Centre ( French) or Sant ( Haitian Creole; both meaning "Center") is one of the ten departments (french:

départements A department (, ) is an administrative or political division in several countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries, nine in the Americas and two in Africa. An additional 10 countries use departments as second-level div ...

, links=no; ht, depatman, links=no) of Haiti, located in the center of the country along the border with the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. As of 2015, its estimated population was 746,236. Its capital is

Hinche Hinche (; ht, Ench; es, Hincha) is a commune in the Centre department Haiti. It has a population of about 50,000. It is the capital of the Centre department. Hinche is the hometown of Charlemagne Péralte, the Haitian nationalist leader who ...

History

Taino Period

The department was part of the Marien kasika and Maguana along side

San Juan de la Maguana San Juan de la Maguana is a city and municipality in the western region of the Dominican Republic and capital of the San Juan province. It was one of the first cities established on the island; founded in 1503, and was given the name of San Juan ...

in the DR under the leadership of

Caonabo Caonabo (died 1496) was a Taíno ''cacique'' (chieftain) of Hispaniola at the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival to the island. He was known for his fighting skills and his ferocity. He was married to Anacaona, who was the sister of another ' ...

Spanish Period

Much of the Centre Departement was Spanish territorial even after the Treaty of Ryswick. Many towns were built and settled by the Spanish like Hincha, Las Caobas, San Rafael and many more.

French Period

The southern part of the department was French territory with towns like

Mirebalais Mirebalais ( ht, Mibalè) is a commune in the Centre department of Haiti, approximately 60 km northeast of Port-au-Prince on National Road 3. The city was established in 1702. American Rotarians have made a number of mission-type trips t ...

Haitian Period

Haitian Revolution

The department played a big part in the Revolution serving as maroon territory extending to the Baoruco. Toussaint Louverture capture the town of Hinche from the Spanish for the French making it an early Haitian territory.

Independence

David Troy commander of Mirebalais is a signatory of the Haitian Declaration of Independance. In contemporary times the department played a big role in the fight against the American Marines, being a Caco a refuge for men like

Charlemagne Péralte Charlemagne Masséna Péralte (1886 – 1 November 1919) was a Haitian nationalist leader who opposed the United States occupation of Haiti in 1915. Leading guerrilla fighters called the Cacos, he posed such a challenge to the US forces in Haiti ...

and Benoit Batraville.

Geography

It borders the

with the province of Elías Piña to the east and is the only landlocked department in Haiti. Haiti Saut-d'Eau

Centre is the only department without access to the sea, but is nevertheless affected by soil erosion as a result of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

. In 2004, the floods caused by

Hurricane Jeanne Hurricane Jeanne was a Category 3 hurricane that struck the Caribbean and the Eastern United States in September 2004. It was the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Mitch in 1998. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurrica ...

resulted in hundreds of deaths, focused in Centre and Artibonite Departments. It contains the second largest lake in Haiti

Lake Péligre Lake Péligre (french: Lac de Péligre) is the second largest lake in Haiti, and is located in the Centre department. It was created as a result of the construction of the Peligre Hydroelectric Dam on the Artibonite River in 1956–1957. The pr ...

, which was created as a result of the construction of the

Péligre Dam The Péligre Dam is a gravity dam located off the Centre department on the Artibonite River of Haiti. At it is the tallest dam in Haiti. The dam was created as a flood-control and an energy-providing measure in the Artibonite River Valley during ...

on the

Artibonite River The Artibonite River ( Spanish: '' Río Artibonito''; Haitian Creole: ''Latibonit'') is the longest river in Haiti, and the longest on the island of Hispaniola. It is also the second-longest river in the Caribbean, behind the Cauto River in Cuba. ...

during the 1950s. It is the largest

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

in the Caribbean. The Centre department is a high plateau topographical region. Due to its isolation if one of the greenest departments.

Historical places

: Former Dominican territory. Siece to Republic of Haiti in 1929. Birthplace of

, the leader of the Cacos movement, which opposed the American occupation in 1915. *

and Lascahobas: Place of bloody fighting of

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...

against the English, who were resupplying in the Central Plateau (1795). Birthplace of Benoît Batraville.

Economy

Tourism

The department had two of Haiti's most impressive waterfalls. Sodo receives a lot of ''touris-lokal'' in August for the Mont-Carmel Vodoun Pilgrimage. Zim is very beautiful

Agriculture

Centre has great agricultural potential. They are known for their tobacco production, goat and turkey.

Administrative divisions

The Department of Centre is subdivided into four

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

s, which are further subdivided into twelve

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

Transport

The RD3 connects it to the North and the West. The RD304 connects it to Gonaives. The RD301 connects it to St-Marc. * Cerca la Source Arrondissement **

Cerca-la-Source Cerca-la-Source (; ht, Sèka Lasous) is a commune in the Cerca-la-Source Arrondissement, in the Centre department of Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a count ...

Thomassique Thomassique ( ht, Tomasik) is a commune in the Cerca-la-Source Arrondissement, in the Centre department of Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located o ...

Hinche Arrondissement Hinche ( ht, Ench) is an arrondissement in the Centre department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 264,943 inhabitants. Postal codes in the Hinche Arrondissement start with the number 51. The arondissement consists of the following commu ...

** Cerca-Cavajal ** Maissade ** Thomonde *

Lascahobas Arrondissement Lascahobas ( ht, Laskawobas) is an arrondissement in the Centre department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 168,685 inhabitants. Postal codes in the Lascahobas Arrondissement start with the number 53. The arondissement consists of the fo ...

** Lascahobas ** Belladere **

Savanette Savanette ( ht, Savanèt) is a commune in the Lascahobas Arrondissement, in the Centre department of Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the ...

** Baptiste *

Mirebalais Arrondissement Mirebalais ( ht, Mibalè) is an arrondissement in the Centre department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 192,852 inhabitants. Postal codes in the Mirebalais Arrondissement start with the number 52. The arondissement consists of the foll ...

Saut-d'Eau Saut-d'Eau ( ht, Sodo) is a commune in the Mirebalais Arrondissement, in the Centre department of Haiti. It has 34,885 inhabitants. Its name is French for 'waterfall', named after a large waterfall called 'Le Saut'. It is said that this water ...

** Boucan-Carre

References

Departments of Haiti {{Haiti-geo-stub