempts by the Spanish to drive them out. France took advantage of this to claim the western third of the island, which was then ceded to them under the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. Over the next century Saint Domingue, as the French portion was known, became one of the richest colonies in the Caribbean thanks to sugarcane plantations. The eastern part of the island languished under the Spanish, whose attentions had moved elsewhere.

In the 1790s Toussaint L'Ouverture (1743-1803) led a slave uprising in Saint Domingue. The Spaniards supported Toussaint, forcing the French to abolish slavery. In 1794 Toussaint suddenly switched sides and joined forces to oust the Spanish from the island. Toussaint gained control in 1795 and held on until 1802, when Napoleon Bonaparte sent an expeditionary force to arrest him.

Meanwhile, rebels had driven the French forces out of the western part of the island, and the Republic of Haiti was declared on January 1, 1804. The Spanish recaptured the eastern hart of the island in 1809. but they w CI C driven out by settlers intent on independence, which was won in 1821. But independence was not to last. The Haitians invaded in 1822 and controlled the whole island for the next 22 years. The occupation fostered an underground opposition m0% movement, La Trinitaria, which seized control in 1844 and declared the independence of the new country, known as the Dominican Republic.

Since independence, politics in the Dominican Republic have swung between democracy and dictatorship. The dark years under Gen. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo 1891-1961), from 1930 until 1961, are still remembered with horror by many.

The country's economy today is based on agriculture and mineral exports.  Sugarcane is still the largest crop; most of it is harvested by workers from Haiti. The near slave status of the Haitian cane cutters and the abuse of their civil rights by the government have become something of an international scandal. Gold and silver mining is of considerable importance, and the deposits of ferronickel are estimated at 10 percent of world reserves. Among the other export commodities re coffee, cocoa, rice, and cigars. Tourism is he largest earner of foreign exchange, generating in excess of two billion dollars from the 2.5 million or so tourists who visit every year.

Only' 30 years ago, Haiti's excellent beaches, sophisticated hotels, and proximity to the U.S. made it one of the area's top vacation destinations. Since then, however, the political situation has become tense, with outbreaks of violence. Instability is the norm, and Haiti cannot he recommended as a tourist destination at present. When things calm down again, by all means go. Few countries contain such striking contrasts of devastating poverty and luxurious lifestyles, hardship and hope. Travel there is a bombardment of the senses: the primitivist art, adorning buildings, walls, and vehicles; the cramped, brightly painted buses and trucks, called tap taps (after the noise made by the original trucks), with their carved wood and religious maxims displayed along the sides, and scenes from the Bible on the hoods; the strange world of voodoo; and the ceaseless hubbub of the markets. Love it or hate it, there is nowhere in the world like Haiti.

This is not an easy island for travelers. White visitors are particularly targeted with constant demands for money, from people who are genuinely in dire need. Haiti's currency is the gourde (five gourdes make a dollar Haitian), named for the large, hard-shelled fruit of the calabash tree arid introduced by the country's despotic leader, Henry Christophe, in the early 19th century.

Most flights from Europe and the U.S. go to Miami for connections to the main airport at the capital, Port-au-Prince.. Haiti's capital lies in the southwest, in the deep bight of the Golfe de la Gonave. It is a buzzing cite of over one million inhabitants, many of whom live in the shanty towns that cluster around the main town. There are good places to stay in Petionville, the prosperous suburb above the capital, well priced now in their faded grandeur, not forgetting the beach hotels on the C6te des Arcadins about an hour north of Port-au-Prince. There is also a clutch of good restaurants.

Haiti occupies the western third (10,715 square miles) of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. "Haiti," the original Amerindian name for the island, meaning "mountainous land," is an accurate description. Shaped like a crab's claw closing round the Golfe de la Gonave, it is about 90 miles from north to south and has two long mountainous ranges that stretch west like pincers toward Cuba and Jamaica. The highest peak is the Pic de la Selle (8,795 feet), in the southeast. The country is generally fertile and there is a variety of scenery: good palm-backed beaches (the closest to Port-au-Prince are Ibo beach and Kyona; Cormier and Labadie are found outside Cap-Ha*Haitian); cactus-covered plains, and huge, rain forested mountains. However, in a country of around 6 million mainly rural inhabitants, deforestation and soil erosion have now become a serious problem.

HISTORY

 Haiti has a history of turmoil. The first ·10 European settlers, left there in 1492 by Columbus, all died within a year. In 1697 the French were handed control of western Hispaniola (then called Saint Domingue) by the Spanish, and made it all immensely wealthy colony · exporting sugar, coffee, indigo. At the end of the 18th century, after years of torture tore and starvation at the hand, of their colonial masters, the African slaves finally rebelled· led by Toussaint l'Ouverture. In 1804 Haiti declared their independent-the world first black republic. Its political life since then has been troubled, civil war between the mulatto south and the black north was followed by a succession of tyrannical leaders and U.S. invasion in 1915. The Americans left in 1934, and in 1957 Francois Duvalier, "Papa Doc," became the ruthless dictator, maintaining his grip on power through the notorious secret police, the tontons macoute. His son, jean Claude ("Baby Doc") continued the reign of terror and corruption until, in the mid-1980s, a movement of revolt as Operation Deschoukay drove him out of the country. Haiti has continued to suffer political instability with a series of coups d'etats and failed elections. Democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in 1991, but then returned to power with the help of an American peacekeeping force in 1994.

ISLAND LIFE

Ordinary islanders, most of whom work on the land, have suffered the consequences of corrupt and repressive government, and Haiti is now the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The majority of its population is descended from Africans; many of the small and powerful "mulatto elite" emigrated during recent troubles. French is the official language, and its influence can be heard in the everyday spoken language, Kreyol.
Haiti has an amazingly vibrant artistic and religious life. its primitive-style art with primary colors and almost cartoon-like forms, has been copied all over the Caribbean. Many of the traditional themes of Haitian life are portrayed, including agricultural, biblical, and voodoo scenes. Voodoo itself is a mix of Catholic and African beliefs, often sensationalized as "black magic," and running deep in the Haitian psyche. Haiti has its own dance rhythm-compas-which fills the streets during Carnival, from January 6 to Mardi Gras, before Lent. This is the best time to witness the extraordinary spirit of the Haitians, which survives despite years of insecurity and hardship. When stability returns to Haiti, it will hopefully resume its deserved place among the most interesting Caribbean destinations.

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