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Les Cayes ( , ), often referred to as Aux Cayes (; ht, Okay), is a commune and
seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...
in the
Les Cayes Arrondissement Les Cayes, often referred to as Aux Cayes ( ht, Okay) is an arrondissement in the Sud department of Haiti. As of 2015, the population was 346,276 inhabitants. Postal codes in the Les Cayes Arrondissement start with the number 81. The arondisseme ...
, in the Sud department of
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 s ...
, with a population of 71,236. Due to its isolation from the political turmoil of the capital,
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 ...
, it is one of Haiti's major ports, with export trade concentrating on mostly coffee and
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
. As the world's largest supplier of
vetiver ''Chrysopogon zizanioides'', commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae. Vetiver is most closely related to '' Sorghum'' but shares many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such a ...
, it exports 250 tons annually of this ingredient of perfume and fragrance manufacturing. Minor exports include bananas and timber.


History

The island of what was known by the Spanish as
Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...
was inhabited for thousands of years by
indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
s. The first European settlement in the southwest area was the town of ''Salvatierra de la Sabana'', founded by the Spanish explorer
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar Diego Velázquez de CuéllarPronounced: (1465 – c. June 12, 1524) was a Spanish conquistador and the first governor of Cuba. In 1511 he led the successful conquest and colonization of Cuba. As the first governor of the island, he establi ...
in 1504. Vasco Núñez de Balboa was a co-founder of this town and lived there for several years trying to raise pigs as a business. Balboa gave up that enterprise and left the town hiding in a barrel of a Spanish expedition going to explore the Gulf of Uraba, Panama. Vasco Núñez de Balboa, later on 25 September 1513 would discover the South Sea, today known as the Pacific Ocean. This settlement was abandoned in 1540. The area was uninhabited until the French colonial administration founded the town of ''Aux Cayes'' ("On the
caye A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Grea ...
s"), so named due to its proximity to Île-à-Vache. The town was destroyed twice by
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...
s in 1781 and 1788. In July 1793, the whites in Les Cayes were massacred.
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 ...
twice went to Les Cayes, in 1815 and 1816, seeking assistance from President Alexander Petion for his insurgency against the Spanish colonial government in
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. In December 1929, during the United States occupation of Haiti, Marines fired upon and killed Haitians protesting poor economic and social conditions under U.S. rule. In the wake of the 12 January 2010 earthquake, the Cuban military set up a
field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile Ar ...
in the region. On 4 October 2016, Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Les Cayes causing severe damage. On 14 August 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred near the city. It was the largest earthquake to strike Haiti in modern history, even stronger than the
2010 earthquake Earthquakes in 2010 resulted in nearly 165,000 fatalities. Most of these were due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which caused an estimated 160,000 deaths, making it the 11th deadliest earthquake in recorded history. Other deadly quakes occurred i ...
near the Haitian capital. The earthquake killed over 2,200 people and injured around 12,700 others, most of them in Les Cayes and its surrounding areas.


Tourism

Les Cayes plays a significant role in the still under-developed Haitian tourism industry, with pleasant sights such as: Gelée Beach: one of the longest and most visited beaches in Haiti. The white sand beach of Gelée beach is very popular in Haiti, not only for its restaurants which serve typical southern Haiti dishes such as tonm-tonm, grilled-conch, grilled-fish and lobster, but also for hosting an annual music festival around mid-August which usually features some of the best Compas music bands. Many visitors both from within Haiti and neighboring USA will come spend the weekend in Les Cayes. As the number of tourists continues to grow, several new hotels and restaurants continue to pop up. The Botanical Garden of Les Cayes (Jardin Botanique des Cayes, in French) is located in Bergeau, at the northern entrance of the city. The site occupies an area of eight (8) hectares. Other places of interest to tourists are the nearby Île à Vache, Pic Macaya, Saut-Mathurine falls and Kounoubois cave in Camp-Perrin, Pointe-de-Sable beach in Port-Salut, Marie-Jeanne cave in Port-a-Piment and Arrondissment Aquin where Fort des Oliviers, Fort Anglais and Bonnet Carré can be found in the town of
Saint Louis du Sud Saint Louis du Sud ( ht, Sen Lwi disid) is a coastal commune in the Aquin Arrondissement, in the Sud department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Governmen ...
.


Facilities


Airport

Les Cayes has an airport,
Antoine-Simon Airport Antoine Simon Airport is the fourth airport in Haiti in passenger traffic and is north of Les Cayes, a Caribbean coastal city in Haiti's Southern peninsula. History The airport is named after François C. Antoine Simon, the 18th President of H ...
. As of 1 February 2013, the first stone on the expansion project of the Antoine-Simon Airport in Les Cayes had been laid. The project to make Antoine-Simon a viable international airport is part of broader efforts aiming at ramping up infrastructure development in the south. The expansion project will add a new 3,000-metre runway and a new terminal to the airport. Haitian officials Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe and Tourism Minister Stéphanie Villedrouin suggested that the airport would open up completely the Southern Region as the country saw tourism as one of the promising sectors capable of creating thousands of new jobs in the region. Another airport project is also planned for the neighbouring island of Île-à-Vache.


University

Les Cayes has some training centers of which The American University of the Caribbean, Haiti; The Public University of The South in Les Cayes, (UPSAC); and The Law and Economics School of Les Cayes (EDSEC).


Hospital

Hôpital Immaculée Conception (Immaculate Conception Hospital, also referred to as HIC-Cayes), is the public hospital for Les Cayes and the South Department. Its facilities include an emergency department, maternity ward, and a dental clinic.


Sport

Les Cayes is home to professional football clubs, America des Cayes and FC Juventus des Cayes.


Notable natives and residents

*
John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictori ...
, French-American naturalist * Euphémie Daguilh,
Royal mistress A royal mistress is the historical position and sometimes unofficial title of the extramarital lover of a monarch or an heir apparent, who was expected to provide certain services, such as sexual or romantic intimacy, companionship, and advic ...
to the Haitian emperor
Jean-Jacques Dessalines Jean-Jacques Dessalines ( Haitian Creole: ''Jan-Jak Desalin''; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution. Under Dessalines, Haiti be ...
* Auguste Davezac,
United States Ambassador to the Netherlands The United States diplomatic mission to the Netherlands consists of the embassy located in The Hague and a consular office located in Amsterdam. In 1782, John Adams was appointed America's first Minister Plenipotentiary to Holland. According ...
* André Corvington, Olympic fencer *
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 ...
, Haitian revolutionary leader, was born here on a plantation. * Assotto Saint, writer and artist * Horace Pauleus Sannon (1870-1938) was a Haitian historian and politician and presidential candidate in 1926 and 1930


References


External links


Les Cayes-related website

"Port-Salut: bien sur, mais..."
''Le Nouvelliste'', in French, article on differences between Les Cayes and Port Salut {{Authority control Populated places in Sud (department) Communes of Haiti Port cities in the Caribbean