Haiti
By: Kristi & Erin

I. Introduction
Haiti is a small country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. It is in the Caribbean Sea, between the island of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Haiti has very many people for it's size, just about 7 million and it is very poor.

II. Land
Haiti has many mountains, in fact, the word Haiti means mountains in the Arawak Indians language.
Most of the people of Haiti live between the mountains on the flat plains. Only half of the land can be farmed, because the poor people cut down the trees looking for wood and this causes the good soil to wash away.
Haiti has many rivers and lakes, but many of the lakes contain salt water.

III. Climate
Haiti is a tropical island. It has hot temperatures and a rainy season. The mountains stop a lot of the rain from getting to the plains, sometimes it is very dry there. The temperature in Haiti is usually between 20 degrees to 30 degrees C, most of the time. In spring and early fall hurricanes are common and earthquakes also happen in Haiti, this causes damage.

IV. Plants and Animals
Haiti has a variety of tropical plants and animals. High in the mountains, where the weather is less tropical the plants and animals are the same as here in North America. Along the coast and lower slopes of the mountains Yucca, Mahogany, Bogweed and palm trees grow. Higher in the mountains oak, pine and other trees like in North America grow. Grape fruit, oranges and lime trees are common. There are lots of tropical birds and flamingos. Wild pigs run throughout the jungle and country side. There were once a great number of iguanas, a lizard, but they have been hunted to almost extinction.

V. The Economy
Most of Haiti's people are farmers. Coffee and sugar are the most common crops. There are minerals like bauxite, iron, coal, and other metals, but they are not mined.
Half of the people of Haiti don't have jobs. Farmers and workers make less than three dollars a day. Most of the people are very poor. The money used in Haiti is called the gourde. Each gourde is worth six Canadian cents.

VI. History
Before Christopher Columbus landed in 1492, Haiti was inhabited by Arswak Indians.
The first Europeans gave the Indians diseases such as measles and small pox and they also massacred them. In less then fifty years just about all of the Indians were dead. The only thing that reminds us of the Arawak is their name for the Island "Haiti".
For the next twenty years the Spanish ruled Haiti. Soon French pirates were attacking the Spanish. By the 1600's the French had taken Haiti. They set up plantations to grow sugar cane, coffee, tobacco, and cotton for France. The plantations were worked by slaves brought from Africa. The people grew tired of slavery and in 1804 they became a country on their own.

VII. The People
Most of the people who live in Haiti have an African background. Their families were brought to Haiti from the West Africa as slaves . Most of Haiti live in the country. The largest city is the capital Port au Prince.

VIII. Language
The official language of Haiti is French, but very few Haitians learn French because very few go to school. Most people of Haiti speak Creole. Creole is a mixture of many languages that people have brought to the island, in the past four hundred years, from Africa, Spain, Portugal, and France.

XI. Religion
The official religion of Haiti is Roman Catholic. The slaves were tought this by their French masters. The religion used by nearly everyone in Haiti is known as voodoo. It believes in one God, but also has spirits that help with everyday problems that God or the Grand Met, is too busy to take care of. Voodoo is believed to help sick people. It uses herbs for medicine, but it also does things like using live chickens and then killing them to help people.

XII. Art
The people of Haiti uses drums and dance in their voodoo celebrations and the musicians are admired throughout the world. Haitian artists like to use bright colors and do drawings of the daily life, in Haiti. it has become very popular.

XIII. Daily Life
Most of the people of Haiti are poor. They live in small huts with dirt floors. There are no indoor bathrooms or running water. The people are poor and can only eat things like corn meal, boiled plantains, which are like bananas, potatoes, soups, and breads. The people and the country of Haiti will always be poor, unless the rest of the world helps them to improve their lives.

Bibliography
I. Book-Haiti
Author -Judy J. Hammer
Pages-15+63
Published-1988

II. Book-Lands and People North America. Volume 5
Author-Grulier Books
Pages-413
Published-1997

III. Book-The Carribbean and Gulf of Mexico
Author-Cut Hargreaves
Pages-21+59
Published-1980

IV. Book- The World Fact Book-Haiti (Internet)
Author-CLA
Pages-1 through 9
Published-2001
website- http://www.odci.gou/cial/publication/factbook/geos/ha.html

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