cap-haitien

Around every bend in Cap-Haitian, the past speaks and city historians are eager to share its lore.

On Rue 19 lived Joseph Laroche, who drowned when the Titanic sank, the one Black person aboard the ship.

Rue 18 was where Antenor Firmin began his life, rising to prominence as the initial Haitian anthropologist in the Americas.

Rue 13 produced Oswald Durand, a poet and songwriter, who wrote "Yellow Bird".

European royalty has also resided in Cap-Haitian, another part of its intriguing past.

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In January, Michel Martelly placed a wreath at the base of a monument to Jose Marti, who gained freedom for Cuba in the 1900s.

Martelly spoke of the alliance between Cuba and Haiti, saying Marti began ". . . the genesis of cooperation between Haiti and Cuba . . . that still develops for the benefit of Haiti and Cuban citizens."

In 1895, Marti inhabited a house in Cap Haitien, which has revered his memory with a marble plaque, marking the historical time he spent there.

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In Haiti's Nord Department lies Cap-Haïtien, with a population numbering 190,000.

Columbus first colonized the island in the 1600s. He was followed by the French in the 1800s. They built sugarcane plantations, bringing in thousands of African slaves for manual labor.

Cap-Haïtien has been a hot-bed of insurrectionary fervor: anti-Aristide revolutionaries influenced the opposition to run him off the island in 2004.

Cap-Haïtien buildings are French colonial architecture, containing balconies, lending a social ambience to communities residing there.

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Here is a picture of Boheme - Cruiseline in Cap-Haitian Bay. This is a reminder of the important days in the city when tourism was a booming industry

The new government of Haiti is attempting to bring the industry back to life

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This is the first time that a major jet has landed at the airport of Cap-Haitian. It transported the Secretary of State of the United States, Ms. Hillary Clinton

The American official landed in the New Cap-Haitian airport for the inauguration of the Park Industrial Caracol

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Here is a picture of Former Haitian president Nord Alexis.

Pierre Nord Alexis was President of Haiti from 21 December 1902 to 2 December 1908.
He became president by leading troops loyal to him into the country's Chamber of Deputies and forcing the legislators to declare him president

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Haitian politician and revolutionary leader Pierre Francois Joseph Benoit also known as Rosalvo Bobo was born in 1874 and passed away in 1929. He came from the city of Cap-Haitien

Dr. Rosalvo Bobo was one of the leading personalities in Haiti before the American occupation of Haiti in 1915. His tactics were to attack prisons to release prisoners. At one time, he was obligated to take refuge at the German consulate in Haiti.

When Davilmar Joseph Theodore was elected president, he appointed Rosalvo Bobo, Minister of the Interior. However, Davildar Theodore was forced to resign in 1915, under pressure from United States.

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Alexandre Lerouge from Cap-Haitian, won a seat as a legislator

and challenged the government of Jean-Claude Duvalier

Alexandre Lerouge was supposed to run against Claude Vixamar, a former Prefect and one of the most popular personality in Cap-Haitian at the time.

Story would reveal that it was not the intention of Vixamar to run against Alexandre Lerouge. It was an order that came all the way from the first Lady, Simone Duvalier

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This is the picture of the Haitian poet Oswald Durand. Not only that Oswald Durand was a Haitian poet, he was also a politician. Many people see him as the Shakespeare of Haiti.

Born on September 17, 1840, in the city of Cap-Haïtien, Oswald Durand was a teacher and later was elected to Congress in 1885. He held that position for six times

Oswald Durand passed away on April 22, 1906.

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Antenor Firmin was born on October 18, 1850 in Cap-Haitian. He became a Haitian anthropologist, journalist, and politician. Antenor Firmin believes firmely in the principle that "all men are endowed with the same qualities and the same faults, regardless of color or anatomical form. For him, all races are equal.

His work was recognized by Haitians as well as scholars of Africans as an early work of négritude
His work includes: De l'Égalité des Races Humaines - published 1885, Haïti et la France - published 1891, Une Défense - published 1892, Diplomate et Diplomatie - published 1898 and M. Roosevelt, Président des États-Unis et la République d'Haïti - published 1905

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