Jacmel (; ht, Jakmèl) is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in southern
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsula, and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the commune of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census. The town's name is derived from its indigenous
Taíno
The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...
name of ''Yaquimel''. In 1925, Jacmel was dubbed as the "City of Light," becoming the first in the Caribbean to have electricity.
The city is known for its well-preserved
French Colonial
French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. Many former French colonies, especially those in Southeast Asia, have previously been reluctant to promote their colonial architecture ...
architecture built in the early 19th century. The town has been tentatively accepted as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. It sustained damage in the
2010 Haiti earthquake
A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
.
History
The town was founded by the ''Compagnie de Saint-Domingue'' in 1698 as the capital of the southeastern part of the French colony
Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...
. The area now called Jacmel was
Taíno
The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...
territory, part of the Xaragua chiefdom ruled by cacique Bohechio. With the arrival of the French, and the later establishment of the town, the French renamed Yaquimel as Jacmel.
The city was developed to boost sugar production and trade, but soon it evolved into a coffee trading centre. In 1896 it suffered a major fire that destroyed most of the buildings in the city. The city was rebuilt, often using prefabricated cast-iron pillars and balconies shipped from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Many ornate mansions of wealthy coffee merchants from this time have been preserved up to this day without much change and the whole central part of the city has changed little over the last 100 years.
The mansions of Jacmel, with their cast-iron pillars and balconies, would later influence the homes in much of
. Today, many of these homes are now artisan shops that sell vibrant handicrafts,
papier-mâché
upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico
Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...
masks, and carved-wood animal figures. In recent years, efforts have been made to revitalize the once flourishing
cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
and
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
industries. The town is a popular tourist destination in Haiti due to its relative tranquility and distance from the political turmoil that plagues
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
.
Over the years, this rather small town experienced a number of noted historical events. Some of these occurrences are:
Haitian Revolution and War of Knives
In 1791 and 1792,
Romaine-la-Prophétesse
Romaine-la-Prophétesse (, Romaine the Prophetess), born Romaine Rivière around 1750 in Santo Domingo, was a free black coffee plantation owner and leader of an uprising early in the Haitian Revolution.
In 1791, in response to rising racial ten ...
led thirteen thousand rebels in besieging, occupying, and later burning Jacmel, and taking weapons and supplies from (and then burning) surrounding plantations from
Marigot, about 25 kilometers east of Jacmel, to
Bainet
Bainet ( ht, Benè) is a commune in the Bainet Arrondissement, in the Sud-Est department of Haiti.
It has 62,300 inhabitants.
In late 1791 and early 1792, during the early Haitian Revolution, slaves in Bainet rebelled as part of the Trou Coffy ...
, about 45 kilometers west of it, freeing their slaves.
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 ...
fought over Jacmel in the so-called
War of Knives
The War of Knives (French: ''Guerre des couteaux''), also known as the War of the South, was a civil war from June 1799 to July 1800 between the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, a black ex-slave who controlled the north of Saint-Domi ...
between him and his fellow countryman
André Rigaud
Benoit Joseph André Rigaud (17 January 1761 – 18 September 1811) was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haitian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti.
Ea ...
, who wished to maintain authority over the city. This war began in June 1799. By November the rebels were pushed back to this strategic southern port, the defence of which was commanded by
Alexandre Pétion. Jacmel fell to Toussaint's troops in February 1800, during which the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
warship
USS ''General Greene'' bombarded the city, after which the rebellion was effectively over. Pétion and other
mulatto
(, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
leaders subsequently went into exile in France.
Creation of the Gran Colombia flag
A Venezuelan predecessor of
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...
in the liberation struggle against colonialism in Venezuelan and much of Spanish-ruled South America,
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...
created the first
flag of Gran Colombia The flag of Gran Colombia was based on Francisco de Miranda's tricolour, which served as the national flag of the First Republic of Venezuela. The general design of the Gran Colombian flag later served as the model for the current flags of Colombi ...
near Jacmel, which served as the national flag of the
First Republic of Venezuela
The First Republic of Venezuela ( es, Primera República de Venezuela) was the first independent government of Venezuela, lasting from 5 July 1811, to 25 July 1812. The period of the First Republic began with the overthrow of the Spanish colonial ...
. Anchored in the Bay of Jacmel (''Baie de Jacmel''), he first raised the flag on March 12, 1806, on the corvette ''Leander''. This day is still celebrated as Venezuelan Flag Day. The general design of the Gran Colombian flag served as the model for the current flags of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, which emerged as independent nations at the breakup of Gran Colombia in 1830. This flag is often referred to as the "bandera madre" (mother flag) due to its role as inspiration and resemblance to the flags of Colombia and Ecuador.
Ramón Emeterio Betances
Puerto Rican pro-independence leader
Ramón Emeterio Betances
Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán (April 8, 1827 – September 16, 1898) was a Puerto Rican independence advocate and medical doctor. He was the primary instigator of the Grito de Lares revolution and is considered to be the father of the Pu ...
spent a short interval in Jacmel in 1870, from where he gathered support for an uprising in the Dominican Republic, seeking to install a liberal government there. Then-president of Haiti,
Nissage Saget supported Betances's ideals of a pan-Antillean union, and gave the uprising his support.
Modern Jacmel prior to the 12 January 2010 earthquake
The port town is internationally known for its very vibrant art scene and elegant townhouses dating from the 19th century. Among the wealth of art and crafts available in Jacmel are the papier-mâché, done by nearly 200 artisans and the renowned Atelier created by Moro Baruk. In recent years Jacmel has been host to a large film festival, called the ''
Jacmel Film Festival'', that started in 2004, and in 2007 the international ''
Jacmel Music Festival'' was successfully launched as well. Its carnival, the nearby
Bassin Bleu (Haiti's most famous natural deep pools), and the scenic white sand (Timouillage, Cabic, Raymond-les-bains, located primarily in Cayes-Jacmel) beaches attract many visitors. The town is regarded as one of the safest in the country, and foreign visitors that come to Haiti seeking tranquility often go for Jacmel. Its urbanization has been increasing in large part due to the income generated by tourism. Royal Caribbean, the leading tourism company whose cruise ships regularly dock at
Labadee
Labadee (french: Labadie) is a port located on the northern coast of Haiti within the arrondissement of Cap-Haïtien in the Nord department. It is a private resort leased to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., for the exclusive use of passengers of its ...
, plans to add stopovers at Jacmel. In February 2007, Edwin Zenny became the town's newly elected mayor. The current mayor is Marky Kessa. In addition, the
Jacmel Film Festival is held there annually. On January 11, 2010,
Choice Hotels
Choice Hotels International, Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company based in Rockville, Maryland. The company, which is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, owns several hotel brands ranging from upscale to economy. As o ...
announced they would open a 120-room
Comfort Inn
Comfort (or being comfortable'')'' is a sense of physical or psychological ease, often characterized as a lack of hardship. Persons who are lacking in comfort are uncomfortable, or experiencing discomfort. A degree of psychological comfort c ...
in Jacmel, the first chain hotel to be opened there in a decade.
2010 Haiti earthquake
On 12 January 2010, Haiti experienced
a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that caused heavy damage and casualties in Jacmel. The first temblor rocked the city at 4:40 pm, but the later temblor at 5:37 pm stopped the cathedral's clock. A Jacmel radio station estimated that at least 5000 were dead from the quake itself, although mayor Zennie Edwin later reported that the figure was closer to 300–500 deaths and 4,000 injured. About 70 per cent of the homes were damaged, with most of the heavier damage being in the poorer neighbourhoods. The town hall was so severely damaged that it had to be demolished. A small
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
hit Jacmel Bay, with the ocean receding, leaving fish high and dry on the seabed, and rushing back in, four times.
Recovery
In December 2010, the
Capponi Construction Group, a Miami-based construction company, decided to help with the revitalization of Jacmel. This initiative was created to help stimulate a self-sustaining tourism economy for Haiti. Michael Capponi, founder of the Capponi Group, formed th
Jacmel Advisory Councilto help revitalize Jacmel, while preserving its arts, culture and traditions. The board promotes best practices to provide a socio-economic system for thousands of Haitians living in the southeast region. Capponi Group Haiti is also restoring a 200-year-old coffee-sorting house at the port of Jacmel. The project hopes to again make Jacmel a commercial and tourist center.
Notable residents
*
René Depestre
René Depestre (born 29 August 1926, Jacmel, Haiti) is a Haitian poet and former communist activist. He is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in Haitian literature. He lived in Cuba as an exile from the Duvalier regime for ma ...
, a famous Haitian poet and essayist who fled from the Duvalier dictatorship. He was born in Jacmel. The city is the setting for much of his fictional work.
*
Préfète Duffaut
Préfète Duffaut (1 January 1923 – 6 October 2012) was a Haitian Painting, painter.
Biography
Born in Cyvadier, Sud-Est (department), Sud-Est, near the seaport of Jacmel, where he lived and worked. The painter Pauleus Vital (1918–1984) ...
– painter
*
Michaëlle Jean
Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...
, Secretary-General of La Francophonie and former
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...
, was born in Port-au-Prince to a Jacmel family.
*
Magloire Ambroise
Magloire Ambroise (Jacmel, Saint-Domingue, 1774 - Port-au-Prince December 7, 1807), was a hero of the Haitian Independence. His military career began in the colonial army.
Life
During the War of Knives between Toussaint Louverture in the North a ...
, hero of the struggle for independence
*
Jørgen Leth
Jørgen Leth (; born 14 June 1937) is a Danish poet and film director who is considered a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Most notable are his documentary ''A Sunday in Hell'' (1977) and his surrealistic short film '' Th ...
, Danish filmmaker, writer and former Danish honorary consul in Haiti.
*
Alexandre Grégoire
Alexandre Grégoire (August 29, 1922 – July 28, 2001) was a Haitian painter who typically depicted scenes of Vodou, daily life, and historical events in the naïve style.
Born in Jacmel, Grégoire was educated from 1930 to 1937 by the Ch ...
, painter who typically depicted scenes of Vodou, daily life, and historical events in the naïve style.
Facilities
The Port of Jacmel (HTJAK) is a small, relatively shallow port and is unable to harbour large ships.
[Galloway, Gloria (19 January 2010]
"Canada's big task in Haiti starts on small airstrip"
''Globe and Mail'' There is also a pleasurecraft dock as part of the port, which survived the quake. It is run by the ''Autorité Portuaire Nationale''.
Also located in Jacmel is a
small airstrip (MTJA) capable of handling small to medium-sized planes. The airstrip is unable to handle large aircraft.
[
Jacmel has two hospitals, ''Hôpital Saint-Michel'' and the "Complexe Médico Chirurgical Rose Marie Paul" recently founded by the philanthropist Dr. Leon Paul, and becomes the highest equipped surgery center in the city, with highly qualified international and national professionals. The "Hôpital Saint-Michel" which locals had nicknamed "the morgue" prior to the earthquake.][ The hospital is the largest hospital or health centre in the region.][ It has a staff of six doctors and ten nurses. The quake half-collapsed the hospital, including the maternity ward;][Rhoads, Christopher (19 January 2010]
"Smaller Towns Struggle As Help Is Slow to Arrive"
''Wall Street Journal''[Kinzie, Susan (20 January 2010]
''Washington Post'' however, the hospital continues to operate. The radiology department was the only undamaged portion of the hospital.[ IRIN (2 February 2010)]
"HAÏTI: Les craintes d’un tremblement de terre persistent"
/ref>
Jacmel had a civil court building, which was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake.[ Metropole Haiti (5 February 2010)]
"Le système judiciaire paralysé trois semaines après le séisme"
The town's main square is Place 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 ...
, named after the Haitian revolutionary leader.[LaFranchi, Howard (29 January 2010]
"Haiti earthquake jolts a million city-dwellers to head for 'home'"
''Christian Science Monitor''
Sister cities
* Gainesville, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
Jacmel has cooperative agreements with:
* Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
since 1996 (''Coopération décentralisée'')
References
External links
Weekend nan rive
weekend nan rive
Official Chamber of Commerce Website
Festival Film Jakmèl
Bonzouti.com – Web portal for Jacmel and Sud-Est, Haiti
Website for the nearby town of Cayes-Jacmel, also a part of the Sud'est Region/Jacmel
Bassin-Bleu website
{{Authority control
Jacmel,
Populated places in Sud-Est (department)
Communes of Haiti
Ports and harbours of Haiti
Populated places established in 1698
1698 establishments in the French colonial empire
Port cities in the Caribbean
Populated places established in 1504