Editing Haiti (section)

== History ==
The [[Taino]] people were a tribe of [[Arawak people|Arawak]] Amerindians. They lived on the island of Hispaniola before Italian, [[Christopher Columbus]] found the island and started a Spanish [[colony]] there. Columbus found the island of Hispaniola on his first trip to the Americas.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Hispaniola - Columbus|url=http://www.yale.edu/gsp/colonial/hispaniola/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827235201/http://www.yale.edu/gsp/colonial/hispaniola/index.html|archive-date=August 27, 2008|accessdate=16 March 2013|website=|publisher=Yale University}}</ref> Within twenty-five years after Columbus arrived, all of the Arawaks had been killed by Spanish [[conquistador]]s.

In the early 17th century, the French set up a colony on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain sold the western third of the island - Haiti - to the French. The French colony<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20030308142635/http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/napoleon/yellow_fever_haiti.htm The Haitian Debacle: Yellow Fever and the Fate of the French]" Montana State University; Retrieved January 14, 2010</ref> was based on [[forest]]ry and making [[sugar]]. It became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean. However, to do this, the colony brought many [[slave]]s over from Africa and destroyed much of the environment.

By the late 18th century, there were nearly half a million slaves in Haiti. They revolted, led by [[Toussaint L'ouverture|Toussaint L'Ouverture.]] After a hard and bloody struggle, they won their [[independence]]. In 1804, Haiti became the first independent black [[republic]] in the world.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20080725115213/http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/cultural/The_People/haitian.html Haitians]", University of Louisiana</ref> Today there are many monuments in Haiti remembering the Haitian Revolution. One of the largest is ''La Citadelle Laferriere''.

On January 12, 2010, in the afternoon of a Tuesday, [[2010 Haiti Earthquake|Haiti was struck]] by a [[moment magnitude scale|magnitude]]-7.0 [[earthquake]]. This was the worst earthquake to hit the country in the past 200 years.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Magnitude 7.0 – Haiti Region|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115110510/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010rja6/|archive-date=January 15, 2010|accessdate=January 12, 2010|website=}}</ref> The quake's [[epicenter]] was just outside the Haitian capital of [[Port-au-Prince]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/6977308/Major-earthquake-off-Haiti-causes-hospital-to-collapse.html |title=Major earthquake off Haiti causes hospital to collapse – Telegraph |date=12 January 2010 |publisher=telegraph.co.uk |accessdate=January 12, 2010 }}</ref> The quake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince and nearby areas. Over 200,000 people were thought to have been killed, but it was hard to be sure because many people were buried in mass graves before they could be identified.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66B5IZ20100115 |title=Haiti says 200,000 may be dead, violence breaks out - Reuters |publisher=reuters.com |accessdate=January 14, 2010 |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129095809/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66B5IZ20100115 |url-status=dead }}</ref>