Jérémie ( ht, Jeremi) is a commune and capital city of the Grand'Anse department in

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 ...

. It had a population of about 31,000 at the 2003 census. It is relatively isolated from the rest of the country. The Grande-Anse River flows near the city. Jérémie is called ''the city of the poets'' because of the numerous writers, poets, and historians born there.

History

During 1762, French General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was born here. He is mostly known for fighting under Napoleon in Italy and Egypt. In 1964, during the Jérémie Vespers, the Haitian army and the ''

Tonton Macoutes The Tonton Macoute ( ht, Tonton Makout) or simply the Macoute was a special operations unit within the Haitian paramilitary force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. In 1970 the militia was renamed the ' (VSN, Volunteer ...

'' massacred 27 people in Jérémie. In the early 2000s, archaeologists uncovered an ancient synagogue of

Crypto-Jews Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden'). The term is especially applied historically to Sp ...

in the city, the only one found on the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

. Jérémie has historically been inhabited by many mixed-race families of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. In the aftermath of the 2010

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, a food aid convoy transporting aid delivered to Jérémie Airport through Jérémie encountered a hijacking attempt by 20 men, on 30 January 2010. Medical supplies have also been airlifted through the airport, due to the increase in medical needs from injured refugees arriving in the wake of the quake. In October 2016, Jérémie was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Matthew as it went past Haiti. Roughly west of the city lies Navassa Island, which is claimed by Haiti and the

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 ...

Facilities

The city has an airport, Jérémie Airport. The area of the airport of Jérémie is known as "Numero Deux". Mission Aviation Fellowship conducts charter flights into the airport.

Locations in Jérémie

Beaudrouin Beaudrouin is a rural settlement in the Jérémie commune in the Jérémie Arrondissement Jérémie ( ht, Jeremi) is an arrondissement in the Grand'Anse Department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 238,218 inhabitants. Postal codes in th ...

, Campagne,

Carrefour Sanon Carrefour Sanon is a rural settlement in the Jérémie commune of the Jérémie Arrondissement Jérémie ( ht, Jeremi) is an arrondissement in the Grand'Anse Department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 238,218 inhabitants. Postal codes ...

Dayere Dayere is a village in the Jérémie commune of the Jérémie Arrondissement Jérémie ( ht, Jeremi) is an arrondissement in the Grand'Anse Department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 238,218 inhabitants. Postal codes in the Anse d'Hain ...

Duranton Duranton is a rural settlement in the Jérémie commune of the Jérémie Arrondissement Jérémie ( ht, Jeremi) is an arrondissement in the Grand'Anse Department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 238,218 inhabitants. Postal codes in the ...

, La Forêt,

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

, Lori,

Marche Leon Marche Leon is a rural settlement in the Jérémie List of communes of Haiti, commune of the Jérémie Arrondissement, in the Grand'Anse (department), Grand'Anse Departments of Haiti, department of Haiti. References

Populated places in Gran ...

, Previle, Rampe des Lions and Sassierrrve

Notable natives and residents

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (; known as Alexandre Dumas; 25 March 1762 – 26 February 1806) was a Creole general, from The French colony of Saint-Domingue, in Revolutionary France. Along with his French contemporary Jo ...

, a general of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, was born in Jérémie as the son of a French nobleman and his African slave, before independence. Dumas lived most of his life in France, where his father took him at age 18. He married and was the father of

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

, who became a noted and prolific author in the nineteenth century. * Joseph Serge Miot, was born there. He was the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Port-au-Prince, and was killed 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 ...

. *

Emile Roumer Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

(1903–1988), a poet. *

Modeste Testas Al Pouessi, baptized Marthe Adélaïde Modeste Testas and known under the name of Modeste Testas (1765–1870) was an Ethiopian woman who was enslaved, purchased by Bordeaux merchants and subsequently freed after living on three continents. One of ...

(1765 - 1870), formerly enslaved Ethiopian woman, whose statues stands in Bordeaux commemorating the transatlantic slave trade. * Etzer Vilaire (1872–1951), a poet *

Elisabeth Dieudonné Vincent Elisabeth Dieudonné Vincent (1798-29 November 1883) was a Saint Dominican Creole, businesswoman and international migrant. Born in 1798 in Saint-Domingue to an ''affranchi'' and French father, she was illegitimate, although her father did ack ...

(1798-1883) free colored businesswoman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeremie Communes of Haiti Gulf of Gonâve Historic Jewish communities in North America Jews and Judaism in Haiti Populated places in Grand'Anse (department) Port cities in the Caribbean Populated coastal places in Haiti