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Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 240 kilometers in length and as much as 80 kilometers in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is 630 kilometers from the Central American mainland, 150 kilometers from Cuba on the north, and 180 kilometers from the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated, on the east. Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning either the "land of springs," or the "Land of wood and water." Formerly a Spanish possession known as Santiago, then the British West Indies Crown colony of Jamaica, the country's population is composed mainly of the descendants of former African slaves. It is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada.

History

Main article: History of Jamaica The original Arawak or Taino people from South America, first settled on the island between 1000 and 400 BC. They became virtually extinct following contact with Europeans. Jamaica was claimed for Spain after Christopher Columbus first landed there in 1494. Columbus used it as his family's private estate. The English Admiral William Penn (father of William Penn of Pennsylvania) and General Venables seized the island in 1655. During its first 200 years of British rule, Jamaica became the world's largest sugar exporting nation and produced over 77,000 tons of sugar annually between 1820 - 1824, which was achieved through the massive use of imported African slave labor. By the beginning of the 19th century, Britain's heavy reliance on slavery resulted in blacks outnumbering whites by a ratio of almost 20 to one, leading to constant threat of revolt. Following a series of rebellions, slavery was formally abolished in 1834, with full emancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838. Jamaica slowly gained increasing independence from the United Kingdom, and in 1958 Jamaica became a province in the Federation of the West Indies, a federation between all the British West Indies. Jamaica attained full independence by leaving the federation in 1962. However, the initial optimism following Jamaican independence for the next decade or so vanished as Jamaica became a victim of the international economic system. Rising foreign debt under the government of Michael Manley, who was determined to alleviate Jamaica's severe economic inequality, led to the imposition of IMF austerity measures. Deteriorating economic conditions led to a desperately fraught re-election campaign between Manley's People's National Party and the main opposition the, Jamaican Labour Party. Both political parties became linked with rival gangs in Kingston which were duly armed. This policy, along with the increasing emergence of Jamaica as a smuggling point for cocaine during the 1980s, led to recurrent violence and only served to increase the impoverishment of a large section of the Jamaican populace. The ultimate result of this cycle of violence, drugs and poverty has been the brutal gun warfare seen on Kingston's streets from the mid-1990s onwards. The Jamaican police force has also been accused of complicity in this murderous side of the island. It must be noted however that the rural sections of the island, especially in and around the resort towns of Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, remain quite safe. Former capitals of Jamaica include Port Royal, where the pirate Governor Morgan held sway, and which was destroyed by a storm and earthquake, and Spanish Town, in St. Catherine parish, the site of the old Spanish colonial capital and the English capital during the 18th and 19th century. Spanish Town

Politics

Main article: Politics of Jamaica Jamaica's current Constitution was drafted in 1962 by a bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaican legislature. It came into force with the Jamaica Independence Act, 1962 of the United Kingdom Parliament, which gave Jamaica political independence. The Jamaican head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is given the title of "Queen of Jamaica." The Queen is represented by a governor general, appointed by the Prime Minister. Both serve largely ceremonial roles. The Jamaican Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House (known as 'Members of Parliament' or MPs) are directly elected, and the leader of the majority party in the House becomes the Prime Minister. Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister, and the parliamentary Leader of the Opposition. The current Prime Minister of Jamaica is P. J. Patterson who has held office since the 1992 resignation of Michael Manley. The Current leader of the opposition is Bruce Golding. Patterson has been re-elected three times, the last being in 2002. Jamaica's constitution requires the Prime Minister to call the next general election by October 2007. Jamaica has traditionally had a two party system, with power often alternating between the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party. Jamaica is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Geography

Main article: Geography of Jamaica The island of Jamaica has mountainous inlands surrounded by a narrow coastal plain. For this reason, most major cities are located on the coast. Chief towns include the capital Kingston, Spanish Town, Mandeville, and Montego Bay. More [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=18.033360,-76.804379&spn=1.696014,3.689484&t=k&hl=en|detailed satellite maps] which allow zoom in and zoom out are available from Google's map server. A live [http://www.go-jamaica.com/webcam/ webcam atop the Gleaner Newspaper] building on 7 North Street in Kingston is available. The climate in Jamaica is tropical, with hot and humid weather, although inland regions have a more temperate climate. Some regions on the south coast, such as the Liguanea Plain and the Pedro Plains are relatively dry rain-shadow areas.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Jamaica Jamaica operates as a mixed, free-market economy with state enterprises as well as private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are the leading foreign exchange earners. Supported by multilateral financial institutions, Jamaica has, since the early 1980's, sought to implement structural reforms aimed at fostering private sector activity and increasing the role of market forces in resource allocation. Since 1991, the Government has followed a program of economic liberalization and stabilization by removing exchange controls, floating the exchange rate, cutting tariffs, stabilizing the Jamaican currency, reducing inflation and removing restrictions on foreign investment. Emphasis has been placed on maintaining strict fiscal discipline, greater openness to trade and financial flows, market liberalization and reduction in the size of government. During this period, a large share of the economy was returned to private sector ownership through divestment and privatization programs. The macroeconomic stabilization program introduced in 1991, which focused on tight fiscal and monetary policies, has contributed to a controlled reduction in the rate of inflation. The annual inflation rate has decreased from a high of 80.2% in 1991 to 7.9% in 1998. inflation for FY1998/99 was 6.2% compared to 7.2% in the corresponding period in FY1997/98. The Government remains committed to lowering inflation, with a long-term objective of bringing it in line with that of its major trading partners. After a period of steady growth from 1985 to 1995, real GDP decreased by 1.8% and 2.4% in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The decrease in GDP in 1996 and 1997 was largely due to significant problems in the financial sector and, in 1997, a severe island-wide drought (the worst in 70 years) that drastically reduced agricultural production. In 1997, nominal GDP was approximately J$220,556.2 million (US$6,198.9 million based on the average annual exchange rate of the period). GDP The economy in 1997 was marked by low levels of import growth, high levels of private capital inflows and relative stability in the foreign exchange market. Recent economic performance shows the Jamaican economy is recovering. Agricultural production, an important engine of growth increased 15.3% in third quarter of 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997, signaling the first positive growth rate in the sector since January 1997. Bauxite and alumina production increased 5.5% from January to December, 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997. January's bauxite production recorded a 7.1% increase relative to January 1998. Tourism, which is the largest foreign exchange earner, showed improvement as well. Growth in tourist arrivals accelerated in the third quarter of 1998 and tourism earnings, increased 8.5% from January to December 31, 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Jamaica Jamaica is mainly a blend of African and Anglo-Irish cultures, with influences from the Spanish and Taino cultures, although the Tainos as a people were completely wiped out by the Spanish soon after their arrival in 1494. These Tainos (sub-Arawaks) were known for archery and have left many remnants of their culture in artifacts and in at least one popular food (bammy- a small flat cake made of grated cassava). The majority of Jamaicans are Black, some 90.9%. Those who have melanated black and white mixed ancestry and just recently mixed Chinese, East Indian, and others make up the second largest group with 7.3%. Those who are East Indian, Chinese, European (chiefly British, and Irish), and Christian Syrian and Lebanese make up a smaller but influential number. The official language is English, although the patois form Jamaican Creole is widely spoken. There are also small numbers of people that speak Hindi, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish. According to adherants.com, 80.0% of Jamaica's 2.7 million people are Christian, the vast majority of them from various Protestant denomination which is evident of Jamaica's Anglo past. Roman Catholicism also enjoys a significant presence on the island. Top 5 denominations in Jamaica: Church of God: 21.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist: 9.0%, Baptist: 8.8%, Pentecostal: 7.6%, and Anglican: 5.0% Non-Christian religions are numerous, the largest being Rastafari, which is related to Christianity very strongly. Hinduism, and Buddhism are significant and growing due to immigration from India and China. Islam and Judaism number less than half a per cent combined.

Emigration

Over the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans have emigrated, especially to the United States but also to Canada and the United Kingdom. This emigration appears to have been tapering off somewhat in recent years, however, as the great number of Jamaicans living abroad has become known as the "Jamaican diaspora". Concentrations of expatriate Jamaicans are large in the South Florida metro area of Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles in the United States; Toronto in Canada centred mostly in the borough of Scarborough, Ontario; London, as well as the area of Chapeltown in Leeds, in the United Kingdom. The largest and most famous and vibrant Jamaican community in the world would be Brixton in South London.

Education

The emancipation of the slaves heralded in the establishment of Jamaican Education System for the masses. Prior to emancipation there were some elite schools for the plantocracy. Others sent their children off to England to access quality education. After emancipation the West Indian Commission granted a sum of money to establish Elementary Schools, now known as All Age Schools, for the children of the freed slaves. Most of these schools were established by the churches. This was the genesis of the stratified system of education that is still currently embedded in the policies of the 21st Century. Presently the following categories of schools exist: Early Childhood – Basic, Infant and privately operated pre- school. Age cohort – 4 – 6 years. Primary – Publicly and privately owned. Age cohort 6 – 12 years. Secondary – Publicly and privately owned. Age cohort 12 – 18 years. Tertiary - Community Colleges, Teachers’College, Vocational Training Centres and Universities.

Defence

The Jamaican Defence Force (JDF) is the small, but professional military force of Jamaica. The JDF is based upon the British military model with organisation, training, weapons and traditions closely aligned with Commonwealth Realm Countries. Once chosen officer candidates are sent to one of several British or Canadian basic officer courses depending upon which arm of service they are slated for. Enlisted soldiers are given basic training at JDF Training Depot Newcastle. As on the British model NCOs are given several levels of professional training as they rise up the ranks. Additional military schools are available for specialty training in Canada, the U.S., and Britain. The JDF is directly descended from the British West Indies Regiment formed during the colonial era. The West Indies Regiment was used extensively by the British Empire in policing the empire from 1795 to 1926. Other units in the JDF heritage include the early colonial Jamaica Militia, the Kingston Infantry Volunteers of WWI and reorganised into the Jamaican Infantry Volunteers in WWII. The West Indies Regiment was reformed in 1958 as part of the West Indies Federation. The dissolution of the Federation resulted in the establishment of the JDF. The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) comprises an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The infantry regiment contains the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (National Reserve) battalions. The JDF Air Wing is divided into three flight units, a training unit, a support unit and the JDF Air Wing (National Reserve). The Coast Guard element is divided between sea-going crews and support crews. It conducts maritime safety and maritime law enforcement as well as defence-related operations. The support battalion contains a Military Police platoon as well as vehicle, armourers and supply units. The 1st Engineer Regiment provides military engineering support to the JDF. The Headquarters JDF contains the JDF commander, command staff as well as intelligence, judge advocate office, administrative and procurement sections. In recent years the JDF has been called upon to assist the nation's police, the Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF) in fighting drug smuggling and a rising crime rate which includes one of the highest murder rates in the world. JDF units actively conduct armed patrols with the JCF in high-crime areas and known gang neighbourhoods. There has been vocal controversy as well as support of this JDF role. In early 2005, an opposition leader, Edward Seaga, called for the merger of the JDF and JCF. This move has not garnered support in either organisation nor among the majority of citizens.

Parishes and counties

Main article: Parishes of Jamaica Jamaica is divided into 3 counties and 14 parishes:
- Surrey (county) in the east, containing the parishes of:
- Kingston
- Portland
- Saint Andrew
- Saint Thomas
- Middlesex (county) in the centre, containing the parishes of:
- Clarendon
- Manchester
- Saint Ann
- Saint Catherine
- Saint Mary
- Cornwall (county) in the west, containing the parishes of:
- Hanover
- Saint Elizabeth
- Saint James
- Trelawny
- Westmoreland

Culture

Main articles: Culture of Jamaica, Music of Jamaica Though a small nation, Jamaica is rich in culture, and has a strong global presence. The musical genres reggae, ska, rocksteady, dub, and, more recently, dancehall, ragga, and ragga jungle all originated in Jamaica. Bob Marley, perhaps the best known reggae musician, was born in Jamaica, and is very well respected there. The Rastafarian religion was founded in, and is associated with, Jamaica. This Back to Africa movement believes that Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is God incarnate, the returned black messiah, come to take the lost Twelve Tribes of Israel back to live with him in Holy Mount Zion in a world of perfect peace, love and harmony. Bob Marley, a convert to the faith, spread the message of Rastafari to the world. There are now estimated to be more than a million Rastafarians throughout the world.
- National Bird - Doctor bird (Green-and-black Streamertail, Trochilus polytmus)
- National Flower - Lignum vitae (Guaiacum officinale)
- National Tree - Blue Mahoe (Hibiscus elatus)
- National Dish - Ackee and Saltfish

Miscellaneous topics

- Communications in Jamaica
- Foreign relations of Jamaica
- Geography of Jamaica
- List of Jamaicans
- Marcus Garvey
- Jamaican Posses
- Military of Jamaica
- Public Holidays in Jamaica
- Technology in Jamaica
- Transportation in Jamaica

External links

- [http://www.cabinet.gov.jm/ Cabinet Official Website]
- [http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=jamaica/ Google News about Jamaica]
- [http://www.liaja.org.jm/ Library and Information Association of Jamaica Website]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=18.138428,-77.266846&spn=1.304626,2.026978&t=k&hl=en google maps]
- [http://www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/Independence/symbols.html Jamaica national symbols]
- [http://www.visitjamaica.com/ Jamaica Tourist Board Official Website]
- [http://cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/jm.html CIA World Fact Book entry on Jamaica]
- [http://www.jamaicandiaspora.org The Jamaica Diaspora Organization Website]
- [http://www.yard-links.com Yard-links: Travel guide with island photography and information about the cities]
- [http://nature.org/wherewework/caribbean/jamaica/ Conservation in Jamaica], including [http://nature.org/wherewework/caribbean/jamaica/features/ photos of coral reefs] taken during a rapid ecological assessment
- [http://fiwi.alteroo.org The Jamaican Wiki]
- [http://www.pacificnet.net/~jaweb/ JaWeb]
- [http://www.jam-boree.com/html/jambo.html Jam-boree Newspaper Website]
- [http://www.jamaicancaves.org/ Jamaican Caves Organisation (JCO)]
- [http://jis.gov.jm/ The Jamaica Information Service] Category:Caribbean countries Category:Caribbean islands Category:CARICOM member states Category:Island nations Category:Former British colonies
- zh-min-nan:Jamaica ko:자메이카 ms:Jamaika ja:ジャマイカ simple:Jamaica

Island nation

An island nation is a country that is wholly confined to an island or island group, and has no territory on the mainland of the world's continents. Forty-seven of the world's countries are island nations, including most of the smallest ones. Island nations can be divided in two approximate groups. There are those that are large, relatively populous, and usually close to a continent. These include the United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Madagascar. These countries typically share cultural and political similarities with their continental neighbours. Their island status has sometimes been an important advantage that has isolated them from invasion and made them important in regional trade because of their locations and the maritime abilities of the population. Australia can be considered this category of nation taken to an extreme: an island nation so large it is considered a continent. Smaller island nations such as the Comoros, the Bahamas, Tonga, and the Maldives tend to be very different from continental nations. The small size usually means there is little agricultural land and rarely many natural resources. However, in modern times smaller island nations around the world have become centres for tourism, which in many is today the dominant industry. Some island nations are centered on one or two major islands, such as the United Kingdom and Fiji. Others are spread out over hundreds or thousands of smaller islands, such as Indonesia or the Maldives. Some island nations share their islands with other countries; these include the Republic of Ireland, Haiti, and Papua New Guinea. The opposite of an island nation is a landlocked one.

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a tropical body of water adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. It covers most of the Caribbean Plate and is bounded on the south by Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, to the north by the Greater Antilles islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest salt water seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km² (1,063,000 square miles). The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trench, between Cuba and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,220 feet) below sea level. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, especially the numerous islands, is known as the Caribbean.

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and various adjacent small islands. The name Cuba is said to be derived from the Taíno word cubanacán, meaning "a central place." It is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cuba is south of the eastern United States, and the Bahamas, west of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti, and east of Mexico. The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are south of eastern Cuba.

History

Cuba was first visited by Europeans when explorer Christopher Columbus made landfall here for the first time on October 28, 1492, at the eastern tip of Cuba, in the Cazigazgo of Baracoa. Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar led the Spanish invasion, subdued the indigenous populations, became governor of Cuba for Spain in 1511 and built a villa in Baracoa, which became the first capital of the island and also in 1518 [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07153b.htm] the seat of the (Diocese) of the first bishop of Cuba. At that time Cuba was populated by at least two distinct indigenous peoples: Taíno and Ciboney (or Siboney). Both groups were prehistoric neolithic, perhaps copper age, cultures. Some scholars consider it important to distinguish the Taíno from the neo-Taíno nations of Cuba, the Lucaya of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and to a lesser extent from Haiti and Quisqueya (approximately the Dominican Republic), since the neo-Taíno had far more diverse cultural input and a greater societal and ethnic heterogeneity than the true high Taíno of Boriquen (Puerto Rico). Most of pre-Colombian inhabitants of Cuba, including the Siboney, can in first approximation fall under the general group of neo-Taíno. The Taíno were skilled farmers and the Ciboney were a hunter-gatherer society with supplemental farming. Taínos and Ciboney took part in similar customs and beliefs, one being the sacred ritual practiced using tobacco called cohoba, known in English as smoking. The Taínos (Island Arawak) were part of a cultural group commonly called the Arawak, which extends far into South America. Residues of Taíno poetry, songs, sculpture, and art are found today throughout the major Antilles. The Arawak and other such cultural groups are responsible for the flourishing development of perhaps 60% of crops in common use today and some major industrial materials such as rubber. Europeans were shown by the indigenous Cubans how to cultivate tobacco and to smoke it in various ways. Approximately 16 to 60 thousand, or perhaps many more, indigenous from the Taíno and Ciboney nations inhabited Cuba before colonization. The Indigenous Cuban population, including the Ciboney and the Taíno, were forced into encomiendas during the Spanish subjugation of the island of Cuba. One famous reservation was known as Guanabacoa, today a suburb of Havana. Many indigenous Cubans fell victim to the brutality of Spanish conquistadores (as witnessed and lamented by the people as Bartolomé de Las Casas) and the diseases they brought with them, which were previously unknown to them. Most Conquistadors took Taínas as brides, common law wives or as was more frequent had casual sexual congress with these with these island women [http://opwest.org/Archive/2003/200303_OriqueThesis/200303_01_oriquethesis.htm] since few Spanish women crossed the Atlantic in those days of conquest. Their children were called mestizo, but the residents called them Guajiro, which translates as "one of us". Today, Taíno descendants maintain their heritage near Baracoa. Cuba had first served as base for Spanish conquest of the mainland of the Americas, but the island was almost depopulated in this effort. After the conquest of the Americas the resulting treasure, mined gold and silver, emeralds, chocolate and several then important plant products such as dyes and medicine was transported in the Spanish treasure fleet from the Americas and later from the Philippines to Spain using Cuban ports as safe harbors along the way. In this period there were further indigenous risings most especially that of Guamá, one of the last Taino leaders to organize resistance to Spanish rule. But once Taino/Ciboney uprisings were no longer a concern, new ones arose from buccaneers, pirates, and privateers (e.g. Jacques de Sores [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/cuba/colonial.htm]), Alexander Exquemelin and Henry Morgan) and invasions as other countries (e.g. England Guantánamo Bay) tried to take the possessions that the Spanish had gathered for themselves, and their colonial descendents viewed as their own. Attacks on both ships and cities required Spain to respond by organizing convoys to protect the ships and building forts to protect the cities. However, Cuba’s most effective defense was yellow fever which killed off invading forces. yellow fever Spanish mercantilism caused Spain to keep Cuba relatively isolated to external influences, but beginning with the year long occupation of Havana by the British in 1762 at the end of the Seven Years' War, Cuba became more open economically to both the importation of slaves and advances in sugar cultivation and processing. The massive La Cabaña fortress, never taken by assault, which completely dominates Havana Bay was built soon after Havana, exchanged for Florida, was returned to Spain. However, the fortress would later become infamous as a place of execution and imprisonment, not unlike the Bastille in Paris. Cuban colonial forces participated in Spain's efforts during the American Revolutionary War, helping Spain to gain East and West Florida. Between 1791 to 1804, many French fled to Cuba from the Haitian revolution, bringing with them slaves and expertise in sugar refining and coffee growing. As a result Cuba became the world's major sugar producer, but by 1884, slavery was abolished after having been weakened during the struggle to secure independence for Cuba. The colony's struggle for independence lasted throughout the second half of the 19th century with the first effort with any success being the Ten Years' War beginning in 1868 . The writer and rebel organizer José Martí landed in Cuba with rebel exiles in 1895, but little more than a month later was killed in battle. He remains the major hero in Cuba to this day, and his legacy is claimed by both the supporters and opponents of the current government. While he expressed a preference for the U.S. Constitution and enjoyed some popularity in the United States, he was concerned about U.S. expansionism. It is notable that some Taíno first fought the Mambi and then joined them to comprise the Hatuey Regiment [http://www.kacike.org/Barreiro.html]. Between 1895 and early 1898 revolution controlled most of the countryside and some towns, but the efforts of the Spanish, who held the major cities, to pacify the island did not cease until the United States occupied the island in the Spanish-American War of 1898. Cuban independence was granted in 1902, though limited by the Platt Amendment, which granted the United States a major influence in Cuban affairs and required Cuba to grant the United States a lease for Guantánamo Bay. Tomás Estrada Palma (term 1902-1906) was Cuba's first peacetime and elected president. Using the provisions of the Platt Amendment, U.S. troops occupied Cuba a second time from 1906 to 1909. The Platt Amendment was revoked in 1934, but the lease of Guantánamo Bay was extended against a nominal sum. Fulgencio Batista led the 1933 Sergeants' Revolt overthrowing the transitional government after Gerardo Machado’s dictatorship collapsed, and became first the Army Chief of Staff and eventually the man in charge under a series of presidents until 1940 when he was elected president himself. He had passed a new progressive constitution and in 1944 left office retiring to Florida for a time. However, in 1952 Batista seized power in an almost bloodless coup three months before the planned election and instituted an oppressive dictatorship. As a result many civil and guerrilla groups started opposing him. 1952 In 1953, Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada barracks, was exiled to Mexico, but returned to Cuba on November 1956 with 82 fighters trained by Alberto Bayo (a former colonel in the Spanish Republican Army), and with the help of popular discontent managed to overthrow Batista, who fled the country, on 1 January 1959. Castro established a Soviet-leaning one party Communist state, the first in the Western Hemisphere, although Castro did not officially reveal his Marxist-Leninist leanings until 1961. According to Antonio Núñez Jiménez at the time when Batista was deposed, 75% of Cuba's prime farm land was owned by foreign individuals or foreign (mostly U.S.) companies. Cuba’s main crop was sugar, for the American and to a lesser extent English market. Most of Cuba's sugar was exported to the United States because Cuba was given a large quota, which was paid above world prices in part to help domestic US industry. [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cable/cable-3-16-55.htm] The new revolutionary government adopted successive "land reforms" and eventually confiscated almost all private property. At first, Castro was reluctant to discuss his plans for the future, but eventually he declared himself a communist, explained that he was trying to build socialism in Cuba, focusing on free health care and education for all, and began close political and economic relations with the Soviet Union. Since Castro came to power, the United States has since progressively enacted legislation intended to isolate Cuba economically via the U.S. embargo and other measures, such as prosecuting US citizens who vacation in Cuba. For more on these issues see the Economy section below The Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961 by U.S. backed Cuban expatriates failed because U.S. president John F. Kennedy left the invaders stranded for fear of getting officially involved. The expected urban revolt collapsed when it became clear Brigade 2506 had been abandoned to its fate; and because the Soviet Union warned Castro, who ordered numerous executions and preemptive mass arrests of those thought likely to support a counter-revolution. [http://www.uoregon.edu/~caguirre/ackerman.pdf],(Priestland, 2003). Church schools were confiscated, clergy were arrested, [http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/clark12298.html] and expelled en masse. In the rural central provinces the War Against the Bandits (circa 1959-1965) was suppressed by massed Castro militia, many executions and internal deportations of rebel supporters. The Cuban Missile Crisis started with the Soviet Union installing nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962. In response, the United States put up a blockade in international waters. This is generally believed to be the closest the world has come to a nuclear holocaust. The Soviet Union backed down, agreeing to remove the missiles in exchange for United States promises to remove similar nuclear missiles in Turkey and to never invade Cuba again. After this, the United States never openly threatened Cuba again, but was said to engage in absurdly elaborate covert activities to assassinate Castro, namely The Cuban Project. Castro and the US dueled in Cold War actions. In a 1976 a notorious terrorist attack on Cubana Flight 455 in which 73 died was allegedly masterminded by CIA funded Castro opponents operating from Venezuela. In April 1980, over 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum. In response to this, Castro allowed anyone who desired to leave the country to do so through the port of Mariel. Under the Mariel boatlift, over 125,000 Cubans migrated to the United States. Eventually the United States stopped the flow of vessels and Cuba ended the uncontrolled exodus. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 dealt Cuba a giant economic blow. This led to another unregulated exodus of asylum seekers to the United States in 1994, which was slowed to a trickle of a few thousand a year by the U.S.-Cuban accords. Now it seems to be increasing again although at a far slower rate than before [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/13331841.htm].

Politics

The Cuban constitution states that, "the Communist Party of Cuba...is the superior guiding force of society and the state". Members of the Communist Party of Cuba are selected by the party in a thorough process that includes interviews with co-workers and neighbors. Those selected are considered model citizens because they are viewed as strong supporters of the revolution. It makes recommendations concerning the future development of the revolution, and it criticizes tendencies it considers counterrevolutionary. It has a relatively large influence in Cuba, but its authority is moral, not on any legal authority. Elections are held by secret ballot. The Communist Party of Cuba is the sole legal political party, and no other party is legally allowed to exist. The vast majority of candidates are members of the Communist Party despite the fact that only 15 percent of the Cuban electorate are members. However, independent candidates are allowed to stand and do get elected. Critics of the Cuban government say the high proportion of Communists in power is due to the Communist Party's control over Cuba, while supporters say it shows that the Party has wide support among the populace. Save for those convicted of crimes, everyone age 16 or older can vote. The people nominate and elect candidates for the municipal assemblies. Candidates for the National Assembly are nominated by municipal assemblies and put to a yes/no vote; citizens are to vote for several candidates at both levels of government and may vote for none, some, or all of them. If the candidates do not receive more than 51% of the votes, new elections will be scheduled. Legislative power is nominally in the hands of the National Assembly of People’s Power. However, save for two sessions a year, legislative power is exercised by the 31 member Council of State which is elected by the National Assembly from itself. Executive authority is formally vested in the Council of Ministers, a large cabinet comprised of 8 members of the Council of State, the heads of the national ministries, and other persons. A smaller Executive Committee consisting of the more important members of the Council of Ministers oversees normal business. Fidel Castro has been the head of government since 1959, first as prime minister and, after the abolition of that office with the adoption of the 1976 Constitution, as President of the Council of State, which also serves as head of state. He is also First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, and since 1976 a member of the National Assembly from the municipality of Santiago de Cuba. (The 1976 Consitution and its 1992 revision require that the President of the Council of State be a member of the National Assembly.)

Human rights

The Cuban government has in the past been accused of numerous human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, unfair trials, and extra-judicial executions. Many argue that several thousand unjustified deaths have occurred under Castro's leadership. However, although dissidents currently complain of 'low-intensity' harrassment, there are no claims of torture and the administration banned capital punishment in 2001, making an exception for the perpetrator of an armed hijacking 2 years later. Military Units to Aid Production (or UMAPs) were labor camps established in 1965, according to Castro, for "people who have committed crimes against revolutionary morals" in order to work counter-revolutionary influences out of certain segments of the population. Groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also criticize the alleged censorship, the lack of press freedom in Cuba, the lack of civil rights, the outlawing of political opposition groups and unions, and the lack of free and democratic elections. The government recognizes only one labor union, the Worker's Central of Cuba (Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, CTC). Independent labor unions are denied formal status and their members are harassed. No local human rights groups enjoy legal status. Cuba remains one of the few countries in the world, and the only one in the Western Hemisphere, to deny the International Committee of the Red Cross access to its prisons. [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/cuba9848.htm] Supporters of the Cuban government argue that the human rights record, living standards and health care in Cuba are better than those which existed under Castro's predecessor, Fulgencio Batista, and would have continued improving were it not for American economic sanctions imposed in 1962. They also argue that the electoral system in today's Cuba is more democratic than when Cuba was essentially a satellite state of the United States. Opponents argue that many measures of living standards have decreased since the revolution, that health care has improved in many other Latin American countries, and that Cuba is the only Latin American country not to have democratized in a post-Cold War environment. Justifying the Cuban government's policies, Castro claims they are an appropriate response to alleged U.S. covert activities in Cuba.

Provinces

Cuba is now divided into 14 provinces, and one special municipality (the Isla de la Juventud). Cuba in the Early 20th Century, (see History of Cuba) was divided into six much larger provinces. The present subdivisions closely resemble those of Spanish military provinces during the Cuban Wars of Independence.

Geography

History of Cuba Geologically Cuba was once in the Pacific, and crossing between North and South America before they were joined, "crashed" into what is now Florida [http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02mexico/background/geology/geology.html]. Cuba, 65 million years ago, also received part of the impact of Chicxulub Crater with tsunami kilometers high reaching at least 500 Km away to the middle provinces [http://www.cuba.cu/ciencia/citma/ama/museo/pugeorr.htm], [http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulos/26483.html] and beyond. The elongated island (aprox. 760 miles long) of Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and is bounded to the north by the Straits of Florida and the greater North Atlantic Ocean, to the northwest by the Gulf of Mexico, to the west by the Yucatan Channel, to the south by the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Windward Passage. The Republic comprises the entire island, including many outlying islands such as the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth), previously known as the Isla de los Pinos (Isle of Pines). Guantánamo Bay, is a naval base that has been leased by the United States since 1903, a lease that has been contested since 1960 by Castro. The main island is the world's 16th largest. The island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains, with more rugged hills and mountains primarily in the southeast and the highest point is the Pico Real del Turquino at 2,005 m. The local climate is tropical, though moderated by trade winds. There is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. Some of the well-known smaller towns are Baracoa which was the first Spanish settlement on Cuba, as well as Trinidad and Bayamo.
- ISBN 959-7117-03-7

Society

Demographics

Bayamo According to the CIA's World Factbook, Cuba is 51% mulatto (mixed white and black), 37% white, 11% black, and 1% Chinese. The Chinese population in Cuba derives mostly from Chinese taken to Cuba during the 19th century to build railroads and work in the mines, as was also occurring in the United States at this time. Once the work was completed, however, most of them could not afford the passage back to China and remained in the Island. Historical papers show that, while considered inferior to Cubans of European descent, they were considered to be superior to blacks because they had lighter skin. In Cuba there is little racial tension in the attitude of people towards each other. Still, in Santiago de Cuba there is a sizeable Jamaican population that suffers from an image of being lazy. Also, lighter skinned people often have 'higher' jobs (although in socialist Cuba this does not translate in a high difference in income). The melting pot is expressed not only in a racial sense, but also in religion (see below) and the music of Cuba. There is internal illegal immigration to Havana seeking greater opportunities, these internal illegals are called "palestinos." Cuba has a low birth rate. The fertility rate of 1.5 children per woman (in 1995-2000) is the lowest of any country in the western hemisphere (tied with Canada and Barbados). A contributing cause is Cuba's policy of abortion on demand. Cuba has a high abortion rate of 77.7 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 1996, 3rd highest in the world among 55 countries whose abortion rate was available to be compiled in a 1999 UN study. [http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abt/fabt.htm] Selective terminiation of high-risk pregnancies is one factor contributing to the low official infant mortality rate in Cuba of 5.8 per thousand births. ([http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2005_(English).pdf State of the World's Children 2005]) However, this high abortion rate and very low birth rate, reminiscent of former Communist Eastern Europe and Russia, threatens to cause the population to shrink significantly in the coming decades, although this has not happened yet due to relatively small numbers of elderly. Immigration and emigration have had noticeable changes in the demographic profile of Cuba during the 20th century. Between 1900 and 1930 close to a million Spaniards arrived from Spain. Cuba has historically been more heavily European than other Caribbean islands, and in 1950 was said to have a 75% white majority. Since 1959, over a million Cubans have left the island, primarily to Miami, Florida where a vocal, well educated and economically very successful anti-Castro community exists (Cuban-American lobby). [http://www.sela.org/public_html/AA2K2/eng/docs/coop/migra/spsmirdi12-02/spsmirdi12-2.htm] The emigration that occurred immediately after the Cuban Revolution was primarily of the upper and middle classes that were predominantly white, thus contributing to a demographic shift along with changes in birth rates among the various ethnic groups. After the chaos that accompanied the Mariel boatlift, Cuba and the United States (commonly called the 1994 Clinton-Castro accords [http://history.acusd.edu/gen/20th/1990s/clinton.html]) have agreed to limit emigration to the United States. Under this, the United States grants a specific number of visas to those wishing to emigrate (20,000 since 1994) while those Cubans picked up at sea trying to emigrate without a visa are returned to Cuba. However, U.S. law [http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/residency/CAA.htm] grants U.S. residency to any Cuban who arrives on U.S. soil without a visa, thus there is still an unofficial exodus [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/13141840.htm]; these escapes are often most ingenious e.g. [http://www.local6.com/news/5330948/detail.html]. The numbers of Cubans who leave by sea is still about 2.000 a year but the trend is upward at present [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/13331841.htm].

Education

The University of Havana, Cuba's oldest university, was founded in 1721; prior to 1959 there were two other official universities Universidad de Oriente (founded in 1947) and Universidad Central de Las Villas (founded in 1857); private universities included Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva (founded in 1946); in 1961 private schools and universities were nationalized (without payment), [http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba5/FILE25.PDF], [http://sunsite.tus.ac.jp/pub/academic/chemistry/iupac/Download/publications/ci/1999/march/cuba.html]. Historically, Cuba has had some of the highest rates of education and literacy in Latin America [http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba8/30smith.pdf]. In Cuba literacy was defined as the ability to write a letter to Castro [http://www.communitytechnology.org/cuba/photos.html]. Based on this 1961 criteria], illiteracy was first eradicated after the Cuban revolution. These statistics have been challenged [http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=2539] In a 1998 study by UNESCO which used Cuban governments statistics, Cuban third and fourth graders were reported better educated in basic language and mathematics skills than children in other Latin American countries that took part in the study, with the "test achievement of the lower half of students in Cuba is significantly better than the test achievement of the upper half of students in the countries that (fell) immediately behind Cuba" in the study group. [http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/1998cuba.html] All students regardless of age and gender wear school uniforms with the color denoting grade level.

Public health

Castro has long made the promise of free, universal health care an important part of the case for his government. Cuba's healthcare system is widely regarded as one of the best in the developing world; however WHO data cited here comes directly from national health authorities of each country [http://www.paho.org/english/dd/ais/coredata.htm]. Cuba has had good doctors for centuries such as Carlos Finlay, who determined how yellow fever was spread. The massive Havana hospital, "Calixto Garcia" as well as 72 others were operating well before 1959. http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba8/30smith.pdf, http://136.142.158.105/Lasa2003/McGuireJames.pdf However, like the rest of the Cuban economy, Cuban medical care has suffered from severe material shortages following the end of Soviet subsidies. Support from the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez has alleviated some of those problems. Today, Cuba has over 20,000 health workers in Venezuela, with over 5,000 more spread around the world in over 60 additional countries, as it views such missions an important part of its foreign policy. They offer medical services to 85,154,748 people; 34,700,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean and 50,400,000 in Africa and Asia. These health workers are not allowed to have their families travel with them, which some observers charge is to insure the workers will return and not defect [http://www.forbes.com/home/free_forbes/2005/1114/204.html]. Like a number of countries, Cuba has developed a hospital system for health tourists, taking advantage of a combination of low labor costs, an educated work force, and the ability of such tourists to pay in much desired hard currency for their care. It is not open to regular Cuban citizens. The country is now able to operate and provide services in all branches of ophthalmology to hundreds of thousands of patients. Castro promises that one hundred thousand Venezuelans will receive these services this year, and until July 2005, 25,024 patients from said country, and a similar number of Cubans will have been operated on [http://www.nnc.cubaweb.cu/agosto-05/nac9208-05.htm]. 15,000 citizens of the Caribbean community will receive this form of medical care between the second half of June 2005 and June 2006. Venezuela and Cuba have offered to provide another 100,000 Latin Americans with this service within the same period. Cuba has been able to reduce reported infant mortality to zero in certain remote rural areas.[http://www.lademajagua.co.cu/archivo2003.htm].

Economy

Cuba's socialist economy is based on state ownership with some small scale private enterprise allowed or disallowed as government wishes. For 2005, 68% of the state budget spending is to be directed to raising the levels of education, public health, social security, culture, sports and science and technology. [http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/diciembre/vier24/01presup.html] According to Cuban statistics, during the first half of the year the Cuban economy grew by 7.3% and an increase of around 9% is expected by the end of the year, as a result of the positive tendencies that have been observed. [http://www.mltoday.com/Pages/Cuba/Fidel-Moncada-05.html] Since the fall of Cuba's many trading partners, the island has focused on urban communal farms. "Last year alone we produced 27 kilograms of vegetables per square metre. When we first started this farm three years ago it stood at 18 kilograms. And we expect this year's harvest to yield no less than 30 kilograms. That's an increase of around 30% year on year.", says Senora Hernandes, in charge of one of hundreds of small urban farms dotted around Havana. "A recent report by the American agency for sustainable farming, Food First, said annual production of fruit and vegetables is growing at 250% a year." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1409898.stm] Historically, sugar, tobacco and (later) nickel were the main sources of foreign trade income for Cuba. But in the 1990s tourism saw an explosive growth, becoming the second most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean to the Dominican Republic. Until recently Cubans also receive an estimated $850 million annually from Cubans in the U.S. who send money to relatives or friends. In 1993 the U.S. dollar was made legal tender (the country operated under a dual-currency system); this arrangement was, however, revoked on 25 October 2004. At that time, use of the dollar in business was officially banned, and a 10% surcharge was introduced for the conversion of dollars (in cash) to convertible pesos, the island's new official currency. Other currencies, including the euro, were not affected. See details at [http://www.globalpolicy.org/nations/sovereign/dollar/2004/1026cubadollar.htm the Ludwig Van Mises Institute]. The Cuban economy was hit hard in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Comecon economic bloc, with which it had traded predominantly. For several decades, Cuba received what was effectively a Soviet subsidy, whereby Cuba provided the Soviet Union with sugar and the Soviets provided Cuba with petroleum at below market prices. In response, Cuba opened up to tourism, which is now a major source of income. Since 2003, both tourism levels and nickel prices increased. One other factor in the proclaimed recovery of the Cuban economy were the remittances from Cuban-Americans, now much diminished, which for a while constituted a large part of the external inputs into the Cuban Economy. Cuba currently trades with almost every nation in the world, albeit with restrictions from the U.S. embargo. Trade with the United States is restricted to cash-only transactions for food and medicine. Any company that deals with Cuba risks problems dealing with the United States, so internationally operating companies may be forced to choose between Cuba and the United States, which is a far larger market. This extraterritorial U.S. legislation is considered highly controversial, and the U.S. embargo was condemned for the 13th time in 2004 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, by 179 countries (out of 183 voting). The main current trading partners of Cuba are: Venezuela, China, Spain, Canada and, the Netherlands. Cuba has a significant foreign debt load. Cuba owes approximately $5.4 billion in foreign debt to Paris Club nations such as France, Japan and Germany. Cuba also has other sources of debt including approximately $25 billion in debt disputed with Russia dating from the era of the Soviet Union. [http://www.mosnews.com/money/2005/09/15/cubadebt.shtml] The lack of domestic sources of capital financing, an inherent by-product of its socialist economic system, makes Cuba's debt extremely vulnerable to disruptions in trade. Paris Club Although U.S. citizens are not officially banned from travelling to Cuba, they are generally prohibited from spending money there (exceptions are made for students studying in Cuba, diplomats, certain business people, and people with family members in Cuba), which amounts to a de facto travel ban, as Cuba requires that foreign visitors spend a minimum of three nights in a hotel; moreover, the only direct flights from the United States are strictly for those with family members in Cuba, or others with licences from OFAC. Nevertheless, U.S. citizens can visit Cuba by travelling through other countries (like Mexico, Canada or the Bahamas) because Cuban immigration does not stamp the passports (the visum is a separate leaflet). However, U.S. citizens are liable to fines and imprisonment if discovered and prosecuted by the U.S. government. Although struggling with its economy since the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has seen substantial improvements since the early 1990s. The economy has been helped in recent years by strong tourism, international investment in nickel production and oil exploration as well as beneficial oil purchases from Venezuela, in exchange for medical services. A major problem is damage from hurricanes. All Caribbean islands suffer from hurricanes and Castro uses this as an argument to urge the islands to cooperate, promoting an agreement of mutual self-insurance, so that if one island gets hit, the other islands will help it out. He says that if the United States get hit, the economy of the rest of the country will take the blow, but if a Caribbean island gets hit, that may devastate the entire economy. Over 7,300 homes have been completed in 2005. Plans to repair the majority of homes partially affected by Hurricane Dennis and others [http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/hurricanes/] are said underway. The Cuban government predicts that no less than 10,000 of the homes destroyed will be built again as new and the plans to finish and construct new homes to cover the most urgent requirements will continue, up to at least 30,000 additional housing. Cuba is notable for its national organic agriculture initiative. However, it is wise to keep in mind that Cuban government is said by some to be less than open about agricultural abuses [http://www.cubanet.org/opi/03020401.htm]. In the early 1990s, post-Soviet Union, Cuba lost over 70% of agricultural chemical imports, over 50% of food imports, and an equally significant amount of oil. Its agricultural sector, built on a large-scale, mechanized, chemical-based model, was instantly crippled. By restructuring its agricultural industry, and focusing scientific efforts on organic solutions, Cuba managed to rapidly and successfully convert the country to entirely organic production. Currently, only organic agriculture is permitted by law, which while having the effect of reducing the need for imports, has also led to lower yields. Combined with the removal of marginal land from sugar farming, this led to a reduction in total sugar production of over 50% from around Combined with the removal of marginal land from sugar farming, this led to a reduction in total sugar production of over 70% from around 7 millions tons anually in the late 1980s to around 3 million tons annually in the late 1990s [http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/asce/cuba5/FILE30.PDF] [http://www.fas.usda.gov/htp/highlights/2001/IATR/cubaiatr.pdf]; to 1.6 million tons in 2004 [http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/pubs/701_731/pub3793.PDF]. Today, Cuba is a leading nation in biotechnology, and Cuban expertise is exported to Iran [http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/enero/lun17/04iran.html]; however some claim that this relates to biowar potential [http://www.netforcuba.org/Columnists/Cereijo/001en-CubaandTerrorism.htm]. More than 100 million USD are currently being invested in the pharmaceutical industry. On a total population of 11 million, Cuba has 250,000 educators, 67,500 medical doctors, and 34,000 physical education and sports professors and technicians.[http://www.embacubalebanon.com/discurso05apr2001e.html]

Culture

biotechnology
- Music of Cuba
- Cuban Literature
- Cuban cinema
- Public holidays in Cuba Cuban culture is much influenced by the fact that it is a melting pot of cultures, mostly from Spain and Africa. It has produced its fair share of literature, including the output of non-Cuban Ernest Hemingway. But best known is Cuban music, the most central form of which is Son, which has been the basis of many other musical styles like salsa. chachachá was invented to make it possible for 'Yankees' to dance to Cuban music. A musical instrument invented in Cuba is the Tres. The Cuban mass media are under state control and are uniformly pro-government in their outlook. The Cuban media often portray a contrast between contented Cuban children and children dealing in drugs, dragged into prostitution, or living in the shantytowns of Bogotá, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, the pueblos jóvenes of Peru, or the favelas of Brazil. The Cuban government restricts the books that are available in the country. Castro's critics claim this is to prevent counter-revolutionary books from being available. Castro claims instead that "In Cuba there are no prohibited books, only those we do not have money to buy." However, there exist persecuted underground libraries which the Cuban government alleges are organized and financed by the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba.

Religion

The religious landscape of Cuba is strongly marked by syncretisms of various kinds. In the post-revolutionary era religious practice was discouraged, and Cuba, from 1962, was officially an atheist state until 1992 which it amended its constitution to become formally a secular state. While the papal visit to Cuba has strengthened official Catholicism, most Cubans share a motley of faiths that include popular Catholicism, over 50 versions of Protestantism, spiritism, African-derived beliefs. The most important currents of these are Regla de Ocha (known as Santería), which derives from Yoruban religion, Regla de Palo Monte, which derives from Congo-based religions, and the Sociedad Secreta Abakuá, which derives from the secret men's societies in the region of Calabar, in south-eastern Nigeria. It is assumed that Santería and popular Catholicism are the most widely followed religious beliefs in Cuba, though these are by no means exclusive, and one can easily be a follower of several religious currents at the same time, as well as being a member of the communist party. Pentecostalism is also growing rapidly, and the Assemblies of God alone claims a membership of over 100,000 people. Cuba has small but vibrant Jewish, Muslim and Bahá'í populations. Havana still has one or two active synagogues and mosques. Freemasonry is also practised (although this is not a religion). In Cuba 6 January is the "Día de los Reyes Magos" which in English means "Day of Kings" is celebrated to commemorate the day that the Three Wise Men came to visit Jesus according to the Gospels. As in most Latin American countries as well as Spain, this day is celebrated in conjunction with, or sometimes instead of Christmas Day. Important religious festivals include various days dedicated to the saints such as the "Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre" (the Virgin of Cobre, Cuba's patron saint, syncretised with Santería's Ochún) on September 8, and San Lázaro (Lazarus) (syncretised with Babalu Ayé), on December 17.

External links

General

- [http://cuba.alivepages.com Information about Cuba] — Culture, history, demography, geography, religion, etc.
- [http://onu.edu/cuba Center for Cuban Business Studies] — The Cuba Center at Ohio Northern University
- [http://www.webhavana.com/CubaMaps/index.php Cuba Maps] — Maps of all the provinces of Cuba, and maps of the major cities.
- [http://www.cubamusic.biz Cubamusic] — All about Cuban music
- [http://www.cubanet.org/cubanews.html CUBANET] — An anti-Castro site including news articles from Cuba's independent journalists and a digest of Cuban news by international newspapers
- [http://www.cubaencuentro.com Encuentro en la Red] — Independent news and cultural site on Cuban matters
- [http://www.antanlontan-antilles.com/caribbean-postcards/cuba.htm Discover Cuba through a collection of old Photos & Vintage Postcards.]
- [http://www.travel-impressions.de/cuba/cuba_mix/waves.htm Photos of people and Sights]
- [http://www.cuba-pictures.com/ Cuba Pictures] Photos from all 14 Cuban provinces, plus the city of Havana
- [http://www.paseosporlahabana.com/ Paseos por La Habana] Havana guide (in Spanish) and travel information. Details of culture, history, traditions, routes, hotels, restaurants and bars.
- [http://www.kuba-cuba.com/english.html Link guide to Cuba.] Discover Cuba through a collection of sorted links.
- [http://www.cubaaidsproject.com Cuba AIDS Project] HIV and AIDS in Cuba
- [http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/spain_and_spaniard.html Spain and the Spaniard] A contemporary opinion of the Cuban uprising
- [http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_CUB.html UN HDI] — Human Development Index for Cuba from UN
- [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/1033/ IFEX] — Freedom of expression in Cuba from IFEX
- [http://www.quaylargo.com/Productions/McCelvey.html/ The Electoral process in Cuba] — Democracy in Cuba
- [http://www.cubaminrex.cu/English/61CDH/Complete%20texts/Cuba%B4s%20Political%20and%20Elections%20System.htm Cuba's Political and electoral system]
- [http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/c2461.htm U.S. Department of State] — Cuba, from the U.S. government's point of view
- [http://www.cuban-store.com Todo de Cuba] Many informations about Cuba
- [http://www.mi-cuba.de.to The Infoportal of Cuba] Information in English, French and German
- [http://www.cubanet.org/ref/dis/const_92_e.htm The Cuban Constitution]
- [http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=PRhemingway] Allinson, Sidney. Military History Undercover: Ernest Hemingway

Printed sources

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ISBN 0897294904, All volumes ISBN 8439925808 El'Toro, John Demico Chicano 2005 Cuban Secrets: I look like a Jackson Tribunal Publishing Corporation (July, 2005) ISBN 0544235617 Enamorado, Calixto 1917 Tiempos. Heroicos Persecucion. Rambla, Bauza and Company, Havana. Encinosa, Enrique G. l989 La Guerra Olvidada Un Libro Historico De Los Combatientes Anticastristas En Cuba (1960-1966). Editorial SIBI, Miami Evans, Walker (Photographer), and Andrei Codrescu 2001 Walker Evans: Cuba (Hardcover) J. Paul Getty Trust Publications ISBN 0892366176 Fermoselle, Rafael 1992 Cuban leadership after Castro: Biographies of Cuba's top commanders. North-South Center, University of Miami, Research Institute for Cuban Studies; 2nd ed. Fuentes, Norberto 2004 La Autobiografia De Fidel Castro Editorial Planeta, Mexico D.F ISBN 8423336042, ISBN 9707490012 Greene, Graham 1958 Our Man in Havana: Viking ISBN 067053141laneta, Mexico D.F ISBN 8423336042, ISBN 9707490012 Guevara, Ernesto “Che” (and Waters, Mary Alice editor) 1996 Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War 1956-1958. Pathfinder New York (see reference to “El Viscaíno” on page 186). ISBN 0873488245. Geyer, Georgie Anne 2002 Guerrilla Prince. Andrews McMeel Publishing Kansas City ISBN 0740720643 Kelshall, Gaylord T. M. 1994 The U-Boat War in the Caribbean United States Naval Institute Annapolis Maryland ISBN 1557504520 Márquez, Nicolás 2004 La otra parte de la verdad. Ediciones de Autor ISBN 9874382678 Marmol, Jose G. 1993 Donato Marmol, Mayor General en la Revolucion del Separatismo Cubano. Editorial Arenas, Miami, pp. 171-174, 191,193-197, 200, 202, 218, 243 ISBN 0918454964 Matos, Huber, 2002. Como llego la Noche. Tusquet Editores, SA, Barcelona. ISBN 8483109441 Morán Arce, Lucas 1980 La revolución cubana, 1953-1959: Una versión rebelde Imprenta Universitaria, Universidad Católica; ISBN B0000EDAW9 Pirala, Antonio (1895, 1896 and some from 1874) Anales de la Guerra en Cuba. Felipe González Rojas, Madrid Priestland, Jane (editor) 2003 British Archives on Cuba: Cuba under Castro 1959-1962. Archival Publications International Limited, 2003, London ISBN 1903008204 Puebla, Teté (Brigadier General Cuban Armed Forces) 2003 Marianas in Combat: and the Mariana Grajales Women's Platoon in Cuba's Revolutionary War 1956-58, New York Pathfinder ISBN 0873489578 Rodriguez, Felix I. and John Weisman 1989 Shadow Warrior/the CIA Hero of a Hundred Unknown Battles Simon & Schuster, New York ISBN 0671667211 Rojo del Río, Manuel. 1981 La Historia Cambio En La Sierra. Editorial Texto, San José, Costa Rica 2a Ed. Aumentada Roloff y Mialofsky, Carlos and Gerardo Forrest 1901. Yndice Alfabetico y Difunctiones del Ejercito Libertador de Cuba. Edited under the official direction of Leonard Wood. Printed in Havana by Rambla y Bauza Rowan, Andrew Summers 1896 The island of Cuba; A descriptive and historical account of the "Great Antilla." H. Holt and company, ASIN B00086NGHU Rowan, Andrew Summers 1922 How I carried the message to Garcia W.D. Harney ASIN B00086V3FW Rubens, Horatio S. 1932 “Liberty. The Story of Cuba” AMS Press New York, 1970 reprint of 1932 edition. SBN 404-00633-7 Spikes, Daniel 1993 Angola and the Politics of Intervention: From Local Bush War to Chronic Crisis in Southern Africa McFarland & Company Jefferson, North Carolina and London ISBN: 089950888X Tennant, Gary 1999 Dissident Cuban communism: the case of Trotskyism, 1932-1965 PhD Thesis, University of Bradford, England . http://www.cubantrotskyism.net/PhD/central.html Thomas, Gordon and Max Morgan Witts 1974 Voyage of the Damned Stein and Day Publishers; 1st Edition edition (1974) Stein and Day, Briarcliff Manor, New York ASIN B000BKOCGM Hugh Thomas Cuba or the Pursuit of Freedom (Paperback) Da Capo Press; Updated edition (April, 1998) ISBN 0306808277) Velazquez, Loreta Janeta 1876 (2003 Editor Andrews, William L.) The Woman in Battle (The Civil War Narrative of Loreta Janeta Velazques, Cuban Woman and Confederate Soldier). University of Wisconsin Press 2003 ISBN: 0299194248 Volkman, Ernest 1995 Our man in Havana. Cuban double agents 1961-1987 Castro stings the CIA in: Espionage: The Greatest Spy Operations of the Twentieth Century Wiley, New York ISBN: 0471161578

Official

- [http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html Granma] — Communist Party of Cuba Newspaper (in English)
- [http://www.cubagob.cu/ingles/default.htm Republic of Cuba] — (in English)
- [http://www.cubapolidata.com/gpc/gpc_council_of_state.html List of members of the Council of State]
- [http://www.plenglish.com.mx Prensa Latina] — Cuban World News (in English)
- [http://www.ain.cubaweb.cu/idioma/ingles/principalingles.htm Cuban News Agency] — Cuban News (in English) Category:Caribbean countries Category:Caribbean islands Category:Republics Category:Former Spanish colonies Category:Island nations zh-min-nan:Cuba ko:쿠바 ms:Cuba ja:キューバ simple:Cuba

Hispaniola

The island of Hispaniola (from Spanish, La Española) is the second-largest island of the Antilles, lying east of Cuba. Christopher Columbus arrived there on December 5, 1492, and on his second voyage in 1493 founded the first Spanish colony in the New World on it. Haiti occupies the western third of the island; the eastern two-thirds are the Dominican Republic. The Taíno called the island Quisqueya (or Kiskeya), a name still in use in both countries. It poetically refers to the Dominican Republic in that country's national anthem, Quisqueyanos valientes. The Spanish rechristened the island Santo Domingo, and the corresponding term Saint-Domingue was taken up by the French. Another indigenous name, Ayiti or variants thereof, was reintroduced in 1804 as the name for independent Haiti. The name Haiti was originally intended to mean the entire island, not just the western part, and in fact the present-day Dominican Republic was known briefly as Spanish Haiti. Bohio is yet a third indigenous name for the island. Spanish Haiti After the French gained control of the western part of Hispaniola through the Treaty of Ryswick, the western part quickly came to overshadow the east in both wealth and population. Indeed, the population of the Dominican Republic did not overtake that of Haiti until about 1970. Haitians conquered the eastern part of the island on several occasions: in the 1790s under Toussaint Louverture and in 1821-1822 under Jean-Pierre Boyer.

Geography

Hispaniola is the second-largest island in the Caribbean (after Cuba), with an area of 76,480 km². The island of Cuba lies to the northwest across the Windward Passage; to the southwest lies Jamaica, separated by the Jamaica Channel. Puerto Rico lies east of Hispaniola across the Mona Passage. The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands lie to the north. Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico are collectively known as the Greater Antilles. The Greater Antilles are made up of continental rock, as distinct from the Lesser Antilles, which are mostly young volcanic or coral islands. The Island has five major mountain ranges: The Central Range, known in the Dominican Republic as the Cordillera Central, span the central part of the island, extending from the south coast of the Dominican Republic into northwestern Haiti, where they are known as the Massif du Nord. This mountain range boasts the highest peak in the Antilles, Pico Duarte (3,175 meters above sea level). The Cordillera Septentrional runs parallel to the Central Range across the northern end of the Dominican Republic, extending into the Atlantic Ocean as the Samaná Peninsula. The highest point in the Cordillera Septentrional is Pico Diego de Ocampo. The Cordillera Central and Cordillera Septentrional are separated by the lowlands of the Cibao Valley and the Atlantic coastal plains, which extend westward into Haiti as the Plaine du Nord (Northern Plain). The lowest of the ranges is the Cordillera Oriental, in the eastern part of the country. The Sierra de Neiba rises in the southwest of the Dominican Republic, and continues northwest into Haiti, parallel to the Cordillera Central, as the Montagnes Noires, Chaîne des Matheux and the Montagnes du Trou d'Eau. The Plateau Central lies between the Massif du Nord and the Montagnes Noires, and the Plaine de l'Artibonite lies between the Montagnes Noires and the Chaîne des Matheux, opening westward toward the Gulf of Gonâves. The southern range begins in the southwesternmost Dominican Republic as the Sierra de Baoruco, and extends west into Haiti as the Massif de la Selle and the Massif de la Hotte, which form the mountainous spine of Haiti's southern peninsula. Morne de la Selle is the highest peak in the southern range and is the highest point in Haiti, at 2,715 meters above sea level. A depression runs parallel to the southern range, between the southern range and the Chaîne des Matheux-Sierra de Neiba. It is known as the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac in Haiti, and Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince lies at its western end. The depression is home to a chain of salty lakes, including the Saumatre Lagoon in Haiti and Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic.

Ecology

The climate of Hispaniola is generally humid and tropical. The island has four distinct ecoregions. The Hispaniolan moist forests ecoregion covers approximately 50% of the island, especially the northern and eastern portions, predominantly in the lowlands but extending up to 2100 meters elevation. The Hispaniolan dry forests ecoregion occupies approximately 20% of the island, lying in the rain shadow of the mountains in the southern and western portion of the island and in the Cibao valley in the center-north of the island. The Hispaniolan pine forests occupy the mountainous 15% of the island, above 850 meters elevation. The Enriquillo wetlands are a flooded grasslands and savannas ecoregion that surround a chain of lakes and lagoons that includes Lake Enriquillo, Rincón Lagoon, and Lake Caballero in the Dominican Republic and Saumatre Lagoon and Trou Cayman in Haiti.

External link

- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=18.907471,-71.191406&spn=5.218506,8.107910&t=k&hl=en Google maps] Category:Caribbean islands Category:Geography of the Dominican Republic Category:Geography of Haiti zh-min-nan:Sió-se-pan-gâ ko:히스파니올라 섬 ja:イスパニョーラ島

Haiti

:This article is about the country. For the Namibian comic strip, see Hai Ti!. The Republic of Haiti is a country situated on the western third of the island of Hispaniola and the smaller islands of La Gonâve, La Tortue (Tortuga), Les Cayemites, and Ile a Vache in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba; Haiti shares Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. The total land area of Haiti is 10,714 square miles (27,750 square km) and its capital is Port-au-Prince on the main island of Hispaniola. A former French colony, it was the first country in the Americas after the United States to declare its independence. In spite of its longevity, it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti is currently in a state of anomie following an uprising which resulted in the expulsion of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on February 29, 2004; he had been re-elected in 2000 in an election dismissed by many (including the OAS) as fraudulent. [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/b/wha/30545.htm][http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO402D.html][http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/03/01/aristide.claim/]

History

Main article: History of Haiti

1803: Independence

Freed blacks and mulattos joined with slaves under Pierre-Dominique Toussaint l'Ouverture against Napoleonic France in 1801 to achieve the Caribbean's first successful revolution for independence. The largely black nation remained isolated politically throughout the 19th century, though penetrated economically by international capitalism.

1915-1934: U.S. Occupation

Main article: United States occupation of Haiti (1915-1934) From July 28, 1915 until mid-August 1934, Haiti was under the occupation of the U.S. Marine Corps, effectively making Haiti a colony in all but name. Efforts were made to improve Haiti's infrastructure and education systems in particular, but because of the imposed nature of these reforms, with little regard for Haitian customs or traditions, these generally were not well-received nor especially effective.

The Rise of Duvalier

A medical doctor, François Duvalier was not allowed to establish his own practice due to racist customs in Haiti (he was black). After securing employment with an American medical project that was fighting widespread tuberculosis, Duvalier had the opportunity to see the poverty that existed in the countryside. This fueled his interest in politics, and despite the fact that the Haitian government was predominantly mulatto, Duvalier was able to gain a following and joined forces with powerful union leader Daniel Fignole. Together they formed the popular Mouvement Ouvriers Paysans (MOP) party. They continued to gain public support and waited for their moment to seize the power. Both men wanted to take the top job of President, therefore the party was split and in 1957 Fignole became president of Haiti. His position lasted only 18 days, however, because Duvalier was able to overthrow him and began what was to become a 29-year dynasty.

1957-1986: Duvaliers and Aborted freeport

Duvalier, also known as "Papa Doc," became president in 1957 and dictator in 1964. He was known for his army of sunglasses-clad volunteers, the Tonton Macoute. In 1967 proposals were made to construct a free port on the Haitian island of Tortuga by a consortium formed in the United States by Don Pierson of Eastland, Texas. These plans reached maturity in 1971 when a 99-year contract was entered into by François Duvalier on behalf of the Haitian government. Although construction of infastructure and a new international airport was commenced, two other events brought about the sudden demise of the whole venture. When François Duvalier suddenly died in 1971 his son Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc") took over at the age of 19. The advisers soon concluded that Haiti needed a new image to attract economic assistance, tourism, and investment. In 1974 it became known that the freeport had entered into a multimillion dollar contract with the Gulf Oil corporation to advance development on the island. This news prompted "Baby Doc" to expropriate the venture for himself, under prompting from his advisors including his mother, Simone Ovide Duvalier; Defense and Gen. Claude Raymond, commander of the army, and his brother, Foreign Minister Adrien Raymond; and Minister of Coordination and Information Fritz Cinéas. This move by the regency caused the collapse of the freeport venture. Under the Baby Doc regime some political prisoners were released, press censorship eased, and a policy of "gradual democratization of institutions" was professed. But in fact no sharp changes from previous policies occurred. No political opposition was tolerated, and all important political officials and judges were still appointed by the president. Haiti continued a semi-isolationist approach to foreign relations, although the government actively solicited foreign aid. In 1980 Duvalier married a divorcee Michèle Bennett, who later supplanted his hard-line mother in Haitian politics. In the face of increasing social unrest, however, Duvalier and his wife left the country early in 1986, leaving the entire country in poverty and lacking international commercial development. A six-member council replaced Duvalier when he fled to southern France, where he lived in luxury in Cannes until his wife left him and took his children and most of their cash. He now lives in modest circumstances in Paris.

1986: After Duvalier Regime

After Duvalier fled, the U.S. installed a military regime, The National Council of Government (CNG), headed by General Henri Namphy. It was supposed to design a new Constitution and arrange for democratic elections within two years, but didn't step down until 1990, when Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president. Most of his term was usurped by a military coup d'etat, but he was returned to office in 1994 by a U.S. military intervention with a mandate from the United Nations. He served the remainder of the five year term to which he was elected and oversaw the installation of Rene Preval, his Prime Minister, to the presidency in 1996. In the late 1970s, a time of increasing militancy against the brutal regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier, Aristide urged change and often found himself at odds with his superiors in the Roman Catholic Church. In 1986, the year Duvalier was driven from power, Aristide survived the first of many assassination attempts. In 1990, when a notorious Duvalierist announced his candidacy for president, progressive-centre forces united to urge Aristide to run for the office. He was elected in Haiti's first free democratic election on Dec. 16, 1990, with an overwhelming 67% of the vote. Aristide's campaign motto, "Lavalas" (Creole for "flood"), became the name for a diverse coalition of parties that symbolized hope for the Haitian people (80% of whom earned less than $150 a year). In his seven months as president in 1991, Aristide proposed raising the minimum wage, initiated a literacy campaign, dismantled the repressive system of rural section chiefs, and oversaw a drastic reduction in human rights violations. A coup on Sept. 30, 1991, led by the military and financed by members of Haiti's elite, declared that such reforms would not be tolerated. The coup's leaders: General Raul Cedras, Colonel Michel Francois, and general Philippe Biamby, were all graduates of the US Army School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. After three years of exile, a U.S. invasion allowed Aristide to return and resume his presidency on Oct. 15, 1994. The economy was in shambles, infrastructure almost nonexistent, and more than 4,000 people had been killed. Barred constitutionally from immediate reelection, he stepped down in 1996. The old Lavalas coalition fractured, and in November 1996 he launched a new political party, Fanmi Lavalas (Lavalas Family).

2000-2004: Second Aristide Term and Ensuing Crises

In May 2000, Haiti held legislative and local government elections. The Family Lavalas Party won over 50% of the vote in nearly all the contests but a dispute arose about the method used to tabulate the percentages for the Senate elections. The Organization of American States (OAS) and the international community condemned the results for the Senate elections as fraudulent. The Haitian government refused to re-calculate the percentages. In response, most of the opposition parties refused to acknowledge the results or take part in second-round run-offs. In the months leading up to the Presidential election at the end of the year, numerous negotiations failed to produce a settlement. Therefore, most opposition groups boycotted the Presidential election. Aristide won this election by 90% of the popular vote, but due to the earlier dispute, the opposition parties never accepted his victory as legitimate. Aristide took office on February 7, 2001, but his presidency was mired in controversy, and his government was undermined by the political impasse and the use of armed gangs, called 'chimeres', to enforce his rule. By 2003, the country was deeply divided between pro-and anti-Aristide camps. This finally led to an armed conflict which increased in intensity on February 5, 2004, 200 years after the Haitian Revolution, when an armed rebel group which formerly called itself the Cannibal Army and worked for President Aristide transformed itself into the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front took control of the Gonaïves police station. This rebellion then spread throughout the central Artibonite province by February 17 and was joined by opponents of the government who had been in exile in the Dominican Republic. On February 29, 2004, United States flew Aristide out of the country. Aristide was forced to sign a resignation of the Presidency and was taken to the Central African Republic. The circumstances surrounding this flight are a matter of controversy. Many media sources reported that Aristide had resigned and been refused asylum by South Africa. On March 1, 2004, US Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), along with Randall Robinson, a family friend of the Aristides, each reported that Aristide had told them using a smuggled cellular telephone that he had been forced to resign against his will by United States diplomats and Marines, and that he was abducted against his will, and continued to be held hostage by an undisclosed armed military guard. [6], [7] When asked whether Aristide was guarded in the Central African Republic by French officers, the French Defense Minister answered that Aristide was protected, not imprisoned, and that he would leave when he could; and that France had many officers present in the Central African Republic following the recent events in that country, but that they did not control Aristide's comings and goings [8]. Both Maxine Waters and United States congressman Charles Rangel, [9] who also reported talking to Aristide via cellular telephone, said that Aristide said he had not been handcuffed while being led away, while the Agence France Press reported that the caretaker at Aristide's house claimed that Aristide had been handcuffed and led away at gunpoint.[10]. Other reports of Aristide being led away by heavily armed American troops have been made by an Aristide bodyguard and an independent film maker. [11] Aristide told CNN that there were unidentified civilian Americans and Haitians who had forced him to resign and board the plane leaving Haiti. [12] The Haitian body guards who had formerly worked for the President were dismissed at 2 am that day and descended on a popular journalists hotel in Port au Prince complaining that they had not been paid, even the 20th rate that was paid to the white foreign body guards. The United States vice-president Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell both reported that Aristide had resigned willingly [13], [14]. The Associated Press reported that the Central African Republic tried to get Aristide to stop repeating his charges to the press [15]. Aristide has further alleged that the resignation statement that is being touted was altered to remove a conditional statement in which he stated,"'If I am obliged to leave in order to avoid bloodshed." [16]; this was confirmed by a Reuters translation of Aristide's original statement, which matches up word for word except for the one line, in which the conditional has been removed. On 14 March 2004, he left the Central African Republic for Jamaica, to the dismay of the French and American governments, who felt that his presence in the area would have a destabilizing effect on Haiti. The American ambassador to Haiti, James Foley, issued a warning to Aristide to stay at least 150 miles away from Haiti at all times. Condoleezza Rice is reported to have said that she did not want him in the Western Hemisphere. [17] After arriving in Jamaica, Aristide gave a full interview, in which he claimed the following specifics (note: The US has neither confirmed nor denied these details, but has insisted that Aristide left willingly): He had met with US ambassador James Foley on February 28, 2004 — the day before the rebels were supposed to attack the capital. Foley agreed that Aristide should go on national television to appeal to the nation to remain calm, as he had done the night before. When he arrived at his residence, it was surrounded by "thousands" of troops, mostly Americans, which made him feel intimidated. The Americans told him they would provide him security as they escorted him to the media; however, instead, they took him straight to a white unmarked airplane with a US flag on the side. He was then obliged to board, followed by US troops in full gear who changed into civilian clothes once on board. On board were his wife and 19 of his private body guards from the Steele Foundation, a white mercenary company. Quite conveniently, all of his luggage had previously been loaded. Aristide's account was directly backed up by two witnesses: a pilot and Aristide aide, Franz Gabriel; and an American security guard on the security detail, who told the Washington Post about the subterfuge to lure Aristide away: "That was just bogus. It's a story they fabricated." [18] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/b/wha/30545.htm][http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/29/world/main602985.shtml]

Post-Aristide

In the wake of

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Hispaniola

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Haiti

History

1803: Independence

1915-1934: U.S. Occupation

The Rise of Duvalier

1957-1986: Duvaliers and Aborted freeport

1986: After Duvalier Regime

2000-2004: Second Aristide Term and Ensuing Crises

Post-Aristide