Time zone Eastern (UTC-5) Population 300,000 (2011) Team Racing FC | Elevation 6 m Local time Thursday 11:51 AM | |
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Weather 31°C, Wind SW at 14 km/h, 60% Humidity Arrondissements | ||
Gonaïves (Haitian Creole: Gonayiv) is a commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite department of Haiti. It has a population of about 300,000 people (2011 census). The city of Gonaïves was founded in 1422 by Indians who named it Gonaibo before haitianas appear (to designate a locality of caciquat of the Jaragua). It is also known as Haïti's "independence city". The Bay of Gonaïves is named after the town.
Contents
- Map of Gonaives Haiti
- 16 septembre 2016 gona ves chasse encore une fois jean bertrand aristide
- The Battle of Ravine Couleuvres
- Haitian independence
- Recent history
- Media
- References
Map of Gonaives, Haiti
16 septembre 2016 gona ves chasse encore une fois jean bertrand aristide
The Battle of Ravine-à-Couleuvres
In 1802 an important battle of the Haitian Revolution, the Battle of Ravine-à-Couleuvres was fought near Gonaïves.
Haitian independence
Gonaïves is also known as Haiti's City of Independence because it was there that Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti, the former Saint-Domingue, independent from France on January 1, 1804, by reading the Act of Independence, drafted by Boisrond Tonnerre, on the Place d'Armes of the town.
Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité, the wife of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, died here in August 1858.
Recent history
In the early 2000s, Gonaïves was the scene of substantial rioting and violence motivated primarily by opposition to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and on February 5, 2004, a group calling itself the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front seized control of the city, starting the 2004 Haïtian rebellion. But in recent years the city has seen a complete return to calmness.
In September 2004, Hurricane Jeanne caused major flooding and mudslides in the city.
Four years later, the city was again devastated by another storm, Hurricane Hanna, which killed 529 people, mostly in flooded sections of Gonaïves, where the destruction was described as "catastrophic" and 495 bodies were discovered as late as September 5. Haitian authorities said the tally would grow once officials were able to make their way through the city. "The assessment was only partial, because it was impossible to enter the city at that moment". Gonaïves Mayor Stephen Moise said at least 48,000 people from the Gonaïves area were forced into shelters.