Haiti Historical
Timeline
Timeline
-
1492 Christopher
Columbus landed and claimed the island Hispaniola for
Spain. He encountered the Taíno Arawak people,
who called their land Ayiti, or “mountainous
land”.
- 1520s The Spanish first imported African
slaves.
- 1629 French adventurers established
a base in western Hispaniola.
- 1697 Treaty of Ryswick divided Hispaniola
into St. Domingue (French) and Santo Domingo (Spanish).
- 1791-1803 Slavery uprisings resulted
in an abolition of slavery and an eventual defeat against
European forces.
- 1804 Haiti is declared independent
from France, making it the first Black republic in the
western hemisphere.
- 1807-20 A civil war divided Haiti
into a northern kingdom ruled by Henri Cristophe and
a southern republic governed by Alexandre Petion.
- 1820 Reunification under Jean-Pierre
Boyer.
- 1822-44 Haiti occupied Spanish Santo
Domingo.
- 1915-34 United States occupied Haiti.
- 1957 François “Papa Doc” Duvalier
is elected president with the support of the Haitian
army and the US.
- 1964 Duvalier declared himself President-for-Life
and forms the paramilitary group Tontons Macoutes.
- 1971 Duvalier died. His son, Jean-Claude “Baby
Doc” Duvalier, replaced him.
- 1986 Widespread protests lead the
US to assists Duvalier’s exile from Haiti.
- 1990 December 16 First free presidential
election. Jean Bertrand Aristide is elected with a 67%
majority vote.
- 1991 September 30 General Cedras lead
a coup d’etat; Aristide left Haiti. The international
community decreed an embargo on Haiti.
- 1993 July 3 The Governor’s Island
Agreement, which provided for Aristide’s return
to Haiti, is signed. Its provisions are not carried out.
- 1994 September 19 A UN multi-nation
force led by the US begins a military intervention.
- 1995 December 17 Presidential elections;
René Préval is elected.
- 1996 February 7 Préval is sworn
in as president. February 15 Rosny Smarth is appointed
Prime Minister.
- 1997 April 6 Senate elections. June
9 Prime Minister Smarth resigned. An indecision over the
transition of a new Prime Minister created a political
deadlock within the parliament and the government “functions” without
a Prime Minister for 18 months.
- 1998 December 15 Jacques Alexis is
confirmed as the new Prime Minister.
- 1999 January 11 The terms of members
of Parliament expired. René Préval dissolved
the parliament and ruled by decree. In January 14 Alexis
entered into office. The cabinet and the governmental
program were established without parliamentary approval.
March 16 René Préval established a provisionary
electoral counsel in charge of organizing the elections.
- 2000 April 3 Assassination of Jean
Dominique, a well known and outspoken journalist. The
killing marked the beginning of a decline in the human
rights condition in Haiti. May 21 Elections for local
and parliamentary administrations. The vote counting
is contested. The electoral counsel used a flawed vote
count to favor Fanmi Lavalas (Aristide’s party).
The opposition declared the vote illegal; the OAS, EU,
US and Canada demanded a revision, Haiti did not respond,
and the donors suspended their aid programs. July 9 Second
round of elections: Fanmi Lavalas obtained 72 of the 83
seats in Parliament and 2/3 of the 75,000 municipal seats.
November 26 Presidential elections, with opposition refusing
to participate. Jean Bertrand Aristide is elected President.
- 2001 February 7 Aristide is sworn
in as president. The Democratic Convergence created a
parallel government: Gérard Gourgue is sworn in
as a provisional president. December 17 Attempted coup
d’etat. According to the opposition, it is a government
production staged in order to pursue the opposition.
The Convergence headquarters are burned down after the “coup”.
- 2002 January 21 Prime Minister Chérestal
resigned. March 1 The OAS signed an accord with Haiti to
allow an OAS mediation mission in the midst of the political
crisis. September 4 The OAS adopted resolution 822. The
resolution called for immediate disarmament, new elections
in 2003, and an end to the block on international aid.
- 2002 July - Haiti is approved as a
full member of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) trade
bloc.
- 2003 July - The Inter-American Development
Bank resumed its loan programme, raising hopes for further
international support.
- 2004 January - Celebrations marking
200 years of independence were marred by violence and
protests against President Aristide's rule.
-
2004 February -
The uprising against Mr. Aristide intensified, rebels seized a number of towns and cities, and dozens were killed in escalating violence. The US sendt about 50 Marines to protect U.S. facilities and pressed opposition politicians to accept a power-sharing plan. The UN Security Council adopted resolution 1529 authorizing the deployment of a Multilateral Interim Force (MIF) commanded by the U.S. with forces from Canada, U.S., France, and Chile. On the 29th, Aristide resigned and departed under circumstances still to be confirmed.
2004 March -
Gérard Latortue, the Haiti former foreign minister, is named the new interim prime minister, by a council of seven members.
- 2004 September 9 -
Hurricane Ivan caused considerable destruction in the South, Southwest, and Grand’ Anse departments of Haiti.
- Sept. 17-19 – Hurricane Jeanne hit Northern Haiti destroying over 2,500 houses and causing 3,000 fatalities. Gonaïves is the most affected city.
- Sept. 30 – Violent partisans of Lavalas Party started “Operation Baghdad” aimed at creating a sustained feeling of panic in several neighborhoods of the Haiti capital. Their primary demand is the return of President Aristide
- 2004 November - The United Nations extended its mission to Haiti until June 2005 and called for a national dialogue and reconciliation process among Haitian groups.
- 2005 January- A US$44 million global agreement is signed in Port-au-Prince between Haitian government, MINUSTAH, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Haitian Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), and Canadian government to support organizing general elections in Haiti in 2005.
- Jan. 1– Haiti celebrates its 201 independence with festivities in Gonaïves and other parts of the country.
- Violence in the capital of Port-au-Prince between Aristide’s supporters and MINUSTAH and Haitian police forces continued, specially in Bel-Air, Fort National, Airport, Cite Soleil, Delmas 6, 10, and 12, Sans-Fils, rue Geffrard, rue Lamarre, Poste-Marchand.
- Jan 12 – The United Nations Security Council reaffirmed the mandate of MINUSTAH and the need to maintain a UN presence in the country as long as needed. The Security Council encourages the Haitian transitional government to create as soon as possible the “National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR), to address all armed groups including former member of the military. It also urged the international financial institutions to disburse the funds pledged in July 2004.
- 2005 April – AFSC supported an International Fact-Finding and Solidarity Mission to Haiti delegation including members of civil society organizations and Nobel Prize Winner Adolfo Perez-Esquivel.
- 2005 July – Hurricane Dennis hits Haiti creating destruction and taking over 40 lives.
- 2006 February 7 – General Elections for President and members of Parliament take place for the first time since former President Aristide departed in February 2004. Rene Preval, candidate from Lespwa Party, is declared the winner with 51.21% of the votes.
- Feb. 14 – United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts resolution 1658 (2006) SC/8639 extending the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to August 15, 2006.
- May 14 - Rene Preval is sworn as President as well as the new members of Congress and Senate
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